Here’s Why You’re Struggling to Scale Your Business – Jerry Macnamara

Are you struggling to grow your business? Thinking of innovative ways to scale and increase revenue? Boy, do we have a great episode for you! In this episode of the Think Business With Tyler podcast, we welcome Jerry Macnamara.

Jerry is the Founder and CEO of Proven Chaos where he helps CEOs create compelling companies that outperform while still having quality time for themselves. Over the course of his twenty-five-year career, Jerry has been in senior leadership positions in five different industries, from retail and manufacturing to internet and business services.

In his first company, he went from $5.9 million to $15 million in a very short time period of 18 months. Now, he’s on a personal mission to positively impact 5 million people through better business. Jerry strongly believes that business owners should love and treat their people as whole people. According to him, nothing matters more in your business than your approach.

In this episode of the Think Business With Tyler podcast, we talk about the importance of installing systems, processes, and frameworks into your business, what is a compelling company and why it’s important, how to build transformational relationships in the workplace, and why a lack of leadership is the number one challenge every business needs to overcome.

If you want to learn more about scaling, transforming, and growing a business, make sure you tune in to this week’s episode of the podcast.

Guest-At-A-Glance

 

💡 Name: Jerry Macnamara

💡 What he does: He’s the Founder and CEO of Proven Chaos where helps CEOs create compelling companies that outperform and make it home by dinner.

💡 Noteworthy: In his first company, Jerry went from 5.9 million to 15 million in 18 months. He’s also successfully led award-winning companies in multiple industries: retail, manufacturing, internet, construction, and business services.

💡 Key Quote: “One of my favorite quotes growing up was, the person who knows HOW will always have a job, and the person who knows WHY will always be his boss, so my whole career, I have strived to find out what is the WHY behind this.”

💡 Where to find Jerry: LinkedIn

Key Insights

 

In order to scale, you have to install systems, processes, and frameworks into your business. According to Jerry, every business needs to put in place strong processes and systems in order to grow. If you’re a business owner struggling to scale or you find yourself overwhelmed by the number of responsibilities, it’s time to change your approach.

Jerry shares his perspective on how to grow a company: “In order for you to maintain your sanity, you have to install systems and processes and frameworks into your business and if you don’t do that, then you’re constantly going to be the firefighter inside the walls of your business. Everything’s going to flow through you, you’re going to be stressed, you’re going to be burned out. And so, having really good systems and processes, allowed us to grow quickly.”

What is a compelling company and why it’s important? During his long experience of helping companies scale, Jerry has realized that compelling companies usually outperform other companies. So what is a compelling company and how do you build one? Here’s what Jerry has to say. “A compelling company is really clear on its vision, which is the impact that you’re going to go make on the world, your values, which is your operating system, it’s what we celebrate, it’s what we don’t tolerate. [..]

Those are the three ways in which you can create a compelling company. People identify with the impact they love, the values, how they feel when they go home every day, or the seat that they sit in inside your company and so those are the three ways you can create a compelling company. If you can do all three at the same time, you unlock a level of success, and commitment that will happen inside your building.”

If you love your employees, you change the dynamic of the relationship – it is not transactional anymore, but transformational. People are the key component of every business. It’s important to engage your employees and include them in the company’s growth. According to Jerry, every business owner should spend more time talking to their employees, building relationships, getting to know them better. “You should never lunch alone, so bring people to lunch, it’s not about the business, it’s about them as a person, and as I say my first value is, love your people and treat them as whole people. And the only way you can love your people is to know your people. And so you have to physically, know your people, through and through.”

A lack of clarity leads to frustration. One of the most common challenges that most companies face is having a lack of leadership. When leaders neglect their people and fail to be there for their employees, that leads to a lack of trust and often frustration. Jerry says we need to create clarity for leaders in order to improve performance. “With a lack of clarity, it leads to frustration.

It breaks down trust, it has confusion, and then ultimately leads to a lack of performance so if we can create clarity for our leaders, we change the rules of how people are engaging with one another, and then what is possible because we can move faster, we know how to allocate the right resources or the right opportunities. […] If we had better leadership inside companies, we would be in much better positions to grow our enterprise.”

Top Quotes

 

“There’s three core functions of every business. I don’t care what business you’re in, but it is marketing, do people know who the heck you are, sales can you convert someone who’s interested into a customer, and then operations which is the ability to profitably deliver the product or service that you’re selling. And so, no matter what you do, those are the three core functions of any business. For me, it’s really the strategic level of how do we operationalize those three core functions to help a business grow.”

“Everything is trainable. Every single thing. And so, it’s the ideas and the application of the ideas, no matter the industry that’s happening, that I have found. So business is widgets, it’s just how you’re going to operationalize it in that specific vertical or market.”

“My earliest mentor Joe Polina gave me some of my best advice which was to shut up listen and learn. And that was, as a young person, and over my head. And the reality of it is, I’m a big believer that as you walk into any business unless something is absolutely on fire, you shouldn’t make any changes in the first 90 days, you don’t have equity in your relationships there’s no trust that’s been built, and you don’t understand the tribal knowledge of how people got to this place..”

“You don’t have to know everything, but you have to have a network of people that you can pick up the phone and call and say, Hey Tyler, Have you ever encountered this, how did you handle this? Those are really important things in growing enterprises.”

“It does take courage, entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. And so asking for the sale, it’s not an easy thing. But when you believe in your product or your service, and you think what you’re doing is really good and important, it makes it easier for sure.”

“The highest use of our life is to live in joy, which is really fulfillment, it’s your life on your terms. The only way you can do that is to create clarity of your vision, your values, personally, because I find what you do is if you can align your vision, your values, and your actions, suddenly you stand up a little bit taller.”

Links

LinkedIn

Proven Chaos

Think Business With Tyler Show Directory

Full Transcript

Jerry M  00:00

I was in the shower, and I heard the phone rang. I thought, hmm, is that the phone and then I listened now and it was sure enough, it was fun. And I went tearing out to my office dripping wet with my towel half around my waist. And I picked up the phone and said hello totally soccer and proceeded to make my very first sale in the company’s history. And I was laughing because you know, this was in 2000, probably five or six so the internet was still kind of new and the idea of you know, giving someone your credit card was a new idea. And the woman ended with you’re not one of those fly by night, internet companies just kind of take my credit card, are you? And I just started laughing. I said, No, no, no, no, I sit here and do this all day long. And but wasn’t untrue, but that was my very first sale. So I love telling that story.

Announcer  00:49

Welcome to think business with Tyler sharing our methods and strategies for success. Join in on our conversations with business owners. As we highlight their triumphs and detail how they overcame the challenges they faced while continuing to grow and scale their business. It’s time to think life think success and think business with your host Tyler Martin.

Tyler Martin  01:10

Hey guys got another great show. Today, I have a guy that has a long history of successfully building companies. His name is Jerry McNamara. Jerry is the founder and CEO of proven chaos. I love that name, where he helps CEOs create compelling companies that outperform while still having quality time for themselves. Over the course of his 25 year career, Jerry has been in senior leadership positions in five different industries, from retail to manufacturing, to internet, and even business services. In his first company, he grew revenue from 5.9 million to 15 million in 18 months. That’s a big increase in a short amount of time. Jerry strongly believes that business owners should love and treat their people well. In this episode, we chat about the importance of putting systems and processes in place. This topic is near and dear to my heart. And Jerry does a great job of explaining why it’s so important. What it takes to build a compelling company, how to create transformational relationships in the workplace, and not transactional ones. And last but not least, why a lack of leadership is the number one challenge every business needs to overcome. This is a great show. So let’s get started. Hey, Jerry, thanks so much for being on the think business with Tyler podcast show. How are you doing today?

Jerry M  02:29

I’m doing great. Thanks for having me.

Tyler Martin  02:31

Yeah, thanks for being here. Had I always like to start out with Can you tell us a little bit about you and what you do,

Jerry M  02:36

for sure. So I’ve been really lucky. Tyler. Over the course of my career, I have been in senior leadership positions in five different industries, five different businesses, business to business business to consumer. So if you were to try and write my resume, you will probably look at someone and say this has to be fraudulent because you couldn’t a fiction writer couldn’t write my my resume. But it’s been really fun running organizations being in the strategic level. And as I say, my first value is loving my people and treating them as whole people. Everything just seems to fall into place better that way.

Tyler Martin  03:08

Yeah, I’d love to start out there. Because a lot of times, least clients I work with, they’ll say, Hey, you’re not my industry, or you don’t really know a lot about my business. And and you hear that a lot. Yes. How are you successful in five different industries? I mean, help me to understand why maybe the industry doesn’t matter as much as we might think it does.

Jerry M  03:26

I agree. 100%. And I’ve heard that as well. Tyler. So you know, I’ve been in retail, manufacturing, e commerce, construction, and now business services. And so to me, it’s just widgets, because the process of business is the same. There’s three core functions of every business. I don’t care what business you’re in. But it is marketing to people know who the heck you are sales, can you convert someone who’s interested into a customer, and then operations, which is the ability to profitably deliver the product or service that you’re that you’re selling? And so no matter what you do, those are the three core functions of any business. For me, it’s really the strategic level of how do we operationalize those three core functions to help a business grow. And that’s why I’ve never been the technical leader in any business that I’ve ever run. But here’s what I’ll tell you. I lead people. I don’t lead the technical side of any business. I have people inside the business that helped me and even you know, for me, I’m a high learner. So when you look at the Gallup strength, finders learner is my number one trait. I think three years ago, I read 63 books. So I’m a big believer in reading books, and learning along the way. Everything is trainable, every single thing. And so it’s the ideas and the application of the ideas no matter the industry that’s happening that I have found in so businesses, widgets, it’s just how you’re going to operationalize it in that specific vertical or market.

Tyler Martin  04:58

Wow, there’s so much to unpack there. Let me start with people, because that is something that really jumped out at me and what you said, What is your process? When you come into a new industry? You five businesses now very successful? What do you do in terms of the people side of things? Like where do you see your first response to getting people together and working on the same streamline as everybody else.

Jerry M  05:21

So my earliest mentor, Joe Felina, gave me some of my best advice, which was shut up, listen and learn. And that was as a young person in over my head. And, you know, the reality of it is, I’m a big believer that as you walk into any business, you really unless something is absolutely on fire, you shouldn’t make any changes in the first 90 days, there’s just, you don’t have equity in your relationships, there’s no trust that’s been built. And you don’t understand the tribal knowledge of how people got to this place. And so, learning building relationships, I’m a big believer, you should never lunch alone. So bring people to lunch. It’s not about the business, it’s about them as a person. And you know, as I say, my first value is love your people and treat them as whole people. And the only way you can love your people is to know your people. And so you have to physically know your people, through and through. So for instance, one of the things that I did when I was at the construction company, we went from 7 million to 30 million in three years, at 11 o’clock, and three o’clock, I had on my calendar, a reminder, to get up from my desk and to walk the floor, and to talk to my people to make sure that they had the tools and resources that I was removing any barriers that were happening. But I really look at it and say, what is it that comes to people and to make sure that they are in a position to perform? And so I think it’s clarity, that they understand the role? Do they know exactly what’s expected of them? Do they have challenge? Are you challenging them to go be their very best. And then the third piece are is comfort. Because if they’re not comfortable in their technical knowledge in having the tools and resources to succeed, then you can’t unlock the level of performance that you need when you have growing enterprises. And so those are three things that I think about when I just think about people is a love your people and treat them as whole people, but you have to know your people in order to love them. So get out of your desk and talk to a lot of people before you start making decisions. Wow, that’s

Tyler Martin  07:25

great. On the line to that construction company, you’ve got so many awesome stories. So I’ll go with the construction company first. I know you took that company as part of your scaling strategy. You took it from from kind of a blue collar model, if you will, to a white collar model. Can you talk about the strategy that got you from point A to point B and how you approach that? I think that’s a great story.

Jerry M  07:45

Yeah. So I think you know, it’s one of those things that when you start looking at the business that you’re in, and that you’re serving, I looked and saw that that business was typically run by blue collar, great blue collar hard working people, but didn’t communicate very well didn’t collect data to be able to make decisions, it was more Anik data type stuff. And so I made a very clear decision that we were going to bring a professional approach to our construction business. Now, Tyler, The funniest part about this as I am the least handy person you will ever meet. And when I was brought in to run that business, I joke that the only thing I hammer is my keyboard, but I hammer it really, really well. And so our approach was to communicate, we build a project management system from the ground up. So we knew where every project was, who was on the project, timelines of it. And I had really reimagine that, yes, we were in the construction business that happened to be the business we were in. But I really looked at us as a logistics company. And that was really because we had customers on one side. And we had subcontractors who fulfilled the work on the other side. And we just happened to be the go between the air traffic controller between those two entities. And so my field people, they had the technical knowledge. And by treating it as a project management, logistics type business, it opened up to who we brought into the company. I didn’t need to have technical people, they were all in the field. And so I had killer project managers, who knew how to communicate really well how to deal with conflict, and how to prioritize, that just changed the dynamics and the ability for how we could grow as a company. And so sometimes you have to look and say, Yes, I’m in this industry. But what is my personal approach on unlocking the three core functions of a business to outperform the marketplace? And so that was a key piece for me in reimagining the business we were in.

Tyler Martin  09:48

Now in your first company. You went from 5.9 million to I think was 18 million in 18 months. So that’s like a really short timeline. What was your key to success there? I’d love to kind of talk about Your process and what you did there to, to scale so fast.

Jerry M  10:04

So it was not to diminish the success, but it was 15 million, not 18 million, I don’t want to take credit for three extra million, you know, I really look and say, you know, one of the things that happens inside of business is we start out and we’re all generalists. We figure stuff out, or as I like to say, We FSL. And then you get to certain points where the business is bigger than you you’ve brought in employees. And what has to happen in order for you to scale in order for you to maintain your sanity, is you have to install systems and process and frameworks into your business. And if you don’t do that, then you’re constantly going to be the firefighter inside the walls of your business, everything’s going to flow through you, you’re going to be stressed, you’re going to be burned out. And so having really good systems and processes allowed us to grow quickly. So I’ll give you an example. One of the things that I did was, I had just finished opening the fifth store. And I thought this is crazy. I’m doing the same thing again and again. But I’m acting as if it’s the first time I’ve ever done it. So I told everyone, hey, listen, I’m going to take the next week off, and I’ll be back. And everyone’s like, Oh, okay, you never take any time off. So I was a little strange, I picked up my computer, I took my computer home because they didn’t have a laptop. And over the course of the next week, I wrote how to open a soccer store in 10 easy steps. And that was, you know, tongue in cheek, but the retention phases that you went through, was about 100 pages. But it was a planogram for how to open a soccer store. And so I just took every phase and put it in a system that allowed us to execute and we took the time to market. So the amount of time that it took us to put a store in the ground, get it up and running from about 180 days, to about 65. And so it allowed us to accelerate the path because we simply just became thoughtful about our business. And I think that’s one thing that happens inside small growing businesses is we get so busy, that we become unfocused and undisciplined. It’s one of the three core risk factors of any growing business. And so if you can just stop and think about your business, I guarantee you, there’s 100 things that you can do better. And it’s one of the reasons why, you know, I love having conversations like this, because there are opportunities, we’re always better together. You know, coming back to the construction business, one of the things that I did I negotiated in the contract was that I had the right one day a month to go visit with another company. And that was because I knew that I didn’t have best practices i didn’t i There were opportunities for me to learn from other people. And so I had it actually written into my contract. And so I think those are really key important things when it comes back to why were we able to go from 5.9 million to 15 million framework systems and process. And then you know, the idea that you don’t have to know everything, but you have to have a network of people that you can pick up the phone and call and say, Hey, Tyler, have you ever encountered this? You know, how did you handle this? Those are really important things and growing enterprises.

Tyler Martin  13:06

I think another thing that I find interesting is you coming into these industries, you bring a fresh perspective to which is part of the power in it, right? Because you just come in with like, Okay, I haven’t always done it this way, is the way they’re looking at it. And for you, it’s like brand new, is that part of what you would say is your key to success to

Jerry M  13:25

absolutely, because I don’t stand on ceremony. And I have no, I mean, you respect tribal knowledge and the way in which things happen, but when we can do things better good is not good enough. And so, you know, asking those hard questions, why? Why? Why, you know, one of my favorite quotes growing up was the person who knows how, will always have a job and the person who knows why will always be his boss. I love them. So my whole career, I have strived to find out what is the why behind this. And so yeah, even in the business that I run now, which is to advise growing businesses, it’s the ability to synthesize across industries, what things are going so I have five companies right now, Tyler that are making that, that jump from stage one to stage two. So they’re all in kind of that 10 to $15 million range, scaling to 25 to 40 million in the next 12 to 24 months. And so I’m seeing very similar things happen across those those industries. And so I think that’s an important piece for sure.

Tyler Martin  14:26

Yeah. Your first company was an internet company, and you’ve got a great story related to that. I think every one of us as business owners can relate to you got one of your first and may have been your first lead. Can you tell us that? Yeah. I don’t want to give away too much.

Jerry M  14:40

No, it was, you know, I think everyone remembers their first sale. And you know, a lot of people will take the dollar and they’ll put it up on the wall, you know, but I remember I was a solopreneur. I had started out as a solopreneur with my internet company. And we were still in the middle of you know, building out the website, and I was in the shower, and I heard the phone I thought, huh? Is that the phone, and then I listened out and it was sure enough, it was fun. And I went tearing out to my office dripping wet with my tail half around my waist. And I picked up the phone and said hello totally soccer and proceeded to make my very first sale in the company’s history. And I was laughing because you know, this was in 2000, probably five or six. So the internet was still kind of new. And the idea of, you know, giving someone your credit card was a new idea. And the woman ended with you’re not one of those fly by night, internet companies just kind of take my credit card, are you? And I just started laughing. I said, No, no, no, no, I sit here and do this all day long. And but wasn’t untrue, but that was my very first sale. So I love telling that story.

Tyler Martin  15:45

Yeah, I crack up I just see you in a towel. Trying to convince someone that you’re, you’re a nice stable company, right?

Jerry M  15:53

That’s right. That’s, uh, you know, I think it does take courage. entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. And so asking for the sale, it’s not an easy thing. But when you believe in your product or your service, and you think what you’re doing is really good and important. It makes it easier for sure. But yeah, I will always remember my first sale in the internet company.

Announcer  16:14

If you’re a business owner, feeling stuck in your business overwhelmed, responsible for everything that happens and working long hours, Tyler helps his clients develop processes, hire high performing team members and better understand their financial metrics and numbers to allow for a more predictable, less hands on business. To schedule a free no pressure consultation, head to think tyler.com and click the Meeting button. Tyler would love to see if he can help you work on your business, not in your business. schedule a consultation today at Think tyler.com Think life think success. Think business.

Jerry M  16:47

It’s not an easy thing. But when you believe in your product or your service, and you think what you’re doing is really good and important. It makes it easier for sure. But yeah, I will always remember my first sale in the internet company.

Tyler Martin  16:59

Love that. So Jerry, I’ve heard you talk a lot about compelling companies. Can you tell us what is a compelling company? And why does that matter?

Jerry M  17:06

Yes. Well, what I have found in running lots of different businesses is compelling companies always outperform. And so, you know, someone asked me recently, just like you did what is a compelling company, I said, a compelling company is really clear on its vision, which is the impact that you’re going to go make on the world, your values, which is your operating system, it’s what we celebrate, it’s what we don’t tolerate. And then we invite the right person into the right seat. And so I may love sales, but I may really, really love b2b SaaS sales. And so if you can get invited inside that company, those are the three ways in which you can create a compelling company, people identify with the impact. They love, the values, how they feel when they go home every day, or the seat that they sit in inside your company. And so those are the three ways you can create a compelling company. If you can do all three, at the same time, you unlock a level of success and commitment that will happen inside your building. That is just incredible. And so I really try and make sure that people are clear on the vision, the values and the roles inside the business. But really, to me what is a compelling company, it’s whether your people would show up and work for free, do they love the business so much, that they would show up and work for free, you have something on your hands that is just going to outperform the marketplace. Because compelling companies always outperform the marketplace, you look at every single business that’s out there that has outperformed, is because they’re doing something different, their approach to business is completely different than anyone else. And so I don’t know that there’s anything more important, because I’ve never met a business owner. I don’t know about you, Tyler, but I’ve never been met a business owner who says, Everyone build a business. That sucks. I really want to build a business that people don’t want to show up to. But you know, there’s plenty of them out there. And so if you can create that environment where people feel cared for and challenged and comfortable, you’re off to the races, for sure. So

Tyler Martin  19:10

what do you do, Jerry? I’m sure you know, the great resignations flowing around, there’s some stats flowing around right now saying 80% of employees aren’t even engaged in what they do. What is the solution to that? I mean, how do you get your staff and your team engaged in business owner what the company does?

Jerry M  19:27

Yeah. So I think if you love your people, and you treat them as whole people, you change the dynamic of the relationship because it is not transactional, that is transformational. And so we are always elevating everyone up the ladder, when we care about our people. One of the biggest challenges that I see Tyler, is there’s a lack of leadership. There’s a gap have in conscious intention of how you’re going to show up for your people day in and day out. And so, one of the things that I try and do is create clarity for my leaders. So we get really specific Think about what are your personal values? We have a user manual. Heck, I have a user manual for my phone for my computer, all of these things. And so what promises am I going to make to the people who are in my care, because the goal is to create a predictable way in which you approach things. So if you are a predictable leader, the business can just move faster. I don’t know about if you’ve ever had this situation, but people will say to me, you know, I just don’t know what my boss wants. Have you ever had a situation where you’re just unclear about like, God, just give me the rules? Yeah. And it’s so hard because you know, with a lack of clarity, it leads to frustration, it breaks down trust, it has confusion, and then ultimately leads to a lack of performance. So if we can create clarity for our leaders, we change the rules of how people are engaging with one another. And then what is possible, because we can move faster, we know how to allocate the right resources on the right opportunities. And you don’t have to be there. I think one of the things that I hear all the time from senior leaders, owners CEOs, is man, people can’t make decisions without me. And I put that on them that you have not made the rules of the game clear enough so that people can make decisions without you. And really, you know, people who are micromanaging, it’s just a lack of trust, that I know how to do this better than everyone else. And so if we had better leadership inside companies, we would be in much better position to grow our enterprise.

Tyler Martin  21:29

Yeah, I find it fascinating. And it’s great exactly where you took that, because I feel like a lot of this great resignation and lack of engagement, it all flips back to leadership. And it all flips back to communication, setting expectations, letting people know where they’re at, and they fit in, in the company. And so it’s what you said the way you worded it was just wonderful. There’s a leadership gap.

Jerry M  21:52

No, I’ll give you an example too. So I have a company that I work with, they’ve been multiple times best places to work, it’s there is a conscious intention that we bring to running that business. So they have two new positions that are open, because they’re they’re growing company. In this environment where everyone’s complaining about labor, one position got 202 applicants, and the other got 34. So if you are creating an intentional environment, where you do care about your people, and your voice matters, and there’s a high level of trust, there is lots of opportunity to attract the right talent in this marketplace. You know, the Edelman report, I don’t know if you saw the the belief driven employee that just came out, but 61% of people are expecting their business to have a purpose. Right? So millennials get a knock a lot. But the reality of it is, they want to make a difference in this role. And so if you’re not doing that for them, if you don’t, I mean, I’m amazed at how many businesses don’t have a vision statement don’t have value statements, and say, Well, what is my Northstar? What are we what’s the impact that we’re making? Because, you know, as I explained that, if I said, you, Tyler, Listen, come into my company, right? It’s going to be this amazing adventure, and I take you to the beach, because I love going to the beach, and you get there and you think crap, I love to ski, I thought we were going to the mountains on this adventure. Right. And so that, that disillusionment between what is and what could be, is simply a lack of, of communication. But at the end of the day, if you are a compelling company, and you actually care about your people, and you’re standing for something, and you’re communicating, well, talent is ripe to come your way.

Tyler Martin  23:35

And, you know, taking that vision statement, even one step further, I’m amazed when when clients do have vision statements, but they don’t, they just get put in a desk drawer, and they don’t really, they’re not living them. They’re not breathing them throughout the organization. They’re not sharing it in meetings. And that’s another part of the process that I feel sometimes falls through. It’s like, you’ve got this vision statement that’s sitting in your drawer, but nobody knows about it. Nobody’s trying to live that that vision that you have in what the organization should represent. So that’s another part of it.

Jerry M  24:03

I just look and say, you know, I do have a model for accelerating businesses. And so the foundation of that is your vision, your values, and your resources, right, which is where are we going? How are we getting there? And you know, are we driving a Ferrari? Or are we driving a jalopy? Right? And so you know, your resources are simply how many mistakes can we make before we go out of business? So if you are not articulating for people in creating that clarity of here’s who we are, here’s the impact that we’re going to go make. Boy, are you missing the mark, I talk a lot about accountability. The difference between good companies and great companies is accountability. But without clarity, you cannot have accountability. And so you should be addressing the first time every time connecting it to your vision, connecting it to your values, connecting it to your short term objectives. You know, your 90 day rolling objectives when you do that you change the dynamic of how people operate inside your business. us, they stopped telling stories and they start getting things done.

Tyler Martin  25:04

Man, I feel like I could talk with you all day. I’m going to segue, I love to talk about as we wrap up here, you said you read 63 books, I think you said last year, I’d love to know, do you have one or even a couple that’s top of the stack that you want to share? That would be good for us to read.

Jerry M  25:19

I do. And so my favorite book is the book of joy. It’s an interview between Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the Dalai Lama. And the first part of the book is the story of you know, how they meet. And then the second is all the pillars of joy. And so I really believe, Tyler that the highest use of our life is to live in joy, which is really fulfillment, it’s your life on your terms. The only way you can do that is to create clarity of your vision, your values, personally, because I find what you do is if you can align your vision, your values and your actions, suddenly you stand up a little bit taller, your chest puffs out, you smile more, because living your life on your terms, I don’t know that there’s anything more important having agency over your life. So the book of joy is the one book I said, if if everyone just read one book, the world would be a better place. That’s the book I would put on the list.

Tyler Martin  26:15

Wow, that’s a good one. Just talking a little bit about what you do now. Who is your ideal client? Like what type of business owners entrepreneurs do you work with? And ideally, would you do typically talk to?

Jerry M  26:27

No. So I have reached the point in my career, that I’m really lucky, I get to choose who I get to work with and get to serve. And so first is I look and say, Are they a good, nice person? Are they interesting enough that I want to go to dinner with them. And then the third is, do they have the potential to be great, you know, and make the impact that we’re meant to go make. And so those are the people that I like to work with. Most of my business clients are growing their enterprise and are somehow stuck in one way or another. And so it’s helping them figure out, hey, it’s our operations that we need to work on. It’s our sales, it’s our marketing, whatever it may be, and instilling in the right culture to create that compelling marketplace. Most of my businesses are kind of five to $25 million. And again, growing and aspiring to be on the best places to work.

Tyler Martin  27:18

And it’s very cool. I love your criteria. Great criteria.

Jerry M  27:22

Well, I’m sure like you over the course of my career, I’ve worked with some assholes. And I do not need to do that anymore. You know, I just choose. And I say this all the time. If your thoughts, your feelings, or your actions are not serving you, then it’s up to you to change them. And so I just intentionally bring the right type of people into my sphere to make my world a better place. Yeah, I’m

Tyler Martin  27:44

with you all the way. I think that’s something I don’t know why. But I learned it pretty early in my career that if someone was difficult to work with, I probably was better off not going down that path of the relationship. But just the kind of that 8020 rule I think, is what stuck with me pretty early. So it’s cool. You have that the dinner the dinner one I like especially. Okay, so your website is proven chaos.com Of course, put this in the show notes on think Tyler calm. But if people want to reach out to you or get to know us there any other way you want to do it other than proven chaos, calm,

Jerry M  28:15

a proven chaos is a great place to go. I do also a lot of posting on LinkedIn. And so I share many of my thoughts there. One thing that I would invite any of your CEOs or senior leaders is every Thursday, I’ve been doing this since November of 2019. I hold an office hours from two to three o’clock Eastern time. And it’s just the opportunity for us to come together in community and to solve whatever problem or concern or question that you have. And you know, we have people that show up. Sometimes they show up just because they want to hear what’s going on and see what’s going on and other businesses. And I’ve been doing it so long that you know even though people don’t have anything going on, there’s such community that’s been built in there that they love showing up anyway. And so it’s a really fun place to come. I would invite any of your listeners to come join us on Thursdays

Tyler Martin  29:02

very cool what a great way to network now. Do they do is that a link somewhere on proven cast calm it is

Jerry M  29:07

okay. In the upper right hand corner of proven chaos, you’ll see free business advice. So it’s just a zoom link that you have to register for. And that gets you into all of our calls. You come into our comm as you can. If you have something going on no big deal. We’re not taking attendance. Love it. Love it.

Tyler Martin  29:23

Okay. Hey, Jerry, thanks so much. I really appreciate being on the show with you. I feel like you’ve got just so much to share. I would love to have you back on again in the future. I think you’ve got to apply

Jerry M  29:33

would do and you’ve agreed energy to Tyler so I appreciate you I can see why you’ve had so much success you’ve been generous in in, you know, congratulating me but I’ll tell you, your resume speaks volumes to

Tyler Martin  29:44

Thanks. Thanks. Have a great one. I really appreciated the chat.

Jerry M  29:47

Thank you Tyler.

Announcer  29:48

That’s all for this episode of Think business with Tyler. But we have plenty more resources to help you in your pursuit of business excellence on our website at think tyler.com If you’d like to be featured and if future episode of the show feel free to reach out to us on social media at think underscore Tyler, we look forward to helping you think life think success and think business