Start With A Win - Chip Higgins: Why Friction is Your Business's Best Friend

Starting point is 00:00:00 One of the problems I think we confront a fear of friction and friction less environments are as dangerous as ones that have really high friction. You know, high friction is like things are on fire and smoking. Right. But we have to embrace friction as our friend. Like we can't get anywhere without friction. Welcome to start with a win where we unpack leadership, personal growth and development and how to build a better business. Let's go. Coming to you from Area 15 Ventures and Start with a Wind headquarters.

Starting point is 00:00:28 it's Adam Contos with Start with a Win. What if the secret to grow in your business was hiding in your old physics textbook? My guest today, Chip Higgins, has spent over 35 years helping business owners build real momentum. There's the physics tie-in. And he's figured out how to make that happen

Starting point is 00:00:47 using the actual laws of physics as a blueprint. He's a banking and executive leadership veteran, founder of Bizzix, author of The Bizzix Way, and founding member of the John Maxwell team. He believes your business doesn't have to be large to be massive. And today, he's going to show us what that means. Chip, welcome to start with a wind.

Starting point is 00:01:10 Adam, it's great to be here. Thank you so much for having me on. It's really exciting time for me. And it's an honor. I mean, you've been in the business and personal growth, business growth space for many, many decades, and are really well known in this space. So I'm honored to have you on the show.

Starting point is 00:01:27 I love this concept you came up with a couple years ago, though. So I wanted to dig into this because I know you've had a lot of time to develop this out and really implemented it a lot of business. Yes. You talk about physics, but not physics, but business. So like, bysics is the name. It's the physics of business, right? Yeah, physics of business.

Starting point is 00:01:48 That's perfect. So, I mean, it's, first of all, where did you come from? How did you get into this space? I know you and John Maxwell have been working together for quite a while, but how did we get to today. Yeah, I mean, I started as a banker. You know, I grew up in a banking town in Winston-Salem, and there was something about that life that appealed to me. You know, it was kind of a little bit mind-based and intellectual reasoning, but a lot of relationships and definitely community. You know, the idea of serving the community well has always resonated with me. And so I got started

Starting point is 00:02:23 banking here in Nashville in 1984. And it was everything that I thought. I met so many interesting people and, you know, not only in banks, but also, you know, all the business owners that I dealt with. And that's really where I spent all my time was with owner managed businesses. I tried to do corporate banking for about a year. And it was just so low energy for me. I've got to be close to the passion. It didn't last very long. So, you know, know, that's what I did for most of my career. And, you know, banking consolidated, really just at a level that is just kind of mind-boggling when you think about it. I mean, I started, there were 15,000 banks are down to about 4,000 now. And I just found with every iteration,

Starting point is 00:03:10 every, you know, I worked for three banks for 10 years plus. And every iteration, there was something different going on in the industry that we were trying to solve for. And, you know, it's technology. It was, you know, additional financial services. And toward the end in my banking career, you know, what I noticed is we were just on this frontier for advisory and differentiation. You know, everything was getting very commoditized and how do you stand out? And so I started spending time with small business owners on not just their banking needs, but really what was going on in their business, you know, culture, growth plans, me a lot of different things. And I just had this idea. It was, you know, 40 years of listening to the physicality of business was the backdrop, you know,

Starting point is 00:04:02 and it's like, you know, we always have a hill to climb. It's going to be a heavy lift. It's going to be, you know, I mean, it's like, this is the language. You know it. I mean, it's like, you know, it's like we got to have momentum, you know, we're going to. And so small business owners struggle, you know, it's like, you. It's like, you know, there's this very haunting statistic of failure rates, you know, 50% in the first five years, they're not going to make it. Yet, I would hear them talking about momentum.

Starting point is 00:04:30 And I would leave meetings and think to myself, you know, I just wonder if they really understand momentum or it's like what everybody wants. You know, is it like, I mean, this is kind of like a word. And the one thing I remembered from my high school physics was, it's like the easiest form. formula to remember in all of all of science you know it's mass times velocity that's it right and um i just thought you know there's there's 10 000 plus books out there on business and it's got to be confusing for somebody who is working on their own they don't have a big support team how do you make sense of it all and i'm just a big believer in universal laws you know people are admired differently but i think that there's certain things that we've identified that apply to everything um at least

Starting point is 00:05:18 universe that we know, you know, might not apply on Mars, but I think that, you know, and I was like, well, you know, I think I'm going to make a stab at deconstructing momentum for business owners and see where it ends up. And that was, that was my decision to get on this journey. And, you know, it involved talking to a Caltech trained physicist who's a professor at Vanderbilt. We had a lot of discussions. He didn't necessarily track on the business side, but I was, I was more excited after talking to him than when I went in because I had 40 years of watching people and understanding what all these terms meant. And if you can get down to that part where I respect gravity enough to, you know, not trip over things or whatever it is, like if you can understand

Starting point is 00:06:07 momentum in a business context, it's a very tight package. you can put whatever thought leader you want into it, whatever one that you love, carry that briefcase around called momentum. And you can use principles and implement principles. And it's one of the things I do in the book. I think every chapter I have my favorite thought leader on different topics in the book. And it's a mindset that will serve people well. I'm absolutely convinced of it.

Starting point is 00:06:33 Awesome. Yeah, I love you. You have a quote about momentum. Momentum is the holy grail of business. And I think you're absolutely correct on that. But, you know, it all kind of starts with mass. You know, you got to have a business, right? So tell us what is the core idea of mass?

Starting point is 00:06:52 What does it represent in your business? Gosh, I'm so glad we started here, Adam. You know, it's usually one later in the conversation we start rushing through it. But that was, honestly, that was the toughest one for me to wrap my head around as I talk to, you know, my friend Marcus, who's the physicist. And it was a big breakthrough moment when I finally got to the point where I understood what mass means in business. I felt like I had broken through the Holy Grail because it's the one you have to solve for. I mean, I think people generally understand velocity. But I think the idea around mass is that, you know, in physics,

Starting point is 00:07:33 98% of the mass of anything, any matter on the periodic table is in the nuclear. list, and it is a configuration of protons and neutrons, but every element has a specific density to it. And I think the first step in that is to separate the idea of bigness, the size, with the density or weight that we bring to the market. And if you take a volleyball and a bowling ball, they're basically the same size. They have completely different mass, and it's all about what's inside it, the material that's inside it. So if you just take a step back and think about, well, what's at the heart of a business?

Starting point is 00:08:14 I mean, what is at the nucleus of a business? First of all, it's you as the entrepreneur and what kind of person you are, what kind of experience you have. And it's not all, it doesn't all have to be business experience, but, you know, have you failed in life? Have you failed in life and persevered to something better? You know, these are things that are just like, are you a solid heavyweight person that knows how to navigate through life in difficult situations and what kind of leader are you? But then, you know, you kind of jump into, what's the purpose of the business? You know, what's the, what's the vision and mission that you have? What's the problem that you're trying to solve? And is it worthwhile? Is it a big

Starting point is 00:08:53 play that you're going to make life different for people? It's an important add to your community or to the world that you're going to solve something for people and people respect you for it. And I find in small business, there's a lot of Me Too follower-type businesses out there that don't make it. There's nothing original about it. They kind of think the market's there. And if they hang out a shingle to do something, there's plenty of market there. And that's just not how it works. You know, it's got to be something very specific.

Starting point is 00:09:21 And then, you know, the final part is the value proposition that you bring. And this is where I think people really underestimate what it means to be in this physical realm of business of people trying to beat each other up and knock each other out of the game. It's like a pinball machine, you know, but if you haven't figured out what's truly unique about what you're doing, you're really going to have a rough go of it. And I find that all the time. It's like, you know, people feel like, well, you know, Nashville is growing. You know, there's got to be room for another HVAC or another restaurant or another whatever. And the reality is, I mean, everybody's in it to win it. Like, if you don't appreciate how hard people are going to play to keep their market share and they're part of it, like you better be coming to market with some new.

Starting point is 00:10:04 idea or something that's different about your company. So it's, just think about what's at the very essence of it, vision, mission, values, the problem you're trying to solve and how you're going to solve it. I mean, that's the mass of it. And you know the lightweights and the heavy weights that are out there. And the story I tell all the time is that I think is probably my personal best illustration is that I went along on the Dell DJ in 2005 thinking it was the answer in digital music. I found up pretty quickly that, you know, the idea of digital music was out there,

Starting point is 00:10:39 but here are these people over at Apple doing something that completely blew everybody's mind. And I bought three Dell DJs, and the value proposition wasn't there. It was hard to use. It was difficult. And, you know, I might have one in my desk. Yeah, here it is. I keep this to show to people. This is the Dell DJ compared to the Apple iPod. And I use it as a reminder, you know, that's a heavy value proposition and weight in the market. Think about the intelligence of that team that engineered that iPod and the difference that they made in people's lives. I mean, it's, you know, and you can say that of so many huge entrepreneurs that we know,

Starting point is 00:11:16 but it works at a local level, too. Like, that's different. I hope you're enjoying these conversations and finding value in them. If this episode challenged your thinking, encouraged you, or gave you a tool you can use to become a better leader, share it with one person who needs to hear it. Leadership isn't learned alone. It's passed from person to person, conversation to conversation, and action to action. If you're listening on a podcast platform, I'd be grateful if you'd leave a review also. If you're watching on YouTube, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss future conversations.

Starting point is 00:11:49 And if you have a question, a thought, or a topic you'd like to see us cover, leave a comment, please. I read them and I'll do my best to respond. Thanks for being part of the Start with a Win community. keep learning, keep growing, and keep leading. Yeah, so, I mean, and that kind of, that's an interesting perspective because they both had a different velocity, I suppose, as well.

Starting point is 00:12:12 And, you know, you got mass times velocity, right? Right, right. And, you know, going back to physics class. But, you know, velocity, speed, and direction of progress, Dell clearly didn't have, I mean, maybe they had speed. I don't know, they didn't have direction. that's for sure on this.

Starting point is 00:12:31 Apple speed and direction. So tell us a little bit about what, you know, just briefly, what should we consider when it comes to velocity of our business? Yeah, I think when we, you know,

Starting point is 00:12:42 when most people think about velocity, they think about high energy, you know, like I'm moving. Right. When you get into science and you study what velocity is, it's a vector.

Starting point is 00:12:54 And for something to have velocity, it's got to meet three criteria. It's a direct. direction, a very clear direction, a distance, and a speed. So you have to have those things. If you're going to have velocity, you have to have those three things. And a lot of entrepreneurs have energy to go after market, and they have not really constructed the specifics of where they're going,

Starting point is 00:13:19 the exact demographic and target that they're going after to say that I've gotten 10% of those people to do business with me. You know, just pick a restaurant. Like, I want, I want 10% of the households in 37069 to dine at my restaurant. It's kind of like, this is going to be great, and people are going to come in, and it's going to be awesome. But you find that, you know, some people will come in that are not your target market, and they're going to be underwhelmed because it's not really their thing. Right.

Starting point is 00:13:49 And so you've got, you've got to have that demographic, and it's hard work. I mean, it's like, you know, when people have a big idea and they're ready to go. go, it's an annoyance to talk to someone like you or me and go, well, tell me more about that. What type of person is this? Where do they live? Where do they, you know, say, oh, you know, you're such a, you're such a, you know, downer, you know, get on board. You know, we're moving out. But, I mean, those are the questions that you have to have, that total clarity about where you're going, how much of that demographic that you can capture and in what time period. Do you think, let me, let me, do you think people go after too much of the market?

Starting point is 00:14:27 or too tight of a market. I mean, it's, I think, I think that people are better served to be very specific and expand from there. But there's an idea that, like for me, you know, what I do in business coaching, you know, there's 33 to 35 million small businesses in America. Like, I can get really excited that there's so many people to help. But when you get down to it, you know, there's a very specific person that I help. You know, it's somebody that has launched a business.

Starting point is 00:14:57 they have enough proof that there's a product there, but they don't have the systems. They don't have any infrastructure. It's kind of like, who, you know, I've proven that it works, but what do I do now? Well, that's me, you know. And so when they go to market, it's like, I want to get as many people as possible

Starting point is 00:15:15 so I can pay the bills, you know. If it's not, if it's not like super relevant to that, to a demographic, you can't get the traction that you need to start expanding and duplicating, you know, replicating that in other markets. You know, I mean, I think that's typically, you're going from the specific to the general is, it's the best way to grow. To me, it's like, you know, I did a lot of work with the Boy Scouts when my kids are growing up. It's like, you don't start a fire with the big log, you know?

Starting point is 00:15:43 I mean, it's like you gather up some Tinder and the things start smoking up and sparking, and you keep adding to it. I mean, that's how business should be. But it's kind of like, man, this is going to be the most awesome thing. There's so many people out there. It's almost like the fact that. that I'm manifesting this in the universe is going to attract people. It really doesn't work that way.

Starting point is 00:16:02 I mean, it's got to be a specific plan of, you know, for the next year, these are the people I'm going after. I've got to get 10% of them to do business with me. You know, and that's the distance direction and speed. And if you haven't evaluated that, you're going to have a lot of energy, but it's going to burn out pretty quickly because you won't get the results that you need to sustain it.

Starting point is 00:16:22 Right. Yeah, it's, I mean, I look at it and I think, okay, I'd be better off saying I help tire stores sell more tires than I would be saying I help build leaders and businesses. Yeah. I mean, you're just too diluted at that point. Right. But if you know only you only helping tire stores sell more tires is what you do, they're going to listen to you. Right.

Starting point is 00:16:45 Everybody hears the pitch about leaders. Well, it's brand strength. It's understanding. I mean, it's like it's mutual, it's mutual understanding of what someone's trying to do that shines through in a brand. promised. And when we're general of like, you know, we're going to, we're going to become a great leader or, you know, whatever some of these broad things are that we feel like, well, man, I'm, I'm making this funnel so wide. I can't miss. Well, the reality is like you're dealing with a lot of fuzziness. Yeah. Yeah. You need specifics, you know, to get that traction and word of mouth,

Starting point is 00:17:18 repetitive business. And even, you know, at some point, you start thinking of, well, they worked in Nashville, like, why wouldn't they work at Memphis or Louisville or wherever? Like, I feel like, you know, there are other places I can do that. That's typically how successful businesses will grow over time. I mean, it's, I find that venture-backed companies, there's a pretty good entrepreneur ecosystem here in Nashville. People are trying to raise money. And that's kind of, to me, the equivalent of trying to set a big log on fire at the

Starting point is 00:17:46 Boy Scout camp out. You know, it's like, I've raised $3 million, and we're going to come on the market and drop this opportunity on people and we're really going to grow. I mean, I, I think there's a lot to be said for just being testing and being strategic about the people you're trying to help and coming up with that unique thing that's different before, before you spend a lot of money on it. Yeah. All right. I got a question for you then that runs against some of these things. So you've got friction. You have friction in your book. What is the biggest source of friction that quietly slows down businesses?

Starting point is 00:18:24 The biggest friction point to me is getting people to accept their goals and responsibilities. You know, we have expectations of what we want from people, and they have their own ideas about how they're going to operate. And somewhere in the middle of that is this, you know, the tires hugging the road. Like, everybody's getting along. I understand my goals and I know what to do. but at the same time, you know, I'll make a play for, and then, you know, you've got, you've got interpersonal things that happen that to me is all about am I living the values

Starting point is 00:19:00 of the company. And when I see behaviors that are incorrect, do I have the courage to snuff them out? You know, it's just like, this is our culture. You don't violate these rules. I mean, there's all that. But, you know, with smaller businesses, one of the problems that I think we confront is, is like a fear of friction and friction less environments are as dangerous as ones that have really high friction.

Starting point is 00:19:26 You know, high friction is like things are on fire and smoking. Right. But we have to embrace friction as our friend. Like we can't get anywhere without friction. I can't walk across my backyard without friction. And so you have to have this healthy attitude toward there has to be healthy friction in my business. And that represents in the cascading of goals for people and everybody ought to have a goal.

Starting point is 00:19:48 Everybody ought to have something that they are accountable for, that they own, and that they bring their best self to it. And sometimes, you know, especially in tight labor markets, I think business owners are, I don't know, they're little timid about saying this is the expectation, you know. And it's like so much comes back to them because, you know, the employer, the associate hasn't acted on what's necessary for them. So I think he got some ways. I think you got something there, Chip. You know, it seems like people hire and say this is a fun place to work and we have a lot of fun. They want it to be fun. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:20:27 But at the same time, they don't say we set the bar high and we hold ourselves accountable to it. Are you okay with doing that? And people love that. I mean, I have just learned that throughout my career is people would rather be challenged and not have a goal. I mean, it's not fun to walk in a place and not know if you're doing well. Right. Exactly. I mean, it's not fun for the employee.

Starting point is 00:20:49 It's kind of like every day is like, well, what could cost me my job? Maybe I wore the wrong shirt or I'm pulling for the wrong team or, you know, just make it specific and help them celebrate it. Help them, you know, help them beat the heck out of the goal and be excited about it. I mean, that's really positive energy for your company when people are beating goals. Like, you can't, you can't match that energy. I mean, it's just like, as you know, John Maxwell, when you're winning, nothing hurts, you know? I mean, that's one of his favorite quotes. Yeah, that's true.

Starting point is 00:21:19 All right. I've got one for you. After over 35 years in business, working with entrepreneurs, what is one leadership mindset shift that instantly changes a company's trajectory? There's some good things in my book about leadership cultures. And I think the most powerful mindset shift that I can think of is that, you know, being in a hierarchical organization where everything flows up to the top is very limiting in energy wasting. And when you really latch on to people development for the company and for them personally,

Starting point is 00:22:02 trying to enrich people's lives, and then the risk of empowerment for people to make decisions on their own at whatever level, to own the task and to innovate for you, I think that's the biggest mindset change that will produce results because whether you like it or not as a business owner, I know there's a lot of pride of authorship and what you've built. You have limitations, and there are people out there that know something a lot better than you do. They're a lot more creative.

Starting point is 00:22:37 They're a lot more observant. And when you get into that, you know, I call it the difference between, a fission field where everything is divided up and people are competing against each other into this fusion field where fusion energy is kind of the future. Everybody's working on it. And basically what it means is like there's this incredible high energy bonding that's going on that from a business standpoint, it involves you sharing the vision, mission, values and the way to do things with people every single day.

Starting point is 00:23:08 And, you know, there are a lot of CEOs that are introverts. They don't like being with people. They like the numbers. You know, they like a lot of things. But, you know, you have to be a presence that people tap into and understand and then act upon it and accept the results. I think that's the single biggest mind shift change. I love that. That's incredible.

Starting point is 00:23:27 Chip, where can we find you online if we want to learn more about your business? Oh, thank you for that. Yes. So I've got a website. The business website is bizix.com. It's B-I-Z-C-S dot com. I also have for speaking and kind of workshops, consulting, that type of thing. I just use Chip Higgins.com.

Starting point is 00:23:49 And I'm on LinkedIn. I think you'll see my book in the background if you look there. Those are probably the best ways to reach me. Awesome. Chip, this has been a pleasure to speak with you. And I think our brains are exploding with business wind. It's been my pleasure. Thank you.

Starting point is 00:24:05 Thank you for helping me on. It means a lot. It's absolute pleasure, my friend. I do have a question. and I ask all of the great leaders that come on, start with a win. And that's, how do you start your day with a win? Yeah. And this is very Maxwellian.

Starting point is 00:24:20 I told you at the beginning. I'd have a strong John Maxwell finish on this. One of the things I completely internalized and embraced from John is that, you know, lives well lived are about adding value to other people. So I always start my day with the nurturing activity right now. my favorite thing to do to start the day and think about like, how are things growing and how can you impact your environment is to get out in my yard. And I spend a lot of time in my yard with, you know,

Starting point is 00:24:52 call it gardening or landscaping, whatever, you know, whatever the most, you know, masculine thing I can say. But what I find when I'm out there is I just see growth at all levels. You know, I see things that are blooming. I see things that are emerging. I see things that are getting choked. And I always, it's a reset. for me about what can you do today in a broader sense besides your yard and the zineas

Starting point is 00:25:15 or whatever they're out there that you can be a nurturing force to people around you. That's the best way I can start my day is a thought about giving. Awesome. That's great. Chip Higgins, Bizzix. It's the Bizzix Way is Chip's book. Make sure you check them out online at bizix.com. Yeah, and the books on Amazon.

Starting point is 00:25:38 I will mention we've got Ken. handle audio and hardback. So please go check it out. And there's a lot of resources available in the book, too, that you'll get when you buy it. I love it. Yeah, I'm a big audio or audible guy myself. It suits me well when I'm out running around. So anyhow, everybody check out Chip online.

Starting point is 00:25:57 Some good information here. Remember, you know, the mass times velocity is the... And don't forget energy. You know, I think that's the one thing that came up is like, unless you have the right energy. The rest of the formula doesn't matter. It's not stated in the formula, but it requires energy to have momentum. All right. I love it. I love it. Everybody, you know, a huge thanks to Chip and Chip, thank you for starting with a win. Adam, thank you. Appreciate it.

Start With A Win - Chip Higgins: Why Friction is Your Business's Best Friend

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