1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,840 House proper. 2 00:00:03,780 --> 00:00:05,000 Just outside of Dallas proper, 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,460 a little bit north of the McKinney area. 4 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:09,600 In the McKinney area. 5 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:10,420 Okay, cool. 6 00:00:10,420 --> 00:00:11,260 Awesome. 7 00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:14,040 I got a sister over in Mount Pleasant, 8 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:15,600 if you know where that's at. 9 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,040 So, but all right, cool. 10 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,120 Well, let's see here. 11 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:20,560 So why did you choose? 12 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:21,640 It's out here in Tyler. 13 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,440 Ah, why did you choose exceptional HR solutions? 14 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,440 What made you so bold to put that in the name? 15 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,040 Because that's the service I want to give. 16 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,920 I want to give exceptional service to people 17 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,260 that need support and help with their people. 18 00:00:42,260 --> 00:00:44,880 And anything less isn't good enough for me. 19 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:45,840 So I want to be exceptional. 20 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,240 And it's a goal that we strive for each and every day. 21 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:50,360 We make progress some days 22 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,500 and some days we were learning to test. 23 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,160 Yeah, very good. 24 00:00:55,160 --> 00:01:00,160 And so, you know, how do you inspire entrepreneurs 25 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,200 and those that you work with 26 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,760 to also maintain that exceptional performance? 27 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:08,520 What do you do to go about 28 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,020 getting them to buy into that concept themselves? 29 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,200 I think the key to getting somebody motivated 30 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,720 is really recognizing what's their passion, 31 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:22,320 helping them uncover that passion 32 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:25,160 and helping them recognize it's a journey to learn. 33 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,080 It's a journey that takes time and effort, 34 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,880 but as you get there and helping them create experiences. 35 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,920 All right, welcome in to Vision Pros Live. 36 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,000 With Jackson Calame, I'm your show host. 37 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,680 We'll be doing interviews for visionary entrepreneurs 38 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:39,640 and guest leaders who are building 39 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,160 fantastic visions out there. 40 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:52,080 Hey, hey, what's up everybody? 41 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:53,740 Welcome in to Vision Pros Live. 42 00:01:53,740 --> 00:01:55,480 I'm your host, Jackson Calame, 43 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,000 founder and CEO of First Class Business. 44 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,360 And we're gonna be interviewing Neil Katz today 45 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,240 from Exceptional HR Solutions. 46 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:04,400 You may notice a trend. 47 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,640 I like to interview people in the space of HR. 48 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,520 I think it's one of the most overlooked competencies 49 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,160 for entrepreneurs, at least as far as I've seen 50 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:17,720 in our nation, in the United States. 51 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:20,460 And that's not a good thing. 52 00:02:20,460 --> 00:02:22,160 If you don't know how to take care of your people 53 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:23,240 and attract great people, 54 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,040 then you're gonna have a really hard time 55 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:26,000 providing great service, 56 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,480 which is going to lead to a hard time 57 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:28,960 of creating sustainable revenue growth. 58 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:30,480 It's one of the most important skill sets 59 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:31,720 you can have as a leader. 60 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:33,360 It's how do I attract great people 61 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:34,960 and how do I retain great people? 62 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:36,800 And so pre-looting a little bit, 63 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:38,680 giving Neil the time to warm up. 64 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,000 By the way, audio connection may suffer a little bit 65 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,360 on this one, but the content is gonna be valuable. 66 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,280 So when you hear these little pauses that take place, 67 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,280 that's just Neil's internet catching up with mine. 68 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:51,480 And give it some patience 69 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,480 because I know he's gonna throw down today. 70 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,920 You don't name your company exceptional HR solutions 71 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:00,000 on accident and you don't maintain a brand 72 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,240 that's named exceptional easily. 73 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,400 That means you have to provide great services 74 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:05,220 to your clients. 75 00:03:05,220 --> 00:03:06,480 Otherwise your clients are gonna say, 76 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:08,280 well, it was just mediocre. 77 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,960 We have that same challenge at first class business 78 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:13,760 and we made it so because we don't wanna provide 79 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,380 second class service and we don't want a scapegoat. 80 00:03:16,380 --> 00:03:18,120 We don't want people to be able to, 81 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:22,840 justify away what it is we did or ourselves justified away. 82 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,680 We know it's so important to provide excellent services 83 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:26,500 that we work with. 84 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:29,400 So let's dive into the sponsors a little bit. 85 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,160 Icon Maker Live, great conference, 86 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:37,160 great presentations on how to launch a seven figure podcast. 87 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,840 They're all about building the brand essentials 88 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:41,880 and the offers upfront, 89 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,280 making sure that the business is ready to go 90 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,720 and then spring boarding to the podcast 91 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,360 with the right assets in place and the right revenues. 92 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:50,240 I think it's very smart. 93 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,540 We did not launch our podcasts out the gate. 94 00:03:52,540 --> 00:03:53,840 We launched our business first 95 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:55,920 and that led into the podcast. 96 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,320 Now I'm not saying either way is the best way to do it, 97 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,600 but I am saying it's very wise to get a perspective 98 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,120 from Tom Mattson and Cheryl Pluff over at Icon Maker Live. 99 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:07,820 I keep pointing in the wrong direction here. 100 00:04:07,820 --> 00:04:11,160 On iconmakerlive.com as you evaluate and assess 101 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,600 what types of assets do you wanna move forward with 102 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,760 and do you see podcasting as a means of distribution 103 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,520 for your brand so you can create some awareness 104 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,820 for yourself, create some great relationships 105 00:04:20,820 --> 00:04:24,520 and attract people to want to work with you in the future. 106 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:26,820 CapShow.com also does an excellent job 107 00:04:26,820 --> 00:04:27,660 of helping us on that. 108 00:04:27,660 --> 00:04:29,600 Woo, I got the directions down this time. 109 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,720 CapShow, C-A-P-S-H-O.com. 110 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:34,040 I highly recommend the software. 111 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,360 In fact, it's number one recommended software 112 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,360 for content creation, AI content creation 113 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,560 by digitalmarketer.com. 114 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,440 And CapShow, you can take an episode like this 115 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:45,880 or you can take a video. 116 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:47,080 If you just wanted to do a video, 117 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:48,420 imagine doing a video of yourself 118 00:04:48,420 --> 00:04:50,120 that you're not gonna share with anybody. 119 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,760 But you actually, you whiteboard out some things 120 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:54,040 about how important your business is 121 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,360 and you give people the four tips to accomplish X, Y or Z 122 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:58,960 and you go through that and you present it 123 00:04:58,960 --> 00:04:59,780 really, really well. 124 00:04:59,780 --> 00:05:01,360 The cool thing is you can take that video, 125 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:03,040 you can upload it in a CapShow 126 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,980 and the little copywriting machine will go to work for you 127 00:05:05,980 --> 00:05:07,880 to create all the different social media content 128 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:09,120 that you might need. 129 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,360 So what I recommend doing is upload user free trials, 130 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:13,440 upload your credits, 131 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,600 you get two to three free credits on there 132 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:17,700 and just start clicking as fast as you can 133 00:05:17,700 --> 00:05:19,080 on all the different mechanisms, 134 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:23,440 the LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, blog posts, et cetera. 135 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:24,720 Go through and click on all that 136 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:26,040 and then you'll see the type of content 137 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:27,240 they can produce for you. 138 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,200 And now you've got a whole treasure trove of assets 139 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,560 that you can schedule on social media and get posted. 140 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:33,760 It's quite the amazing system. 141 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:35,000 I highly recommend checking it out. 142 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,000 And last and of course not least, the water project. 143 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,640 The water project is my favorite nonprofit to support. 144 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:44,480 I love the transparency that's provided 145 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:48,240 when you donate or contribute a dollar or a thousand 146 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:49,640 or more to those projects. 147 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,600 You can even sponsor an entire sand dam 148 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,360 or entire borehole well and get clean drinking water 149 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,160 to those who are in severe need of it. 150 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,480 But if you have it within yourself to give a dollar or two, 151 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:01,720 you can always check the show notes. 152 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,060 We've got the links in there available for you. 153 00:06:05,060 --> 00:06:09,440 But I don't feel comfortable going live on these shows 154 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,120 without thinking about the needs of others 155 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,200 who have so little when we have so much. 156 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:14,880 So I hope you get back to that. 157 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,440 Now, Neil Katz again is the founder 158 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,800 of Exceptional HR Solutions. 159 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:25,120 And he's been at this for 25 years, leading, advising, 160 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,680 consulting with suite executives, 161 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:29,720 navigating the human capital challenges 162 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,520 while aligning people and business strategies. 163 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,360 You can always catch his bio in the about section 164 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:37,200 on this page. 165 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,180 I'm gonna drop that, but I wanna take the time 166 00:06:39,180 --> 00:06:41,900 to actually dive in, discuss this with him. 167 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:43,360 If you have questions about HR, 168 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,340 don't hesitate to hit us up during this or after. 169 00:06:46,340 --> 00:06:47,880 Either one of us would be happy to reach out. 170 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:49,480 And I think he's a wealth of knowledge. 171 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,360 So without further ado, 172 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:53,660 Neil, thank you so much for being on the show. 173 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:55,960 Jackson, thanks for having me. 174 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:57,960 Look forward to our conversation today. 175 00:06:58,800 --> 00:06:59,640 Absolutely. 176 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:01,160 Let's dive in hot and heavy. 177 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:03,480 So Neil, who should be listening? 178 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:05,240 Why should they listen to you? 179 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,400 And what are they going to get out of today's show? 180 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:10,080 Well, Jackson, thanks. 181 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:11,320 I think at the end of the day, 182 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:12,560 what I would tell you who should listen, 183 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,320 I think anybody that is growing and scaling a business 184 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:19,080 has value to listen and understand what it is 185 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,120 that we can talk about today. 186 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,520 Why should they listen is the time that they're gonna take 187 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,940 is gonna help them hopefully take a nugget or two away 188 00:07:26,940 --> 00:07:28,540 that they can take back to their business 189 00:07:28,540 --> 00:07:31,720 or their teams today and implement and impact their teams 190 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,120 and the people that work with them and for them. 191 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:35,680 And what are they gonna get out today, Shell? 192 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,200 Hopefully a great treasure trove of knowledge 193 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:42,160 and information and content that they can really act on today 194 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,340 or to have the resources to get those answers they need. 195 00:07:46,340 --> 00:07:48,160 As I always say, if you don't know the answers, 196 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,240 know the person that can help you get to them. 197 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:52,360 That's the true value there. 198 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,880 And myself and my team are that team 199 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,180 that can help answer your people-related questions 200 00:07:57,180 --> 00:07:58,980 and your business. 201 00:07:58,980 --> 00:08:00,480 Excellent. 202 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,680 Neil, what's in 30 seconds, 203 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,080 what's your vision for those that you're serving? 204 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,600 My vision is to empower my leaders to take the time back 205 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:12,680 in their back office people operations 206 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:14,480 and let them have that time back 207 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,360 for front-facing meetings, conversations, interactions, 208 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,560 and engagement with their teams and their people. 209 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,520 Eliminate the hurdles, make the process easier 210 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:24,800 and let me be the expert in those areas 211 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:26,600 that they don't need to be. 212 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,880 Allowing them to be what they are and who they are 213 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,880 and those exceptional leaders they're trying to be. 214 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:32,720 Okay. 215 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:33,800 What are some of those areas, 216 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:36,200 we'll go beyond the 30 seconds now, of course, 217 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,120 but what are some of those areas 218 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,600 where you mentioned they don't need to be, 219 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,640 but they may feel kind of stuck in? 220 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:46,720 What does that look like? 221 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,860 Jackson, the two that always come to mind for me is, 222 00:08:49,860 --> 00:08:51,880 I love leaders, but I don't need leaders 223 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:53,320 to be excellent recruiters. 224 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:55,680 At the end of the day, I need a leader 225 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:57,360 to know what they're looking for in their talent, 226 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,380 but let me do those five, 10, 20, 30, 50 interviews, 227 00:09:01,380 --> 00:09:04,440 screens, resume reviews, things of that nature, 228 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:06,120 because leaders, I don't want them 229 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:07,400 to be excellent recruiters. 230 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,920 Recruiting is a specialized skill and function. 231 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:11,320 Let us do the hard work. 232 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,560 Let us present the top two to three people 233 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:15,540 and let them find the best talent. 234 00:09:15,540 --> 00:09:19,120 The second one is, I don't need owners, founders, CEOs 235 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,460 to be exceptional benefits experts. 236 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:24,880 I'll do the benefits consulting, advising. 237 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:26,160 I'll bring you the plans. 238 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:27,240 I'll bring you the models. 239 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:28,440 I'll bring you the opportunities. 240 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:29,680 We'll talk through it and we're gonna build 241 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:32,080 the best benefits offering we can for you 242 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,040 and total rewards offering we can for you and your team. 243 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,140 I don't need you to be in the weeds of every detail. 244 00:09:37,140 --> 00:09:38,580 Let us manage that for you. 245 00:09:38,580 --> 00:09:40,400 Let us bring you the final results 246 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,060 and let us support you and your team 247 00:09:42,060 --> 00:09:45,040 so you can really focus on those other components. 248 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:46,860 Those are just two of many other areas 249 00:09:46,860 --> 00:09:49,160 that we can help those leaders with. 250 00:09:50,820 --> 00:09:51,740 Sign me up. 251 00:09:51,740 --> 00:09:52,580 All right. 252 00:09:54,580 --> 00:09:56,980 We're talking right after this call, by the way. 253 00:09:58,540 --> 00:10:02,740 I'm going to see what I can do to get into your doors. 254 00:10:02,740 --> 00:10:07,300 Dan Martel of SaaS Academy is one of the leading coaches 255 00:10:07,300 --> 00:10:11,120 in relation to helping SaaS companies scale and grow. 256 00:10:12,220 --> 00:10:14,760 I had a little private session with him, not private. 257 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:15,940 It was a mastermind session, 258 00:10:15,940 --> 00:10:18,020 but him and I had a little one-on-one about it. 259 00:10:18,020 --> 00:10:21,540 And he said, Jackson, you're way behind. 260 00:10:21,540 --> 00:10:22,900 And finding a recruiting team. 261 00:10:22,900 --> 00:10:24,180 So that should have been one of the first things 262 00:10:24,180 --> 00:10:25,500 that you did. 263 00:10:25,500 --> 00:10:30,500 And it is a painful process to find a great recruiting company 264 00:10:31,940 --> 00:10:34,060 with all the other things you have to go through 265 00:10:34,060 --> 00:10:35,220 as a business owner as well. 266 00:10:35,220 --> 00:10:39,660 But the fact that you keyed in on that aspect 267 00:10:39,660 --> 00:10:42,060 and both the articulated that 268 00:10:42,060 --> 00:10:45,540 and the benefits and offerings part, like just so clearly, 269 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,300 you've been around the block. 270 00:10:48,300 --> 00:10:49,580 That was kind of easy to tell. 271 00:10:49,580 --> 00:10:51,860 I want to hear the next steps though. 272 00:10:51,860 --> 00:10:53,460 I want to hear this little bucket list. 273 00:10:53,460 --> 00:10:56,260 So you mentioned those are the two that come to mind first. 274 00:10:56,260 --> 00:10:58,020 I'm going to put you on the spot further, Neil. 275 00:10:58,020 --> 00:11:02,400 What else should I be aware of that as an entrepreneur, 276 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,460 sometimes we go through it all with heavy blinders on. 277 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,620 I'll give you a couple more to add to this payroll. 278 00:11:11,620 --> 00:11:14,060 Why do you need to be a payroll expert? 279 00:11:14,060 --> 00:11:15,660 Look, you need to fund it. 280 00:11:15,660 --> 00:11:17,580 You need to build the revenue to grow your business. 281 00:11:17,580 --> 00:11:20,420 You need to make sure we have the funds to pay our people, 282 00:11:20,420 --> 00:11:21,380 but that's it. 283 00:11:21,380 --> 00:11:23,520 Let me take systems and technologies and people 284 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:25,420 and make it a streamlined process 285 00:11:25,420 --> 00:11:26,920 and let me manage it for you. 286 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:27,760 So at the end of the day, 287 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,260 you look every week or two weeks when you pay them, 288 00:11:30,260 --> 00:11:33,740 you look and go, yep, looks good, thanks, click pay. 289 00:11:33,740 --> 00:11:35,660 Do you really need to know what a garnishment is 290 00:11:35,660 --> 00:11:37,340 if you have one, what to do with it? 291 00:11:37,340 --> 00:11:39,360 Did you pay your state taxes? 292 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,100 Did you pay unemployment? 293 00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:42,860 Are you keeping up with those components, 294 00:11:42,860 --> 00:11:45,140 the 401k, HSA distributions? 295 00:11:45,140 --> 00:11:46,140 Probably not. 296 00:11:46,140 --> 00:11:48,300 And maybe you are, but you don't need to. 297 00:11:48,300 --> 00:11:52,020 I don't need leaders to be experts in payroll. 298 00:11:52,020 --> 00:11:55,060 Compensation, what do I pay people? 299 00:11:55,060 --> 00:11:56,580 My best example, one of the things 300 00:11:56,580 --> 00:11:57,900 that just came up recently, 301 00:11:57,900 --> 00:12:00,220 New York state just passed a new law. 302 00:12:00,220 --> 00:12:02,460 I believe it's earlier this week 303 00:12:02,460 --> 00:12:05,780 called a pay transparency law that is requiring states 304 00:12:05,780 --> 00:12:09,060 and employers to post on internal and external postings, 305 00:12:09,060 --> 00:12:10,060 pay ranges. 306 00:12:10,060 --> 00:12:12,860 California has done and a few other states do as well, 307 00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:15,500 but I don't want a leader to spend your time researching 308 00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:17,260 and understanding, does it impact me? 309 00:12:17,260 --> 00:12:18,780 How does it impact me? 310 00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:20,260 I'll send you a one sentence blurb 311 00:12:20,260 --> 00:12:22,140 or better than that, if we support you, 312 00:12:22,140 --> 00:12:23,300 I'll just email you and say, 313 00:12:23,300 --> 00:12:24,700 hey, going forward and all postings 314 00:12:24,700 --> 00:12:26,260 were gonna be adding this and here's why, 315 00:12:26,260 --> 00:12:28,620 if you wanna see the details, I could send it to you. 316 00:12:29,580 --> 00:12:32,340 Taking those burdens off of leaders' plates 317 00:12:32,340 --> 00:12:34,660 so that you can do what you need to do, 318 00:12:34,660 --> 00:12:38,920 growing revenue, engaging with your customers or clients, 319 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,060 taking care of your people, that's the part, 320 00:12:41,060 --> 00:12:42,740 that's why you started the business. 321 00:12:42,740 --> 00:12:44,660 Let me take all that stuff behind you, 322 00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:46,980 make it easy, simplified and streamlined 323 00:12:46,980 --> 00:12:48,380 and we'll manage it for you. 324 00:12:49,540 --> 00:12:53,580 Dude, I can tell that if I had a time machine 325 00:12:53,580 --> 00:12:55,340 and I could go back 10 years 326 00:12:56,700 --> 00:13:00,380 and with the knowledge I have now, of course, right? 327 00:13:00,380 --> 00:13:05,380 And say, Neil, please teach me about diplomacy. 328 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:08,620 That would also probably be one of the best things 329 00:13:08,620 --> 00:13:11,820 that you could have taught me as a young leader. 330 00:13:11,820 --> 00:13:13,700 And I still have so far to go, 331 00:13:13,700 --> 00:13:15,780 but I'm gonna highlight something very important. 332 00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:17,620 I'm still not the most diplomatic person 333 00:13:17,620 --> 00:13:18,980 and I'm gonna do this for you. 334 00:13:18,980 --> 00:13:22,500 Neil said, you do not need to be a payroll expert 335 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:23,820 as an entrepreneur. 336 00:13:23,820 --> 00:13:28,060 I'm going to say, you are not a payroll expert 337 00:13:28,060 --> 00:13:30,900 as an entrepreneur, you are not. 338 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:32,580 That is not your job. 339 00:13:32,580 --> 00:13:34,940 You are supposed to hand these jobs off to people 340 00:13:34,940 --> 00:13:38,040 so that you can go lead as a visionary. 341 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:42,100 So again, I prefer your approach, I love it. 342 00:13:42,100 --> 00:13:45,540 I can sense an incredible empathy in you 343 00:13:45,540 --> 00:13:48,460 and I will find your flaws eventually, 344 00:13:48,460 --> 00:13:52,340 but for now this has been a super joyful show. 345 00:13:52,340 --> 00:13:54,780 Let's talk about your vision a little bit, Neil. 346 00:13:54,780 --> 00:13:57,300 So what's your vision for yourself? 347 00:13:57,300 --> 00:13:58,700 And you don't have to use 15 seconds, 348 00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:00,560 but over the next 15, 20 years, 349 00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:01,860 what do you wanna be doing? 350 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:05,180 I think Jackson, what I really wanna do 351 00:14:05,180 --> 00:14:07,260 is continue to expand this business, 352 00:14:07,260 --> 00:14:10,060 which is fractional HR and consulting and advising. 353 00:14:10,060 --> 00:14:12,060 So, and one of the things I wanna hit home on 354 00:14:12,060 --> 00:14:13,540 is the fractional component, 355 00:14:13,540 --> 00:14:15,340 because the reality is companies hear, 356 00:14:15,340 --> 00:14:18,620 oh, this sounds great, but I can't afford a full-time HR 357 00:14:18,620 --> 00:14:21,780 or I can't afford this or that, you can't. 358 00:14:21,780 --> 00:14:25,540 And I bring 25 years myself of HR expertise 359 00:14:25,540 --> 00:14:28,060 and wisdom and knowledge, along with my team, 360 00:14:28,060 --> 00:14:31,540 we have over 70 years of HR experience we bring to you. 361 00:14:31,540 --> 00:14:34,060 And my vision is to continue to grow 362 00:14:34,060 --> 00:14:36,960 and provide the services to grow small 363 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:38,140 and medium-sized companies. 364 00:14:38,140 --> 00:14:40,080 And then the second part of my vision 365 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,220 is to allow HR practitioners that have been 366 00:14:42,220 --> 00:14:44,140 in corporate America for a while, 367 00:14:44,140 --> 00:14:47,380 ready to get out and wanting to really come 368 00:14:47,380 --> 00:14:50,540 support this business and support these small, 369 00:14:50,540 --> 00:14:52,860 growing, expanding companies. 370 00:14:52,860 --> 00:14:55,300 They're looking for that next opportunity. 371 00:14:55,300 --> 00:14:57,880 And then the last part of my vision is to continue 372 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,260 on something one of my team members helped me create, 373 00:15:00,260 --> 00:15:04,180 which is the key, family first, work second. 374 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:07,700 And that's a core vision of my business. 375 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:10,620 And I always say, if you struggle between the decision 376 00:15:10,620 --> 00:15:13,460 and you have a question between, do I do work or family? 377 00:15:13,460 --> 00:15:15,660 Family always first, work second, 378 00:15:15,660 --> 00:15:18,260 and we'll help solve that if you have that conflict. 379 00:15:18,260 --> 00:15:19,860 And that's been a cornerstone of the business 380 00:15:19,860 --> 00:15:21,160 and will be forever. 381 00:15:23,020 --> 00:15:25,620 I'm falling in love with these concepts, 382 00:15:26,460 --> 00:15:29,440 these realities that you're hitting. 383 00:15:30,660 --> 00:15:32,980 Again, I just hope everybody is listening 384 00:15:32,980 --> 00:15:34,120 is eating this up. 385 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,560 Fractional HR, and I love the vision 386 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:40,120 because in order to provide that, 387 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,480 in order to scale that, you certainly wanna be 388 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:44,640 constantly recruiting your own HR team. 389 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,280 And so, and I love the fact that you know 390 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:48,880 those in proper order. 391 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,480 And I look forward to seeing the business world 392 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:53,360 shift to family first. 393 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,920 Right now we're the outliers, I would say. 394 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:57,840 And that's painful. 395 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,440 I mean, that might be painful for certain people to hear, 396 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,440 but I don't know too many entrepreneurs 397 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:04,640 who've been a stay at home dad since day one 398 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,320 of being an entrepreneur. 399 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:07,720 I'm one of the few on that. 400 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,520 And I look forward to seeing more people 401 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,000 transition towards that and also understand 402 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,420 that there's new pros and cons in life 403 00:16:16,420 --> 00:16:18,280 that come out of making that transition. 404 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,080 There's new challenges that exist. 405 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:24,080 But one of the things, one of the most challenging aspects 406 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,600 of being a work, I'm sorry, a family first 407 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,320 balanced entrepreneur is the friction 408 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,160 that creates with clients or business people 409 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:37,600 who don't understand that. 410 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:42,520 And don't feel that they can coexist with that. 411 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:46,320 And thank goodness, people like you are in the market. 412 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,640 And I'm also striving to make that shift a reality. 413 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,060 So if you're listening to this and that's what you want, 414 00:16:53,060 --> 00:16:54,800 I think it's also important that you contribute 415 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:58,020 to that cause and start standing up for that belief 416 00:16:58,020 --> 00:16:59,960 and saying, hey, this is what we want 417 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:01,280 for our families as well. 418 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,160 As families and people who care about families, 419 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:05,600 you've got to stand together and make sure 420 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:06,920 that that's a priority in life. 421 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,200 So I'll get off my soap box a little bit. 422 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,520 Fractional HR, fractional, the term fractional 423 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,680 for chief executive officers, chief operating officers, 424 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:18,740 chief financial officers, et cetera, 425 00:17:18,740 --> 00:17:21,520 I would say started to become quite popular 426 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:23,100 within the last five years. 427 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,680 It wasn't something that, I still think most of mainstream 428 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,360 does not know that those opportunities exist. 429 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:36,360 How long have you been pioneering fractional HR development? 430 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,680 So I've been doing fractional HR for over 15 years. 431 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:42,960 And about two years ago, 432 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:45,360 I decided to commit to this full-time. 433 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,400 So I went into this two years ago, full-time 434 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,440 and still to this day, I get so many people going, 435 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:51,920 what does this mean fractional? 436 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,660 And the analogy I give and most people 437 00:17:53,660 --> 00:17:55,280 in the business community understand 438 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:57,120 the word fractional CFO. 439 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,520 Fractional CFO seems to be the cornerstone of where it began. 440 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,520 And I say, once you like somebody that has 10, 15, 20 years 441 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,200 of experience to come into your organization 442 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:13,740 on five hours a week, five hours a month, five hours a day, 443 00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:15,800 whatever the need of your business, 444 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:18,280 we will build a personalized, customized plan 445 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,920 to your business and we'll allocate a resource 446 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:22,480 to support and help you. 447 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,960 But what I've done is I've taken it one step further 448 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,160 and myself or one of my senior colleagues 449 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,040 helps manage that client and that consultant 450 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:32,000 on that account. 451 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,520 So really they're getting a two for one deal. 452 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:36,480 So I'm there to support my client 453 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:37,880 along with one of my consultants. 454 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:39,480 So they get a two for one. 455 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,380 So they're averaging 20 to 50 years of experience 456 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:44,680 at a fractional basis. 457 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:46,800 And that's just amazing to the client 458 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,040 to have that sense of knowledge and expertise 459 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:53,400 and not having to pay that six plus figure number 460 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,300 to bring in somebody for 40 hours a week, 461 00:18:55,300 --> 00:18:59,080 50 hours a week that might not have that industry background. 462 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,320 We support all industries across the United States 463 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:04,480 and that's what's been very advantageous 464 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:05,640 for us and the clients. 465 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:08,200 Wow, yeah. 466 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:10,560 Absolutely. 467 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:14,200 Again, I'm hoping that one of the challenges 468 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,960 that you face, Neil, and that I face as well 469 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,860 in terms of helping the market at large 470 00:19:21,860 --> 00:19:25,000 is that most entrepreneurs, you know, these days, 471 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,600 when I say most, I mean, you've got to look 472 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,480 at the grand majority of the millions that are out there. 473 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,020 Most of them do not have corporate background. 474 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:39,120 Most of them have never faced a workers comp problem. 475 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:44,680 Most of them have never faced somebody taking them 476 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,360 to small claims court and realizing that, 477 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:51,040 whoa, business means there's all these other challenges 478 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:51,880 that exist. 479 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,000 So I can see how corporate level clients 480 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:56,700 and people with a lot of corporate experience 481 00:19:56,700 --> 00:19:59,720 could instantly value what it is that you do. 482 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,200 And yet that's the small majority of the market, right? 483 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,120 So I tend to look at the bigger problem, 484 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,420 which is far less profitable in the beginning, 485 00:20:09,420 --> 00:20:13,960 far more difficult and say, well, what are we doing 486 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,200 to bridge the gap to help the entrepreneur, right? 487 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,720 The solopreneur, the ones who don't have that experience 488 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,800 understand the value of everything that you're putting down 489 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:26,820 because it's clear as day to me and that's good news, 490 00:20:26,820 --> 00:20:29,720 but I have a lot of background with really dangerous, 491 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,000 nightmarish HR experiences that many of the people 492 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,040 who listen to the show don't. 493 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,200 So let's keep going on that path if you don't mind. 494 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:39,680 What are we doing to bridge the gap 495 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,000 for the ignorant entrepreneur, 496 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,760 the one who doesn't have a background in HR 497 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,680 and understand the nightmares that they might face, 498 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:48,600 they go it alone. 499 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:49,560 I don't want to scare them, 500 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,400 but what are we doing to bridge that gap? 501 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:54,960 Jackson, the simple bridge is get somebody to help you, 502 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:56,780 get a colleague, get a professional. 503 00:20:56,780 --> 00:20:58,760 What I always say, get somebody like myself. 504 00:20:58,760 --> 00:20:59,720 And you know what? 505 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:00,800 I always get the pushback. 506 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:02,280 I can't afford it. 507 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:03,100 Then you know what? 508 00:21:03,100 --> 00:21:04,920 Let's set up an executive coaching session. 509 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,200 Let me coach you twice a month for an hour or two. 510 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:08,440 Let me answer your questions. 511 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:10,580 Let's talk about your business strategy. 512 00:21:10,580 --> 00:21:13,800 Jackson, I can't tell you how many times I get, 513 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,440 I'm on a call six, seven, eight o'clock at night 514 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,920 with somebody talking about how to build out an LLC. 515 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:21,400 And when do I open the bank account? 516 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:22,480 And what do I need? 517 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:23,880 How do I hire my first person? 518 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:24,960 And what do I do to pay them? 519 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,840 And then you get to three, four, five, seven, 10 employees. 520 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:30,360 And they're like, now what? 521 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:31,520 Do I need a payroll system? 522 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:32,560 Do I need this? 523 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:33,760 Oh my gosh, somebody just said 524 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:34,840 they're gonna file a complaint. 525 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:35,680 What do I do? 526 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:37,240 Call me, we'll help you. 527 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,760 I can't tell you, half my business probably has started 528 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,280 with that first phone call. 529 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:42,760 What do I do with this? 530 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:43,840 And they're like, okay. 531 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:45,080 I'm like, you do this, this and this. 532 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:45,920 They're like, what do you mean? 533 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,320 I'm like, look, give me 30 minutes of your time. 534 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:49,160 I'll walk you through it 535 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:50,880 and we'll help solve this together. 536 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,040 And the very first question of most solopreneurs 537 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:55,440 or entrepreneurs growing their businesses, 538 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:56,680 I can't afford you. 539 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,120 Like, look, I'll make you a deal. 540 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,160 Give me 15 minutes, I'm not gonna charge you. 541 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,480 I'm not here to nickel and dime people. 542 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,400 I wanna hear to support you short term and long term. 543 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:06,640 So let's work through the problem together. 544 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:07,960 And that's what we do is we sit down 545 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,280 and have a short conversation, talk through it, 546 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,680 give them the best advice, knowledge and wisdom I have 547 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,160 and help them in their journey. 548 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:15,400 And then generally speaking, 549 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,120 I usually get a call back three weeks, three months, 550 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:19,880 six months, a year, two years. 551 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:21,040 You know, do you remember me? 552 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:21,880 I need your help. 553 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:23,520 I'm like, I got you, let's go. 554 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:24,360 What can we do? 555 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,720 It's the relationship and finding that network 556 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:31,240 of knowledge and support, but turning to the experts 557 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:33,080 to really know what you're doing 558 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,640 and recognizing what you can do, 559 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:36,920 but admitting what you can't do. 560 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,360 And HR is not a realm for probably 90% of leaders 561 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:41,200 I see today. 562 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:46,200 Well said, you're being generous with the 90%. 563 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:48,600 I think it should be like more like 96%. 564 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,520 Granted that the failure rate of businesses 565 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,400 within 10 years is 96%. 566 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,120 In fact, I would say 98% 567 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:59,040 because some of the businesses that are winning 568 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,440 are winning in spite of how they treat people. 569 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,560 And so there's still lots of adjustments to be made 570 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,920 even within the winner circle. 571 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,640 So just incredible value in that too. 572 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:15,640 Now, family aspect, I wanna dive into something 573 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:18,600 that some of you may have caught. 574 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:19,880 I have my own answer on this. 575 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,440 I'm curious about Neils. 576 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:22,920 We're gonna talk about it openly. 577 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:27,920 Now you admitted to taking calls at six, seven or 8 p.m. 578 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,840 Doesn't that interrupt family time? 579 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,840 And where's the balance or where's the give? 580 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,640 How does that coincide with also being a family man? 581 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,120 Jackson, great question. 582 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:40,360 And you know what? 583 00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:41,560 Life is give and take. 584 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,440 And my famous philosophy is we talk about work-life balance. 585 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,920 You can't balance the two, there's no such thing. 586 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:49,440 It's a work-life integration. 587 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,440 You gotta integrate the two models together. 588 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,680 So yesterday I left the office at three o'clock 589 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:55,920 so I could attend my daughter's tennis game. 590 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,880 And then my youngest daughter was doing cheerleading. 591 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,520 So you flex your schedules. 592 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,440 The other thing is don't waste time. 593 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,240 I have an hour drive both ways. 594 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:10,040 I have an hour drive both ways to work when I'm in the office. 595 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:11,120 So what do I do? 596 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:13,480 I use every one of my hour drives 597 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,160 with a minimum of 30 minute call. 598 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,080 So what I do is I manage my time. 599 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,480 And there are times that my family's doing their thing 600 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,240 and I'm on a call. 601 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:25,120 Part of it is when you grow and scale a business, 602 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:26,720 sometimes you gotta give to get. 603 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:28,880 But you know what? 604 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:30,360 It's a balance between the two. 605 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:32,600 And when I know it's important for me and the family, 606 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:34,160 I'm gonna make sure I'm there. 607 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,440 And I will sacrifice a client meeting for a tennis match 608 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,000 or cheerleading event. 609 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,760 Because those are important moments for me 610 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,280 and I'm not gonna miss them. 611 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,960 But you can't have your cake and eat it too. 612 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,320 So you do have to work hard at this. 613 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,200 But it's about how you balance the two out 614 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,160 and you surround yourself with great talent 615 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:54,360 to help and support you. 616 00:24:55,580 --> 00:24:56,420 Nice. 617 00:24:56,420 --> 00:24:59,160 I think it's a bit of a semantics game. 618 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:00,200 I hate that quote. 619 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:01,040 I love you. 620 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:02,320 I hate that quote. 621 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,720 I say you can have your cake, you can eat it too, 622 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,080 and you can create a conveyor belt of cakes. 623 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,360 Like that's like a Richard Branson. 624 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:12,600 I say, look at what you're doing. 625 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,880 I would say you are having your cake and eating it too. 626 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:16,720 And it was funny. 627 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,680 You said it's not balanced and you said it's integration, 628 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:19,840 but then you came back to balance. 629 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:22,040 And again, that's we as Americans, 630 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:23,320 I don't see this in many other cultures. 631 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,280 I don't speak many languages, but I do speak Spanish. 632 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:29,120 I don't see people argue over semantics in Spanish. 633 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:30,800 In English, we love to do that. 634 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,040 You know, where it's like, I say balance, you say harmony. 635 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:35,320 And like, we're both wrong. 636 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,960 Oh, you know, like it's so crazy how we do that. 637 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,120 But my favorite mentor, Jake Larson, 638 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:44,400 video power marketing, love him to death. 639 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:45,480 He's like a brother to me. 640 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,040 And he taught me so much about life. 641 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:48,960 He's like the super dad, right? 642 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,120 I look at him for, if I wanna be a better dad, 643 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:54,560 I just watch a few videos of Jake and I take notes. 644 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,920 And he told me about this story 645 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,760 about the plate spinners and the circus. 646 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:05,200 And how a lot of people think that work and life 647 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:06,920 get balanced like juggling, 648 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,080 which is pretty much equal distribution. 649 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:11,280 But in plate balancing, 650 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,320 those guys that have 20 different plates spinning 651 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:14,240 on different sticks, 652 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,640 you've probably seen that in videos at least. 653 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,120 Sometimes there's one agitated plate 654 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:23,240 that you have to spin more often than all the others. 655 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,280 And that could be representation of a kid 656 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,240 who's struggling to read, learn how to read. 657 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:32,200 That could be a kid who's going through drugs problems 658 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:33,520 or it could be a wife 659 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:35,680 who's going through a midlife crisis, right? 660 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,640 There's a lot of different times in life 661 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,400 when you're gonna need to dedicate certain effort 662 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,480 towards certain plates more often than others. 663 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:47,320 And it's not a matter of equal distribution 664 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,320 as much as a matter of paying attention 665 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:50,960 to what needs my attention now. 666 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,240 So I love that you talk about that. 667 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,320 I think more people need to recognize that, 668 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:56,680 the flexibility. 669 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:57,680 If you love what you do, 670 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:01,640 why would you not take a call at 8 p.m. with somebody? 671 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,040 Because you're excited to dive into that. 672 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:05,520 And if your family is not there 673 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:07,880 because they had a mommy daughter date or something, 674 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:08,920 and you've only got one daughter, 675 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,640 then you might find yourself diving into work 676 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:13,920 because you love it. 677 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,040 You don't need permission to dive in to do that 678 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:18,760 and to say, hey, I'm gonna run my business 679 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:20,760 outside of this nine to five thing. 680 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:23,600 Very, very well set examples. 681 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,680 And that does mean sometimes seeing family 682 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,520 and doing family things when you should be working. 683 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:31,920 Should by whose standards? 684 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:33,600 I hope it's your own, 685 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:35,960 not the world or us pressuring you 686 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,960 on when you should be the visionary at all times, 687 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:42,720 period in my opinion. 688 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,400 So thank you for that. 689 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:46,520 Anything you wanna add before we move on? 690 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:52,000 No, I think the key is just make the moments count. 691 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,080 A great leader once told me, I said, okay, 692 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:56,440 I said, I gotta go to another meeting. 693 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:58,200 She goes, we still have a minute 694 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,240 and make every minute of that moment count 695 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:01,920 before you go to the next. 696 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,320 And it's the same for family, 697 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:05,400 not just for work, but for family. 698 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:07,440 When you're walking your child to the car 699 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:09,120 or taking him dropping off at school, 700 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:10,480 are you having a conversation? 701 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:11,400 Are you interacting? 702 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:12,440 Are you engaging? 703 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:13,480 Are you asking about their day 704 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,200 or the moment of challenge or your wife? 705 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,880 Make the moments count and don't miss the moments. 706 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:21,600 Every moment should count, make them count. 707 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,640 That's really, I think we're so much of that opportunity 708 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,000 of spinning one plate, but talking to another plate 709 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,040 at the same time is a great way to make it happen. 710 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:36,040 Wow, you just reminded me of an executive 711 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,080 I worked with a long time ago, I was very young. 712 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:44,320 His name was Presidente Vanilla, president of the area. 713 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:48,560 And he happened to attend one of the district meetings 714 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:49,480 that was occurring. 715 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,720 And the district leader finished the meeting 716 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,120 10 minutes early and he was like, okay, cool, we're done. 717 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:56,360 We don't have to do anything else. 718 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:00,200 And he was excited to give everybody the time, 719 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,960 to just whatever, get out early and not do it. 720 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:07,240 And President Vanilla got up and he said, 721 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:08,960 he said, absolutely not. 722 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:10,560 He said, we have 10 minutes 723 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,080 and we're going to use them effectively. 724 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:17,360 And he said, let's take an inventory of who's not here. 725 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:18,680 It's the first step, right? 726 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:20,040 He wrote all the names on the board, 727 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,400 all the people that weren't there. 728 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,760 And he said, now who's going to go visit so-and-so? 729 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:28,240 Who's going to go visit this person? 730 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:29,840 Who's going to go check on them? 731 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:31,960 What needs do they have in their lives 732 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:33,320 that we can account for? 733 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:35,360 And he used the 10 minutes making sure to account 734 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,960 for the individuals who were inactive in this experience. 735 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:44,960 And I just remember being like, whoa, that was so brilliant 736 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:47,400 and so helpful. 737 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:51,480 And I've to this day, I've never seen anybody 738 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,480 use that same style of time, but you invoked that, 739 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,800 that last minute, every minute counts 740 00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:59,160 when you're being purposeful. 741 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:01,480 And it's again, it's something 742 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:02,480 that everybody's listening right now. 743 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:03,800 You can write that down. 744 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:05,800 You can be the person who implements that. 745 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:07,520 You don't have to look for President Vanilla 746 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:09,120 as in the world, do it yourself. 747 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:10,760 Be the person who makes that happen. 748 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,120 So let's dive into a darker subject, Neil. 749 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,360 What's your worst business experience ever? 750 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,680 That's an interesting question. 751 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,960 Worst business experience ever. 752 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,240 And this is going to sound a bit cliche, 753 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,760 but it's working for leaders that did not understand 754 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:31,120 how to lead effectively people. 755 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,760 And being in an environment where I watched people 756 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,120 that weren't happy, weren't engaged, 757 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,120 were punching a clock, were all the other acronyms 758 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:40,920 and analogies that we love to use. 759 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,840 It just, that was my worst experience ever. 760 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:45,760 And I've seen it multiple times in my career 761 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,960 and it's very disheartening to me as a people leader, 762 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:50,960 but just as a person. 763 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:52,800 I had an opportunity to work for another organization 764 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:55,840 where this is a long-term organization, 765 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:57,280 been around for over a hundred years 766 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,640 and people worked there because there was a pension plan 767 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,720 and it was great, but they were miserable. 768 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,920 And life is too short to be doing things 769 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:08,520 you're miserable with. 770 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:10,400 Enjoy what you do, embrace it. 771 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,720 As you said earlier, doing a call at eight o'clock is okay. 772 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,680 If you love it, do it. 773 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,000 I gotta tell you some of the most rewarding moments 774 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,400 I've had is those meetings and conversations and topics, 775 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,760 but working for somebody or with somebody 776 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:27,360 or for an organization that doesn't value its people 777 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,640 is really the worst business experience ever. 778 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,560 It's, I just, I don't wanna see that for people. 779 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,120 And that's really, I think the driving part 780 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:38,720 of why I've been in HR for over 25 years 781 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,920 and why I wanna help other leaders get better 782 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:46,080 and help them become better leaders of their people. 783 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:51,080 Yeah, I probably should have done an HR career myself. 784 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:53,600 Like everything I do about marketing 785 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,480 is really all about the people first aspect. 786 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,440 And you're making me have my own sense of like, man, 787 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:04,120 maybe I should just shift and start doing that. 788 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,760 But it's one of those departments 789 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,040 that tends to get so overlooked 790 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,480 and looked at as a high compliance. 791 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:16,920 Let me put my glasses on, what do you want today? 792 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:17,760 Why are we helping you? 793 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,960 There's just so much lack of personality typically 794 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,040 in that environment yet you're turning the tables on it 795 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:26,640 and I appreciate that. 796 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:31,160 So, let's talk about your best experience in business. 797 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:32,280 What does that look like? 798 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,360 What's your best experience with HR business? 799 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:37,960 I think it's those moments with people. 800 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:39,800 It's not one singular experience, 801 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,880 but it's the moments of enlightenment, 802 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,160 success, celebration. 803 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,000 When you help somebody achieve 804 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:48,760 what they're trying to go for. 805 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:52,120 When people, you look back and the example I'll give 806 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:53,640 is I very early in my career, 807 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:54,960 I had a gentleman that worked for me 808 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:56,000 and we just butted heads. 809 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:57,280 I was the manager of the store 810 00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:58,720 and he was one of my junior managers 811 00:32:58,720 --> 00:32:59,560 and we just butted heads. 812 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,080 And finally we learned to kind of work together 813 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,160 and I just kept trying to put together 814 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,360 I just kept trying to teach him and educate him 815 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:08,920 and support him and help him in his journey. 816 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,720 And the best experience was about three years later 817 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:13,680 we were doing some site visits 818 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,600 and we went to his store as a store manager. 819 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:18,280 And his comment to me was, 820 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:19,160 I know we butted heads, 821 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:22,840 but thanks for all the support and help you gave me 822 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,080 over those years to help me be the leader I am today. 823 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:29,720 And for me, it's helping people achieve 824 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,120 what sometimes they don't think they can do 825 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:36,040 and supporting and teaching and taking those moments again 826 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:37,720 to make a difference with somebody. 827 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:39,600 Those are the best experiences in business 828 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:42,480 when you can look back and reflect and just go. 829 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:43,680 And that's usually when it is, 830 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,240 is you see the success over time. 831 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:48,400 That's the challenge with HR is we don't, 832 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,360 not everything we do is quick and fast 833 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:52,920 and check the box and it's done. 834 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,960 A lot of what we do takes weeks, days, months, years 835 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,000 to revolve and evolve folks 836 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,600 to get somewhere they need to be, but that's okay. 837 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:03,640 You just gotta be patient and persistent. 838 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:05,440 Absolutely. 839 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,320 And some of what you do as an HR professional, 840 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,400 I mean, I'm reaching here a little bit. 841 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:11,280 You can correct me if I'm wrong, 842 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:15,800 but I think some of what you do in HR as an HR individual, 843 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,920 not you yourself, can lead to a dip 844 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:23,240 before it leads to a rise in success. 845 00:34:23,240 --> 00:34:26,240 And are there certain trends? 846 00:34:26,240 --> 00:34:28,720 Are there certain realities that you have to face 847 00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:32,160 as an HR director or an HR consultant 848 00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:34,680 where you have to advise the entrepreneur, 849 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:36,400 hey, when this happens, 850 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:40,880 we typically see a slight dip until we see the rise. 851 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,920 And I'm making this up as a theory. 852 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:46,680 Am I spot on or am I wrong about this? 853 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:47,500 You're spot on. 854 00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:50,000 The best example I'll give you is new leaders. 855 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:53,160 So when we have a leader come into a new team, 856 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:55,640 a new function, generally we see an average 857 00:34:55,640 --> 00:34:57,840 of 30 to 60% turnover. 858 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:01,160 So you're gonna see the dip and you're gonna see this team. 859 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:03,120 And with that right support of that leader, 860 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:04,360 especially in the dip. 861 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:13,920 Oh no, this was fantastic and I lost you, Neil. 862 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:15,120 Am I back? 863 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:17,240 You're back, you're back. 864 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:18,800 All right, I'll try to take off. 865 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,840 So what I was saying is catch the leaders in the dip 866 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:24,200 and help support them on the journey back up 867 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:26,560 and be there, but recognize as a leader, 868 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:28,520 that doesn't mean that they're a bad leader. 869 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:33,280 They're hitting the dip of change, evolution, challenge 870 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,360 and help move them and carry them. 871 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,920 Support them in that journey back up 872 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:40,920 because it'll come, it just takes time. 873 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,840 Yes, I'm kind of like sitting here, 874 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:48,160 like I've been that new leader so many times 875 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:50,200 where the support isn't there. 876 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:53,760 And I saw this cartoon the other day. 877 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:55,000 This guy does marketing cartoons. 878 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,600 I can't remember his name. 879 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,600 I'll probably drop it in the show notes, 880 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:04,600 but it showed the COO at his desk. 881 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,640 It showed the CEO at his desk 882 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:10,920 and it showed the CMO entering a revolving door. 883 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,600 You know, that basically spit pulls them in 884 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,080 and spits them out and pulls them in and spits them out. 885 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:22,080 And I was like, wow, that is so, so unfortunately true. 886 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:26,320 So, and I like that you, you know, without an expert, 887 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:27,440 you don't get to learn those things. 888 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:30,360 You know, again, I can theorize about the reality, 889 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,120 but you actually know the numbers related to it. 890 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:34,120 You can forecast that. 891 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:35,880 You can help entrepreneurs understand 892 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,000 what they don't understand 893 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:41,640 and stop them from jumping to fast conclusions. 894 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:44,080 So thank you for that. 895 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,600 That's very helpful insight. 896 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,320 Let's dive into another powerful, 897 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:52,040 in fact, you dropped one powerful lesson. 898 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:53,040 We're gonna come back to this question. 899 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:53,920 I wanna highlight it. 900 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:58,760 You talked about actively using your mobile office, right? 901 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:02,320 And that means making phone calls in the car. 902 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:06,480 I'm gonna talk about that because I'm not one to, 903 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,760 to stir the pot when it comes to giving bad advice 904 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:11,680 or dangerous advice. 905 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:15,240 But if you know how to drive really well, 906 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:16,880 you've been at it for years, 907 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,280 I'm really sorry if you have the misfortune 908 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:23,840 of what could happen, but use your time. 909 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:26,800 You know, you use your time, 910 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:28,000 do the good in the world 911 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,000 that you know you're gonna be able to do. 912 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,240 I'm not saying write notes. 913 00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:35,080 I'm not saying don't look at the street. 914 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:38,400 If you are very good at driving and able to stay focused, 915 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,040 then that is a perfectly great time 916 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,240 to have conversations with people about your business 917 00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:46,120 and make sure, or listen to a podcast, 918 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:48,680 where you can use that time to be productive. 919 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,600 Don't use it as an excuse, but also, you know, 920 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:54,440 be mindful, be careful as you do so, 921 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,760 and know that your repercussions are yours alone. 922 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:01,600 We just happen to be admitting our guilty productivity. 923 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:03,760 So, all right, beyond that, 924 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:05,040 I won't get you in trouble there. 925 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:05,880 We'll keep going. 926 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,880 What powerful lesson can other visionaries learn 927 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:09,200 from your experience, Neil? 928 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,880 I think dedication and determination. 929 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:14,360 You gotta be dedicated to what you do. 930 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,880 You gotta love it, and you gotta be determined. 931 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:18,440 Not everything is gonna be a high 932 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:20,120 and not everything is gonna be a low, 933 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:22,680 and the highs are good and the lows are bad, 934 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,520 but recognize, just stay in the middle. 935 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:26,360 It's okay. 936 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:27,480 Celebrate the successes. 937 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:31,080 Learn from the failures or opportunities, 938 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,880 but just keep driving. 939 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:36,880 And then, the other last part of that lesson, 940 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:38,840 I would say, is networking. 941 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:39,920 Just network. 942 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:43,720 Get out to meet new people, meet new groups, 943 00:38:43,720 --> 00:38:45,960 new industries, new leaders. 944 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:47,320 Get to know people. 945 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:49,760 Networking has paid off exponentially for me 946 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:50,680 and will continue to, 947 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,920 and I'm a huge fan of anybody in your audience 948 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:55,320 who wants to reach out to me on LinkedIn, 949 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,920 send me an invite, let's connect and talk. 950 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,480 That's how you build and get to know all the wisdom 951 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:02,120 and knowledge we get from each other, 952 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:03,400 and we can share from each other. 953 00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:06,360 And there's no reason we can't all learn 954 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:07,280 and help each other out. 955 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:08,760 And that, to me, is networking 956 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:12,280 is such an important component of all of this. 957 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,200 Yeah, absolutely. 958 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:16,360 Way to quadruple down on that one. 959 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:18,440 Dedication, determination, 960 00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:21,800 define that as a little bit of tenacity in there as well, 961 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:23,000 and that networking. 962 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:26,480 Who wouldn't want to network with Neil? 963 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:27,840 I gotta say this. 964 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,080 It's like you were made in a build-a-bear factory. 965 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,240 It's like so much goodness coming out, man. 966 00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:37,240 So I definitely appreciate that. 967 00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:39,520 How did you get to that? 968 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:44,240 How did you arrive at such an open-loving personality? 969 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:45,960 I sound like such a brown-noser right now, 970 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:47,880 but I mean, I'm serious. 971 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:49,280 You've got this demeanor about you 972 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:51,280 that it's pretty easy to see 973 00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:52,840 how much you care about people. 974 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:55,360 What made you you? 975 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,280 25 years of work and experience to become who I am. 976 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:02,840 And one of the things I will encourage your listeners today 977 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:05,240 is don't sacrifice in the experience. 978 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:07,520 Experience teaches you things and helps you learn 979 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,520 and form who you are and who you want to become, 980 00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:12,520 both what people do that you like 981 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:14,560 and what people do that you don't like. 982 00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:16,960 And over the years, I've learned from great leaders 983 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:19,640 and I've learned from not so many great leaders, 984 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,760 but I've learned what works and I found that. 985 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:24,480 And then I found what resonated with people. 986 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:27,920 At the end of the day, we can do everything and anything, 987 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:29,560 but it's about people at the core. 988 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:30,920 And I just love people. 989 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:31,800 I love doing these. 990 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:32,760 I love talking with people. 991 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:34,080 I love to get to know people. 992 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:36,560 And I just have an insatiable appetite to learn 993 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:38,360 and support and help them 994 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:41,520 and just watching those moments when they succeed. 995 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:46,520 That's the real, when what looks unachievable to them 996 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:50,920 becomes easy to me, that's the best reward 997 00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,880 at the end of the day is how do I make it look so easy? 998 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:55,760 Because I've been doing this for 25 years 999 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:57,240 and I don't want it to be hard for you. 1000 00:40:57,240 --> 00:41:00,000 Let it be easy for me and hard, not hard for you 1001 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:01,840 and we'll both win out of this. 1002 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,000 That's really just, I just love what I do. 1003 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,680 And this is a great example of when people find 1004 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:12,040 their true passion and make it a career in a business. 1005 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:12,880 It's easy. 1006 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:15,720 Yeah, I'd agree with that. 1007 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:18,880 It's easy to see that you're living that by example 1008 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:19,980 and I appreciate that. 1009 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:23,280 I wanna, I'm not gonna end on this, 1010 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:25,680 but it is, we're getting closer to time, 1011 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:30,440 but I gotta ask Neil, what are some of your weaknesses? 1012 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:34,280 What are some of the things, areas that you shouldn't touch? 1013 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:36,240 Obviously, you know, you'd obviously say like, 1014 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:38,400 well, I shouldn't be a petroleum engineer, you know, 1015 00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:41,280 but let's be more realistic here. 1016 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,120 What are some of those weaknesses and areas of, 1017 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:45,720 areas that if an entrepreneur is gonna work for you, 1018 00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:48,140 they should be aware of and ready for? 1019 00:41:49,060 --> 00:41:51,360 One of my greatest weaknesses, I'm not patient. 1020 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:53,440 I have very little patience in the world of work. 1021 00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:54,600 I like things done. 1022 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:57,280 I like them executed, delivered, followed up on, 1023 00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:59,880 and I just, it's an area I still have to learn. 1024 00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:02,160 And candidly, I'm not sure I'm ever gonna be great at it, 1025 00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:03,000 but I'll be okay. 1026 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:05,660 So for me, that is a weakness. 1027 00:42:05,660 --> 00:42:09,060 And I will say the other thing that I am not is, 1028 00:42:09,060 --> 00:42:12,540 I'm not your CEO, but I can help consult and advise 1029 00:42:12,540 --> 00:42:16,540 and help you align your principles to your people's strategy. 1030 00:42:16,540 --> 00:42:18,540 So I have a very good business mind 1031 00:42:18,540 --> 00:42:20,940 and I enjoy the business of it, 1032 00:42:20,940 --> 00:42:22,340 but I'll let you be the CEO 1033 00:42:22,340 --> 00:42:25,180 and I'll help you build your people's strategies 1034 00:42:25,180 --> 00:42:26,540 and maybe give you some thoughts and feedback 1035 00:42:26,540 --> 00:42:27,780 on your business. 1036 00:42:27,780 --> 00:42:29,940 But at the end of the day, I'm gonna let you be the leader 1037 00:42:29,940 --> 00:42:31,940 and I'll support your people function. 1038 00:42:31,940 --> 00:42:33,420 I'll support your people function. 1039 00:42:34,900 --> 00:42:35,740 Good. 1040 00:42:35,740 --> 00:42:38,780 So you have firm boundaries, 1041 00:42:38,780 --> 00:42:41,660 which would be a weakness for anybody 1042 00:42:41,660 --> 00:42:44,420 who wants more flexibility in that regard, 1043 00:42:44,420 --> 00:42:48,180 but you also recognize the strength of having those. 1044 00:42:48,180 --> 00:42:53,180 And I think it'd be very hard to run an exceptional company, 1045 00:42:53,300 --> 00:42:56,560 like to be exceptional and to be 100% patient, 1046 00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:01,260 because when it comes to exceptional, you've got to deliver. 1047 00:43:01,260 --> 00:43:04,100 And usually there's a timeline involved with that too. 1048 00:43:04,100 --> 00:43:05,820 So that makes sense. 1049 00:43:05,820 --> 00:43:07,780 How does that manifest itself? 1050 00:43:07,780 --> 00:43:09,700 You're not being patient. 1051 00:43:09,700 --> 00:43:12,140 I think lots of follow-up, lots of communication 1052 00:43:12,140 --> 00:43:14,940 and lots of either early mornings or late nights 1053 00:43:14,940 --> 00:43:16,780 thinking through and making sure I followed up 1054 00:43:16,780 --> 00:43:18,500 and developing better and better systems 1055 00:43:18,500 --> 00:43:20,380 to make sure the execution and follow-up 1056 00:43:20,380 --> 00:43:23,020 and deliverables are delivered. 1057 00:43:23,020 --> 00:43:24,060 And I'm sorry, I meant, 1058 00:43:24,060 --> 00:43:27,580 how does the lack of patience manifest itself? 1059 00:43:27,580 --> 00:43:29,580 Some people are angry tyrants 1060 00:43:29,580 --> 00:43:33,820 and yell and scream and want to destroy people. 1061 00:43:33,820 --> 00:43:37,620 Other people are more cut and dry, 1062 00:43:37,620 --> 00:43:38,900 like, nope, you're gone. 1063 00:43:38,900 --> 00:43:40,700 One mistake, you're gone. 1064 00:43:40,700 --> 00:43:43,020 And then there's somewhere in between. 1065 00:43:43,020 --> 00:43:45,740 I think how it manifests myself is I try to get better. 1066 00:43:45,740 --> 00:43:48,180 I try to find ways to better help my people 1067 00:43:48,180 --> 00:43:50,700 to deliver the results and outcomes that we need. 1068 00:43:50,700 --> 00:43:53,300 And for me, it's just driving, driving, driving. 1069 00:43:53,300 --> 00:43:54,980 At times it makes you tired. 1070 00:43:54,980 --> 00:43:56,160 You're persistent. 1071 00:43:56,160 --> 00:43:58,820 Yeah, you can only drive so much before you get tired. 1072 00:43:58,820 --> 00:44:00,660 And there's nights I'll just sit on the couch 1073 00:44:00,660 --> 00:44:02,700 and I'm like, it's it, I'm done. 1074 00:44:02,700 --> 00:44:05,220 I'm clocked out because you burnt so much energy, 1075 00:44:05,220 --> 00:44:08,500 but I'm just dedicated to find unique ways 1076 00:44:08,500 --> 00:44:11,500 to help my team support our clients. 1077 00:44:12,420 --> 00:44:13,540 I love it. 1078 00:44:13,540 --> 00:44:17,060 I'm excited to talk to you after the show, as I mentioned. 1079 00:44:17,060 --> 00:44:20,180 Vision Pros, I hope you wrote down some notes. 1080 00:44:20,180 --> 00:44:21,700 And if you're not in a position to write notes, 1081 00:44:21,700 --> 00:44:24,300 of course, come back and listen to this episode again. 1082 00:44:24,300 --> 00:44:25,220 It's great to have you. 1083 00:44:25,220 --> 00:44:27,260 We would love to have your thoughts. 1084 00:44:27,260 --> 00:44:29,060 Again, any questions that you may have in the comments 1085 00:44:29,060 --> 00:44:30,340 that I didn't cover, please leave them 1086 00:44:30,340 --> 00:44:31,580 so that Neil can answer. 1087 00:44:31,580 --> 00:44:33,260 We'll make sure that he gets those. 1088 00:44:33,260 --> 00:44:38,060 And if you have expertise yourself 1089 00:44:38,060 --> 00:44:40,180 and would like to come on the show, 1090 00:44:40,180 --> 00:44:42,220 if you even have that inkling that you might want to be here, 1091 00:44:42,220 --> 00:44:45,500 then go to visionpros.com and there's a button there 1092 00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:47,460 where you can click to apply. 1093 00:44:47,460 --> 00:44:49,420 We have an extensive line of experts, 1094 00:44:49,420 --> 00:44:51,860 but we're always looking for certain types of people 1095 00:44:51,860 --> 00:44:55,060 and we have the flexibility to sometimes bump people 1096 00:44:55,060 --> 00:44:55,900 up the list. 1097 00:44:55,900 --> 00:44:56,860 So don't hesitate to apply. 1098 00:44:56,860 --> 00:44:57,780 Don't knock yourself out. 1099 00:44:57,780 --> 00:45:00,100 You don't have to be Michael Jordan or Ryan Reynolds 1100 00:45:00,100 --> 00:45:00,580 to be on here. 1101 00:45:00,580 --> 00:45:02,940 But if you're listening, Ryan, we would love to have you, 1102 00:45:02,940 --> 00:45:03,940 by the way. 1103 00:45:03,940 --> 00:45:06,540 And Vision Pros, we look forward to seeing you 1104 00:45:06,540 --> 00:45:07,380 in the next episode. 1105 00:45:07,380 --> 00:45:10,180 I think we even have one later today. 1106 00:45:10,180 --> 00:45:12,340 Neil, it's been an absolute honor and pleasure. 1107 00:45:12,340 --> 00:45:15,700 And everybody, we will see you on the next show. 1108 00:45:15,700 --> 00:45:16,260 Take care, guys. 1109 00:45:16,260 --> 00:45:17,220 Thank you, Jactron. 1110 00:45:17,220 --> 00:45:18,580 Thank you for being here today. 1111 00:45:18,580 --> 00:45:21,060 I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. 1112 00:45:21,060 --> 00:45:23,740 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 1113 00:45:23,740 --> 00:45:25,940 as these episodes continue to move forward. 1114 00:45:25,940 --> 00:45:27,700 This is going to get more and more fun. 1115 00:45:27,700 --> 00:45:29,620 We'll have more and more engagement as well. 1116 00:45:29,620 --> 00:45:31,660 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 1117 00:45:31,660 --> 00:45:34,020 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 1118 00:45:34,020 --> 00:45:36,740 Have an excellent time building out your vision 1119 00:45:36,740 --> 00:45:38,660 and becoming a Vision Pro yourself. 1120 00:45:38,660 --> 00:45:39,580 I'll talk to you soon. 1121 00:45:39,580 --> 00:45:56,180 Bye bye.