Importance of CEO Coaching and Peer Groups with Guest Rick Faber

Speaker 1: 0:01

Do complex legal issues. Hold you back. Let's get energized and bring clarity to your top legal questions. This is law. Talk with the flock by Goosmann law firm. [inaudible] hello, I'm your host, Gina Goosmann , CEO, author, and lawyer, and woman business owner here to talk with you about lot of talk with the flack . And I am so excited about my guests that I have on today. Rick favor , Rick favor is a chair with Vistige international and he's also the CEO and founder of growth guru. Welcome Rick.

Speaker 2: 0:55

Well, thanks for having me, Gina, glad to be with you , uh, via , via technology today, right? So it's great to spend time with you.

Speaker 1: 1:06

Absolutely. And , and I should also let all the listeners know that you are my chair in my Vistage group. So Rick, what is Vistige?

Speaker 2: 1:16

Well, Vistage's a peer to peer organization. It's a national organization with over 25,000 members, but we put business owners and leaders from non-competitive businesses together in one room. Imagine that right , uh, uh, 16 different business leaders from constructions attorneys , uh, uh, CPAs , uh, all different types of business owners to give each other different perspectives on their businesses and their experiences, but probably the most important aspect of Vistage is, is that they're much better at keeping each other accountable than any of us could because they want to show up in that room really , uh, uh , not only performing, but living at a high level. I always talk about , uh, one saying I use it over and over again, but the key to success is to surround yourself with people who uplift you and whose presence calls forth your best. So that's what we try to do. We try to call Gina's best fourth every day. So, yeah ,

Speaker 1: 2:31

And there's another key component of vintage and that's the coaching element where , uh , Rick, you actually one-on-one coach the CEOs as well throughout the month in a individual fashion , as well as the peer meeting. And I know you liked to say, always be coaching the ABC method. And you're certainly an outstanding coach, which probably leads us right into the growth guru. And Rick, would you explain to our listeners, so what is guru?

Speaker 2: 3:02

Well, golf crew is an operating system. Uh, many of us have heard of different business operating systems and of course I've facilitated and I've been part of a strategic planning and putting operating systems into place with companies for many years. But I found that , uh , they really didn't start from the right place. They needed to start from a strategic place rather than jumping into just what are the issues of the business. Let's work on that. And , uh, and, and set some game plan. And I also wanted to develop an operating system that got people moving to action quicker, all facing and aligning the same direction. So we're all rowing to gather so to speak. So that's really the , um , uh, the beginning of growth guru. Um, so two years ago as , uh , we were , uh, working with companies like, like Goosmann law, we're trying to come up with unique ways to do that effectively. So golf guru , um , is an operating system that starts from a strategic level. And then secondly , uh, we worked together to put behaviors in place in an organization that that creates success. Um, I don't know about Eugena , but we see behaviors in organizations all the time that that are not successful. And we want to be very clear on what those behaviors are. We live them together. And ultimately what happens is we create a culture by choice , uh , rather than a culture that evolves just through the drama of business in the day. And , uh, and we develop a language that we can call each other forth to their best by emphasizing the right behaviors.

Speaker 1: 4:59

Well, Ricky definitely know what you're talking about. You are one of the top Vistage chairs in the country, and we're really fortunate to be able to work with you and you're based out of Omaha, Nebraska, but your practice is definitely regional and probably beyond. Uh , and I know that you've helped Goosmann at a time. We've been one of the fastest growing law firms in the country for the last four years in a row now. And I'm super excited to continue that relationship. Rick, could you explain why does every CEO need a coach and a peer group?

Speaker 2: 5:34

Well, first of all, I mean, we all know being a business owner or a CEO of a company while we might think that's really a glamorous thing. Uh , it could be a very lonely place. And , uh, I hear it often from business owners and leaders. There's just really no place, right. For me to discuss some of the difficult things that I'm working through, whether it be with employees or , uh, um, or even even how I struggle with understanding my financials in a way that I can speak , um, uh, intelligently to a CPA. And, but I think at the end of the day, we need peer boards. So we have experiences of many other people, because most of the things that we're going through, others have been there, done that they they've made the mistakes, they've stubbed their toe, they bumped their head. And , uh , it's a great place for , uh , business owners and leaders to learn from others that have kind of been there and done that. And then I guess from a coaching standpoint, it's, it's one more piece of the recipe. It's much easier for me as a coach to work with a business owners and hold them accountable if they're also accountable to their peers. And so I don't have to, as the coach be the one to say, well, Gina, you said you would do that last month. How did that go? Right. Uh , likely the pure board's going to be having that conversation even before I am. And it's very compelling to show up and bring your best work forward. So I think it's , uh , the coaching and peer bore really work hand in hand together. And it's that combination that makes , uh, it makes the best cake. Right. Um, and also you look at the, you look at all the top performers. I don't care whether it's an athletics , um , or it's an academics or it's in , uh, any, any business arena, the best have coaches because they know they can achieve levels that they would never dreamed of achieving before, because they've got somebody with them , uh, really asking them to take a step to a place of uncomfortable because that's when we learned the most,

Speaker 1: 7:59

I think it was just a nerve , very last Vistige board meeting when one of the other members who's in the construction industry said, Jean , I never thought I'd have so much in common with somebody that ran a law firm. And it was so true because a lot of times those issues that a CEO faces and running a team and a company are very similar even across industries.

Speaker 2: 8:22

Oh, for sure. For sure. Yeah. It's so often I'll hear so often I'll hear is like , uh , uh, we'll start talking about Vistige and every business owner, this is almost every business owner will say something like this. You have no idea what my business is. Why would I want to sit on a pure board? What would they have to offer me? And then to your comment, Gina , uh , we hear it all the time. It's like, Oh, it's like some revelation right there. There's that much difference. Right. So you're right on you're right on Gina.

Speaker 1: 9:01

And then it's the learning concept as well. Like you're always learning and reading new books and we have great speakers too, that are constantly making you think and challenge your beliefs and what you might have thought previously. So I think surrounding yourself with others that are curious , uh , is also really beneficial.

Speaker 2: 9:22

Oh, for sure. Curiosity is probably a really key keyword . I know when I'm interviewing people to either considering coaching or considering vestige , um, cause it is a , it's kind of a mutual selection. Not everybody it's not right for everybody. And , um, but if they're naturally curious, like you said, and they have that, that desire to continually learn if they've got that gene in them , uh, uh , Vistage's is a perfect place because it just draws out so much. And we, we all learned so much in , um , a day together, so, yup .

Speaker 1: 10:06

So Rick 2020 was quite the year. What advice are you giving to CEOs as we look forward to 2021 and beyond?

Speaker 2: 10:16

Uh , well of course we've had lots of emotion that's come through, you know, 2020. And we , uh, I think the thing that most CEO struggled with was being able to give hope to their teams when there was so much unknown. And of course naturally with CEOs , they're not very patient, you know? Um , and we all know that that to be true. And I'm also highly urgent, sir , always wanting to move, you know, wanting to move forward. So first of all is to reshare your vision with the organization , um, over and over again right now, because that really is the number one thing that gives hope to our employees and those that we surround herself with. You know what , um, it's okay. We don't have to be positive all the time, but we do need to be optimistic very much like Simon Sinek talks about right. And his infinite game is that through vision, we give hope and optimism for the future that puts them in a much healthier place. I think that that advice is really, really crucial. Secondly, is we need to be present with our employees more than ever before. Uh , we've seen lots of employees that have struggled , um, through the pandemic , uh, have isolated themselves through the pandemic. Uh, you know, they've, they've went home and, and done their work and, and they're not being socially active as they before. Um, and then lots of issues with depression have happened. Uh, so I think just really, really being present with her , our employees and touching base with them more often than ever. And then , uh, I guess lastly is making sure that we're providing opportunities for action today, even though the action may look different. So action before might be Gina golf , see those customers be with them and , uh, be connecting and networking and, and, and growing that base of , uh , relationships. I think you could still have action today and it just looks different. It looks like this, right? It looks like , um, video conferencing. Uh , it looks like phone calls that we may not have done in the past. Uh, and so we just have to be really, really intentional. And it's the one thing that we'll often do with growth guru is we'll say, what are the intentional things that we're going to do in the next 90 days? Because if we think in terms of intentionality, it , it is action and we're doing something. And , uh, especially for urgent people like myself , um , giving meaning to motion , uh , is a lot more , uh, successful if you will, than just, just trying to be trying to be moving with no reason or, or real focus to that. So intentionality being present, sharing vision over and over again, it almost should sound like this. Gina. Um, when you start sharing your vision , uh, others like Kim and your office could say, I, I , I hear the recording. I've heard this before. And when you've done that, you know, you're doing a really good job. We're going to be here. We will achieve this. Here's how we're going to get there. It's one step at a time. And , um, and, and to gather, we will achieve , um, a greater Heights or whatever our accomplishments and goals are in the future. The other thing is, is that I don't think the goals are different for people now, the timing might be, but your goal Gina, to be , um , uh , the fastest growing law firm in the Midwest doesn't change. But it might mean for you that timing does. So maybe it's while , while I know you are the fastest growing law firm for others, it might be, well, it's not going to happen in 2020, but it's going to happen in 2021. So we're resetting the goals and the dates to that. It's not like we didn't make it. It's, it's a reset. And , um, so I think for us as leaders, staying optimistic with people that were still on the same path and , um, wildlife was not a ladder this year. It may be , it was more of a lattice, right? We took a left where we took a right, but we're going to still achieve the mountaintop . So that would be my advice.

Speaker 1: 15:04

Outstanding. I think realizing success is not a straight line is so important for so many people. And also that the leader has to be engaged and optimistic. And if you're going to expect your team to be because it starts at the top and you do a great job of reminding everybody of that. Uh , so Rick, if somebody wants to get in touch with you or they're a CEO and they want to be part of the success of working with Rick favor , how do they reach out and get in touch with you?

Speaker 2: 15:35

Uh , they could do it one of two ways. They can always give me a call. I still have the old fashioned phone, right? Uh, that's (402) 659-3321. You can contact me through , uh, Rick f@mygrowthguru.com or it's Rick dot favor at Vistage chair , uh , dot com. So, or reach out on LinkedIn, Rick Fabius, pretty easy to find. And , um, and I'd love to chat that way too

Speaker 1: 16:07

Outstanding. Well, I can't recommend you enough. Uh, it's always easy to give someone a testimonial when you work with them yourself. And thank you so much, Rick, for sharing your insight today, and everyone go have a great day and make it worth it. Thanks for joining us for law. Talk with the flock by Goosmann law firm. We hope you feel energized and ready to soar past your goals. Become a flock fan and subscribe to our podcast for weekly episodes. Learn more@goosmannlog.com . [inaudible] .