For Our Edification | Podapalooza with Randy Phares

Foreign. Thank you so much for joining me on for our edification. I'm Eddie Francis, podcasting from Patapalooza. And this thing is I, you know, I'm gonna introduce Randy in just a second here, but this is the podcast version of Sensory Overload for me. This is my first one and so my brain has had to catch up with the activities. So Randy Farris, thank you so much for joining me. And Randy does a called how to out interview everyone else and get the job of your dreams. And that one just, it just got me right here in my heart. As a former job recruiter, I love this topic. Now, Randy is someone who is the winner of the best achievement of organizational Business Improvement and Manufacturing award from the Global Six Sigma and Business Improvement Awards. He led a world leading turnaround of a multinational business unit with for Fortune 1000 corporation on the Forbes Most Admired companies list. Randy, thank you so much for joining me. And how are you doing?

Oh, outstanding, Eddie. It's a pleasure to be here on such a great and valuable podcast.

So Randy is in Arizona, I'm in New Orleans and Randy was just sharing with me that it's 110 in Arizona right now. I can feel my skin melting just listening to that. So Randy, your talk topic is so cool. Tell me a little bit more about the problem that you like to help people solve with that talk topic.

Okay, I'll give you a little bit of my background. I started at the bottom, literally digging ditches with a pick and shovel for $4 an hour. I have Tourette's syndrome. So if you see me twitching and stuff on the interview, that's my Tourette's, an adhd. I never got a college de, which makes things a little more challenging for me than other people to help climb that corporate ladder. But basically, early on in my career, I blew an interview by not being able to answer a simple basic question about my qualifications or whatever. But I ended up starting in manufacturing as a general laborer at 21 years old in a manufacturing plant. And it lit a fire in me, the failure of that interview. And I became obsessed in learning what it takes to be the best at interviewing. So I studied psychology, communication, sales, storytelling, anything that would give me an edge, which I've now put together in what I call my Fearless Achiever Method. And I have a book coming out before the end of the year called the Ultimate Interview, how to out Interview Everyone Else and Get the Career of youf Dreams. And the foreword's written by Frank King, who has the most TEDx talk in history. But my transformation from just a general laborer was remarkable. Using these techniques, I attended an interview just a few years later, and I was called in the executive vice president's office. And he said, we don't want you to leave our building before agreeing to work with us. What will it take to get you to run our plant and not take a counteroffer, which we know will be coming? And I essentially wrote my own offer, which included a 60% salary increase, and they were excited to get me for that salary. And then shortly thereafter, a few years later, I became the youngest but highest paid general manager in that Fortune 1000 company that you mentioned earlier. And they tasked me with doing a turnaround of that business unit, which I succeeded in, and led one of their top five turnarounds in a 110 year history of over 60 plants. I ended up improving the economy in the Republic of Georgia and being on BBC for it. And the US and Afghanistan governments asked me to help launch four different industries in Afghanistan, which I accomplished prior to the Taliban takeover.

Wow. Okay. All right. So first of all, ADHD solidarity, man. I was diagnosed a couple of years ago. And so it sounds like, you know, I mean, we all go through setbacks. And one of the things that I talk about all the time when it comes to personal leadership is the importance of resilience. So I'm wondering with you, what, what kinds of setbacks or what are the setbacks that led you to the point where you wanted to share your message? I mean, certainly there was digging a dish for $4 an hour, but sure. I mean, but what. What else was in that mix that got you to the point of what? I really, really want to talk to folks about this. And also, what helped you advance in your career?

Well, there are a lot of different adversities that people have to deal with. And the treads was just a small thing for me. One of the issues was, by my own choice, I played lead guitar in a rock and roll band. So I had hair down to my waist. And I was told, I was told by multiple managers in my early 20s, I will never promote you with that hair. Even though I was the highest performing supervisor and everything else I didn't do, never did drugs, never smoked, never drank alcohol, but it was still put a cap on me, right? It was still going to put a cap on me because of something, you know, I eventually ended up cutting it off and still going up, you know, the corporate ladder really fast. But I've also been in the same trenches as everybody else. I mean, I felt, am I good enough? Do I really have what it takes? I'm going up so rapidly. I have two years of experience, and I'm going against people with 30. Am I really going to be able to beat them out and get the job? And the reality is I did, and I was able to just keep moving up. When you have things that work against you, a disability, something that people make judgments against, or anything else, you have a choice. You can either play the victim and let the world collapse on you, or you can make a decision that I'm going to accomplish it anyway, and you figure out a way to break down whatever barriers it takes, ethically, morally, and safely to make sure that you can get there. So basically, I have a passion for helping people do that. The biggest thing that holds all of us back is our own brain, our own thoughts, our own limiting beliefs. And so I want to help as many people as possible take the escalator to the C suite instead of the stairs.

Would you say that was something with you? You felt like you were your own barrier?

Always. Everyone's always their own barrier. Most people don't feel that way, but it's the truth. Our own thoughts. We have to be able to step back out of our own body and look at things from other perspectives and not be stuck in our own paradigm if we want to be able to continue to move up. Like a lot of people. How many people do you know that were passed up for a promotion and they thought they were the best candidate?

Yeah.

Lots.

Yeah.

Were they the best candidate? No, because. Does any manager want to hire a bad candidate? No. You. They weren't a bad candidate. They didn't know what the manager was looking for. They thought, this is what is going to make a successful person. And the manager thought this. And the reality is, if you're an achiever, you can do a lot of things. And it's the same thing in an interview. If you go into the interview like most people, and you try to sell what you think they want, you're going to be wrong. So what you need to do at the beginning of the interview is ask people right away, either before the interview or at the end of your first answer. Tell me a little about yourself before you let them ask another question. Ask what are the challenges currently in the position? What would success look like? And what kind of ability, abilities and traits and experience do you think would make somebody the most successful in the position? Now, you know exactly how to structure your stories. So I have a methodology I call the PACE methodology, which is problem assessment, correction, and evaluation. So if they ask, well, how would you solve this problem? You don't brag about yourself because people that do aren't that good. What you do is say, well, when I ran into a similar problem in another company, here's how I determined recognize the problem. Here's how I assessed it, here's how I implemented the corrections, and these were the measurable results that I was able to deliver. Oh, and by the way, those same types of skills I can apply in this open position and help solve these problems that you just told me are a challenge in the current position.

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, the. I actually had this conversation with someone when I was a recruiter, and I'll never forget the candidate said, well, let me tell you what I can do. I said, well, let me tell you what, what, what we're looking for. And this person was just stuck on, well, this is what I can do. This is what I can do. And I said, okay, listen, listen, before you go into that interview, you know, train yourself to figure out what it is that they're looking for, because I guarantee is something specific. And that's why your resume got you answer some of those questions. And this candidate had such a hard time understanding that the interview wasn't really about them. It was about figuring out what problems they could help the company solve. And they struggled with it. They just struggled with it.

And see, I was a CEO of a successful executive recruiting company called Packaging Recruiters. So I've been the candidate, I've been the interviewer, and I've coached candidates on how to interview and, you know, and as a coach and executive coach, I've helped, you know, many, many others be able to achieve the life of their dreams. And the career is just the start of it. And then, you know, when you get the next job, you need to hit the ground and make an impact. So you're the hero in the new spot. And then you need to look at the rest of your life and in every area of your life, you need to set goals and make progress. Progress. So you're improving in your family life, in your finances, in your social life, in your, you know, hobbies that you've been neglecting, put proper boundaries in place so you cannot be overworked, underappreciated, and. And actually get to live a happy and healthy life.

Yeah. You're listening to for our edification, I'm Eddie Francis, and we are talking to Randy Farris, and he talks about enter out interviewing everyone else to of your dreams. And so let's talk about you and your personal leadership and what it is that you do to grow yourself. So how do your work and life experiences inform your personal growth and development?

Well, one, I'm always reading books. Number two, I've spent. Honestly, I've spent over $40,000 on my own coaches in the last 12 months. So I'm not a coach that just trying to sell something I'm not buying. I mean, I learn from people that have been where my next step is because I want to skip all the mistakes. I want to skip all the roadblocks and be able to guide around them. That's the whole key. Nobody gets to the top on their own, ever. It always takes somebody that believed in you. It always takes somebody that gave you advice and mentors and coaches and things. The big advantage of having an executive coach is they'll help you get there way faster than you could ever do it just with your own mentors and everything else, because they've helped so many others already go through the same roadblocks that you're running into. And they can help you in your own personal situation by figuring out what's holding you back. Is it limiting beliefs? Is it a real external obstacle? Is it a lack of skills training? Do you need to brand yourself as an expert in your field, somebody that can help you do all of those things?

So besides books and besides coaching, how else do you invest in your personal leadership? Are there any routines that you have, any practices that you have?

Well, I get up by 6am every morning. I go to the gym. I work out. I have a strict nutrition regimen. I go to church every Sunday and praise the Lord. I spend, you know, while I am running a business and coaching and doing all of these things. I'm intentional with my time. I do play occasionally and are lead singing and lead guitar in a rock and roll band and do things intentionally with my son that I'm raising and my fiance to make sure that we have good quality time together. And, you know, you need to make sure you have a strong balance and there are going to be times that one spikes up a little. But you need to always keep that balance in mind if you want to stay happy. Getting completely all your focus into one area does not make a happy person.

Okay, Randy, I have to ask you this. Do you miss the long hair?

No. It's surprising. Did I like it at the time? Absolutely I did. I mean, it was in the 80s. I mean, if you're a rock and roll lead guitar player. It was part of the, the look and everything. Yeah. But when I, when I eventually said, I'm going to cut it, a friend of mine owned a salon and was a hairdresser, and he said, I'm not going to cut your hair. You're going to hate me. I said, I'm not. I said, once I've made a decision, I've made the decision. I've already cut the ties with it, psychologically, mentally, I'm done. I'm ready for the next step. Cut it off. And he did. And I just moved on. Like it was just the next step in my journey.

So. One thing I love to do, Randy, is I love to end my interviews by asking this question. I want you to imagine that you are a skywriter and you have an airplane. You get in your airplane, you go up and you can write any message that you want for the edification of the nation. What would Randy's message be?

You can accomplish almost anything if you put your mind to it, work hard, and get the right guidance and advice from people that know how to achieve it.

Hey, man, look, we are going to have Randy's information in the show notes, so make sure that you click the links. You find out more about Randy Farris. Randy, thank you so much for joining me on for our edification.