Dean Mannix isn’t a good, but a great coach. As the co-founder and CEO of SalesITV, he has delivered sales performance projects in over 25 countries. He’s recognized as one of Australia’s leading sales performance coaches, advising, coaching, and training senior executives from many of the world’s leading corporations, like Goldman Sachs, Oracle, Canon, News Corp, and plenty of other companies you see in Forbes.

Welcome to another edition of Summa Sessions! This week, we’re talking habits. Johnny led us off with the 8 easy steps to start a new habit, such as taking baby steps and not committing yourself to too many new habits. Ryan then talked about how all of our actions are based in habits we formed and that we should shoot to be 1% better each day. This led to a quote from Danae, “Get in the habit of asking yourself ‘does this support the life you’re trying to create?’” If whatever you’re doing doesn’t support the life you’re trying to create, you may need to get rid of some bad habits. Chris then discussed practicing your habits and the bad habits that he would find himself committing to on the football field. This also led to a new initiative for the group- all of us will be finding a new habit to commit to for the month. Nick ended the session with a quote, “You cannot change your future, but you can change your habits. And surely your habits will change your future.”

On July 1st, 2012, Jared Ward was riding his motorcycle when he got into a major accident. He hit two bumps in the road and skidded across two lanes. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Life flashed before his eyes. When he snapped back to reality, he realized he was in trouble. He had a dislocated clavicle, broken wrist, and cracked ribs. 50% to 60% of his body was covered in road rash. He ended up spending 19 days in a level one trauma center ICU, where doctors told him that he would need help just to walk. He was constantly in and out of surgery. The crash flipped a switch in him- he went from off to on. Sitting in the hospital, he knew his perspective and mindset was about to be challenged, and he rose to overcome this obstacle.

Today is the 4th Summa Session about communication! Johnny led us off with how not to apologize, which is to bring up excuses of why the mistake was made and instead own up to it and hopefully provide a solution. Next up, Chris talked about the difference between extroverts and introverts, and how you need to understand who you’re talking to and how they communicate. Ryan then discussed a pet peeve that many of us share, which is talking to someone who is paying all their attention to their phone. Sure, they may be nodding along to what you’re saying, but they are almost always much more interested in what’s going on on their phone. Danae brought up the 10 ways to love (or the 10 ways to be a good friend and coworker), which included things like “Answer, don’t argue” and “Promise, don’t forget.” Nick ended us off talking about his favorite number, because we’re in Q4! This is where legends are made, this is where games are won. And he also brought up how you’re 95% more likely to accomplish your goals if you say them out loud, so we chanted “half a milli, 50 reviews” to end the session.

On today’s hump day Summa Session, we’re talking communication. Johnny led us off with some horror stories about communication failures at hospitals, which were extreme examples of the importance of communication. Ryan then discussed a very relevant quote, “Assume the person speaking knows something you don’t.” Our team is constantly talking to experts in their field, so every conversation should be treated as a learning opportunity. Danae then brought in the 5 love languages of graphic design and this sparked an idea of talking to clients about how they want to use each of the love languages in their projects. Chris then gave us 5 reasons why effective communication is important, and Nick finished us off talking about the importance of the other types of communication other than words- body language, tone, speed, enthusiasm. These account for 90% of the communication we have, while words are just 10%!

On today’s Summa Session, we’re still talking about communicating! Johnny led us off with a Forbes article on using storytelling in your business to connect emotionally to your clients, which’ll help retain them for longer. Danae then came in with a quote from the book Boundaries, which talked about responding instead of reacting. When you react, the control is with the other person, while responding keeps you in control. Chris then brought up some tips for being an engaged listener- did you know you should favor your right ear? Ryan talked about how communication has evolved throughout the years, from cave drawings to the smart phone, and how our connection with the world has gotten easier and easier. Nick finished us off with a discussion on the internal dialogue you have with yourself and how that affects your mindset.

On Monday’s edition of Summa Sessions, we’ve got a new topic for the week: communication. Johnny led us off with the top 5 reasons that communication is a must for a small business, a fitting topic for our team. Danae then discussed the positive benefits you get when you have open communication, such as improved mental health and greater work and personal relationships. Chris brought in the questions for launching a product - who, what, how, and where are you going to communicate to be effective. This led Ryan to talking about the 5 C’s of communication- be clear, be concise, be compelling, be curious, and be compassionate, and then Nick ended us with talking about how no communication is still communication- if you don’t show up and don’t tell anyone, you are actually telling them that you do not respect their time. He then finished with the 10 benefits of effective communication and discussed how these benefits can and will play out for Summa.

On today’s Wednesday edition of Summa Sessions, we’re still winning. Johnny kicked us off with a story of Gene Hammett, a man who lost $3 million dollars and his business in one day and had to learn the lessons from his loss to start winning again. This led to Chris talking about a favorite saying around here, “Win the day!” Chip Kelly brought it to Oregon when he became the football coach of the Ducks and brought the total mindset along with it. Danae then talked about a quote, “Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react,” which ties very nicely with a lot of the mindset talk we’ve been having. Ryan then talked about measuring your wins for yourself and not against others, because everyone moves at different speeds. Nick finished our conversation off with the 3 things to bring to every dream- enthusiasm, imagination, and perseverance.

On today’s Summa Session, we’re continuing our talk about wins. Johnny started us off with a WikiHow article about how to win at everything. There were 9 steps, and we discussed each one. Danae then brought a quote that said, “Being Positive in a negative situation isn’t naïve, it’s leadership.” This led to Ryan’s quote from Pat Summit about winning being fun but not the point, the point is not giving up. This sports analogy got Chris talking about how he makes everything a game, which helps him stay motivated so he can keep “winning” at every step of the process. The sports theme continued with Nick, who brought up the Chiefs 49ers Super Bowl, where the Chiefs were down to just a 4.6% winning percentage. Even though the odds were stacked against them, Pat Mahomes went to Tyreek Hill to pick his head up and keep him motivated like a great leader, and Hill ended up converting a huge play that led to the Chiefs game winning drive.

On this week’s Monday edition of Summa Sessions, we’re talking about wins. Johnny kicked off the topic by talking about the power of small wins, which was illustrated in a study by the Harvard Business Review that discussed the progress principle. Danae brought in a quote that followed up the small wins topic, “When you focus on the good, the good gets better.” We talked about appreciating the small victories, which helps you get closer to the big ones. Ryan then brought up a quote, “Eat the frog before it eats you,” which is about tackling your biggest challenge first to get your day started on a victory, and the rest of the day will come easier. But if you wait, the “frog” will eat you, meaning the stress of that big task will weigh on you all day. Nick ended the day’s conversation with a rousing speech about winning the day. Your vision can look incredibly intimidating, but to win the year, you’ve got to win the month, and to win the month, you’ve got to win the week. You’ve got to break down your goal into small victories you can accomplish, and that starts with winning the day.