Say Yes Before You’re Ready
And then have the #hustlemuscle to close the gap
It seems we can accomplish more of what we want (and be better leaders) when we have the courage to say yes before they’re ready, but also have the #hustlemuscle to finish and deliver. The power of saying yes even before you have all the skills you need (having a bias for action and taking risks) is a key characteristic of successful individuals. This is as true for taking on physical challenges and progressing personally as it is for leadership and building and scaling a business.
Saying Yes:
In my personal history, one early “yes” had a profound impact on shaping my future. I was 19 years old and had been working at Hooters for just over two years – waitressing, bartending, running shifts, training new employees, and working in the kitchen while putting myself through college. The leadership from the corporate office asked if I would join the crew heading to open the first Hooters in Australia; they were leaving in several weeks.
Important context: I’d never been out of the U.S. and had only left the state of Florida twice by bus or car. I’d never been on a plane; I didn’t have a passport; I'd never opened a restaurant. I was simply a good employee who had worked every job in the restaurant and trained other employees in my little store in Jacksonville, Florida, and helped in our other restaurants in the area.
My inclination was not to first think of all the reasons I couldn't go; but rather to say yes. In my mind, why would I not say yes as a 19-year-old being asked to go to Australia? It sounded pretty awesome to me, so I said yes to the opportunity.
I was aware that I didn’t have all I needed; that was obvious, but instead of saying, “I can’t go because I don’t have/aren’t ready/have never”, I thought “how can I get ready/learn”?
#HustleMuscle:
I immediately bought my first plane ticket and flew to Miami where I could get my passport expedited in 24 hours. That was the first step in closing the gap of getting what I needed to do what I had just said “yes” to do. Then I researched Australia and the culture so I could be successful as part of the team opening the restaurant. And then I went!
We worked on the pre-opening and training for about a month, successfully opened the restaurant with the team, and flew back to Jacksonville, thinking I’d go back to normal work and school. But that one yes turned into many other opportunities that fundamentally altered my life’s course and built a career rooted in international franchising, training, and operations.
While that is a story from long ago, it’s played out similarly in decisions ranging from taking a new job to investing in a new company, to taking a risk on an innovation or business partner.
As I’ve built teams and businesses and shared that story and others like it over the years, I’ve learned how differently some would have viewed that opportunity. What’s particularly noteworthy is not just the power of saying yes, but the critical component of the “hustle muscle” to then go figure it out and get things done quickly to live up to that commitment. If you say yes before you’re ready, but then don’t do the work to catch up, you let yourself and others down.
The willingness to do the research and learn that I could get my passport in 24 hours, to get my shift covered the next day and buy my first flight, leave immediately to fly and stand in line and get everything I needed to travel, were all critical steps in bringing the opportunity to life. All that hustle accomplished was getting me ready to go – that doesn’t cover all the hustle needed every day to deal with new situations, a new culture, a new team, and actually opening the business.
That story helped define one of my early mottos: "Say yes before you're ready.” But that statement should never stand by itself. The full statement is, “Say yes before you're ready, but then you'd better have the hustle muscle to close the gap between what you have and what you need.”
It's those two things together that truly helped me define a vision for myself and those I led or had the opportunity to influence – always building the leadership behaviors to figure it out, to learn, to ask questions, to be willing to fail along the way. And before you know it, you have a series of firsts that turn into great experiences allowing you to push your limits, create and lead change, and make an impact. Now, as someone who regularly hires, develops, and promotes people, I love finding people who aren’t quite yet ready but are willing to make the leap.
The great thing about creating and driving toward your vision by taking risks and flexing your #hustlemuscle is that you can look back and be so very proud. I try to take the time to remember that I've had all these really cool experiences because I was comfortable doing things as a “first” before I was fully ready and was also willing to do what was necessary to make sure that when I showed up, I could show up and deliver. The more I reflect on that, the more excited I get about the next “first”, the next failure, and the next “risk”.
Quick notes:
Say yes before you’re ready, and have the “hustle muscle” to go figure it out. Learn, ask, and get what you need to fill the gap between what you have and what you need. Be humble - if you’re saying yes fast and early, there will be things you don’t know and will need help with
Show up as informed and prepared as you possibly can – it’s irresponsible to be lazy and unprepared.
“Hustle muscle” can be built– but just like any muscle, you have to use it. I don't think you can take a class or read a book and go from having no hustle to lots of hustle. You have to put yourself in situations where you can prove to yourself that you can hustle and figure things out along the way.
Believe in yourself – even in your failures - learn from them and share those experiences with others. FAIL = First Attempt in Learning. That’s how you create personal change and help encourage the development of others.