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The HaBO Village Podcast

Celebrating a Milestone [Podcast]

Episode 122: Michael and Kathryn celebrate the milestone of reaching 1,000 books sold and discuss the reasons why a well formed core purpose and vision should be foundational elements of any business. If you are curious why milestones matter or need some encouragement when it comes to growing your business, then give this episode a listen.

man with flag on a mountain


In This Episode You Will...

  • Discover how a well crafted core purpose and vision will help you on your road to growth.
  • Find out why Michael and Kathryn consider milestone celebration to be an important part of any business.
  • Learn how 'survival mode' is sometimes the best strategy for businesses to adopt to get through economic crisis.
“We desire to help people think: 'How do I shape vision, purpose, and contribution in a way that becomes powerful for myself and my company so that we aren't just working for the weekend?' This is what drives entrepreneurs to make amazing companies that ultimately change lives."
- Kathryn Redman

Resiliency Quiz

References:

HaBO Village

FulfilledTheBook.com

 

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Michael:
              Hello and welcome to HaBO Village Podcast. I'm Michael Redman.


Kathryn:
               And I'm Kathryn Redman.


Michael:
              And we are so glad you're back. This podcast is about helping business leaders build Passion and Provision companies filled with Passionate and Provision jobs.


Kathryn:
               You're excited this morning.


Michael:
              I am.


Kathryn:
               Filled!


Michael:
              Filled with passion! Because we want to impact, and I was thinking about this the other day, Kathryn, matter of fact yesterday, while I was in the shower, I was thinking about this.


Kathryn:
               That might be more detailed than anyone needs, but you carry on.


Michael:
              Yeah. But I hadn't had a chance to talk to you about this because I continued to think about, I'm getting re-excited lately about our core purpose. And we've talked on the podcast about vision and everything else and core purpose, but I'm just like, I've been thinking and rolling it over and wordsmithing it even more. What is it that we... It has been really, really good, but it hasn't been perfect.


Kathryn:
               Is anything ever perfect, Mr. Redman? You're such the NT, you're such the competitive, like it's not quite exactly perfection.


Michael:
              It could be bronzed out, just a little bit.


Kathryn:
               It could be better.


Michael:
              So-


Kathryn:
               Constant improvement.


Michael:
              Yes. Yes. So what I was thinking was just right now, it's been just to help business leaders build Passion and Provision companies, but then there's all this narrative that we have in trying to wrap around it.


Kathryn:
               Yeah. Describe what that looks like.


Michael:
              And so I want to expand the core purpose just a hair like what I did just now, because I really believe that the core purpose... because we know, we've talked about this, the core purpose is to help business leaders build Passion and Provision companies, but not just for themselves.


Kathryn:
               Right.


Michael:
              We love business leaders who want to provide jobs. A) They want to provide jobs, and maybe not in this order, but I like it in this order. And B) they realize that if they're going to accomplish great things in the world, make a significant impact, meet the world's needs.


Kathryn:
               Then they're going to have to have a team.


Michael:
              They're going to have to have a team.


Kathryn:
               So we better have a passionate provision team.


Michael:
              Right.


Kathryn:
               Or what are we doing with our lives?


Michael:
              Or we just become-


Kathryn:
               Miserable, sad human beings.


Michael:
              Sacks that are just-


Kathryn:
               Sad sacks.


Michael:
              I have a Passion and Provision company, as long as they don't mix with the little people.


Kathryn:
               The underlings.


Michael:
              Those people-


Kathryn:
               I have Passion and Provision but who cares about them?


Michael:
              Keep them down there on the factory floor, make them work other 12 hours today.

                                So that idea, and then I was thinking this, because this is kind of the narrative when we're sitting there talking about it, I'm trying to take everything we've talked about and make it shorter, which I'm not doing a great job right now as I'm filling in all the pieces, but help leaders, business leaders, build Passion and Provision companies filled with Passion and Provision jobs with the purpose of effecting three groups of people.

                                And we've talked about it, but this is the way I'm tightening it up. The leader, because we have a personal investment, a kindred spirit with people who are entrepreneurial and start businesses and have dreams and really want to make a difference in their lives for themselves and their family.


Kathryn:
               And have taken the risk and stepped out.


Michael:
              And have taken the risk. You deserve as an entrepreneur, as business leader, whether you came into a position and took over a company that already existed or a department that existed or started a company, there's a leadership thing, and you should have some rewards from that. Not just like settling in and just being part of a machine, which there are lots of great pieces and parts to being an employee, but you've chosen to be in a leadership or even a business entrepreneurial role. And so we want those dreams to come true.

                                But then really wanting to impact employees and people's lives, because the idea that 74% disengagement-


Kathryn:
               Right.


Michael:
              ...in the workforce is just a crime.


Kathryn:
               It is.


Michael:
              And I don't expect all those people to be entrepreneurs and go out and find their job because I don't think if all those people went out and started a company, they would actually be happy. Because not everybody's cut out to run a company. There's a lot of pieces to it.

                                But then the third part, which is the children at home, that we talk so much about. Because we realized that changing a culture is multi-generational.


Kathryn:
               Absolutely.


Michael:
              And if you want them to accomplish something really big, you also have to think long term. So we want to help leaders, teach, train, and coach leaders to build and grow stronger, better Passion and Provision companies filled with Passion and Provision jobs, so we can significantly impact three different groups of people, the entrepreneurs, the people who work for the company on the team, and their kids at home so that when they grow up, they see a lifestyle that's automatic to them that says, well, yeah, that's what work is. Work is a beautiful thing because you find your fit in the world, and over time you refine that.

                                But as a kid growing up, you realize that that's possible. So when you start the journey of choosing an education, going to school, whatever you're going to do, you realize that in your twenties, you're experimenting and refining, and this goal of your twenties and thirties is to refine and find that sweet spot. But I think when you start with that vision, you actually come into it way ahead of most people. So if we can figure out how to help that, that's what this podcast is about. That's what we're about. And as we move forward, it's like we've said we've said before-


Kathryn:
               Then tell me. Tell me, Michael, why do you think you've been thinking about this more profoundly for the last couple of days? What triggered this? Because I think I might know.


Michael:
              You might know.


Kathryn:
               I might know, but what triggered this?


Michael:
              Well that probably a lot of things. Now, I'm not sure what you're asking. There's a lot of things that happened this last week. You tell me, why have I been thinking about it? Because sometimes I'm not aware of why I'm thinking about things.


Kathryn:
               Well, I think one of the reasons you're thinking about it is because we kind of tripped a milestone this week.


Michael:
              Yes.


Kathryn:
               And it's a very early milestone. So, we wrote this little book you might've heard about it.


Michael:
              Fulfilled.


Kathryn:
               Fulfilled. This little book.


Michael:
              How to build a Passion and Provision company. It's filled with-


Kathryn:
               It's really not the Bible.


Michael:
              No, I know that. Okay.


Kathryn:
               I'm going to pull it off the shelf and show you.


Michael:
              Okay.


Kathryn:
               So anyway, Fulfilled, which is the Passion and Provision strategy for building a company with profit, purpose, and legacy.


Michael:
              That's right.


Kathryn:
               So we crossed the thousand books sold threshold this week.


Michael:
              Yes, we did.


Kathryn:
               So, it's early, we want to sell 1000.


Michael:
              1000 books.


Kathryn:
               We want to sell 100,000 and then 1 million, but you know what?


Michael:
              One million.


Kathryn:
               But you know what? You got to start somewhere, and so crossing those, sort of tripping from three digits to four digits is cool and then to five digits and so on.


Michael:
              Super excited.


Kathryn:
               So yeah.


Michael:
              I think-


Kathryn:
               Maybe that's part of why you're thinking about it, right? It's that?


Michael:
              Yeah.


Kathryn:
               Because I was even thinking as we were talking about it, like a thousand books, okay. So early on, the first couple 300 were friends and family who loved us, who were like, you have to buy a book. We wrote it and doggone it, that's your job.

                                And so, people did, and that was amazing. But now we're selling to complete strangers and there's this growing sense of we're planting seeds, right? Which is ultimately what we want to do, is plant seeds and grow hope and give perspective so that people can begin to think differently about what it looks like to build a business.


Michael:
              You go.


Kathryn:
               I know, and it's very exciting because we're just sitting here in our little studio in Chico, and I was thinking this morning about-


Michael:
              This tiny studio.


Kathryn:
               ... about all the folks out there that I respect who are doing great, great work who have big platforms. They have name recognition. People know who they are, and you know what? There was a time when that wasn't true.


Michael:
              It was.


Kathryn:
               Nobody knew who they were.


Michael:
              They were little children.


Kathryn:
               They were just like-


Michael:
              Playing on the playground.


Kathryn:
               But beyond that, even as grown adults, they started to make their contribution, but people didn't know who Donald Miller was 15 years ago, except maybe in a small community.


Michael:
              He started writing those little books and driving around in a Volkswagen bus.


Kathryn:
               And people didn't know who Michael Hyatt was 20 years ago. People didn't know Pat Lencioni. So all of these folks started and grew their awareness out there. Right?


Michael:
              Yeah.


Kathryn:
               And so you and I, we have this great passion, this great desire in us to make an impact, to leave a legacy, to make a difference, to change the trajectory of people's businesses.


Michael:
              Yes, yes.


Kathryn:
               And we have to build a platform to do that.


Michael:
              We're like the little engine that could. I think we can. I think I can. I think I can.


Kathryn:
               Right? So every time we cross one of those thresholds, there's that sense of, Oh my gosh, maybe there's hope for reaching some of these bigger goals and dreams. So that's why I've been thinking about it this week, because that's part of what we're about. It's this desire to do what you're doing, which is to help people think, how do I shape vision and purpose and contribution?

                                How do I shape that in a way that becomes powerful for myself?


Michael:
              Yes.


Kathryn:
               And for my company?


Michael:
              Yes.


Kathryn:
               So that we're not just working to make money. We're not just working for the weekend. We're not just giving everything and wondering at the end of the day, why it matters. We're actually being intentional. We're actually thinking about what am I doing? Why am I doing it? And what is the impact that is going to make in the world? And that's what drives entrepreneurs. That's what drives people to create amazing companies that do ultimately change lives. So that, it's very cool.


Michael:
              You're very excited.


Kathryn:
               Well, you started it. You started it. I was thinking about other people in the shower, that are important and fancy and, and how sometimes I can get a little jealous, like I can be like, gosh, and I just had to remember this morning, you know what? People didn't always know who they were. And it's the steps that you take, one in front of the other, bit by bit, that move you towards those goals. So it's not an overnight process.


Michael:
              It is not. And it's fun right now. There's a lot of craziness to it, and it's great. So as we share that news of going to a thousand, celebrating that on the podcast here, until [crosstalk 00:10:18]


Kathryn:
               If you haven't bought yours yet, we're on our way to 10,000 now. So we need lots and lots of help.


Michael:
              We need lots of help. And I'm more confident now. I don't know, but I think you are too, more confident in saying this is a good book.


Kathryn:
               Well, yeah. You know, it's super funny-


Michael:
              Because other people say it's a good book.


Kathryn:
               People we've never met before that aren't invested in us as human beings or afraid of hurting our feelings are saying it's a good book. So, that's really encouraging. And I think one of the things that happened when we crossed the thousand mark this week was we went back and looked at the goals that we had set at the beginning. And one of those things was our publisher asked us a question. And the question was, what do you want people to be saying about this book? What is it that you want them to say that to you would mean we did it? The desire that we had when we wrote the book is achieved, when people say, right? And we came up with two or three things and I went back and read those, and it's like, I'm reading the testimonials, which is so cool. Because I didn't actually write this for people, I didn't send it and be like, please say this. So it's a fun thing to begin to just see these little tiny evidences that you're moving in the right direction.


Michael:
              As this is the power of having a clear vision and then building a strategic plan to work towards that vision.


Kathryn:
               Yeah. Because you write something down and then something happens, and a year later you go back and because you wrote it down, you can reference it and you go, Oh my gosh. We said we were going do that, and we did that.


Michael:
              And when we're writing down things, when we were going through that process and they were interviewing this and writing down all our answers a year ago, or over a year ago, it was spring of '19. I knew that we were doing that, and I knew that was supposed to by saying that out loud, that that was supposed to give us some motivation to move forward. Okay, now you have a more clear picture on why you're doing this because it's going to be a lot of work.


Kathryn:
               Right.


Michael:
              You're going to work hard. But even though I've seen it before and everything else, I wasn't really thinking. And it's funny how often I'm amazed at the power of how all this stuff we teach actually works.


Kathryn:
               It actually works in your own life.


Michael:
              It actually works.


Kathryn:
               Drink your own Kool-Aid, man. Come on.


Michael:
              But the idea that you would, by having those things, setting them and writing them down, and looking back later and going, wow. Because I mean, even when you don't hit them, exactly, we wanted to hit a thousand books the first week. We were like, I have no idea what's realistic. I know I want to hit a thousand books. How fast? Instead of a week, we did it in three and a half months. But as we've told people that a lot of people don't realize is the minimum goal. If you get picked up by a major publisher, the minimum goal to stay with that publisher and not get dropped is 2,500 books in a year. So we're more than on that path. If we were on a normal publisher route and we're actually thinking, okay, how do we ratchet that up to 5,000 or 10,000 by next May?


Kathryn:
               Well, one of our goals that's on that list was 10,000 in the first year. [crosstalk 00:13:24]. We have some work-


Michael:
              We've got some work to do.


Kathryn:
               ... to do.


Michael:
              And we have some ways of doing that, that are going to come out in the next couple of months that are going to help accelerate that and get the word out more. But just putting that down and writing it down and being able to go back and look at it, was extra encouraging when we read that document.


Kathryn:
               It really was. And it comes during a season where we all need all the encouragement we can get. Right? Yeah. It was really fulfilling.


Michael:
              Yeah. [crosstalk 00:13:53] I mean, to try and pull something out of this going okay, one of the things is setting these goals, setting these big visions, setting a BHAG , setting one, two, and three year goals for a strategic plan, making sure that it's aligned with your vision. So you have to have real good clarity on your vision. What's this core purpose? And as you've heard from us, we've been doing this podcast now for over a hundred episodes, over 120 episodes, I don't even remember what episode we're on right now. And we've been continuing to go. We finally wrote the book and published the book and we're doing well with that. I mean, we're happy with our numbers and we feel like it's a good movement forward. It's not a bestseller out of the gate by any stretch of the imagination on the New York Times list.


Kathryn:
               It was on Amazon.


Michael:
              But we were definitely a bestseller on Amazon, on several Amazon lists.


Kathryn:
               And hit that again this last week.


Michael:
              Yeah. Yeah. And it hit high. It actually hit higher on some of the charts, some of the charts, we hit one again. He can't go any higher than one, which is good.


Kathryn:
               You know what? The number one in green business is my favorite category. [crosstalk 00:14:55] I don't even know what that's about.


Michael:
              I know. But Nest, the very top one, we scored even higher on that one again, as we hit it again. So that was like hitting the bestseller list twice and then edging our way up is kind of, not kind of, it really is exciting. And then from there realizing, okay, how do you just make sure that you're articulating these things and writing them down? Because so many of us say we're so busy we don't have time for that. And I just suggest it from our own personal experience, again, those of you listening, really, this is something I would really recommend. Making sure you're clear on that vision, getting that vision tight and really dialed in, and then you can fine tune it, like sanding it with 300 grit paper, just the little tiny nuances like we started this podcast out with.


Kathryn:
               Well, and then it's creating incremental goals toward that big vision. Right?


Michael:
              Yeah, which fits into your strategic plans, right?


Kathryn:
              Exactly, strategic plans. And why does that matter? I will tell you that while I said, we crossed a thousand books and super excited, when it happened earlier in the week, I was like, Oh, we crossed a thousand books.


Michael:
              Yeah.


Kathryn:
               That's probably important.


Michael:
              Probably a big deal.


Kathryn:
               But it didn't immediately hit as, Hey, this is a big deal.


Michael:
              We probably could have blown past it pretty fast.


Kathryn:
               Yeah. And so even in the middle of that, because you know, in the scope of eternity, a thousand is not very many, right? We've got a long way to go to make the impact we're going to make, but we had to intentionally stop, go back, look and go, Oh my gosh, yeah, that was a goal. And we'd said we would open champagne with our team for that goal. We're being COVID-


Michael:
              Wow.


Kathryn:
               So we haven't really gotten to do that. And you don't even like champagne.


Michael:
              I don't like champagne.


Kathryn:
               But whatever, but just stopping to celebrate then gives you also something to be excited about. Like we got to pull our team together and go, Hey, guess what? and those moments of choosing to celebrate, because you hit a milestone, even if you're in a season where that milestone doesn't even feel like that big a deal anymore. You're like, whatever.


Michael:
              Right.


Kathryn:
               But choosing to pause and celebrate, then again adds to the momentum and the encouragement to keep moving forward. So yeah, it's fun.


Michael:
              Yeah. All right. That was quite a discussion about just vision and excitement and hopefully motivating people where we are. We're a long ways into this podcast.


Kathryn:
               I know. It was not the topic we started with.


Michael:
              It was not the topic-


Kathryn:
               And then you started and that's why I'm looking at you. Like, no, we're not going to launch another topic right now.


Michael:
              So, we're going to leave today early. Yep. What was the point of today? Today's point of today was to share some successes on our side to help inspire you. To say, look, the hard work matters, putting in the work and the time, it matters and it has impact. And this podcast, and our book, and our course, and our online services, even our agency is here to help other companies and other leaders build Passion and Provision companies filled with Passion and Provision jobs.

                                It just makes life so much more enjoyable when there's more cashflow, everything's positive, all the numbers are positive and everybody's enjoying themselves. They're having fun doing it. And then it's adding to the rest of the areas of your life and enriching the rest of the areas of your life, as opposed to taking away from them. And when you do those things, they're valuable, but we want to just show you, we're doing this too. We didn't arrive and then say, Hey, let us tell you from the mountain top.


Kathryn:
               No.


Michael:
              We're farther up the hill from many people and alongside a lot of people and we're sharing, these are the things we're learning. These are the things we've realized and we've repeatedly worked on them and they've yielded fruit repeatedly. They're trustworthy principles, and that's what wisdom is. So we want to just encourage you, for all those things you're doing right now that you're like, I'm hoping someday this'll pay off. The good things pay off, more often than not, they pay off. And you know, surprises happen. But the statistics are on your side. The odds are on your side, when you do the right thing.


Kathryn:
               The odds are in your favor.


Michael:
              May the odds-


Kathryn:
               Always be in your favor.


Michael:
              Be in your favor. If you don't get that, your kids might.


Kathryn:
               That was Hunger Games, it's okay.


Michael:
              Yeah. We-


Kathryn:
               It's probably sad that we know that, but whatever.


Michael:
              We have a daughter. So we just want to say, Hey, you guys are doing great. Keep plugging away in these days where things are uncertain. There's lots of craziness out there and not all of us are able to keep the business going. Things are rough, and we just want to encourage you that even taking baby steps and going forward, and I'll leave you with this one last, for those of you that are really struggling and are looking for just any kind of encouragement at all of where you are. We're talking right now about growing, but I want to go back and reflect back 10 or 12 years, into the Great Recession. A devastating time for companies in America, and literally it was the second worst time in the last hundred years. It was second to the Great Recession. Not a close second.


Kathryn:
               Second to the Great Depression.


Michael:
              I mean the Great Depression. Thank you. It's not a close second because many people would say the Great Depression and the Great Recession were not the same, not by a long shot. And my grandmother ripped me a new one for a moment when I even asked the question.


Kathryn:
               Dare to compare.


Michael:
              Are they the same? Because she lived through the first one.


Kathryn:
               She's like, have you been standing in line waiting for food lately, young man?


Michael:
              You have cars and gas and-


Kathryn:
               Stick a sock in it.


Michael:
              ... electricity.


Kathryn:
               It you've got a house, don't you?


Michael:
              So that said, when we were going through that period, about 12 years ago, things were dark and concerning for us, and a lot of people, a lot of companies were failing. A lot of people were losing jobs. I remember, you get into this thing of how do we grow? How do we grow? How do we grow? We're not growing. We're not growing. And at that point, sometimes it becomes a thing of no, in this situation, the goal isn't to grow. Because if you're putting energy towards growing it's misused, it's going to be wasted energy. It takes too much energy to grow. You're better off thinking, how do we survive through this season? You buckle down, you button the hatches, you pull the sails in, and you hope to ride out the storm, because on a ship, if you don't batten down the hatches, you don't pull down the sails-


Kathryn:
               You get his button?


Michael:
              The wind... I think it's batten. The waves can sink you and fill in all the holes. The waves can rip apart your sales. And because it just cannot handle that kind of velocity and that kind of rage that comes in a huge storm that some of you are experiencing right now.

                                So the goal is in all of these things where people might be saying, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow. You may be in a situation where the wisest thing to do is just to say, we're contracting a bit to survive. We may have to lay off a few people, but our goal is to survive. We may have to do a couple of things and it may be really difficult, but if you can survive this and get to the other side, when the storm is over and the water's calm, then you can put the sails back up. If your sails are ripped and shredded, even when the storm is over, they won't hold wind.

                                And I want to encourage you that that may be the mindset shift you need to be. And on this journey of all these successes we're talking about today, we've been in plenty of those places where we just needed to contract and make sure that we were all going to be okay and we were going to survive the storm. And then we could live to fight another day.


Kathryn:
               Yep. Good word.


Michael:
              So on that note, we want to just make sure that this is encouraging, hopefully educational at some point, gives you pieces and parts of looking in on what we do and talking about the skills at times that we have to build these Passion and Provision companies. And so on that note-


Kathryn:
               Please let us know your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you. We'd love some interaction. Tell us what you're going through. Tell us how we can help.


Michael:
              Yeah, and where can they do that?


Kathryn:
               They can do that at habovillage.com.


Michael:
              On the show notes page.


Kathryn:
               On the show notes page.


Michael:
              Go to the bog, and find that.


Kathryn:
               And podcast.


Michael:
              And on podcasts. Right? Thank you.


Kathryn:
               Yeah.


Michael:
              That's why I have you here.


Kathryn:
               Well, I'm just here to keep you on track.


Michael:
              Well, somebody's got to.


Kathryn:
               I know. And then, Hey, if you are interested at all in Fulfilled, you can go to fulfilledthebook.com and-


Michael:
              And get a whole lot more information. And the book is 50% off there compared to Amazon, and it's free shipping. So you can get the book for $10. And there's lots of great really methodically thought out written down ways of dealing with all the different aspects of a Passion and Provision company.


Kathryn:
               Yeah, so it's philosophy plus strategy.


Michael:
              Yeah. Full of practical stuff.


Kathryn:
               Yep.


Michael:
              Fulfilledthebook.com. I'm Michael Redman.


Kathryn:
               And I'm Kathryn Redman.


Michael:
              This is the HaBO Village podcast. Thank you again for joining us today. May you have an incredibly blessed week. Bye bye.


Kathryn:
               Bye bye.