Well, hello, everybody, and welcome to another amazing episode of Unstoppable Success.
Speaker AThis is the podcast where we hear from amazing leaders and people in industry, where they get to share all their insights, their tips, their tricks on how they had unstoppable success.
Speaker AI am your host, Jacqueline Strominger, and today I get to welcome to the show Josh Black.
Speaker ANow, let me tell you a little bit about Josh.
Speaker AFirst and foremost, he is a newly appointed author.
Speaker AHe has written a book, People Matter at Work.
Speaker AHe's the executive advisor at Block Imaging.
Speaker AHe's also the founder of Cube Mobile Imaging, and he actually spends every opportunity he has leading Block Imaging and the team to serve customers around the world with outstanding refurbished radiology equipment, parts, and service and solutions.
Speaker AHe's deeply passionate, and this is the part where the people matter.
Speaker AHe's deeply, deeply passionate about his team and the opportunities they have to influence one another, their industry, customers, their patients, and the world at large.
Speaker ASo, Josh, welcome to Unstoppable Success.
Speaker BThank you so much for having me.
Speaker BIt's good to be with you, Jacqueline.
Speaker AYeah, great to be here.
Speaker AAll right, so first of all, I love the title People Matter, because I feel like I talk about people all the time, and knowing our values and leadership is so, so important to have the people portion of it.
Speaker ASo please tell us, like, how you came to People Matter.
Speaker BIt has been our company's mission for almost 15 years.
Speaker BAnd so, in a word, even though a lot has changed in the last 15 years, the divide, right, Arguing over every possible topic under the sun.
Speaker BAnd I just.
Speaker BWe have a lot of shirts that say People Matter.
Speaker BSo I'm wearing People Matter clothing all the time.
Speaker BAnd one of the things I love about the phrase is it's deeply meaningful and it's heavily uniting.
Speaker BLike, when people see that, very rarely are they like, oh, I totally disagree.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIs that we.
Speaker BWe, most of us are many or all of us believe that people matter.
Speaker BSo it's been our mission and ultimately became the title of the book.
Speaker ASo did it always.
Speaker AWas it always that way?
Speaker BNo.
Speaker BThere was.
Speaker BWhen my dad led the company from 1997 to 2011, there was a longer mission statement that went into a number of areas that he was passionate about when he founded the company.
Speaker BAnd yet when I transitioned into leadership in 2011, within the first 24 months, we did make that adjustment to this idea of People Matter.
Speaker BAnd then it flows out of our belief that People Matter leads us to create a thriving team culture that serves healthcare providers in providing a second chance at life for equipment and Ultimately for patients.
Speaker ASo I really.
Speaker AI love that you made that transition.
Speaker AWhat did it do for the team?
Speaker BYou know, I think it.
Speaker BIt was more importantly than what it did for the team, which, of course, has become very meaningful over time.
Speaker BIt was authentic to who I was.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIs that I think when we're designing organizational identities and missions and values, people, like, tend to go seek after something that sounds pretty or nice or it looks good on a wall.
Speaker BAnd I really like what squeezes out of you.
Speaker BLike.
Speaker BLike, if we were to.
Speaker BIf we were to cut you, what would you bleed?
Speaker BAnd so for me, what did you do for the team?
Speaker BIt.
Speaker BIt united, especially as we went through some difficult elections and Covid and things like that we anchored in on people matter.
Speaker BBut I would say that it was just an accurate reflection of who I wanted to be as a leader.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ASo I really.
Speaker AI really love that saying that, you know, that people matter.
Speaker AOne of the biggest things that I feel like with leadership is that.
Speaker AThat not everybody gets that.
Speaker ALike, it's either.
Speaker AIt's either all about the results and they forget about the people.
Speaker ASo how do you balance the two?
Speaker BYeah, I think of it through the lens of parenting a lot is if I said, hey, should I care for my kids or should I hold them accountable to grades and performance?
Speaker BAnyone would say both are really important.
Speaker BLike, no kid who we just put unlimited pressure on and drive them towards success, success indefinitely, that kid's not going to be a well rounded, secure person.
Speaker BAnd then if all we do is care for the.
Speaker BThe child and we don't actually hold them accountable to any level of performance or growth, reading or math or whatever, you'd say, well, that person's not going to be well rounded in the sense that they're not going to grow into a functioning adult.
Speaker BAnd so when I think about it, I think of, like, care for the person.
Speaker BAnd part of caring for a person, including that child example, is actually inviting them into the fullest version of themselves.
Speaker BCaring for them doesn't mean making a job that's really easy and boring for them.
Speaker BIt actually means like, hey, we think you're immensely capable.
Speaker BAnd the best people who work on our teams actually want to be pushed to become more than they ever dreamed of becoming.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ASo that's a.
Speaker AThat's a real want to kind of think right there for a minute, you know, helping people become more than what, you know, than what they almost, like, believe in themselves.
Speaker BSure.
Speaker AThem have that unstoppable success.
Speaker ASo are there things that you have put in place within your company that helps you decide or see where people could go or help.
Speaker AWhere you could help your team cast a vision for themselves.
Speaker BYeah, it starts with belief, right?
Speaker BWhat do we believe about our people?
Speaker BAnd then from there it becomes a vision.
Speaker BAnd many of us, I don't know how much clear of a vision we had in our 20s, but this idea of we were actually having an exercise and my dad started it, and we've done it quite a few times over the years where we've had someone who was immensely talented, and yet as we were growing, there was more role specificity.
Speaker BAnd so we'd actually give them a blank sheet of paper and say, we what's the ideal role for you in this organization?
Speaker BAnd they would map it out themselves.
Speaker BAnd it's a very cool exercise.
Speaker BNot everybody can do that in every situation.
Speaker BBut when you're growing really fast, you do need people to move into those sorts of exercises.
Speaker BSo that's one of the things that we did.
Speaker BBut overall, it's this belief that someone can become more capable than they are today, bring more value to the organization than they do today, and to journey with them in really that Venn diagram of what does the organization need and where is that person?
Speaker BReally skilled and ideally passionate as well.
Speaker ASo how does this.
Speaker AHow does this people matter and how does it kind of work into your hiring process?
Speaker BYeah, it's pretty central.
Speaker BSo for us, the organizational identity is very public.
Speaker BSo it's our hope our industry people know who block imaging is.
Speaker BOur team obviously recommends people to come join our organization.
Speaker BAnd so the organizational identity is the first step.
Speaker BThis is who we are.
Speaker BThis is what we stand for.
Speaker BIf you're really hook, line and sinker, this is who you want to be, then we hope you thrive here.
Speaker BAnd we hope you join the company.
Speaker BIf you don't care about people, integrity, together, transparent, thoughtful, honor, all of these words in our organizational identity, we hope that you work somewhere else and you have a great time.
Speaker BAnd so I think the organizational identity is that magnet that either pulls or repels.
Speaker BAnd then in the hiring process, we're really looking through the lens of the three Cs is character.
Speaker BDo we think that this person, from their resume to when they say something and they do something, that there's alignment in their character, they're an honest person.
Speaker BThen we have chemistry, which is we think that they work well with others and they're a good fit within our culture.
Speaker BAnd then the last is competency, that they're immensely capable, not just in the role that they're applying for, but they have, they have growth potential.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ASo, so I love this because, you know, one of the big things that we talk a lot about, you know, here at it's, it's knowing your values.
Speaker AAnd values are the key core to, I believe, you know, everything.
Speaker ASo speaking of that, then when people come in, do you have them almost do like a values assessment?
Speaker BSo we do some testing.
Speaker BWhen they join the organization, we have quite a few interviews.
Speaker BSo the interview is a conversation with a number of people at various levels, starting with HR and ending with the executive leaders.
Speaker BBut I would say that one, when you put your organizational identity out there, it is very self selecting in some ways.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BLike if all you care about is running over the backs, if you don't want to be a part of a helpful organization and you don't care about people, it's.
Speaker BSo the organizational identity does some of that.
Speaker BAnd then Block University, everyone who joins the team goes through three sessions with a couple of our leaders where we walk through our history and culture and values and strategy and those sorts of things.
Speaker BAnd then you read a book called Leadership and Self Deception.
Speaker BAnd it's the only book we have our entire company read.
Speaker BAnd it talks about how we see and approach people.
Speaker BAnd it's one of those things that by that point, if you feel like, boy, this is not the place for me, we really try to make it super self evident so that we're inviting people who are a good fit in alignment with our culture and values.
Speaker ASo now is everybody going to be reading People matter.
Speaker BPeople matter at work.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BI certainly wouldn't force everybody in the organization to read my own book.
Speaker BLeadership and Self Deception.
Speaker BWe, we just believe does an incredible job of kind of clarifying how you see people.
Speaker BAnd one of my favorite things in Block U is we ask people what's different about Block?
Speaker BYou've been here four weeks or eight weeks or whatever, what's different?
Speaker BAnd well, the answers have some variety and lots of similarity.
Speaker BOne of my favorites is the word helpful is almost every time people just say, wow, people.
Speaker BThe leaders are really accessible and the leaders are really helpful.
Speaker BIt's not one of our values, but it's one of my favorite, favorite, like accidental values of the culture we've created.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ASo what's your hope with People matter at work?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BIn 2011, I became president over a weekend.
Speaker BI was 29 years old, $30 million organization, and I went from sales rep on Friday to president on Monday.
Speaker BTwo brothers older than me, one brother younger than me.
Speaker BSo we had a.
Speaker BIt was a family enterprise and it was my, oh my leadership moment.
Speaker BAnd when you don't know anything about anything or you know very little about what you need to be present of the organization, I came across a book called the Five Dysfunctions, and Patrick Lencioni's expose on culture and teamwork and organizational health just blew my mind.
Speaker BIt was the perfect book for where I was in my life.
Speaker BAnd so when I think about the dream for People Matter at work, what it's not is, and I've heard this quite a bit since it came out a week ago, is, oh, I've got to give this to my jerk boss.
Speaker BAnd it's like, sorry, that's really not what this is for.
Speaker BThat's.
Speaker BThat's a manipulative technique to just give people handholds to get people to do what they want.
Speaker BThis is really for the leader who cares.
Speaker BAnd yet they maybe weren't fully developed as a leader.
Speaker BThey went to school for accounting, and then they got tapped on the shoulder and became a leader.
Speaker BAnd this is to equip, encourage and empower them to express their care in meaningful and tangible ways.
Speaker BAnd so my, my hope.
Speaker BA long answer, but my real hope is that this book would do for someone what five dysfunctions of a team did for me in 2011.
Speaker AOkay, so now I'm really curious.
Speaker AHow were you thrown into that?
Speaker BYeah, so I.
Speaker BFamily emergency situation.
Speaker BSo on a Thursday, had a conversation with my dad.
Speaker BOn a Friday, found out which I share in.
Speaker BPeople matter at work.
Speaker BSpoiler alert is that I found out from a president of our subsidiary that my dad was going to be stepping down and putting me in the presidency.
Speaker BIt on Monday.
Speaker BAnd so Monday we gathered the entire company.
Speaker BThere were 40 to 50 people at the time.
Speaker BAnd my dad made an announcement and I made a speech and we were off and running.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker ABut there's a.
Speaker ASo now I'm going to ask a couple of questions and I. Hopefully you don't mind it being too personal.
Speaker BSure.
Speaker AHow did that, how did you work with that with your family?
Speaker AThat's like some interesting dynamic.
Speaker AI mean, was that part of the plan?
Speaker ALike, did you, you know, you obviously didn't.
Speaker ASeems like it was like a surprise.
Speaker AI didn't know.
Speaker AI was like, you were like the chosen person to become the president.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo on Sunday we had a family meeting and my dad shared what was going to take place to the entire family and my brothers.
Speaker BI mean, each one of us had.
Speaker BHas a different set of giftings.
Speaker BThree of us are still at the company today, and one was here until just a few years ago.
Speaker BAnd so, yeah, the four of us have worked really well together in our strengths and giftings.
Speaker BAnd one of the things that we've tried to do for anyone who's a family business out there is, well, I led in many ways in the second generation.
Speaker BAnd we have co presidents with Jason Crawford for 14 years.
Speaker BI went to high school with Jason.
Speaker BWe really tried to operate in our role, regardless of ownership, regardless of last name.
Speaker BSo operating within our strengths and acting just like anyone else at the company.
Speaker BWell, they don't always treat us that way.
Speaker BThe hope was that we come into the office and we act just like our role would expect us to act even if we were working at a company that didn't have our last name on it.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ASo I really like.
Speaker AI really like that.
Speaker AAnd that actually, that's a skill.
Speaker ASo how did you help develop that skill?
Speaker ABecause not, you know, that's.
Speaker AThat's also a balance of.
Speaker AOf culture too, you know.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BI think it starts with humility.
Speaker BI mean, one of the things I share in the.
Speaker BIn the acknowledgments to my brothers is that they've seen this business as a garden to cultivate, not a.
Speaker BA mind to pull gold out of.
Speaker BAnd so, yeah, I just think the humility and care for people, it's.
Speaker BIt flows from my mom.
Speaker BI mean, my dad, of course, built the business from 0 to 30 million.
Speaker BAnd my mom is one of the most incredible and most caring people you'll.
Speaker BPersons you'll ever meet.
Speaker BAnd so I think that her care just kind of flows through and led to my brother's choosing to support the company, regardless of the role that they were in.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo there's a couple things that also, that I think it's.
Speaker AIt's, you know, listeners, I want you to really think about this too, is that, you know, what Josh just said, you know, the humility, it's not, you know, and leading with what you do best, not, you know, kind of knowing your knowing to stay in your lane, so to speak, and count it, you know, you can stay in your lane, but you obviously need to rely on the other people and be able to rely on them.
Speaker AYou're not the expert at everything.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BSure.
Speaker BSure.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BAnd that's what's hard about the total bummer for most leaders is what got you here won't get you there.
Speaker BSo, like, the fact that you were efficient and productive and crushed your tasks and, like, were amazing at a.
Speaker BTo do list.
Speaker BAnd then the boss said to you, hey, you're going to now become a team leader, a manager, a director, or whatever it is.
Speaker BNow all of a sudden, you're accomplishing things through other people rather than getting it all done yourself.
Speaker BAnd that is.
Speaker BIt's troubling because again, what made me successful as a technician will not only not make me successful as a leader, it may harm my ability to succeed in accomplishing things through others.
Speaker AAnd that's actually a really thing.
Speaker AA key point too, is that you have to put the right person in the role.
Speaker AThey have to want it too.
Speaker AYou know, the salesperson, you went in sales, I mean, you became the president.
Speaker AAll of a sudden, you may have been like the best at sales.
Speaker ALeading is different, totally different.
Speaker BAnd I think that's where the challenge, of course, is.
Speaker BIf you hire people who you think you're better at than their job all the time, then we have a fundamental problem, right?
Speaker BAnd the part, the gift of humility, that chapter and people matter at work, is this idea that there are people in our organization today and have been here a very long time that do things on a daily basis that I could not do in a lifetime.
Speaker BI mean, fixing and repairing MRIs and repairing parts and disassembling systems and software integration and CRMs.
Speaker BAnd so I just.
Speaker BTo me, that leader who says, oh, no, I don't know how to do that, I would say it's tremendous gift, actually rely on them.
Speaker BBecause lack of knowledge maybe sometimes allows you to ask better questions than when you know it all.
Speaker BAnd so I have had a blast.
Speaker BI think becoming president over 72 hours was a wild gift because I could not fake it.
Speaker BI couldn't look at everything.
Speaker BOh, well, we got a master plan.
Speaker BDon't worry, I'm here to, to save the day.
Speaker BInstead, it was just like, we're gonna have to figure it out together.
Speaker BYou guys all know way more than I do, and so let's work together.
Speaker BAnd so really, I, I would not have said it at the time, but 15 years later, I'd say, man, it was a real gift to not know as much as I didn't know.
Speaker AAnd, but that's, but the key thing that you did is that you relied on other people.
Speaker AYou didn't come in with like a bull in a china shop, right?
Speaker ASo you, you said, let's do this together.
Speaker AWe need to work together on this.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker AYou know, and you, you guys are all experts, you know, and that's like, you know, Dale Carnegie, you know, said this, and I Always.
Speaker AI feel like I quote him all the time about this.
Speaker AYou know, hire people that are smarter than you so that you can lift them up and they can take your role.
Speaker AYou know, it's not whether or not they want to take your role, but hire people who are smarter than you or who know things that are different than you and lean on them.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BIf your load is getting heavier as a leader over the course of time, there's something wrong.
Speaker BAnd it could be a function of growth, it could be a function of some other things.
Speaker BBut I would say I became.
Speaker BI actually released the president title January 1st, became executive advisor.
Speaker BAnd it is a funny feeling.
Speaker BIt's kind of like, wow, those 400 team members are doing it without my daily leadership.
Speaker BAnd I would say there's a quote at the end of the book which is one of my favorites from Lao Tzu, who's a Chinese philosopher.
Speaker BIt says that when the task is done and the work is complete, the people will say, we did it ourselves.
Speaker BIs that we should be working ourselves, whether it be out of a job or into our very narrow set of strengths and passions.
Speaker BIf it's getting heavier and we're doing more than ever before, there is something fundamentally wrong with either the team that we've hired or our approach to leadership.
Speaker AYeah, no, I.
Speaker AAbsolutely.
Speaker AI love that.
Speaker AI love.
Speaker AThat's a great.
Speaker AIt's a great quote.
Speaker AYou know, and it's, you know, whether you're talking about the team, the village, it does it.
Speaker APeople need to work together.
Speaker AYou know, it's that.
Speaker AThat saying, you know, a rising tide lifts all boats.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AYou know, to be that person to, to help other people rise up is so important.
Speaker ASo what's.
Speaker AWhat's on your agenda next?
Speaker BYeah, so the book came out last Tuesday, and so right now, launching that.
Speaker BAnd I continue to advise at Block Imaging and have an office here.
Speaker BHere at headquarters.
Speaker BOversee cube mobile imaging, which is a mobile MRI and CT business.
Speaker BBut again, I'm going to be speaking, coaching and consulting in this people matter at Workspace.
Speaker BBut just with your last point, there's a TED talk by Benjamin Zander, and it's one of my favorite TED talks.
Speaker BHe's actually a composer and conductor, and what he says about leadership.
Speaker BIt's 20 minutes, one of my favorites.
Speaker BBut he basically says, like, the leader doesn't make a sound at an orchestra.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BHe relies on his power by making other people powerful.
Speaker BIt's.
Speaker BIt's gives me chills.
Speaker BIs that.
Speaker BThat 20 minutes.
Speaker BI'd highly recommend.
Speaker BAs far as Someone walking through what it is to make other people powerful so that we can make an incredible sound or music together.
Speaker BIt's just a different approach to leadership.
Speaker AYou know, I absolutely love that.
Speaker AIt's so true.
Speaker AAnd it does give me chills when you're saying that too, because it is so true.
Speaker AThe conductor doesn't make a sound.
Speaker BHe's on.
Speaker BAnd he says this.
Speaker BHe's on the front of the cd.
Speaker BHe stands and he, you know, whatever.
Speaker BAnd actually his back is facing the audience.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BHe's the only one whose back is facing the audience.
Speaker BAnd he knows what everybody is doing.
Speaker BHe knows where everyone's going, but he doesn't make a sound.
Speaker BIn the case of a classical music
Speaker Aorchestra, that is so true.
Speaker AYou know, I think about it, you know, of course, here in Reno, our.
Speaker AOne of our conductors for the Reno Phil, he does a holiday concert.
Speaker AAnd he will actually.
Speaker AHe has a great voice.
Speaker AHe will actually sing.
Speaker AOkay, but he's conducting.
Speaker ABut he's singing.
Speaker AAnd it's.
Speaker AIt's actually, it's.
Speaker ABut that's the only time I've ever really seen or heard a conductor, you know, at an orchestra make some noise.
Speaker ARight, right.
Speaker AYeah, but it's so true.
Speaker AAnd that's actually the quintessential thing about leadership, which is basically, you are up there conducting people and you're getting.
Speaker AYou're bringing out the.
Speaker AThe best in people.
Speaker AYou're bringing, like, the high notes.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AYou're bringing out the good stuff and helping them all work together so that they actually can work together.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AAnd again, you know, there's been some really great, you know, comments and talks about, you know, when.
Speaker AWhen a team is aligned in their values, it's not about necessarily working people, you know, with fewer people and make.
Speaker AAnd working them harder.
Speaker AIt's just that those fewer people are so excited to work together that they will rise up.
Speaker BYeah, they.
Speaker BWhat happens in the we cycle, which is where we want to lead the shift from the me cycle to the we cycle, is people take ownership, they care about the outcome.
Speaker BAnd while they may not own shares in the company, they may or may not.
Speaker BSome of the people who've been here, like I think of Emily Jones, who's in the office next door 15 years, Chris Shirock, who's in office downs 20 years, some would dispute ownership.
Speaker BAnd I'd say it has a huge impact on their life.
Speaker BI mean, the trajectory of block imaging over the last 20 years has shifted from Chris coming for a summer landscaping job so he could go to Hollywood and go to film school.
Speaker BTwenty years later, he's the vice president of health care solutions for us globally.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo, like, he's an owner.
Speaker BIt.
Speaker BIt has a significant impact on his life.
Speaker BAnd so when you say, like, working people harder, who is going to bring their best?
Speaker BWho fixes the roof at a property?
Speaker BA renter or an owner?
Speaker BAn owner.
Speaker BWho.
Speaker BHow do you drive rental cars?
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAn owner or a renter.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BThey treat things differently.
Speaker BAnd so when we treat people like owners, some incredible things happen.
Speaker BAnd I even think the next question that naturally comes up is, well, what do you do about the person in the orchestra who's not very good, who's ruining the concert because of their attitude or because of their skill?
Speaker BAnd I'd say you have to take.
Speaker BYou have to address it.
Speaker BThe gap either has to close or they can't be part of the symphonic band.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd so, yeah, that's the question.
Speaker BIt's do we just, in a nice, kind people matter culture, do we just tolerate incompetence?
Speaker BAnd the answer is absolutely not.
Speaker ASo here's a question on that, though.
Speaker ASo if somebody is sort of subpar or they are that disgruntled person, is it, you know, is it working with them to find out where they fit best?
Speaker AIs it like a different department or is it like, three strikes are out?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo for us, I shared those three Cs earlier.
Speaker BWe don't try to teach character here.
Speaker BLike, it's very possible.
Speaker BAnd I know this is a strong statement, but I'll just say for provocativeness and endless success, I would just say, like, if someone makes a decision, that's a significant character issue today, Today will be their last day in our organization.
Speaker BIt's just the way it is.
Speaker BAnd, hey, it might happen this afternoon.
Speaker BLike, I don't know.
Speaker BBut let's say outside of character, which is, your mama taught you that if she didn't do a very good job, we probably aren't either.
Speaker BThen we have chemistry.
Speaker BHow do you work well with others?
Speaker BWe try to develop that we might move someone in the organization if it's not a good fit in a team or with a leader.
Speaker BAnd so we try to close that gap.
Speaker BAnd then the last is competence.
Speaker BWow.
Speaker BThe same area, we might move someone in their role or try to make an adjustment, try to train and close that gap.
Speaker BAnd when we can't, our job is to just put visibility on the gap.
Speaker BLike, hey, I'm concerned about competence or I'm concerned about chemistry and.
Speaker BAnd the way you're doing xyz And I'd like us to close the gap.
Speaker BAnd then a couple weeks later, we revisit the conversation.
Speaker BHey, I, I'd like to talk about the gap.
Speaker BAnd it doesn't seem like we've closed it.
Speaker BAnd then the next time we say that, hey, if we're unable to close this gap, it's going to bring an end to your time here at the company, which some people and I share it in the book.
Speaker BSome people go, oh, I can't imagine saying that.
Speaker BAnd I'd say, well, walking into someone's office and shotgun, letting them go isn't very kind and it's not very fun either.
Speaker BAnd so we kind of give that warning and we have some stories.
Speaker BThere's kind of one of three things happens.
Speaker BThey either leave on their own.
Speaker BThey just say they see the writing on the wall and it ain't going to happen.
Speaker BAnd they leave on their own, which is kind of a cool moment because they don't have a lapse in job.
Speaker BIt's not really an end.
Speaker BIt's more of a new beginning.
Speaker BThe other is that we have to, we do have to transition them from the organization.
Speaker BThat's the, the, the least favorite outcome.
Speaker BAnd then the third is they turn it around.
Speaker BAnd one of the keeping it real stories.
Speaker BI have 12 stories of team members sharing their experience at Block.
Speaker BTyler, he's very vulnerable in his story.
Speaker BWe had a keeping it real moment and a high stakes conversation and said, hey, here are a couple options.
Speaker BAnd he turned it around and he's leading today and succeeding and thriving.
Speaker BAnd every now and again, when that happens, it's so, so fun to get to the other side.
Speaker ABut, but here's the thing, and I really want to commend you, Josh, on this.
Speaker AI mean, it takes a really strong leader to be able to have those conversations and also to care about the people.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker AAnd that's the, that's, you know, I always say one of the reasons why, you know, my biggest reason for, you know, helping bring people's voices out there with this podcast is because if, if we can make every office, every workplace a better place, then we're going to have a larger, greater impact on the world.
Speaker AAnd so, listeners, this is actually a really key point.
Speaker ATake heed to the people that are in on your team.
Speaker AReally, like, get to know them and find out what makes them tick.
Speaker ABecause if somebody's in the wrong position, they might be right for the job or the right for the company, maybe.
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker BYeah, absolutely.
Speaker BIt's, it's so key.
Speaker BAnd Somebody who says it takes strength.
Speaker BI mean, my question is, if you were in a role and your boss didn't think you were doing well, would you want to know it?
Speaker BIf Your daughter was 23 years old and she was working for someone and there was a concern about her performance, would you want someone to tell her, or would you just want to go six months or a year?
Speaker BHow many of us want to have mayonnaise on her face?
Speaker BAnd nobody tell us.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BMustard, Ketchup, if you prefer.
Speaker BSorry.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BSo, yeah, that's the thing.
Speaker BI think that sometimes we're kind, and we think we're being kind, and then we decide, hey, we're just going to let someone go instead of giving them an opportunity to turn or opt out.
Speaker BIf they decide to leave, we get to celebrate.
Speaker BThey were here for six years, super grateful for your investment, and we hope you do great somewhere else.
Speaker BMaybe you take the feedback, maybe you don't, but ultimately that ends up being a far more amicable exit.
Speaker BThen.
Speaker BThen, of course, like a.
Speaker BLike a middle school breakup.
Speaker ARight, right, right.
Speaker ABut the.
Speaker AThe one thing that you said also that I think is also really important is character.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AThe character part is somebody has something today that they do.
Speaker ASomething lie, cheat, steal, I don't know.
Speaker AWhatever.
Speaker AWhatever.
Speaker AThe thing is that they do that is, like, out of good character.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker BYep.
Speaker AYou.
Speaker AYou.
Speaker AAnd I think I've said this a thousand one times.
Speaker ACharacter is not something that you can teach.
Speaker ASomebody has to develop that character on their own.
Speaker AThey have to decide, oh, maybe I didn't tell the truth here.
Speaker AI want to change my ways.
Speaker ABut that has to come from inside.
Speaker AYou can't teach that.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd there are some spots where there's second chances, just depending on the size or scope or season of life or whatever it is.
Speaker BBut there are moments where you just look and just say, we don't.
Speaker BWe just think the cost of what has taken place in this situation to test it out.
Speaker BAnd really the cost in the team, sometimes the character issue is so and so says they're going to do this, and they don't do it over and over and over, and trust just crumbles because people.
Speaker BWhen Jacqueline says something, I really have to come behind her and make sure I do it, because most of the time when she says something, she didn't really do it.
Speaker BThat's just.
Speaker BJust crushing to an organization and team.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AYou know, you're.
Speaker AIt's your word.
Speaker ALike, you have to say, sure, I'm going to do that.
Speaker AI'm doing it.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AYou know, so that's really, that is really, really key.
Speaker ASo, Josh, speaking of, you're transitioning out of that role of president, so where is your next 18 month trajectory?
Speaker BWell, first time author, so I don't know the answer to the end of the story, but I do feel a deep calling, as you've talked about, to invite others in and say there is a pathway where we can both care for people and chase after performance.
Speaker BOur organization grew from 30 million to 215 million.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo performance matters.
Speaker BGenerating wealth, profitability, all of cash flow, these things all matter.
Speaker BBut ultimately my belief that work can be a transformative experience.
Speaker B80,000 hours in a lifetime and the Gallup survey is nauseating.
Speaker BAnd so this idea that works doesn't just impact the person, doesn't just impact the team, doesn't just impact the organization and profitability.
Speaker BBut when that person goes home.
Speaker BI told you about Tyler earlier.
Speaker BSo Tyler just had a daughter.
Speaker BHe's got two sons and a daughter, and his oldest is Liam.
Speaker BAnd I think about, like, what kind of a home is Liam gonna grow up in?
Speaker BHow does the culture that I create here shape that home?
Speaker BAnd my dream would be that Liam wake grows up and he says, I wanna work at a place like my mommy or daddy work that whether it be block imaging or somewhere else, I know.
Speaker BAnd frankly, I see work as a gift and an opportunity and a privilege and not as something that adults just have to do and get it over with as soon as they can.
Speaker BThat's my hope for Liam and the hundreds and hundreds of other kids that work in our organization.
Speaker AThat's awesome.
Speaker AI absolutely love it.
Speaker ASo, Josh, tell everybody how they can get in touch with you and get all of your greatness, because it is, it is great.
Speaker BI appreciate the kind words.
Speaker BWe're imperfect.
Speaker BPeople matter is a tough mission.
Speaker BIt is so tough because people can stop and they go, oh, well, if people mattered.
Speaker BSo we're imperfect, but our intention runs really, really deep even in the midst of that imperfection.
Speaker BSo they can buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble Books, a million, anywhere books are sold.
Speaker BThe website is peoplematteratwork.com and then they can reach out@joshoplematteratwork.com if they want to email, have questions.
Speaker BI'm more than happy to connect with them.
Speaker AThat is awesome.
Speaker AOkay, listeners, do me a favor.
Speaker AFirst of all, all of Josh's information and a link to the book will be on in the show notes.
Speaker AI'll put the link to Amazon in there so you can grab the book.
Speaker ABut please do me the favor.
Speaker AThis is an incredibly important topic.
Speaker APlease do me the favor of connecting with Josh, but also share this episode with people that you know like and trust, who believe, who are leaders.
Speaker ABecause if we can make a difference in the world, we're making a difference, you know?
Speaker AYou know, if we make a difference at one company, we're sharing that across the world.
Speaker ASo please do me that favor of sharing this episode.
Speaker AI'm Jacqueline Stromager, your host of Unstoppable Success.
Speaker AWe hope you keep leaping to your greatest success.
Speaker AAnd thank you, Josh, for being an amazing guest.
Speaker BThank you for having me.