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The Revolutionary Man Podcast
The Revolutionary Man Podcast is for high-performing husbands and fathers ready to lead with purpose. Hosted by Alain Dumonceaux, this show equips men with the tools to reclaim their masculine identity, master work-life balance, and strengthen mental health. Featuring expert interviews and raw solo episodes, each week brings insights to help men lead their families, grow their businesses, and build a lasting legacy. It’s time to stop settling and start rising.
The Revolutionary Man Podcast
Leadership Redefined: Embracing Authenticity for Lasting Impact with Ron Reich
Let me know your thoughts on the show and what topic you would like me to discuss next.
Take a fascinating journey into the world of leadership with expert Ron Reich. Promising to redefine your view on leadership, Ron shares how emotional intelligence shaped his leadership style and the pivotal role it has played in his professional journey. The discussion is brought to life with personal anecdotes and thoughtful insights, as Ron imparts his unique PRD (Pause, Reflect, Decide) method, designed to enhance decision-making capabilities.
This episode is not just about the challenges of leadership but also the strategies for overcoming them. We navigate the importance of building strong relationships within teams, highlighting key components such as trust, active listening, and presence. Ron talks about his experience with the Disk Instrument assessment, a powerful tool that aids in understanding and working with diverse personality types. His stories bring to light the endless possibilities when one looks beyond mere intelligence.
In our concluding segment, we delve into the realm of emotional intelligence and self-regulation. As we discuss how these elements influence decision-making and relationship-building, Ron provides valuable insights on creating the right environment for effective conversations. Moreover, he underscores the importance of having a clear vision statement and setting achievable goals. Whether you're a seasoned leader or just beginning your leadership journey, this episode is a goldmine of practical strategies and insights for personal and professional growth. So, tune in, and let's unlock the leader in you with Ron Reich!
In this episode:
· Grasp the deep-seated correlation between leadership skills and breakthrough success in your personal life and career.
· Discover the healing potency of vulnerability and the act of admitting mistakes in strengthening your leadership influence.
· Un-camouflage the art of appreciating personality differences and effectively leveraging them to build a thriving work culture.
· Deconstruct the bearing of vision and mission statements on strategic decision-making processes.
· Tap into the indispensable role of self-awareness and authenticity in curating a resonating leadership paradigm.
The key moments in this episode are:
00:07:22 - Leadership Traits in Different Areas of Life,
00:15:47 - The Role of Being Human,
00:16:33 - Staying out of the Results Business,
00:18:31 - Understanding Different Personality Types,
00:21:48 - Get to Know Yourself,
00:22:30 - Reenergizing Disengaged Staff,
00:32:13 - Emotional Decision Making,
00:32:56 - Making Consistent Decisions,
00:34:08 - The Consequences of Inconsistent Decision-Making,
00:37:08 - Personal Vision Statements,
00:39:36 - Finding Alignment in Life,
To Reach Ron:
FB:
Thanks for listening to the Revolutionary Man Podcast. If you want more information about our programs, use the links below to check us out. It could be the step that changes your life.
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⚙️Resource Hub (Free Stuff)
IG - /the.revolutionary.man
FB - /theawakenedman.net
Stephen Covey talks about this in Habit 5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood, and what he talks about is that when you're listening to someone, you've got to be so careful not to listen to reply, because so many people do that. I think one of the biggest challenges leaders are facing is the pressure the pressure to produce results, and it's been my direct experience. A lot of leaders lose sight of the fact that they are working with human beings. I like to make some people use the PRD method. Before you say something you're going to regret, pause, reflect, decide what to do. Others have shared that it's worked for them.
Speaker 2:You know, whether you're running a business or working in the corporate world, there's going to come a time when leading people becomes part of the job and, as exciting as it can be to lead a team and watch them grow as individuals and the organization, you can also come to those not so great moments. You know, when there's disharmony within the group, that's when our leadership skills really come into play. Sometimes it works out. Other times those skills even make things worse. Well, today, my guest is an expert at helping leaders build their skill sets so their teams can thrive. Now, before we get into all of that today, I just want to remind you if you're interested in raising your standards as a father, a husband, an entrepreneur, I'm going to encourage you to participate and start your hero's quest In this program. You're going to accomplish more, learn more and develop and become more in the next 90 days than you've ever have in your life. And to see if you really qualify for this, I want you to go to the Wakenman Training Academy at membersthewakenmannet and then become a hero of your story. Now, with that, let's get on with today's episode. Welcome everyone to the Revolutionary man Podcast.
Speaker 2:I'm the founder of the Wakenman movement and your host, alan DeMonceau, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your leadership abilities? Would your employees and staff give you the same score? You know I can remember years ago taking an emotional intelligence training course and part of the training was they offered a 360-degree assessment. You know, I have to tell you it was the most humbling experience that I've ever had to go through at that point in my life. But I realized as a skill set that I thought I had, while good in some areas, we're also sorely lacking in others. It gave me an opportunity to recognize what needed to be worked on and, oh boy, I can tell you it's the best thing that's ever happened to me in my career. Now, not everyone's going to get that chance to go through this kind of training, so instead my guest is going to share his leadership nuggets and to help us become the best leaders that we can be.
Speaker 2:So allow me to introduce my guest. Ron Reich is a passionate leadership management development subject matter expert and a coach with over 28 years of experience in diversified industries as an expert facilitator. I believe in involving participants in their learning, leading to higher engagement and quality results. He's also a voracious reader, as we were just talking about this, and he stays current with the latest research and philosophies, which helps him. Which helps him as he loves sharing this with his clients. Everything he's done is built up to his latest book Part. Whoops, I'll have to edit that out, sorry. Welcome to the show, ron. How are things?
Speaker 1:Thanks, alain. It's good to be here. Everything is fine, I appreciate it, and you know what, right there right.
Speaker 1:There is a very, very key trait for a leader is just hey, you know what? Oops just made a mistake. Oh well, and I'm dead serious when I say that. I am dead serious where it makes the leader, it makes us human. And to admit a mistake like that, I say oh, okay, instead of gee, oh, I'm embarrassed, or you know, whatever it might be. I was so impressed and I was fortunate enough and honored to be keynote speaker at a national sales meeting for a client in Phoenix. Yeah, three weeks ago, whatever it was, one of the top executives from Japan was up doing his presentation and he was having trouble with his slides. Instead of being embarrassed and instead of just fumbling or whatever it was, he spoke pretty good English. He just turned. Janet, I'm having trouble with this. I don't know what to do. Would you please help me? And I was just like wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I mean just right off the bat, one of the key traits it's okay to make mistakes and admit it, apologize, whatever it might be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and it took me a while to learn that lesson as well, and so, even as a new podcaster, wanting to make sure everything was coming out just perfect, but after a while it's okay to be human, right? We just have to admit that we're human and things are going to happen once in a while, and I appreciate bringing that forward. Well, you know, ron, in my men's work we talk a lot about everyone being on our hero's quest. I was mentioning in the intro here and so tell us a little bit more about what inspired you to pursue the life that you're living today and how that experience has shaped you into the man you are and the work that you're doing.
Speaker 1:You know, it's Elena and Alan. I'm sorry. It's an interesting story because, in reading about your podcast and helping men to find themselves and to be the best they can be, and just everything that goes along with that, I began my career many years ago in human resources and, while I enjoyed it for the first 10 years, it wasn't something about which I was absolutely passionate. Long story short, I had worked at a bank for a number of years they were consolidating enormously at the time, and just everything that goes along with that. A number of us opened up an HR consultant firm. We decided to shut the doors for a number of different reasons and at the time I was going through a divorce.
Speaker 1:Okay, I was at a very, very low point in my life, not feeling good about myself, not feeling good about my career, anything or anything like that, and I was living with my mom and dad out of the blue. I got a telephone call from a recruiter in Dallas, texas, who said to me Ron, I've got a job that is the exact opposite of what you are, because with Toshiba, they are looking for somebody who has a lot of training and some human resources background. You have a lot of HR and some training, I can get you in front of them. I know these people extremely well. All you need to do easy assignment get them to flip their competencies.
Speaker 1:I had always Alan, always had in the back of my mind God, I would love to get into training and development. I talked to the people at Toshiba. They flipped their competencies. They were good enough. And again, another good trait of a leader in that, seeing something that I didn't see in myself and is like you know what we're going to teach? We're going to help this guy become a good facilitator. We're going to help this guy become a good facilitator. I have not looked back since, and it is my calling and it is something about which I am so passionate, and I am forever, forever grateful to so many different people for what they've done for me over the years.
Speaker 2:Oh man, what I really appreciate you telling that story is just about the point about having others recognize what's in us that we may not see in ourselves just yet. And I think you're absolutely right. As leaders, that's one of the key traits for us to have is to recognize those key parts of our, the people we surround ourselves with, whether that's our staff or employees, and how we can help pull that out from them. And it's not just you know, we're talking about leadership traits and we're not just talking here about moving down the organization right. These kind of traits also work across and up, and I'm hoping we're going to get it touched into all those things today, because I think it's so important as men, as we get into leadership roles in our careers, that we understand that there's a whole sphere of leadership and it isn't just about our direct reports and our subordinates, but it's also about how we manage up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, and Ellen, for me too I'm interested in this because I believe in it so strongly as well is that there's so much crossover between the leadership in our work and also being a good husband, being a good father, just being a good friend. You know, whatever it might be I mean I'm not a parent, you know, my wife and I don't have children and still in all, just the leadership traits are applicable everywhere. Yes, you know, a lot of times I went to leadership development for work. It's like, yeah, except I hope it's applicable everywhere. In fact, one of the nicest compliments I've ever gotten was quite a few years ago.
Speaker 1:I did a two-day leadership class for Sanofi Aventis, the big pharmaceutical we have finished, and everybody's mingling and saying goodbye and everything else. A guy comes up to me Ron, you know, thank you so much, two days of great training and I say, oh, you're welcome, I'm glad to do it. And he leaned into me and said quietly it was two days of something else too. I had a thought about where he was going with it and I was like, what else was it? And he looked around to make sure nobody could really overhear and he said it because it was two days of wonderful marriage counseling.
Speaker 1:And again, the point for me is it's applicable. How to listen, how to give feedback, setting expectations, giving the recognition to people. Stephen Covey says I'm a big, big believer in the seven habits and I'm fortunate enough to be certified to teach that class. And when Stephen was alive he used to say all the time the greatest gift a spouse can give his or her children is to treat their spouse with enormous respect, and I believe that you know, and again and again, with the crossover being whether it's at home or whether it's at work.
Speaker 1:The greatest gift I can give people is to treat them with enormous respect.
Speaker 2:Absolutely for sure, and that's one of the things that we really we also work on here with the awakened man, and we talk a lot about not just being on a hero's question, hero's journey, but really also diving into the nuts and bolts about that.
Speaker 2:And so one of the things that we we practice in our men's group is to practice the ability to how to share, and it's more and sharing is more and more than just giving your own opinion, but it's also about being able to create a container, recall or a space, and that that you can accept other things to come into it.
Speaker 2:Because as men, we tend to be, want to be fixers, or always thinking about what we're going to say and we're not necessarily paying attention to the conversation that's happening. And when we can take that moment just to sit back and just absorb what's happened, what's what's being said, and then contemplate about how that, how that fits into our and to our life experience, we can be more present. And it's one of the skills that I think is so important, as you know, as husbands and as fathers, that we can help develop that skill and you know, and friends as well, because when we can come from that point, man, the level of, of, of intimacy really grows, and and also the respect that you gain from your peers, your spouses, your friends, just grows enormously, because they can see that you're truly interested in more, wondering what with what they're saying.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly, and I mean and again I'm going to pick up on that a little bit, if I may Absolutely, because again, stephen Covey talks about this in in habit five seek first to understand, then to be understood, and what he talks about is that when you're listening to someone, you've got to be so careful not to listen, to reply, because so many people do that and I used to do that all the time. You know, how am I going to respond to this? How am I going to refute that? Oh, I have a story to tell about that. Okay, that's and I'm real. I'm not present in the moment, like you were saying. I'm thinking about me instead of listening to the other person. And Stephen, stephen's point is, too, that number one. You want to translate what you heard the person say.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And again, just just as, as an example you're making me think of this a friend of mine, bob, his, his son, got really really sick out at Syracuse University and they just weren't sure what was wrong with him. He had, he had an infection in his leg that they couldn't get rid of and just a lot of other stuff. And I was talking to him one day and he was just, he was going on, he goes, oh, he goes. I don't know what's going to happen to him. And I'm so worried and I'm, I feel like I should, I should be up there all the time, except my ex-wife is up there and I was like Bob, it sounds like and I'm translating it sounds like you're really, really worried about Bobby, and then you're just not sure how to proceed at this point.
Speaker 1:And Alan, as I sit here, he looked at me like whoa, whoa, yeah, yeah, that's exactly what's happening. And the point is he kept sharing. He kept sharing because when you're listening, the intimacy is there, like you're saying for me. You know the, the, the synonym for that, if you will, is also trust. Yes, trust is there, and it's like oh, okay, I'm going to keep telling this guy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and because they know that that you're actually invested in care about what, what they want, what they have to say. I think, we're starting I think we're starting to touch on, you know, some of the challenges that the leaders face, but in your work, what are you finding out are some of the bigger, bigger challenges that the leaders are facing today, I think.
Speaker 1:I think one of the biggest challenges leaders are facing is the pressure, the pressure to produce results, and a lot it's been my direct experience. A lot of leaders lose sight of the fact that they are working with human beings, and you know, interestingly, you had mentioned to me right before we started, alan. Let's talk about the key traits of leaders and in the leadership classes that I do what I always like to start off with the introductions fine, icebreaker, whatever the first real activity, though, break them into small groups and just brainstorm onto a flip chart what is your role as a leader? What's your role? And as we do the debrief, it's always so much fun because I just have to ask them how much technical information is on your flip charts. And they look and it's just fun. It's like next to none. And I was like what does that tell you, what's your role? And usually they will say it out loud Wow, my role was to be human. And I was like, yeah, that's exactly right, your role was to be human, to listen, to guide not to motivate necessarily, because I believe that's intrinsic still to provide a motivational environment and just everything that goes along with that.
Speaker 1:And the point I make is are results important? Of course they are. They're crucial, except they come from being human, they come from creating good relationships. I mean, one of my mantras, alan, truly, is stay. And again, I like to speak for myself. I like to stay out of the results business. The results are not up to me. My job, do the footwork on, do the footwork, do the footwork. The results will take care of themselves and the results are going to be what they're supposed to be, right, right, right. Before we started and I do this every single time I'm going to do a session before I did that, the keynote address that I delivered I just say to myself I am well prepared, I'm ready to go. It is it, god, it's in your hands, it's in your hands. However, this goes, it goes. I have done everything I can to be ready. What more can I ask of myself? And I'm comfortable with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely Well, and really what you're saying is about is about really staying present, and it's about the journey, not about the destination.
Speaker 2:And the quarterly result, the annual result, whatever the results going to be, is going to be what it's going to be. But if we focus on today, what can I do today and what's the one thing that's going to move this process or this whatever project I'm working on forward, and if we stay present, then the results ultimately will take care of themselves. And so I totally agree with that. Yeah, now you must work with it in your, in your practice and doing that, working with other companies, there's obviously lots of different personality types and you know, we've probably most of us have listening to this podcast of, at one point, another, done you know, a Myers-Briggs or some type of personality. But how do people deal with others when they have a different personality type than themselves?
Speaker 1:I am a big, big, big believer in the disk instrument, in the disk assessment and, interestingly, that was the focus of the keynote address that I did. I took them through the disk and we spent three and a half hours together going through that and I think you know it's so critical in my opinion, just simply because we are all different, we all bring different things to the table. And you know I'll back up for a second because I'm going to bring my wife into this for a moment. My wife taught for 30 years. She taught fifth grade for the majority of that time.
Speaker 1:One of the lessons she used to teach every single year, which I thought was just beyond brilliant, was titled it is not how smart are you, it is how are you smart? And you know and I believe that so strongly because every single person is smart. It's certain areas, I have certain strengths and I have certain limitations. We're all smart and the disk instrument, or any assessment my preference is the disk points that out so clearly and it helps people to understand. Oh okay, you're not, you know, you're not a jerk, you're just more task oriented than people oriented.
Speaker 1:You're not a loudmouth, you know you're not. You're not. You know you're not a. You know, just just. You know a conceded jerk. You're somebody who just likes to be around people and likes to talk. Okay, you know just. All of these things applicable in the workplace, applicable at home too.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. Because when we understand some of the key traits of our peers, our family or friends, we can come, we can, we can approach them in a different perspective, and I think that's. I'm a big fan of the personality tests and that, and I've done disk and a couple other ones, and I always, am always impressed when, as I get, as I do them, I start to really get a better understanding of not just who I am at my core like, especially when it comes down to some of these assessments, you can really get a sense of you know where you're where, how, what traits you lean on under stress, what traits you lean on when, when you're in a in a in a in a non stress environment. And when you can start to pick up those nuances, it's really starting to, you know, getting into some of that emotional intelligence piece I was talking about earlier, because I think it's really key, because then you can really hone in on really sharpening that, that leadership skill. That's right.
Speaker 1:Well for me and again I speak for myself, you know, if there, if there's one thing anybody can do, whether it's a leader, whether, whether, whether it's, again, a husband, a father, a friend, whatever you want to be, the best you can be. Again, my opinion, one of the most important things to do, get to know yourself extraordinarily well, because the better I know myself, the better then I can work more effectively with other people. Absolutely, and it comes from, like you said, the disc assessment, listening carefully, getting feedback from other people. How do you perceive me? This is how I am, doesn't matter how I think I am, it's more important how I'm being perceived.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely Absolutely. You know there's a dimension in the, in the opening there. There's going to be times when you know things are going really well in our, in our work environment or careers, whether that's as a business owner or in the corporate world. Then there are going to be times when it's not going as well. So what advice do you have for those moments in time that when our staff seem to be disengaged, and how do we get re-energized and get them re-engaged in their, in their roles?
Speaker 1:A couple of things. Number one I think a little bit about what we've been talking about throughout, allen, in that it's so important to get to know each other personally, professionally, every which way, so that way, if something is off, I'm going to see it, I'm going to recognize it and I can, and I can ask you about it in a in a caring way. And it goes back to a little bit about what we were saying to with translating. Just, you know, relative to Allen, you know what you, you've seen the little off the past couple of days. You've been quiet. What's going on? Not and again, not Allen, you've been quiet. What's wrong? You're not getting this done and you miss this quota. You know, whatever it might be, it's like no, let me approach you because I care about you. And one thing for me, and this is I just learned this not long ago. I've used it a number of times and it has been so successful.
Speaker 1:I'm a big believer in Simon Sinek's work. I don't know if you know Simon or not. Yeah, the one thing if I need to have a difficult conversation with someone, I the where I always seem to struggle is getting started, and his recommendation is just so simple Allen, I'm struggling with the fact that you've been coming late to meetings. Be honest with me, how do you see it Done? Just, I'm struggling with fill in the blank. I was like, wow, we've had just to give you an example, we've had a major, major house renovation going on and we are approaching the absolute end now. In fact, the contractor said he hopes to be out of here completely next week, which would be wonderful. Point is it's gone well and full disclosure, the contractor is my wife's cousin.
Speaker 1:We hesitated to, we hesitated to work with family and, interestingly, no, actually let's. Let's talk about another trait for leaders, or again, for family members, whatever it might be setting expectations. When we decided, yes, we will work together on this project, one of the expectations we had was number one we're going to be honest with each other when we are having these difficult conversations, which are going to be inevitable. It is a conversation between a client and the contractor. It's not. It's not a family conversation, and it worked out so well when we were struggling the one time and ironically, actually, it ties into expectations build a general contractor was sitting down with us when things were really going on and every Monday we would sit down. This is the plan for the week. This is what we're going to accomplish. This is what will happen Wonderful. The problem was that only about maybe 60% was getting done and things were falling behind. We were all we were getting frustrated.
Speaker 1:My wife says we need to talk to him. I agree, I want to. Let me try this, because I had just started to become aware of this. I was in Boston at the time with a client. We had a conference call with Bill and he's like Bill, we're struggling with the fact that you're giving us this plan on Monday, which is wonderful, except it's not getting executed, and just so forth. And the key here to Allen is the research on this. Is I understand it? You want to get the best answer from the individual with whom you're dealing the best. I'm sorry, I need to back up for a second. I'm struggling with the fact that, again, only 60% is getting done. Be honest with us. How do you see it? And we talked for about an hour and a half.
Speaker 1:And the key word I just used talked, we talked, there was no arguing, there was nothing. And again, bill, being the good leader that he is and I've gotten to know him much, much better throughout this project, and again, candidly, I've gained a lot of respect for him, because the first thing he said to us was I'm going to take a big part of the head here. A lot of this is my fault, not all of it, and I want to talk to you about that. And just instantly he's like OK, great, no tension, no, nothing, let's talk it through. Let's just talk it through. And that's what we've been doing. And I mean it works, it just it works.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it goes back to that creating that container, that space to allow more to come into it, as, having approached it from an attacking perspective, there'd be no room for that to grow, because right away, both parties start to feel defensive.
Speaker 2:And so I think it's such a great example of what you're saying and I think it's so easy for us to implement that across all areas of our life and start doing that. It gives us an opportunity really to be present and be in a place of and in a place where the tension for us is lower, is less, and that may be part of the pre-work we need to do is really understanding and getting ready, as you were talking about, getting into a place that you can have, start that conversation that way and not have so much of that strong energy. At least I'm saying this because I'm talking to myself about how I approach things like, ok, I'll just take a breath, you know I need to take 24 hours. Take 24 hours and then come at it at a position from calmness versus all of this vibration and energy, and trying to push through.
Speaker 1:I'm going to jump in again, if I may, here, because for me, alan, you brought up another very, very key point relative to emotional intelligence and one of the second competency of emotional intelligence, as I understand it, is called self-regulation. And because we are emotional human beings, we react emotionally to certain situations and rather than having an emotional, defensive, angry conversation with someone, the recommendation I like to make to people use the PRD method. Before you say something you're going to regret, pause, reflect, decide what to do and, if it's possible in many situations for me at least, it's been my direct experience and others have shared that it's worked for them One of the best things you can do is postpone that conversation. Can we talk about this in an hour? Can we talk about this in the morning? And again, this is applicable in the workplace, it's applicable in personal lives.
Speaker 1:When my mother-in-law was so, so ill, we knew she wasn't going to live much longer. She had about a week to go and she was living here. My wife and I had lived with her our entire marriage. It gets to be a long story and I'll make it short. Point is that she had been in a rehab facility and she told us I want to die at home. Ok, all right, we will try as best we can. We will try to do that for you. We brought her home and it became clear. Actually, let me back up for a minute. She was home with us for a couple of days. I had had a very, very long day in Manhattan. Ok, I worked, came home, laurie and I are having dinner. We were talking about can we keep her home or do we think she needs to go to the nursing home, where we had already made arrangements where it necessary? And Laurie was very emotional.
Speaker 1:And she was like I know what you want. You just want to get rid of her. You just want to stick her in the nursing home, and I had a very good relationship with my mother-in-law. We got along very, very well. My point simply is pause, run, reflect.
Speaker 1:Laurie, it's been a really long day. I'm very tired. I know how emotional you are. It's very tough for all of us right here. I think the best thing to do is let's talk about this in the morning. I need to go back to the city tomorrow. We'll talk in the morning, though.
Speaker 1:And ironically and again, you were talking, alan, about allowing the space I got to Manhattan, I called her and I was like first of all, how did you sleep? She said I barely slept. And I said I know. I said me too. I just tossed and turned all night and I was like Laurie, I think I'm changing my mind. I think maybe we can keep her at home, maybe we can pull this off, and she laughed and she was like I cannot believe you're saying this Because I'm changing my mind. I think we need to put her in the nursing home. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh and again, it worked out fine. Yeah, and again. Point simply is though it wasn't the time to talk about it when we were both emotional, just not smart, just not smart.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly Because he allowed the time for perspective to settle in and give an opportunity to see different potential outcomes and how it could work, and I think it's so key in all of our relationships for us to do that Now. The other thing is leaders were always in the mode of making decisions, so what is your recommendation to help leaders make consistent decisions and to keep their organizations moving forward?
Speaker 1:I mean, I think the most important thing from my perspective, alan, is that any organization, large or small, needs a vision statement, needs a good, solid vision statement. And for me and this is what I tell people, this is what I actually ask people all the time when you have a major decision to make for your organization, how do you make it? How do you make it? What do you base your decision? Well, the facts. Well, ok, that's fine, except what do the facts need to be pointing to? And again, the point for me is any organization that has and uses and that's the key uses a good vision statement. That's how you will make consistent decisions. I have my vision and my mission statement right here for my business and I have it right where I can see it every single day, and that helps me to make consistent decisions. It helps me to make consistent decisions.
Speaker 1:Ironically, I mean, there's a guy I know, david. David used to run a for-profit assisted living facility and I was talking to him one day and he was just talking. He said, oh, we're struggling and I don't know what's going on and my marketing programs aren't going well, and there was some other stuff going on and I just asked him. It's like, david, does your organization have a vision statement or a mission? No, and I was like, ok, do you find yourself making inconsistent decisions all the time? And I was like, well, what do you base your decisions on? Revenue?
Speaker 1:At the time and I almost choked and I was like, yeah, I said that's the reason you're making inconsistent decisions. And again the question to ask what is our vision, what is our mission? And then, based on the problem at hand, what is best for this organization? Absolutely. Again, I want to go back because it's interesting too. One of my clients is a local community college and I've been working with their executive committee and that is one of the things where they have been struggling Because they're focusing too much on their functional areas instead of as executives of this institution, and one of the things I really like. I'm also a big fan of Patrick Lynch's work.
Speaker 2:I was just thinking about him, yeah.
Speaker 1:I love his work and the book. The advantage and the one thing that he talks about in the advantage. He just says as no, he said, when we come into this meeting as individuals and as an executive committee, he said each one of you, you need to take your functional hats off, throw them out the window. Throw them out the window. You are no longer the executive vice president of finance, you are no longer the VP of HR and again you know whatever else is in the room. You are now executives of this institution, and that's how I need you thinking While we make this decision. Once we've made the decision, then we need you to put your hat back on, because that's how we're going to execute the decision we just made. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Absolutely what I really appreciate you about what you're saying there, ron, that you talk about the vision and mission statement. One of the very first things I do with men that joined our organization here is to take them through a process, and then it's an internal journey, but ultimately at the end there, what they end up by doing is crafting a personal vision statement for their life, not just about what their career is but we want to touch on. We touch on six aspects, so it's financial, emotional, physical, spiritual, professional and our relationships. And when they craft this piece, it gives them a foundation for how they want to move their life forward.
Speaker 2:And I'm a big fan of Covey's work as well, and that's kind of where the the, the catalyst of the idea for this, because it's something that I have always found that when I'm, when I'm out of alignment or misalignment in my life or things and what I mean by that when different aspects of my life aren't life aren't falling following the way that I wanting it to, and I always look at well, what, what are the decisions I'm making, what have I been doing, and when I can go back and look at a vision statement that I've made for myself, it's pretty clear that where I've been dropping the ball and showing up, and so I think it's it's so key for not just for business but for for ourselves as individuals as well, to have something that we can look at, and mine is right above my monitor, my camera.
Speaker 2:I look at it every day that I sit in the office here to do podcasts or do work for the May waking man, because I think it's so important for for us to really develop that and give us that true North Star in our lives. I did, I did, I did cover these what matters most class.
Speaker 1:It doesn't exist anymore. Still, many years ago, working for a pharmaceutical company, part of the course put together your mission statement. Okay, fine, so we, we go through it. The course is over. This woman, Heidi, comes up to me after can I talk to you for a minute? And I can tell she was upset and I was like sure, what is it? She said thank you so much for the course. You have changed my life. I was like, okay, good, how so? She said I'm going to resign and I was like, okay, what's going on? She said the mission statement is helping me to see I'm not being a good wife, I'm not being a good mother, this job is consuming me, it's not good for anybody and I need to leave. And I was like, Heidi, how wonderful, how wonderful that you that that in one day you discovered this. I couldn't be happier for her.
Speaker 2:No kidding, what a great realization and for all of us to be able to find that, that one piece, that that part that helps us recognize where are we on the right path when it comes to our careers and our relationships and in all aspects, and I think that's just so, so important.
Speaker 1:Well, and you know what? The other thing that's so interesting here at least for me to Alan is that that was hiding, just hiding. That's all you know, because we're all different. You know she wanted to be there for her children. She wanted to be there for her husband and I'm not saying other people don't want to do that, except the point is we all have different priorities, and that's OK. The key is, each of us needs to discover for ourselves what's most important.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And when we know what that is, then we can start to realign our lives to to make sure that we're doing things in in the right sequence, that we have that focus now.
Speaker 2:And still that doesn't mean that just because something may be important and I learned this lesson the hard way early in my career so it's extremely career oriented, and while I was really successful in my personal and my professional career, my personal life just fell apart, and I think it's it's important that we orient ourselves and understand what's important. But we have then that conversation with the people that are closest to us so they understand what we're, what we're trying to accomplish in our day to day lives, because then you can, then you get the support and people get an opportunity to have their, their two cents into it. Not necessarily going to change anything, but it gives you again a greater amount of perspective because ultimately we're we're all on this planet trying to do the best that we can in each and every day. I truly believe that that we're just looking to live the to the highest version of ourselves at in each moment.
Speaker 1:Yes, I agree.
Speaker 2:You know, when you're doing all this work now and you're doing lots of do obviously a few clients, and that when you think about 10 years from now, maybe 15 years from now, and you decided you're going to hang up the, hang up the facilitation hat, what would, what would the legacy that you'd like to leave behind?
Speaker 1:I think. I think there are two. Number one the one legacy I'd like to leave is that he cared and number two he made a difference.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 1:And I think they go hand in hand for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I could see that just in this time that we were spending together. I can see that totally being for you, and I'm sure that it's already happening. You know, ron, of everything that we spoke about today, and maybe there was something we didn't get an opportunity to touch on. If there was one takeaway you'd like our listeners to have, what would that be?
Speaker 1:I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back to two quick things that we did talk about. Number one be human. And number two, equally as important get to know yourself, just get to know yourself really really well. And again, the more I say that to people, the more I believe it, because it is just so, so true.
Speaker 2:It sure is, and I want a great way to round out our conversation today. I just want to say once again, thanks, ron, for spending time with me today, and I think we've laid some groundwork, a few breadcrumbs for us to help improve our leadership skills. But you know what, if we wanted to get a little bit more information and get some men, they wanted to participate in some of the work that you're doing what would be the best way for them to reach you?
Speaker 1:There are two ways to do it, alan. Probably the easiest way Actually, they're both pretty easy it's through my LinkedIn page. It's just, you know, ron Reich, rei, ch. Rlb training and development. You go there and you know if anyone is interested. Actually, one thing too, alan, is that I do have a list of about, I think, 15 questions. I call them thought provoking questions for people to answer, to really help them to get to know themselves. Message me and I will gladly send it to you and I'll be glad to spend the time to go through with it, to go through, to go through it with any listeners who are interested. So LinkedIn and also people can reach me on my Instagram page. Just very simply, rlb underscore leadership.
Speaker 2:That's outstanding. I'm going to make sure that information is all on the show notes so people have opportunity to reach out to spend some time with you, ron. So thank you once again for being on the show. It was outstanding conversation.
Speaker 1:Alan, it was my pleasure. I appreciate your time. Good to talk to you. Thank you for listening to me today.
