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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building and GOLAJV. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavaledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode six twenty eight. Today we're talking about something

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<v Speaker 2>every leader thinks they understand until they don't, and that's

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<v Speaker 2>finding profits in hidden corners. Most leaders chase big wins,

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<v Speaker 2>big contracts, big hires, big ideas, even big expansions. But

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<v Speaker 2>after twenty eight years on the front lines, I can

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<v Speaker 2>tell you something with absolute confidence. Most organizations are leaking

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<v Speaker 2>money in places that no one is even looking, and

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<v Speaker 2>it is rarely it is quiet. Let me give you

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<v Speaker 2>a picture. When I was learning to fly, one of

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<v Speaker 2>the first lessons drilled into me was this, and I've

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<v Speaker 2>mentioned this probably in twenty podcasts. Small adjustments matter. If

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<v Speaker 2>you're one degree off course and you don't correct it,

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<v Speaker 2>you will not notice it. At first. The sky still

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<v Speaker 2>looks blue, the gauges look fine, the engine sounds smooth.

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<v Speaker 2>But over distance, that one degree turns into miles. Businesses

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<v Speaker 2>drift the same way. Hidden corners are where drift lives

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<v Speaker 2>let's talk about where those corners actually are. Corner number

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<v Speaker 2>one is unused capacity in ems that could be idle units,

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<v Speaker 2>underutilized staff skills, equipment sitting in cabinets that never gets deployed.

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<v Speaker 2>In your business, it might be empty meeting rooms, subscription software.

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<v Speaker 2>No one uses talent on your team that you never

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<v Speaker 2>fully deploy. There are people on your payroll right now

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<v Speaker 2>who could create revenue if you actually ask them what

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<v Speaker 2>they know how to do. Instead, we leave them in

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<v Speaker 2>a narrow lane and complain about margins. So here's a

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<v Speaker 2>tactical move. Audit your people, sit down and ask what

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<v Speaker 2>skills are we not using here? And you will be shocked.

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<v Speaker 2>Corner number two is pricing blind spots. Leaders hate talking

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<v Speaker 2>about money. They think it feels uncomfortable. That discomfort costs you.

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<v Speaker 2>When was the last time you truly evaluated your pricing model,

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<v Speaker 2>not raised prices out of panic, but evaluated them strategically.

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<v Speaker 2>Restaurants know their break even per plate. Airlines know their

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<v Speaker 2>load factors down to the decimal, Yet small businesses guess

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<v Speaker 2>profit hides and clarity. If you do not know your

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<v Speaker 2>exact cost per unit, per hour, per service, you are

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<v Speaker 2>flying blind and leaders who fly blind eventually crash. Corner

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<v Speaker 2>Number three, micro inefficiencies. I once reviewed a process that

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<v Speaker 2>cost an organization about twelve dollars per transaction in wasted labor.

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<v Speaker 2>It seemed harmless until we did the math thousands of

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<v Speaker 2>transactions later. That was real money. Leaders overlook small friction

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<v Speaker 2>because it feels petty. To address it is not petty.

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<v Speaker 2>It is discipline. Look at your workflows. Where are people

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<v Speaker 2>duplicating efforts? Where are they waiting on approvals that do

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<v Speaker 2>not matter? Where are you requiring three signatures when one

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<v Speaker 2>would do? Those are all hidden corners. Corner number four

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<v Speaker 2>Cultural drag. Now this one hurts. Every toxic employee costs

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<v Speaker 2>you money. Every disengaged manager costs you money. Every meeting

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<v Speaker 2>that produces nothing costs you money. You may not see

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<v Speaker 2>it on a spreadsheet, you will feel it in your margins.

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<v Speaker 2>Culture is not a poster on a wall. It's either

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<v Speaker 2>accelerating performance or draining it. If you tolerate mediocrity, you're

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<v Speaker 2>paying for it twice, once in payroll and once in

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<v Speaker 2>lost performance. Red key moment here when you know someone

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<v Speaker 2>is underperforming and you delay action, That is not kindness.

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<v Speaker 2>That is leakage. Corner. Number five, reputation leverage. This is

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<v Speaker 2>the one most leaders never tap. Your brand has value

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<v Speaker 2>beyond your product. If you have trust in your market,

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<v Speaker 2>you can expand into services that align with that trust.

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<v Speaker 2>Think about it. Why do certain companies get to launch

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<v Speaker 2>new product and instantly win customers. It's not magic, It

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<v Speaker 2>is reputation equity. What adjacent service could you offer right

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<v Speaker 2>now that your customers already assume you are capable of delivering? Profit?

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<v Speaker 2>Hides in adjacency. Now, let me bring this back to

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<v Speaker 2>something bigger. Finding hidden profits is not about greed. It

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<v Speaker 2>is about stewardship. If you are leading a nonprofit, tighter

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<v Speaker 2>margins mean more mission delivered. If you're leading a private company,

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<v Speaker 2>stronger margins mean stability, growth, opportunity for your people. Money

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<v Speaker 2>is oxygen. You do not worship oxygen. You respect it

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<v Speaker 2>because without it, nothing else survives. So here's your seven

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<v Speaker 2>minute drill for this week. Number one, identify one unused

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<v Speaker 2>asset in your organization. Number two. Identify one process that

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<v Speaker 2>feels inefficient. Number three, identify one pricing assumption you have

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<v Speaker 2>not challenged in the last twelve months. Write them down,

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<v Speaker 2>act on one of them within the next seven days.

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<v Speaker 2>Do not delegate the thinking. Own it because here's the truth.

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<v Speaker 2>Most organizations do not fail from one catastrophic event. They

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<v Speaker 2>bleed slowly from one hundred small leaks, and strong leaders

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<v Speaker 2>patch leaks before they become emergencies. I have seen it

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<v Speaker 2>in disaster response. I've seen it in aviation. I've seen

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<v Speaker 2>it in business. The leaders who win are not always

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<v Speaker 2>the flashiest. They are the ones who pay attention to

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<v Speaker 2>the corners. They look behind the curtain, they open the closet,

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<v Speaker 2>They ask uncomfortable financial questions, They respect the math, and

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<v Speaker 2>they refuse to tolerate drift. So hidden profits are not

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<v Speaker 2>found by accident. They are found by leaders who are curious, disciplined,

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<v Speaker 2>and willing to look where others ignore. Spend seven intentional

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<v Speaker 2>minutes this week examining the corners of your organization. Tighten

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<v Speaker 2>what is loose, Clarify what is fuzzy, fix what is leaking.

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<v Speaker 2>That is leadership, That is stewardship, and that is how

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<v Speaker 2>you turn small adjustments into major gains. This has been

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<v Speaker 2>the seven minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit Paulfellowalito dot

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<v Speaker 1>com