The Salsa Won’t Eat Itself?

“SHOUT OUT TO CASSIE ON BAR”

“SHOUT OUT TO JONATHAN.”

“PLEASE EAT THE CHURROS.” (They are also not going to eat themselves.)

I was sitting in my clients’ parents’ Air BnB in Carlsbad, CA in April. And there was a wedding reception happening in the park across the street which was, at most, 100 ft from my bedroom. 

I could hear everything the announcer was saying and it was honestly kind of an out-of-body experience. 

Because. . . 

About an hour into participating in this wedding from the house across the street I realized that THE ANNOUNCER WAS ME. 

What I mean is that if I were to emcee your wedding, I would sound just like that guy. 

SHOUT OUT TO THIS

SHOUT OUT TO THAT

SHOUT OUT TO THIS OTHER THING

I am a big fan of the shout out. 

It was interesting. 

It is also BY FAR not the only time or even the second or third time that has happened to me this year. 

I HAVE SPENT THIS WHOLE YEAR WATCHING SOMEONE ELSE BE THE KATIE OF THE SITUATION. 

It started in February with this gal:

That’s Amanda Thomsen, my podcast partner. 

Normally I am the one willing to be the whackiest for comic relief, but in her I have met my match. I’m the straight man of the podcast – bringing it back to business.

I’m working on a project with someone else where instead of ME being the enthusiastic extroverted go go go sales person, HE is the enthusiastic extroverted go go go sales person. I’m the administrative, um, stick in the mud?

My family went to Symphony on the Prairie for their July 4th concert, and instead of my Mom and me bring everything, my AUNT brought everything. 

She brought festive patriotic star spangled wrapped napkins and six kinds of sandwiches. There was a whole cake and a basket of chips. Bean salad and fruit and dip and this and that and a bottle of ketchup. 

(I’m still not sure what the ketchup was for other than Grandpa Inman, the deceased patriarch of that side of the family put ketchup on everything so there always has to be a bottle of ketchup on the table.)

It was AMAZING. 

Tami and I are working on some projects for MGN Liners, a tissue culture lab and liner grower in Texas. Project one was to build a new website, but WE WERE NOT THE BUILDERS nor were we the project managers. We were the horticulture consultants and industry experts. Consultores Web from Monterrey, Mexico were the team leading the build and if I could, I’d work on EVERY project with them. They are SO organized. They are SO smart. They are SO efficient. They are SO COLLABORATIVE.

Time after time after time after time this year I’ve watched someone walk around in MY shoes. 

It was like holding a mirror up to my face, except it wasn’t exactly me I was looking at. 

It was better. 

I got to watch other people behaving in ways similar to the way I behave and then I got to watch other people’s reactions (and my own reaction) to that behavior. 

And I have gotten to do it over and over and over again this year. 

I highly recommend it. 

Watching other people do the things that I do and behave the way I know myself to behave is like looking in a mirror but in a less personal way. 

Observing others allows enough distance to process and think about things that I do without my response being overly tied to myself – in celebration or in judgement. 

As a business owner managing outcomes for multiple clients and contractors — with so much responsibility for the wellbeing of others — I have to protect my confidence and my energy. (Said another way: I can’t be so hard on myself and ashamed of myself that I can’t function.)

I don’t have the luxury of self-doubt.

But as a business owner responsible for the wellbeing of so many others, I also don’t have the luxury of avoiding self-examination. 

Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. Does it work that way with people? Someone studied it. Their research was essentially about stimulus and response, using Newton’s law as a metaphor to frame the research. The peer review commentary is instructive. It essentially stated that as a direct metaphor, the concept falls apart, but that the research into stimulus and response was useful.

Whether we sell plants or grow them, build websites or write articles, give talks or send marketing emails, we are doing business with other people and people, when presented with a stimulus, respond.

Somehow. 

Not necessarily with an equal and opposite reaction. Humans are not that predictable. But they will respond. The question is, out of all of the responses, how do you then react and does that reaction help you meet. your business goals?

Here’s a stimulus: Micromanaging

Here’s the Merriam-Webster definition:
micromanaged; micromanaging; micromanages

transitive verb: to manage especially with excessive control or attention to details
transitive verb

Micromanaging is a behavior. You can observe someone doing it and you can observe how people respond.

So how do people being micromanaged respond? 

Here’s what I’ve observed in staff, contractors, and employees working with a manager that behaves this way:

• Pushing back: Extreme amount of documentation produced by the staff for the manager to approve, overbuilt processes and procedures leading to inefficiency
   
• Checking out: Refraining from offering ideas or insight “doing as told,” displaying anxious behaviors, projecting lack of self confidence, little to no problem solving,
   
• And in both cases: low sense of accountability. (Because all responsibility has effectively been taken away from them.)

Does any of that seem like it leads to a successful business? 

No. 

And yet, micromanaging persists. 

My secret: I am a recovering micromanager

It is NOT a secret that I went through some massive growing pains in my business between 2020 and 2022. 

Most of it was related to learning how to stop grabbing the wheel every time something didn’t go the way I wanted it to go.

It was about learning how to put the metrics and instructions in place so that I could allow everyone working with me to act in ways that are COMPLETELY OPPOSITE of those being micromanaged. 

It was about learning to trust my team. 

It was about learning how to behave in a way allowing them to trust me.

I’m still a work in progress — everybody is. 

What I can say from putting in a lot of hard work in this area is that I’m a lot happier and less stressed  now that I’m not as micromanagy. 

My business has grown in a sustainable way, because the systems and metrics and processes put in place to limit my micromanaging ALSO TURN OUT TO BE REALLY SOLID FUNDAMENTALS OF RUNNING A BUSINESS!

Is my team happier? 

You’d have to ask them. 

SHOUTOUT to everyone doing the work!

I did an entire Instastory series about the wedding (SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE WHO WATCHED!) and I fished those out of the archives and made a highlight so you can hear for yourself JUST HOW LOUD THE MUSIC WAS. 

This is much less of a “here are 10 examples of how to apply this thing in your business” newsletter than usual. It’s more of a “one thing to do in your business newsletter.”

Here’s that thing: 

Find the “You” in situations and cozy up to them. Let them be the most you while you watch. 

See what you can learn about yourself as it relates to your business. 

Then use it. 

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You’ll never believe what we talked about next!

Have you caught the podcast? If you like it, I’d love you to tell me what you like! 

If you don’t, don’t worry about it. Scurry along! 

We’ve recorded 20 episodes and I actually DO like listening to them. I feel like by saying the things out loud, I hold myself more accountable.

You can find the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more!
There is a fair amount of swearing, so not a good “kids in the car” listen. You’ve been warned!

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Handy Links

Each newsletter always has a mix of fun and functional links.  Here they are! Have a link to share? Send it to me!

Is your POS a POS?
Maybe? Here’s how to tell and what to do about it

What do bridges have to do with your business?
Read about that here

THIS is a cool idea for Garden Centers & Plant Shops

AI and Google Search: An update
Tami forwarded me this one. It’s got good updates.

Books!
LOVED THIS ONE.

Software Comparison
Looking to buy new software? This website doesn’t have everything, but it has a lot. It also shows you what sorts of questions you should be asking and things you should be comparing if you make your own matrix.

What does ROAS mean?
If you own a business you’ve probablay heard someone say “ROW-as” in a conversation. That is ROAS, or Return on Ad Spend. If you do Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or any other type of advertising (including boosting posts) – if you SPEND MONEY on ads, understanding ROAS will help you do it better.

Need help with any of that? Reply and tell me what’s on your mind. 

Have a great week!