Coffee, Cabins, & Surf

Coffee, Cabins, & Surf

Life’s Simplest 20X Operational Strategies

May 12, 2025

W. Audie Sherrod, Author of Challenge Accepted

“I’m so stressed.”

“It’s too much.”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“How do they expect me to do all of this?”

Do any of these statements sound familiar?  What if I told you the remedy may be as simple as sipping a warm cup of coffee while sitting on a cabin porch swing or indulging in a quiet walk on a peaceful beach.  It’s a rough prescription but they might just be some of life’s simplest 20X Operational Strategies for success.

Being among the 47% of leaders feeling stressed may place you at one of life’s crossroads.  Life’s daily stressors will most assuredly happen, and they will either catapult you into being a high performance, “get ‘r done,” 20X potential person or bury you under a mound of mayhem and drudge.  You might think there could be no common ground between 20X potential and the cabin fever of stress, but if you look closely, you will see a line of debarkation, a turning point, and indeed a fork in the road presenting you with some of life’s simplest options.

It's no secret that success is built on performance and that success must be repeated and repeated again to be sustained.  But how do we find that secret sauce and mix it exactly the same each and every time?  From the boardroom to the classroom, from the playing field to a kitchen table, finding ways to duplicate success is key and it does not happen without focus and thought.  But how do you find time to think and plan, and then what?

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are only “standard” when they are actually repeated and repeated again.  Simply writing them or posting them somewhere in your company a locker room or even on your refrigerator door will only make for a smart looking decoration.  Having smart and effective SOPs, to-do lists, and house rules that are embraced and followed have been proven to drive the likelihood of program and operational success up significantly.  Even in a home, having a chore list for the morning and dos and don’ts for your family builds a bridge to family success.  These are OUR family rules.

“Plans that have been carefully thought out during the calm drive decisions during the storm.”

All companies, families, teams, or groups may not do things the same way as you but stay the course and run your race because consistency breeds success.  Author, creator, speaker, entrepreneur, and visionary leader, Peter van Stralen tells of the building of The Grounds Guys, a highly successful company he and his brothers built, perfected, and parlayed into an international franchise now part of the Neighborly brand.  Their success was built on creating a culture of C.A.R.E.: Creating a Remarkable Experience built on a customer first mantra.

Success and peak performance are rarely the result of accident or unintended consequence but rather the result of thoughtful contemplation, prayer, market analysis, hard work, and dedication as was the case for Peter.  Goal setting requires teams to consider the same elements which are included in the Summit 27 Clear Circle:  Define your Challenges, Limitations, Expectations, (What is) Achievable, and (Know Your Available) Resources. It is also essential that we make “Full Circle Communication” a bed rock of our planning and implementation. (Read more about Full Circle Communication in my book Challenge Accepted.)  Unless your team owns the process and understands the why, SOPs will never be repeated and repeated again.  Success is therefore built on not only performance but repeated and sustained performance.  

Coffee, Cabins, & Surf:

Now to the fun part.  When and where is it that you do your best thinking?  Is it during the storm or during the calm?  Remember all those times you had a great idea, an epiphany, or an ah-ha moment?  Most likely it was when you had a quiet moment to think, which these days seems to be rare indeed.  I remember a few times when I got into trouble, my mom would tell me, “Now you just sit there and think about what you have done.”  I’m not sure if I decided to do anything differently but I guess my mom thought it was good for me. 

Reducing stress in our lives and in our organizations is the result of planning, thought, and purpose. Let’s dream for a moment about vacation.  It’s early morning and you are on the front porch of a small, simple cabin in the woods, smoke gently bellowing from the chimney, and you are sitting in a porch swing.  The morning air is crisp, the coffee steams, and the swing has a slight creak.  Can you picture it?  Maybe you are more of a warm person and your happy place is walking along a beach—the water is clear, the sand is bright white, the sun is warm, and your mind is purposefully blank.  These are the times our stress is at its lowest point and our thoughts can relax.  Life becomes more focused, clear, and a peacefulness surrounds our thoughts.  Personally, maybe it’s a time for prayer for family and friends or, professionally, a time to focus on what is mission critical for your organization.

Sipping coffee on cabin porches and strolling aimlessly along a sandy beach each present us with an opportunity to disconnect.  These peaceful, natural surroundings offer quiet seclusion and allow our minds to focus.  These are the times great ideas are born and plans for success are polished.  THINKING and PLANNING HAPPEN IN THE CALM.  Both personally and professionally having a well thought out plan functions to focus our personal and business resources.  Momentarily disconnecting from life’s challenges, escaping routine, reducing screen time, and focusing on simple pleasures improves our well-being and our overall organizational performance.

20X Potential and SOPs:

Implementing Standard Operating Procedures reduces leader stress by providing a clear operational strategy framework, reducing ambiguity, and improving efficiencies.  SOPs that are stringently followed, support enhanced communication, consistency, and team collaboration.  Most importantly SOPs allow leaders to steer operations forward in the midst of the whirlwind, focusing their energy on what is mission critical.  A steady course and ruder allow them to dedicate time to problem solving, strategic planning, and innovation.  Filling a fire truck with water or organizing tools and resources is what happens during downtime, not during the fire.  That type of response would most certainly cost lives and even greater property loss. 

What are the SOPs in your life, organization, or company that already exist?  Are they understood? Are they being followed and repeated?  Take time to simply sit on the porch, walk along a beach, think, relax, and engage your mind and imagination.  How can you increase the efficiencies in your life to make the most of your resources.  Don’t have a cabin porch or a beach?  Creating a Remarkable Experience is only as far away as your quiet, happy place no matter where you may find it.  I seem to remember Jesus spending time in a garden.  

Life’s Simplest 20X Strategies may be: Coffee, Cabins, or Surf...Happy Thinking and Planning!       

Wm. “Audie” Sherrod is a nomadic adventurer & Author of “Challenge Accepted - What You Do Matters and Who You Are Matters Even More,” CEO at Summit 27, and a former member of the United States Senior Executive Service (SES).  www.summittwentyseven.com