September 2020

We all know you can’t control what’s happening with COVID-19 or anything else going on in the world right now, so how do you handle this? How can we stay – or become – high performers in our business? Fergus Connolly, bestselling author and sports performance coach, explains six things that high performers regularly practice.

1. Recognizing Where You Can Change

First, Fergus Connolly would say that high performers accept the things you can change and things you cannot change. This happens in business and in life.

It even happens to professional athletes who seem to have it all together. “The things that you do control, you can change. Because sometimes we get caught up getting very annoyed about the things that we don’t control. Well, if you don’t control them, let’s accept them. And let’s deal with the things that we have control over and keep moving forward.”

Let’s deal with the things that we have control over and keep moving forward.

One of the big things that Fergus tells people is to recognize the things that you control and tackle them.

Don’t get caught up in worrying about the things that you can’t. Because if you start to get into that cycle, it’s really hard to get out, Fergus warns. He said it’s a mindset, and it’s one of the first things that you must practice if you want to keep making progress.

How do you start to work this muscle and get it stronger?

Well, try this exercise — Fergus does it with his clients — and he said it can work in many areas of life, including in business. 

Make a list of two columns. One column is what you can control and the other column is what you can’t control. At the end of the list of things you can’t control, Fergus writes acceptance, since this is what you have to do with this list. 

But then the other column is the things you can control, and those are the things you can change. So he likes to write change at the bottom. So now you’re going to tackle that one column. If you get caught up in the other column, it just becomes a spiral and you end up becoming disheartened or disillusioned.

This is a really clear way of looking at what we control and what we do. At the end of the day to the key is to keep moving forward and cultivate the mindset of making progress.

2. Building Momentum

The next thing high performers do is build momentum to make progress. Fergus said his friend has a saying, “The only way to kill time is to work it to death.” You have to start making progress and generate momentum. This is how you figure out the things that are going to work for you, the things that aren’t, and start to do some trial and error. It’s about getting people to start moving, go in that direction, not get caught up in unnecessary things you can’t control, and then keep moving forward and making changes.

“People think that high achievers, over performers, are special. They’re actually not different. They just use some of these simple tools and start moving forward, making those things. And concentrate in the things they’ve got control over.”

3. Adjusting the Business

Implementing this process and mindset in business can happen a few different ways. It might be looking for a new customer base or shifting to move things online.

And consider finding a great coach. A great coach isn’t afraid to try things. That doesn’t necessarily mean you try huge things. But you can work with someone who can help you start making those little changes and see how they work. Then you keep tweaking and developing them. 

4. Learning From Each Other (Businesses and Athletes)

Everyone, including the large company and a world-famous athlete, faces fear. Both in personal and professional situations. They are very aware and understand that it’s there. But they have worked on creating the ability to focus on what they want to achieve. 

How Fergus handles business change

“One of the things I always make sure I do is I’ve got a small list of targets of focus. When I wake up in the morning, that’s what I look at. I look at that focus and that stops me first thing in the morning from shifting into getting annoyed about all those things I can’t control, the things that have changed I’m not happy about.”

That’s definitely a morning routine worth creating!

This morning reminder can set the tone and focus of your day. It’s easy to get distracted, frustrated, and shift your mindset unintentionally. Fergus says that this helps you move forward and avoid getting trapped in the wrong mindset.

---

There’s always going to be fear and uncertainty. Be comfortable getting uncomfortable. Focus on what it is you want to achieve.
Click To Tweet

---

5. Handling Perfectionism

The next tactic that high performers do is overcome perfectionism. For some people, nothing is ever good enough and you’re always striving for more. And that can lead to burnout Fergus warns. It’s ok to make mistakes and stumble.

Find your “sheepdog”

When it comes to business, you can’t be vulnerable with everybody you come in contact with. But you can be vulnerable with people you’re really close to, so you need to know who they are. It might only be four or five people but those are the people that you can bounce things off.

“That’s what I call your sheepdogs. Who are your sheepdogs? They are people who you trust and they trust you. And there’s that vulnerability.”

These are the people who you can ask, “Do you think this is too much for me?” and they will be honest and say, “Hey, listen, you’re actually pushing yourself too hard.”

Don’t acknowledge negativity

And on the other hand, there are people who are feeling low because of what they see on social media and other outlets.

Fergus doesn’t like to talk about strengths and weaknesses, but instead strengths and opportunities. Everybody has their struggles and their opportunities for growth. So if you have something that you’re not good at, that’s an opportunity to improve or develop. But it doesn’t mean that you’re going to be perfect at it or even have to be.

---

Don’t talk about strengths and weaknesses. Talk about strengths and opportunities.
Click To Tweet

---

6. Recognizing the Power of Tough Times

Finally, it’s important to remember that when you’ve been through the most difficult of circumstances, you are the definition of resilience.

“I have so much respect for those people when you end up working with them because they turn that strength. I’ll be honest with you. That’s the kind of person I don’t want to compete with because that person is the person who is so, so good at getting over difficult situations.”

Those situations have developed skills and tolerance. And that is something that is a very important thought process for life. That makes you stronger. That is a strength that sometimes people neglect or don’t even recognize.

The Performance Professional

Dr. Fergus Connolly is one of the world’s foremost human potential thought leaders and influencers. He is the author of the bestselling book Game Changer – The Art of Sports Science. Fergus has applied performance science with leading sports, military, and business teams. He is the only coach to have full-time roles in every major sport, including soccer (Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers), professional and college football (San Francisco 49s and University of Michigan), rugby (Welsh national team), and elite military units.

---

Listen to more interviews from the Survive and Thrive Summit. Also, get insight for your small business from more top entrepreneurs on our podcast.

Listen to the Podcast

The post 6 Things That High Performers [and Achievers] Practice appeared first on SmartHustle.com.

It was painful to get out of bed. The 8-hour hike straight up and down the side of a mountain in Chilean Patagonia had me not wanting to move at…

The post 5 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Stay Productive on the Road appeared first on Natalie Sisson's The Suitcase Entrepreneur.

“I gotta say it was a good day.”

I’m so fricking pumped today. Really, truly. Yeah, Valence announced > $5 million in funding led by GGV and Upfront. That IS a big deal, but I’ll get to that. But Kamala Harris was picked to be the Vice Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. That means she’ll be the first female Vice President of the United States, the first female Black Vice President and the first Indian-American Vice President. I don’t take this for granted, be ready for a fight. But let’s be clear. WE WILL WIN. We might have to fight for it after the votes go our way but let’s get ready for the fight.

So let’s get it.

Valence. It is a company with a mission to create better access and more funding for Black entrepreneurs and executives. Valence is led by a talented CEO, Guy Primus and was the brainchild of my partner, Kobie Fuller. If you want to follow two great Black executives who work at the intersection of technology and venture capital make sure to click on those links and follow them on Twitter.

So what exactly is Valence and why does it matter?

18 months ago, my partner Kobie Fuller was inspired to build a solution for a problem he faced regularly: as one of the few Black partners at a VC firm (an estimated 3% of GPs in venture are Black vs 14% of the US population), he was consistently asked for warm intros to Black professionals, to Black VCs, and to talented Black operators and entrepreneurs.

Venture firms wanted to meet talented Black founders but didn’t know where to start to find them. And Black entrepreneurs wanted access to decision makers but didn’t always have the easy connections. In fact, one of the biggest criticisms I personally get when I suggest that founders should “get introductions to VCs” is that this might reinforce existing racial imbalances by providing easier access to White professionals than people of color.

An imbalance clearly exists in access and networks that has resulted in a tech industry where an estimated only 1% of venture dollars go to Black founders and only 3% of the workforce is Black and a country where Black individuals hold a disproportionately low amount of the wealth — only 3%. As Kobie says, he didn’t have a “magical database” of great Black talent, so he set out to build a solution not just for himself, but also for the community.

Personally I believe that to fund more people of color you need to put check-writing authority in their hands the same way that if you want to see more women funded you need more women GPs. My greatest criticism of our industry is that women and people of color feel the need to leave larger VCs to create their own firms. We have a responsibility to help propel them to the top ranks of our biggest firms to make our check writers more representative of our society overall.

There is a very clear economic rational and strategic advantage for doing so. There are amazing Black entrepreneurs, Indian entrepreneurs, Chinese entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs, gay entrepreneurs and so forth. OBVIOUSLY! If 90% of the check writers are White, straight men then it’s clear if you are different than that you’re going to have an advantage. As I always say, being great as an investor is about having “edge” and edge means knowing somebody or something that very few others know. It’s about swimming in lanes where others aren’t present. Being diverse in the VC industry is a VERY LOW bar and a clear differentiator.

At Upfront we believe in improving access for founders and entrepreneurs to networking, professional development, and economic opportunities, and that’s what Kobie set out to do with Valence, which he incubated in our offices. Huge hats off to Kobie for the idea, energy, direction, evening hours and the foresight and salesmanship required to bring on Guy to take the helm.

Building a mission into a business

By the time Valence launched in late 2019, the team had built the necessary systems and technology to seamlessly engage and onboard the community — not just the users, but also some pilot corporate partners who also believed in the mission and opportunity and who wanted to leverage and support this amazing database of talent. It was also important to Valence to not only connect users, but also to celebrate the successes and spotlight great Black leaders through high-quality content and design.

As soon as Valence launched in November 2019, the business quickly had proven demand from the community, not only from senior business leaders but also from so many young, talented professionals who could benefit from the inter-generational networking that Valence supported so seamlessly. Since launch, the Valence platform has supported more than 5,000 micro-mentoring sessions (AKA Boosts)— allowing the kind of invaluable network support that’s so critical to success and advancement for even the most talented founders and operators.

You can hear more about the importance of mentoring from Kobie Fuller, Valence advisor James Lowry, and John Legend — yes, THE John Legend — in this video from the 2020 Upfront Summit.

https://medium.com/media/ca4b009ff76eb6ee18c50cdedd2ae63d/href

So things were going well for Valence in 2020, amazingly even in a pandemic. And then in May the world was galvanized by the tragic murder of George Floyd (and Breonna Taylor. And Ahmaud Arbery. And Rayshard Brooks. And the many Black women and men before them whose lives were taken at the hands of the police.)

When the mission meets a movement

In these months, not only did we see widespread civic protests but so many industries, including ours, faced a reckoning that despite even the best intentions, lip service wasn’t enough. We all needed to take action to address the imbalance of access, and to literally put our money where our mouths are. Suddenly a spotlight was put on everything that the Valence team had been building, and there was even more energy around the business.

I always say that you can judge a startup’s future based on how fast they’re able to execute when it counts. Well, I can tell you that within weeks of the civil unrest, Valence had:

• Introduced the Valence Funding Network, where GPs from more than 30 of the top venture funds representing more than $60B in assets under management joined Valence with the goal of linking Black entrepreneurs on the platform directly to venture decision makers.
• Increased membership by more than 20%
• Hired a CEO, Guy Primus, who was previously the CEO of The Virtual Reality Company as well as the COO of Overbrook Entertainment. He’s been a leader at the intersection of media and tech for many years and we’re grateful to partner with him.
• Announced their Series A funding round, which Upfront participated in and which was led by Hans Tung from GGV. Hans has been a great peer and collaborator on other portfolio boards and we’re excited for him to join Valence at this pivotal time. We have worked closely with GGV for years and they were a natural fit for helping to build a network like this given their investment in Chief (for women) and The Mighty (which helps families with people facing health challenges).

Since day one we have anticipated great things for Valence and with this groundswell of support at the civic level as well as the industry level, we hope to see meaningful improvements in access and dollars for Black professionals. Please join me in congratulating Guy, Kobie and the team for what they’ve built so far, and what’s to come.

---

How Valence Aims to Provide Better Access and Funding for Black Founders & Executives was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

People who are very good at Scrabble are not more kind, better judges of character, more facile with soft skills, better long-term thinkers, more fun at parties or much of anything except good at Scrabble.

Of course we don’t decide on who should have positions of authority or who should be trusted based on their skill at Scrabble. It’s simply a game.

Perhaps the same could be true for beauty, celebrity or the acquisition of wealth.