HP#191 | Filtering Through the Mind of a Billion-Dollar Woman

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I love incredibly successful people that still have the down-to-earth human touch. It is really enjoyable to talk with them and understand why they are who they are.  Today’s guest is one of those people and yet so much more. Janice Bryant Howroyd is the founder The ActOne Group and she is the very first African-American female to found a billion dollar company, and yes you heard me right, a billion dollar company.  

What is even more impressive about Janice is that speaking with her was like talking to an old friend. She is incredibly relatable and really a caring and authentic human being.

Contact Info:

Website: thebusinessmethod.com/

Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/TheBusinessMethod

Google Podcasts: bit.ly/TheBusinessMethodGooglePodcasts

Spotify: bit.ly/SpotifyTheBusinessMethod

Amazon Music: bit.ly/AmazonTheBusinessMethod Transcript:

Chris: Do you ever wonder how a billionaire thinks? How do they process all those crazy thoughts that go through their head on a regular basis? Well, I was curious, so I asked one.

And the person I ask is Janice Bryant. Howroyd the first black woman to build a billion dollar company. 

Want to hear what she has to say. Let's hop into it. Going back to what you mentioned earlier in the interview, when you talked about your mind bouncing around all the time, Ray asks, how does Janice keep her mind in check and stay focused when it's all over the place and you see the world as a kaleidoscope?

Janice: Ain't trying to do that Ray for chance. That's a failure from your perspective. I have no interest in organizing this beautiful mess. I love it. I thrive in it. What I do have though is Discipline. Discipline around initiatives and discipline around behaviors. So I love for my, you know, I, if you go up in there, it probably looks like Einstein's hair.

But I, I, I deeply, deeply enjoy letting all the light come in, let all of it come in. And then once I filter it toward an initiative. Or, or a team effort, then I believe, as a matter of fact, my team will tell you, , one of my quotes they most often use is discipline ain't a dirty word. It's not a dirty word, you know, so I think that helps balance if that's what you're going at.

I'm a highly disciplined person. . Chris:

What is your filtration process there? , you know, we all get crazy ideas and they bounce around our head and we want to start this like new side hustle or new business or new project. , what are the ones that, what's your process for finding out which ideas are legitimate and the ones you want to continue to work towards? Janice:

Oh, great. So there are four questions I asked myself. One, and this is kind of formulaic for me, Chris, so I can rattle it off. One is what do I want from it? If I do it. What's the outcome? What's the goal of it? What do I want from it? The next question is, what do I want from it? In the next 12 months, depending on where your energies are already obligated, you've only got so much time in a day that you can give.

Even though all of us have the same amount of time to work with. So what do I want from it? The ultimate? What's it going to do? What's it going to be? Then what do I want from it in the next, , 12 months? What will it take to get to the next 12 months? And that's a biggie because entrepreneurs tend to tend to be, , exuberant in our thought about our own capacity.

And then the fourth question is, what value will it have? You know, I'm very interested in being certain that the space I occupy, I leave better than when I got there better is in quotes because we all can define it differently, you know, and so that's how I filter to get to does this idea stand right now.

The other thing I do is that, okay, so I live with an iPad. I'm on an iPad right now talking with you. I love, love, love, love, love iPad. Yes, I own stock in Apple, and yes, I bought it when it was a really good deal, but I love iPad anyway, and it allows me to do so much. And my notes section is busy. I am a fierce note taker.

So I will write things down in my iPad and then I have a regular check in system where I go back. Is it still as clear to me as it was when I wrote it? If it's not, check, you know, and I move it. And so I systemize. ideas that come into my mind or initiatives. I also do that with asks when people are asking things of me, I do it that way as well.

Mom used to do it much less, uh,