Interview with Rich Bledsoe

You're listening to One Sharp Sword Cutting through to what Matters Most with outfluencer Dr. Wayne Purnell. Welcome to One Sharp Sword Cutting through to WHAT MATTERS MOST. I'm Dr. Wayne Purnell, your host, guide and coach on this journey. With me today is Richard Bledsoe. He's got an amazing history and trajectory of leadership, and I connected with him about 15 years ago. It's been remarkable just to see the growth and the, the, the leadership that he's brought to others as well as to his family, as well as to himself. And so with that, rich welcome to One Sharp Sword.

Hey, Wayne, thanks. I'm so glad we're here talking about leadership today. And I'm thrilled to walk through this podcast with you to discover what leadership really is.

Yeah, let's dive in. Let's discover what leadership really is. You didn't set out to be like, when I first met you, you were the senior vice president of a multinational global company and you were like a step or two away from the CEO of this global company, which means that you were pretty high up in the food chain. But you didn't start out there like, I know that you started out years and years and years ago. What I like to do is to let's wind back the clock. You started in. You started in a trade school, right?

You.

Or if you want to wind back the clock even before that, where'd you grow up? And what, like, you didn't wake up one morning and go, I'm gonna be the svp? You know, it's like, so talk a little bit about your journey, what got you there, and then we'll, and then we'll progress forward from there.

Sure. I grew up in a little town called Lyndhurst, New Jersey, which is essentially near the Meadowlands Arena. And as a kid, I agreeing with things could have been lawnmowers and motorbikes, bicycles. I did tune ups on our family's cars. So I was always mechanically inclined. And, you know, as I grew older and, you know, you get into high school, you. There's two tracks, there's a college prep track or there's a vocational track. And I selected the vocational track and went through a series of trades, you know, electro, electrical, masonry, auto mechanics. And, you know, once I graduated high school, I really wasn't sure what track I wanted to take. And I was in our house and this was back in probably late 70s, and we had an old black and white television that didn't work and I started tearing it apart. My, my Mother comes in, she's like, what are you doing? I said, well, I'm trying to fix this thing. And little did I know, you know, tube TVs back then had severe, you know, extremely high voltage and, you know, you could kill yourself very easily. So she said, well, why don't you go to electronic school because you like to play with things. And, you know, the future is going to be in technology. And this was back in 1979, Wayne. So I wound up going to DeVry and got my degree in electronics, and then I went on to get more advanced certifications in digital electronics and so on and so forth. And I went to work in the, of all things, the fire and security industry, which was a complete accident. I just interviewed at, you know, a small place. It was a, you know, privately owned small company. And I connected with the hiring manager.

And let's pause for a second. This is. This is awesome. One of the things that, that is interesting about most people's trajectories is that they prepare and then opportunity comes up and, and you could go, no. I am like, this is what my degree is in. But you were like, you know, this, this thing came up. Let me explore it. And I think that that is, like, when we look at success paths, that's. That's kind of essential, you know, that it's like I chose to pursue this. This possibility. I chose to. To go down this road. So, you know, kind of by accident, it's like, that's awesome. That, that to me is one of those things that I want to point out, that the opportunity is there. It's always there. And so it's what you do with it. And you were like, you leaned in and it took you down this different path.

Yeah, I. When I think about it now, I. I wish I had more guidance as a. As a child. And, you know, there are learning lessons. We grew up, we were not a wealthy family. We. You know, I remember every Wednesday going to school was trade school day, and you'd walk from one school to another where there's a wood shop or a metal shop and all the kids had money for lunch because you'd walk back and you'd go to Don's Pizzeria, and there was a slice of pizza and a soda per quarter. I remember asking my parents for money for, you know, for school day, and they just didn't have it. And this is a quarter. You know, so my whole life, we grew up and we didn't. We had all the essentials that we needed to grow as A family, but nothing else. So part of that struggle, you know, fed my. My initiative, I guess, throughout my whole life. Like, I wanted better for my family. I wanted more for my family. And in particular, I wanted to be more involved in how our children were brought up and guided not to say, go do this, Kelly, or Ryan, but to give them the education. Both of our children went to Purdue. My daughter's now a pa My son's working at General Motors. He's going for his mba. But that was through pushing and guidance. Now, relative to what they wound up doing for a living, that was where, you know, we teased out what their likes and dislikes were. For me, you know, my son and I, I. I'm an automotive fanatic. So growing up, my son was always helping me with my cars, whether it was waxing or, you know, tinkering with them. And my daughter was always. She was always. She always wanted to help people. So through. Through their growth and development as young adults, we pointed them in the directions that we felt they were really interested in, and here they are. I didn't have that guidance. So if I go back to my earlier point, you know, the, the guidance that I have was, well, know you like to tinker it, so why don't you go to. Into electronics, because that's where the future lies. And, you know, and it. And it got me to where I, you know, to where I am as a start. But I would have loved more. So I love this.

Yeah, I love this. So, yeah, this is. This is really good. I'm. I've made some notes along the way, so I'm looking down to read my notes because you had the essentials growing up. You also knew something big, that that was a deliberate decision. So this is also part of a success path. And it's something that I point out when I run my retreats, that there is more. You have to dare to desire it. You have to actually step in and go, you know what? I want more. I want more for me. I want more for my family. The other part of that is you recognized get mentorship. And instead of going, well, I guess I got what I got. You went, I want to be the mentor for my family. But also you. And also you took that into

your.

The way you engaged with the people on your teams. So, like, you recognized their potential. And I think, you know, I think that's another huge leadership lesson is that you didn't force your kids to follow a path. You saw their natural propensity towards something, their desires to follow a certain Path. And you did that. You did that with your team members along the way as well.

Yeah, yeah. I. I've shared with you my leadership philosophy. I think, Wayne, and one of the bullet points in that leadership philosophy is, you know, everybody has an important role in a company, whether it's large, small, medium, whatever. But not everybody is in the right seat at the right time. And throughout my career, I found dozens and dozens of people who were in big roles that didn't necessarily belong there. Not that they weren't valuable, but they didn't have the right. They have the right skills or abilities for the particular role. So I moved people around quite a bit, which at times became, you know, that. That's very stressful on not only me, but as the individual receiving that feedback. In the end, on balance, more often than not, the feedback I got was, hey, Rich, I appreciate it. I was really hurt that you took me out of this role, but I really enjoy the thing that I'm doing now, and I'm really good at it. So, you know, thanks. And if you do that, you know, a couple of dozen times, you know, a couple things happen, you know, you. One, you realize if you take the emotion out of it, you know, you have to do it with the right degree of dignity and respect and empathy and all that. But businesses don't thrive when you have the wrong leaders and in the wrong seats. So, you know, when you're the companies that I work for most of my life for, public companies, and in public companies, it's quarter to quarter if you don't hit it, you know, they're, you know, you're answerable. So you have to make, you know, decisions along the way that are going to promote and enhance the productivity of your business. That's simple.

I. I also love that it's that simple. And, well, while most success steps are simple, they're not always easy. Right? That, that. It's. It's like, it's that simple. And it. And the truth is, it's that simple. It's right in front of you. You just need to. You said a couple of dozen times, you just need to practice and be willing to. To lift those around you, be willing to make mistakes along the way. Can we talk a little bit about, like we left off when you had diverged into, you know, a different thing, and along the way, you got. You took on different. Greater and greater and greater roles. Can we talk a little bit about the mistakes that you made and how you recovered from them? And you don't have to be like really specific about the mistakes, unless you want to be. Mostly it's like, okay, yeah, I did this. And wow. And right. What.

What did you learn? Yeah, I know there's so many mistakes, Wayne. We could be here for hours. But I think, you know, for me, that's always been my, my learning, My learning superpower. Oops, I really messed this up. I should probably not do that again.

Or

how do I recover from that mistake? And I think, you know, I. There's a series of events that have taken place over my life, one of which you are instrumental in helping me through with the president of a company I worked for at the time. But I've always had a challenge with authority. So if I go back to my technician days, you know, I wanted to grow. And at some point in my career, my wife Kathy encouraged me to go back to school at night to get a college degree. And I was like, yeah, you know, it's not my thing. And one thing led to another. I started going back to school. Eleven years later with a child and a full time job. I got my degree. But through that period of time, I've progressed from a technician to service manager, service manager to sales manager. Throughout that period of time, what I learned for myself is if I worked for somebody who I thought was less competent than I was or that I believed I was, it didn't sit well with me. So I wanted to progress so that I wasn't working for somebody that I didn't respect or appreciate working for or thought I could do a better job for. So that really helped me climb throughout my career. The downside of it was how I treated those above me wasn't always the, my best day. And you know, one of the, you know, would you mind if I went into the example that you and I, you coached me on with Bob?

Oh, you know what? Any, any of the things that you want to talk about in our coaching, I think that would be really helpful for our, our audience that it's like, this is what coaching is. This is how I approached it. Absolutely. Please.

Great. All right, so time frame was roughly 2012 or 2013. And there were three regions with the company I worked for. So roughly 3 billion dollar company, about 1.6 billion of it was under my control, 5,000 employees, and we were just cranking it out. So of the three general managers, myself, two others, my team was always leading the pack. For five years, we let in every, you know, measurable metric and, you know, we did very well for, you know, my team did very well, but my Relationship with the president of the company who I reported to was not good. And you know, there's, I, I don't know the, all the reasons, but we just didn't have a good chemistry together. I caught him, he would, he would jump on conference calls of mine unannounced and he'd call me afterwards and, you know, criticize, you know, how I portrayed, you know, the organization or some of the things we were doing. So I took that very hard and I, you know, got into it with them on, you know, I felt like I was being spied on and, and the relationship just went down into the tubes. That's when you and I connected and I, and I asked for your help. Wayne, how do we, how do I patch up this relationship with this gentleman who I have to work with and he has to work with me?

I mean, he came president of this massive multi billion dollar company. How do I work with him? Awesome. Great.

Yeah. And because of my performance and the awards that I had won from the CEO of the parent company and, and others, he couldn't get rid of me. It would, is just, it wasn't, you know, the optics. It was political suicide for him. So, you know, the work we did together was essentially communication and how, how could I communicate to him specifically what I needed from him and what I wanted from him? And also recognizing that how my actions as a leader of 5,000 some odd people could be interpreted, you know, if I was less than forthright with, you know, how I, you know, how I worked with my team and how I spoke to my team. So sometimes I let my guard down and when I let my guard down, you know, your team members, you know, could see that as an acceptable behavior and then that kind of trickles down. So over the next 12 months, you and I worked together on how he and I could work together and not necessarily go have a beer together. And it worked very well. And you know, he eventually moved on and, and so did I. But that experience was the culmination of me not respecting the senior leadership and, and having the, the wherewithal, you know, to think about how he interpreted my, you know, my actions and how I behaved with him. Another example is, let me just pause

because that's a, that's that's huge what you just said in the, the story we talked about communication, what's true in coaching is not only communication that, that we worked on, it's also self reflection and how do you show up, right? So these days with exponential success, I, I talk about values, vision and vitality what are your values? What are your core values? And if your core values don't match the organization's values, you're in the wrong job. If they do match but something's just amiss, then you're in the job wrong. And so it makes you have to like the, the coaching requires that you do some self reflection. The vision is what you convey. And again, communication helps that. It also matters that you reflect on vitality, which is, how are you showing up? How are you embodying your values and vision? And it could be that, you know, and I've seen leaders besides you that have shown up in a way where they believe in the company and they believe in it, and they show up in a way that's sort of about themselves rather than about a grander vision. And to work through that is big. And you, you had to let go of the kind of tug of war of. Right. Fighting. Right, I'm right. No, I'm right. No, I'm right. No, I'm like. And letting go of that allowed you a different perspective. And that's right. A lot of coaching is about perspective and what you do with a new perspective. Right? Because sometimes you get a new perspective and you go, don't like it? Um, and whether you like it or not, you get to see things from a different way. And, and now you have new opportunities, so what do you do with it? And fortunately for you, you were like, oh, we can approach it this way. And that built the relationship. So that, that, that's great. And I just, I wanted to point that out that it wasn't just like, well, we worked on communication, which was tough because and, and most leaders don't know that they're not communicating. That's the other thing. Or how they. So, so thank you. That was a great example. Great example.

You're welcome. If I think about. So post that era, Tico, which was our parent company, was the largest fire and life safety company in the world. 10 billion plus dollars. And I was on the senior leadership team and we were at the summit. There was a new COO that managed the, the group function. And we're in this meeting, meeting room in Princeton, New Jersey, and this new COO is kind of walking through, espousing all of his thoughts and how he approaches the business. He had no knowledge of our industry at all. He was a, a tech leader prior to this. And you know, throughout the course of two or three days, these topics would come up and I would, I didn't know it, but I would kind of be Sitting in my chair and I, my eye would be twitching or I'd be like, my eyes would be rolling and, and a couple of times, you know, he, he would conclude his, his oration and, and ask for any questions or comments. And several times, you know, I chimed in, well, by the third day he had had enough of that. He said, look, Rich, there are two types of generals. There are Pentagon generals and there are field generals. This room for field generals. If you want to be in this room, this is what I expect from you. If you want to be a field general, then, you know, we'll have a talk with, with Aaron, who was my, my boss at the time. And you know, I just stopped right there and I said, thanks. You know, Pentagon general is fine. And in my mind I was appeasing him at the moment because I didn't want to get booted out of the room. When we left, the, the gentleman I worked for, Aaron Sake, who's a fantastic leader, said to me, he goes, rich, you know, I don't disagree with what you said, but how you respond in an environment like that is really important. The optics and, you know, how you carry yourself. And you know, this is not Bob. And you know, I just, he coached me on how to be mindful of that. And so, you know, I, I marinated on that for a couple of days and I came back to him and said, Aaron, you know what, I'm a field general at heart. I can sit in that room and pretend you're, we're drawing up plants to do all these things, but I'd rather be on the side of the tank with the field going down and wiping out the opposition. So if that means I have to take on another role, whatever, that's fine, but I do not want to sit in that room and pretend to be somebody I'm not. And he said, look, I, I have no plans to make any changes. You're doing a great job at what you're doing. Just go do it. I'm asking you to be mindful in the context of those kinds of meetings. And it was, it was a great lesson from a good men, a great mentor. And you know, it goes back to my roots. Wayne I liked tinkering. I liked seeing the results of the action. People who are out there making things work and happen love to see you out there with them grinding it out and, and they respect it and I respect them for, for doing it. So I think a lot of it comes back to how I was raised and what I, you know, what are my Natural tendencies are, I think that's great.

The, to fall into and to enhance natural tendencies and, and not force it. The, the fact that you could do leadership and management and that is a delicate balance. And leadership really is about being out front. It's about looking at the strategy. It's about seeing into the future a little bit. And management comes from the Latin manos, which is hands on and your ability to be hands on when needed and, and managing people and process and all of those pieces are essential. Manage people because you're a manager. Manage process because that's management as well. You have to make sure that, that things flow with the right people, with the other resources. And so that's, that's very tactical. And then the strategic part is the leadership part. So you had a brilliant way of just knowing who you were without trying to be somebody. Like, I want to be bigger. It's like you, you knew there was more for you without, without it being like ego based. Right? So it wasn't, it wasn't I want to be bigger. It was, I know there's more and I want to live in my truth on the way to more. And I think that is an essential lesson.

Oh, thank you. I, I was thinking about the leadership philosophy that I sent you, you know, weeks ago. One of the other bullets is on. There is something along the lines of, look, at times we're going to be asked to do things that we don't necessarily agree with or, you know, think might, might not be the right direction, but when asked to do it, we have to do it and we're going to do it to the best of our ability and make the best of the situation. Because everyone that I know, regardless of what job they do, has things, you know, that they're asked to do that they're not necessarily fond of. Doesn't mean you get to choose not to do it. You have to do it. So if you have to do it, do the best that you can at it. Right? And if you find a better way and you can contribute to making that thing you don't like so much something better and it results in something, you know, more better for the organization and with better output, then you know, it's a win win for everyone.

This is, this is awesome. So I'm holding up. I have your leadership philosophy in front of me and I do appreciate it. You've got four key elements of what I believe, which I'm gonna read just the headlines of. And I want you to go into the fourth one. Integrity. Beautiful. That's mostly understood by most people. Teamwork. None of us is as smart as all of us. That's a beautiful statement because you are bringing teams together and willing to listen as a leader. Willing to listen. Accountability is the piece you just talked about where sometimes we're going to be asked, do things that are beyond what we think we could be or should be doing. And yet I'm going to show up and do my best and then excellence. And that is, that is one of my core values in my business. And you say, well, I will work at excellence in everything I do personally and professionally. And I, I love that, that, that, you know, excellence is a, is an attitude. It's a mindset. You know, it's, it's, it allows you to exclude things. When you live in the world of excellence, you exclude things that are not excellent. And if you find something, excuse me, if you find something that is close to excellent, you will either build it until it's excellent or, or you will exclude it. And can you talk a little bit about that in your life, personally and professionally?

Yeah, I don't think I've ever got to excellence. You know, it's a, it's a journey that you, that you aspire to and you work towards. But I, I think about all the, the excellence things that, you know, that transpired throughout my life. When I look back, they weren't really excellent. They were just better than the next thing or better than the previous thing. And I love that.

Wait, wait, wait. I want to call this out. This awesome. So what? This is so good, Rich. And you don't even know you said it. What we. Oh, what we do in our lives that when we see what we think is excellence may or may not be excellent. Oh, look, I gestured and I get a little bubble. What we think of as excellence may or may not be excellence. Really, it's simply better than we've had before. And that is amazing because if you've ever gone to a restaurant where they've served you and it been attentive and the food has been amazing, it's like, that's my new baseline, right? That's excellence. I want everything to be that and, and you aspire to have those kinds of meals and they're amazing, and then you find a restaurant that up levels that and it's like, oh, my goodness, like, I didn't know that was possible. Airline travel. I travel a lot. You used to travel a lot. Airline travel. Finding excellence in, in customer service, in products. It's incredible. And I love that you said that it's. The excellence is a journey. In fact, it is. It is finding something better than you've had and letting that be your. Your new baseline. I, I added that last part. I think that's. I think that could be a Wednesdays with Wayne blog post, actually. Stay tuned for that. That's awesome. That's awesome.

Yeah, I, I'm thinking about, you know, outside of the business world, and you and I have talked about this in the past. You know, all the things. When I retired two years ago, all the things that I wanted to do when I was traveling 180 nights a year and spending, you know, the Hilton Gardens and Southwest flights and all that, what did I want to do? I wanted to learn how to play music, play piano and. And a bunch of other. Play more golf, you know, all the typical things you'd expect. So, yeah, with the music specifically, I went and I, you know, Kathy found me a teacher. Actually, my wife and I went for instruction for about six months, and I was like, I can do. I can do better than that. Then I got a second teacher, and then I got a third teacher. And I said, the hell with it. I'm just going to go online and do my own thing. And, and it goes back to, you know, historical things where I didn't really. The person that I was looking up to, to advance me, wasn't getting me to what I needed from them. So I just decided to do it on my own. And what I think is excellent in my learning music and playing songs to the average year is like, oh, he's. He's just beginning. But for me, it's, you know, the hundredth time I played a specific song or, or what have you, and, and when I think about, you know, how to be excellent at it, now I'm looking for another instructor to kind of move me to the next level. But every step you take and every day that you practice, in this case, for me, it's a piano like, okay, that was better than the day before, but how long will it be? And actually, I remember asking my first instructor this. There's a piano solo in a. In an Almond Brother song. It's a famous song, and the name escapes me now. Jessica's. The name is Jessica.

Yeah.

And there's a, like a one and a half minute piano solo towards the beginning of the song. And I said to my teacher, I would love to play that solo. How long do you think it would take? Now I'd been seeing her for maybe a month or two. She goes, well, probably about 10 to 12 years. I was like, what? No way I could play that in a year or two. Well, I've been at it for two years, and I can't come anywhere near that. And what I've determined is all of my favorite artists and music that I like to listen to is at a level like Bruce Springsteen. Not known for huge piano section, but his piano player, his nickname is the professor, is one of the best pianists I've ever known, Yet Springsteen's band is not known for that. So, you know, when I look up how to play his music, it's so complex. Billy Joel and John, like, all the, you know, the things that you'd expect are beyond even my comprehension to. To read and play it with any competence. So, you know, I. I go back to my first instructor's, you know, words of wisdom, and look, you know, Pete, Billy Joel started playing piano when he was 6. He's 72. I think now he doesn't have to look at the key to doing anything. I mean, he just. This is 10,000 hours, you know, on steroids, if you will. Yeah, but that excellence thing, you know, if I. If you keep chasing it, you, Your, Your version of excellence becomes how well you perform at that moment in time until you're. The next time when you get a little bit better.

What I. The phrase I use for myself and in my teaching is happily dissatisfied. And that is that you could stop where you are and go, you know what? I'm. I'm doing okay. Like, you know, pause my life, look around, I'm doing okay, but my life isn't paused. And so I know there's more. And so I'm happy where I am. And I am also on a journey. And so I'm dissatisfied with where I am. And I can hold both of those. Happy and dissatisfied at the same time. And recognizing that, you take skills, you internalize them, you seek mentorship and skill, build and internalize those skills, and then you seek additional mentorship at the next level. And I think that that is really. That is also huge. You know, the highest performers, the highest athletes have more than one coach. They have sometimes, you know, two, three, six coaches. Like, you know, if you look at any of the top performers, and so for you to go, okay, it's a journey. Right? It's not like. And destination thinking is sort of a trap. Like, I want to have it done in six months or two years or whatever. It's like, well, it takes however long it takes, and each individual has their own journey. And it's Also, how much are you willing to devote to it? You're not, you're not giving, you know, six to ten hours a day to piano, although you did buy one. And over your right shoulder, there's a piano in the background. That's right. So it's, it's there and you're practicing and it will take you some time. And that's with any skill, whether it's leadership or new language or new music. And the pursuit of that also keeps you active and your excellence level keeps improving. Like, can you say you're excellent? Yeah. Are you better than you were yesterday? That to me is excellence. Right. That you are on the climb toward it's continuous improvement. It's kaizen. Right. It's the continuous quality improvement. How am I getting better personally and professionally along the way? This is great. Rich. What. What haven't I asked you?

I, you know, I don't know. That's an interesting question. Actually, while, while you were talking, I was thinking about one of your other sharp sword events. Do you mind if I get into that a little bit? That I. Oh, please.

Yeah, you can. So, so the good news is that you have. You have engaged with me in coaching, you've engaged with me in my retreats. And, and we've, you know, gotten together socially as well, which is. All of that is an amazing relationship that we've developed for the decade plus. Right. So, yeah. So the retreat is what you're going to talk about.

Yeah, this was in Chicago a few years. I think it was 27. That was 2018. Summer of 2018.

Wow. The next one's going to be back

in Chicago, by the way, after Napa.

Yep. Okay, so we've been to Portugal just to kind of. Because. Because this recording will be out there, you know, long beyond. We've been to Portugal, we've been to Vancouver island, we've been to New York City, San Francisco, Hollywood, Chicago, St. Louis. And I run them in April and October. And so April of 2026 is going to be Chicago.

Okay, awesome. So when I attended this retreat, I was starting a new job. This was probably August so of 2018. And I remember sitting in this room in the hotel, we were just getting started and you looked at me and you said, you asked the question, you said, you know, you look hesitant. What do you, what are you hesitant about, Rich? I said, wayne, I'm going into this job, you know, another billion plus company as the senior vice president of sales and marketing for a manufacturer, and I have no idea what I'm doing And you know, I've read Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean in and you know, men typically will lean into jobs, you know, more so than women with not necessarily having the qualification to do so. It's just how men were. Men are built, I guess. And this, this job was a perfect example. I, I needed the work and I wanted to work and, and I went through a 22 per 22 interviews to get the job. And so the, so that weekend we had together was me kind of doodling out how I'm going to step into this role and do the best that I can. Well, the first year was an absolute disaster. I was not, not doing well. The president and CEO who I reported to was not happy and reflect was reflected in my, in my year end review. And so we talked about it and Craig was his name and now he walked through the things that he didn't like or see or appreciate. I said, well Craig, gonna be honest with you. I've never worked in a manufacturing environment before. Distribution, wholesale, the type of structure for me this past year was a learning experience. But I promise you, if you give me the chance in the next year, you're going to be pleasantly, you know, surprised. And he did, he gave me that chance and knocked it out of the park. Got an exceeds expectations for the role and I had that role for five years. Now that's critical. The five year mark is critical, is important because prior to that there were five leaders in my position that made it less the two years or less. They just got washed out. And at the end of the, at the end of my run there, I had some health issues and, and you know, wound up coming out of the business going into retirement. But if I didn't, you know, if I, if I didn't have the confidence in myself to go forward and put it out there and lean in, I would have been another statistic and another one, you know, one and done employee. So my advice to anyone is, you know, if you're struggling early on but you sense that you're getting it, it's not, it's, it's not, it's okay to ask for an extension if you believe that you have, you know, the, what it takes to get there.

I'm gonna say it's essential like along the way ask, you know, ask for what you, what you want. Recognize that you're deserving. You know, that's, these are the failure paths of, you know, where people do blow out or burnout is, you know, they feel like burnout is equated with loneliness. And when people isolate themselves because they don't feel like they're like they do feel like they should know, should know more like they don't feel adequate and so they retreat instead of, you know what? I've grown a lot this past year. I want to use what I've learned and I would like some help. And one of the strongest leadership questions is or statements is I need your help. And whether that's to your upline or to your team members, I need your help or to your family. And so that's huge. That's huge.

Yeah. I think the, you mentioned mentorship a number of times through, throughout our time together and there were a couple of mentors I've had in my life and I didn't know it at the time because the word mentor wasn't used. It was just you connected with somebody, they helped you progress and you know, they gave you a lot of Dutch uncle advice and things along the way. And then, you know, at some point mentorship became a corporate terminology that, you know, they built programs around. And I remember when I was with Tycho, one of my colleagues who was a female in, in the same role as I, you know, she made a fuss about not having enough diversity women in big roles. And I happen to agree with her. When I look like when we would meet together at these leadership meetings, it was myself and 11 others who ran this company. All 11 were white male. 10 of the 11 were left handed, myself included. So there was a very. Tracy was the lone female in the group. And so she and I worked together to build a mentorship program for women in the organization. It was, oh, I, I forget the acronym, but it was essentially we were, we were to take 30 of the top females in the organization and assign each leader, three of these females to mentor to move into director and higher level roles. And I remember we kicked the program off and I can look around on, on the zoom call or at the time it was a Skype call and all my colleagues rolling their eyes like, oh God, we, you know, we have to DEI thing, we have to do this. But I thought it was a great idea so I, I volunteered to lead it. And through that program, the first three folks that I worked with went on to director level roles. The second three, two of them left the organization for better opportunities. And I thought it was the greatest thing because these are individuals that had as much capability as anybody sitting around that table, the left handers included, but they just didn't have the outlet or the opportunity. And I continue that work. Today I work for an organization called score, which is a derivative of the Small Business Administration that essentially councils young business owners to help start their businesses. So, you know, here it is, 10, 12, 15 years later. I still do this in a different medium, of course, but it's tremendously helpful for people that don't have access to, you know, advice or, you know, just somebody to, to listen to their thoughts and ideas on, on how to progress in life. So if you don't, if you haven't done it, go be a mentor if you can, or go find one if you need one.

I love that. Thank you. Yeah. And, and, and it's not. Or, right, it's seek mentorship because you're in the process of excellence. So seek a coach to get to that next level. Seek someone who can guide you. Look good coaches are around you and offer what you know to someone who's, you know, my, my saying is, lift as you lead. Right? Lift as you lead. Like you, you are climbing. Reach back and offer that hand to the next people that are behind you that could actually use your wisdom that you've gained along the way. Right. You're even. Your piano teacher didn't start by yesterday, right? He or she, you know, they, they have a track record. And so you rely on, on the people that have run the miles ahead of you to say, this is the path. Come with me. And I think that's really important. Any. Go ahead.

Yeah, I think it's important to find the right person. When I think about how you and I met, and I think it was 2012, Wayne, in Santa Clara, and you and I were at an event together. It was a leadership conference. And I remember leaving and we were introduced to Mike, or Dr. Mike Arico, I believe. And, and I remember meeting you at that event and, you know, it was, it was a mountaintop kind of experience for me, but I left there knowing that that wasn't the right forward ven. Medium for me or venue. It was too, too cinematic. And I, and I'm an extreme introvert. And I remember talking to you and we got together not long after that through our first, you know, session, so. And you're the guy that I've stuck with, so you're not unlike my piano teacher. You, you've, you've been around for the long term here, but it's okay. If you find somebody and they're not right for you, find the person that's right for you. Because whether you're paying for it or you're counting on advice to Help you advance in your, in your life. It's important to have the right chemistry with somebody to advance, you know what you want to do.

Great advice. Thank you. And you know, it's been an honor to be on your journey with you and to be your coach and friend along the way, so thank you. And you know, the other side of like mentorship is don't get your own ego. If you are mentoring somebody, don't get your own ego wrapped around, I'm gonna fix this person because it takes, it takes distance a little bit. It takes your ability to detach in order to be able to guide somebody. And, and so do as Rich, as you said do, find the, the right person to both be your coach and find the right person to be a mentor for. That's great. As we wrap, any last thoughts, anything that you would say, like, oh, I really want to convey this, or do you think we, I mean, you and I, obviously we could talk for weeks, months, etc, so anything in, in for today for our audience that you, you feel like you really want to make sure that, that you've passed along.

I mean, nothing comes to mind. Wayne, I, I, I'm humbled by the offer to work with you on this podcast, so thank you for that. And my, my, I would encourage, I've read all the books I see in the back behind you. The, the last one, Dynamic Transitions, I

remember just, I'm holding it up. Dynamic Transitions. It became a, an international number one bestseller on Amazon.

I remember when you and I connected around the time when I retired. And about a week later that book showed up at my house and I remember reading it and thinking about, you know, the transitions from, you know, 150 miles an hour every day, reporting and responsible and accountability to a full stop. And how do you make the transition from 150 miles an hour to a full stop? And reality is you, you don't stop. You just take that energy and you move it into those things that you've always wanted to do or, you know, be it of service to other people or hobbies, what have you. So thanks for that book. I appreciate it. I encourage your, your followers to read it as well.

Thank you. That's awesome. Super supportive, Rich. Thank you so much.

And that's not a paid advertisement.

That's awesome. My, I mean, that's the goal when I write a book is also, you know, as mentor, as a, as a mentor for kind of an invisible audience. When I'm writing, it's a solitary exercise and I think about the people whose lives I've touched. And what would they want to hear? What would, what do they need to hear? How have I guided others in the past? And so, you know, for me, if I can change a life or, or help somebody on their path through a book, it's great. And you know, my goal, I have a bhag, big, hairy, audacious goal. My goal is to positively impact a billion lives. That's an eighth of the population on the planet. And, and so every day I get to ask myself, am I closer to that? Right. And that's through ripple effects. Also, like you read the book, that affects your family, right? So there's a ripple effect and that's, you know, I think that that, that gets me going, like living in purpose. And you know, you, you found your purpose and you stepped into it pretty, pretty strongly. And I'm in my purpose, doing this as part of it. And it's pretty fantastic. So with that, I will say thank you for joining me, Richard. Bless.

My pleasure.

Thank you. You've been amazing and I've, you know, I appreciate, every time we get to talk.

Thanks, Wayne. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Alrighty. This is one sharp sword cutting through to what matters most. And I am your host, Dr. Wayne Purnell. We will see you here next time. Thanks for listening to one sharp sword cutting through to what matters Most with outfluencer Dr. Wayne Purnell. For more information, please go to onesharpsword.com.