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Xtra Mile Resources



Cheap, Fast, & Easy
Stop investing in temporary, transactional training that wastes money and fails to solve your team's deep-rooted problems. Pivot to a...

Ross Paterson
Jul 31, 20252 min read


15 Minutes a Week: The Secret to Team Trust
Feeling a drag on team performance? Gaining (or re-gaining) trust is a major hurdle. CLICK HERE to unlock essential leadership skills that build the foundation! Lack of Trust in your organization is costing you gradually. On the surface, it is lowering the engagement of your team. In the end, a low trust, low engagement organization will cost you your highest performing employees, who will leave for greener pastures. A few years ago, our whole team participated in leadershi

Ross Paterson
Jun 19, 20251 min read


A Prescription for Clearing the Fog
Check out our latest Xtra Mile Pharmacy video below and identify the symptoms that are causing fog on your team.

Ross Paterson
May 15, 20251 min read


Secret Family Recipes
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!!

Ross Paterson
Jan 30, 20252 min read


Don't Burn the House Down Passing the Torch
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 transition to 2nd generation ownership. We have worked with a handful that are

Ross Paterson
Jan 22, 20252 min read


Don’t Burn the House Down Passing the Torch
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Jan 22, 20252 min read


What are You Running From?
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Sep 27, 20242 min read


Calvin and the Duplicator
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Sep 5, 20241 min read


How to Meet Your Hottest MPPC
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Jun 27, 20241 min read


The Counterintuitive Work of Marketing
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Jun 13, 20242 min read


The Starting Point
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 […]

Ross Paterson
May 30, 20242 min read


A Handshake Wealth Transfer
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Apr 23, 20242 min read


The Conductor’s Wand
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Apr 18, 20242 min read


The Coach’s Whistle
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Apr 12, 20242 min read


Culture Matters, Get it Right
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Mar 29, 20242 min read


Do I Even Need a Vision?
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Mar 22, 20242 min read


Getting Comfortable with The New Toolbox
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Mar 11, 20242 min read


The Captain and The Stoker
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Feb 29, 20242 min read


No Capes!
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, […]

Ross Paterson
Feb 22, 20242 min read


Curiosity Leads to Alignment
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 […]

Ross Paterson
Feb 1, 20242 min read
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