What's your recommendation for leaders who want to stay curious.
JimFall in love with new ideas, don't be afraid to be a beginner again.
JimAbout four years ago, I started training jiu jitsu and you know, going in at my age and just getting my butt whipped on the mat, choked out, tapped out time after time after time, but what an amazing growth experience for me.
BenHey there, this is Ben.
BenThanks for tuning in to lead the team.
BenBefore we jump in, we just broke into the top 3% of all podcasts globally and that's largely due to the support of listeners just like you.
BenI invite you to subscribe so you're notified when we release a new episode and also leave a quick review.
NarratorWelcome back to Lead the Team with number one best selling author and in demand corporate trainer Ben Fant.
NarratorOn this podcast, the world's most innovative senior leaders share their top success strategies to motivate your direct reports, cultivate your top leaders and accelerate your career.
NarratorLet's get started.
NarratorHere's Ben.
BenHello everybody.
BenWelcome back to Lead the team.
BenWe've got a great one for you today with Jim Weaver.
BenHe's a chief operating officer over at the Onan Group.
BenAs the company grew from 10 million in 2001 to a projected $800 million this year, Jim's role has evolved and the scope of responsibility has grown exponentially over the last past two decades.
BenThey have over ten plus office staffing groups.
BenListed as one of the staffing industry analyst, fastest growing and largest staffing firms since 2001, the company has achieved an average annual top line organic growth rate of 25%.
BenAnd I'm smiling because I love to see that.
BenWhile increasing gross and net profits and remaining debt free.
BenNow, a strong corporate culture is the key to owning sustained growth and we're going to dig into that today.
BenBut I'll tell you what, they've been recognized for it.
BenThe best staffing firm to work for in 2021 by staffing industry analyst and they've been featured in the Birmingham and Nashville business journals as a perennial best place to work.
BenI'll tell you what, just so awesome.
BenBut one of the cool things too that we're going to dig in today is Jim's other career as a professional rock and roll drummer with a music degree from Berkeley.
BenHallelujah.
BenWelcome to the show, Jim.
JimHey, thank you, man.
JimIt's good to be here, man.
BenIf you want to start pounding on the skins right now, now's the time.
BenLittle drum roll as we get in here.
BenSo we're gonna this Is gonna be a lot of fun.
BenI can't wait to dig in.
BenBut let's start this out.
BenSo you lived in a van for three years?
JimYeah, yeah, I.
JimI always say that I have a little different management perspective.
JimHaving lived out of a van for three years, I.
BenHow can you.
JimYeah, yeah, it definitely shapes you a little bit.
JimI went to school.
JimI went to college at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.
JimMy first go around, and I was a business major, and I really wanted to play music.
JimGot a summer job with the Circus in upstate New York, playing drums in a circus.
JimAnd then met a rock and roll band up there in upstate New York.
JimAnd we had some.
JimA little bit of label interest, got some opening dates that summer.
JimAnd at the age of 20, my parents came out to visit, I remember, and I told them, yeah, I'm not going back to school.
JimI'm going on the road.
JimAnd they were.
JimThey were thrilled about that, I'll tell you.
BenGo on the road to make some real money, right?
JimSo, yeah, we were up and down the eastern seaboard for three years, living the dream.
JimIt was, you know, I wouldn't trade it, but I'd never go back, you know.
BenSo this was a rock and roll lifestyle.
JimIt.
JimYeah, we were a.
BenWhat was it?
BenDaylight?
JimWhat was a day like?
JimOh, man, we do.
JimSo we live sort of.
JimWe live communally.
JimThe band did.
JimAnd we had a guy that was our sound guy, and we would, you know, we drive down to Hoboken, New Jersey, and play a gig down there that night.
JimAnd then we could afford to get a hotel in New York or Hoboken there.
JimSo we'd have to stay in some dump out.
JimOut in Jersey City, you know, where you sleep on top of the covers because you're afraid of what you're going to pick up.
JimAnd then we drive up to New Hampshire the next day and play some, you know, casino up there.
JimIt was just, you know, whatever we.
JimAny.
JimAnything.
JimAnd it was just.
JimIt was just go, go, go.
JimJust.
JimWhat.
JimWhere can we.
JimWhat can we do next?
BenWhat were your hours like?
BenSo you would play at what time?
JimUsually, you know, one.
JimOne in the morning, maybe.
JimMaybe two.
JimAnd then you got to load up and go.
JimSo typically, we'd be done with a gig and we'd get all loaded up and we drive to the next town.
JimAnd as we're driving in the next town, everybody be getting up and going to work.
JimYou know, I look at those suckers, those like I am today and think.
BenMan, I'll never be like that.
JimYeah, exactly, exactly.
BenBut then you have to sleep at some point, which you're like just day sleeping the best you can, I guess.
JimSleeping and sleeping in the van.
JimAnd, and we did have a rental house that we were kind of in and out of.
JimWe based out of Albany, New York, because it was kind of centrally located.
JimWe were playing the city and then we're playing the college circuit in Vermont and New Hampshire.
JimWe lived down in Florida for eight months.
JimAnd it was, it was a 20 year old's dream, I'll tell you.
BenWow.
BenAnd so looking back on that, what is something that you gleaned from your rock and roll lifestyle experience that helps you today and how you view things or perceive things?
JimYou know, I've always been someone who thinks, why not?
JimWhy not me?
JimWhy?
JimYou know, and like I, and it sounds like I was, you can hear that story and kind of think I was a loser musician, you know, drop out of college and.
JimBut I really, I had a passion for music and I loved play and I wanted with everything in my being to be a professional musician.
JimAnd I, I went for it with everything.
JimAnd, and I guess that's the thing that's, that stuck with me just to Jimmy Weaver, the dream believer, that's, that's who I want to be.
JimThat's why, that's why I aspire to be.
BenYeah.
BenI mean, it's.
BenI feel like so few people that you run into or that, you know, we run to the other day actually have a story where they've literally, they go all in on something that may not work.
BenAnd is there anything more than may not work potentially than a rock and roll band?
BenBut you got to have the belief in the possibility.
BenRight?
BenLike, yeah.
BenYou know, buying in and having that moment, I suspect.
BenAnd you're, and you're looking back, say it was worth it, you know, to do it and, and to grow through that.
BenOf course you're not the same person you were then because none of us are, you know, young, but you've had that experience, so.
JimYeah, yeah, yeah, it was cool.
JimYeah.
JimYep.
BenYeah.
JimWhat did you learn early because of it though?
JimI struggled early in my career transitioning, you know, my resume did not look good.
JimI really struggled.
BenYeah.
BenThey're like, well, how does, you know, what's your work experience?
BenWell, I've been, you know, the drummer, which by the way, I think is one of the most important things in a rock and roll band.
BenOf course.
BenRight.
BenIt's hard to rock and roll without a drummer.
BenI mean, isn't the Drummer.
BenThe drummer is the heartbeat of the operation.
JimRight?
JimYeah.
JimWell, I'm biased, you know, but, yeah, if you have a bad drummer, it's just a bad day, you know.
BenYeah.
BenAnd you gotta.
BenYou know, we could probably draw some leadership similarities of, hey, the leaders gotta set the cadence.
BenRight.
BenI suspect.
JimYeah.
JimAnd it's not a glamorous.
JimYou know, you're not out front and you've got to carry it every moment.
JimYou really need to be on.
JimYou can't take a break.
JimAnd.
JimAnd really my goal as a drummer is to make the other players around me and make the audience feel good.
JimThat's my goal.
JimAnd I think there's probably some.
JimSome translation of that into, you know, being a.
JimBeing a leader and.
JimAnd, you know, running a business.
BenYeah, yeah.
BenIt's not always glamorous being coo, I'm sure.
BenBut like you say, you gotta do it and you gotta.
BenI mean, the operations are so critical.
JimYeah.
BenAnd being able to have that experience from being behind.
BenBehind the front person, but still appreciating it.
BenNow, one of the things I want to make sure we have time to get into is this track record of organic growth.
BenSo many businesses, you know, they grow through acquisition and whatnot, and they're constantly evaluating that you all have made the choice to really stick, you know, on the organic side of the business.
BenWhat recommendations do you have for leaders who are committed to growing organically?
JimI think the.
JimI was thinking about this, and we've been talking about it recently and trying to understand what we have done Right.
JimAnd I think that I can distill it down to four things that we've done to.
JimTo have that long a track record.
JimWe have a values, not rules, culture.
JimTwo, we've built a corporate identity around thriving in winter, thriving in tough times.
JimFour, we approach the employer employee relationship as an alliance.
JimAnd five, we've rallied around a bhag.
JimAnd I'm happy to unpack any of those.
JimBut thinking about the things that have supported our growth these last 20 years, I think those are kind of the four pillars that we've done it on.
JimValues, not rules.
JimThat's kind of a mantra here.
JimThe idea is, yes, we have policy, yes, we have procedure, yes, we even have some rules.
JimBut we don't serve our policies.
JimWe serve our values.
JimAnd if in a given situation, a rule, a policy undermines a value, then that policy or procedure needs to be broken or bent.
JimYou do not get to say around here, I follow policy, or that's the way we always do it, or that is not a valid answer to why you did something.
BenYeah, yeah, that definitely sounds like a place that can thrive in winter.
JimRight.
BenYour other value, because if you're not flexible when things get tough, you gotta be able to flex to your environment.
BenAnd I think that's so important.
BenAnd it brought up for me another one that a thing that's been coming up time and time again, some interviews recently.
BenWe, we just interviewed or I just interviewed the chief human resource officer, Nicola Moreau of IBM and she got really into this topic around new collar workers.
JimYes.
BenAnd, and IBM of course is globally hiring all these people and they have all these strict hiring things that you, you know, education's got to be here, all these things have got to be in place to work at IBM.
BenAnd now she said 50% of their job openings don't even require a college degree.
JimI heard that.
JimI heard, yes, I listen to it.
JimThat was a great interview.
JimAnd that's, those are a lot of the discussions we're having with our clients right now.
JimAnd I'll tell you, when I run into a rule and this is what I, I've said this on stage in front of our team.
JimI asked my first question is, is it really a rule?
JimIs that really a rule?
JimAnd the second question is, okay, if it is a rule, what happens if I break it?
JimWhat's the consequence?
JimLet me, you know, because we, we, we put these, we put these constraints on ourselves and they're just, we've made them, we create the constraints and then we're frustrated because, well, it's the, is it really the rule?
JimAnd, well, what happens if we don't follow the rule in this, this given, given situation?
JimIt's all risk analysis is what it is and not, I'm not.
JimOne of our values is integrity.
JimSo that's the other thing too, when people, you know, you got to be careful with the values, not rules thing because people will throw that back in your face.
JimWell, Jim, values, not rules.
JimI mean, I, and you know, it's.
BenNot a license both ways, eh?
JimYes, it's not a license.
JimDo whatever the heck you want.
JimAnd integrity is one of our values.
JimSo we need to do what we say we're going to do when we're going to do it.
JimWe need to, we do, we, we need to, we need, we need to do that.
JimAnd, and performance is also a value.
JimSo if you're, if you're bending a rule and it, and it's not, it's, it doesn't have integrity, you're bending the rule or it doesn't lead to performance, then you're just.
JimYou're just copping out.
JimYou're just making an excuse for sloppy.
BenYeah.
BenWhat I like, what I like about the road that you're going down is it's one thing for a value to businesses, leaders, team leaders, to talk about values, but it's so important that you make sure that the people working there and the customers experience the values.
BenAnd sometimes they're experiencing them and they don't even know they are.
BenAnd I think it's a great example about integrity.
BenSaying, hey, we experience this by doing what we say we're going to do.
BenSo when I tell you I'm going to deliver on this for the client, I do it.
BenAnd therefore we are living out our integrity value.
BenAnd it's just.
BenJust makes so much sense.
BenBut I feel like it's.
BenIt's really the leader's responsibility to make that connection for people.
BenYeah.
BenBecause it.
BenOtherwise it can see.
BenSeems so darn abstract.
JimYeah.
BenThat it just gets up on the wall.
BenSo you do a nice job.
BenWhat you're talking about there.
BenMaking that connection.
BenNow, being in the staffing industry, I've been dying to ask you this question.
BenWithout including names, what's your most colorful story of when someone quit or was fired?
JimMan, we.
JimWe always talk about.
JimWell, here's, here's one for the book.
JimYou know, there was a.
JimI want.
BenTo see the book after this.
BenYou got a book of these?
JimI mean, some are.
JimThis is a family friendly, you know, show.
JimSo I'm gonna, I'm gonna keep the.
BenOnes out that are.
BenShe has somewhat PG, PG 13.
JimOh, my goodness, man.
JimYeah.
JimI tell you, there was a.
JimThere was a guy who, who thought.
JimHave you seen the Office where Dwight Schrute throws a cigarette in the trash can and sets off the alarm.
JimAnd yes, this guy wanted the afternoon off.
JimSo he starts as a huge plant up in Tennessee and he wanted the afternoon off.
JimAnd he started a fire and burned the whole place to the ground because.
BenHe wanted a day off.
JimHe wanted to, you know, the fire alarm go off.
JimFigured it would be, you know, he.
BenThought it would be contained.
BenYeah.
JimAnd they wouldn't know who it was.
JimI ended up doing.
JimEnded up doing prison time.
JimBut that's the most outrageous.
BenOh, my gosh.
JimThat's probably the best staffing story I, I have for you.
BenI hope the afternoon was really good.
BenIt sounds like it was his last free one.
JimYeah.
BenOh, my gosh.
JimHe got.
JimHe got free meals and plenty of downtime for For a few years.
JimOut of that.
JimOut of that prank for sure.
BenYeah.
BenNext time, just request a day off.
JimI know.
BenIt's not worth it.
JimYeah.
BenOh, my gosh.
BenWhat's one trait you wish you could still in every employee?
BenAnd why is it so important?
JimCuriosity.
JimCuriosity.
JimYou know, I.
JimOur ability as an organization to adapt and apply new information is both our current competitive edge and our insurance that we'll be able to thrive over the long term.
JimSo we really are.
JimThis is a shift over the last two or three, a real focus as an organization.
JimWe have got to have a strong learning and development culture.
JimAnd in order to have that, we've got to have leaders.
JimYou got to have people that are curious.
JimHave you ever heard this concept of the modern elder?
BenNo.
JimChip Conley, he's an author.
JimI heard him.
BenChip and Dan Heath.
BenNot Conley.
BenOkay.
BenBut good.
JimChip Conley.
JimI think he's the one that coined the idea.
JimBut the idea with the modern elder is the modern elder is as curious as they are wise.
JimAnd you think of the old timers that you want to be around, the 80, 90 year olds that you want to be around, and the 80, 90 year olds you don't want to be around, you don't want to be.
JimRight.
JimLet's be real.
BenThere's a difference.
BenYeah.
JimThe ones that know it all, you don't want to be around.
JimBut the ones that are curious and then they're bringing eight, nine decades of wisdom to the table, those are.
JimI mean, those, Those.
JimThose folks are a treasure.
JimSo I think not only is it important to our organization, but, you know, I'm.
JimI'm 50 and, you know, a lot of times, guys, people, when they get to be our age, they start to get stuck in their ways.
JimThey think they have it all figured out and they kind of grab a hold of their career and they just run out the clock, you know?
JimAnd I just.
JimI feel like the curiosity thing is super important for just running through the tape.
JimStrong as a person, too.
JimSo, man, the curiosity thing is huge, and it's pretty rare.
BenWhat's your recommendation for leaders who want to stay curious?
BenPlay drums, do the thing.
JimI mean, I am a voracious reader, okay.
JimI consume immense amounts of podcasts and I love new ideas.
JimSo fall in love with new ideas.
JimDon't be afraid to be a beginner again, man.
JimAbout four years ago, I started training jiu jitsu and going in at my age and just getting my butt whipped on the mat.
JimChoked out, tapped out.
JimTime after time after time, but what an amazing growth experience for me on so many levels that has been.
JimSo just be curious and be on the.
JimDevelop a hunger for new ideas and don't be afraid to be a beginner.
BenYeah.
BenI, I think what you just said is, no pun intended, is like a ninja Jedi because you put yourself in situations where you're uncomfortable in that Jiu Jitsu moment and you have no.
BenI mean, that's a great example of putting yourself in a position where you're uncomfortable, but knowing that you have to learn or it's not going to work out.
JimYeah.
BenI mean, and you tap out enough.
BenI've not done Jiu Jitsu, but I know a lot of people who have at an older age.
BenAnd it's like.
BenYeah.
BenI mean, you get you out of your comfort zone.
BenFor me, one of the things is doing salsa.
BenI've done swinging with my wife and friends for a long time, east coast and West Coast.
BenBut getting out into the Latin dance world is a complete.
BenAs you know.
BenYeah.
BenTito Puente and the Timbalis and all that.
BenIt's like a completely different rhythm.
BenIt's.
BenIt's way more intense.
JimYeah.
BenAlso in so many ways.
BenAnd so doing that.
BenYeah, it just expands you and you can get more curious about it.
BenI'm a big music fan too, and I love different kinds of music.
BenYou can.
BenAnd my daughter is 11 and she's exposed me to a lot more pop music than I would like.
BenYeah.
BenI am.
BenYou know, we trade back and forth.
BenShe.
BenShe gets.
BenShe gets to pick a song and then I pick a song and then my wife picks a song and we kind of.
BenWe can do that for hours in the car.
BenSo.
JimWell, wait.
JimMy 17 year old, my middle child, he's got great taste in music and he turns me.
JimWait till she gets a little older.
JimShe's going to turn you on to some cool stuff, I'm telling you right now.
BenOh, yeah, well, she.
BenShe's got.
BenShe's getting there.
JimGetting there.
JimYeah.
BenI mean, I've listened more to Taylor Swift than a human being should through her, but she goes deep.
BenShe'll go deep in the catalog.
JimYeah.
BenAnd sort of a.
BenThis is a side thing, but we.
BenShe's discovered Glee.
BenAre you familiar with Glee?
JimOh, sure, sure.
BenYeah.
BenAnd so Disney has now released all the episodes at one time Ugly.
BenSo there's like seven to nine seasons.
BenAnd really, I think a lot of this is too edgy for 11 year olds.
BenSome of the topics.
BenBut the performances are so incredible.
BenAnd my daughter is now listening To Fleetwood Mac.
JimWow.
BenRumors album because of Glee.
BenAnd they introduce her.
BenShe.
BenShe knew Michael Jackson, but now she has Michael Jackson, you know, much more.
BenAnd they.
BenThey'll often go deep in their episodes, so.
BenAnd it's also provoked a lot of conversations at home with her going to middle school that we would not have had otherwise.
JimYeah.
BenAbout drugs and sex and a lot of stuff that, you know, comes up in the show.
BenSo anyway, that's.
BenCuriosity for.
JimThat opened up for you and her because you were willing to be open to what she was into and curious about what she's into.
JimAnd.
JimAnd that.
JimThat.
JimThat helped cultivate a deeper relationship between you and your daughter.
JimThat's.
JimThat's beautiful.
BenThat's so true.
BenYeah.
BenAnd it really.
BenAnd I had to.
BenI could have shut it down after one episode.
BenIf you watch the first episode, y'all, Glee, that's pretty much what it is.
BenAnd it's a leggy.
BenYeah.
BenBut anyway, so that.
BenThat's cool.
BenAnd I like it, y'all.
BenFor the listeners you got to hear in there.
BenI mean, Jim has some good ideas about how to foster the curiosity in yourself as a leader.
BenIf you're.
BenIf you're coming on, you're talking about.
BenYour team needs to be more curious.
BenThe best way to do it is.
BenWhat Jim's talking about here is do it yourself first.
JimLead the way.
JimYeah.
BenJust you being on this show shows you're probably curious about what's gonna go down with this Ben Fanning guy.
JimHey, I started listening to some podcasts and started reading your book, so I'm.
JimI'm curious for sure.
BenWell, gracias for that.
BenOh, man.
BenSo kind of going the next step with curiosity.
BenCuriosity evokes ideas.
BenAnd you say in the interview here, you're not.
BenYou love new ideas.
BenBut when the shoe is on the other foot and your employees have ideas, sometimes, maybe many.
BenIt can be like unleashing Pandora's box when you're trying to get the work done.
BenWhat's advice for leaders and their teams when they have a big idea?
BenHow do they need to communicate it to the C suite?
JimWell, if you come with an idea, then, and you're really passionate about it, you really believe in it, and you need to come with a plan to execute it.
JimAnd you need to realize that if you come to me and you have that idea, I'm gonna make you head of the committee to get that idea started.
JimYou know, and that's actually a great filter, because they know it's like they're not coming to me to tell me what I should do.
JimIt's like, hey, man, that's awesome.
JimWhy don't you do this and try that or try that in your region and let's measure the results and if it has the impact you think it's going to have, we'll scale it out to the organization or whatever it is.
BenYeah, it goes back to don't give your boss more work.
BenYour job is to give them less work at a foundational level.
BenThey're already pretty busy, but I like, that allows them to take the extra step and think through the execution side of it because, I mean, that's, that's ultimately where the rubber meets the road.
JimWell, and you, yeah, you talk about creating the job you love, you know, and that's, that's what you're doing.
JimWhen, when someone wants to be.
JimIf they're, they're an aspiring leader and then they notice a void or there's a vacuum or why doesn't somebody do this?
JimI always used to think, ding, ding, ding.
JimOh, there's my angle.
JimI'm going to go do, you know, like that's.
JimThere's a vacuum there.
JimI'm going to fill that, you know, and that's how, you know there's people that have done bigger things than me.
JimI've had a good run though, and that's how I've done it.
JimIt's not a frustration when I see nobody stepped up to do this.
JimIt's an opportunity.
BenI love it.
BenWant to boost your productivity and decision making?
BenGet vital insights from each episode to delivered directly to your inbox.
BenA great resource whether you've listened to the episode or not.
BenGo to benfanning.com insight when's the time you had unexpected twist or failure in your career and how did it lead to your success or growth on down the road?
JimSo I got off the road with the band, went back to school at Berkeley, played around Boston.
JimI got a gig with a country artist in Nashville, Kevin Sharp.
JimHe had a couple of hits in.
BenThe 90s and I checked those out, by the way.
JimOh, yeah.
BenNice.
BenVery nice.
BenYeah, I'll Spotify.
BenI could check them out.
BenYeah, that's you.
JimI'm not playing on the album.
JimNo.
BenOkay.
JimThey have different musicians in the studio.
BenStudio versus on the road.
JimStudio is what you graduate to after you've been on the road for.
BenOkay, okay.
BenAll right.
JimThose guys are elite.
JimElite.
JimI mean, it's barely discernible difference, but it's just.
JimAnyway, so I was in Nashville and my wife and I, we Moved to Nashville.
JimWe were in a ton of debt and I was on the road and we were playing out, but I also sold.
JimI did sales while I was gigging because we were buried in consumer debt and, you know, needed to dig out of it and.
JimAnd.
JimBut things were working and I was kind of climbing the.
JimClimbing the mountain.
JimAnd I had the gig with Kevin and.
JimAnd I was playing around town and I would go, though, like, we do a run down to Texas, go to Houston and Dallas, maybe in San Antonio, and then we drive back Sunday night, and then we.
JimWe'd sleep in the.
JimIn the bus, you know, on the little coffin bunk, and then pull up at the Kroger in Brentwood, Tennessee, where we would rendezvous.
JimI get in the car and I go sell advertising.
JimSo I was burning it at both ends.
JimI finally in.
JimIn 2000, gotten to the point where I was making a living again at music.
JimI had a road gig.
JimFelt like I was right there at the.
JimAt the peak of the mountain, kind of.
JimAnd then I got the call from Kevin, or Kevin's manager, and I got fired.
JimHe just clean house.
JimJust clean house.
JimAnd that happens in Nashville.
JimAnd it was like I was right there at the.
JimAt the.
JimAt the peak.
JimAnd I lost my footing and went a half a quarter mile back down the mountain.
JimAnd I was so tired is.
JimSo I was so devastated.
JimAnd out of that, though, I had to go.
JimI thought, well, I got to get a day job again because that just.
JimThat was my main income.
JimSo I walked into the Onan office in Nashville looking for a warehouse job or something so we could keep eating while I interviewed to try to get another sales gig.
JimAnd the manager there said to me, you know, Jim, we have a sales opening.
JimYou should interview for that job.
JimYou'd be great.
JimSo I did.
JimAnd 21 years later, here I am.
BenWow.
JimYeah.
BenSo the day.
BenWas it the day you got fired from the.
JimNo, it was.
JimIt was.
JimIt was a couple weeks.
BenBut, I mean, that was your next move, was your next job was where you are today, essentially at the company?
JimYes, yes, yes.
JimWell, actually, I had a little run.
JimIt was Christmas time, I remember, and they didn't want to start me until the first of the year because they didn't want to burn a bunch of money on some sales guy that wasn't going to be productive.
JimSo I ended up being a Sprint PCs foam phone for the holidays right before I started.
JimSo that was, man acting.
JimIt was a low point, man, I'm telling you.
BenWow.
BenSprint phone.
BenSo drummer on the Stage living your dream.
BenSort of feeling like you're getting to the rock and roll dream.
BenTo sprint phone actor, so to speak.
JimYeah.
BenTo getting the start in a company that's going to propel your career to the C suite and you're going to go from a 10 million to a 800 million dollar company.
BenThat is a wild story, my friend.
JimYeah, that's good.
BenI love it.
BenBut it goes to show, I mean they're all journeys are a little different.
BenIf there was one theme.
BenIs it, is it the why not message or what's the, when you kind of look back at it, what, what do you, what's kind of the thing that you take away?
JimWhy not, why not you?
JimWhy not me?
JimYou know, I mean like why not possibility?
JimThe only thing that's really, I really believe that I, I, and, and when I run into a, a point where I feel like I'm kind of out of my depth or I'm at the edge of my operating range, I ask myself the question, well, if I were qualified to tackle this, how would somebody who qualified to tackle this tackle it?
BenIt's time to get on YouTube.
JimLittle game though.
JimIt kind of unlocks the other 90% in my brain that I don't use.
JimAnd I mean I've done that for 20 years.
JimAnd so that's.
JimYeah, why not?
BenWhy not?
BenThat's a cool hack.
BenThat's a cool hack.
BenWhat if, yeah, if I, what somebody.
JimI'm not smart enough for this.
JimWell, what if I was?
BenWell, how would I, what would I do?
BenYou know, because with the curiosity and building upon that, you know, that, that continued learning.
BenSo wrapping this up, what's a tool or gadget that's contributed to your success that listeners could go out and purchase?
JimI recently discovered Blinkist.
JimAre you familiar with Blinkist?
BenRelatively recently, yeah.
BenBut yeah, so, so I would love to hear how you're using it in your day and what it's, how's it work for you.
JimSo Blinkist now I haven't, I haven't read the Cliff Note.
JimBlinkist is basically, it's, it's a book in 20 minutes.
JimIt's a 20 minute summary of a book on it.
JimIt's audio, it's an audio summary and I think they do actually written summaries as well.
JimI haven't, haven't done the written summaries but.
JimAnd the cool thing I used to read.
JimSo when I was deciding what book to read, I would read the first couple paragraphs and the last paragraph of each chapter and kind of understand the arc of the book.
JimAnd then if I felt like I had a good map and then I could make a decision whether I wanted to invest the time reading this does.
JimIn 20 minutes on the ride home, I can check out a book and decide whether I want to dig deeper into it or if it's a book that a lot of people are talking about.
JimI feel like, well, I've already kind of tackled that subject, but I want to know what just kind of the framework that the author used.
JimI want to understand it.
Jim20 minute investment and boom, you've got the high points of the ideas and can speak intelligently about it.
JimSo I think it's a great hack.
JimI've really enjoyed it.
BenYeah, I'm actually a blinkist person.
BenI've been using it.
BenA friend of mine, Mike Vardy, turned me onto it.
BenAnd very similarly it's, it's a great way, especially for the interviews that I do to sort of gauge authors and their topics to see if they might be a good fit or just interested in the topic.
BenAnd because they.
BenIt's not just business related books, which I think is kind of interesting.
BenLike they'll go deep on the hot issues with like evolution and some other topics that are pretty interesting.
BenYou can also pick up other skills there.
BenSo.
JimAnd it's not boring.
JimThey do a really good job of producing them and, and it's surprising how much of a book you can actually get in 20 minutes.
BenI know, it's like, wow.
BenWell, I've been doing this before.
JimYeah.
BenYeah, man.
BenWell, to wrap this up, what's your parting thought for our listeners today, sir.
JimI'll dovetail off of, of your, your books narrative.
JimIt just this, this is the way I say it.
JimLove your job, love your career.
JimAnd when I say love, it's a verb, it's active.
JimYou know, I love my wife, so I invest in her, I invest in our relationship, I invest time, I figure out what she likes, what she doesn't like.
JimYou know, I buy her things, I take her out.
JimI invest in that relationship because I love.
JimLove is, is active.
JimIt's not primarily a feeling in my view.
JimYou and same thing with work.
JimWhat if you, what if it's staying Instead of saying I love my job or I don't love my job, love your job.
JimLike show love to it, invest in it, choose to love your job.
JimThat's the way.
JimAnd that's that, that's the theme of your book.
JimI'm excited to get into it because I love it.
BenBut that's a great sorry thing you, what you truly love, you invest in because it, it fosters growth.
BenSo I love that.
BenI love that.
BenAnd last question, Favorite drummer of all time.
JimOh, man, I have to say Tony Williams.
JimWell, I'll give you two Tony Williams and Vinny Kaliuda.
JimSo Tony Williams was Miles Davis, Miles Davis's drummer in like Nefertiti era, like kind of that post bebop era.
JimHe's a bad man.
JimHe's so good.
JimHe was like 18 when he recorded that album.
JimHe's just unbelievable.
JimJust nasty jazz drummer.
JimHe was so good.
JimAnd then Vinny Kaliuda, he's a, he's a session guy.
JimHe played with Sting, he played with Frank Zappa.
JimHe's played on a gazillion albums.
JimHe's an amazing drummer as well.
JimKind of similar to Tony.
JimHe can also do the jazz thing.
JimSo those two.
JimSting once fired him because he can turn around the beat.
JimThe way he plays around the rhythm.
JimIt can turn around the beat and then land on the beat is so out there.
JimThat one time he lost Sting and Sting came in the wrong spot and Sting fired him and then hired him back like an hour later or something.
BenThat was terrible.
BenOh wait, that was genius.
BenThat was so out there.
BenI didn't appreciate it at the time.
JimYes.
BenYes.
BenCool.
BenJim, thanks for coming on today.
JimYeah, Ben, we appreciate, I appreciate your time.
JimIt's been fun.
BenIf you're an executive at a crossroads in your career and thinking about quitting, do this before you do anything else.
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NarratorBen Fanning is a number one best selling author, Inc.
NarratorMagazine columnist and CEO of the Fanning Group, an international consultancy and corporate training company.
NarratorTo learn how they can help your organization, go to benfanning.com.