Alyson Caffrey on Prioritizing Trust, Delegation, and Rest Using The Sabbatical Method
3 Minutes Read
Episode 247
Do you feel physically and mentally tired but guilty of taking a break because the business operation depends on you? Alyson Caffrey founded Operations Agency, best known for helping streamline the back-end ops for many brands and creative agencies.
Alyson uses the Sabbatical Method to liberate herself from the cycle of stress and busyness by prioritizing team trust, delegation, and intentional rest.
As a fractional COO for many high-growth businesses, Alyson fell in love with the results that clear ops bring to a service business. She and the team at Operations Agency are determined to help businesses thrive profitably, serve more clients and create high-performing teams.
Here are three reasons why you should listen to the complete episode:
- You'll learn how to leverage the benefits of rest.
- Discover the framework behind Alyson's book, The Sabbatical Method.
- Find out how to insert a micro-dose of rest in your daily life.
Episode Highlights
Alyson Caffrey's Backstory
- Alyson started operations out of college and helped grow early-stage startups.
- She realized her work's impact when the company's founder asked her to have a 90-day transition period to build operational systems.
- She becomes a mom and a professional organizer for businesses.
- After giving birth, she caught herself responding to emails about work.
- Then she knew that she needed to focus on creating systems and business that function and thrives independently.
What is the goal of the 90-Day transition of building systems
- Lay an operational foundation.
- Understand each core function.
- Have internal transparency.
Why unicorn hire can be damaging for early-stage businesses
- Businesses optimize based on the unicorn hire.
- Not considering the micro skill sets for a unicorn hire is equivalent to full stack salaries down the line.
- When the unicorn hire leaves an organization, it can mean a business setback.
How to have a business operation continuity plan
- Instead of operating out of fear, create transparency to allow the business to break itself.
- Systematically prepare by plugging people in.
- Create a sense of trust within the team.
- Understand expectations and what decisions to make.
How to build trust in your team
- Have good SOPs and solid consistency.
- Create clarity behind the scenes.
- Dosing the business of micro hits of Aly rest.
- Have focus and priorities in life and business.
Alyson's different ways of recuperating energy
- Alyson describes herself as a horrible meditator.
- She loves running and yard work.
- The 90-90 principle practice for deep work.
- She explains the importance of going back to the basics.
The Framework of the Sabbatical Method
- The sabbatical method is like the hard 75 of business.
- 2 types of sabbatical: Unattainable & Voluntold
- People need to implement and leverage the benefits of strategic rest.
- Rest is a way to rebuild stronger muscles.
3 Sabbatical Method Personalities for building good SOPs
- The Assister, passing the screencast muscles.
- The Trainer creates agreements with teams and transfers trust.
- The Board member set everybody's focus.
Alyson's tips for creating a micro-dose of rest
- Take Alyson's Quiz: How to know if your business can function without you
- Have a 20-minute quick mental rest and reset.
- Be committed to having a schedule, and don't be committed to the schedule.
3 Powerful Quotes from this Episode
23:59 - "We overlook some of the really solid basics that have gotten people really far right, like establishing habits and focus points and building in time to rest and being intentional about our calendar and saying no."
29:24 - "That's what the sabbatical method is. It's a hard reset and a lifestyle change so you can implement rest more strategically into your business."
35:57 - "We start to create some agreements with our team and start to transfer some of that trust over."
About Alyson Caffrey
Alyson Caffrey is the founder of Operations Agency and co-creator of the Operations Simplified™ Framework. She's commonly referred to as 'The Wolf' among her clients because she just gets shit done. Alyson is best known for helping streamline the back-end ops for a multitude of brands, but mostly digital and creative agencies. Alyson is a mom to two sons and enjoys spending her time at home with her growing family.
Mentioned Resources:
Connect with Alyson Caffrey
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Darrell
