How to Create a Committed Team with Rusty Fulling - Part 2
We go through our core values one by one and then talk about how those are applied through business and how they resonate with the candidates. And if someone like, yeah, let's just skip through this and go to how much does this pay? That may not be the best fit for the company.
Speaker 2:Hey there. If you have not yet met, my name is Alex Judd. I'm the founder of Path for Growth, and this is the Path for Growth podcast. Now as a business, we exist to help impact driven leaders like you step into who they were created to be so that others benefit and God is glorified. Hey, before we jump into today's episode, I want you to know about a wildly valuable resource that our team created for you and the people you leave.
Speaker 2:One of the most common pieces of feedback we get on the podcast is that you wanna be able to take notes so that you can reference the episode later or share it with people you are responsible for developing. But there's one big problem. You're often listening to the podcast on a run while driving, or I've even talked to people that are listening to us in the shower. So that's why we started creating the Growth Guide. This resource will distill all of the key principles, quotes, and action items from every single episode into a downloadable PDF that you can share with your team.
Speaker 2:Additionally, we're gonna include application questions and additional resources for anyone that wants to go further on the topic of the week. We are all about helping you and your business grow in a healthy way. And we know that healthy growth always involves intentional action. This guide exists to help you take intentional action on what you and your team learn each week from the podcast. Get the growth guide by clicking the link that's in the show notes.
Speaker 2:Let's go. Well, we're entering into part two of our series with Rusty Foehling. Rusty has been a friend of mine for years now, and he's just a business leader that I so respect. You know, so often, I I think about the fact that, like, I used to be so enamored with what I think of as flash in the pan success. People that start big, they're grandiose, they're flashy, but then you look up five years in and they're nowhere to be found.
Speaker 2:Now what I've learned is the people that I really respect, the people that I really look up to, the people that I really admire is those people that have been in business for over twenty years consistently out adding value, consistently growing, and consistently finding ways to adapt and change the way that they serve the marketplace. Man, for me, those people are legends that I want to learn from. And here's the deal, Rusty is one of those people. This guy is a pillar of our Path for Growth community for impact driven leaders and he's someone that just has so much wisdom from twenty five years in business. So what we're jumping into on this episode is the final three actions of the five actions for creating a committed team.
Speaker 2:This is such valuable content for us just to really remember and reinforce, man, what is the type of leader that I want to be? And out of the type of leader I want to be and the team that I want to have, what are the things that I need to do? So here's my conversation with Rusty Fulan. Well, here we go. We're on part two of how to build a committed team.
Speaker 2:And specifically, we're focusing on five actions. In episode one with Rusty, we talked about what it looks like to hire people that you want to be committed to. And man, if you haven't listened to that, it's just so helpful to think about what are your standards as a leader and then how are you making sure that you're instilling those standards into your hiring and onboarding process? And then we talked about being a committed leader and the idea that, I mean, you don't attract what you want. You attract what you are.
Speaker 2:Rusty, I so appreciated your perspective on what it actually looks like to be a committed leader and then also how to financially put yourself in a position so that you can exercise commitment. And that really brings us to the final three actions. So Rusty, if you're game on, we'll just jump straight into action number three.
Speaker 1:Sound good you? Absolutely. Hey, thanks for having me back. So, yeah, we're ready to jump in.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir. So action three is holding a high standard for commitment. So obviously, we're bringing people that are committed onto the team, but then we need to make sure that we have a bar for commitment and that we're holding that standard as it relates to the team's culture and the team's performance. Can you speak to why this is so important and how maybe we might trip up as it relates to holding this standard as a leader, Rusty.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we talked about this a little bit in the first session but sometimes that standard of commitment sometimes becomes very personalized. It's like, Oh, you need to be committed to me as a leader. Instead we really need to be focused on that vision. And I think if people are committed to the vision, the vision shouldn't be changing. And so I think that can be a huge misconception sometimes as leaders we get wrapped up on our self.
Speaker 1:But I think just staying committed to that vision. One of our internal moves was hiring a COO. And what that did for us is that provided some consistency to really expand, I would say our vision and be able to pass the torch a little bit from the founder to the next level of leaders. And so again, it's not about the founder, but it's about the mission.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It is interesting that because it can be a nice talking point, it's very popular to say, this company is bigger than me. Right? This company is bigger than me. Sometimes I think there's leaders that are saying this company is bigger than me that their team is looking at them with crossed arms saying prove it.
Speaker 2:Right? Because if it's actually bigger than you, then why are you the one that does everything? And so in so many ways, hiring a COO and bringing someone in, number one, that's a pretty intense investment to make. But it's also a lot of trust to say, hey, there's people with skills and abilities that are bigger than mine that I'm going to trust to expand and deepen the impact of this company in ways that I couldn't. So in so many ways, that's you exercising a level of commitment that's really, really powerful.
Speaker 2:The other thing that stands out to me, and I'd be interested if you've either struggled with this or if you've witnessed this in others, or if you haven't struggled in this, how do you keep your eye on the ball? I was literally just having a conversation with a leader that works for a company. This was a little bit of a friend conversation. It's someone that I've known for a long time. He just kind of asked, Alex, can we keep this circle of trust a little bit?
Speaker 2:And I said, yeah, that's great. And I don't even know his boss, so I think it was totally fine for him to share some of this. But he was a little bit sharing with me that he gets so excited because the leader that he works with is incredibly energetic, really, really effective at what he does, and very creative. And so he's constantly got these visions for what they're doing and where they're going. And he said, that's why I came to work here is because I I was really drawn in and captivated by this guy's ability to cast vision.
Speaker 2:And he said, but now that I work here, the thing that's really frustrating is it seems like it changes every two weeks. And he said, like, I get all excited about something, and then we'll come back two weeks later. And he'll say, oh, no. We're not doing that anymore. Now we're focused on this.
Speaker 2:Yes. And in some ways, I was like, well, that's a great example of not holding a high standard of commitment for yourself. That like, and I think of that Bible verse, let your yes be yes and your no be no. Like when we say we're going to do something, are we people that follow through and that do it? Or are we people that are constantly chasing squirrels and never execute or follow through on anything?
Speaker 2:Anything else you'd add on the commitment of a leader to the vision that's being established?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, and I think of too the story of Moses, when he was doing all the judging of all the people and what was his father-in-law came to him and said, What are you doing? What are you doing? You're not gonna accomplish the mission if you're trying to do everything yourself. And I think that's where finding those leaders, partnering with those leaders that can come along beside you and push that mission forward. So love your friends' creative leader, but probably need somebody to come along beside to navigate some of that creativity towards hitting the ultimate goal.
Speaker 2:It's so funny that you bring that up because we literally you don't know this, but right before we podcasts with you, we're airing a three part series on lessons on delegation from Exodus.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 2:And it's like, man, this plays off great on that. We're building on that. But what Jethro says to Moses is like, what you are doing is not good. Yes. And it's like he's holding him to a higher standard of commitment.
Speaker 2:Like, hey, if this is not about Moses, if it's actually about God, then we need to allow other people to get in on what God is doing. And so being able to delegate responsibility and giving other people the opportunity to commit. The other topic that really comes up as it relates to holding a high standard of commitment, I think, is creating a culture of healthy feedback. And I'd be interested to know any thoughts or practices you've learned as it relates to this. But if we say, man, this is what we want, we want a high standard of commitment, we want to be excellent, we want to be punctual, we want to be customer oriented, we want to make sure we uphold these values and missions at a relentlessly high standard, Will there be times where even the best people fall short, deviate, or need course correction?
Speaker 2:The answer is yes. You might have the best team in the world and you will need to course correct. The way that you course correct, I think, really determines the trajectory of the team and the trajectory of that individual. So anything you've learned on effectively giving feedback and how important it is to offer feedback to our team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and this is probably part two of our counseling session here because this is an area that, oh man, I think I've struggled with over the years is not giving that consistent, timely feedback when there's an issue that needs to be corrected. And so I would say build in cadences that allow for that. If it's just an awkward, Alex, I need to talk to you. Yeah, is this good or bad versus that's right. Hey, we meet every week or every other week.
Speaker 1:And so I think that consistent communication, respond quickly. Boy, if there's an issue, we need to take care of it. If there's something good that's happening, let's take care of it. Let's give a shout out there. So communicate clearly, extend grace when grace is needed.
Speaker 1:So I think those are a couple that, two or three that just come to mind when you ask that.
Speaker 2:And I think it's helpful for me to remember what normal is in the marketplace. Normal in the marketplace is a bunch of companies that say, Hey, we really value feedback. We go above and beyond to provide clear feedback. Then they all sit on their resentments and harbor bitterness with the people they work with for years until it finally explodes. Fact that you say you really value clear and direct feedback and that you're going to communicate openly doesn't really mean anything because everyone says that.
Speaker 2:You should set those expectations. But then what I often look for is opportunities in onboarding to offer feedback in a way that's really clear and really direct and then simultaneously with that show people, I still care about you. You're still a great fit for this team. I'm so proud of the work that you're doing. This is just part of what everyone goes through in onboarding because in some ways, we need to reestablish what normal is for feedback.
Speaker 2:And I I once had a leader that she told me, Alex, like, when you've got spinach in your teeth, do you want someone to tell you or do you want us to just let you sit there? And I said, I want people to tell me. She's like, okay. Well, just so you know, in your work, I'm gonna tell you when you've got spinach in your teeth. And she said, it's not gonna be a big deal and I'm not gonna publicize it.
Speaker 2:I'm just gonna say, hey, hey, Alex. You got a little something. And man, when you, I think, set expectations that way, it's really, really helpful for normalizing healthy feedback. Yeah, I love that example because I think sometimes people, yeah,
Speaker 1:they don't have that permission, that can be very awkward. And so what she did, I heard you say, she asked me, would you like me to give you feedback is basically what I heard. And so that can be so helpful. And there might be a bigger issue if somebody says no. I don't wanna hear your feedback.
Speaker 1:So anyway, great, I appreciate that example.
Speaker 2:Well, and what you just said too really highlights a point that you brought out whenever we were talking about this action is like, make sure you're clear with people in the hiring process about what the work environment is that they're signing up for and what the work that they're signing up for is like. Can you speak to I would love to know how y'all do that in the hiring process. How do you really clarify for people? This is what it's like to work at full length so that they can make an educated choice on whether or not it's for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so part of our process, and again, I've learned this from others too, is to have them talk to people that are in the day to day that are doing what they're gonna be doing. And we also do some role plays. So if they're a leader that has client interaction, that's presenting, they're gonna do some presenting and we're gonna get feedback on that and listen for clarity and for competency and things like that. So part of that is, yeah, giving them real life examples and letting them jump in.
Speaker 2:That's right. It was actually the same leader that had the feedback example that I just shared with you. She had a practice in her hiring process that I've adopted and replicated in our business. She would have a portion of the interview process where she would sit down with the person for thirty minutes. This is later in the hiring process.
Speaker 2:She would sit down with the candidate and she would say, hey, I would just like to share with you the pieces of working here that someone might consider the worst part of working here. Mhmm. And I like, whenever I said to her about this, was like, you're gonna do what? Like, excuse me? But, it's been so helpful because I sit down with someone now and I say, like, quite frankly, we work remote.
Speaker 2:And there's sometimes where, like, you might go the whole day and, like, you're on Zoom calls, or you're not on calls at all and you're just operating as an independent ranger. And that's not for everyone. You need to make sure you have community outside of your work. And also, I have insanely high standards as it relates to people exercising personal growth in their personal lives. And we pay attention to people's personal life and we don't separate the two.
Speaker 2:And so if you're not down for that, you're not gonna enjoy this. And I say, point to Jesus is one of our core values, and we pray at the end of meetings, and we ask other people to pray in meetings and things like that. And so I I tell them, like, if any of those feel like things that you wouldn't like, then let me save you the trouble and just tell you you're not gonna enjoy working here. And what I found is some people literally say, yeah, don't think this is for me. But then there are some people that literally, they hear that list of things that are really hard and they look at it as like reasons why they really want to work here.
Speaker 2:And that's the type of person I think we want.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, yeah. And one of the steps we often use and I may steal what you just talked about, but we go through our core values one by one and then talk about how those are applied through business and how they resonate with the candidate. And if some are like, yeah, let's just skip through this and go to how much does this pay? That may not be the best fit for the company.
Speaker 2:That's right. So understanding what your standard is as it relates to commitment and then making sure that people guard that standard and regularly reinforcing that standard. The final thing that I wanna share with people on here is it can be really tempting to start compromising your standards in seasons where you're successful. And when things are going well, right, we want so bad to serve the customer, be hyper relational, be super personal, push hard every day, be really diligent because we wanna be effective and successful. And then we get successful and we're like, oh, we don't have to do that anymore.
Speaker 2:And it's like, oh, bad strategy. And that's why it's, I think, so important to remember what we're called to is not to be successful. What we're called to is to be faithful. And if we're called to be faithful, then it's like you're gonna bring diligence, care for the customer, excellence in your work every single day regardless of what the cash flow report looks like.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. That no. That's a great, great reminder, so I love it.
Speaker 2:Okay. Create rhythms that foster commitment. So I I would love for you to take the lead on this one because y'all have so many rhythms within your team that are just deposits. And I think it speaks to the consistent nature of what y'all do of just making sure commitment is upheld as a value for the team and not just something that occurs in spurts and seasons. So can you walk us through both the rhythms that you have and why you have them?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So we were a brick and mortar company for my goodness, the first twenty years. So 90% of 95% of our staff come in and out every day. So we're seeing everybody. Back into 2020, we went all virtual.
Speaker 1:And just like you, was like, how's this gonna work? So one of the things we started doing is just looking for ways we could build connections outside of just the routine, Hey, Alex, did you get this project done? And this kind of thing. And so one of the simple things we did is just do a quarterly lunch and you're going, how do you do a quarterly lunch when you're virtual? Well, you can do it.
Speaker 1:And so sometimes we'll spend an hour playing a game over a lunchtime or just getting to know each other better. And thinking about some of the things that you might have done in person experience. Another one we've done that, again, we've seen from other companies is during our weekly staff meeting is sharing the wins. What was the win for you this week? Or maybe how have you seen one of our core values come to life this week?
Speaker 1:And those are always fun to hear those kinds of things. And then each pay period, our team submits their highs and lows for the period. And, know, sometimes those highs and lows, they'll come to me as a leader and I'll get to go through those. And some of those will be very, maybe personal that, you know, they're going through something challenging and quickly responding to those kinds of things or celebrating if somebody has something really neat happen in their family. And so I think it's just part of those, how can you build in some of those cadence kind of things on a regular basis that we're doing to just create that connectivity?
Speaker 1:The last one I'll mention is we spend about thirty minutes in our staff meetings just doing some type of teaching, at leadership teaching, and we'll break into small groups so you really get more of an intimate feel for that leadership topic and get to talk with three or four other people in that group. And so we've just seen so many neat things come out of that and just some really neat connections among the team.
Speaker 2:My assumption is that you didn't go from zero rhythms for team investment to all of these rhythms because I know you even have more than what you're talking about right now that you do on a recurring basis. My guess is that you didn't choose one day, oh, we're gonna instill six rhythms for developing the team. My guess is that it happened one piece at a time. And I know that we've got people listening to this right now that their team would really benefit from some rhythms that kind of helps them understand and helps them anchor. Here's where we are as a team, helps unify, gives the leader the opportunity to cast vision or speak to the individuals on a recurring basis so it's not left up to chance.
Speaker 2:Is there any particular rhythm that it's like, if it's a clean slate right now and it's like, there's nothing for our team right now that's regularly on the calendar, Is there something that you would say, just start with this? Where would you encourage people to get started?
Speaker 1:Yeah, such a great call out because there's so many things that we've watched other companies that have done so well and just say, oh man, we wanna do that. We're not big enough or whatever, but just pick one thing. For us, one of the things that we just have done for years is that small group breakout during staff meetings. Even when we were in person, we did a little bit of you know, around that leadership topic. And so that was a pretty, I'll say low hanging fruit kind of thing to add.
Speaker 1:We would go out and do a lunch or hit a coffee shop when we were all in person. And so we've just made that a little more virtual now since we have team members around the country. Yeah, I'd say just pick one. What would be one thing that could move the needle for your company? Just a little bit to build some of that connectivity.
Speaker 2:And I love that you highlight development. I think sometimes there's a lot of leaders that I've spoken with that really want a development training, especially as it relates to leadership rhythm for their team. But they're intimidated by it because they think, oh man, I have to prepare teaching content every week for this team development meeting and I need to make sure that I'm an expert leadership teacher that they're all listening to for an hour every lunch. One of the things that I know about you, and it's something that you really encourage in our community too, is like, is so much value in the discussion. It's not one person talking at a bunch of people, there's value in the discussion.
Speaker 2:So can you speak to anything you've learned in terms of making it less a presentation and more of a discussion whenever it comes to these development rhythms?
Speaker 1:Yes, and I'm glad you pointed that out because I am not the content driver. I am not gonna give up and give a huge speech on some leadership topic every single week. And so what we've done is we've found some great resources. Global Leadership Summit has some incredible resources for leadership. Right now media is another great resource.
Speaker 1:There's tons of leadership videos that you can bring in for just a small amount of money every month. And we'll just show a little clip of those and sometimes just to really cheat a little bit further, sometimes they'll even provide a discussion guide. So, it's a low lift, it really is. But the benefit, like you said, is so much in the discussion afterwards. I'm just blown away by some of the things that come from our team that is like, Oh my goodness, we just use this little video just to prompt our team.
Speaker 1:And they just, you know, it is so fun to hear. And the discussions throughout the week, it's not just limited to the ten or fifteen minutes during that time.
Speaker 2:And I want you to address this question. What are your expectations about what comes from that? So you've got this time that you're investing to say, we're gonna watch this video, we're gonna discuss it. What are you expecting in terms of what comes from that time?
Speaker 1:Yeah, leadership development. I want everybody on our team to become better leaders. And so we invite the entire team. If we had janitors, we'd have janitors there. Had CEOs and then some, we'd have the whole crew there.
Speaker 1:So literally in our group, we have bookkeepers, accountants, CFOs, admin. And so part of it's just connectivity in leadership development. And especially now that we're virtual, it just provides to me that just again, those relationships that if we don't make intentional time to do, that just gives some, that just carves out that time for them. And so when you're looking at committedness and long term team members, I would say that's one of the highlights that I hear from our team when they're interviewing somebody and people say, Hey, what's one of the benefits you like for working with fulling? That often comes up is that time together.
Speaker 2:So that's so powerful. And the reason where I really value your answer to that question is because I think so often highly driven leaders will get excited about that, but their expectations may be a little bit misaligned. Maybe their expectation is, oh, we're gonna show this video and then out of this, I'm gonna see everyone's daily work dramatically change, like overnight. Right? And that's not really what I hear you say.
Speaker 2:I think that you can see changes from showing a video that's empowering or that's energizing. But I think the way we've got to view it is it's a deposit. And whenever we make a deposit, we don't even necessarily know where the return's gonna come up. We just know it's the right thing to do and return does occur whenever we consistently sow good seed. Anything else you'd add to the topic of creating rhythms or the practical actions people can take in their own companies?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I think other things. I mean, we do virtual Christmas parties that have become legendary at this point. I mean, like the world. I would say one more thing as you're looking at those connections, getting together, if you're a virtual team, if you can carve out some time to get together in person, we just get together once a year and it might be something we might change to do that more often, but that once a year time, we spend some time just having fun. We spend some time very strategic and then we spend some time serving in our community.
Speaker 1:And part of that's part of our DNA, but those three things together, fun, strategy and serving, again, that's one of those, when we ask people about similar highlights of the year, those often also come to the top. It's like, man, we got to be together. And because we've been together so much throughout the year, it's like a high school reunion getting together again, a good high school reunion. And it's just so much fun celebrating together. So I'd say if you can build on those times where you're celebrating the success, even if it's a little success, and spending some time serving others together, that there's just something about that.
Speaker 1:It takes the emphasis off you, emphasis off you as a leader, and you get to really use the energy to serve others.
Speaker 2:One of the things that that makes me think of whenever you're talking about Christmas, but also when you're talking about bringing people together and the highlights of what stand out to them, one of the encouragements that I've gotten from a leadership mentor of mine that you know, Mike Valatin. Yeah. He constantly chanted me. He's like, Alex, you gotta be thinking creatively about how to bless the socks off your people. Like, y'all are winning right now as a company.
Speaker 2:You wanna figure out ways to bless your people. And whether that's bringing us all together in the same place or if we are together adding a day where their spouses come and join us or, you know, thinking financially, like how can we surprise them with a gift or things like that. Right? There's multitude of different ways, and Heap really encourages creativity in the ways that we do that. It shouldn't just be a check, every single time.
Speaker 2:But always, I think most people that we work with really want to do that. They really wanna bless their people by bringing them together, things like what you're talking about too. And the barrier is, like, I don't know how much I can spend on that. I don't know what is appropriate or what is right. And the reason why is because they don't have the budget and financial structures in place.
Speaker 2:And so that's, again, why I I just am so grateful for Rusty and their team in terms of the work that they do for the customers that we serve because there are so many leaders that I know that y'all have helped create the structure and the optics and the visibility necessary for leaders to be able to say, man, I really want to bless my team, and I know exactly how much I have to be able to work with. And so I want to make sure we mention it again on this episode because we had people asking about it from the last episode. The business recommendation plan is something that Rusty and his team are offering. It's available for a small group of people that if you are a business owner and you want Rusty's team to look at your bookkeeping, to look at your records, and to say, hey, this is a physical of your business. Here's what we'd recommend paying attention to.
Speaker 2:And hey, here's some things that might be yellow flags or red flags. Y'all take advantage of this. The link is available in the show notes of this episode. Rusty, anything else you want to add about that business recommendation plan and what people can expect?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. Yeah, we normally look at things like your last tax return, maybe if you're using something like QuickBooks, that data and anything else that might be pertinent to your information. It can be really helpful just to have a third party looking over that, giving you some recommendations. We often find we'll call them red flags to say, hey guys, did you realize this was going on or you're missing out on this opportunity? And even some practices, some best practices to put in place in that plan.
Speaker 1:So yeah, feel free to reach out if that's something you'd be interested in. Love to walk you through that. Again, we're offering it for free for the path for growth community during this time.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, thanks to you and your team for facilitating those meetings and serving people in that way. And really that kind of also alludes to the final point as it relates to creating a committed team because we said, number one, we want to hold a high standard for commitment. We want to create rhythms that foster commitment. And then we want to be committed to something bigger than yourself.
Speaker 2:This is something that you've actually hit home on in both episodes that we've recorded. Speak to why this is like not like an optional thing but this is like an essential thing specifically if someone's an impact driven leader.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh my goodness. So I know when I started, man, twenty five years ago, I would watch these larger companies doing these incredible mission things and they go down and serve at the homeless shelter and feed 500 people or whatever. And they do these huge things. You're going, Hey, there's just like two of us here and we can't do a whole lot. But just starting with some little rhythms, we used to go down, I think once a month at the homeless shelter and just get to assist others in feeding the homeless.
Speaker 1:And we got to do some mission trips. That was amazing. And put some mission trips together. Some of our team got to go to Honduras and do a trip. And so we just slowly built up some really fun things over the years.
Speaker 1:But part of that was just watching what others are doing and going, man, I'd love to to be able to make an impact like they're doing. And so for us, that's just been, it's just been so much fun to grow in that. And now when our team comes into Kansas City or wherever we meet on an annual basis, getting to do that in person together, we also do some virtual serve events together. But I think those are fun to do. In a book that I read recently, it's called The Sacredness of Secular Work by Jordan Rainer.
Speaker 1:And it was just a really good reminder of we don't have to be in full time ministry to make an impact in our world. And so I think those are the things that again, if we can come along beside others, man, it lessens the view on you and really opens it up to strength is for service kind of language.
Speaker 2:That's so good. We've had Jordan on this podcast, but I wasn't aware of that book. So maybe we need to have him back. I think it highlights just the fact that it's like, especially if you are a Christian, right? One of the things that we have to be reminded of is like, I'm not building my kingdom.
Speaker 2:Like, I am building his kingdom and therefore, it really behooves me to teach our team and to remind myself we exist for the people outside these doors and that exists in ways that generate a profit for our company, but it also exists in ways that don't. It exists in service and generosity. And I love that y'all's fifth core value is eternal impact because I think that highlights what we're talking about here.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Rusty, anything else you'd add on this final point of just being committed to something bigger than yourself?
Speaker 1:Yeah, invite others in. One of the things that we found so amazing is our clients actually in Kansas City and all around the country. They love to join us in a lot of these events. And so we have some clients from Brazil that lived in Kansas City doing some bioscience work and they heard what we're doing. They said, could we come along and do that with you?
Speaker 1:And man, for several events they kept, hey, can we do this again? Can we do this again? So don't afraid to invite people and families. And it's so much fun seeing some of the kids in our community joining us in some of these events. And just some of the stories from mom and dads that work on our team and just the impact that it has made on their families getting to be part of this, yeah, through their work.
Speaker 2:That's so cool and so inspiring. I have seen leaders that like they start to see their commitment waiver, they start to see their intensity and fire for the business that they're building waiver. And sometimes that happens in the later stages of life and they start to think like, okay, maybe now is time where I need to get out, where I need to exit the business. And certainly that happens sometimes and that's certainly not always bad. Sometimes that's a really good thing.
Speaker 2:But I have seen specific leaders, instead of saying, hey, I need to now leave this commitment, they actually what they end up doing is they end up broadening the commitment to say like, hey, this is not the time for me to leave. This is actually the time for me to start thinking bigger than just what we've been thinking about this business as, and let's start thinking about, to use y'all's language, eternal impact. And you see people hit a whole another gear when that happens in terms of just zeal and fire and passion. And so, man, we wanna be people that are faithfully committed and excited about the adventure that God has us on. And so, Rusty, really value your example there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, appreciate that. One of the conferences that we, Pam, my wife, Pam and
Speaker 1:I attended, I think it was last year was, talked about what do you want to be true seven generations from now for your family and maybe your business? And so, when you start thinking about those long term impacts, man, what do I need to do today to make that to be true seven generations from now?
Speaker 2:Man, it's so funny that you bring that up because you know, one of the things that I'm focusing a lot on right now as a topic and as a theme is long game leadership. This has been a phrase that has been on my heart for a long time, and I'm so pumped because it's really kind of the theme of our community or a reoccurring theme of our community for the course of the next year. And then it's gonna culminate with an in person experience that we're hosting in Austin in 2025 for 45 leaders. As of the recording of this podcast, we're 60% sold out, which is just absolutely awesome. It's going to be such an incredible crew of leaders.
Speaker 2:But one of the things that I'm constantly being confronted with as we start to work on what the material for that experience is looking like is, man, long game can always get longer. Like when I wrote long game leadership is gonna be the theme, I was like, oh, we're helping people think about fifty years, like their exit strategy, things like that. And now it's like, you start talking about seven generations. It's like, golly. What's so wild is when you start to broaden your vision about what matters and the uniquely powerful but also incredibly small role that we get to play in what actually lasts, it's so, so, so exciting to think about.
Speaker 2:So I'm pumped that you and Pam are gonna be there with us in Austin, Rusty. And if y'all are listening to this podcast and are, interested in joining us in Austin in October, The link to the long game leadership page is in the show notes of this episode. Feel free to reach out to your team if you've got any questions about what those experiences are like. The final thing that I wanna remind people of is just, I mean, the incredible offer that is the business recommendation plan. I hope y'all take advantage of that from Rusty and his team because that's going to give you some really, really practical optics and advice on where your finances are today and what you could potentially do to both create stability in your organization but also set your organization up to really thrive moving forward.
Speaker 2:So take advantage of that offer. The link is in the show notes. Rusty, I'm so grateful for your input and investment in these two episodes. I hope that all of you took something that you can value and that you take action on this moving forward. You all know this.
Speaker 2:We're rooting for you. Praying for you. Remember, my strength is not for me. Your strength is not for you. Our strength is for service.
Speaker 2:Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
