Xtra Mile Resources

Click here to check out our video this week – describing two types of Bad Apples that bring sour dysfunction to our SMBs. Our full prescription if you’re considering letting an employee go is outlined below in four steps: Step #1: Love Them. Care about the humans in your business enough to be present and make sure they are okay. […]

Check out our latest Xtra Mile Pharmacy video below and identify the symptoms that are causing fog on your team. https://youtu.be/gf719dYBzGg?si=W-yZzEO2kIg66iFV We’re giving away the #1 tool we use to help our clients get on the same page with their employees and deliver results that matter. This can be tailored as an annual, semi-annual, or quarterly dashboard. […]

“I can’t find people up to my standards, and then they don’t stay.” A real conversation with a frustrated business owner this week. If you are a seasoned SMB business owner in the DFW market, here are a few things that might help you be more successful in hiring and keeping talent: Inflation is real […]

We have consulted/trained/coached in hundreds of SMBs over the last two decades. Overwhelmed is a frequent destination for many owners. Nothing about running a SMB is so complicated that a reasonably intelligent human can’t figure it out. What leads to OVERWHELMED is the complexity of having to be six inches deep in 137 places, all […]

If you have a job, if you are part of a family, if you are alive and involved with other humans…you have conflict. If you are passionate about the purpose of your organization…if you care about the people in the organization…the customers you serve…you will have conflict. XM Truth: Teams that learn […]

One of the big differences in my transition from the military to the business world was having the autonomy to build my team. Soldiers were assigned to my units in the Army. I made the comment to one of my first business leaders that he was lucky to have such a strong team. His response, “Luck has […]

IQ = Intelligence Quotient, a measurement of human intelligence. EQ = Emotional Quotient, a measurement of emotional intelligence. CI = Collective Intelligence, a group’s capacity to solve complex problems together. Which is the most important to making your SMB one of the best places to work in America? Our clients (SMB owners) are hungry for […]

We are working closely with several new CEOs and their teams in Q1. As we assist in the elevation and evolution of their leaders and businesses, we have heard these three statements. “I’m suffering from time POVERTY.” “I’m a little DELUSIONAL with my expectations for myself.” “My time OPTIMISM is not reflective of our current […]

When Fanni Gambero first joined our team, we had a Christmas Party at my house. She made these amazing cream cheese cookies with peppermint candy baked in. SO good!! I asked for the recipe, she said, “No, it’s a secret family recipe.” She is a meanie. When it comes to successful family business transitions there is […]

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 […]