Xtra Mile Resources

Hiring by gut feeling is a high-risk gamble that puts you in an expensive hole. When you make a bad hire, you pay twice: first in salary, then in turnover. In many industries, that turnover can cost 30% - 50% of the person’s annual salary. Candidates can hide their experience, and owners can exaggerate the opportunity, leading to a mismatch that your team usually sees before you do. Protect your hiring project by implementing a few failsafes to determine if a candidate is goi

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Empower Your Force Multiplier(Check out The Admin Professionals Day Video) Leaders, please share with your administrative rockstars. A Handshake Wealth Transfer by guest blogger, SBX, and storyteller, Krystal Mechling I attended my first Admins Run the World tour event a few weeks ago, hosted by Sunny Nunan and the Admin Awards. She opened the ceremony by introducing her […]

New Toolbox Series: Episode #4 (Check out the Conductor Video) In my final assignment as an employee, I ran a $20MM-a-year sports lighting joint venture for General Electric. On my team were structural engineers, a master electrician, lighting designers, a CFO, and manufacturing and quality managers. Most of these leaders had a decade or two […]

New Toolbox Series: Episode 3 (Check out The Whistle Video) XM Truth: Leadership becomes 10 times more complicated when we move from leading people / teams / process to leading through other organizational leaders. One of my favorite leaders is Henry Drummond, a Scottish pastor/biologist/writer and lecturer from the 1800’s. He said, “As we try […]

Did you know that, depending on where you are standing in the United States, the difference between true north and magnetic north can be up to 20 degrees apart? If you walk 10 miles without programming that difference (angle of declination) into your route, you will miss your target by almost 4 miles. Like the telescope for […]

New Toolbox Series: Episode 2(Check out The Telescope Video) The tactical side of planning is easy for most leaders: Goals Plans Actions Delegation Communication Meeting routines We already know how to focus ourselves and our teammates on the work. This is the Old Toolbox. VISION is a leadership tool/skill that is more strategic. It is […]

New Toolbox Series: Episode 1(Check out Ditch the Old Toolbox Video) We were working with a General Contractor in Arizona. One of the young superstars on their team was being prepared for a director-level position and was struggling to understand the complexities of his new role. As we were wrestling with his evolution, we discovered […]

Hidden Treasures Series: Episode 3(Check out The Time Audit) In our video this week I shared the story of one of our favorite clients – Jessica Riggs from Angels of Care. When we first started working with her team, she was a 29-year-old second-generation president running a $40 million-a-year home health business. I asked her, “Jessica, […]

Hidden Treasures Series: Episode 2(Check out Undiscovered Leaders) There is a famous scene in The Notebook – an exasperated poor boy Noah (Ryan Gosling) asks the love of his life: “What do you want? What do you want?! What! Do! You! Want!” Business owners and leaders should be asking their teams the same question. Instead […]

E2X = Elevation * Evolution * Xceleration We have worked with hundreds of business owners and executive leaders in the SMB space this year. Their next breakthrough (and your next breakthrough) is waiting for the next E2X (Elevation * Evolution * Xceleration) in performance from leaders. This transformation requires mastering a new set of skills (New Toolbox) […]

Know/Like/Trust When we hear this phrase in the business world, it is usually associated with sales. We all prefer to do business with people we Know/Like/Trust. XM Truth: We also do our best work for leaders we Know/Like/Trust. Through November to January, we are frequently engaged in the Strategic Planning process with our clients. We begin each session […]

The 4th and final blog in our “Not Enough” series. Let me tell you a story about Not Enough Progress. A few years ago, we got a call from a family business making a generational transition. The founder was tired and ready to step back, so an outside CEO was hired to take over. He […]

My grandfather traveled back and forth between San Francisco and China as a fireman on a steamship. He was on a team that stoked the fires that kept the steam engines running. Stokers also worked on steam locomotives. The rider on the back of a tandem bicycle is called the stoker. The sole focus of this role is to add power […]