TEAM GENIUS, INSPIRING AND EMPOWERING CREATORS TO UNLEASH THEIR CREATIVE GENIUS
Team Genius was founded by Yasaf Burshan in 2019 with a mission to empower and inspire creators to make an impact. The decision to start Team Genius was a part of his healing journey to unleash not only his voice and creativity, but to make sure that anyone who wants to have their voice heard, or has a message to convey, can do so easily.
The company has an amazing global team spread across three countries and services customers globally building online courses, communities, converting funnels, and automating the business. Yasaf, a world-traveling entrepreneur and business owner is a keynote speaker, mentor, and guide. He believes in dreaming big and advises all to have the courage to follow their dreams and surround themselves with people who can support them.
ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY
Yasaf, from the beginning, never had predecessors even in his job profiles. He always was the first one to take up and lead new growth opportunities.So obviously, it was just a matter of time before he would embark on a journey of entrepreneurship. He feels that we all have a personal ‘Zone of Genius’. It is the zone that provides our greatest value to others and effortlessly receives our highest rewards.
The founder shares, “I’m fanatic about the time I spend in my zone of genius and making sure I don’t get interrupted once I enter it. It is what I teach my mentees and customers as well – Protect your Zone of Genius at all costs. It requires understanding where our Zone of Genius is, and communicating to our peers (be it family, friends,customers or colleagues) what our boundaries are so we won’t get interrupted. It is also important to be fully present in the moment, and when we intentionally leave our ‘Zone of Genius’ to be fully present with our loved ones, so they can experience and enjoy us in full.”
In a conversation with the CEO Review Magazine, Yasaf throws light on his journey. He talks at length about his struggles, experiences, challenges, industry, goals, and more. Read below the excerpts from the interview with the founder to know more about the company;
What have been some make-or-break moments in your career?
I’m not going to lie, the decision to leave the luxury of an IT executive role, with all the perks and benefits, was a difficult one. But I learned, first-hand, that the road to the Zone of Genius always starts with a leap of faith. So, without a doubt that was a ‘make moment’. On the other hand, as a public figure and content creator, I often find myself “exposed” to criticism and feedback that I have no control over, and sometimes it’s not on a positive note. It can break, and of course, it is not very pleasant, but I keep reminding myself that it is not possible to make everyone happy, and the people that find my training, content, and other creations not to their liking are not my target audience. I respected them, and they have full right to their opinion.
What goal do you have for the future? What more can you do in your role to help achieve this.
I have two goals:
The first one – To see our digital studio activities continue to grow by serving more qualified customers all over the world and helping them empower their customers.
The second goal is to scale my online program ‘anywhere boss’. This is a program based on my experience traveling the world with my wife and baby girl, and I hope to create a collective of like-minded world-traveling entrepreneurs and provide them with the insights and lessons learned from my journey with content targeted specifically to world-traveling entrepreneurs with families.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Letting go of the illusion of control. You see, as a leader and a project manager for most of my professional career I was rewarded for always planning for the worst, asking ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’. The problem with that is that while it is a good skill to have for project management, in real life, however, it gives us the illusion we can control everything, but as a matter of fact, it just keeps us frozen, paralyzed, with little to no progress. So, dream, set goals, have some level of planning in place. Just remember that it is only the next step in your path that is obvious, and the rest is yet to be revealed.
Which one thing do you wish you’d done differently/ what style did you adopt?
I’m not in the habit of saying I wish I would have done this instead of that. It’s a waste of energy and time. I believe in asking myself what I learned from any given experience and what I’d like to do better next time.
How has this industry changed over the years?
Improvements in technology made it so much easier, but more demanding as well. This is true for both digital services and mentoring. On the one hand, it is now possible to reach out to more people as potential clients and/or target audiences. On the other hand, the technology reduced the attention span of people to seconds. We now have no more than 5 seconds to capture attention.
In other words – The possibilities are endless, and the demand is constancy on the rise. On the other hand – Competition is on the rise as well, because the entry barriers are much lower than before, so the message has to be spoken loud and clear, and upfront. I expect this to be even more true in years to come.
When it comes to the organization, what are you most proud of?
I’m proud of the team spirit and for people with a ‘can-do’ attitude that share the same passion for what we do – Inspire and empower creators to make an impact. It’s not easy to do it with a global team, but with the right people, it becomes effortless.
What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
Mostly about resource allocation and the collection of services we are offering.We don’t want to scale too quickly and risk damaging our culture, nor too slowly that may impact the high quality of the service we provide.In addition, there are new buzzwords, tools, and trends to investigate all the time. It is my responsibility to decide what is worth researching and incorporating into our value offering and solutions and what is not.
How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization?
I encourage everyone to participate in the discussion right from the start and tell me everything. I usually speak last as I don’t want my opinion to influence others. I compliment everyone for speaking up, and I reward people for suggesting innovations that get implemented. Being the CEO doesn’t make me a know-it-all. If I decide not to apply someone’s recommendation, I make sure they know the reason why and that I encourage him to pitch more ideas in the future.
Where do the great ideas come from in your organization?
I like to read and listen to audiobooks. I learn new things and encourage my team to bring new ideas to the table. However, the interactions with my digital studio customers and my mentees are the primary source for growth, improvements, and innovation. Each interaction, each project, each process, and information exchange just fill me with new ideas and make me better.
What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
Quitting my comfortable day job and founding Team Genius. I was the head of IT for IKEA in Israel for almost a decade, and it is a very comfortable position to hold. I did see it as a risk back then, but not anymore. Today I see it as a leap of faith.
How do you or other leaders in your organization communicate the core values?
Having a list of values is not enough. Leading by example is the best way to do it. So yes, of course, I talk with the team about our values, and a new team member joins us, we guide and mentor him. However, none of it matters if I say one thing and do not follow it.
What has helped you get to where you are, [influential/effective/in the forefront] and what advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction?
I spent (and still spending) plenty of resources on professional, personal development, and communications skills. I’m a certified clinical NLP master, a graduate of Tony Robbin’s platinum partnership, and more. They all helped to boost my confidence and refine my message. However, the primary contributor to my success is the peer group that supports, encourages, inspires, and motivates me. The road to the Zone of Genius is one not traveled alone.
