Xtra Mile Resources

30% The survival rate of 2nd generation family-owned business. 10%Family businesses that remain privately held to a 3rd generation. Alarming statistics. Small business is hard on families. Most families have tough relationship challenges, add a family enterprise to the mix and you have a recipe for serious dysfunction. We have worked with dozens of family businesses that we helped successfully […]

The human psychology of the New Year is a strange one. We have ritualized the idea of RESOLUTIONS. However, they fail so regularly that most of us approach these conversations with a great deal of sarcasm. SMB owners, we should consider the power of this psychological and social reality; then use it to our […]

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2025! Let’s Go! Our commitment to our PURPOSE of making SMBs the best places to work in America will never change. However, we believe we have the calling to go bigger, serving more people in a wider range of places than ever before. Here we grow! New Look: We […]

From our work with dozens of businesses every year, we witness a wide range of team retention results. Our best-led client businesses consistently practice four disciplines to show their teammates they are treasured. Subsequently, the SMB owners are rewarded with high levels of retention, engagement, and overall performance. We think it is important to know […]

Have you been following our series of Hire-Coach-Keep? The battle for talent is intense in the SMB space. Check out the video that sets up this blog on coaching humans. Here are four simple coaching practices that will multiply your teammates engagement, excitement, and effectiveness for your business. Know what is important to them: We […]

Here is a short list that will help you assess and improve your hiring process. How well do you and your team execute these steps when hiring for your SMB? 1. Have a purpose for existing that rises above the basics of business. 2. Build a culture that positively grows humans and multiplies engagement. […]

The Overdramatic Worldview Things are bad and getting worse. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. The world is ending, probably next week. Western media sells bad news, and the people are buying like it’s Black Friday and sharing it on social media. The Fact-Based Worldview “Step by step, year by year, […]

It’s not hard to find SMB teams with detailed strategies, plans, and budgets for business development (Marketing, Prospecting, Selling). A little less frequently, we find teams with similar clarity around system and process improvements. New equipment, software upgrades, and other capital improvements get all of the attention, analysis, and a budget for ROI. Rarely do we […]

“How much do you love Monday?” I asked this question to open our current video series on how to HIRE-COACH-KEEP an Xtra Mile dream team in your SMB. Building the right team is life changing and life giving to any business owner. It might all come down to one simple idea: How much do you […]

Our work with SMB owners puts us in the middle of hundreds of teams every year. We believe every employee, in every kind of organization, constantly asks these five questions in their head and heart, even if they never say them out loud. 1.What is my job?2.How am I doing?3.Does anyone care about me? (Who […]

Check out our video, Work Gloves vs Running Shoes, for a new way to think about strengths and weaknesses on your team . . . and to laugh a bit in the process. What work do you squeamishly run from? We were working with a marketing and merchandising client on a strategic hire a few years […]

Check out our video Not Another YOU for a 1-minute paradigm shift on building your bench for maximum impact. In a scene from Bill Watterson’s classic comic Calvin & Hobbes, the anti-hero, Calvin, decides to build a duplicator. His theory: if he can create another Calvin, the duplicate can be responsible for the chores, homework and other […]

This is Strategic Planning Question #4. Check out our intro video to the idea of SWOT. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats: The SWOT analysis for “Where Are We Now?” We were working with a driven and passionate entrepreneur on a Strategic Planning Retreat with her team. She is a fast-paced, no-nonsense, high-D personality. Before I had even interviewed her leadership team, she […]

Watch our new Q3 Planning Video – A Simple Plan – on how to answer the most important question in your company’s strategic process. My first job out of college was leading an Infantry platoon in Schweinfurt, Germany. Do you know who they recruit for Infantry platoons? People who are stronger than they are smart (me included). We […]

Watch this 2 min video on how to Xcelerate in the second half of your year by answering these 6 questions. “We got more value out of these last three hoursthan in six months with another consulting group.” – Strategic retreat client on the first day of a 2-day strategic planning session. For over 15 years we have […]

Once you get rid of your head trash about sales (see video), now you need a process. Designing and/or teaching a sales process for a business is a 2-3 day venture. Mastering complex or consultative sales is a decades-long investment. Please forgive our brevity today. Here is a process we have been using to sell […]

To prospect…or not to prospect. That is the question. Another question: Who is your MPPC = Most Promising Prospective Client? Mindset really matters when it comes to closing revenue gaps. Watch this 90-second clip to set the stage for this week’s Biz. Dev. topic: PROSPECTING. “If you want sustained success in your sales career (or […]

Welcome back to our Business Development Series for your small business. Take a quick look at our 2-minute video that sets the stage – Magic Feathers and Easy Buttons. Marketing is a generous act of helping someone solve a problem. THEIR PROBLEM! We experienced real Xceleration at XM Brands when we began to internalize the idea that marketing […]

Our Brand New Business Dev. Series Out Now!(Check out How to Fix “Not Enough Revenue”) I started version 1.0 of XM Performance in 2007. I had the consulting, training, and leadership experience, and my partner brought the marketing and sales know-how. We put some money in the bank, chartered our business, and quickly hired an […]

The Zamboni for your Brain(Check out the Power Nap Video) As an Infantry Veteran, I have operated without sleep (or very little sleep) for long periods of time. We also slept frequently in very inhospitable conditions. Veterans in almost every branch of the military were forced to learn the life hack of the POWER NAP. […]