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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Hidden Treasures Series: Episode 4(Check out The Tandem Bike Video) It may come as no surprise that I love a good bike analogy. Did you know the front rider on the tandem bicycle team is called the Captain? This rider’s role is to be heads-up, looking forward, deciding strategy, direction, and speed. Much like the role of […]

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 2nd of four blogs in our “Not Enough” series. Not Enough Time In our first encounters with business owners, we frequently find a smart, talented entrepreneur that is working really hard, and really long, on mostly the wrong things. Xtra Mile Truth: Your business’s most valuable resource is your time and attention. You cannot […]

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 […]