Part 3 - How Taking A Step Back Boosts Innovation in Business

Welcome to this edition of the million Dollar Mastermind podcast. This is where we pick the brains of high achievers from all walks of life and get their hard earned real world insights on winning. I'm your host, Larry Wydell. Tell me this, how did you react emotionally to not going into work every day and turning that over to someone else? How did it feel? Was it an adjustment or not?

I'm always such a busy person and it's not like I've totally disconnected from the business. So there are, I mean, I've that question I've talked to many founders about and it can be hard. I think it's also interesting because so many, the last few years with COVID people were not really going into the office, so that was less of, I think, an issue. But yeah, I mean, look, I think that where my head is, as long as I can continue to add value and not just to the company and to the team, but also to consumers. So I'm constantly incubating ideas.

That's what I wanted to ask you. What I remember was being run ragged with so many things to do. The only time I could get any peace and quiet was on an airplane going somewhere and if I was reading a magazine or whatever, all of a sudden, boom, kind of magical type ideas would come. And by the time you get off the plane, you're so excited. I can't wait to get back and pass these on. But you know, you need, you need the pressure off of you to be able to kind of think about things. And I just wondered and if you were experiencing that, like you're able, able to make really the leadership contribution of direction and vision maybe even better when you're not saddled with the day to day, minute to minute things.

Yeah. I think the hardest thing for somebody who's led a company for a long time is if people do things a little bit differently. Right. And so I think that as long as you can get the results, that then that takes some getting used to. Yeah, right. I think where the problem happens, and I'm thinking about a couple of entrepreneurs in particular, is when you see that there's no more empathy, there's no more connection, not only to employees or consumers, and that's, that's been cut and then the health of the company starts to be affected too. That's hard. Right. And I think that's the typical beef that I think people have with private equity overall. And not all private equity is like that. But I think it's like if you take the soul out, you Better put another soul back in.

Yeah.

And I think that a founder can adjust as long as they know that the house is being handled right.

Right now. How much is it in really the water business, even the podcast? How much going to the top? I mean, you do have a clear idea about wanting it to move up, to grow, to develop, to be all it can be. How much is strategy and looking for competitive advantages? Is it just a matter of you're not going to come out with a new bottle of water next, next month or maybe a flavor, but you got a repetitive product, more or less. And so it's a matter of now, how are we going to grow our efficiencies and processing distribution and getting into other outlets? How much is a strategy, Thinking ahead, seeing what other companies do, how much does that role play in your running the company and decision making at the top about where are you going to be next year, where you want to be? Or is it just terms in bigger. We just want bigger volume, doing more of what we're doing.

So you're talking about the podcast in particular?

Well, it's either both of them. The similar type thing.

Yeah, I mean, I. Look, I think for me, the podcast was always about fun. Right. And I didn't sit there and have a massive strategic plan. As I mentioned before, it started off as anybody who would talk to me, and then as it continued to grow, then I think you have to make some adjustments to it. But I think that's the key thing that I've seen. I do think they're really different from a company versus a podcast. But I think that the similarity and where it does cross is that you have to figure out if you're serving the listener or the consumer.

Yeah.

And be willing to hone in on what is it that people are commenting on, that people, the types of podcasts that they enjoy. Again, the consumer isn't necessarily saying, I want to hear from these guests.

Right.

But what they're saying is and what your role is to kind of look at what is the story that is building here. And I think that's very similar for a product like Hint, too. Where I just wanted a product that was helping people to get healthy, never did I think that I would start hearing from doctors and patients who, you know, hints has become over the years, water that many people who are going through chemotherapy drink. See, there you go. And. Yeah. And the metallic taste that people get when they're going through chemo, it's very hard to drink anything. And water just enhances that metallic taste. Sugar makes you nauseous. And I hear the same thing over and over again. Now, we're not considered. You didn't know that fact. Like, we're not considered the cancer water, but we're helping people. Right. Like, that's a powerful position. And yet when people get over chemo, get over cancer, they're still drinking Hint, which I think is fascinating. Right. Like, typically when you're. If you're sick, you've got a stomach issue and you're having Pedialyte or whatever, you're like, I'm never touching that stuff ever again. It's too. Like, I have this nasty memory. But you don't. And so you don't with him. So anyway, I think that it's. It's listening for clues from these consumers that, that I think that's where the crossover is with what we do with the podcast, too. Like, what are they enjoying? What are they commenting on, what are they buying? And creating a story from that.

Yeah.

And I think that is sometimes the. Look, numbers don't lie for sure. But what is the story that you can craft from these. From any data. And I think that your ability to do that and really and ask for that is. Is super key, whether you're running a podcast or you're running a company like Hint.

I'm glad you brought the thing up about cancer, because I've got a cousin going through cancer chemo this month, and he's in South Georgia. And I'm sure Hint is not on the shelves in Sober to Georgia. So I'm going to.

Oh, oh, definitely fresh market. But yeah, Instacart.

There's no fresh market in Sober in Georgia. But the thing is that there is Amazon.

That's why. And ordering, that's where I get money. And this is. And that's the other thing, too. I mean, ask any person who's going through any type of cancer is sugar is. You don't you want to avoid sugar? Because sugar and cancer are buddies. Right. And you want to get rid of it. So Hin has no sweeteners, but that includes no sugar.

Yeah.

So it's a good product for people and it helps you to stay hydrated and. And then also gets this yucky metallic taste. And sometimes people I've talked to, I have a very good friend of mine who's going through cancer right now, and his dose, he was. He's a doctor as well, so he knows quite a bit about this. But he. I guess these lower levels of chemo, sometimes you don't have this metallic Taste. But anyway, it's definitely. I'm proud that we created a product that helps people not only drink water, but get through some really challenging times.

We. Well, what I was getting at before, I probably a little. Not too clear on the strategy and all. It's like this. Nobody goes to number one. No one does anything great without by accident. You don't fall out of bed, screw around, and hey, I'm number one. And so the deal is that there's a stage you go through where you have an idea and then you prove it. Proof of concept. And then you get established, hey, I'm making money, I'm supporting myself. And now we're growing. And so those kind of, you know, your intent changes and goals follow intent. And so nobody goes to number one without at some point and stays there unless they say, like, let's just see how big this thing can get. We've got a chance to do something beyond what I thought. And so your intent grows as your success grows. But if that intent is fuzzy, then you're open to not being as focused on your decision making as you could be, and you don't wind up making the progress you could be in your primary goals. And so that's why I was asking about, you know, how much did your intent change? How do you refine your intent? Where did you get the idea that this could be something special? The podcast. Because it's the idea of getting as many people as possible exposed to the information. Much like the water, you want to get it out to as many places as possible.

Well, I think it goes back to actually very similar reason why I wrote my book was that people were reaching out to me to, to help them. Right. And to mentor them and, and get through challenging times. And I didn't have enough hours in the day. I'm not a coach, I'm not. That's not what I'm doing. But if I could do something that could help hundreds of thousands of people at a time just by having a one hour interview to help them think about things, that is a, that's a really powerful thing. And so that was the only reason I, you know, it's interesting because I think goals are great and I think they're important to have along the way. But the best entrepreneurs and the best leaders, I believe, are constantly moving that goal. Right. Which, I mean, that's a very frustrating thing when you think about it. If you have a boss that is like, you set a goal with your boss and they're constantly, they're saying, oh, you Almost hit it. So we're going to move it down the line. That's not great. Right. But an entrepreneur, once they meet that goal, is constantly. They don't stop there. Right. One of the questions I frequently ask a lot of these founders on the podcast is, what's success to you? And most of them say that they haven't achieved it yet. You know, people like the guy Lululemon hasn't achieved it yet. He's done pretty well. That's fine. He's got nice things, but he hasn't really achieved it yet. And that's consistent because they keep moving the goal.

Yeah.

Right. And I think that is. I think that's really important that.

Well, the thing is, if you don't do that, here's the alternative. You get stale, you get bored, and you go in decline. You're either stretching. You don't live life on a level line. You live either. You're going sloping down or sloping up. And so you're not going to be. You know, people say, I just want to keep doing what I'm doing. Better get somebody else in the leadership position. Because you're going to go, you know, your employees are going to lose interest, you're going to lose interest. The product's going to decay, will set in unless you're continuing to challenge them. And it's so true for how it can be better. You really don't have a choice. I wish. It's kind of like golfers get criticized. Like, he's just never satisfied with this. He's a handicap. He's a 10. He wants to be. Get into single digits, and then he wants to shoot ball. He's never satisfied. Yeah. Otherwise he stopped playing golf.

Yeah. And I think that's true. I mean, where you're constantly. Look, I think that's why golf is so interesting to people and frustrating. Right. The best golfers will sit there and also, you can just see it, this angst in them.

It's never frustrating if you're not trying to improve. You know, you'll just hit the ball wherever it goes, you're happy, but you're probably not going to enjoy golf.

Yeah. And I think that's what's the puzzle of how do I get better? You're going to talk to other people that you aspire to be like. But it never ends. There's this constant search.

We operate. The thing is, for people are listening. Everything. We operate in a world where people are not like us and people don't think like us, and people are going to tell us, their opinion of us and the way we look at things. And most of the time their opinion is going to be wrong. It's going to be coming from an employee vantage point. It's not from the vantage point where we are. And so you've got to be kind of sure of why you're doing things the way you're doing it and why, how it's going to pay off for the people, people that are looking to you for leadership. And so a lot of people look to you for leadership. You're doing a great job of delivering. Thank you so much. And I wish you the best continued success in both of your activities. Looking forward to your next book, which you haven't even mentioned about writing, but I'm sure is coming. Hopefully we'll do this again down the road. And how about a last word? I always like to give my guests the last word. What would you say for the people that have stayed with us and followed what we've covered so far? Any last comment? For people who want to do something.

Great with their life, I think get out there and try and nobody has it all figured out. And I think you just have to take those initial steps and, and see what happens in life. And I think that is. And reflect. I think that there's nothing wrong with looking back and reflecting. There's something wrong with looking back and getting stuck. Right. But that is different from using that information in order to move forward.

Hey, thanks so much, Carl. It's been tremendously fun, just like last time and so glad you took the time to cover. Great to see you continuing to grow and make a bigger and bigger impact.

Thank you.

Thank you for listening to the final part of this episode of the Million Dollar Mess Mastermind podcast. Great ideas. Don't care who use them. If you're motivated to move up in a big way. Right now, I've created a free training video to remove the mystery on how to set yourself up for big success. This is the information that has changed so many of our lives and it can have the same impact on you. And the video is completely free. You'll find it@widelawnwinning.com join us over there. And thanks for being part of our community.