Intentional Growth

We continue the theme of ‘halftime’ in people’s lives by speaking to Lloyd Reeb, an eminent author and speaker who coaches and mentors for the Halftime Institute.

Lloyd shared with us some great advice about how to use an existing business as a platform to do good for others and for yourself, and his own story will strike a chord with many people too. In his words: “I was pursuing the american dream without any sense as to where it was going to take me”

At the age of 30 he travelled across Asia and ended up in Manilla to visit a friend who was a missionary. He spent most of the week in Manilla playing basketball with kids and talking to them about faith. After that he went to a 5-star resort in Malaysia and realized he had more fun with the kids in Manilla than he did in the sanitized surroundings in Malaysia.

He looked at his life in the same way as he would look at his businesses. In his words: “you wouldn’t build a business without metrics, but how many of us use metrics for our own life?”

Then his mentor Bob Buford (author of Halftime: Moving From Success To Significance) empowered him further by saying: “You come into my office and give me these goals every year, but you’ve never told me where you want them to take you. Any time you’ve got free, work on the question

‘if your life was perfect; what would it look like?’”

Ask yourself three questions:

The first thing you should do is watch Lloyd’s TEDx Talk.  It is amazing and summarized everything you need to know

Lloyd’s big point is for people to understand their mission in life before they make wholesale changes. It might be that their current company/workplace can help them do that or it may be that they have to move on. In his case he defined his mission as being a thought leader rather than an operator, so he relinquished his day-to-day management responsibilities and set about finding fields of work that had thought leadership at the forefront, hence how he became an author.

He has also seen many examples of people using their companies creatively to make the kind of impact they want as part of their mission, i.e. a man who had a company that sold jumpsuits for prisoners created a sub-organization dedicated to preventing convicts from re-offending.

Today we’re speaking to someone who truly understands a life beyond business. As CEO of the Halftime Institute, Dean Niewolny has been empowering people to find fulfillment in their lives outside of work.

Dean has lived through his very own crisis too. Having spent 23 years in senior exec roles across Wall Street, he can remember staring out of the window one day and wondering what it all meant. That feeling of emptiness persuaded him to sign up to the Halftime Institute as a client, and it wasn’t long before he was given the opportunity to cross over to the other side and become a member of their senior management team.

What a meaningful conversation we had – it’s well worth a listen – but if you’re pushed for time, read on for the summary of the show…

Based on Bob Buford’s book, ‘Halftime: Moving From Success To Significance’, the institute offers guidance to people like Dean who find themselves at a crossroads in their career/life. As the title of the book says it is geared towards finding ‘significance’ rather than the endless pursuit of ‘success’.

People find themselves working with The Halftime Institute after they experience what Neil called  “smoldering discontent”… They have achieved success in today’s terms but still feel like something is missing. They are on a search to find more meaning in life.

The concept of halftime started when Bob Buford woke up and had a “success panic”  in the middle of the night.  He had an epiphany that he was addicted to the kill and the thrill of the deal. He found himself asking, “What’s this all for? Is this it?”

Halftime is not a time of crisis but a time to reflect.  It should be a catalyst for purpose, impact, and growth.

Dean has seen the definition of what halftime means change significantly during his time in the business. When he started, it normally meant the literal halfway point in somebody’s life, i.e. at 40-65 they’d look to identify significance. Now he sees people begin the quest for significance ranging from their late 20s to their 80s. It also used to be very male dominated, but now the split is only 60/40 male to female.

In the case of many business owners and highly successful business people, it’s a significant event like a death in the family or an illness. In Dean’s case it was the realization he was in a state of ‘smoldering discontent’.

Not at all – this is a common myth that Dean is desperate to bust. The obvious thought in many people’s minds is to throw away their career and do something conventionally worthy like open a homeless shelter, but it is distinctly possible for people to use their existing platforms to find better fulfillment. According to Dean, 70% of people who complete Halftime programs actually stay where they’re at. They simply find ways to reach significance with what they already have.

Dean tried to do it on his own and it was a disaster. He advises you to take a pause in life, ‘figure out your strengths, passions, gifts and what makes you sad, glad and mad.’ Dean says it’s essential to have someone walk you through the journey. There are also great benefits in doing it as part of a group because sharing the journey with somebody else at the same level is a great motivating factor.

We’ve gone for a different take on this week’s episode by speaking to someone who’s never sold a business. What we like about Matt Shoup is his perspective. The way he has managed to get his business to a point where he can disengage from it whenever he wants is a great lesson for all of us.

As well as the obvious of achieving a good work/life balance, presiding over a business that doesn’t need you is the ultimate goal in maximizing the sale value.  In Matt’s case it has also enabled him to be a proper family man, indulge his passion for jiu jitsu, and travel to Spain as and when he pleases.

He started working as a painter as a college summer job, but back then had no idea that it would lead to him founding the multi-million dollar painting firm he owns today. It sure was a bumpy road that got him there. Having graduated from college he worked in a bank and in his words ‘lived the American Dream’, i.e. big house, big car and started a family.

Unfortunately he over-extended himself to make it happen, so when he was suddenly made redundant, he had $20,000 of debt to worry about. Before he’d even called his wife to tell her he got in touch with a couple of old painter contacts and then proceeded to throw himself into the painting business full time. He did $500,000 revenue in year one, and now, 15 years later, his company is consistently doing $2 – $2.5 million every year.

He thought to himself one day, “what is life going to look like if I keep up at this pace?”. He felt that he’d miss family time if his company was going to continue to grow. He also realised that the growth was actually hitting his profits, having fallen into the classic trap of chasing revenue rather than profit. He noticed that as they were expanding to other markets/areas, they were losing market share in their original core market, so he reined in the growth and returned to the company’s natural niche.

Once he felt the business was solid after the re-alignment of the growth plan, he made a list of everything he did on a daily basis and then gradually crossed out more and more of his tasks. He realised he was being a control freak and ‘gave people the responsibility they should have had from the get go’. Then he kept going on vacations. Small at first, but even just a few days away helped focus the workforce in his absence. Before he knew it he was able to go on eight-week vacations without it adversely affecting the company.

He remembers a moment where his senior management basically threw him out of a meeting and said they’d be able to get more done without him there. He had mixed feelings of pride that he’d achieved the goal of having his company run without him, but he also struggled with the notion that he wasn’t needed any more.

Jiu jitzu suddenly became his salvation. He started to draw analogies with jiu jitzu and the judgment he needed to run a successful business, and that, along with regular travel to Spain, helped fill the void.

“I feel that I end up being more effective, efficient and profitable when I put business last in terms of priority, rather than focusing on it all the time.”

“It does not matter about what you think about your company; it’s what your customers and community say about you that will build your brand.”

“Own your worst and show people what you do to make it right.”