Episode 125: Get a Grip on Your Business with Victoria Cabot

Welcome to the Unstoppable Profit Podcast. Wherever you are today, if you're starting with nothing or are well on your way to the success you desire, with the right people, processes and promotions in place, you will be unstoppable. And now I'd like to introduce your host, Mike Stromso. Greetings everybody. This is Mike Stromso bringing the next episode in the Unstoppable Profit Podcast. I am pumped and excited to have one of our secret weapons with us today. She is amazing. She has done great things for us over the time that we have worked together. I am proud to introduce Victoria Cabot. Welcome to the podcast, Victoria.

Oh, Mike, thank you so much. I am very excited to be here today. I have heard great things.

Yeah, yeah, fantastic. Well, thanks for joining us. And we are here to help entrepreneurs and business people grow their business. It has become a little tagline that was born through some adversity that has happened in recent history. And we have made a decision to just grow, to continue to grow, not just go through adversity, grow through adversity. So you have helped us do that. And there is no better way to learn how to do this better than get it right from the expert themselves. So let's dig in today. But before we get started on a couple of questions that we have developed for you.

Tell everybody a little bit about who you are, what your position is in helping businesses, anything you're willing to share. And thanks for joining us today.

Thank you. Excited to be here. My name is Victoria Cabot. I'm a certified EOS implementer. EOS stands for the Entrepreneurial Operating System. And we're going to spend a lot of time talking about that today. I'm based here in San Diego and I serve clients nationally from beautiful San Diego. I have my own leadership development company called Velocity 6 and I also own a franchise in EOS. My background has been in product development and marketing. I've worked for fantastic companies like Burton Snowboards and also family run companies like Darn Tough Socks along my journey. An entrepreneur at heart, I'm also a co founder of a conference for companies running on EOS that's held annually around the country.

Fantastic. Yeah, you know marketing well and we get to, you know, trade secrets and stories about marketing and beyond with each other when we're working together. So I love that. And frankly, if you've ever heard me say, and I know this was probably founded somewhere else in prior history because there's nothing new under the sun, but if you've heard me say people need to hear it seven times. It was really. Victoria was the one at a public proclamation here that really drilled that into this thick head. I'll just tell you, it was February 19th. I'm not going to drop the year, but I will not forget it because that is when it really hit home for me. Yeah, people need to hear it seven times. So Victoria, thank you for that.

Yeah, they need to hear it seven times to hear it for the first time. And if you don't get it across, you have to start seven more times. Right?

Exactly, exactly. So since you have helped me understand that and use it personally and professionally, I've done some research on it and then I found that they originally called it the rule of seven. So anyway, I'm going to run with that and please make sure that you are using the rule of seven in everything that you do. So here we go.

Here we go.

So anything else to add before we get started with some questions?

No, that's about it. I've been working with entrepreneurial companies, founders and their leadership teams for the past seven years. And it's a journey to mastery. It's never a destination, but it is always progress, not perfection. So that's what I like about it.

Exactly, exactly. And we were sharing a phrase that came up just within the last couple days and talking to a friend said, how's it going? He goes, it's going good but not perfect.

And it kind of stopped me in my tracks. And I said, fred, what did you say? He said, it's going good but never perfect. I said, that's wisdom. So anyway, speaking of that, let's dive in. So, Victoria, you're an EOS implementer. What exactly does an EOS implementer do for businesses?

Excellent. Well, I work with those business founders, the entrepreneurs and their leadership teams over a period of about 18 months to two years. And what we try to do is achieve three things we call vision, traction, and healthy. That leader has a vision and probably some of the people on the leadership team have a vision, but it is not the same vision. So as you know, Mike, we get everyone on the same page of where is this organization headed? Then the next and juicy part is getting traction on that vision. So many times before I ran into eos, I found, oh, we'd have these great visioning days and we'd put post its all over the walls and I'd stand back with my arms crossed and I'm like, well, that's never going to happen. And what I love about EOS is it has a methodology to gain Traction on that vision. And then the last thing which is the overlay is team health. A lot of it comes from Stephen Covey. Right. The speed of trust. Unless you have a high level of health and functionality on your leadership team, you'll never get that accountability and discipline that you're looking for to gain traction on the vision. So that's what I do. I help them get those three things. Vision, traction and healthy. It's a position of trust and confidence and I'm always in service to bring my game day best. Every full day we work together.

Vision, traction and health.

Yep. That's our promise.

The power of three. Just like the three Ps, right. But ultimately, at the end of the day, it takes time and different time for businesses depending on really where they're at. Correct. I mean you work with a lot of different types of businesses and different industries as well. And some can grasp this and implement it and get further faster than others. Correct.

Mike, that's a really astute observation. Absolutely. Every leadership team is going to be different. I work with companies in just like early stage, they're profitable, but the team is new, the technology is new, they're breaking new ground. So the team dynamics there can be very different based on maybe people are very technically oriented and they've never sat on a leadership team before. And then I think of the other extreme. I've worked with three guys that were in a tree service company and they said, well, we're just old dogs. Can we learn anything? And they had been working together for 25 years. And so we had to unpack some things there and put them back together and send them on their way in a better dynamic. So you're going to, we're all at the spot we're at and we're going to grow based on our own acceptance of team dynamics and changing.

Right.

It's going to be different. Everything is different. But the, the operating system for your business works in all cases. It's also industry agnostic. It works in any kind of industry.

I've observed that and found that to be true. In fact, that's how we originally met. Somebody that cared enough about us, referred you to us, we met, got to know each other and as they say, the rest is history. So I'm very grateful that that happened, has changed, change the operating platform in our businesses forever. So thank you for that, Victoria. So vision, traction and health, great stuff. And when you get to team health or to a healthier business, it is a great place to be and that is our goal in Helping everybody that we are privileged to work with. So, Victoria, why do you call it an operating system? Let's unpack that a little bit.

Sure.

Oftentimes an entrepreneur has an idea they want to provide a product or a service, but they didn't necessarily set out to start a company to deliver that product or service. So they quickly become bogged down in the mechanics of running the business. And then all of a sudden, there's systems, there's process issues, there's people issues. When you think about your computer, we all have an operating system for our computer. Imagine if you wanted to write a Word document or do some calculations in Excel, but you had to step back and say, wow, I have to create an operating system first. That would be crazy. You just want, you want to get out there and do what you do. And so what EOS is, it's an operating system for your business. That's something you add, but it's simply a way of doing business. It helps you bring more accountability and discipline first, as you know, at the leadership team level, with the three to eight people at the helm, and then seeing evidence of it throughout the entire organization. Because you want everybody rowing in the same direction, not just, not just the few at the top.

Exactly. There's strategies and there's a way to create, if you will. I mean, the word that's in my mind from what I've experienced is hierarchy. Right. So we've got a hierarchy of how things trickle down. It's spread out throughout not only a leadership team, but the entire team. And really, to mention something you've already talked about, everybody's mostly working on the same page. Not perfect ever. We're always a work in progress. And then there's a way to deliver the vision for the strategies through things that you teach as well. And it's fantastic. So thank you for that. So, really back to what you talked about earlier as well, though, you know, it's not something that happens overnight. And I have found in my observation and working with entrepreneurs all over North America, that a lot of us have this fire ready aim mentality.

I know. Really, I know.

I didn't want to shock you.

I like that you put fire even before ready. Just like, boom. I think we are ready.

Exactly. What do you mean it is going to take five minutes? That is about four minutes and 30 seconds too long. Right. But, but ultimately, at the end of the day, 18 to 24 months is what you talked about when, you know, I asked you, what is an EOS implementer? And it, it takes Time to create, train, and really get everybody quote on that same page to install the operating system. Is that accurate?

It is. And you think about your business. You, you didn't get to where you are today with all the problems overnight, and you're not going to organize those overnight as well. And I want to go back to something you said about EOs rather than hierarchy. It's more think of like accountability. One of the things I do with clients on our first day is we create this accountability chart, getting really clear on the functions. I always say, who's your who? When something goes wrong, we have to look around the room and we know who to point to or one throat to choke for every problem that we want to solve, all for good. So we create that accountability chart and then to get it through the entire organization, it's compartmentalization. It's like you started at the leadership team and then you see little compartments all around where everyone is very clear on what their contribution is to make the company function well.

Right. Make sure I heard that correctly. You said, who is your who?

Who is your who? Who's your who? We got a problem. Whose is it? You know, it's not hot potato here. We want to know who is going to take ownership of that and see it through to completion or to solve, as we like to say.

I hope you'll forgive me in advance. You've probably said that before, but I don't know where I was anyway. But the term that I do remember that I drop often is who owns it?

Absolutely.

And I think there's similarities in those statements. So who's your who? Who owns it? And ultimately when somebody owns something, that doesn't mean they're doing all of the work. Is that accurate?

That's right. For better lack of a term. They're like the project manager, they're PMing, they're calling the meetings, they are holding others on their leadership team accountable for their contribution. And most importantly, they're watching that timeline. So by the end, we set these goals every 90 days. We create a 90 day world come together every 90 days and set. We call them rocks. Right. What are the main things you want to focus on? So if you own that rock, you are asking others to do their part so that when you come together for that next 90 day meeting, the quarterly, it's done, rather than just getting kicked down. Oh well, we'll get to that someday. Someday never comes.

Yeah, it's an organized operating system.

That's right.

We'll rename it a little bit because I Like fun acronyms. It's an oos.

Oh, man. I am bound by my franchise agreement to only call it eos, however.

Because it's really, you know, why that's important? It is the entrepreneurial companies, privately held companies, 10 to 250 people with 2 to 50 million. There is a certain way of doing business that only works for entrepreneurial companies. That was part of Gino Wickman, the author of Traction and the founder of eos. That was part of his discovery. Privately held companies just run different from big business.

Really?

Really. They really, really do. There's a lot of functionality and, well, dysfunctionality, and that's what we help bring to light and solve.

Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, that's why we're entrepreneurs, because there's the regular way of doing things and then there's the way we feel it should be done. Right.

Yeah. I had one entrepreneurial client, he says, you know, I'm an entrepreneur, right. I said, because you have this great vision and you wanted to change the world. And he's like, no, I just could never work for anybody else.

Exactly.

But, yeah, there is that, you know, that free spirit that can do attitude. I think that's also what I most admire about the business leaders that I serve.

Yeah.

I'm picking up more today, so thank you. A free spirit can do attitude. Nice.

Optimistic. You know, Mike, it's the small businesses of America. We see our politicians and government and big business. And I just. My heart is always with the small companies. That's what makes up the fiber of the jobs. 75 to 80% of all jobs are with entrepreneurial companies.

Right.

And I think they're so underserved by. In fact, I think the odds are often stacked against companies by government. So I feel like I give. I give them hope. And the operating system, it just gives them a chance to run a really great company towards the end. I want to share, share with you what the EOS life is about before we close our time out.

Cool. Fantastic. Let me make a note of that.

You got the EOS life, we have the UPP life. So we've got commonalities going on again, so absolutely connected.

I'm.

So you have the OOS, or you have to say operating system, and you get it installed In a business 18 to 24 months, things become healthier. It's a nicer place to be. You have a plan, you know where you're going, you're going to reset 90 days, all of that. But there's got to be some frustrations as well through all of that, and sometimes even after you get to a point of being pretty healthy. Talk about some of the frustrations.

Sure, there are several books in the traction library and collectively they just reached the 1 million books sold point. And people are reaching out to traction because of these common frustrations. The first is simply people don't feel in control of their business. So much happens all the time. There's always a, you know, you're afraid to pick up the news on Monday. What's happening outside my business? What's happening inside my business? You're painting the plane while it's flying and your business is running you, rather than the other way around. Simply a lack of control. The second is a lack of profit. And if I'm not being specific enough, lack of it. For all your time and treasures that you put into your work, 50, 60, 80 hours a week, you're simply not getting a return on that investment. The third frustration is people. Oh my gosh, they simply don't care as much as you do. Gosh, they don't even show up the first day of work. We hire people and they ghost us. They don't even show up. How frustrating. The fourth is hitting the ceiling. The first few years were so easy and all of a sudden you feel stuck. The problems are bigger and they just linger over your head unsolved. The final one is simply nothing is working. You've read every book, you're into that flavor of the month, you've hired consultants and you just can't get unstuck. By the way, I'm an implementer. My job is to get in, help folks and get out of the way. It is not a consulting gig where I just want to dig my hooks in and dig deeper eventually. It's a system you and your leadership team run on your own and your company then operates on us for an eternity.

Exactly.

Well said. And I agree with that. But back to some of the frustrations as well. Just to make sure, you know, people don't feel in control. They never know what's going to happen. Every day they wake up unsure. Without that, if you will, peace of mind. That is one of the things that we talk about here, and that is what part of our goal is in impacting people's lives personally and professionally. Secondly, profit numbers don't lie. Right?

Right.

So that's part of it. The third is the affectionate first P. And that's 80% of the emergency calls that I get to field. I got to field one last night after 8:30pm because of a First P issue went on for a while, but they flame up. Next, people hit the ceiling and they can't see from a vision standpoint. Vision is the art of seeing things that other people can't see and they don't know what's beyond that. And then just simply nothing is working. So that's another area that you help with. You come in, you, you help people get clear, you create a plan that when foundationally implemented and done right, carries on itself with the right people in the right seats. Correct.

That's it. You got to have both.

Exactly.

One or the other.

So somebody makes a decision and that's one of the things that we encourage people. A decision and action. A decision and action. Simply those two things. So somebody makes a decision and takes action and implements this over a period of time. What are some of the rewards for actually doing the work? You know, some team members over the years have called it the suck where that area of discomfort, right?

Yeah.

So what are the rewards of going through it and being uncomfortable for a period of time?

Sure. I had a business coach who used to say you got to get uncomfortable to get comfortable and what comfortable looks like. Oftentimes entrepreneurs would like to have that self managed company so they can get out of the business and really work on the business. So you begin to see the company grow and scale. Because that entrepreneur, who at his or her very nature is a visionary, they have more time to spend envisioning and getting out in the industry, hearing what's going on in the trade, taking the next step that their competitors are not because they're so bogged down into the tactics. So taking your company to the next level, having it self managed over time, actually seeing your three year picture come to light, you're crossing things off and you go, yep, we got that done. Yep, we got that done. And then finally what the end game is, the, the end result that Gino had all along is living your EOS life. That'll be the next book in the traction library. Can I share that now because.

Go ahead, sure.

It's behind everything I do. I'm allowed through being an EOS implementer to live my EOS life. And here's what it looks like. It's doing what you absolutely love with people you care about. You have those right people in the right seats and you're working with people you truly care about, being appropriately compensated because you run a smart, profitable company with making a huge impact in the world, serving your clients at a higher level, maybe being involved in your community as a Company. The last and most important is with time to pursue other passions. In our green room, Mike, we were talking about things we like to do outside of work that were important to us. And we always want more of that. Right. And we want to deserve that and earn the time to live our EOS life. Time to pursue our other passions. How great is that?

Awesome. It is just awesome. And I don't know if you have heard it or not, so the UPP life is simply impacting people's lives personally and professionally. Simply put, that is what we want to do. And to piggyback on something that you just said a couple of minutes ago as well, is we want to help people create a business that supports their life. You know, back to some of the frustrations. There's a lot of people that work, you know, their life supports their business and that's not really the way it was set up and designed to be, so to speak.

So this isn't something for people for whom business is a lifestyle. It is a to run a professionally self managed company. And by the way, that also adds exponential value if you want to transfer it to a next generation or a partner or sell your organization. A lot of people will run on EOS because they, they plan on having a transfer or liquidity event. And we're seeing.

You know, we're seeing that happen in every industry right now, the outdoor industry, the consolidation. So of course you want your business to have a top dollar value.

At any point in the future you're gonna be, that can be 10 years away for a business owner, but you're adding that value now.

Right? Right. And there's a huge contribution to one's peace of mind from the entrepreneurial chair to be able to have that in place.

Just knowing, God forbid you go to the doctor one day and the doctor says whoops. And just knowing that, hey, your legacy, everything you work so hard for, will be in a better place because of it. So kudos to you. Thank you for helping people be in that position.

We like to make those 2am thoughts around your next adventure to Europe or your new bike you're going to get, not about your business.

Exactly. Exactly. So I wanted to know why you do this. And that was part of the EOS life explanation, correct?

It is, it is. And.

I feel like EOS is every. I'm a lifelong learner, Green and grow and grow or die. EOS is every business book I've ever read, but with templates. I mean, to be honest, Mike, I went back to school here maybe 10 years ago when I got a master's in executive leadership and I was like, well, that was great, but so what, what do I do with it? I've read all the books, I've read all the the models, but there was no practical application. And when I heard someone speak on eos, I thought, wow, here it is a tool that I can actually use to help good companies become great. Right. We all want that good to great. But how do you do it? It's the user manual. That's my jam. I just love being able to help people get what they want from their business.

Simple. Helping people.

Get what they want.

From their business.

From their business. That's it. It's that simple. But simple isn't easy. As you said earlier, you have to be patient with the process.

I'm going to add on that more importantly for any entrepreneurs out there listening, you have to trust the process. And if there's one thing that I can add on, if you will trust the process, as long as you know you have the right implementer by your side.

Then everything else will happen. If you trust the process and follow the process and to restate it, it's not going to happen overnight. It will take a little bit of time, it'll take some patience. There will be potentially some tough conversations or more than one tough conversation and there's going to be a lot of change.

Yes, well said. It is a leading change initiative and you have to be comfortable with that and prepared for it. Yeah, I think you found, I mean it does support you along the way in that sometimes it's a little minute change one quarter and the next prepares you for a really much larger change the next quarter.

Yeah. Well, one of my greatest mentors that I've studied that never met Jim Rohn, said if you want things to change, you have to change. Because if you're willing to change, everything will change for you in equal proportion based on how much you're willing to grow yourself and change yourself and everything within your control, so to speak. So let's talk about that for just a minute. Let's see if we can pull a couple stories out of you as we kind of move to wrap up today. So you've worked with lots of companies all over the country, maybe beyond. Talk about some of the most interesting change situations that you've been involved in. You have any that come to mind? I mean, where the change was a lot harder than you might have anticipated?

Sure. I'll think specifically about a family run business and I won't show the Industry. I'll just keep it.

Yeah, I'm not looking for that. I'm looking for the teaching and learning situation. Sure.

A family member had married in and was put in a position that they were not appropriate for. They were really a very hands on person. They like the tactical aspects of the company and here they were running the company, very ill suited. So it had been passed off to this person. The original founders and owners had retired and all of a sudden they realized the company was no longer profitable. Bleeding money and in very bad shape. So they came back into the business and literally with their last little bit of treasure, hired me and said, vic, we're in trouble. We got, we got a year. We got to get in, get this done and, you know, save the company. And so we, we set up the meeting cadence very tight. We brought in the right people, put them in the right seats, created clear roles and accountability. And I just, they graduated in a year, which is a little tighter, but they were full on committed. It was life or death and I just had a.

Connection with them. They'd been running on EOs for four or five years and they said, hey, come back. Refresh. We've changed our leadership team. Oh my gosh. The company has quadrupled in size. The founders are off living their life in their overlanding RV rig and they have bright, shiny people that said, we're new hires. We've never worked at such an amazing company in our lives. What are you guys doing? This is nirvana. So that was a great success story. She's getting the right people in the right seats. And that, that guy, that person that was in the wrong seat, he had a talent. He just wasn't applying it with his passion.

Awesome.

One of my favorites. That was one of my early clients and that's one of my favorite stories.

Thank you for sharing that. That was awesome. And ultimately that's what it's all about, you know, creating that impact for people and turning things around, helping them identify the turning point and then, you know, actually doing something about it. So props to you and I am sure there are many, many others after that. So.

Yeah, there are.

Fantastic. Speaking of that, I am going to get something. Just a minute. Victoria, We've talked about a lot of things today.

In the event it's perked a thought in somebody's mind or they have more questions or they want to know more, where's a good place to start?

Absolutely. Like I shared with you, many people purchased the book Traction by Gino Wickman. He's the founder. There are Now I think 400 implementers such as myself around the globe. We're in Europe, we're in Australia, we're down in South America, I think we're even in Africa at this point. So you can anywhere from picking up the book, reading it, see if you and your leadership team are ready to go on this journey. One of the most important things, Mike, is that the mindset ready and open for change. If you're not ready for change, it's probably not going to work for you. There are tools and resources available on EOS worldwide. Finding an implementer like me.

We do 90 minute workshops. It's a help first core value that we live with leadership teams all the time. We'll come in and you're trying to explain it to everyone. Let us do the heavy lifting on that. We'll come in and work with you and your leadership team, give 90 minutes of our time just to give you that overview so you can decide together if it's a journey you're ready to go on.

Yeah, and I think that's a very important point because I know that's been our experience as well. You know, if we have a leadership team, if somebody has to leave the room just to go use the facilities, everything stops until that person's back. So everybody is there. It's for lack of a better term, an all for one and one for all thought process because it's so vitally important that everybody be there and be on the same page. It can just be one little thing that somebody might miss that could change everything.

That's it. I mean, their contributions. Everybody has a different perspective. Every person matters. It's like I shared that rowing in the same direction. You know, just imagine if you're in crew and one rower stops, the boat starts going in circles.

So yeah, fantastic. Well, Victoria, this has been awesome. It's been an awesome journey so far in our years together so far and could not be more grateful. I am so grateful I was finally able to track you down and spend a little bit of time letting everybody out there know the awesomeness of Victoria Kabbat. So, Victoria, thank you for being with us today as we move to wrap up. Any last thoughts you want to add about anything?

I want to thank you as well, Mike. It has been a long time in planning to be here today. I know that you are well known within your community and it was really a privilege to serve a broader audience. I would say the most important thing is definitely to decide. You touched on that a few minutes ago. Make a decision and you can schedule the action for a little bit further down the road, but set that timeline, set that milestone, make it happen. Because I always like to say, if nothing changes, nothing changes. So if you are not happy with where your life is, you can make the difference. You just need to decide.

That's right. That is right. Victoria Cabot, thank you my friend. Super thankful that you joined us today on the podcast. I have got a couple of last words and then we will wrap it up and move on to helping other people.

Thank you. I had a lot of fun.

Yeah, ditto. Thank you. All right everybody, thank you for joining us today. If this is your first time by chance, my name is Mike Stromceau and I am widely recognized as the leading as a leading author, speaker and coach for the independent insurance agency industry, you can find me @unstoppable profit producer.com if you're interested in attending a virtual or a live event to grow your business, create wealth and to live life on your own terms so you have more freedom to do so, please visit us. Our virtual events are at uppfaststart.com that's uppfaststart.com or join us at our live event be unstoppable boot camp.com that's beunstoppablebootcamp.com and I have another piece of information for you. This year's Be Unstoppable Boot Camp will feature none other than the one and only Victoria Cabot live and in person sharing more about that 6090 minute intro. So if you don't have your ticket yet, please grab it again. Beunstoppablebootcamp.com Both events are designed to share with you some of my best money making strategies proven over 35 years of research in your industry to help you again grow your business, create wealth so you can have more freedom to live life on your own terms. That's all we want for you friends. All we want is your success. If there is anything more that we can do to help you, please let us know. If you're not subscribed yet, please go to unstoppable profit podcast.com that's unstoppable profit podcast.com make sure you subscribe so you won't miss one episode and the game changing strategies that come through the podcast. And we're all the channels out there. Google, Stitcher and beyond. You can find us anywhere Apple. It's there for you, for your learning and growing progress. So great job everybody. Victoria, again, thank you so much.

Thank you very much. I look forward to seeing everyone at your in person event.

Fantastic. Exactly. The day we stop learning is the day we stop growing. And to add on, the day we stop learning is the day we stop earning more. So we have got to keep the learning and growth in play my friend. Have a great day. Thank you. Thank you for listening. If you would like to listen to more episodes or share the subscribers podcast with someone you care about, please visit www.unstoppableprofitpodcast.com now go out and make a difference. Be unstoppable and leave no regrets.