In this episode COO and Co-founder of Bamboo HR Ryan Sanders explains the value of Choose Focus Finish Repeat and how revenue is an output of an organization's activities, not a central goal. Sanders shares how apologizing for poor listening keeps his listening goals on track.

Show Notes:

• Using crucial conversations and core values of assuming the best and being open to improve communication [02:28]
• A vacation bonus that encourages memory making [04:00]
• How alignment among partners and a determination to build something enduring beat entrepreneurial odds [07:08]
• Building slowly on established foundations [10:07]
• Choose Focus Finish Repeat, the mantra that pushed growth and positive change [11:27]
• Revenue as an output not a goal [14:04]
• Using a google doc to better understand the other side and find the best solution [18:14]
• Apologizing when we fall short of our goals to keep us on track [19:57]

Ryan Moss, the CEO of Little Giant Ladders, explains how he came through the ranks at his company and why it's given him the experience to relate to his customers and his sales team on a deeper, more effective level. Starting from the concrete floors up, he says, it's so important to truly listen to everyone – that the principle shouldn't just be something we say.

Show Notes:

• Discovering the "why" at Little Giant Ladders [02:45]
• The constant core value reinforcement: Preventing injuries, saving lives [04:39]
• A Way of Life: Everything we do speaks to preventing injuries and saving lives, it's not just a tagline on the end of a marketing piece. [08:39]
• Positivity and negativity are both infectious, so celebrate victories [09:25]
• Every voice is meant to be heard; listening to customers and potential customers, identifying their needs and filling them [12:22]
• Bigger isn't always better; growing out of a mid-level sized company [18:14]
• You're in corporate manufacturing? Go back and spend a week in their shoes [19:41]

References:

• Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout
• Different by Youngme Moon
• The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
• Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

In this episode Ryan Moss shares the history of Little Giant Ladders and the struggles of cheap knockoffs, wildly successful infomercials and how finding the correct why not only rejuvenated the company but gave everyone a greater reason to get out of bed.  

Show Notes:

• Choosing to not fight a knock off legal battle but instead put money and time into new strategy [00:56]
• A slow start that eventually lead to global brand awareness [04:45]
• Do not innovate for the sake of innovation, innovate to fill a consumer need [08:25]
• The ladder as a life saving device, not a commodity [08:25]
• Enjoy the process and do not be afraid to take a sick day or some time off [16:05]

References:

Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. New York, N.Y.: Portfolio.

Mary Crafts, CEO and President of Culinary Crafts – the largest off-premise caterer in Utah, talks about responding to life's freight trains and how she grew her company to where it is today. Crafts says her business scaled because she developed the core values that meant the most to her and she hasn't turned back. It's about knowing your clients, managing them well, and keeping them important.

Show Notes:

• You can't manage 300 staff alone [01:11]
• Breaking bread together; sharing lives together [04:25]
• You cannot scale without systems in place [05:37]
• We have to learn how to prioritize [08:24]
• Freight trains; Without a second chance to go back and make it right [11:30]
• Financial Goals: Mary Crafts' '67 black Cutlass & why she didn't worry about shutting down during the recession [12:50]
• Integrity is the most powerful tool any business person can have [14:46]
• Striving for the best, starting with a rutter [16:29]
• Learn more about Crafts' podcast [19:59]

References:

Mary Crafts' Podcast, Crafting a Meaningful Life: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/crafting-a-meaningful-life-with-mary-crafts-homer/id1336191892?mt=2

In this episode Mary Crafts shares her humble start going door to door selling baked goods and the lessons she learned in trusting her team and the training she provided while still abiding by the law of the harvest.

Show Notes:

• The awards proving a career of integrity and excellence [01:16]
• Food as a means of so much more than nourishment and why she does what she does [03:22]
• From Avon to a little wagon and then a multimillion dollar company, Mary shares her beginnings [04:32]
• How doing the simple things you know you should do will prevent bumps along the way [08:00]
• Learning from her sons about Google docs and SOPs and how that increased their growth exponentially [10:18]
• Don't be afraid to change seats on the bus [12:23]
• Protecting the culture from the top down [14:58]
• Letting someone go as a teaching opportunity about the law of the harvest [18:22]

References:

• Collins, James C. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 2001. Print.
• Lencioni, Patrick. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.

Marshall Paepke, the Chief Administrative Officer at Mountain America Credit Union, discusses the importance of a leader's ability to create engagement through positive thinking. Although success does not come without work, Paepke says there is something to be said about writing down your personal and professional goals.

Show Notes:

• Developing your career bucket list and executing the items on it [01:30]
• Taking your aspirations beyond "wish status" by writing them down [04:22]
• A constant process of refining your goals [06:03]
• When Marshall Paepke started his personal bucket list [07:50]
• Allowing the universe to play a part in achieving our goals [08:45]
• The Synergy Effect [11:06]
• Outthinking problems versus outworking them [12:46]
• Adjusting and reevaluating the value of impact [13:18]
• Becoming Your Best, Work-Life Balance [14:06]
• Planning ahead and prioritizing people [15:33]
• Do we really get too busy, or are we not prioritizing appropriately? [17:06]
• "Wherever we spend our time thinking, that really is going to predict what we become." [17:46]

References:Becoming Your Best by Steve Shallenberger

In this episode Marshall Paepke talks about his experience as an intern, and what he does today to encourage his employees to fulfill their greatest potential with demonstrations of trust and modeling work life balance.

Show Notes:

• How to encourage an intern striving to reach the C suite with hope and a dose of reality [01:10]
• Acknowledging that the way we see the world is different than how everyone else sees it and learning how to remove those filters from our eyes [06:54}
• Ask questions to seek increased understanding of others [08:26
• Allowing others the time and experience to find their own answers and solutions [09:32]
• Leaders support other leaders, they don't direct [11:10]
• Trust leading to increased creativity and occasional mistakes that develop future leaders prepared for greater roles in the organization [14:44]
• Recognizing your impact on individuals in the organization as well as their families [17:45]

References:

Goldsmith, Marshall., and Mark Reiter. What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful. New York: Hyperion, 2007.

Nathan Anderson, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Mountain America Credit Union talks about the importance of being willing to prioritize people -- both your customers and your employees in how a company leads and mentors their own. Anderson says although it may be difficult at times, open and honest discussions with your team shows them that you care about their success and personal development.

Show Notes:

• Building willing leaders who buy in on a company culture of mentorship & growth [01:51]
• As a leader of an organization, you're either in or you're out, and that really pertains to all aspects of your role [03:40]
• Care in communication [05:21]
• If you don't sit down and share with them the concerns or opportunities they may have, they're never going to get better [06:23]
• It's not about having to "be mean" in difficult conversations; it's not nice to sit back and not share feedback when it's needed [07:11]
• Jess Larsen shares an experience with difficult conversations [07:18]
• Prioritizing mentorship, coaching in career [10:14]
• Enjoy what you do or be willing to leave what you do [13:07]
• Advice from Nathan Anderson: Be a Sponge and soak it all up; always be learning [18:49]

References:

• CorporateAlliance.net