Published January 2019 on Spotfiy

142: Jon Taffer | Raising Your Bar and Crushing All Excuses

1. Introduction

Jon believes that success in business always hinges on the human factor and why we should always hire for personality. He also talks about how we can get honest with ourselves so that we're better equipped to deal with the challenges our lives throw our way.+

2. Building Others Up

Building Up Others:Jon Taffer shares how his desire to leave people in a better place motivates him to break them down and build them back up. He explains that his inspiration is always to protect the good, not be motivated by the bad, and he fights for the spouse, employees, and family through the owner. Jordan Harbinger notes that many people are overachievers when it comes to making excuses for why they're failing.+
Ego and Self-Delusion:Jon Taffer discusses how ego can be a powerful force that leads to self-delusion and ultimately hinders success. He emphasizes the importance of being honest with oneself and not falling into the trap of making excuses or blaming others.+

3. Hosting Skills

Improving Hosting Skills:Jon Taffer shares his experience in improving his hosting skills, emphasizing the importance of using silence and how it is a great tool. He also talks about the process of producing Bar Rescue and how they hone their skills through watching every cut and paying attention to details like lighting and shots.+
Compelling Content:Jon Taffer emphasizes the importance of focusing on compelling content rather than aesthetics. He shares how he evaluates the success of his TV show by analyzing the ratings of each quarter hour. By doing so, he can determine what worked and what didn't, and improve the content accordingly.+
Impactful Reality:Jon discusses how he uses impactful techniques on Bar Rescue to create a sense of reality for both the audience and the bar owners. He explains how throwing objects started as a way to compress time and make an impact, but evolved into a tool that creates a genuine reaction from the bar owners.+

4. Restaurant Assessments

Restaurant Assessments:Jon Taffer shares his insights on how he assesses restaurants and bars before doing business with them, including ordering one of everything on the menu and observing how they function under stress. He also recommends that everyone should experience a venue first before planning an event there.+
Restaurant Red Flags:Jon Taffer shares his expertise on restaurant inspections and how to spot red flags. He emphasizes the importance of cleanliness and hygiene in the front of the house, as well as the back, and provides tips on how to spot potential issues.+

5. Sponsors

Jordan's guest, Jon Taffer, takes a break as Jason DeFillippo talks about Skillshare, an online learning community with over 25,000 classes in design, business, and more. Skillshare is offering two months of unlimited access to their classes for free to Jordan Harbinger Show listeners.+

6. Clarifying the Name

Jordan clarifies the pronunciation of his last name after being called "Harginburger" by someone. He emphasizes the importance of identity and making sure people know how to pronounce your name correctly.+

7. Sponsors

Jordan discusses the importance of probiotics for gut health and introduces P3-OM, a proteolytic probiotic that eliminates bad bacteria and viruses. He offers a risk-free trial and coupon code for listeners to try it out. Jason shares his positive experience with P3-OM after his gut viome was destroyed by surgery and antibiotics.+

8. Probiotic Benefits

Jordan and Jason discuss the benefits of probiotics and how they can improve gut health. They joke about the saying "the proof is in the pudding" and how it doesn't apply when it comes to probiotics.+

9. Sponsors

Jon shares his insights on how to start and grow a successful business, emphasizing the importance of marketing and customer service. He also highlights the need to constantly adapt to changing market trends and customer demands.+

10. Prioritizing for Success

Prioritizing Tasks:Jon Taffer shares his insights on time management and productivity. He emphasizes the importance of prioritizing tasks and starting with required activities rather than optional ones. Taffer also explains that we are never out of time, but it's a matter of prioritizing what's important to us.+
Prioritizing Revenue:Jon Taffer emphasizes the importance of prioritizing revenue for entrepreneurs and how it can solve many business problems. He also discusses the significance of hiring for personality over technical skills and how it can lead to greatness in employees.+

11. Cultural Problems

Identifying Cultural Problems:Jon Taffer discusses how he identifies cultural problems in businesses, including signs of disconnection, dissatisfaction, and dysfunction. He emphasizes the importance of addressing underlying issues rather than surface problems and shares insights on how he confronts resistant employees.+
Leadership Insights:Jon Taffer shares his insights on leadership and management, emphasizing the importance of promoting employees who take on responsibility and become natural leaders. He also discusses the power of time compression in creating intensity and urgency in his work.+

12. Leadership in Hospitality

Leadership in Hospitality:Jon explains that in successful hospitality businesses, everyone is a leader, from the server to the manager. This attitude of empowerment and anticipation drives greatness in any business. Jon also notes that leadership exists at every level and cannot be trained.+
Born Leaders:Jon Taffer shares his belief that leadership is a trait and not a skill that can be trained or taught. He argues that great leaders are born and not made, and shares personal anecdotes to support his claim.Show transcript +
TV Rejection:Jon Taffer shares how he was rejected from TV due to his age and appearance, but he didn't let that stop him from pursuing his dream. He took matters into his own hands and created a sizzle reel that landed him offers from four production companies.+

13. Dealing with Criticism

Dealing with Criticism:Jon Taffer discusses how he deals with criticism and negative comments from viewers. He explains that he lets his fans handle it and doesn't take it personally, as he has a lot of positive support.+
Entrepreneurial Mindset:Jon Taffer shares his insights on the entrepreneurial mindset and how it differs from other mentalities such as management and accounting. He recommends reading "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber to identify if someone is cut out to be an entrepreneur or not. Taffer also suggests that technical people who want to get rich can team up with entrepreneurs to create successful businesses.+

14. Entrepreneurship Insights

Jordan Harbinger and Jon Taffer discuss the importance of having a team that challenges you and the struggles of being a celebrity entrepreneur. Jon emphasizes the need for open communication and team building, while Jordan shares his experience of needing people to slow him down.+

15. Outro

Jordan shares his tips on building and managing relationships with guests like Jon Taffer. He emphasizes the importance of using systems and tiny habits to build relationships before you need them. Jordan also promotes his Six-Minute Networking course, which he wishes he had known about earlier.+