On this episode of the Disruptive Successor Podcast Jonathan Goldhill is joined by co-host Chris Decker, Co-Founder of Salescast, as they feature Justin White, CEO of K&D Landscaping, Inc,. Learning how to run your family business from the ground up provides lessons not just in entrepreneurship but on empathy too. Justin found out that it is enlightening to engage people in authentic conversations as life lessons can be learned in the unlikeliest places. This includes everyone in the ranks, from the front line employees all the way up to the C-suite. Becoming a leader was just the first step as embodying the values of this position was key in earning the respect of his organization. He also discusses many aspects of a growing family company, such as learning to let go of your ego when teammates start to step up and having difficult conversations with people because they could not keep up with the pace of the company's growth.
HIGHLIGHTS
04:30 Justin takes a grassroots approach to running his family business
09:57 The different roles of family as motivators to success
14:34 Leadership books, earning respect as the leader, and learning constantly
24:13 Empathy and developing leaders vulnerability
32:47 Difficult conversations: When employees can't keep up with company growth
39:25 A dirt bike accident gives the team the opportunity to step up
46:57 Advice to give to your 20-year old self
55:13 Future forecast: What's in store for K&D Landscaping and Salescast
QUOTES
08:25 "That's what really sparked my interest was the sales side and the chase of trying to land that next client and trying to beat the numbers and beat the goals that you set for yourself on that project."
22:58 "You just never know what interaction is going to give you some great takeaways, so my thing is just always be open. Be open-minded, extremely open-minded, and try to learn from everyone around you."
30:32 "Vulnerability comes first. It's identifying the people who have that hunger to become a leader and who want the responsibility, and then it's coaching them on a week-by-week basis, helping them achieve their goals."
34:00 "The hard part about growth and 10x-ing a company is that, more than likely, 7 of those 10 people won't be with you in 5 or 10 years because what happens is they aren't able to grow at the pace you're needing to grow at."
48:57 "I've crewed several (Tony Robbins) events and actually I was able to experience a lot more by being in service to others than I was as a participant."
To learn more about Justin and Chris, you can check out the links below.
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