Monday Morning Mojo

Failures may seem like just that at the time they occur—failures. However, if viewed and responded to properly, they have the potential to act as great learning opportunities. Recognize failures as chances to grow as an individual and a professional and the outcome may just become more rewarding than detrimental. One instance of doing the right thing does not always guarantee success as a result....

Referencing "The Goal", a novel by  Eliyahou   Goldratt , Phil acknowledges that when working to make improvements in your business, sometimes the most important plan of action is to simply refocus on the basics. Desired outcomes are only attainable if the root causes are identified and polished first. Today's episode highlights four vital areas of concentration that every leader must focus on in...

Today, we highlight the often-unrecognized value of employing interns. From their youthful energy, creativity and technological skills, as well as, their eagerness to work, interns provide increased capacity to ultimately strengthen your firm. However, the value doesn't end there. By hiring interns, you provide them with the experience and knowledge to grow as professionals and leaders, which in t...

Upon first glance, flying a kite and running a business may seem like activities that have nothing in common. Upon further consideration, however, we realize that the same fundamentals are consistent in both. For one, you must have high quality, durable resources, and a proper design. For another, you must be a quick learner and understand your limits. And perhaps most importantly, you must be cap...

Annual traditions mark the passing of time—the beginning of a new season. The opening games of the MLB season, the end of March Madness, and the Masters Golf Tournament are all traditions indicating that Spring has sprung, and it is time to turn over to a new chapter. As we enter this season of renewal, we challenge all of you to take time away from your busy schedule to slow down and truly apprec...

We all have our individual perspectives shaped by our personal experiences. Within each of these perspectives are blind spots that can impede our success, which we cannot entirely eliminate, but we can work to minimize. Today, we stress the importance of utilizing routines and other people to counter-balance our own perspectives. Being open to perspectives different from our own allows us to evolv...

When we get on a roll, we tend to stress less about the outcome of an upcoming event. With less stress, the results tend to be more positive. On this week's episode, Phil narrows down two terms that can change the way we view, understand, and tackle success in our everyday lives: perspective and confidence. By not only understanding confidence but also applying it to the tasks at hand, we are more...

Think about a friend or family member who is going through a tough time. How engaged are you in communicating to that person that you are there for them during this hardship? In this week's episode, we challenge you to connect with this individual. Communicate to them that you know they are hurting, that you care about them, and that you want to be there for them throughout this journey. We unders...

The adage, "two heads are better than one," is almost always true. If this is the case, why do most businesses struggle with teaming and collaboration? In this episode, we explore the five challenges or dysfunctions, as determined by Patrick Lencioni,  that every team MUST tackle head-on in order to be successful. The ability to collaborate, to leverage resources and team across multiple specialis...

If you see it, you'll believe it. If you believe it, you'll achieve it. Goal visualization is a tactic used by many of the world's most successful people, and it's one that you can apply in your own life with a little time, effort, and the right mindset. On today's episode, Phil walks you through the steps of defining your goals and practicing visualization to bring them to life. We challenge you...

As humans, we innately worry about change, especially following a loss. However, life moves on and with time we do too. Citing the 1985 Country song, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes," Phil recognizes that though nobody may ever replicate the valued characteristics of a late mentor, we can honor their lives by paying it forward and developing the next generation of leaders to their full potential.  ...

Close-minded people are often shielded from all of the opportunities, ideas, and experiences that life has to offer. These are the people who are desperately seeking growth but are unwilling to consider a new approach than the one they are currently taking. In today's episode, Phil explores the power of openness to anything new, whether that is people, ideas, relationships, locations, etc. Opennes...

Human error does not always come in the form of a blanket mistake. It is also present when something could have been done better, even if the doer did not recognize the missed opportunity. We all know that human error is inevitable, but in the professional field it is essential to mitigate them at all costs or the consequences could be dire. In this episode, we discuss one of the most simple ways...

Cannon Financial Institute, like many others, has a strong history that to which we can attribute much of the company's current success. Most would agree that it is important to study this history to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. In today's episode, however, Phil highlights that the power of studying history extends much farther than that alone. We must go deeper than simply recogniz...

We are constantly looking for ways to make our things more valuable to us, whether that means making home improvements or upgrading to a new phone.  Why don't we spend the same amount of time looking for ways to make ourselves more valuable? In this week's episode, Phil addresses four areas of our lives that we should all focus on improving. By evaluating our competencies and actively working to g...

In general, everything we do has the potential to expose our strengths and vulnerabilities. It is recognizing these "life moments" for what they are that gives each of us the opportunity to refine our processes, methodologies, and even our character.    If you missed the College Football Championship game, you missed a lot of "life moments." In this episode, Phil helps us identify both the subtle...

In this week's episode, Phil shares a colleague's experience of a dramatic and sudden change in his business.  The reasons for the change share common themes from which we can all learn and grow.    Technology allows us to develop systems and routines in our business which helps to ensure faithful and consistent execution of relationship best practices.  However, what good is a system without a ge...

What differentiates quality? In this episode, we encourage you to look beyond the "raw ingredients" of a product or service into the subtle details and cumulative efforts which create a client's experience. Efficiencies and scale often allow for price compressions.  Technological advances provide both advisor and client with access to resources once only accessible to a select few.  However, an ad...

Today, Phil is joined by Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Alliances, Theresa Silcox. The two discuss their viewpoints on relationships and how to strengthen and protect those relationships both inside and outside the workplace.   In this episode of First Friday Feedback, we address the question "How to effectively navigate a successful sales interaction?" by determining if one's sal...

With this first episode of the new year, we are setting the bar high. The challenge, eliminate the phrase "good enough" from your vocabulary.    For too long, these two words have been muttered without tangible consequences. We assert, "it's good enough," and neglect to truly analyze the weight behind our words. "Good enough" limits innovation; it does not create a stage for excellence, but builds...

As the old saying goes, "life is too short to cry over spilled milk," and this week we encourage you to leave that "spilled milk" and any bad experiences in 2017 behind. It is the time of year to reorganize your workspace, clean and focus your mind, and throw away any animosity related to negative experiences. The countdown to 2018 has officially begun, and each of us must take this opportunity to...

'Twas the Thursday before Christmas and we have a poem to share; To remind us all of the best gift this time of year. These next few days as you prepare for Christmas Day – baking cookies for Santa, washing carrots for Comet and Rudolph, stuffing stockings, or making last minute trips to the mall to find the perfect gift for your loved ones – make sure you always remind yourself what this season i...

As Bill Murray so aptly described in the famous movie Scrooge, the holiday season is a time we "act a little nicer, we smile a little easier and we cheer a little more." Some people do this naturally and constantly while others struggle with the words.   This Monday morning, we challenge you to do two simple yet impactful tasks that will put you in the holiday spirit. First, we encourage you to in...

You're playing a round of golf and the conditions are quite favorable – the greens are slightly grown out and thus a bit slower, the weather is calm and the pin placements are all in relatively easy positions. You shoot the lowest round of your life, a score on par with the pros playing in the Wyndham Championship that week. Do you set out for PGA tour school and become a touring pro? Probably not...

According to Urban Dictionary, "Adulting" is a term typically used by those who "adult" less than 50% of the time, and describes an individual who seeks to carry out "one or more of the duties and responsibilities expected of fully developed individuals." It is with humor that we observe the younger generation either transitioning into their first jobs or even getting married, and refer to their a...