eCommerce Evolution | 316: Scale with Stability by Hiring World-Class Talent & Operating with Mentors
I had fellow agency owner JC Hite join me on the pod to discuss some really important topics. Namely, is it possible to scale with stability – which for JC means scaling your business while prioritizing, family, faith and personal relationships.
Here’s a look at what we discussed:
Key Takeaways
- The “Video of Awesomeness” Hiring Hack – JC’s simple 15-minute interview addition that reveals more about candidates than traditional methods, including real examples of applicants who wrote songs about his company
- Overseas Talent Strategy Mistake Most Make – Why the “how cheap can I hire” mindset kills results, and JC’s approach to paying international talent competitively to get world-class team members
- The 5 Love Languages for Workplace Retention – How applying Gary Chapman’s principles in business dramatically improves team satisfaction and reduces turnover (especially crucial for the next generation workforce)
- Building a “Bench” Like Sports Teams – JC’s systematic approach to always having pre-approved candidates ready, eliminating the panic of unexpected departures and empowering leaders to make tough decisions
- Mentorship Through Fear, Not Ego – How JC built relationships with icons like John Maxwell, Damon John, and Dr. Gary Chapman by being honest about his fears and willing to invest in proximity to wisdom
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Sponsored by OMG Commerce – go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!
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If you’re a DTC or Omnichannel brand
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or if you just want to travel to New York,
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Well, hello and welcome to another edition
of the E-Commerce Evolution podcast.
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I’m your host, Brett
Curry, CEO of OMG Commerce,
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and today I am delighted to
welcome to the show Mr. JC Hite.
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He’s the co-founder and
CEO of Hite International.
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You’ll hear more about that in a moment.
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He’s all about scaling with stability.
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You’ll also hear what that means
and why that’s so exciting.
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And I first heard JC and
his lovely wife, Karen,
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speak at my partner and friends event,
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Tom Shipley deal Con,
and so just hit it off.
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Similar values, similar faith,
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similar approach to business
I think in a lot of ways.
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And so we’re like dude and
also Midwest guys. And so hey,
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let’s hit you on the pod. So
with that JC Hite, welcome man,
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and how’s it going?
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Oh man, it’s going great.
I’m excited to be here.
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Hopefully we can add some good value
over the next 30 minutes, so I’m.
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Excited. Let’s deliver some value. Yeah,
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so want to get into a variety of topics.
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I know one of your specialties
is recruiting and hiring talent,
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retaining that talent. And one thing we
see, whether it’s in the agency space,
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which I’m in on a day-to-day basis,
or we help e-commerce brands,
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if you don’t have top talent, and yes,
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we know that AI is disrupting and
getting the right tools and the right
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approaches, that’s all good,
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but without the right people and without
the ability to attract and retain
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top talent, you’re going
to be a step behind.
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And so I’m excited to talk about that.
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I’m excited to talk about mentorship and
you’ve actually formed friendships with
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some real leaders in the leadership space.
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I’m excited to unpack that story
here about your event. Also,
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you and your wife work together
and you genuinely appear to
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each other and you appear to
working together most of the time.
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And so I think we’ll throw a few nuggets
in there too for those that may end up
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working with their spouse as well.
So we’re going to be fun times,
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but first of all,
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what is Hite International and what
do you guys do to get a little context
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here?
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Yeah,
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I mean our big focus as you said there
in the beginning is how do we help people
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scale with stability?
And what we mean by that,
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obviously we want to scale
the business, we want to grow,
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but what I have found is
business could be one of the most
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destroying things in the world.
It can be the most stressful.
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You throw your finances off, you
take big risks, you can fail hard,
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but it can also be one of the
most freeing things in the world.
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I never miss a ball game. I got to
coach my kid. I can give to the church,
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I can help, I can serve, I can
invest time in my marriage,
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and it can also be the greatest thing.
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And so when we talk about
scaling with stability,
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it’s really about having a business that
can allow you to have a really great
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deep marriage,
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to be very involved in the church and
your relationship with Jesus and as well
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as serve and help and
raise amazing children.
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And so these three principles,
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and so we do that really focused on
three areas, Hyatt International,
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we have an advertising firm,
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and we got about 80 employees
in our advertising firm.
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And then we have our education side,
which we have events and a mastermind,
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and then we have our investment
wing, which I’m really excited about.
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We started investing in companies that
are on that same mission of growth and
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how do we get more involved in
the details of helping them scale?
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I love that man.
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And you and I are a hundred percent
aligned on that scale with stability
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framework.
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It’s one of those things where why
would you do this if the most important
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things in your life fall by the wayside?
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And so I think the idea for everybody
is how do you get your business to align
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with your personal mission and to
help fuel healthy families in a
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healthy relationships and things like
that rather than destroying those.
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And so love that approach.
That’s awesome. And Yemen,
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just excited to dive in.
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Now you are just coming off the
heels of a really big event.
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Can you tell people about.
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Scale.
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With stability, what that was, where
that was, and kind of how that went down?
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Stupidest thing we’ve ever done,
but it worked out really well.
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So I’m always really honest with ideas.
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Sometimes it’s just you take jobs.
And so we wanted, on this framework,
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we wanted to do an event, and so
we did Skill with Stability Summit,
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and then we had the crazy
idea, we have a university,
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Harding University in Arkansas
that we’re very passionate about.
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So one day I told my wife, what if we
had the event here? And she was like,
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why in Arkansas? It’s in
Arkansas. It’s 45 minutes from,
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there’s not a Marriott here.
There’s not wide. I was like, well,
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let’s think about it. They already
have av, they have all the rooms,
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they have space, they
have food, they have all,
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and then we’re bringing
people to our alma mater.
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We’re bringing in celebrities
here. Could this be something that,
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and it worked really well. We had
750 people. It was a brand new event.
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That’s crazy, man, from logo to
you name it, and seven 50 people.
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We had Daymond John came down.
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We ended up inviting three college
students and pitched Damon and I.
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That was super cool.
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Many shark Tank. By the way, did
either of you invest in these pitches?
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Well, we did not invest
in anything on that one.
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They got an award for the best pitch,
and so we actually got all three of,
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makes a lot sense, the money sense.
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So it took the pressure off of
the table there. We actually were,
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the premise of the pitch
was that as entrepreneurs,
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we all have millions of ideas.
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So which ideas do we jump on and which
ideas do we shelf? That’s brilliant.
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Brilliant. And that’s based on timing.
It’s based on who you’ve got around you.
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It’s based on money, it’s
based on a lot of factors.
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And so the calling was for these
students to pitch the idea that
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should be the thing that they
take off the shelf and jump into.
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And then which one had the
best. Anyway, it was fun.
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We had Willie and Corey Robertson there.
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They talked a lot about
marriage and faith and raising
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children and how you’re in the
middle of this huge jump and just
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everyone’s pulling you and everyone’s
wanting you and wants access,
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and how do you raise really healthy,
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God-fearing amazing
children in that cycle?
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And so I feel like they’ve
done really well, which.
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Is really the hardest thing. And you
and I have talked about this a lot.
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I mentioned it on the show as well.
I’ve got wife and I have eight kids.
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There’s really nothing
harder than raising a family.
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There’s nothing more rewarding and
there’s nothing more important.
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And so getting that right in the
midst of businesses is awesome.
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And you have a limited
business, we can fail and start.
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Over again. Totally,
totally. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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I guess technically you could just
have another child and do it over,
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but probably not the best approach.
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And Karen and I, anyway, we got two,
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you’ve got eight, so
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it’s fun. So yeah, we had Dr. Gary
Chapman came to the event as well,
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and Dr. White and who wrote
the book Appreciation at Work,
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which we can talk about here in a minute
as we talk about team. But it was good.
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It was fun. Super fun.
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That’s amazing. And yeah, I
know you mentioned John Maxwell,
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one of the all time greats as far
as leadership goes. And so yeah,
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Harding University in Arkansas
attracting some big, big names,
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attracting 750 people,
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which if anybody has done an
event or tried to do an event,
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they know that is a monumental lift.
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And we do events a couple of times a year,
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but they’re for just business
owners and smaller events. But dude,
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it’s still a lot of work.
It’s a massive, massive lift.
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And so kudos to you guys for doing that.
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I want to talk about attracting
and retaining talent.
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And I want to kind of frame it this way.
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I was listening to one of my favorite
podcasts on the drive in today called
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Founders Podcast, and the
host was reading the original
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Jeff Bezos shareholder letter.
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And one thing that Jeff
Bezos talked about then,
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but he is talked about ever since,
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is our success hinges
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on our ability to continuously raise
the bar in terms of who we hire.
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And so they’ve got this idea
called the Bar Raiser program.
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And I’m not going to get this exactly
right, but it’s something like, Hey,
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with each new hire,
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we’re going to ask how will
this person inspire us or
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how will we admire this person?
If we bring them on board,
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how will they raise the
bar in their department and
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collectively? And then
there’s a third component,
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there’s always a third component,
but it’s kind of along those lines.
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It’s not how do we just hire the next
person who fills a role but makes me
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look good, not quite as
smart as me type of thing.
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How do we raise the bar with those hires?
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Now that’s difficult to do and it’s
difficult to do if you’re a small business
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because sometimes the best talent
comes with a really high price tag,
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but not always. That’s
not always the case.
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And so I’ll kind of make this a broad
question first and we’ll dig into some
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details,
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but how do you approach
hiring and hiring the right
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talent? And I don’t know if you want
to start with any kind of frameworks or
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philosophies around that
before we get into the tactics.
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So a few things that we do. So number one,
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I’ll mention something on the interview
process that I have found works stupid
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good for us,
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and I stole it from
Mindvalley forever ago.
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I don’t know if they still do this.
And then two, let’s chat about
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where and how I recruit from a standpoint.
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Then we can talk about the team
itself and how do we retain them.
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So we require every single person that
applies for high, they do one interview,
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15 minutes,
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and by the end of that interview we
asked for what’s called a video of
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awesomeness. And on that
video, it’s very simple.
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I say, Hey Brett, you going
to do a video of awesomeness?
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I want three things that make us awesome
and three things that make you awesome.
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And that’s it. And they’re going to
ask questions. They’re like, okay,
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how long should it be? I don’t
know, when is it due? I dunno, well,
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can I use friends? I don’t know. Just
the video, three things. That’s it.
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And I have learned, Brett, you
can learn so much by this video.
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So some examples I have some people
they’ll take two, three weeks,
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but I mean it’s like perfect.
Well,
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there’s certain positions
that that’s really,
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and then they have people that just
take out their phone and film it.
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They give me exactly what they, but
no more, no less. But it’s done.
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Immediately.
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I.
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See people with their personality and
some roles, you want that some roles,
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you want that person. Yeah, that’s
right. And you see their personality.
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You see, most people aren’t
comfortable filming videos. Well,
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welcome to the life of working at
Hite. We never know what we’re doing.
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00:12:07,060 –> 00:12:09,850
JC is always telling
us to go do crazy junk,
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like start a event in the middle
of Arkansas. There’s no roadmap.
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00:12:13,240 –> 00:12:17,440
So there’s no rules, there’s no
boundaries, there’s no anything. Hey,
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can I get friends to help?
Sure, any job you have at Hite,
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00:12:21,670 –> 00:12:24,640
you can go have as many
people help you. So I.
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Learn, this is kind of like if you
look at personality tests, right?
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So we used to do it called
Culture index. We love it.
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We also use Patrick Lencioni’s
widget, the Working Genius.
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There’s some tools like that.
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They do it in some ways this cuts through
all of that and just allows you to
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see it. Their working
genius shows up their disc,
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whatever. You’re going to see it on
display on this project. That’s really.
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00:12:50,890 –> 00:12:52,510
Really, and I can show you some videos,
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but we have so many of
these crazy creative videos.
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And what’s interesting though
is you start making it where
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first off, people wanting a job are
not going to take the time to do it.
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It’s just it’s too much, right?
They’ll show up for another interview.
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But those that really want,
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then I’m actually hearing what
do they actually know about us?
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00:13:15,160 –> 00:13:18,010
What made them want to apply
are the things that they think.
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Are your website’s awesome?
You were really friendly on.
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The.
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Surface level stuff.
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All that type of stuff.
And so that’s my one tip.
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I think it’s the easiest from a
time standpoint for me as the CEO,
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because I like to be involved
in a lot of our hires.
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00:13:32,470 –> 00:13:35,740
It is the easiest way for me to get
to know without a 30 minute meeting.
242
00:13:35,740 –> 00:13:37,690
I can watch a video in
two minutes and learn.
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00:13:37,690 –> 00:13:40,960
I could see probably did they use Brent?
244
00:13:40,960 –> 00:13:45,340
I have probably six people that
have written songs about hype.
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00:13:45,910 –> 00:13:50,470
I’m talking about full on banjo songs
246
00:13:50,800 –> 00:13:53,230
edited, and I’m like, dude, this is the
coolest thing ever. Amazing. Anyway,
247
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that’s a big one. Big one for me.
The second thing, I’ll say this,
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obviously a lot of people are
going overseas for talent,
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but I think one thing we
do way wrong there is that
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when for some reason in the us,
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00:14:10,300 –> 00:14:14,230
our mindset is here’s my budget.
What’s the best person I can do?
252
00:14:14,380 –> 00:14:17,980
I can afford 6,000. Who’s
the best I can find?
253
00:14:18,250 –> 00:14:21,040
But yet when we go to latam, it’s like,
254
00:14:21,640 –> 00:14:24,220
did you know you can hire someone
in the Philippines for seven 50?
255
00:14:24,580 –> 00:14:28,030
Did you know that you can hire someone
in Nicaragua for 2000? Like, dude,
256
00:14:28,690 –> 00:14:32,950
I’d have to pay six grand in the US in
Nicaragua, I would only have to pay two.
257
00:14:34,630 –> 00:14:38,110
That’s the wrong mindset. So one
of our big secrets is going, okay,
258
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I would’ve to pay someone 5,000 in
us. Who could I find for 5,000 in you?
259
00:14:43,510 –> 00:14:44,343
Get out.
260
00:14:44,730 –> 00:14:48,250
Yeah, yeah. It would just be
the best of the best there.
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00:14:48,520 –> 00:14:52,490
I mean, holy cow. So if you’re willing
to pay this Now, this has gotten
262
00:14:54,240 –> 00:14:58,070
more competitive in the
last couple of years,
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00:14:58,340 –> 00:15:02,960
but I really encourage companies
to go find the top layer.
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00:15:02,960 –> 00:15:07,880
So for example, yes, you can find
someone in the Philippines for 600 bucks,
265
00:15:09,770 –> 00:15:13,910
but you can also find someone with an MBA
that’s worked for Verizon for 10 years
266
00:15:14,150 –> 00:15:16,910
and then a bank for five
years and pay ’em 2000.
267
00:15:17,240 –> 00:15:20,300
And that lift is undeniably better.
268
00:15:21,770 –> 00:15:24,860
Clearly going to be a bar
raiser in your department,
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00:15:24,860 –> 00:15:28,490
whereas the 600 a month person is going
to save you some money on your p and l
270
00:15:28,490 –> 00:15:31,790
potentially, but you may
get what you pay for there.
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00:15:31,880 –> 00:15:36,200
But for some reason, our mindset when
we recruit overseas is always different.
272
00:15:36,200 –> 00:15:38,120
It’s always
How do I save money?
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00:15:38,350 –> 00:15:40,790
The lowest is the reason why
I’m going is to save money.
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00:15:40,790 –> 00:15:42,530
And if you go with that intention,
275
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then just naturally you’re going to
be thinking, how cheap can I pay? And
276
00:15:48,560 –> 00:15:52,610
we don’t pay perfect. We went through
some really bad seasons there.
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00:15:52,610 –> 00:15:56,810
We made a couple of bad acquisitions
and it was really, really tough for us.
278
00:15:56,810 –> 00:15:59,810
And so that’s where it comes
to my next point of view.
279
00:16:00,020 –> 00:16:04,850
Ron Kaufman wrote the book
Levels of Service and it’s
280
00:16:04,850 –> 00:16:08,390
all about how do we uplift our service
and serve our team as the best way
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possible.
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00:16:09,560 –> 00:16:13,490
I built Hite with the intention that
every single one of those team members are
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00:16:13,490 –> 00:16:15,050
going to pay for my kid’s college.
284
00:16:16,400 –> 00:16:21,110
This company will bring every
dream I have and my job as CEOs to
285
00:16:21,110 –> 00:16:24,350
serve them. We had at
our event, Dr. Chapman,
286
00:16:24,350 –> 00:16:26,150
along with Dr. White as I mentioned,
287
00:16:26,150 –> 00:16:29,060
and they together wrote the
book Appreciation at Work,
288
00:16:29,420 –> 00:16:33,170
which is the five level languages for
the workplace. So it’s the same once.
289
00:16:33,170 –> 00:16:34,003
Right? Interesting.
290
00:16:34,010 –> 00:16:36,590
Works of affirmation, quality, time,
access, service, tangible gifts,
291
00:16:36,590 –> 00:16:40,790
physical touch, but we don’t think
about that. So often the workplace,
292
00:16:40,880 –> 00:16:45,770
this next generation is
much more into appreciation
293
00:16:45,830 –> 00:16:46,970
versus rewards.
294
00:16:48,110 –> 00:16:50,870
So they want quality time with people.
295
00:16:50,870 –> 00:16:53,870
They’re really interested
in words of affirmation.
296
00:16:54,320 –> 00:16:57,830
And so just like I do with
my wife, how do I figure out,
297
00:16:58,040 –> 00:17:00,710
especially my team around me,
what is their love language?
298
00:17:00,920 –> 00:17:04,640
How do I connect with them?
And it’s incredibly different.
299
00:17:04,910 –> 00:17:07,400
Some of my people, man,
they just want money.
300
00:17:07,490 –> 00:17:10,880
I mean tangible gifts is what
it’s about if you pay ’em.
301
00:17:11,060 –> 00:17:12,590
And nothing wrong with that at all.
302
00:17:12,770 –> 00:17:14,990
I used to have a personal
assistant, I love her to death,
303
00:17:15,050 –> 00:17:18,350
I love her to death,
304
00:17:18,950 –> 00:17:22,130
but her appreciation at work,
305
00:17:22,130 –> 00:17:26,990
her love language was words of
affirmation. And that is not, I mean,
306
00:17:27,680 –> 00:17:31,580
I do really well with my wife and my
kids, but outside of that, I’m the most,
307
00:17:32,930 –> 00:17:35,420
I’m just not very lovey word wise.
308
00:17:35,810 –> 00:17:36,643
With your words.
309
00:17:37,370 –> 00:17:41,120
And it was a problem because I would
go a week without talking to her just
310
00:17:41,120 –> 00:17:44,840
because I was busy and she got the work
done. She was so efficiently, so gc,
311
00:17:44,840 –> 00:17:48,380
are you mad at me? No. What
happened? Did I miss something?
312
00:17:48,770 –> 00:17:50,490
Did I say something? Did I
say that I was mad at you?
313
00:17:51,660 –> 00:17:53,790
No, but you haven’t like no,
314
00:17:53,790 –> 00:17:55,920
because you’re crushing it and you don’t
need me to tell you what to do right
315
00:17:55,920 –> 00:18:00,450
now. Words of affirmation,
she wanted to just be told.
316
00:18:00,450 –> 00:18:02,160
And so I think, okay,
317
00:18:02,760 –> 00:18:07,470
how do I find the right talent where and
what if my strategy around finding the
318
00:18:07,470 –> 00:18:09,600
right talent, and then once I get them,
319
00:18:09,600 –> 00:18:13,740
how am I loving on them as
much as humanly possible world,
320
00:18:14,130 –> 00:18:17,910
this next generation, they’ll quit
and they don’t need another job.
321
00:18:18,180 –> 00:18:20,340
They’ll quit and they’ll go
move back with their family.
322
00:18:20,520 –> 00:18:23,220
They’ll quit because they got
30,000 in the bank and shoot,
323
00:18:23,280 –> 00:18:25,890
I can go live in the Philippines
for six months without much money.
324
00:18:27,210 –> 00:18:29,400
And so they think differently.
And so we got to be prepared.
325
00:18:29,610 –> 00:18:32,610
How do we build the
relationship with them?
326
00:18:33,360 –> 00:18:36,450
Yeah, it’s so good, man. And it’s
one of those things where yes,
327
00:18:36,450 –> 00:18:40,710
you got to pay people competitively and
you have to have a job and a role that’s
328
00:18:40,710 –> 00:18:42,930
structured well that gives
someone a chance to succeed.
329
00:18:42,930 –> 00:18:46,680
But people really need that appreciation
and those extra things and they need to
330
00:18:46,680 –> 00:18:50,220
be seen and loved. We’ll
use the word loved,
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00:18:50,220 –> 00:18:53,310
even though it’s maybe not a word
you use in business a whole lot,
332
00:18:53,310 –> 00:18:57,300
but I love that. And we’re big fans, big
believers in the Five Love languages.
333
00:18:57,900 –> 00:18:59,100
It’s true at work as well.
334
00:18:59,520 –> 00:19:02,460
It’s going to be the work version
of those things that work.
335
00:19:02,460 –> 00:19:06,120
And so how do you see that and
recognize that in your team,
336
00:19:06,120 –> 00:19:08,550
and then how do you
show them appreciation?
337
00:19:08,550 –> 00:19:12,060
How do you lead them in the way they
want to be led or to see appreciation?
338
00:19:12,310 –> 00:19:12,720
That’s.
339
00:19:12,720 –> 00:19:16,320
Right. That’s great, man. And I always
think about it, a good coach, man.
340
00:19:16,320 –> 00:19:19,020
I think about coaches I had because
I love playing sports growing up.
341
00:19:19,050 –> 00:19:23,430
And who were the coaches that they were
fine. I learned and they pushed me.
342
00:19:23,430 –> 00:19:26,790
And some were just
hardcore and that was fine,
343
00:19:26,790 –> 00:19:28,590
but who are the coaches that I love?
344
00:19:28,920 –> 00:19:30,870
The coaches that I would run
through a brick wall for?
345
00:19:31,230 –> 00:19:33,090
And I think we have the
same thing with bosses.
346
00:19:33,450 –> 00:19:35,670
Who are the bosses that I’ll
show up for? I like the job,
347
00:19:35,670 –> 00:19:36,510
I’m going to do the right thing,
348
00:19:36,510 –> 00:19:40,170
but who are the bosses that I
would run through a brick wall for?
349
00:19:40,590 –> 00:19:41,550
It’s not just about pay.
350
00:19:41,550 –> 00:19:46,410
It’s about those intangibles of how am I
getting appreciation and receiving love
351
00:19:46,410 –> 00:19:47,790
from this boss?
352
00:19:48,360 –> 00:19:48,840
That’s right.
353
00:19:48,840 –> 00:19:52,410
Really, really great. Hey,
what are some of the other,
354
00:19:52,410 –> 00:19:54,570
but before we talk about
retention, some of those things,
355
00:19:54,570 –> 00:19:56,550
I want to talk about
this overseas recruiting.
356
00:19:56,640 –> 00:19:59,730
I think that that’s just becoming more
and more common in every business that I
357
00:19:59,730 –> 00:20:02,580
know from the agency space
to the e-commerce space
and everything in between.
358
00:20:03,150 –> 00:20:05,100
What are some of the other
mistakes that people make there?
359
00:20:05,130 –> 00:20:09,390
So I love that you pointed out our
default is how do we go to the cheapest
360
00:20:09,390 –> 00:20:13,710
rather than how can we pay more than
anybody else and just get an unbelievable
361
00:20:13,710 –> 00:20:14,543
team member.
362
00:20:14,640 –> 00:20:16,680
What are the mistakes do people make
when they’re hiring internationally?
363
00:20:17,430 –> 00:20:19,740
Well, I think a couple of things here.
364
00:20:19,740 –> 00:20:22,020
I think the mindset around
it is very different.
365
00:20:22,260 –> 00:20:26,160
Most in our culture and even
the digital marketing world,
366
00:20:26,520 –> 00:20:30,210
we call almost anyone that’s
outsourced a VA in some way shape.
367
00:20:30,930 –> 00:20:34,710
We have our team in the US and
we got 10 or 15 VAs in Nawa,
368
00:20:35,040 –> 00:20:39,990
and it’s like we just have a
mindset problem around what team
369
00:20:39,990 –> 00:20:41,430
looks like. This is the team.
370
00:20:41,880 –> 00:20:45,390
And so I have an issue with that.
371
00:20:45,690 –> 00:20:50,680
I think one of the things that we just
have a huge opportunity for is that
372
00:20:51,160 –> 00:20:54,850
Nick and i’s three and a half
hour flight from Dallas, Honduras,
373
00:20:54,850 –> 00:20:56,590
all these things beforehand.
374
00:20:57,040 –> 00:21:01,270
So a lot of things are shifting to
latam from the Philippines and Asia,
375
00:21:01,270 –> 00:21:04,390
things like this, which creates
an opportunity to visit the team,
376
00:21:04,690 –> 00:21:07,390
be a part of them. So again,
377
00:21:07,750 –> 00:21:10,870
just like these love languages,
physical touch trainer for gifts,
378
00:21:10,870 –> 00:21:15,340
acts of service, quality time, four of
those can be done in person quality time,
379
00:21:15,940 –> 00:21:20,020
being present, being able to touch
someone. Hey, here’s what it is.
380
00:21:20,230 –> 00:21:22,150
The affirmation of course can be online,
381
00:21:22,150 –> 00:21:26,290
but there’s very different when they
feel the body language around it, So much
382
00:21:26,290 –> 00:21:28,450
can be done in person.
383
00:21:30,110 –> 00:21:34,330
So I think that’s a huge
opportunity. And again,
384
00:21:34,660 –> 00:21:38,320
us we’re really like,
what does comp look like?
385
00:21:39,220 –> 00:21:40,720
The world is getting flatter and flatter.
386
00:21:43,300 –> 00:21:46,540
I feel like there was 10 years ago we
were talking about the world is flat,
387
00:21:46,630 –> 00:21:51,130
it was opening up the doors, but it wasn’t
like it was still very unlevel wise.
388
00:21:51,130 –> 00:21:55,600
That is starting to gradually
equate more and more over time.
389
00:21:55,630 –> 00:21:59,920
Yep. Yep. Love that. Well, let’s talk,
let’s shift gears. Talk about retention.
390
00:21:59,920 –> 00:22:03,580
And this is one of those things that if
you’ve been in business for any length
391
00:22:03,580 –> 00:22:07,660
of time, you’ve had a key team
member leave and it’s painful.
392
00:22:07,660 –> 00:22:10,540
And we’ve all had experiences
where someone turns in
their resignation and we’re
393
00:22:10,540 –> 00:22:14,800
like, oh, I’ve got a fake. I’m
sad here. This is so terrible.
394
00:22:15,400 –> 00:22:18,250
But then there’s some people that they
leave and you’re just gutted, right?
395
00:22:18,400 –> 00:22:19,233
Oh my goodness.
396
00:22:20,740 –> 00:22:24,850
We had someone on our team who
I mentored him and trained him,
397
00:22:24,850 –> 00:22:29,170
and I invested so much time
in him. And then when he left,
398
00:22:29,440 –> 00:22:31,330
it was almost like a gut
punch. I was also proud of him.
399
00:22:31,420 –> 00:22:33,820
He was going to pursue something
bigger, which was just tough.
400
00:22:33,910 –> 00:22:36,700
Some people are really tough when
it’s really tough when they leave.
401
00:22:36,700 –> 00:22:41,410
So how do you think about retention
strategically and also tactically.
402
00:22:43,090 –> 00:22:45,220
Have you ever read of the
book, the Dream Manager, Brett.
403
00:22:45,790 –> 00:22:47,530
The Dream Manager? I have not.
404
00:22:48,070 –> 00:22:52,870
I love it. It’s a little fable about
a company that scaled and grew and
405
00:22:54,190 –> 00:22:58,390
they were a cleaning company, clean
toilets for a living. In that book,
406
00:22:58,390 –> 00:23:02,200
it talks about how they
finally realized that
407
00:23:03,310 –> 00:23:07,180
they were a stepping stone elsewhere.
There’s certain roles in their company.
408
00:23:07,600 –> 00:23:12,400
I think I struggled
especially earlier where
409
00:23:12,640 –> 00:23:16,480
it was like an ego Hite was the savior
for everyone. You couldn’t leave.
410
00:23:16,600 –> 00:23:20,320
Why would you leave? You are
going to be served your best,
411
00:23:20,320 –> 00:23:22,660
we’re going to be able to pay you,
we’re going to be all these things.
412
00:23:23,080 –> 00:23:26,860
And I think finally I got where
that’s not the case for most people.
413
00:23:27,190 –> 00:23:31,510
And so I try to segment and go, okay,
what is my retention rate on leaders,
414
00:23:31,600 –> 00:23:36,040
managers, these types of individuals
and then everyone else at Hite?
415
00:23:36,040 –> 00:23:38,470
We don’t get a lot of
leadership roles that open up.
416
00:23:40,540 –> 00:23:41,770
We just don’t turn over,
417
00:23:41,770 –> 00:23:46,760
which means I actually need to expect
there’s a big group of people that
418
00:23:46,760 –> 00:23:50,870
will move because there’s no spots for
leadership unless I’m trying to scale
419
00:23:50,870 –> 00:23:54,260
Hite. I am in growth mode, which
quite frankly right now, high digital,
420
00:23:54,260 –> 00:23:57,530
we’re not because I don’t know where
the world of digital marketing is going.
421
00:23:57,530 –> 00:24:02,300
And so how do we treat our company
more as a, I like sports teams.
422
00:24:02,300 –> 00:24:06,770
I think they do two things really well.
Number one, they don’t get affected.
423
00:24:06,770 –> 00:24:09,230
Well, I mean they do, but people
move. That’s just part of.
424
00:24:09,230 –> 00:24:12,110
It. People move, people get
traded, people contracts.
425
00:24:12,560 –> 00:24:15,770
Don negotiate that. But another move
really well is they’re always recruiting.
426
00:24:16,340 –> 00:24:18,890
They always have this bench.
427
00:24:19,280 –> 00:24:22,730
And so one of the things that we’ve
really tried to do from an HR standpoint,
428
00:24:22,970 –> 00:24:26,150
even if I don’t have a, let’s
say a Google Ads person,
429
00:24:26,690 –> 00:24:31,670
I have a bench waiting now. It even
changes the framework to my leaders.
430
00:24:32,600 –> 00:24:35,270
I mean, you’ve done this
and I got a B player,
431
00:24:35,270 –> 00:24:39,770
and it’s like they’re not super good,
but do I want to go recruit and find No.
432
00:24:39,950 –> 00:24:42,080
My leaders are going, I have a B player,
433
00:24:42,650 –> 00:24:47,540
and we got Sarah on the bench.
Sarah’s got right?
434
00:24:47,750 –> 00:24:51,410
So what our HR team is
for all of our core roles,
435
00:24:51,560 –> 00:24:55,040
we try to have someone on the bench
somewhere and we’ll literally just like
436
00:24:55,040 –> 00:24:57,890
sales. We’ll call ’em up every
month and go, Hey, Brett, hey,
437
00:24:57,950 –> 00:24:59,270
we don’t have the role just quite yet.
438
00:24:59,480 –> 00:25:01,340
My thinking is maybe the
next two to three months.
439
00:25:01,340 –> 00:25:05,540
But you still wanted to join Hite if an
opportunity came up, right? Yeah. Okay,
440
00:25:05,540 –> 00:25:08,390
cool. And so that’s the conversation.
441
00:25:08,390 –> 00:25:11,360
We have two or three of them that are
already approved, already have the videos.
442
00:25:11,780 –> 00:25:12,613
We’re just waiting.
443
00:25:12,920 –> 00:25:17,270
And that brings so much security
to our company. And so again,
444
00:25:19,460 –> 00:25:24,080
I think we have as owners just
a huge God complex that we are
445
00:25:25,760 –> 00:25:29,870
the lifeblood of our team. And once we
get over that, we just realized like,
446
00:25:29,870 –> 00:25:30,110
dude,
447
00:25:30,110 –> 00:25:35,090
I have had so many people that I
hated to leave and one of two things
448
00:25:35,090 –> 00:25:36,260
are not true either. One,
449
00:25:36,260 –> 00:25:39,830
I didn’t truly care about them because
they ended up with a way better job or a
450
00:25:39,830 –> 00:25:41,690
way better opportunity or whatever.
451
00:25:42,920 –> 00:25:45,770
So either one or two things
are not true either. One,
452
00:25:47,240 –> 00:25:49,760
I didn’t care about them
quite as much as I thought,
453
00:25:49,760 –> 00:25:51,450
or two as you thought you did. Exactly.
454
00:25:51,550 –> 00:25:54,890
And so I think we got to
loosen up there a little bit.
455
00:25:55,130 –> 00:25:58,400
If your deal is retention, I think
that goes back to appreciation at work.
456
00:25:58,700 –> 00:26:00,290
I think at the end of the day,
457
00:26:00,500 –> 00:26:05,240
nonprofits are your greatest example of
people that have a lot higher retention
458
00:26:05,990 –> 00:26:09,830
than most for-profit companies yet
they normally don’t pay that much.
459
00:26:10,040 –> 00:26:11,600
They focus on what they’re good at.
460
00:26:11,810 –> 00:26:14,360
And so there’s been seasons
where we’re like, guys,
461
00:26:14,420 –> 00:26:16,670
we’re really struggling with,
we are going to love on you.
462
00:26:16,670 –> 00:26:19,160
We’re going to be able
to serve you. I mean,
463
00:26:19,160 –> 00:26:21,110
I’ve got two people right now at Hite.
464
00:26:21,170 –> 00:26:24,380
One just had cancer treatment,
465
00:26:24,530 –> 00:26:27,890
another one’s got a daughter with
cancer. Both of them are fully out.
466
00:26:27,890 –> 00:26:29,900
We’re paying them. We have no rush back.
467
00:26:29,900 –> 00:26:33,230
We’re taking care. We want to be an
organization that serves our people in the
468
00:26:33,230 –> 00:26:34,063
greatest way possible.
469
00:26:34,160 –> 00:26:34,850
Same here for sure.
470
00:26:34,850 –> 00:26:37,730
And that’s where we can win. It doesn’t
matter where you’re at or who you are,
471
00:26:39,710 –> 00:26:40,543
that’s possible.
472
00:26:40,760 –> 00:26:42,890
That’s so great, man. And
it’s a really important thing.
473
00:26:43,080 –> 00:26:47,160
And one of the things I reminded myself
very early on in business is if you look
474
00:26:47,160 –> 00:26:48,510
at the best companies,
475
00:26:49,290 –> 00:26:52,740
the Googles and Facebooks and
other Mag seven companies,
476
00:26:53,220 –> 00:26:57,150
they attract really great people.
But with attracting great people,
477
00:26:57,150 –> 00:26:59,250
a lot of times they want to
move on to something else.
478
00:26:59,250 –> 00:27:01,560
They want to go build their own company,
they want to go do their own thing,
479
00:27:01,560 –> 00:27:05,220
something like that. And so if you
are constantly attracting talent,
480
00:27:05,220 –> 00:27:09,720
they will move on. And I
heard my pastor said long ago,
481
00:27:09,720 –> 00:27:12,240
and I shared this from
the early days of O mg,
482
00:27:12,630 –> 00:27:15,360
we’re going to bless people when they
come and bless people when they go and
483
00:27:15,360 –> 00:27:18,600
maybe we’ll give people a hard
time. And that’s what we did.
484
00:27:18,600 –> 00:27:22,470
We did a cake you dead test type thing
just as a joke. But it’s always like,
485
00:27:22,470 –> 00:27:24,570
we’re going to bless ’em when they come.
We’re going to bless ’em when they go.
486
00:27:24,570 –> 00:27:27,450
We’re going to talk good
about them even when they go.
487
00:27:27,750 –> 00:27:29,790
I think that’s one of
those things that’s common.
488
00:27:29,790 –> 00:27:32,090
Like this person left and we’re
going to bash ’em internally. No,
489
00:27:33,510 –> 00:27:34,860
not going to put up with that. And so.
490
00:27:35,190 –> 00:27:37,710
We had had a team member, and
we’ve done this many times.
491
00:27:37,740 –> 00:27:40,170
We have a team member that was here
for two years and he was like, man,
492
00:27:40,170 –> 00:27:41,700
I just don’t. And we were honest with him,
493
00:27:42,780 –> 00:27:45,030
I don’t know that you would
get a promotion if we had it.
494
00:27:45,030 –> 00:27:47,010
You’re good and I love you to death.
495
00:27:47,850 –> 00:27:52,050
And we had a real conversation and then
we hired a recruiting firm to help him
496
00:27:52,050 –> 00:27:56,730
find a new job. And he stayed
with Hyatt another three months,
497
00:27:56,730 –> 00:28:00,210
90 days or so until the recruiting
firm got him something. That’s amazing.
498
00:28:02,490 –> 00:28:06,810
But it also I think loosens
the conversation and ideally,
499
00:28:06,810 –> 00:28:07,860
and we’re not perfect at this,
500
00:28:07,860 –> 00:28:10,710
but how do we create a culture
where people are just really honest?
501
00:28:10,980 –> 00:28:14,340
And I would much rather a team member
tell me, dude, I don’t see my future.
502
00:28:14,340 –> 00:28:18,050
Cool. Let’s plan it. I will
help you find a job. If I know.
503
00:28:18,100 –> 00:28:20,130
Let’s help you find a place where
you are fulfilled. Yeah, weeks.
504
00:28:20,140 –> 00:28:22,230
It’s going to be better for you, better
for us weeks notice in our world,
505
00:28:22,230 –> 00:28:24,780
especially account managers
and leaders. Man, that’s tough.
506
00:28:24,780 –> 00:28:27,540
And it’s tough when you’re a smaller
business with a smaller team,
507
00:28:27,540 –> 00:28:31,830
it’s even worse. And so open,
508
00:28:31,830 –> 00:28:34,350
honest communication can
be really, really great.
509
00:28:35,010 –> 00:28:39,690
That’s great, man. I love it. Well,
let’s transition to our final topic here.
510
00:28:39,690 –> 00:28:44,370
Let’s talk mentorship. And
you’ve had the privilege.
511
00:28:44,370 –> 00:28:48,300
I know it’s been by design and by effort
and by just getting out there and doing
512
00:28:48,310 –> 00:28:52,350
stuff. But you are friends and
have mentors that are really
513
00:28:52,350 –> 00:28:55,170
world-class leaders like John Maxwell,
514
00:28:55,170 –> 00:28:59,040
like the Robertsons from Duck
Dynasty, like Damon John,
515
00:28:59,700 –> 00:29:03,600
and we’ll throw our mutual friend,
Vinny Fisher in there as well.
516
00:29:06,000 –> 00:29:10,920
First of all, how do you view
mentorship and why is that so important?
517
00:29:10,920 –> 00:29:14,550
And then I want to talk about how
you meet these world-class mentors.
518
00:29:15,690 –> 00:29:18,030
I am scared to death of business.
519
00:29:18,060 –> 00:29:23,040
I have seen so many of
my friends sacrifice it
520
00:29:23,040 –> 00:29:26,640
all to get to the top.
And I mean great people,
521
00:29:26,640 –> 00:29:31,050
good people that just
somewhere one mistake,
522
00:29:31,110 –> 00:29:35,520
one bad night, one whatever,
successful business.
523
00:29:35,520 –> 00:29:38,310
And then overnight something
happened and it wasn’t, and
524
00:29:40,170 –> 00:29:43,090
my mentorship is just
straight out of fear.
525
00:29:43,360 –> 00:29:47,860
I look at some of these men and women
that John’s been married to Margaret
526
00:29:47,860 –> 00:29:50,830
forever, and Dr. Chapman,
we were texting just a few.
527
00:29:51,520 –> 00:29:53,680
Dude, how old is John
Maxwell? Do you know?
528
00:29:53,680 –> 00:29:56,950
Or are you allowed to say he’s
got to be 70 or something?
529
00:29:56,950 –> 00:29:57,460
Eight.
530
00:29:57,460 –> 00:29:57,940
Yeah, if.
531
00:29:57,940 –> 00:29:58,773
I remember right.
532
00:29:59,440 –> 00:30:03,550
Hearing about the global leadership
summit’s still articulate sharp as attack,
533
00:30:03,670 –> 00:30:04,900
just killing the game.
534
00:30:05,050 –> 00:30:07,750
We were just talking yesterday about
him coming to scale with stability next
535
00:30:07,750 –> 00:30:12,430
year. And this guy, Dr.
Chapman impresses me more.
536
00:30:12,430 –> 00:30:15,340
Dr. Chapman’s 87, he.
537
00:30:15,700 –> 00:30:17,500
No way, he’s sharp. I didn’t know that.
538
00:30:17,740 –> 00:30:19,480
He’s sharp. I mean,
539
00:30:19,810 –> 00:30:24,160
we had him just as event the
other day and we did a q and a.
540
00:30:24,160 –> 00:30:28,690
So the audience is asking random
questions, it not, and he’s joking,
541
00:30:28,690 –> 00:30:33,070
spitting back, no time. He
knows this stuff. And so for me,
542
00:30:33,070 –> 00:30:33,903
I am,
543
00:30:34,300 –> 00:30:39,130
I’m a big believer that wisdom just
544
00:30:39,130 –> 00:30:42,040
transcends generations.
Obviously as Christians,
545
00:30:42,100 –> 00:30:46,000
we believe in this thing called the
Bible, and it’s absolute truth. It’s.
546
00:30:46,000 –> 00:30:46,833
An ancient book.
547
00:30:48,100 –> 00:30:49,270
They struggled with their marriage.
548
00:30:49,270 –> 00:30:51,910
And so I love this and
it’s been such a blessing.
549
00:30:51,910 –> 00:30:54,070
I remember I had a season where
550
00:30:55,900 –> 00:30:59,410
I had to get rid of a couple
of partnerships and that
caused a couple of other
551
00:30:59,410 –> 00:31:04,120
partnerships. It was just a big
drama. And I called up John,
552
00:31:04,120 –> 00:31:05,740
actually his right hand, Mark Cole,
553
00:31:06,550 –> 00:31:10,810
and we were chatting and he’s
the CEO of all of Maxwell now.
554
00:31:11,170 –> 00:31:15,700
And I was like, dude, I
just feel like a failure.
555
00:31:15,940 –> 00:31:18,580
I let these partners down. I broke
up and that’s creating drama.
556
00:31:18,580 –> 00:31:22,420
And then I feel stressed and just
everything I feel like has been affected.
557
00:31:23,560 –> 00:31:26,230
And I was like, how does John
prevent this stuff from happening?
558
00:31:26,230 –> 00:31:29,500
And he just chuckled. He is like, John’s
going through a huge breakup right now,
559
00:31:29,500 –> 00:31:30,333
right now.
560
00:31:30,490 –> 00:31:34,960
And the leader on leadership
in the world had a bad,
561
00:31:36,040 –> 00:31:39,400
it didn’t work and it was a
drama and it was a problem,
562
00:31:39,400 –> 00:31:42,610
and there was legal involved and
all this. He’s welcome to it.
563
00:31:42,610 –> 00:31:45,850
And so I have spent a lot of money,
564
00:31:45,940 –> 00:31:50,650
time and energy connecting and
being with around some of what
565
00:31:50,650 –> 00:31:55,270
I have seen be some of the
most successful folks out
566
00:31:55,270 –> 00:31:59,290
there. And some have failed with it
and overcome, some haven’t. Right?
567
00:31:59,290 –> 00:32:01,540
So John will Roberton, Dr. Chapman,
568
00:32:03,280 –> 00:32:07,660
Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank,
and the list goes on. Jesse Itzler,
569
00:32:08,380 –> 00:32:09,100
got a couple of.
570
00:32:09,100 –> 00:32:12,640
Dude, love that guy. Yeah, met
Jesse, he’s the don’t know,
571
00:32:12,640 –> 00:32:15,580
he’s the author of Living With a
Seal, which is a phenomenal book.
572
00:32:16,240 –> 00:32:19,480
And Jesse just wants to
live a legendary life.
573
00:32:19,480 –> 00:32:24,370
And I love his big calendar that he plans
on and stuff. And so it’s really cool.
574
00:32:24,370 –> 00:32:27,160
And yeah, I love the way you
framed it. So first of all,
575
00:32:27,430 –> 00:32:32,200
mentorship and getting wisdom from
people that have gone where you
576
00:32:32,200 –> 00:32:35,290
want to go, been where you are right now.
577
00:32:35,680 –> 00:32:39,040
It’s really hard to put a value on
that. It’s so incredibly valuable.
578
00:32:39,260 –> 00:32:42,860
But you mentioned a couple of things.
You said one, you paid for it, two,
579
00:32:42,890 –> 00:32:47,150
you worked for it, and you
built those relationships.
580
00:32:47,510 –> 00:32:51,890
You’re not just going to wake up one
morning and John Maxwell call you unless
581
00:32:52,100 –> 00:32:54,440
you’re doing something earth
shattering or whatever.
582
00:32:54,830 –> 00:32:57,710
Sometimes you got to pay to be in the
right room. Sometimes you got to pay to be
583
00:32:57,710 –> 00:32:59,540
around people and you
form these friendships.
584
00:32:59,600 –> 00:33:03,320
I can think about relationships that I’ve
built over the years that started with
585
00:33:03,320 –> 00:33:08,210
a paid relationship like my buddy now
we’re really good friends. Ezra Firestone,
586
00:33:09,440 –> 00:33:13,130
we’ve done lots of business together
and I call him up when there are things
587
00:33:13,130 –> 00:33:14,390
going on in business or whatever,
588
00:33:14,960 –> 00:33:18,020
but that began with a paid
business type relationship.
589
00:33:18,380 –> 00:33:22,610
I met my wife and I go to Life church.
So Craig Rochelle is the senior pastor,
590
00:33:22,610 –> 00:33:25,370
one of the best leaders I think right now,
591
00:33:25,370 –> 00:33:26,810
the Craig Rochelle Leadership podcast.
592
00:33:26,810 –> 00:33:30,050
So he flew into Springfield
and my local pastor said, Hey,
593
00:33:30,050 –> 00:33:33,230
will you and Brittany go pick
Craig up from the airport?
594
00:33:33,620 –> 00:33:38,390
So we did got to meet him and Amy, his
wife, and then also Bobby Grunwald,
595
00:33:38,390 –> 00:33:40,940
who’s the founder of YouVersion Bible app.
596
00:33:40,970 –> 00:33:41,803
Yeah.
597
00:33:41,840 –> 00:33:42,260
The Bible app.
598
00:33:42,260 –> 00:33:45,830
For those that don’t know it is
the most downloaded Bible resource,
599
00:33:45,830 –> 00:33:49,520
almost a billion downloads. It’s a
free app, a church put this together.
600
00:33:49,850 –> 00:33:53,330
But Bobby’s a business savant
and he’s built businesses.
601
00:33:53,540 –> 00:33:56,510
He’s been in life church for
like, I dunno, 26, 27 years. But
602
00:33:58,340 –> 00:34:01,010
we took Craig to church. He
got mobbed like a rockstar.
603
00:34:01,280 –> 00:34:02,330
And so Bobby’s just hanging out.
604
00:34:02,330 –> 00:34:05,270
So I started talking to Bobby and I start
telling him about some m and a deals
605
00:34:05,270 –> 00:34:08,480
that I’m working on. And so then a week
later, Bobby calls me, he’s like, Hey,
606
00:34:08,960 –> 00:34:10,310
how’s the m and a stuff going?
607
00:34:10,310 –> 00:34:12,650
So he’s like mentoring me
and coaching me a little bit,
608
00:34:12,650 –> 00:34:13,550
which is just super cool.
609
00:34:13,550 –> 00:34:16,040
So I think you’ve got to be
able to do all those things.
610
00:34:16,280 –> 00:34:20,090
How can I get out there? How can I
be the one to form a relationship?
611
00:34:20,090 –> 00:34:23,210
I did a partnership with
Russell Brunson back in 2009.
612
00:34:23,300 –> 00:34:27,080
I saw him in the lobby of an event and
came up and just start talking to him.
613
00:34:27,380 –> 00:34:29,000
You got to be willing to talk.
You got to be willing to pay,
614
00:34:29,120 –> 00:34:31,610
got to be willing to put yourself
out there. But man, I’m telling you,
615
00:34:31,760 –> 00:34:36,500
those relationships are more
valuable than almost anything else in
616
00:34:36,500 –> 00:34:37,333
business. It’s huge.
617
00:34:37,820 –> 00:34:38,030
I mean,
618
00:34:38,030 –> 00:34:42,560
I feel confident I can call any one of
those folks and they would make sure my
619
00:34:42,560 –> 00:34:44,610
wife and I were not homeless. And so
620
00:34:47,210 –> 00:34:50,900
big secret, that’s why I do events.
Events are not really profitable,
621
00:34:50,900 –> 00:34:54,230
but events fund some of those
relationships in a big way.
622
00:34:55,970 –> 00:34:58,880
Most of those guys are less. If
you’ve got a really good mentor,
623
00:34:58,880 –> 00:35:02,090
I find they never tell you what to do.
First off, I rarely get told what to do,
624
00:35:03,320 –> 00:35:03,830
but there’s, they.
625
00:35:03,830 –> 00:35:06,200
Help you process things.
Yeah, that’s right. Stories.
626
00:35:06,710 –> 00:35:10,670
But I think so many of us of
entrepreneurs think we’re special.
627
00:35:11,000 –> 00:35:14,600
And what I mean by that is that
we’ve got special problems or man,
628
00:35:14,600 –> 00:35:18,770
no one else has these relationship
issues and no one else is running a $4
629
00:35:18,770 –> 00:35:20,630
million company and can’t
figure out how to do payroll.
630
00:35:20,900 –> 00:35:23,780
And no one else has struggled
with turnover and no one,
631
00:35:24,290 –> 00:35:26,630
we feel we’re special in a negative way.
632
00:35:27,020 –> 00:35:29,990
And the reality is once
you talk to these folks,
633
00:35:30,650 –> 00:35:33,710
everyone’s got the same stink issues.
Everyone’s struggling with fire,
634
00:35:36,650 –> 00:35:37,650
everyone is,
635
00:35:38,790 –> 00:35:43,260
and the encouragement there is to give
you a little bit of peace in the ability
636
00:35:43,260 –> 00:35:44,940
to go, okay, it’s a normal problem,
637
00:35:45,120 –> 00:35:48,930
so how do we fix it versus wallowing
it in it compounding in a negative way.
638
00:35:49,740 –> 00:35:53,790
Yeah, it’s so good. Yeah,
we noticed that in early 24.
639
00:35:54,270 –> 00:35:57,090
We had just grown headcount massively.
640
00:35:57,390 –> 00:36:00,900
E-comm was scaling and we were scaling
we through two rounds of layoffs.
641
00:36:00,900 –> 00:36:03,930
And so it’s been remarkable though, as
I’ve shared that with other leaders.
642
00:36:04,320 –> 00:36:07,650
They’re like, me too, man. And
this is what happened. We did it.
643
00:36:07,650 –> 00:36:08,670
This is what happened afterwards.
644
00:36:08,670 –> 00:36:10,560
This is what the mistakes we
learned while we were doing it.
645
00:36:10,560 –> 00:36:13,890
And so one of the worst times in
my life as far as business goes,
646
00:36:13,950 –> 00:36:17,610
but every business goes
through something like that.
647
00:36:17,610 –> 00:36:21,480
And the cool thing is those that are
mature and who’ve done it before generally
648
00:36:21,480 –> 00:36:25,410
want to help you not crush
in and give you some tips.
649
00:36:25,410 –> 00:36:29,250
We’ll just help you walk through it.
So dude, this has been fantastic.
650
00:36:29,250 –> 00:36:31,500
We’re kind of coming up against time
here. What do I want to do though?
651
00:36:31,830 –> 00:36:35,220
Let’s talk about your events. You’re
going to do scale with stability part two,
652
00:36:35,220 –> 00:36:39,780
I believe, next year. So any plug you
want to give for that would be awesome.
653
00:36:39,780 –> 00:36:43,140
And then you also have
an event for agencies.
654
00:36:43,140 –> 00:36:46,920
And so would love to hear kind of who
that’s for, what type of agencies,
655
00:36:46,920 –> 00:36:49,320
what that looks like. And so
it’s, tell us more about that.
656
00:36:49,470 –> 00:36:52,890
Yeah, the Commitment Summit is
in Cancun. That is kind mean.
657
00:36:52,890 –> 00:36:57,270
It’s a VIP type event all
inclusive. We got Mike Mitz coming,
658
00:36:57,270 –> 00:37:01,440
several others. We have had
John Maxwell there, Damon, John,
659
00:37:01,560 –> 00:37:05,340
Jesse came, all those guys.
Nowadays it’s turned into,
660
00:37:06,300 –> 00:37:11,040
it’s anywhere from two to 10
million agencies coming together.
661
00:37:11,190 –> 00:37:14,280
We got speakers in the morning and
then everything else is like hot seats
662
00:37:14,610 –> 00:37:17,940
working together in the
pool, collaborating.
663
00:37:18,330 –> 00:37:21,450
And a lot of people ring their families.
It’s fun. Four nights, three days.
664
00:37:21,450 –> 00:37:26,040
The commitment summit.com scale of
stability summit is just more holistic.
665
00:37:26,040 –> 00:37:30,540
It’s all about helping
businesses scale with stability.
666
00:37:30,870 –> 00:37:35,250
And it’s a faith-based conference as well.
667
00:37:35,250 –> 00:37:39,330
And we are scaling it. So right now
we’ll have our location in April,
668
00:37:39,360 –> 00:37:41,100
which is in Arkansas.
It’s kind of in the south,
669
00:37:41,100 –> 00:37:45,630
but we are actually debating Brett
having another one, either Missouri,
670
00:37:46,260 –> 00:37:49,090
Nashville or potentially up. Let’s go.
671
00:37:49,150 –> 00:37:50,820
And so as you’re talking
about your church,
672
00:37:50,820 –> 00:37:53,250
I’m like literally someone
just the other day was like,
673
00:37:53,520 –> 00:37:57,960
have you considered having scale stability
Summit at one of Greg’s churches?
674
00:37:58,890 –> 00:38:02,520
Love church location. I think it’s pretty
smart. They’d probably up for that.
675
00:38:02,550 –> 00:38:06,570
So that’s amazing, man. Love what
you’re doing, keep up the good work.
676
00:38:06,570 –> 00:38:10,560
You guys are building an amazing
business, profitable, scaling,
677
00:38:10,560 –> 00:38:12,240
growing and all that, but you’re
also doing it the right way,
678
00:38:12,270 –> 00:38:14,190
sticking with your mission,
taking care of your family,
679
00:38:14,490 –> 00:38:17,160
good relationship with your wife.
So love what you’re doing, man.
680
00:38:17,190 –> 00:38:21,570
Thanks for delivering value here and
looking forward to connecting with you in
681
00:38:21,570 –> 00:38:22,403
person soon.
682
00:38:22,710 –> 00:38:23,543
Yeah brother.
683
00:38:24,120 –> 00:38:27,660
Alright, man. Thank you so much. And
thank you for tuning in as always.
684
00:38:27,660 –> 00:38:31,350
We’d love to hear from you. What would
you like to hear more of on the podcast,
685
00:38:31,350 –> 00:38:34,680
have you not done? So we’d also
love that review on iTunes,
686
00:38:35,050 –> 00:38:38,620
helps other people find the show.
And with that, until next time,
687
00:38:38,740 –> 00:38:39,650
thank you for listening.