Matthew Neill Davis is an author, speaker and attorney. He owns and manages Davis Law, PLLC, a firm dedicated to helping business owners make smart business decisions. The firm finds solutions to pressing problems and issues that business owners encounter, and runs custom legal departments for businesses and nonprofits. Davis Law has made the Law Firm 500 three times as one of the fastest-growing law firms in the U.S. His new book is The Art of Preventing Stupid: How to Build a Stronger Business Strategy Through Better Risk Management.
Top Takeaways: The Art of Preventing Stupid with Matthew Neill Davis
- Ignorance is Curable
- “Carry the Message to Garcia” – 1898 Leadership classic – used to be required reading by US Marines –
- Figure out a way to get things done
- Team members need to be committed to figuring out a solution – these people always have jobs
- Take on leadership opportunities to show investment in the outcome of the business
- Get in front of people’s problems – be Pro-active not Re-active
- Problems come from one of 3 sources
- Failure to prepare for catastrophes
- Failure to properly educate ourselves (ignorance)
- Ineptitude – not doing the things we know we need to do (running our systems properly and making things run right)
- “Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande (the importance of systems and following checklists to ensure quality)
- Business functions –
- The owner – starts with you (management in a big business)
- Personnel – those that do the work
- Production – the work that gets done
- Plant – where the work gets done
- Metrics – how you measure it (make a profit)
- Marketing
- Sales
- Protect, Improve and then grow – reverse engineering as most entrepreneurs think grow, improve protect
- Help customers become Productively Paranoid – how to think for growth – don’t become complacent
- Preventing is an ACTION word – think ahead, strategize, prepare for success
- Ask the right questions – to get to the right answers – the basis of coaching – helping YOU come up with the right solution
- Owners/Managers must
- Hold yourself to a higher standard
- NOT claim ignorance – need to know what is important – know where to find the answers
- surround themselves with the information, education and the people to be able to train employees and make accurate decisions
- Find the right skillsets for your team
Listen to the Audio
Subscribe to the podcast – Never Miss an Episode
Learning From Leaders:
Current Book: Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy by Clate Mask
Leadership Superpower: Confident Leader
Motivational Mantra:
[shareable cite=”W Edwards Deming”]A Bad System will beat a Good Person every time” (W Edwards Deming)[/shareable]
Book Most Often Gifted: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Additional Items Mentioned
Matthew’s book: The Art of Preventing Stupid: How to Build a Stronger Business Strategy through Better Risk Management by Matthew Neill Davis
Matthew’s website: theartofpreventingstupid.com or matthewneilldavis.com
