Because the way you finish the year determines how you start the next. Most people coast through Q4, but this episode gives you the mindset, strategy, and tools to:
• Refocus your energy on what truly matters in life, career, and business.
• Eliminate distractions and dead weight that keep you from crossing the finish line strong.
• Leverage the 80/20 rule to get maximum results in minimum time.
• Turn Q4 momentum into a launchpad for your best year yet.
Don’t just limp to December 31st. Sprint with purpose, power, and a splash of style.
It’s the final stretch of the year, the last quarter, where momentum matters most. In this episode of Serving Up Success with a Splash, Bruce Cramer (The Corporate Cockroach), Angie Snowball (The Renaissance Woman), and Dr. Nawtej Dosanjh (The Strategy Doctor) break down what it takes to close Q4 with clarity, focus, and fire. From setting priorities that matter, to re-igniting motivation, to making those small adjustments that create big results, you’ll walk away with practical tools and a renewed sense of urgency.
Cocktail of the Week: The B-52 Cocktail
Ingredients
• 1/2 oz Kahlúa (coffee liqueur – the strong base, like discipline)
• 1/2 oz Baileys Irish Cream (the smooth middle, like balance in life)
• 1/2 oz Grand Marnier (the bright top, like explosive results in Q4)
Instructions
1. Use a shot glass.
2. Slowly pour Kahlúa into the glass (first layer).
3. Gently layer Baileys over the back of a spoon so it floats on top (second layer).
4. Repeat with Grand Marnier for the final layer (third layer).
5. Serve immediately—no stirring, the beauty is in the layers.
www.angiesnowball.com www.brucecramer.com iniciahub.com/
Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the .
In this first segment of Serving Up Success with a Splash, the hosts set the stage for the final quarter of the year by highlighting the importance of closing strong in both business and life. Bruce Cramer urges leaders to proactively engage clients, identify remaining budget opportunities, and set goals that will make them proud, framing Q4 as a sprint that builds momentum for the new year. Angie Snowball and Dr. Nawtej Dosanjh add that goals and resolutions often evolve, but staying intentional—whether through tracking resolutions, adopting a guiding word, or launching new initiatives—empowers leaders to control their outcomes and finish the year positioned to win.
In this segment of Serving Up Success with a Splash, the hosts shift the Q4 conversation toward identifying and dropping “baggage” that holds leaders back from finishing the year strong. Nawtej Dosanjh highlights that baggage isn’t always obvious, stressing the value of trusted feedback and accountability partners to uncover blind spots. Bruce Cramer adds that unchecked habits—like time lost to podcasts, too many cocktails, or perfectionism—can drain energy and focus, while Angie Snowball emphasizes the importance of writing down musts, shoulds, and woulds to prioritize effectively. Together, they challenge leaders to reflect honestly, shed distractions, and streamline their goals so they can sprint into Q4 with clarity and momentum.
In this segment of Serving Up Success with a Splash, Dr. Nawtej Dosanjh frames Q4 through the lens of strategy, stressing that the true power of strategy lies not in planning but in effective implementation. He challenges Bruce Cramer and Angie Snowball to reflect on when leaders should focus on innovation versus efficiency, and both highlight the importance of deadlines, reflection, and the ability to pivot at the right time. The discussion sets up their next theme around the 80/20 rule—reminding business leaders that most results come from a small portion of their actions, making it critical to focus on what truly drives impact.
In the closing segment of Serving Up Success with a Splash, the hosts tie their Q4 discussion together with the principle of the 80/20 rule. Bruce Cramer illustrates how focusing on high-impact family traditions yields the greatest return on time and relationships, while Angie Snowball admits the need to shift from low-return one-on-one work toward scalable online courses. Dr. Nawtej Dosanjh adds that being too ruthless with time can cause leaders to miss opportunities, highlighting the importance of balance. Their final takeaways emphasize finishing the year strong by prioritizing must-do goals, dropping unnecessary baggage, and preparing smarter strategies for the year ahead.
00:00:49.010 --> 00:00:56.509 Bruce Cramer: Welcome back to Serving Up Success with a Splash, where life, career, and business
00:00:56.720 --> 00:01:06.209 Bruce Cramer: meets a little bar room banter. I'm Bruce Kramer, aka The Corporate Cockroach, and boy, do we have a show for you tonight.
00:01:06.330 --> 00:01:21.029 Bruce Cramer: We are now heading into the final stretch of the year, the last quarter, and we're here to talk about how do we close the year out with clarity, focus, and fire. Because you know what?
00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:23.630 Bruce Cramer: The way you finish the year.
00:01:23.930 --> 00:01:33.139 Bruce Cramer: determines how you're gonna start next year. So being proactive, we're gonna kick it in. And let me introduce my co-hosts!
00:01:34.010 --> 00:01:36.780 Angie Snowball: Angie Snowball, the Renaissance woman.
00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:39.610 nawtej dosanjh: ING, Cyber.
00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:45.409 Angie Snowball: I'm not as energetic as Bruce tonight. He's like, wah! I'm like, hey, I'm here.
00:01:45.410 --> 00:01:51.419 nawtej dosanjh: Oh, this is a hell of a great thing. He's got all the energy, he's take… he's taken all the drugs for all three of us tonight.
00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:53.579 Angie Snowball: It's like, got easier.
00:01:53.790 --> 00:01:56.079 Angie Snowball: Not anymore. Not anymore.
00:01:56.080 --> 00:01:57.240 nawtej dosanjh: Not anymore.
00:01:57.240 --> 00:01:59.210 Bruce Cramer: Not any less.
00:02:00.130 --> 00:02:17.580 nawtej dosanjh: Nice to see you both. I'm Natej Desange, I'm the Strategy Doctor. I'm particularly looking forward to this week's show, because I'm looking forward to learning a lot from you guys, because I'm not sure I've been in that sort of situation where the pressure's on in the final quarter, so I'm really looking forward to
00:02:17.640 --> 00:02:22.100 nawtej dosanjh: Asking a lot of searching questions, and learning a lot, so…
00:02:22.700 --> 00:02:24.960 nawtej dosanjh: Really, really looking forward to the show.
00:02:25.270 --> 00:02:26.949 nawtej dosanjh: Before we start, though.
00:02:27.760 --> 00:02:44.740 nawtej dosanjh: We have a splash, we always have a cocktail. This week's cocktail. It's late here in the UK, so I'm… and I've got an early start, so I'm not gonna have a drink, but I'm gonna enjoy… I'm gonna enjoy watching the guys drink, and here is the cocktail. It's called a B52, and it's…
00:02:44.950 --> 00:02:48.860 nawtej dosanjh: coffee liqueur, and I think it's called Kahulua…
00:02:49.350 --> 00:02:49.680 Angie Snowball: Hmm.
00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:53.759 nawtej dosanjh: half an ounce of Kahlua. I've never heard of that before, but half an ounce.
00:02:53.760 --> 00:02:57.950 Angie Snowball: That's fantastic in coffee. Why do you even drink coffee if you don't put Kahlua in it?
00:02:57.950 --> 00:03:15.350 nawtej dosanjh: Okay, from tomorrow, I'm looking for Carlua in my coffee. And then, half an ounce of Baileys. Oh, don't you just love Baileys? I drink it on its own, but sure, I'll mix it with this other stuff. And then, half an ounce of Grand Monnier.
00:03:15.490 --> 00:03:27.509 nawtej dosanjh: And, use a shot glass, slowly… you want… you want to try and get it layered, apparently, so slowly pour in the color first, then… Which is really hard. Look at that, look at that!
00:03:27.540 --> 00:03:28.130 Angie Snowball: It's…
00:03:28.130 --> 00:03:47.459 nawtej dosanjh: It's an ice cream, it's like a tiramisu in a glass. And then the Baileys, then the Grand Marnier. And obviously, not that anybody's told me this, the cocktail is formulated because each of the drinks, each of the ingredients has a different viscosity and a different,
00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:58.560 nawtej dosanjh: texture, and that's why the layering occurs. It looks fantastic, and I've got to say, I'm gonna try tomorrow, because I love Baileys, and I love Grand Marnier,
00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:11.389 nawtej dosanjh: And I think I'm gonna love Karlua, because I love coffee, so… there… there it is. We've got a packed show, and I've got so many questions for you guys. So, Bruce.
00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:15.030 nawtej dosanjh: Straight back at you. Let's, let's get, let's get rolling.
00:04:15.640 --> 00:04:16.929 Bruce Cramer: Wait, wait, real quick.
00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.989 Angie Snowball: Are we supposed to shoot this? Is that… or is it, like, drink, drink?
00:04:20.990 --> 00:04:22.259 Bruce Cramer: I can't… I put mine in.
00:04:22.260 --> 00:04:23.100 nawtej dosanjh: Come on.
00:04:23.100 --> 00:04:25.030 Angie Snowball: I mean, there's no way I could shoot this.
00:04:25.430 --> 00:04:29.410 nawtej dosanjh: I just don't want to drink it. It's so cute. It's a liqueur, it's a liqueur, so I don't think.
00:04:29.410 --> 00:04:39.929 Bruce Cramer: So, Angie, hold it up before you shoot it. It's layered. It's a metaphor for the first layer is life, the second is career, and the top is business.
00:04:40.340 --> 00:04:49.539 Angie Snowball: Oh my gosh, I am having a lot of happy accidents today. You would think I'm brilliant. I mean, don't make that mistake, but you would think.
00:04:50.150 --> 00:04:50.870 Bruce Cramer: Shoot it!
00:04:50.870 --> 00:04:53.200 Angie Snowball: lucky. Okay, I'm not gonna shoot it.
00:04:53.200 --> 00:04:57.210 nawtej dosanjh: Okay, Bruce, enough of the drink, enough of the focus on the drink, get on with it.
00:04:57.210 --> 00:05:06.449 Bruce Cramer: Alright, so as I said, we're into the last quarter of the year, and, you know, for businesses, this is awesome.
00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:20.210 Bruce Cramer: And in a business, when you're in that last quarter, and you're looking for you as another business to try to close out strong, you call your clients and find out, does anybody got any money left in their budgets?
00:05:20.210 --> 00:05:31.800 Bruce Cramer: Because they'll try to spend it, because, you know, typical of corporate, that determines next year's budget, so you better spend it or lose it. So if you're out there, look for those clients that got money and take them.
00:05:31.950 --> 00:05:35.330 Bruce Cramer: But this also applies to life.
00:05:35.930 --> 00:05:46.599 Bruce Cramer: There is so much you can do, you know, we're coming into the holiday season, here in the U.S, and, you know, it's a fun time.
00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:57.159 Bruce Cramer: So you can also think in terms of how do I finish strong in my life, and of course, as well within your career. So I wanted to put that out there.
00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:10.499 Angie Snowball: Yeah, this is the time you, like, look at that New Year's resolution that you made back in January, and you knew it was gone in February, but now you're like, oh, God, do I have time to do that? No, I think I… I think I screwed that up.
00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:13.240 Bruce Cramer: But you wanna…
00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:30.110 Bruce Cramer: But you want to use this time to build momentum, because what I find, when you do end the year strong, whether it's in your personal life, whether it's in your business, your career, it just feels really good, and it propels you
00:06:30.110 --> 00:06:36.779 Bruce Cramer: into the next year, as I said earlier. So, think of your last quarter here, the final lap.
00:06:36.830 --> 00:06:38.530 Bruce Cramer: As a sprint.
00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:58.130 Bruce Cramer: This is where it's, like, fourth and goal for those that are into football, and I'm a huge Packer fan, and of course they're playing right after the show. But think of this as your sprint. The next thing is lots of energy and urgency. This is the time to push the pedal to the metal. But…
00:06:58.670 --> 00:07:01.869 Bruce Cramer: Here's how you do that. You ask yourself.
00:07:01.970 --> 00:07:07.470 Bruce Cramer: What would make me proud if I completed it this way?
00:07:07.700 --> 00:07:08.760 Bruce Cramer: year.
00:07:08.930 --> 00:07:14.970 Bruce Cramer: If I completed this goal task this year, God, I would feel great!
00:07:15.250 --> 00:07:17.810 Bruce Cramer: So, Angie, what's your one?
00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:27.590 Angie Snowball: Well, I think it starts with the resolution, right? Because that's when you start out, that's what would have made you proud, that's why you made it, right? But…
00:07:27.590 --> 00:07:41.080 Angie Snowball: I don't know, everything changes during the year, right? Sometimes there's more than one reason you didn't do it. Maybe it's because your resolution changed. What would make you proud changed. At the beginning of this year, I didn't know I'd be on a podcast. I had no idea I'd have a podcast.
00:07:41.080 --> 00:07:51.889 Angie Snowball: Now, going out at the end of the year, one of the things that is making me proud, by the way, guys, thank you so much. We get 500 downloads a week now.
00:07:52.580 --> 00:07:57.689 Angie Snowball: We didn't believe it. I was like, I think they messed that up. I think there's the wrong sequence.
00:07:57.690 --> 00:07:59.480 Bruce Cramer: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
00:07:59.710 --> 00:08:24.620 Angie Snowball: It is… it's amazing. So, like, you know, that couldn't have been my goal, to say, man, we're gonna finish strong, we're gonna start monetizing our podcast at the beginning of the year, because I didn't have a podcast at the beginning of the year. So, I think it's okay when your resolutions change, and like Bruce says, it's time to sprint, it's time to drop your baggage, and be like, it's alright, you know, I didn't do that one, I'm gonna do something else. So, I think for me, one of the big ones is this podcast. We're doing a lot of cool
00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:41.069 Angie Snowball: stuff together, things you guys don't see yet, like, we're putting merch together, so you can have some cool, like, coasters and hoodies and shirts and, just a lot of new stuff happening with the podcast that's exciting. A lot of new people we're talking about bringing on. And then also,
00:08:41.070 --> 00:09:05.550 Angie Snowball: I think, personally, I've been working on, like, I have some LinkedIn courses that I just updated, and I've seen so many people that are not using this, and it's kind of embarrassing, like, some CEOs have very empty profiles. Like, I go to check out a company, I'm like, this guy's not… this guy doesn't do anything. I mean, you just don't know who he is, why would it work for him? So one of my personal goals is to, like, really put some effort into getting that
00:09:05.550 --> 00:09:22.840 Angie Snowball: course out there, because a lot of people ask me to do it in person, and that's great, and I love it, but there's so much more opportunity for me to get it out to more people if I start pushing the online, which I don't do. It's all me. So that's my big one for the end of the year, is start letting people know you don't have to do it in person.
00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:33.500 Angie Snowball: all online, and it's me. I mean, I still swear and say bad words and tell you I mess things up, so you get the same experience. Just get to do it on your own time. So that's mine. Natej, what's yours?
00:09:34.520 --> 00:09:36.860 nawtej dosanjh: Well, as I said at the beginning of the show.
00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:43.860 nawtej dosanjh: You know, it's hard for me to think this way in terms of the last quarter.
00:09:44.040 --> 00:09:51.049 nawtej dosanjh: Because… because I've never been in an environment where… where… where the last quarter is, you know.
00:09:51.420 --> 00:09:53.870 nawtej dosanjh: Anything different to…
00:09:53.870 --> 00:10:09.650 nawtej dosanjh: any other quarter, there's no… there's nothing to… to particularly, sort of, focus on. So I'm interested why this is a big, big thing, and I'm going to ask you guys that in a minute. Why is the… why is the fourth quarter a big thing? But to answer your… your question.
00:10:09.650 --> 00:10:19.120 nawtej dosanjh: in a roundabout way. So I'm… you know, people say, oh, I don't make New Year's resolutions, oh, I don't bother with that. I always make New Year's resolutions.
00:10:19.130 --> 00:10:22.010 nawtej dosanjh: And I always monitor them throughout the year.
00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:34.419 nawtej dosanjh: And I always get… I'm always focused on them. At any one point, I always know where I am against my resolutions, and how I'm gonna, achieve them. So, I think just having
00:10:34.780 --> 00:10:42.039 nawtej dosanjh: I have a long-term plan, always, a personal long-term plan, a life long-term, and a business long-term plan.
00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:46.530 nawtej dosanjh: But I'm really intrigued to know, to understand.
00:10:47.590 --> 00:11:03.469 nawtej dosanjh: what sectors, why is this fourth quarter thing a big thing? I have heard it before in sales companies. What's the… what's the big thing about this fourth quarter? And, you know, and maybe I need to get big about the fourth quarter. Can I understand it? Why… why is the fourth.
00:11:03.470 --> 00:11:04.080 Angie Snowball: No.
00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:05.729 nawtej dosanjh: Is she strong is such a big thing.
00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:11.460 Angie Snowball: It's because you're so strategic, and you're much more organized. You're… you're on track…
00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:12.419 nawtej dosanjh: Oh, come on!
00:11:12.420 --> 00:11:32.290 Angie Snowball: people like me are like, oh, shit, it's the fourth quarter, I should have done something by now. And then I gotta get back on track and figure out what I was doing, right? Like, you were saying, I read a really cool book this year, it was called One Word, I can't remember who wrote it. It was from… Nick Marianella told me about it. Love Nick if he ever listens. And instead of doing a resolution.
00:11:32.470 --> 00:11:56.549 Angie Snowball: to pick one word for the year, and everything you do is then powered by that word. So this year, I did much better than before, because the answer to your question for me, Natej, is why is the fourth quarter a big deal? It's because I forgot what my resolution was. I don't even know what I was trying to do. In February, I got busy, March, there were squirrels and sparkles, and I don't know what happened, and then fourth quarter, I'm like, oh my gosh, it's time, what did I do this year?
00:11:56.570 --> 00:12:02.960 Angie Snowball: And I find I didn't do it, because I'm not as strategic and organized as you. But this one word thing has helped me a lot, because.
00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:05.450 nawtej dosanjh: What's your… Can you share that?
00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:07.399 Angie Snowball: this year was belief.
00:12:07.780 --> 00:12:10.420 Angie Snowball: Because I feel like I struggle
00:12:10.420 --> 00:12:33.599 Angie Snowball: a lot with believing in myself and some of my decisions, but it was like, I have, like, a complicated family thing, and it was hard to, like, stay… stay on track with your doing the right thing. And then work-wise, I always feel like, even like I just said, like, we got 500 downloads a week, it's still me, like, are you curious? Do we make a mistake? And then immediately, I thought, no.
00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:51.410 Angie Snowball: belief. When… when Bruce showed me that, I was like, no, we did this, belief. So, all year long, that has helped me, versus, like, that one resolution of, okay, I'm gonna get in shape, I'm gonna do this, because, you know, February will come and go, I don't even remember what the hell it was. But this year, picking that word, I was much more strategic.
00:12:51.410 --> 00:12:53.979 Angie Snowball: And, going into the fourth quarter.
00:12:53.980 --> 00:13:04.849 Angie Snowball: I actually kind of know what the hell I'm doing, and that doesn't usually happen. Like, my poor business coach is like, okay, Angie, what are we doing? I'm like, I don't know, do you have ideas? Like, this poor guy's like, oh, crap.
00:13:04.850 --> 00:13:19.059 Angie Snowball: And this year, I have answers. Like, it really helped me focus. But to me, Natash, that's a very long-winded answer to why is Q4 a big thing. I think it's a big thing when you get off track, and you have adjustments, and you're like, okay, how am I going to do this?
00:13:19.060 --> 00:13:20.829 Angie Snowball: What worked, what didn't?
00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:37.149 nawtej dosanjh: Sorry, Angie, I wanted to get Bruce as well, because Bruce has been in corporate America, and he's just… he is the corporate cockroach. Bruce, why was this… why was the fourth quarter so important in your corporate career? I just… I'm dying to understand it.
00:13:37.650 --> 00:13:47.919 Bruce Cramer: Well, it served two purposes. One, it forces you to reflect. Where are we at? Now, you should be doing that no less than monthly, if not weekly.
00:13:48.010 --> 00:13:57.519 Bruce Cramer: But it does, you get towards that end of the year, and you are starting to think already of next year, so it's that chance to reflect. But what it's really all about.
00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:10.250 Bruce Cramer: is do you control your own destination? Do you create your destination? And the answer is 80% we control in our lives. And as a business.
00:14:10.540 --> 00:14:26.860 Bruce Cramer: You control 80% of your fate. Yes, there are market things that occur to businesses and industries and the economy, but at the end of the day, we're fooling ourselves if we think
00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:38.110 Bruce Cramer: we didn't have the ability to control. So when you get into that fourth quarter, you want to say, are we gonna hit it? Are we gonna make it? Or can we kill it?
00:14:38.130 --> 00:14:39.840 Bruce Cramer: Can we exceed
00:14:39.870 --> 00:14:48.149 Bruce Cramer: It's about, do you control your destination, and are you built to win, or are you built to lose?
00:14:49.180 --> 00:14:57.349 nawtej dosanjh: You know, Bruce, I'm inspired. That was… that was a… that was… that was inspirational. If I was in… if I was in your company in the fourth quarter, I'd be inspired.
00:14:58.090 --> 00:14:59.100 Angie Snowball: Yeah, I would too.
00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:01.770 nawtej dosanjh: You've done this a few times, haven't you?
00:15:01.770 --> 00:15:02.230 Bruce Cramer: Oh, God.
00:15:02.230 --> 00:15:09.210 Angie Snowball: Oh, there's a mic drop situation there, which was good, because Jesse's gonna make us go to break, so…
00:15:09.210 --> 00:15:14.019 nawtej dosanjh: Why do we have to get a break all the time? Okay, let's get a break.
00:17:30.030 --> 00:17:38.509 Angie Snowball: Oh, you guys really got moves. Always, but… Bruce is, like, really giving you a run for the money, Nutte. He's really getting into it lately.
00:17:38.510 --> 00:17:41.369 nawtej dosanjh: He is. I'm gonna take dance lessons, so I'll be… I'll be…
00:17:43.410 --> 00:17:44.439 Angie Snowball: Oh, that's funny.
00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:45.379 Bruce Cramer: I hear comments.
00:17:45.710 --> 00:17:50.269 Bruce Cramer: from everybody how well he dances, so now, I told you I'm competitive.
00:17:50.680 --> 00:18:05.350 Angie Snowball: Oh, that's what it is. You are! Like, for being the nicest guy in the world, you do have this, like, competitive streak that I did not expect, and it is, like, severe. Like, he's not kidding. That's why he's like, finish out Q4 strong. Hell yeah, I'm gonna win. You're gonna lose.
00:18:06.090 --> 00:18:07.049 Angie Snowball: No, it is.
00:18:07.530 --> 00:18:08.230 Angie Snowball: Everybody can…
00:18:08.230 --> 00:18:08.960 Bruce Cramer: win.
00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:33.729 Angie Snowball: I was gonna say, it's just about everybody losing, it's about everybody winning. But yeah, welcome back to the show, and we were getting into Q4, and Natesh took us through, like, why does this matter to you guys? Because he's Mr. Strategy, and he's all organized, and he's always on track. There's people like me who don't know what the hell's going on, so it's time for me to get back on track so that I can plan next year. And there's Bruce, who's used to running these, like, giant teams, it's like, I gotta get everybody
00:18:33.730 --> 00:18:58.629 Angie Snowball: everybody on track, and we gotta beat everything, we gotta be better than we thought we were gonna be. So I think everybody has their own reasons why it's time to take a look and reflect. And like Bruce said, some people do it, you know, we should be doing it monthly. Some people do it quarterly, some people don't do it until something goes wrong, or something major changes. But we should always look and reflect, and the end of the year is just a… it's a good time to do it, you know? It's fall, everything's changing, we're getting ready for next year.
00:18:58.630 --> 00:18:59.720 Angie Snowball: It's a good time.
00:18:59.750 --> 00:19:09.339 Angie Snowball: And one of the things that… we kind of opened with it, so I'm going to ask these guys, kind of a different question. We said, what's your biggest goal? But in order to really
00:19:09.340 --> 00:19:21.549 Angie Snowball: go forward and finish strong. Speaking of the sprint, I love that Bruce started with that, a sprint. You gotta drop your baggage. You don't want to run a sprint with another guy on your back, right? Or a backpack and all this baggage. You're not gonna win.
00:19:21.550 --> 00:19:26.869 Angie Snowball: So, one of the things for me, when we get to Q4, is to say, okay.
00:19:26.870 --> 00:19:50.179 Angie Snowball: Because I can honestly say nothing in my whole life has ever gone to plan for an entire year. And that's okay with me. I'm used to chaos, it works, it's how my brain works, I'm good with it. But it does mean I need to reevaluate, and I need to say, okay, what's working? What's not working? What do I have to get rid of in order to win? In order to do the things I want to do, I gotta get rid of my shoulds. What are my musts? What are my shoulds? Line them up.
00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:56.450 Angie Snowball: get them out of there, and start dropping that baggage. So, first question for you guys is.
00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:06.319 Angie Snowball: If you have any baggage, probably not, because you're both amazing, but if you have any stuff that's holding you back from really getting Q4, what's holding you back?
00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:22.530 Angie Snowball: And then, second question is, how are you going to drop that baggage? Because it's not always easy, even though you know what it is, to just say, okay, I'm not doing it. If it was easy, we wouldn't be doing it anyway, right? So, what's your baggage holding you back from winning that sprint, and what are you going to do about it?
00:20:23.540 --> 00:20:25.290 nawtej dosanjh: Can I go first on this one?
00:20:25.290 --> 00:20:25.900 Angie Snowball: Yeah.
00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:28.099 nawtej dosanjh: Yeah, okay. Thank you.
00:20:28.100 --> 00:20:29.210 Angie Snowball: Versus, like, thank God!
00:20:29.210 --> 00:20:40.199 nawtej dosanjh: So, well, the reason I wanted to go first is because I had a thought, and I thought, let me get it out there before I forget it, and then I have to come up with a, you know, less good answer. So…
00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:50.719 nawtej dosanjh: I thought that… and this has been, coming to me recently, it's been crystallizing in my mind recently, that,
00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:54.599 nawtej dosanjh: I think, with, with…
00:20:54.790 --> 00:21:00.159 nawtej dosanjh: the world becoming more complicated. We've talked about AI two or three times in our shows.
00:21:00.380 --> 00:21:13.420 nawtej dosanjh: And it's made the world complicated on the one hand, even though it's simplified the world in other ways. So the reason I say that is that, I got to really re-evaluate
00:21:13.930 --> 00:21:19.020 nawtej dosanjh: that… Oh, you might be carrying baggage, but you might not know what it is.
00:21:19.890 --> 00:21:26.810 nawtej dosanjh: So I've been really thinking through what baggage am I
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:39.099 nawtej dosanjh: do I have? But I don't know. And I don't know its baggage. And I think the reason, I thought this is because, I don't know, a few months ago, I can't even… I don't know exactly when.
00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:50.509 nawtej dosanjh: I had a situation where I was talking to somebody, and the thought occurred to me, oh my god, I thought I had no baggage. I thought I was, to coin Angie's phrase, I thought I was really strategic.
00:21:50.750 --> 00:21:52.550 nawtej dosanjh: But this is baggage.
00:21:52.790 --> 00:22:05.559 nawtej dosanjh: And I… I've been carrying it, and I didn't question it. So, what I've been doing recently to understand the baggage that I'm carrying is I've been going back to first principles.
00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:10.050 nawtej dosanjh: and making sure that I go and get feedback
00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:13.419 nawtej dosanjh: All the time, from very trusted people.
00:22:13.610 --> 00:22:14.800 nawtej dosanjh: That's tough.
00:22:14.800 --> 00:22:15.570 Angie Snowball: so important.
00:22:15.570 --> 00:22:17.329 nawtej dosanjh: other people's judgment.
00:22:17.760 --> 00:22:24.019 nawtej dosanjh: Like, just this week with you guys, remember, Bruce, this week, we were talking about…
00:22:24.020 --> 00:22:24.400 Angie Snowball: this week.
00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:41.259 nawtej dosanjh: And I said… I said, well, I don't know anything about brand, so whatever Angie says, that's my vote. So, long-winded answer, this is a really important topic, because we have more baggage than we used to.
00:22:41.260 --> 00:22:42.120 Bruce Cramer: Hab!
00:22:42.120 --> 00:22:46.130 nawtej dosanjh: And we don't realize what it is. Does that make sense, or was I rambling on?
00:22:46.130 --> 00:22:47.130 Angie Snowball: No, it was perfect.
00:22:47.130 --> 00:22:47.360 Bruce Cramer: Oh.
00:22:47.590 --> 00:23:04.300 Angie Snowball: I think at the end of the day, what we're all saying is, again, and so many of our episodes come back to this, you have to have a trusted accountability partner that can help you through all of this stuff. Someone you can really lay everything out and say.
00:23:04.300 --> 00:23:10.089 Angie Snowball: I don't… what am I missing? Because I don't care how good you are, it is impossible
00:23:10.090 --> 00:23:15.749 Angie Snowball: to see some things from the inside. Sometimes you have to be outside looking in to see
00:23:15.750 --> 00:23:35.560 Angie Snowball: everything. You need all the perspectives. You need the inside, you need the outside, you need the aerial vision. We need it all to get a full picture. So, I think that's brilliant. Just a reminder that… and it doesn't have… I mean, paid coaches are amazing. Groups are amazing. I honestly sometimes think group coaching is more powerful than one-on-one coaching.
00:23:35.560 --> 00:23:53.080 Angie Snowball: Because you… they ask questions that you don't think to ask, that you don't know, and someone else will ask, like, oh, yeah, I don't… yeah, how do we do that? I didn't even know to ask that one. So, I think those mastermind programs you guys do are brilliant. I mean, that would be a brilliant thing to join one of those. Anyway, I think it's great. Bruce, your turn.
00:23:53.120 --> 00:23:54.460 Angie Snowball: You have plenty of time.
00:23:55.980 --> 00:24:15.340 Bruce Cramer: So, holy cow, so where do I begin? It's a good thing Noelle's not on this show, my better half, because she would… I'm carrying a truckload of baggage. But, no, I would start some simple things. So, you know, in an earlier episode, I had talked about how I'm not on Facebook.
00:24:15.430 --> 00:24:18.409 Bruce Cramer: And part of it was, I became obsessed
00:24:18.670 --> 00:24:22.500 Bruce Cramer: Just scrolling, because you get your information in tidbits.
00:24:22.760 --> 00:24:30.950 Bruce Cramer: Well, what crept into my life, which has become baggage, is we got into this podcast gig.
00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:39.629 Bruce Cramer: Well, of course I'm curious, so I wanted to go out and sample all the various podcasts that are out there.
00:24:39.750 --> 00:24:43.970 Bruce Cramer: You know? And I mean everything. Well, guess what happened?
00:24:44.230 --> 00:24:53.849 Bruce Cramer: I like the fact that I get information in 20-minute tidbits, or… So, I… my morning, I like to rise early.
00:24:54.300 --> 00:24:55.410 Bruce Cramer: And…
00:24:55.480 --> 00:25:06.319 Bruce Cramer: when I found, I was filling my morning with my cup of coffee that went from 30 minutes up to 90 minutes. I started to consume all kinds of information via podcasts.
00:25:06.320 --> 00:25:18.269 Bruce Cramer: Because somebody that's a little ADD, and it crept into my time. And I thought, is this the best use of my time? Because I love to do research, I love to read.
00:25:18.330 --> 00:25:25.630 Bruce Cramer: And, I like to put a couple hours a day aside, because I do like a good movie.
00:25:25.730 --> 00:25:27.540 Bruce Cramer: But all of a sudden.
00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:34.140 Bruce Cramer: podcasts were consuming 90 minutes of my morning, and so that's something that I'm actually tracking now.
00:25:34.950 --> 00:25:35.780 Bruce Cramer: That's exciting.
00:25:35.780 --> 00:25:37.549 Angie Snowball: That's a good way to figure out if it's banging.
00:25:37.550 --> 00:25:43.129 Bruce Cramer: cup of coffee for 30 minutes, you know, just listen to something frivolous. Another…
00:25:43.270 --> 00:25:53.560 Bruce Cramer: piece of baggage is, as I'm getting older, health is very important to me to stay into shape, etc. Little bit of baggage.
00:25:53.890 --> 00:26:04.510 Bruce Cramer: there's a reason we have a cocktail, is… And what I found is that typically I would have a couple cocktails that night.
00:26:04.600 --> 00:26:21.300 Bruce Cramer: Well, as I've gotten older, it's a major drain on my energy. I can tell the difference between a no cocktail night or one cocktail. If I go to two cocktails, my energy is impacted, and I don't like that.
00:26:21.510 --> 00:26:22.190 Bruce Cramer: So that…
00:26:22.190 --> 00:26:22.740 Angie Snowball: Yeah.
00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:25.719 Bruce Cramer: I stripped. I just stripped it on out.
00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:49.849 Angie Snowball: Say that. Yeah, because, you know, when we started this, if we had more time, we still would, but we all… it was always an intent to include a mocktail recipe as well, because, one, I mean, they're so comfortable. We will get better at that, but honestly, guys, we didn't know how cool this was gonna be, and we were not prepared. We're getting better. But they sell great mocktails, and it does make a difference, like, to have that day.
00:26:49.850 --> 00:27:00.669 Angie Snowball: That you don't, you know, you just wind down. Because sometimes, to me, it's not the cocktail itself, it's the concept of the cocktail that is my wind down and my moment to talk.
00:27:00.670 --> 00:27:10.779 Bruce Cramer: So, yeah, and I use those as examples because you want to continue to reflect. Like, we've talked many times on the show, in the morning, I journal and I reflect.
00:27:10.790 --> 00:27:22.949 Bruce Cramer: And, you know, it's different things for different people. I know people that can polish off a bottle of wine, and it has absolutely no impact. What you gotta do is look yourself in the mirror.
00:27:22.950 --> 00:27:30.890 Bruce Cramer: and really say, everybody has baggage. If somebody says they don't have baggy, that's BS. And so…
00:27:31.460 --> 00:27:47.020 Bruce Cramer: You know, you really do want to make darn sure you're reflecting, because you will find it. Little things, like I just described. The other thing is perfectionism in me, and it's interesting, Angie.
00:27:47.020 --> 00:28:04.679 Bruce Cramer: I got Natej kicking my butt on a couple of programs we're working on together, going, just get them all, Bruce! They don't have to be perfect! I also hired, you know, as a coach, I have this conversation every week with all of my clients.
00:28:04.770 --> 00:28:10.609 Bruce Cramer: But it's good to have somebody on the outside looking in, saying, hey, Bruce.
00:28:10.730 --> 00:28:21.980 Bruce Cramer: It's good enough, you know? You know, it's close enough for rock and roll, just move forward. And, and so that's… that has haunted me all my life.
00:28:22.210 --> 00:28:29.670 Bruce Cramer: So those… that's a little bit about how I'm examining myself going into the fourth quarter. If I want that little extra push.
00:28:30.170 --> 00:28:33.150 Bruce Cramer: Stay off the TV, the podcasts.
00:28:33.570 --> 00:28:38.049 Bruce Cramer: stick to one drink a night, and I'm not suggesting that, because that might be.
00:28:38.050 --> 00:28:39.180 Angie Snowball: Way too much for.
00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:41.220 Bruce Cramer: But, you know, I've been around a long time.
00:28:41.220 --> 00:28:45.999 Angie Snowball: Way too much for me, by the way. Keep yourself healthy, whatever that means, right?
00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.469 Bruce Cramer: And then… and then perfection is not…
00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:54.089 Bruce Cramer: Not to be at the expense of getting something done.
00:28:54.710 --> 00:29:12.870 Angie Snowball: Right. So I think, we've got a few minutes to break, so I'll just wrap this little segment up for us, but what I heard both of them say is that it's a time in order that… for you to look and recognize your baggage. And maybe you need to bring somebody else in to help you see it.
00:29:12.930 --> 00:29:37.759 Angie Snowball: But it's a time to sit down, and I challenge everybody to sit down. Also, pen and paper. You can call me old, that's fine, but there is so much research, and I'm sure Dr. Natej will back me up on this. Technology's great, but there's a lot of research to a pen and a paper through your hand. There's a lot of cognitive connection there. Take that pen and paper, write down for the rest of your years, write down your must, your shoulds, and your woulds. Get them organized.
00:29:37.760 --> 00:30:02.180 Angie Snowball: organized and see what's holding you back from getting those things done and the priorities they need to be done. And make decisions, like, okay, my shoulds aren't going to happen. You know, these are things I would do if I had time. It's not gonna happen. Maybe I'll do them next year. Maybe I'll do them something like that. But that's what I would challenge everybody to do, is to sit down, identify your baggage. And like Bruce said, if you show up and you're like, I don't have any baggage, you should talk to someone, because you have baggage.
00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:24.480 Angie Snowball: Everybody has baggage, nobody's perfect here. Go talk to somebody, find out what your baggage is, make your list, and decide, so you can get super focused, so you can finish out Q4 really strong, and plan for a good 2026, because you can't make a good plan if you show up with bad data, right? Can't make a good plan off of something that didn't work, so…
00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:25.730 Angie Snowball: That's something that…
00:30:25.780 --> 00:30:38.580 Angie Snowball: we have to do. All right, so we should be close to break time here, so I will wrap it up, and then when we come back, Dr. Natej is going to take us into the next segment of our episode. So, Jesse, go ahead and take us to break.
00:30:39.120 --> 00:30:40.890 nawtej dosanjh: Great segment, Angie. Thank you.
00:30:41.310 --> 00:30:43.719 Angie Snowball: Thank you, guys. I love asking you questions.
00:32:50.510 --> 00:32:56.430 Angie Snowball: Thanks for mentioning the Packers. I just checked my fantasy team. I always forget to do it on Thursdays, so…
00:32:56.430 --> 00:33:04.229 nawtej dosanjh: Welcome back, everybody. Sorry, my microphone or camera went dodgy for a second. It went dodgy again. Let me just fix it for a second.
00:33:04.610 --> 00:33:06.399 Angie Snowball: Oh, he's so dodgy. It's so cute.
00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:12.869 nawtej dosanjh: So, can you guys talk amongst yourselves before, or while I figure out my camera?
00:33:12.870 --> 00:33:20.309 Angie Snowball: Yes, we sure can. See, your fantasy football is a great example of things you need to readjust. Jalen Waddell just…
00:33:20.310 --> 00:33:25.170 Bruce Cramer: I kind of like that view, though, Nitesh. You got nice ceilings. Yeah, you do.
00:33:25.170 --> 00:33:28.660 nawtej dosanjh: Thank you so much. So, if.
00:33:28.660 --> 00:33:29.620 Bruce Cramer: But it does look kind.
00:33:29.620 --> 00:33:43.730 nawtej dosanjh: So kind of you. So, I don't know that I can sort out my camera in time, and it might affect my speakers, so let's just… let's just carry on and see what happens. I don't know why…
00:33:43.730 --> 00:33:47.099 Bruce Cramer: You sound and you look great. You sound and you look great, so…
00:33:47.100 --> 00:33:57.249 nawtej dosanjh: the microphone and the camera sync, but let's try this, otherwise you guys are gonna have to be me, and that's a scam. That's a really scary.
00:33:57.250 --> 00:33:59.469 Angie Snowball: Can you say dodgy again, just in case?
00:34:01.310 --> 00:34:03.710 nawtej dosanjh: Yeah, that's a little bit daunting, Angie.
00:34:03.710 --> 00:34:05.940 Angie Snowball: I love it! It's so cute!
00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:14.120 nawtej dosanjh: Before I start this segment, I just want to, tell people about, and we'll come back to it at the end, about next week's show. Little bit different.
00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:27.749 nawtej dosanjh: Bruce Kramer and I, the corporate cockroach, and I, are going to be looking over the past 20 weeks, our first 20 weeks of the show, and we're going to be looking at our favorite bits.
00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:43.509 nawtej dosanjh: not-so-favorite bits, the things we… things we remember. We'll remind each other of some of our favorite bits. Angie won't be here, but she will be here in some form or fashion. We will be.
00:34:43.510 --> 00:34:44.210 Angie Snowball: Yes.
00:34:44.210 --> 00:34:51.409 nawtej dosanjh: recording her favorite bits for the show. So, I just wanted to say that because,
00:34:51.409 --> 00:35:08.310 nawtej dosanjh: Tune in for next week, just as a… just as a sort of look back at the last 20 weeks, to… to… to see our favorite bits, your favorite bits, and if you've got any comments about them, please, please let us know, or if you'd like to… like us to cover any particular topics.
00:35:08.310 --> 00:35:11.839 nawtej dosanjh: Please let us know in the chat.
00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:20.780 nawtej dosanjh: But, back to this… this week. So, recap, you know, in terms of where I am in terms of thinking about the last quarter, it's a little bit new to me.
00:35:21.110 --> 00:35:22.520 nawtej dosanjh: Excuse me.
00:35:22.690 --> 00:35:33.210 nawtej dosanjh: But I wanted this section to be about strategy. Why wouldn't I? Because, you know, I'm… Angie and Bruce call me the strategy doctor, so why wouldn't I make it about strategy?
00:35:33.340 --> 00:35:43.230 nawtej dosanjh: But the, you know, the thing about strategy is that every smart CEO knows that strategy is small s.
00:35:44.310 --> 00:35:47.730 nawtej dosanjh: The best strategy is a big I.
00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:49.240 nawtej dosanjh: Implementation.
00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:52.710 nawtej dosanjh: So, how do we do implementation?
00:35:52.840 --> 00:36:02.619 nawtej dosanjh: How do we do… and whether it's in the fourth quarter or otherwise, how do we do implementation? I'm gonna… I'm gonna pick on something complicated, and then…
00:36:02.620 --> 00:36:15.540 nawtej dosanjh: Is it complicated? I don't know, but let's say it's complicated, because I can't pick on two simple things. One thing I'm going to talk about is complicated, the other thing is simple. And get ready, guys, I'm going to ask you questions about both.
00:36:15.540 --> 00:36:26.989 nawtej dosanjh: Okay? So… and I don't know the answer either, so that's why I'm passing it over to you. So, the f- the first thing is, for me, when to… when… knowing when to be…
00:36:27.100 --> 00:36:30.620 nawtej dosanjh: Innovative, when I have to invent something new.
00:36:30.890 --> 00:36:33.950 nawtej dosanjh: And when I've just got a… as…
00:36:34.090 --> 00:36:41.409 nawtej dosanjh: Bruce said… what's the term you use, Bruce? Pedal to the… Mental, stuff like that.
00:36:41.410 --> 00:36:43.010 Angie Snowball: That's how I drive.
00:36:43.010 --> 00:36:47.719 nawtej dosanjh: When you've got to be efficient, when you've got to be efficient, and not confuse
00:36:47.820 --> 00:36:55.469 nawtej dosanjh: the two. Guys, for this slightly more complicated Way of talking about strategy.
00:36:55.880 --> 00:37:01.310 nawtej dosanjh: When in your careers, all your lives, you can pick life, career, or business.
00:37:01.450 --> 00:37:13.969 nawtej dosanjh: When have you had to be innovative, and when have you had to be… when have you had to be efficient, and have you made the mistake ever of confusing the two and picking the wrong option?
00:37:14.230 --> 00:37:14.960 nawtej dosanjh: And…
00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:16.200 Angie Snowball: Hanking.
00:37:16.200 --> 00:37:17.849 nawtej dosanjh: I come to you first.
00:37:18.290 --> 00:37:19.609 Angie Snowball: Oh, thanks so much.
00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:34.189 Angie Snowball: Casinos, I'll come up… I'll talk about something, no matter what. No, I… when I was listening to you, I think one of the differences to me is always a deadline. So, when I have time.
00:37:34.190 --> 00:37:46.390 Angie Snowball: because as chaotic as my life might look from the outside in, I do have a system. There's a strat… there's a… what do they say? A meaning to my chaos, and whatever it is. But,
00:37:46.490 --> 00:37:55.330 Angie Snowball: when there's a deadline, it's not a time for new ideas. It's a time for me to say, okay, let's buckle down and get done what we need to do. Now it's time to cut that
00:37:55.330 --> 00:38:20.100 Angie Snowball: that baggage and get things done, which is another reason I like looking at Q4 as the end of the year. Because otherwise, for me, I just keep making up new ideas and never finish anything. So, for me, it's like, okay, what did I do this year? Bruce's question, what's going to make me proud to say that I, at the end of the year, I did this year? And then look at it and say, in order to do that, I have to buckle down and be efficient, pedal to the metal.
00:38:20.490 --> 00:38:45.440 Angie Snowball: Now, January, February, when it's a new year, and I have the base plan of what I want to do for the year, but that's when I'm innovative. I have time to come up with those ideas and put some type of structure to how I will implement them throughout the year. But that's why timelines and deadlines are so important to me, and I think to most creatives. We do our best work, some people say, when it's down
00:38:45.440 --> 00:39:10.410 Angie Snowball: under the wire. And I don't think that's necessarily true that it's our best work, but it's when you see the most out of us, because we buckle down on our best work. Our best work is in the beginning, the innovative stages where we're coming up with the ideas and we're creating them, but what most people see out of creatives is the end product, which does usually happen down to the deadline, because otherwise we're still out there being creative, making it better, doing more, adding something to it, because we're always thinking
00:39:10.410 --> 00:39:34.699 Angie Snowball: thinking in that creative way. So to me, that's the difference, and there's definitely been times when I've mixed it up. That's why I use a coach to help me, use several coaches, actually, to help me set deadlines, because I don't trust myself to set the deadline and to stay on it. As a solopreneur, that's very hard, because I can definitely say, guess what, Angie? Your deadline has been moved back a week. Congratulations. But I need somebody to say.
00:39:34.700 --> 00:39:35.859 Angie Snowball: That's not.
00:39:35.860 --> 00:39:56.089 nawtej dosanjh: That is such… that is such an amazing answer. It's like a textbook answer. Have you been… I mean, I didn't give you this question… I didn't give you this question before. How did you… what's… what's going on? Have you got another secret skill where… where you sort of, you know, know what I'm going to say, and you prepared the answer in advance? That was really brilliant.
00:39:56.090 --> 00:39:57.549 Angie Snowball: And off the top of your head.
00:39:57.550 --> 00:40:17.310 nawtej dosanjh: Bruce now is going to be equally brilliant. Bruce, what's your answer to this… this conundrum about being innovative and when to be efficient when you're in the final quarter, the pressure's on? You know, when… do you know when to be ineffici… when to be innovative and when to be efficient, and have you confused both?
00:40:17.820 --> 00:40:33.399 Bruce Cramer: Don't be inefficient. What Angie said. No. Oh, God, yes. All right, so let… you know, so part of the reason why this episode… and Angie, I now know why you picked this topic, because it's very clever.
00:40:33.460 --> 00:40:39.349 Bruce Cramer: You… you always wanted to… you always want to be as much…
00:40:39.420 --> 00:40:42.229 Bruce Cramer: You ought to be in the position
00:40:42.520 --> 00:40:49.150 Bruce Cramer: to voluntarily make that choice. Do I just go heads down, or can I pivot?
00:40:49.480 --> 00:41:00.250 Bruce Cramer: And… and so, if you wait until you're well within the fourth quarter, you have really no choice but to stay heads down. Because typically.
00:41:00.710 --> 00:41:04.980 Bruce Cramer: If you're gonna pivot, that needs to be a little more proactive.
00:41:05.190 --> 00:41:23.739 Bruce Cramer: And, oh my god, I probably… you know, many times in my career that, you know, I would say, thanks to people that were nurturing and mentoring me, as everybody knows, I'm driven. My one word, by the way, is driven.
00:41:24.500 --> 00:41:25.440 Angie Snowball: Oh, good.
00:41:25.440 --> 00:41:27.610 Bruce Cramer: But it can be…
00:41:27.610 --> 00:41:28.789 nawtej dosanjh: comes across. I see you.
00:41:28.790 --> 00:41:44.530 Bruce Cramer: Yeah, it can be at the expense of a greater outcome. And so, early in my career, I was always driven, I would go heads down. You give me a goal come hell or high water, I would hit it.
00:41:45.200 --> 00:41:50.060 Bruce Cramer: But… After spending months fixated.
00:41:50.310 --> 00:41:54.649 Bruce Cramer: It wasn't necessarily the right The right thing.
00:41:54.700 --> 00:42:00.899 Bruce Cramer: There was… you know, we talked a lot in many of the episodes that the reason why you reflect
00:42:00.900 --> 00:42:16.969 Bruce Cramer: and re-examine things, no, you know, I strongly recommend a weekly basis, and I'm not talking spending buku time, I'm talking 30 minutes, is so that you allow yourself to recalibrate. Because you might be going heads down, and I can think of one of the first…
00:42:17.040 --> 00:42:19.750 Bruce Cramer: assignments I had with Grainger.
00:42:20.280 --> 00:42:29.879 Bruce Cramer: is, I went heads down on the idea that they put me into a three-level distribution facility.
00:42:30.150 --> 00:42:34.069 Bruce Cramer: And you never do distribution on 3 levels.
00:42:34.200 --> 00:42:41.219 Bruce Cramer: And because people say you lose efficiency. Because when you're moving product in a distribution center.
00:42:41.430 --> 00:42:47.429 Bruce Cramer: It's good to go left-right, but if you gotta go up and down stairs and elevators, you lose efficiency.
00:42:47.820 --> 00:43:06.290 Bruce Cramer: Well, I went head… I was so fixated on it. And by the way, I had a brilliant individual, I'm just gonna say Tom, if he's ever listening. I don't want to lose his… use his last name, but he said to me, Bruce, it doesn't matter if you walk left or right, or up or down, it's a number of footsteps. And I thought.
00:43:06.330 --> 00:43:15.560 Bruce Cramer: Well, that's a new way to look at this, don't become so fixated. However, what I had to do is, you know, it was all about the operation efficiency.
00:43:15.700 --> 00:43:25.709 Bruce Cramer: And I was, like, 3-4 months into the gig, and I realized that the bigger opportunity, where we were located, downtown Minneapolis.
00:43:26.040 --> 00:43:42.280 Bruce Cramer: oh my god, it was a sales goldmine. So here I am, fixated on making this thing operational, and as soon as we pivoted, I would say probably midway into the second quarter, we grew that business by 89%.
00:43:43.600 --> 00:43:53.120 Bruce Cramer: And so, if I would have stayed fixated on the operations, how many items do we pick per minute, how many items can we package ship, and not…
00:43:53.670 --> 00:44:07.699 Bruce Cramer: you know, get out of that mindset to some degree, and look at what might be a bigger opportunity. We would have never grown that business by 89%. And, you know, it led to one of the biggest promotions in my life.
00:44:07.700 --> 00:44:13.989 Bruce Cramer: I had a great team around me, always have. Slow kid, I always tell you that. But the reality is.
00:44:13.990 --> 00:44:25.340 Bruce Cramer: That's why you review things on an ongoing basis, so you have the luxury of pivoting. Otherwise, heads down, you know, doesn't always lead to the.
00:44:25.340 --> 00:44:27.269 Angie Snowball: That was perfect. Can I just point that out?
00:44:27.270 --> 00:44:40.200 nawtej dosanjh: It's another great answer. Yeah, it was great. Another great, another great answer. Okay, I'm going to make things more complicated in future, guys. I'm going to speak German or Spanish, and see the how you like that. See how you like that, yeah.
00:44:40.200 --> 00:44:41.440 Angie Snowball: Yeah, Ichkend Deutschers.
00:44:41.440 --> 00:45:02.059 nawtej dosanjh: very knowledgeable when I speak in a foreign language. I better learn the foreign language first, though. But listen, we've only got two minutes to break. I've got another question. One minute to break, we're going… Jesse, just hold your horses, because I've got another question, another question. So, just a quick… just a quick sort of recap, 30-second recap from each of you.
00:45:02.110 --> 00:45:10.260 nawtej dosanjh: about the 80-20 rule. How does the 80-20 rule, as a… as a way of thinking, a strategic way of thinking.
00:45:10.260 --> 00:45:18.060 Angie Snowball: Well, why don't we do this? Since we have one minute, why don't you define the 80-20 rule, because that's something not everybody will know, and then when we come back, we can answer. How about that?
00:45:18.460 --> 00:45:18.950 nawtej dosanjh: Okay.
00:45:18.950 --> 00:45:19.810 Angie Snowball: I like that vintage.
00:45:19.810 --> 00:45:38.189 nawtej dosanjh: Alright, alright, Angie, I'm definitely going to speak Japanese to you next time. Yeah, that'll teach you. So the 80-20 rule is, there are lots of ways to think about it, but essentially, when 20% of your actions, activities, things that you do give you 80% of your results.
00:45:39.760 --> 00:45:48.640 nawtej dosanjh: And… Conversely, therefore, 80% of what you do may only give you 20% of Yo.
00:45:49.280 --> 00:45:50.410 nawtej dosanjh: results.
00:45:50.700 --> 00:45:51.780 nawtej dosanjh: So…
00:45:51.930 --> 00:46:06.849 nawtej dosanjh: thinking about that, let's… let's… we've got to have to go to break now, because Jesse keeps typing in the text, saying, one minute of break, one minute of break, so we have to… we have to go, okay, Jesse, we're going, let's go to break, but you guys gotta answer that question, in… in the final segment when we kick off.
00:46:06.880 --> 00:46:07.790 Angie Snowball: Yes, I'll be ready.
00:46:07.790 --> 00:46:08.620 nawtej dosanjh: Okay.
00:46:08.980 --> 00:46:10.760 nawtej dosanjh: Go take it away, Jesse!
00:47:56.870 --> 00:47:58.090 Angie Snowball: It's really trying to win that.
00:47:58.090 --> 00:48:03.199 nawtej dosanjh: You guys have got the… you guys have got the moves. I need to do some serious…
00:48:03.310 --> 00:48:04.250 nawtej dosanjh: It's the beaches.
00:48:04.250 --> 00:48:05.350 Bruce Cramer: You started it!
00:48:05.350 --> 00:48:13.849 nawtej dosanjh: I didn't know I started it, to be honest, I really didn't, until somebody pointed it out that I was moving… moving to the music. Anyway…
00:48:13.850 --> 00:48:14.230 Angie Snowball: thing.
00:48:14.230 --> 00:48:22.700 nawtej dosanjh: That, Bruce, you're up first, that doesn't… that doesn't distract you from the question. Talk to me about how you use the 80-20 rule, if you do, if you use…
00:48:22.700 --> 00:48:26.090 Bruce Cramer: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. It's one of the…
00:48:26.460 --> 00:48:33.639 Bruce Cramer: one of the key ingredients of a successful life. And so, I'm going to talk about this, because as you guys know.
00:48:33.800 --> 00:48:37.300 Bruce Cramer: Earlier in my career, I sacrificed my family.
00:48:37.660 --> 00:48:40.660 Bruce Cramer: And I have a great coach.
00:48:40.990 --> 00:48:44.959 Bruce Cramer: and my other half, Noel, and you've all met her.
00:48:45.410 --> 00:48:48.709 Bruce Cramer: And one of the things is, we have 6 kids.
00:48:49.280 --> 00:48:52.100 Bruce Cramer: And they're scattered to the four winds.
00:48:52.260 --> 00:49:00.119 Bruce Cramer: In the country. And one of the things we struggle with is how do we spend quality time?
00:49:00.870 --> 00:49:14.379 Bruce Cramer: Now, we could go visit each and every one of them. They can come and visit, and that… that's a lot of fun, by the way. I love that, when they… especially when they come here to see me. That's why we live on an island. We're hoping it attracts them.
00:49:15.190 --> 00:49:15.660 Angie Snowball: And…
00:49:15.660 --> 00:49:29.880 Bruce Cramer: By the way, that was Noelle. She said, well, let's move someplace a little interesting, and maybe they'll come and see you. She is brilliant. And so, but anyways, but that takes a lot of time. And what's that impact?
00:49:30.160 --> 00:49:39.579 Bruce Cramer: So, one of the things she suggested is because part of family is all getting together.
00:49:40.250 --> 00:49:49.789 Bruce Cramer: Well, with 6 children… Spouses and significant others, and four and a quarter grandkids.
00:49:50.970 --> 00:49:58.179 Bruce Cramer: How do you do that? And one of her suggestions is, well, let's… let's create tradition.
00:49:58.450 --> 00:50:08.630 Bruce Cramer: And one of the traditions we've done, and it's coming this month, so it's one of the things I'm proud of, but this'll be our third year, is we rent
00:50:08.670 --> 00:50:26.209 Bruce Cramer: two huge party cabins up in the Wisconsin Dells, because it's probably as central as we can get with everybody, and it's a big water park. You know, multiple water parks in this complex, so it's very kid-friendly.
00:50:26.240 --> 00:50:29.890 Bruce Cramer: But coincidentally, all of the water parks have bars.
00:50:31.210 --> 00:50:32.540 Angie Snowball: Sounds perfect!
00:50:32.540 --> 00:50:33.390 Bruce Cramer: Yeah, you could be floating.
00:50:33.390 --> 00:50:34.810 Angie Snowball: Can I get adopted, please?
00:50:34.810 --> 00:50:37.750 Bruce Cramer: And like I said, I gotta be careful with this, but…
00:50:38.440 --> 00:50:40.909 Bruce Cramer: What we do is we come together
00:50:41.710 --> 00:50:58.389 Bruce Cramer: everybody. We have game night, we have, you know, just a ton of fun and quality time. We're all together for at least 4 full days, where we spend quality time
00:50:58.460 --> 00:51:04.710 Bruce Cramer: And actually, it's probably more like 3 days, but some of… some come in a little early if they can.
00:51:04.750 --> 00:51:11.339 Bruce Cramer: But it's quality time. We're all together, we're playing games, we're watching movies, we're in the water park.
00:51:11.370 --> 00:51:25.860 Bruce Cramer: We're at the bar. We just… we have a ton of time. And everybody… it just sets up the next year, as we talk about, build that momentum, because now we're talking about, well, when else can we all get together? And it just kind of propels
00:51:25.860 --> 00:51:34.789 Bruce Cramer: But it's quality time. It's only 20% of all the time we spend, but my god, it's an 80% return because.
00:51:34.790 --> 00:51:35.320 Angie Snowball: Mmm.
00:51:35.480 --> 00:51:40.450 Bruce Cramer: you know, brothers and sisters see each other, spouses. I mean, it's a riot.
00:51:40.900 --> 00:51:54.079 nawtej dosanjh: You know, one of the things I love about this… what we do together on this show is that we don't focus on one aspect of being alive, we don't focus on just business, we don't just focus on career.
00:51:54.080 --> 00:52:01.789 nawtej dosanjh: We… we… we do life too, you know, because it's the reason we do careers and business.
00:52:01.790 --> 00:52:08.330 nawtej dosanjh: So that's a really beautiful story, Bruce, thank you for that. Angie, what about you? How do you use the.
00:52:08.330 --> 00:52:14.019 Angie Snowball: Well, I'm gonna be quick, so that you can answer this, too. I love how he always gives us questions, and then he…
00:52:14.020 --> 00:52:15.630 Bruce Cramer: Yeah, thank you, Angie!
00:52:15.630 --> 00:52:23.849 Angie Snowball: No, I'm gonna be real quick. So I… I am gonna pick a business one for this, because it's something I'm very weak at, something I'm really bad at.
00:52:24.070 --> 00:52:38.270 Angie Snowball: for me, it's… I'm not doing it. So I know that if I spent more time with my online courses, and I have an online marketing mastermind, I know if I spent more time pushing that and filling that, that would give me 80% of the results.
00:52:38.270 --> 00:52:53.080 Angie Snowball: My personality loves to work one-on-one. My personality loves to meet with people and have those review meetings and do one-on-one. And that is the opposite. That's 80% of my time for 20% of the return. So I struggle with that because
00:52:53.080 --> 00:52:58.849 Angie Snowball: what I want to do is not the right way to use the 80-20 rule, but that's why
00:52:58.850 --> 00:53:11.829 Angie Snowball: Q4s and strategy reviews are good, because I'm like, gosh darn it, Angie, it's okay. If you get this down, you'll have more time to do all the things you love as well. So that's one of the things I find with the 80-20, and now, Matej, it's your turn.
00:53:12.660 --> 00:53:13.430 Bruce Cramer: Yeah!
00:53:13.430 --> 00:53:16.869 Angie Snowball: I'm the opposite, I'm the opposite to you, Angie.
00:53:16.870 --> 00:53:27.330 nawtej dosanjh: I'm the opposite. So, I'm a little bit too ruthless with my time, and I think I'm being great, and I think I'm doing… oh, wow, I'm doing the 8-10-90 rule.
00:53:27.390 --> 00:53:40.539 nawtej dosanjh: I'm doing 10… I'm focusing on… on the 10% of things that gives me 90% return. But I've realized that I'm… particularly as the world is becoming… has become more complicated,
00:53:40.660 --> 00:53:43.890 nawtej dosanjh: And I'm… so I've been missing stuff, I think.
00:53:44.060 --> 00:53:48.629 nawtej dosanjh: So, I… I've had to go the other way to you. I've had to…
00:53:48.700 --> 00:54:05.069 nawtej dosanjh: do more, slowing down, and more focusing on the other… the other stuff. And, you know, in addition, I don't really like networking. I don't really do it. I like to have fun like I'm having with you guys.
00:54:05.140 --> 00:54:09.080 nawtej dosanjh: But I don't do business networking, because I just get…
00:54:09.350 --> 00:54:12.350 nawtej dosanjh: can't do small talk. I like fun, I like doing this.
00:54:12.350 --> 00:54:15.180 Angie Snowball: It's so funny to me, because you're so fun and interesting.
00:54:15.180 --> 00:54:27.599 nawtej dosanjh: Yeah, yeah, but only when I'm having fun. I don't want to do… I don't want to do small talk about this. You know, I just… I want to be… I want to be authentic, I want to be… I want to be me all the time. I don't want to be me 80% of the time.
00:54:27.600 --> 00:54:36.789 nawtej dosanjh: So, but I've learned, I've really learned. I don't compromise that, because I can't, I don't have the ability to, but I've really learned, so what I do
00:54:36.800 --> 00:54:41.990 nawtej dosanjh: is I hang out with great people who don't mind networking, who love networking.
00:54:42.460 --> 00:54:57.050 Angie Snowball: Yeah, and that's a great thing. Networking's such a… we should have an episode on that alone, because, you know, they push networking so much, and at solopreneur, you gotta do it. Businessperson, academic, owner, almost everybody has to network.
00:54:57.050 --> 00:55:16.620 Angie Snowball: But they push it so hard that I don't think we organize it. And truly, networking, you… that 80-20 rule is killer. Bang for your buck. How much time are you spending versus what you're getting? Rate of return, or rate of investment, however you want to look at it. That's a great place to apply that 80-20. Good point, Natej. Good thing we ask you questions.
00:55:18.180 --> 00:55:28.920 nawtej dosanjh: Yeah, yeah, guys, feel free, and, you know, I've set myself up for failure now. I've got to learn a brand new language to ask you difficult questions in a different language, because you're answering the questions too, too well.
00:55:28.920 --> 00:55:34.029 Bruce Cramer: That was a… that was a great point, though, Angie. Spot on.
00:55:35.100 --> 00:55:38.039 Angie Snowball: Oh, thank… I think I made a lot of them. What was your favorite? I'm just kidding.
00:55:38.040 --> 00:55:43.560 nawtej dosanjh: Actually, Angie, actually, Angie, I've got to say, you made a lot of good points on this show.
00:55:43.560 --> 00:55:44.770 Angie Snowball: I'm kidding, I'm not like that.
00:55:44.770 --> 00:55:51.729 nawtej dosanjh: I think the standard deviation for this show puts you on a… puts you on a different level, different pedestal altogether this week, Angie.
00:55:51.730 --> 00:56:07.470 Angie Snowball: Just because I enjoy myself. I enjoy time, spending, talking to myself a lot. I'm used to it. I'm just kidding. Alright, so what is everybody's final takeaway? Because we've got 3 minutes to ending. Let's go, Bruce, let's start with you. What's your final takeaway?
00:56:07.470 --> 00:56:21.470 Bruce Cramer: Often, when we say it's the last stretch in the year, quarter four, you become fixated on your business, whatever. It's as much about your life as it is your business. That's my takeaway.
00:56:23.180 --> 00:56:24.839 Angie Snowball: Yeah, Natej, how about you?
00:56:25.730 --> 00:56:41.910 nawtej dosanjh: I think my takeaway is that, I came into this show really, honestly, not totally understanding what we were going to talk about tonight. I didn't really understand this whole, final quarter thing, and…
00:56:42.010 --> 00:56:52.480 nawtej dosanjh: I'm educated. Thankfully, in the last one hour, 50 minutes to 1 hour, you two have taught me what the fourth quarter means, so I thank you both very much.
00:56:53.230 --> 00:57:09.160 Angie Snowball: That's awesome. I think for me, it is that when you get down to this Q4 time, it's time to really separate your must and your shoulds, and get your must down, as Bruce said, pedal to the metal, get them done, and… but don't throw away your shoulds and your woulds.
00:57:09.160 --> 00:57:26.259 Angie Snowball: plan those into your 2026. Understand, review your 2025. Why didn't you get to them? What can you do better in 2026 so that you get to your shoulds and your woods, too? And I… I do… I just quickly wanted to… that book Bruce and I were talking about that one word that'll change your life. It was.
00:57:26.260 --> 00:57:41.249 Angie Snowball: Jimmy Page, Dan Britton, and John Gordon, if anybody wants to look that up. That helped me a lot with resolution and being able to plan better. So, yeah, I'd say figure out your must and your shoulds, drop your baggage, and get it on, right? So…
00:57:41.250 --> 00:57:42.719 Angie Snowball: Alright, so we.
00:57:42.720 --> 00:57:43.280 Bruce Cramer: Sorry!
00:57:43.280 --> 00:57:45.619 Angie Snowball: Linda Dunn, next week?
00:57:46.920 --> 00:58:05.409 Bruce Cramer: We're gonna do a recap. But pretty much, that's it for this episode of Serving Up Success. If you found that this kind of lit a fire under you, please share it with someone else. But again, we're gonna thank you again for all the views, the down… I mean, my gosh, we are so grateful.
00:58:05.410 --> 00:58:07.999 Bruce Cramer: And we look forward to seeing you next week.
00:58:08.000 --> 00:58:12.690 Bruce Cramer: With another cocktail, only one for Bruce. See ya then!
00:58:13.070 --> 00:58:13.730 Bruce Cramer: Goodnight!
00:58:13.980 --> 00:58:15.580 Angie Snowball: Goodnight! Cheers!
00:58:15.580 --> 00:58:16.690 nawtej dosanjh: Bye, guys, thank you.
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