Systemize Your Success Podcast

🎙 In this episode of the Systemize Your Success podcast, Dr. Steve Day explores the Fathom AI Notetaker. He details why it has become the preferred choice for his business over other alternatives. Additionally, he discusses the essential role of AI note-taking apps in enhancing productivity and communication within teams, highlighting Fathom's impressive free version and affordable premium features.

Listeners will learn how to maximise the app's capabilities, including unlimited storage, real-time highlights, and seamless integration with tools like Slack and Zapier. Steve also shares insights on how to efficiently manage meeting notes and action points, making it easier for teams to access important information.

So, tune in to discover how Fathom can transform your business meetings and improve collaboration.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

💡 Fathom as the Preferred AI Note-Taking App: Fathom was chosen over other AI note-taking apps because of its impressive features. It offers a robust free version and a reasonably priced premium version. The premium version includes additional team functionalities.

💡 Enhanced Meeting Management: Using Fathom helps businesses efficiently summarise meetings. Additionally, it features clickable timestamps and action points. This makes it easier for team members to revisit important discussions without sifting through lengthy recordings.

💡 Unlimited Free Storage: Fathom provides unlimited storage for meeting recordings at no cost. This eliminates the need for businesses to use other storage solutions. For example, Google Drive can quickly fill up.

💡 Real-Time Highlighting Feature: Fathom includes a unique feature for capturing highlights during meetings in real-time. Users can share these highlights via Slack or save them for later use. This ensures that important moments are not forgotten.

💡 Integration with Zapier: Upgrading to the premium version enables integration with Zapier. This allows users to automate sharing meeting summaries and highlights. They can share across various platforms, such as Google Docs and Asana. This enhances team collaboration and accessibility.

BEST MOMENTS

00:51 - 💬 “We’ve settled on Fathom because of some of its amazing features. The fact that the free version is absolutely awesome.”

03:31  - 💬 “And because it's transcribed, you can actually search the transcript as well to find any instance of a keyword or a phrase that was said. So it's really easy to actually go back to the exact point that you want.”

11:04 - 💬 “It helps me with my incredibly forgetful brain because I can go back and find stuff just by remembering what it was about.”

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 AI note-taking app improves meeting recall efficiency.

03:41 Fathom offers free unlimited meeting storage online.

09:18 Zap enhances meeting organisation, access, and summaries efficiently.

10:32 Fathom enhances meeting recall, search, and sharing.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

🎙 In this episode of the Systemize Your Success podcast, Dr. Steve Day engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Robin Hills, a renowned business psychologist and expert in emotional intelligence. They explore emotional intelligence's profound impact on business owners, leaders, and managers, enhancing performance, relationships, and overall job satisfaction.

Robin emphasises the importance of understanding emotions in decision-making and the necessity of empathy in client interactions. The discussion also touches on the relevance of mindfulness in improving productivity and the unique human qualities that artificial intelligence cannot replicate.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into leveraging emotional intelligence to foster better communication, leadership, and, ultimately, a more fulfilling work environment.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

💡 Definition of Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence is being smart with your feelings, combining thinking and emotions to make authentic decisions and build quality relationships.

💡 Importance for Business Owners: Recognizing and understanding emotions is crucial for business owners, as emotions underpin decision-making, learning, and overall human experience. This awareness can lead to better client relationships and improved business outcomes.

💡 Empathy in Client Interactions: Empathy is essential for understanding clients' emotions and needs. Moreover, by stepping into their shoes and seeing situations from their perspective, business owners can foster better relationships and enhance service delivery.

💡 Mindfulness and Presence: Mindfulness involves being present and focused on the current moment, which can improve communication and decision-making.  Additionally, it allows individuals to recognise their limitations and seek input from others, enhancing collaboration and understanding.

💡 Complementing Artificial Intelligence: Emotional intelligence is a vital human skill that complements artificial intelligence. While AI can handle data and automate tasks, it lacks the ability to understand and respond to human emotions, making emotional intelligence increasingly important in business and leadership.

BEST MOMENTS

04:16 - 💬 “It's being smart with your feelings. It's the way in which you combine your thinking with your feelings in order to make good, authentic decisions and build up quality relationships with a view to taking action.” - Robin Hills

10:41 - 💬 “What we've got to do is to remember, particularly when we're working with clients, and everybody is a client, that it's more about them. It's about fulfilling their needs rather than fulfilling my needs.” - Robin Hills

17:53 - 💬 “Most people think of mindfulness as going into some sort of trance and sitting around with just sticks and going home, and mindfulness is not it's being very much in the present moment and focusing and concentrating on what you're doing in the present moment.” - Robin Hills

26:45 - 💬 “Emotional intelligence gives us the ability to innovate, to be creative, to be artistic, to be compassionate, to be empathetic, to be a leader. And all of these things are going to be vital for the future.” - Robin Hills

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 Improve business success with emotional intelligence insights.

05:49 Discussing client compatibility and emotional perception differences.

09:15 Empathy is hindered by emotional reactions.

12:04 Align message with client's focus and priorities.

13:58 Marketing challenges: audience understanding and message reception.

19:23 Embrace awareness and humility in leadership focus.

20:47 ADHD discovery became both a strength and a challenge.

23:43 Everyone exists uniquely on their spectrum.

28:42 AI can't replicate human emotional connection.

32:44 Emotional responses are shaped by hormones, environment, and experiences.

35:47 Provides online emotional intelligence training and courses.

37:34 Conflict, communication, confidence, guidance, recruitment, organisational fit.

44:59 Embrace mistakes; grow through experience and adaptation.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

🎙 Dr Steve Day shares valuable insights on the importance of process optimization and continual improvement within a business. After a recent meeting with a staff member, he highlights how revisiting and streamlining existing systems can lead to significant time savings—potentially up to six weeks a year.

Furthermore, Steve emphasizes the necessity of adapting to changes in technology, team dynamics, and business needs. He also encourages entrepreneurs to empower new employees to provide fresh perspectives on outdated processes.

By leveraging tools like Asana, Zapier, and Slack, he illustrates how simplifying workflows can enhance efficiency and, therefore, free up time for more valuable tasks.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

💡 Continuous Process Optimization: Systemization is an ongoing process that requires regularly revisiting and updating systems to adapt to technological changes, team capabilities, and business needs.

💡 Fresh Perspectives from New Staff: Bringing in new employees provides an opportunity to evaluate existing processes. Moreover, their fresh eyes can identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement that long-term staff may overlook.

💡 Empower Staff to Speak Up: Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts on processes can lead to significant improvements. Additionally, encouraging honesty about challenges can help streamline operations.

💡 Eliminate Redundancies: Reviewing and simplifying processes can save substantial time. For example, eliminating unnecessary tasks and projects can free up hours to be redirected to more valuable activities.

💡 Focus on Core Processes: Regularly assess core processes, such as financial receivables, to ensure efficiency. Streamlining these processes can lead to significant time and cost savings, ultimately enhancing overall business performance.

BEST MOMENTS

01:40 - 💬 “You will never finish systemising your business because things change.”

05:00 - 💬 “When we bring someone new in, it's a huge opportunity to get a fresh pair of eyes on processes, for someone to tell us, this is difficult, this doesn't make sense, I'm struggling.”

10:49 - 💬 “Take check now and again to revisit some of your old existing processes, the core processes that aren't going to go away and make sure they are efficient.”

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 New staff highlighted the need for a system overhaul.

04:45 Encourage new hires to improve company processes.

10:25 Simplify processes to save time and money.

11:47 Mind inefficient processes; optimize them for efficiency.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

🎙 In this episode of the Systemize Your Success podcast, Dr Steve Day is interviewed by Josh Keegan on the Ultimate FD Podcast, where they delve into essential topics for entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses. They discuss the importance of creating effective systems, particularly in managing virtual teams and documenting processes to free business owners from being overwhelmed by daily tasks. 

Steve shares practical tools such as screen capture software and flowchart techniques to help entrepreneurs delegate effectively and streamline operations. The conversation also covers strategies for managing remote workers, enhancing communication efficiency, and the significance of establishing a supportive company culture. 

Tune in for valuable insights to help you optimise your business processes and improve team performance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

💡 Importance of Systems: Establishing clear systems and processes is crucial for business owners to avoid being the sole knowledge repository. Documenting tasks ensures that operations can continue smoothly even when key personnel are unavailable.

💡 Utilizing Tools for Documentation: Screen capture tools and flowcharts are essential for capturing processes. Recording tasks while performing them and creating visual representations of workflows can help train new team members and maintain consistency.

💡 Delegation and Team Empowerment: Encouraging team members to document their processes and create systems fosters a culture of ownership and efficiency. This alleviates the burden on the business owner and empowers employees to take initiative.

💡 Structured Communication: Implementing a structured meeting framework, such as daily stand-ups, weekly one-on-ones, and project meetings, helps maintain clear communication and accountability within the team. This structure minimises interruptions and ensures that everyone is aligned on priorities.

💡 Effective Management of Virtual Teams: Understanding the cultural context of team members and developing management skills are vital for leading virtual teams. Setting up a supportive environment with clear expectations and regular check-ins can significantly enhance team performance and morale.

BEST MOMENTS

02:16 - 💬 “Getting stuff out of people's heads and down in a way that anyone can do it without the involvement of the business owner or the knowledgeable worker is key to us not leading or finding ourselves in really sticky situations.” - Steve Day

03:20 - 💬 “The more that I've delegated over the years, the more I realise if we have a good way of getting stuff out of our heads and hand it over to somebody else, they have more time to think about it and do it, and often they'll end up doing better than we could.” - Steve Day

07:52 - 💬 “One of the first systems I ever created was aptly named the system for creating systems. And so when somebody joins our company... the first thing they learn is how to document what they do in such a way that it will be done in the same way by everybody.” - Steve Day

20:41 - 💬 “If you can afford to hire somebody with the expertise, knowledge, experience, know-how, aptitude, integrity... then you're probably not at the stage in your business where you can afford that sort of person.” - Steve Day

35:04 - 💬 “I get my comms manager to sit in on that meeting with me... and so to go from the situation where I was doing everything myself to now where I just do a few things that need either... there's no process for it.” - Steve Day

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 Systems are crucial for business resilience.

05:30 Use standardised flowcharts for efficient business systemisation.

07:51 System for Crane Systems teaches consistent documentation.

12:13 A Simple documentation system saves countless hours yearly.

16:21 Managing entrepreneurs, effective communication, delegation, virtual teams

18:27 A Structured, organised environment fosters successful professional relationships.

21:43 Hire reliable, instruction-following assistants for consistent results.

25:37 Daily brief meetings to discuss work updates.

29:16 5-star structured weekly meetings for longer projects.

32:37 Delegate tasks to focus on future priorities.

36:06 Virtual assistant usage for social media messaging.

37:41 Transitioning to an AI-driven knowledge base with SimpleBase.

41:55 GoHighLevel allows manual scheduling overrides; Calendly doesn't.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Dr Steve Day

🎙 In this episode of the Systemize Your Success podcast, Dr. Steve Day shares insights on effectively supporting remote contractors. He focuses on incentivising them through health care and health insurance benefits. Initially, Steve was sceptical about the longevity of remote workers in his company. However, his perspective has evolved as he has built a dedicated team that plays a crucial role in his business.

He discusses the importance of offering contractors an annual allowance for health insurance. He highlights resources like mariahealth.ph to help them find suitable options. Additionally, he mentions the benefits of PhilHealth in the Philippines. Steve emphasises the significance of fostering long-term relationships with contractors. This approach enhances business efficiency.

Tune in for practical tips on creating a supportive work environment that encourages contractors to stay engaged and committed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

💡 Shift in Mindset: Initially, people believed that remote workers would not stay long-term. Over time, however, the importance of these contractors has been recognised. This recognition has led to a more committed approach to their roles.

💡 Incentivizing Long-Term Commitment: Offering benefits such as health care allowances can effectively encourage contractors to stay with the business. This approach helps build loyalty and reduces turnover.

💡 Health Care Options: Providing contractors with an annual allowance to purchase their own health insurance is a practical way to support their well-being. Resources like mariahealth.ph can help them find suitable options based on their circumstances.

💡 PhilHealth as an Additional Benefit: Offering PhilHealth is not legally required for foreign employers. However, it can be a valuable addition to the benefits package. PhilHealth provides reduced costs for medical services and hospitalisations.

💡 Legal Considerations: When working with contractors, it's crucial to navigate employment laws carefully to avoid misclassification as employees. Consulting with legal experts, such as those from Coffee Clatch, can help ensure compliance.

BEST MOMENTS

01:59 - 💬 “They are how we function. They do everything. They are way, way more than, in inverted commas, the virtual assistant that people often think about.”

04:03 - 💬 “Keeping people around, not having to go through the whole hiring process, the cost and the time, not having to do a trial and error of finding someone good.”

07:59 - 💬 “I just wanted to emphasise- A, that we can offer some great incentives for people to keep coming back and working for us for the long term.”

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 How to retain knowledgeable, efficient, and reliable employees.

04:00 Offer allowance for health insurance, ensuring retention.

08:19 Be mindful; consider legal advice for contractors.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

KoffeeKlatch Legal Services: 

KoffeeKlatch provides small business owners with expert legal advice, HR contracts, data protection, and GDPR support.  Having the right agreement, terms of engagement and data-protection contract with your VA can protect your business and clients.