In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Rob Followell, a former healthcare executive turned executive coach and public speaker. Rob shares a memorable story about forming a rock band, Bad Neighbors, and fulfilling a dream of headlining at a Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, West Virginia, illustrating the power of focused intention and persistence. He emphasizes the importance of intentional reflection on experiences as the greatest teacher for personal growth. His core business advice centers on playing to one’s strengths, being intentional, and adding value to others. When asked what he would tell his younger self, Rob urges “don’t settle” in relationships, career, and life, advocating for pursuing dreams with passion and giving one’s best. He identifies purpose—specifically servant leadership—as the key to happiness, noting that knowing and living one’s purpose daily leads to fulfillment. Rob cites John Maxwell’s Leadership Bible as the most impactful book he’s read, highlighting that leadership principles are constant despite changing circumstances. He also shares his favorite quote from Jim Rohn, “Don’t just get through the day, get from the day,” underscoring daily reflection and growth. The episode concludes with Rob directing listeners to his LinkedIn profile and his website, thefollowwellcompany.com, for further engagement.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Rob Followell with us. He's an executive coach and public speaker, and he was a healthcare executive for over 25 years, and he founded the Followell Company. So welcome to the show, Rob.
Thanks, thank you very much.
Of course, thanks for joining us, and we'll dive in the first Question I have for you is, what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Tyler Wagner Wagner, those, those who know me know that I love to tell lots of stories. A few years ago, while I was a hospital CEO in Lewisburg, West Virginia, I had some absolutely wonderful friends that, that came together and we formed a rock band called Bad Neighbors. There's a whole story in and of itself as to how we got that name. Name. We'll save that for another time. What you probably don't know is that there are 4 Carnegie Halls in the world. Obviously the most famous is in New York, but there are 4 in the world. One of those is in Lewisburg, West Virginia. One day while we were having band practice, I told the guys, one of these days we're going to play Carnegie Hall. And after, you know, a fair amount of ribbing and ridicule— now some of that is just normal band activity. I thought to myself, I'm going to make this happen. And about 6 months later, I want you to know that Bad Neighbors headlined on the main stage at Carnegie Hall. So I truly believe that if you have a dream and you stay focused on it, you create a plan and you work hard and you're persistent, that the dream will come true. Sometimes, you know, you, you see the path to that dream. It will unfold in front of you as you move forward. Things that you never dreamed possible and resources that you never even knew about will begin to present themselves.
Yes, amazing story, man. Thank you for sharing that. Um, the, uh, next question I have is, what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, since, you know, I told you that I've only been in the field of coaching, training, and speaking for about 4 months officially. I've been working on it for a number of years, but I'm gonna focus on this industry. And, you know, it's probably gonna be a little bit of a surprise to you as to what I picked, but we've all heard the saying that life happens. And you know, it does. But if we want to live a more meaningful life, we have to be intentional about the things that we do. It is absolutely critical to think and to reflect. It is, I believe, it is, it's not the experience greatest teacher. It is, it's my belief that it's the reflection on those experiences and those events in our life that give us the great opportunity, greatest opportunity for growth.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice, and not necessarily industry-specific?
Play to your strengths. You want to be intentional about what you do. You want to add value to others and everything that you do.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Well, this one's probably the easiest. Don't settle. Don't settle in who you choose to date. Don't settle in who you choose to marry. Don't settle in your career. Dream your dreams. Chase them with passion and persistence. Don't settle for anything but your very best. If you're giving your very best, you know, that's all that you can do. You can lay your head down at night and sleep well knowing that you've given it all. And everything or anything that really is worth doing, it's worth giving your very best. So if it's not worth your best, don't do it. Don't waste your time. Life is unbelievably short, and don't waste a single moment. Make a difference in every single thing that you do.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
You know, I think that's knowing your purpose. And sometimes that takes a lot of introspection to come up with, but know your purpose, live it every single day. And for me, that purpose is servant leadership.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Boy, this is probably the hardest one. It really is. And for me, books are big in my life and many, many of them have molded me and influenced me for many years. But I guess today when you ask that question is John Maxwell's Leadership Bible. I think that's the best book I've ever read. And I say that because what I've learned is that everything rises and falls on leadership. God is the ultimate leader, and leadership principles are constant. Circumstances change, people change, but the principles of leadership stay the same. And depending on my situation, the leadership principles that John brings to light, they really speak to me differently on different days.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
You know, I love Jim Rohn. Jim Rohn was one of my heroes. I began listening to him early, probably in my early 20s, and he said, "Don't just get through the day, get from the day." I think that's so powerful. As I said in one of the earlier questions, life is so short and we need to be intentional in all that we do. So we need to take the time to reflect, to learn, and to grow from each day.
I love that quote. And, uh, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Yeah, probably right now, day to day, that's on LinkedIn. And then you can always go to my website. That's www.thefollowwellcompany.com.
Perfect. Thanks again, Rob. We appreciate you coming on.
My pleasure, Tyler Wagner.
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