Reib Law - September 2020

SHATTERPROOF NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2020

WWW.REIBLAW.COM | 940.591.0600

even make a video of how it worked for more visual learners. However, we now have systems in place that make us more successful as a firm. Through my experience creating systems, I learned a few important lessons. The first was that if you didn’t build a system to assign and track tasks, then those tasks wouldn’t get done. Bosses who can tell an employee to do something exactly once and expect them to do it only exist in movies and TV shows. As for the rest of us, we’ll have to make do with building systems that assign and track tasks. Then, if something doesn’t get done, we can go back through the system and find out if it failed somehow or if someone just failed to use it.

THE VALUE GOOD SYSTEMS BRING TO A BUSINESS WHAT I LEARNED WHEN I STARTED CREATING SYSTEMS

“IF YOU AND YOUR TEAM CREATE SYSTEMS THAT SOLVE JUST ONE PROBLEM PER WEEK, THEN YOU’LL NOT ONLY HAVE A FINELY TUNED BUSINESS, BUT YOU’LL ALSO HAVE A VERY FINELY TUNED TEAM.”

Another lesson I learned was that systems are important even for delegating tasks efficiently. If you’re a control freak, this is the tip for you. You might abide by the mantra “When I want something done right, I have to do it myself,” but realistically, you can’t do everyone’s job. It’s important to have systems in place to confirm tasks with employees and set up hard deadlines by which to complete them. They might not get the task done 100% how you want it, but if they can get it done 90% or even just 80% your way, that’s usually good enough. Finally, I learned that to create an effective system, you have to involve your team in the creation process. When employees have a hand in creating the systems, they’re much more likely to follow them. If you and your team create systems that solve just one problem per week, then you’ll not only have a finely tuned business, but you’ll also have a very finely tuned team. All of that said, no system is perfect, and no one will follow any system perfectly. However, good systems can help your business and team be more successful so they can better assist customers and clients. – Scott Reib

Building good systems for my firm wasn’t something that came intuitively. That said, I’m glad I started creating and implementing systems when I did. Having systems has proved invaluable for a number of reasons, some of which you can probably intuit, and some of which you might find more surprising. All this is to say, if you don’t think you need systems in place to do the best job you can, you’re wrong. I first learned that intentionally building systems for everything was important back in 2007 or 2008. I read “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber, which gives readers a framework for creating systems in their businesses. By 2012, I considered working systems to be so important that I hired a business coach to help everyone at REIBLAW create them. Building systems was way more difficult than I thought it would be at first. I found systems that worked for me might make absolutely no sense to someone else. That disconnect then led to a lot of back and forth verification on whether or not someone understood the system and could use it effectively. To accomplish this goal, I often had to type up a guide for how to use the system and maybe

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CHANGE CAN BE EASY

PAM MARMON’S OUTLINE FOR EFFECTIVE POST-PANDEMIC TRANSFORMATION

business owners are searching for proactive solutions and the next step in finding post-pandemic success. Marmon’s book is the perfect guide for business leaders who recognize the need for tangible change and want to execute it as effectively as possible. The key, Marmon explains, is to identify your company’s culture and cater your plan’s language to suit what will resonate with your employees the most. This will establish a sense of alignment with your business’s vision and direction, which can be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. You cannot achieve success in a period of change if your team is doubtful and unwilling. With your company united toward your vision, you can begin to enact real change. However, this is only the beginning. Marmon’s book also outlines how to connect with fellow leaders in your company to develop a framework for growth. By creating a stable foundation and inspiring change, you’ll find this time of major transition to be much smoother than you may have anticipated. As a result, your company will come out on top at the end of the COVID-19 era. Marmon’s mantra is inspiring: “With the proper process, change is not hard.” And with her book, “No One’s Listening and It’s Your Fault,” business leaders can see just how simple change can be.

Pam Marmon understands what it means to adapt. After growing up in Bulgaria, Marmon had to modify her way of living when she emigrated to the U.S. Today, she’s a CEO, entrepreneur, wife, and mother who believes that change doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, she’s mastered it. Marmon has even established a company, Marmon Consulting, that helps other companies develop strategies for executing transformation.

In Marmon’s book, “No One’s Listening and It’s Your Fault: Get Your Message Heard During Organizational Transformations,” she outlines her proven methods for effective communication in any company setting, from a major corporation to a family business. Released on March 24, 2020, Marmon’s advice is timely in a period when many

BIZ TOOL OF THE MONTH: ANSWERTHEPUBLIC

WANT TO READ YOUR CUSTOMERS’ MINDS?

customers are asking but also exactly how they ask them. AnswerThePublic divides questions into categories based on the how the questions are asked, such as those beginning with “how,” “why,” or “what,” to name a few. You can also see which search inquiries (beginning with prepositions or phrased as comparisons) were most popular with your customers. AnswerThePublic visualizes the data in a way that makes it easy to digest and create strategies for better serving your customers. You can even use the site to get updates on the latest ways customers are searching for your keywords. Ultimately, it’s an essential tool for any business that wants to get ahead of its customers' needs and desires and help them before they realize they need it. With AnswerThePublic, the next time you hear a customer exclaim, “It’s like you read my mind,” after hearing about your latest product or service, it will be as if it’s actually true.

Getting your customers what they want would be so easy if you could just read their minds. Almost every business owner has thought about this before, and while mind reading may never become a reality, AnswerThePublic tries to do the next best thing to help business owners provide better service to their customers. No collection of data provides greater insight into the human psyche than Google searches. Google’s search algorithms record nearly 3.8 million searches per minute. That’s over 5.6 billion searches per day! AnswerThePublic harnesses this data, as well as data from other search engines, in order to let businesses see the questions their customers ask most about their products and services. With this information, they can better understand their customer base and better cater to their needs. On AnswerThePublic.com, all you have to do is enter in a certain keyword that’s linked uniquely to your business, and they will show you not only which questions your

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IF IT CAN HAPPEN TO THE RICH AND FAMOUS, IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU

LESSONS FROM CELEBRITY ESTATE PLANNING MISTAKES

his young daughter as a beneficiary. Naturally, a legal battle ensued over who was meant to get Ledger’s considerable assets. Always remember to update your estate plan! MARLON BRANDO One of the most influential actors of the 20th century, Brando lived a long, full life before passing away at 80 years old in 2004. He had an estate plan in place, but as the legal proceedings began, a woman came forward claiming that Brando had left her the house she was currently living in, which Brando owned. The problem was that she never got it in writing. If Brando did actually mean to leave her the house, not getting that promise to her in writing was a big mistake. The woman ended up settling with the executors. Estate planning foibles can happen to anyone, even the rich and famous. But you can prevent it with the help of the attorneys at REIBLAW. Give us a call today at 940.591.0600.

A celebrity’s wealth might seem like the key to their happiness when they’re alive, but if they don’t have a clear plan for it after they die, it becomes a huge liability for their family and beneficiaries. In fact, some truly infamous legal battles over celebrities’ assets in the past decades could have been avoided if they had prepared a proper estate plan. JIMI HENDRIX Everyone knows Jimi Hendrix as one of the greatest guitar players of all time. What you might not know is that when he died at just 27 years old, he did not have a will or any sort of estate plan for distributing his assets. Jimi was close with his brother, but in the absence of a clear written plan, all of Jimi’s assets went to his father. His father then left all of his wealth to a daughter from a later marriage. Jimi’s brother never saw a dime. The takeaway: You’re never too young to create an estate plan. HEATH LEDGER Perhaps best known for his role as The Joker in “The Dark Knight,” actor Heath Ledger died soon after filming the movie. While he was young like Jimi Hendrix, Ledger actually had drafted a will, in which he left all his assets to his parents and sister. However, he died before he could update it to include

BALSAMIC MARINATED FLANK STEAK

We want your feedback! In editions of this newsletter, we’ve covered everything from business contracts to how to handle the former spouse who wound up with everything because there was no business succession plan in place. But now we’re wondering: What would you like to see? You know those legal questions that Google can’t give you a satisfactory answer to? The ones that keep you up at night as you wonder whether it’s time to call a lawyer? We want to answer those. Send us your questions, and we’ll use them to address the topics you want to know more about. Text your questions and curiosities to 972.677.3002 .

Inspired by FoodAndWine.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling • 1 3-lb flank steak • Kosher salt, to taste • Freshly ground pepper, to taste

• 2 garlic cloves, sliced • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves • 1 tbsp dried oregano • 2 tbsp whole-grain mustard • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine garlic, rosemary, oregano, mustard, and vinegar in a blender. Purée until garlic is minced. 2. Add oil and continue blending until creamy, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve 1/4 cup. 3. Place steak in a ceramic or glass baking dish and cover steak with the remaining marinade. Turn to coat the other side, cover, and let marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 4. Remove steak from marinade and let excess marinade drip off. Sprinkle the steak lightly with salt and pepper. 5. Light grill and oil grates with olive oil. 6. Grill steak over moderate heat for 10–12 minutes, turning halfway through, until steak is lightly charred and the internal temperature reaches 125 F. 7. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice, drizzle reserved sauce, and serve.

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The Value Good Systems Bring to a Business INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2 2 3 3 4 How to Enact Effective Change Biz Tool of the Month: AnswerThePublic Lessons From Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak The Truth Behind the 21st Night of September

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE 21ST NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER?

4 DECADES OF EARTH, WIND & FIRE’S ‘SEPTEMBER’

nonsensical phrase “ba-dee-ya,” which White included in the chorus. Throughout the songwriting process, Willis begged to change the phrase to real words. At the final vocal session, Willis finally demanded to know what ba-dee-ya meant. White replied, “Who cares?” “I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting from him,” Willis recalled in a 2014 interview with NPR, “which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove.” The groove is why “September” has stood the test of time, right from that very first lyric. For decades, people have asked Willis and members of the band about the significance of Sept. 21. As it turns out, there isn’t much beyond the sound. “We went through all the dates: ‘Do you remember the first, the second, the third, the fourth …’ and the one that just felt the best was the 21st,” Willis explained.

“Do you remember the 21st night of September?”

In 1978, Maurice White of the band Earth, Wind & Fire first asked this question in the song “September,” a funky disco song that quickly topped the charts. While disco may be dead today, “September” certainly isn’t. The song is still featured in movies, TV shows, and wedding playlists. On Sept. 21, 2019, the funk hit was streamed over 2.5 million times. It’s no wonder that the Los Angeles City Council declared Sept. 21 Earth, Wind & Fire Day. The story behind “September” is almost as enduring as the song itself. It was co-written by White and Allee Willis, who eventually became a Grammy-winning songwriter and Tony nominee. But before any of that, Willis was a struggling songwriter in Los Angeles living off food stamps. When White reached out and asked Willis to help write the next Earth, Wind & Fire hit, it was truly her big break.

The truth is that nothing happened on the 21st night of September — except a whole lot of dancing.

White and Willis proved to be excellent songwriting partners, but they clashed over one key element of the song: the