The Hidden Chaos Holding Back Your Contracting Business (And How to Stop It)
My Business On Purpose
You know that dashboard in front of you when you get in a car and start driving it around? One of the things you're looking at, obviously, is the speedometer, odometer, the fuel gauge—those sorts of things. But it’s also those lights, those warning lights that can come up and let you know what the performance of the car is doing. And so in business, we have a dashboard. We operate via dashboard. And with that dashboard, there are also some warning lights—some yellow lights, some red lights—that we can look for. Hey, it’s Scott Beebe with Business On Purpose. I wanted to walk you, as...
info_outline
The Dickie & Donny Show Ep 19: Are you OVERfunctioning in leadership?
My Business On Purpose
Is your leadership running at full speed… but your energy running on empty? In this episode of The Dickie & Donny Show, Shawn “Dickie” Stinson and Brandon “Donny” Gray dig into a silent leadership killer—overfunctioning systems—and how they quietly drain your capacity, weaken your team, and leave you teetering on the edge of burnout. Are you stepping in to fix problems your team could solve? Do you feel more like the “firefighter” than the leader? Is your health, patience, or focus starting to crack under pressure? Through the vivid metaphor of a dying tree—rotting...
info_outline
Hate Conflict? 10 Ways To Confront Tough Situations
My Business On Purpose
Well, there are some things that I love in life and there are some things that I want to avoid like the plague. Conflict is one of those. I am not one of those that looks to run into conflict. In fact, I would classify myself as pretty conflict averse. But I’ve had to learn over time that leadership requires these things to come out eventually. That doesn’t mean I’ve done them great. Actually, this picture you see—if you’re watching on video—I got from a buddy of mine, Rob Shreve. Don’t worry, audio listeners, I’ll walk through it. Rob has this book by John Maxwell, a...
info_outline
The Dickie & Donny Show Ep 18: Time is Irrevocable
My Business On Purpose
Is time quietly slipping through your fingers? In this episode of The Dickie & Donny Show, Shawn “Dickie” Stinson and Brandon “Donny” Gray tackle one of the most underestimated truths in life and business: time is irrevocable—once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Are your days packed but your priorities untouched? Do urgent tasks keep pushing out the important ones? Are you spending more time reacting than leading? Every minute you spend is an investment… or a cost you can’t get back. The question is—are you investing it wisely? You’ll discover practical ways to identify...
info_outline
From Frustration to Flow: Building a System-Driven, Growth-Minded Business (for less than 50 employees)
My Business On Purpose
Most of the businesses we work with have less than 100 employees. In fact, if you were to do a bell curve, you'd see that most of our clients fall somewhere between five and 50 employees in that sweet spot. So we tend to give a lot of examples. The majority of our clients are in the contracting space or the AEC space—architecture, engineering, contracting—or industries that support those. It’s a privilege to work with them. Within that, what we typically run into is not a lack of ideas or concepts, but a mindset barrier—that tends to be the rub—that keeps them from being liberated...
info_outline
The Dickie & Donny Show Ep 17: Finding Your Business Rhythm
My Business On Purpose
***Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the song “Typical.” All music credit goes to Mutemath.*** Is your business stuck in a chaotic cycle of trial and error? In this episode, Dickie & Donny (BOP Coaches Shawn Stinson and Brandon Gray) reveal the secret to sustainable growth: mastering the balance between predictable "typical" rhythms and innovative "atypical" practices. They break down the crucial business fundamentals you need to get right, including the rhythm of effective meetings, consistent financial reporting, and the five stages of company development. Discover why building...
info_outline
Master Process Roadmap: Streamlining Operations for Unstoppable Efficiency On One Sheet Of Paper
My Business On Purpose
We've been liberating owners from chaos for a little over 10 years now at the time of this recording. When you look back at the history or sort of the anthology of what we've seen built in these tools in the Business On Purpose Operating System, we've realized that one of the core tools is something that we call the Master Process Roadmap. If you look at it, there’s a core question that many owners ask, and that is, “What happens to the business if something happens to me?” Well, if you've got your Master Process Roadmap in place, then you've got something that the business can continue...
info_outline
The Dickie & Donny Show Ep 16: How Trust Builds Winning Teams
My Business On Purpose
Is lack of trust holding your team back? In this episode of The Dickie & Donny Show, Shawn “Dickie” Stinson and Brandon “Donny” Gray dive deep into one of the most overlooked challenges in business: team trust. Are your team meetings full of dread instead of energy? Do people hesitate to ask for help? Are weaknesses hidden instead of addressed? These could be signs that trust is missing—and it’s costing your business more than you think. Learn how to spot the 6 most common trust issues and what you can do today to rebuild a healthy, aligned, and accountable team. Trust isn’t...
info_outline
Every Business Owners Can Grow Using These Five Simple Tools
My Business On Purpose
Recently, Ashley and I have had the privilege of meeting with some young couples and talking to them as they're just coming into marriage or preparing to be married. They often ask us a variety of questions, as you would expect from anyone talking to a couple who’s been married for a while. One of the big issues that consistently comes up early in marriage—and continues to show up later—is the issue of money. That’s been true in our marriage as well. It makes sense that money and finances are also a very real issue for business owners, especially those who are married and both spouses...
info_outline
The Dickie & Donny Show Ep 15: Cash Management Strategies for Business Owners
My Business On Purpose
Feel like your business is earning but still wondering where the cash went? In this episode of The Dickie & Donny Show, Business Coaches Brandon “Donny” Gray and Shawn “Dickie” Stinson share proven cash management strategies every business owner should know. From using multiple bank accounts to implementing a profit-first approach, they walk through real-life examples of how simple changes can transform your financial health. You'll learn how to: Set up your bank accounts to gain financial clarity Track actual cash—not just profits on paper Close the financial “back doors”...
info_outlineWell, it's first thing here in the office. These are the times that, when I'm in town—we travel quite a bit for work—I like to be able to come in when it’s not super busy because you can actually get a lot of things done. But how do you know that you're not really tiptoeing around like a mouse, micromanaging everybody else that's coming in, and making them feel this pressure, like you're constantly looking over their shoulder?
We have a tool called the Seesaw of Predictability I wanted to introduce you to.
Hey, it's Scott Beebe with Business On Purpose. Make sure you tune in to every episode of the Business On Purpose podcast. Also, two of our guys, Sean and Brandon, have started the Dickie and Donnie Do Business podcast. You want to make sure it’s on your radar—go listen to every episode. My kids are listening to it, a lot of our clients are listening to it, and many folks who are not yet clients are listening too. It’s a fascinating podcast.
So let's talk about this issue of micromanagement. Understanding the fine line between what we call effective leadership on one hand, and micromanagement on the other, is essential for you as a business owner or key leader. That’s where the concept of the Seesaw of Predictability comes in.
Just imagine a seesaw in your mind. It offers a simple but powerful way to gauge whether you’re leading effectively or slipping down that slope of micromanagement. To determine if you’re micromanaging, ask yourself a key question—probably good to write this down: Am I asking the right question at the right time? Stop there and really meditate on that. When either of those elements is out of balance, like a seesaw, you’re likely micromanaging.
Let’s consider some scenarios.
Scenario 1: Asking the wrong question at the right time.
Imagine you’re in a team meeting and suddenly request sales figures from 11 years ago. While the timing might be appropriate since it’s during a meeting, the question is irrelevant to the current discussion and goals. It throws people off because it’s unexpected. Remember the RPMs of great leadership: Repetition, Predictability, and Meaning.
Scenario 2: Asking the right question at the wrong time.
Let’s say you need last week’s sales results. Perfectly reasonable request. However, if you text your team at 11:37 PM on a Friday demanding the information, you’ve crossed into micromanagement.
Scenario 3: Asking the right question at the right time.
You request last week’s sales results during this week’s sales meeting. That’s spot on. This demonstrates leadership and accountability—exactly what you should be aiming for.
There’s a time to ask the appropriate question, and there’s a time not to. If you can maintain that balance—or what we like to call rhythm—you can lead your entire business with healthy leadership practices.
The goal is to equip the team with the knowledge tools they need to handle recurring challenges. By the way, that’s a subtle definition of leadership: to equip people. Think of an empty toolbelt—you’re giving them tools, equipping them with knowledge and skills to handle recurring problems. Because even if we “solve” a problem, it doesn’t disappear forever—it often just retreats, only to reappear somewhere else. That’s how chaos works. And chaos won’t be fully defeated until much later in life.
Additionally, you should proactively begin sharpening those tools, just like you’d sharpen a knife. Ashley and I like to cook meal kits at home. They ship you all the ingredients and make you feel like a chef. One of the first things I always do is sharpen the knife with that little post—whatever they call that. Similarly, part of leadership is proactively sharpening your tools through training and development.
When you ask the right questions at the right time, it not only helps you avoid micromanagement but also empowers your team to perform at their best. You create an environment of trust, accountability, and continuous improvement. Those are all hallmarks of effective leadership.
Hey, I know a lot of you have questions around this. Go to businessonpurpose.com/ask. If you're a business owner with three or more employees and doing $1M+ in revenue, our coaches reserve slots each week for a 15-minute no-strings-attached call to answer any questions you’ve got. We call it Ask Us Anything. Go to businessonpurpose.com/ask.
To check the health of your business, visit mybusinessonpurpose.com/healthy today!
SIGN UP for our Newsletter HERE➡️ https://www.boproadmap.com/newsletter
For blogs and updates, visit our site HERE ➡️ https://www.mybusinessonpurpose.com/blog/
LISTEN to the Business On Purpose Podcast HERE ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-business-on-purpose/id969222210
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel HERE ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbPR8lTHY0ay4c0iqncOztg?sub_confirmation=1