People-Centric Business

Hopefully, your company has defined its core values. But what does it actually take to live and operate by those values? How can you make sure that they’re meaningful to your employees as well as to you? Making this happen will mean all the difference.

Brad Herrmann is the founder and president of Call-Em-All, an automated calling and group texting company that provides solutions to over 15,000 clients ranging from small and medium-sized businesses, to large corporations, membership organizations, community groups, and individuals. With accolades from Inc., Forbes, and more, Call-Em-All is regarded as one of the best places to work in the country. This is in no small part due to Brad’s passion for value-driven leadership and healthy work-life integration.

In this interview, I ask Brad what he’s done to create such an amazing work culture at his company. Much of this, Brad admits, comes from being open to the influence of other great companies that have already created a wonderful culture of their own. He also discusses what you can do to measure the culture of your company so you can know what’s going well and where improvement is needed. Brad also shares what he has done to develop his company’s core values in a way that makes all his employees feel heard and supported. 

How do you include your employees in supporting your company’s core values? Let me know in the comments on the episode page!

In this episode:

• Identifying the difference between a good and bad work culture
• Why you should take your employees on a field-trip to visit another company
• How you can actually measure the impact of your company’s culture 
• Developing core values that incorporate the values of your employees, not just management
• How to define success in ways that go way far beyond just profits

Quotes:

“Lots of companies have found that from just going to visit with another company and asking questions you can learn so much…. You can learn a lot just by being curious and exploring.” [10:27]

“You’ll know that your culture is strong when your employees challenge you -- the founder or the leader of the company -- on your core values. That’s how you know you’re getting it right, when the values are bigger than you.” [14:54]

“When we look at making a positive impact, my biggest thing is if I can have a positive impact on not just people, but families.” [21:40]

“If you just truly care about people, they’ll run through a brick wall for you. That’s not that hard. It shouldn’t be that hard and you get these long-term advantages from it.” [30:20]

Links:

Find Brad online

Follow Brad on Twitter | Linkedin

Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin

Small Giants

Tasty Catering

Officevibe

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Pat Lencioni

Death by Meeting by Pat Lencioni

Tugboat Institute

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Stick with me here, because I’m about to say something a little different: meditating and doing nothing will help you become a more effective leader for your company. I’m sure with your overflowing calendar this may seem frivolous or even useless, but as my guest, today is going to explain, it will change your company for the better.

For Rob Dube, it all started in high school when he took on his first side-hustle selling Blow Pops to classmates. Since then, Rob has honed his leadership skills to become the president and co-founder of imageOne, one of Forbes’ best small companies in 2017. He is also the author of Do Nothing, and contributor to such prestigious publications as Forbes, Thrive Global, and Octane Magazine.

Rob is here to talk about his company and how he has helped to build a strong culture of valuing employees so that they can best serve their customers. He recounts the story of his company’s evolution and his realization that a bigger company is not always better. Throughout all this, Rob discovered better styles of leadership and organization for his company that have allowed it to weather the ups and downs of business and made it the success that it is today.

Do you meditate? Do you think it could play a role in your company? Let me know in the comments!

In this episode

• How putting a focus on the people in your company will lead to great things for your customers
• Realizing the advantages that a small company has over a large one
• The challenges of top-down leadership versus collaboration
• Letting go of control so that you can relax and focus on what’s really important for you and your business
• Why to involve your entire company when it comes to setting your business’ vision for the future
• How meditation and “doing nothing” will help you be fully present for your company

Quotes

“We just knew that we wanted to provide an extraordinary experience for our customers and that’s what we started doing from the outset. We found as we went along that people were really the key to what was making great things happening at the company.” [4:34]

“We started to see how amazingly smart and talented our team was and that the decisions really didn’t need to be made by us. They all knew the right things to do every single time.” [14:37]

“When people understand things they make better decisions because they are educated. You can’t make good decisions if you don’t understand the full picture.” [20:22]

“When [your employees] feel you’re fully with them, when they feel your true presence, everything shifts and it becomes so much safer and the conversations become so much healthier. They’re actually more productive.” [34:52]

Links

Find Rob Dube online

Follow Rob on Twitter | Instagram

Do Nothing by Robe Dube

Learn about Rob’s next retreat

The Do Nothing Podcast

Small Giants by Bo Burlingham

The Great Game of Business

Entrepreneurial Operating System®

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

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Sometimes, despite dysfunction, a business can still be functional. But what if you could slice away all the parts that are slowing you down and getting in the way so that your company can really take off? As you’re about to hear, your company’s core values are a key component of this.

As the founder of TruePoint Advisors, Preston True helps entrepreneurs and businesses align their values and implement EOS so they can build the best and most efficient team possible. Preston knows first-hand the value of having the right people and the right focus for a business. After joining his family’s printing business, Preston saw the consequences of not having the right systems in place. So he decided to shake things up and get things in line. That’s when he decided to help other businesses do the same thing by starting TruePoint.

In this interview, we’re asking the important questions about where you want to take your business. It involves having foresight and vision, but it also relies on having a solid and functioning team. It takes knowledge of what’s truly important and a steadfast focus on your goals and values. Throughout this talk, Preston and I share some tips and advice on how you can create a great company culture so that your business can grow the right way.

How do you make sure that your core values are clearly defined and communicated? Leave a comment and let me know!

In this episode:

• The two things that every entrepreneur should strive for but with the right balance
• Why you need to say no and how to do so gracefully
• Why going slower saves more time in the end than going faster
• Creating an organization with clear and well-communicated expectations
• How clearly defined core values make a great company culture

Quotes:

“If on Monday you are excited to go in but by Tuesday afternoon you’re exhausted because you’ve been firefighting for 36 hours, you have total control, but where the heck are you going with the activity? Where are you going with the decisions you’re making?” [5:37]

“I think our culture tells us that speed is one of the greatest value propositions ever. My experience tells me it’s one of the most dangerous. Moving fast ultimately has us go slow because we end up getting in the weeds. We end up making hasty, wrong decisions. We slow down to speed up - that actually works.” [9:54]

“Email and text is not communication; it’s just information dissemination. I want to know the context of what’s being communicated. That’s where clear and communicated expectations happens.” [18:53]

“Define your culture by distinguishing those core values. Map out the functional blueprint of your organization as if it were an automobile with components.” [37:47]

Links:

Find Preston True online

Follow Preston on Twitter | Facebook | Linkedin

Traction by Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares

Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman & Mark C. Winters

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Building Your Company’s Vision by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras

The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

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If we want the culture around us to change, we need to start by taking a good hard look at ourselves. We can’t expect others to look inward and make changes to improve the culture at work or at home if we aren’t doing it too. Figuring out where and how to make personal growth is a scary thing, but we all have the potential for it and the benefits are countless.

Dr. Ann Vertel is so many things it’s hard to know where to start. She’s a psychologist, she repels out of helicopters and had been an officer in the Navy for 20 years specializing in executive leadership training and military protocol. With her expert understanding when it comes to personal growth and successful mindsets, she is now helping entrepreneurs and professionals fine-tune their personal vision and find pathways to success that are all their own.

Ann shares some of what’s given her a unique perspective on leadership in this interview. After a career in the military, she knows a thing or two about this topic, but it’s different from what many might assume. Ann also gives some great tips on identifying company culture and setting goals to improve it for everyone.

Throughout this chat, Ann tells us how we can be great leaders within an organization so that we can impact the culture of those around us in a positive way. As she explains, much of this comes from making caring for yourself a priority so that you can show up as your best self when it’s time to lead.

What does personal development mean to you? How can it help those around us? Leave a comment on the episode page and let me know!

In this episode:

• What professionals can do to bring out the very best in themselves as a person and as a leader
• Ann’s experience as a naval officer and how it has given her perspective on our work culture
• The big difference between personal leadership and personal development and why it matters
• The one skill that everyone secretly wants that anyone can learn
• Signs of toxicity in an organization and how to recognize them
• Why you should always arrive for a meeting ten minutes early

Quotes:

“A lot of people think that personal growth is something you do in your spare time, what you do in your off-hours so that you can then bring it to the real world. The truth is that personal development is something that should happen all the time.” [7:54]

“Leadership is influence. It’s about getting the best out of your people; bringing out their best so that they want to move forward themselves and therefore move the organization forward.” [14:09]

“I think there are people who are naturally charismatic, but that doesn’t make them a good leader. Leadership is a skill and anyone can learn it if they’re open to change.” [18:28]

“Real personal leadership is leading yourself first so that you’re fully and 100% present for the people who really need you to lead them.” [32:52]

“Real leadership is about connection. It’s not about impressing people, it’s about connecting with them.”  [37:39]

Links:

Find Ann Vertel online

Follow Ann on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Linkedin

Mike Kim’s Influence & Impact Conference

The High-Performance Planner

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

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Confession time: It took me almost 10 years of running my business and managing my employees to finally become comfortable with the word “boss”. I just didn’t want to be that guy, I wanted to be a part of the team. And I know I’m not the only one.

The thing I realized, however, is that for my team to succeed and achieve its potential, it needs me to be the boss and to own that role. That was a pivotal moment in my business career that I look back on, but I know I still have a long way to go in improving myself in that regard.

René Boer is the co-author with Geno Wickman of How To Be A Great Boss and he joins us on the podcast today to share some of the insights he’s gained in a 30-year business career working with brands like Pizza Hut, Arby’s and Jamba Juice. As an EOS implementer René has worked with hundreds of leaders and managers, helping to align them around a shared vision and gain traction while improving team health.

Are you “The Boss” in your organization? How do you feel about your role, is there room for improvement? Let us know your biggest takeaway from this episode in the comments!  

In this episode

• The 5 things you need to be doing as a leader
• The 5 things you need to be doing as a manager
• The importance of vulnerability and humility as a leader
• Why you need to be scheduling clarity breaks
• 4 Simple truths to being a great leader  

Quotes

“You have to constantly be asking yourself ‘Am I earning people’s respect?’ You can’t command that, you must earn it.” [8:30]

“If the boss would spend more time asking questions, and you get the employee talking, they actually solve the problems themselves.” [28:30]

Links

Find René Online 

How To Be A Great Boss  

Traction Book

Rocket Fuel Book 

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There’s often a lot of toxicity in the typical corporate workspace. But how can employers change that and really support their employees and make them feel valued? My guest today has seen it all and has some great insight that all of us can benefit from.

Kim Bao has a truly amazing and inspiring story. While she eschews titles, she’s a college drop-out, former corporate executive, trauma survivor, vegan blogger, podcast host, and single mother of two. Kim has a strong desire to change the world for the better and it is clear that she approaches everything she does with that in mind.

This episode is all about not being defined by your title. Kim has done so much with her life that could never be encapsulated by a mere title anyway. We chat about her story of entering the corporate world and applying her own people-centered approach to sales. Kim has seen first-hand what happens when a corporation does not treat its people well and she talks about what they should do differently.

We continue the conversation to talk about what it means to be fully present with the people in your life. Kim has taken this to the next level with a social media fast and she shares her takeaways from that. Kim also talks about her podcast and the courage it took to launch it.

In this episode:

• Kim’s story of entering the corporate world and eventually becoming disillusioned with it
• What corporate cultures need to do to create a supportive and healthy workplace
• How employers can support their employees in finding meaning and purpose in their work no matter what their work is
• The impact of being fully present both at work and at home and why maybe it’s time to take a break from social media
• How to be amazing even when nothing is perfect
• The importance of paying attention to the goals of your employees and clients

Quotes:

“When I watch people in the corporate environment, the biggest challenge that I had was watching people not take care of other people. Probably one of my biggest pet peeves is when people are treated like commodities.” [8:15]

“One of the biggest things for me is that creating a different environment is to really appreciate people and where they’re at, to understand that people can be replaced but always making sure that they know they’re unique.” [15:10]

“One of the things that companies miss is they forget to ask what their employees’ goals are or their clients’ goals are.” [27:34]

Links:

Find Kim Bao online

Follow Kim on Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Trauma to Triumph Podcast

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Many business owners might feel that they have to choose between profitability and creating a caring and supportive workplace. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, there are many wonderful ways that a great work-culture will actually drive profits up. Few people understand this better than my guest today.

Paul Spiegelman is the co-founder of Small Giants Community, a peer group of purpose-driven business leaders. He is also a New York Times best-selling author and has been honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Paul is a prolific speaker and author on the topic of leadership, employee engagement, entrepreneurship, culture, and leading a purpose-driven life.

This episode is all about how a people-centered focus leads to greater profits and success. Paul shares why he has found a supportive and enjoyable workplace to be the recipe for a thriving business. He explains the connection between implementing seemingly small efforts to create a great workplace and the company’s success.

Paul and I go on to chat about the role of leadership in creating a great work culture. It involves abandoned old paradigms of top-down command and leading through collaboration. It also helps to have a process to help you show your employees how well you support them.

Have you experienced a connection between the culture of your workplace and profits? Tell me all about it in the comments!

In this episode:

• Why you don’t need to choose between having a value-driven business and being profitable
• The connection between investing in your employees and the financial success of your business

• Having regular processes in place to put a focus on work-culture even if you’ve never done it before
• The secret to connecting to your employees and co-workers on a deeper level even if you’re an introvert
• The seven words to live by as a leader in your business

Quotes:

“Leadership is hard. Leadership can be lonely. We all want to learn, but we don’t really go to leadership school, or business school necessarily. We learn along the way.” [6:59]

“If we create an environment in which people love what they do every day, they are going to do better work for us and we’re going to be able to build a successful company.” [9:36]

“I think it’s really important for leaders to realize that while this stuff is the right thing to do, it’s also good for business.” [15:59]

“Ultimately, as leaders, we all want to feel a certain sense of fulfillment in our lives. And as entrepreneurs part of that is financial. What people don’t realize is that you can get this warm and fuzzy feeling that ultimately long-term is going to feel better than anything. And that’s the feeling that you get when you impact people’s lives.” [29:36]

Links:

Struggling to tell your brand story? Pick up our quick start guide here!

Find Paul Spiegelman online

Follow Paul on Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram

Small Giants Community

Patients Come Second by Paul Spiegelman and Brett Berrett

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

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The best brands are the ones that humanize themselves and connect to their audience to tell them a meaningful message. If we can resonate with people’s stories and struggles then we won’t only connect, but also grow ourselves. Few people understand this better than Ray Edwards.

As a communications strategist, copywriter, and author of How to Write Copy That Sells, Ray knows a thing or two about how to connect with an audience. He doesn’t write as much as he used to. Now Ray mostly helps others learn to write great copy. Ray is a good friend of mine and has been a huge inspiration to me and my business throughout the years.

In this episode, we sit down over coffee as Ray tells his story of how he got into copywriting in the first place. At his company, Ray has some great policies aimed at respecting and supporting his employees. Ray also talks about his diagnosis with Parkinson's and the path it took him on to choose what his life story truly means. I also had to ask him the story of why he is now the proud owner of a (profitable!) coffee shop in Spokane.

Ray goes on to share his core beliefs about marketing and how it should work as a force to better people’s lives. This involves truly humanizing your brand and meaningfully connecting with your best audience.

How does your marketing strive to put people first? Tell me about it in the comments!

In this episode:

• Ray’s journey from radio to to copywriting
• Just why Ray owns a coffee shop and what it has taught him
• The policies that Ray has in place in his company that make it a super supportive workplace (and make his lawyer cringe)
• How a devastating diagnosis helped lead Ray to make a crucial life decision
• Marketing as a way to humanize a brand and actually improve people’s lives
• Simple advice on how you can grow your business while still keeping people first

Quotes:

“I write words that get people to change. They change either what they’re thinking about a subject, what they believe, the actions they take, the kind of life they live, what they buy, what products or services they want to invest in.” [3:01]

“People, if you treat them well will treat you well. That’s what I’ve discovered.”[17:25]

“The first project is ourselves. We got to take a stark look at ourselves and ask, ‘in what way am I contributing to the problems I’m experiencing?’ That’s a hard thing to do sometimes.” [19:06]

“One thing you don’t always get to decide is what your story is going to be. You get to decide what it means, I believe that.” [23:55]

“I used to think that marketing was a bag of tricks you used to get people’s money. And for a lot of people, that’s exactly what it is. And I don’t believe that anymore. I believe that real marketing is something we do for people. We do it as a service to them, to make their lives better whether they buy from us or not.” [32:00]

Links:

Struggling to tell your brand story? Pick up our quick start guide here!

Find Ray Edwards online

Follow Ray on Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Get How to Write Copy That Sells for free!

Revel 77 Coffee

Michael Hyatt

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How do you build a business team from scratch while making sure you get the best talent on board? That’s a major concern for most companies. But how can you do this while also putting people, both your employees and customers, first? I’m incredibly excited to have a guest who has been answering these questions for decades.

If you don’t know who Scott Dikkers is, you probably know of one of his businesses. He’s the co-founder and former Editor In Chief of The Onion, perhaps the best known satirical publication anywhere. He’s also written a whole bunch of wonderfully entertaining books and runs courses to help other aspiring comedy writers. What is truly impressive about Scott is that he approaches his pursuits with his heart and mind focused on the service his work provides for others.

Having built more than a few highly successful brands, Scott shares how he got them going all while putting people first in the process. Scott goes on to tell the unlikely story of how he got The Onion up and running with almost no capital. He also shares some insightful parallels between comedy and marketing that any business can learn from.

Has your business found a way to put people above profits? What are your challenges and rewards for doing so? Let me know in the comments!

In this episode:

• Scott’s story of founding The Onion and how he built this powerful brand with nearly no budget
• How to find top talent for your team by attracting like-minded people and cultivating their skills
• How comedy and marketing are trying to achieve the same thing
• The band of “misfits” who came together to build The Onion and how some of them went on to become top-level Hollywood writers
• How to ensure that your employees care about your customers as much as you do

Quotes:

“To me, I like when the brand itself tells the story so you don’t have to. I don’t ever like to sell anything. I want the product to be the salesman. Period.” [6:41]

“How do you find these A players? This is a big business concern in a lot of companies. How do you find the top performers in your industry? I don’t believe you find them; I believe you cultivate them. I believe that anybody has potential.” [11:53]

“When you’re doing comedy, you’re trying to get people to love you; you're trying to get people to pay attention to you, and you’re trying to make up for the traumatic childhood that you had. So you’re using a lot of powerful strategies that you developed over a lifetime to do those things… That’s marketing. That’s what marketers are trying to do.” [14:18]

“If I’m going to build a real long lasting relationship with a fan it has to be based not only on trust… I want them to love me. I want them to fall in love with my product so they become slavishly loyal.”  [22:04]

“What are some things we can do to live out the most outrageous version of our brand, to really stand out, to really serve our people in a way that will make them love us that’s not necessarily going to pay off this quarter? It may be something that’s going to pay off years from now.” [32:44]

Links:

Struggling to tell your brand story? Pick up our quick start guide here!

Find Scott Dikkers online

Follow Scott on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

The Onion

The How to Write Funny podcast

Jim’s Journal

Fu*k Everything, We’re Doing-Five Blades from The Onion

Our Dumb Century by Scott Dikkers and Mike Loew

Our Dumb World by The Onion

Outrageous Marketing by Scott Dikkers

Second City - Writing with The Onion

How to Write Funny by Scott Dikkers

Blaffo

Welcome to the Future Which Is Mine by Scott Dikkers (Not Elon Musk)

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When you really care about people it changes your whole business, and flips marketing on its head. People-centric tells the extraordinary stories and strategies of companies who have found success, while putting people first.

Links

Struggling to tell your brand story? Pick up our quick start guide here!

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