3 Ways to Buy Back Your Time

I just finished reading a Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell. I read (listened) to the book over the course of 2-3 weeks. Every time I hop in the car, I open up the Audible app on my phone and listen to a book. It’s a great way to consume information.

Buy Back Your Time is a tremendous read that has changed the way I think.

Here are my Top 3 takeaways

1. Transformational Leadership > Transactional Leadership

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of these leadership styles so here’s a visual to explain.

Basically, a Transactional Leader:

• Assigns a task ➡️

• Checks for completion ➡️

• Moves on to the next task ❌

This is not a good way to lead because it’s time consuming and you don’t give your employees space to think for themselves.

INSTEAD, be a Transformational Leader:

• Assign an outcome ➡️

• Define how success is measured ➡️

• Coach the employee ✅

Transformation Leadership is superior because:

• It’s scalable

• Employees are closer to the problem and may have more information than you

• They have more time and energy to solve the problem

• It causes employees to increase their capabilities

• It encourages employee ownership over the project

Here’s a sales example of Transformational vs. Transactional Leadership

Transaction Leadership Request: Make 10% more sales calls.

Result: Employee makes more sales calls.

My guess is that making more calls is a MEANS to an end, not the MAIN GOAL.

Transformational Leadership Request: We need to hit $100,000 in sales by the end of the quarter.

Result: Salesman identifies his weaknesses, develops them and becomes a better salesman. He exceeds $100,000 in sales.

Let your salesman figure out how to achieve that goal. Don’t tell him exactly what to do!

2. The 1-3-1 Rule

For any employee that needs your help / guidance, instruct them to follow the 1-3-1 Rule.

The employee must present you:

• 1 challenge (as opposed to a bunch of issues all at one)

• 3 viable solutions

• 1 suggestion

From there, you can analyze the situation and provide guidance.

3. The Definition of Done

When assigning a project, you should provide a Definition of Done.

Define what must be accomplished to consider the task to be complete.

You should provide:

• Facts: Metrics that must be accomplished.

• Feelings: How you should feel when it’s done.

• Functionality: What the project enables others to do.

This way, you and your employees know exactly what must be accomplished for the project to be completed.

These are some great tactics that you can use to make the most out of your time!

Cheers,

Collin Rutherford

PS. As long as he knows where everything is!