You don’t have to look very far to realize that people at the top of their games, almost every person, have coaches in their lives.
Think about it. The best athletes, performers, and businesspeople – all of them realize to become their best, they can’t do it alone.
Shannon Waller has spent more than three decades at Strategic Coach, one of the world’s most successful coaching companies for entrepreneurs, founded in 1988 by husband and wife team Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith.
Over the years, Shannon has helped spur phenomenal growth at Strategic Coach, creating a new division dedicated to building teams. She also leads specialized quarterly workshops that help entrepreneurs grow their businesses tenfold.
“The reason I wanted to have Shannon on the show,” said host Mark Wright, “is to truly understand this kind of elite coaching, exploring how it transforms top entrepreneurs and how we (everyday people) can use these concepts in our own lives. Shannon is a giant in the coaching industry, and her energy and passion are contagious.”
In addition to being a highly sought-after coach and speaker, Shannon is certified in both PRINT® and DISC assessments, is a Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, and is the 2015 recipient of the Kolbe Professional Award for individual leadership in building conative excellence. She’s also written two books on entrepreneurial teamwork, “The Team Success Handbook” and “Multiplication By Subtraction.”
Resources from the episode:
- Meet Shannon and get to know her here.
- Learn more about Strategic Coach, the #1 business coaching program for entrepreneurs, here.
- Download your free copy of “The Team Success Handbook” and help your team see the other side of conventional teamwork.
- “Multiplication by Subtraction” is a handbook that will give you the mindset to think more strategically about your team, the tools to use when things aren’t working, practical strategies to help shift people into roles for which they’re a better fit, and, if that’s not possible, a clear process for letting them go. Get your copy here.
- Connect with Shannon Waller on LinkedIn.
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Speaker: Shannon Waller and Mark Wright
SHANNON WALLER 00:01
And here’s the cool thing about coaching versus training versus school, you know, those two things kind of treat you as an empty vessel and they’re trying to pour stuff in, right? Coaching is about reflecting back to you, asking questions. A really good coach asks really good questions. Well, coaches ask questions. Really good coaches ask really good questions that make you think about things differently, that have you see a part of your experience. We all have blind spots.
MARK WRIGHT 00:32
This is the BEATS WORKING Show. We’re on a mission to redeem work: the word, the place, and the way. I’m your host, Mark Wright. Join us at winning the game of work. Welcome to BEATS WORKING, winning the game of work. This week on the show, the power of coaching. You don’t have to look very far to realize that people at the top of their games, almost to a person, all of them have coaches in their lives. Think about it. The best athletes, the best performers, the best salespeople, the best businesspeople, all of them realize to become their best. They just can’t do it alone. Shannon Waller has spent more than three decades at Strategic Coach. It’s one of the world’s most successful coaching companies for entrepreneurs, founded in 1988 by husband-and-wife team Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith. Over the years, Shannon has helped create phenomenal growth at Strategic Coach. She created a new division dedicated to building teams. She also leads 10X boot camps that help entrepreneurs grow their businesses 10-fold. The reason I wanted to have Shannon on the show is really to understand what this kind of elite coaching actually is and how exactly it transforms top entrepreneurs. And one final thought before we jump in, what Shannon discovered about her own career is just because you’re successful at something doesn’t mean it’s where you should stay. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Shannon Waller. Well, Shannon Waller, welcome to the BEATS WORKING Podcast. Um, I’ve heard so much about you from my boss, Dan Rogers. So many great things from a number of people actually, but it’s so great to have you on the show. Can’t wait to, to just learn a ton from you in the next hour or so.
SHANNON WALLER 02:21
Thank you so much, Mark. It is a total delight for me to be here with you. So thank you.
MARK WRIGHT 02:26
Well, Shannon, let’s talk about Strategic Coach first, because I think, uh, I don’t know if you would say this, but I’ll go ahead and say it. You’re a, you’re an iconic figure in the coaching industry, uh, in North America. And it’s because of your connection to Strategic Coach and the value that you’ve created within that company over the years. For people not familiar with Strategic Coach, why don’t we start there? What is Strategic Coach?
SHANNON WALLER 02:49
Well, I’m obviously biased, just to be clear. Um, and it’s because it’s been personally valuable for me, is one of the things I want to say about that. Uh, so Strategic Coach, first and foremost, is a community. Um, we talk about our clients as members of our Strategic Coach community. And it really is, um, an environment where entrepreneurs who are talented, ambitious, and successful, that’s our, our, really our target audience, um, can dramatically expand their futures, their quality of life. Dan has a great way of, of describing it. He describes it as, um, this is where you can have unique conversations, learn unique concepts within a unique community. And I love those three uniques. I just think that really describes it. It’s a dynamic program. It’s always improving. It’s always changing. We’re very responsive to what is happening. I was just actually finished, uh, doing the audio book version of a latest book for Dan, and he was talking about being useful. He says, I, I’m, I’m so, it’s so important to me. It’s one of his core values to be useful to entrepreneurs with what’s currently going on and helping them stay cool, calm, collected, no matter what the external environment is. So, it really is an entrepreneurial home for people who are successful, talented, ambitious, and I would also say collaborative, cooperative. So, this isn’t a school. It’s not education, um, it’s where you get to learn how to, more about your own thinking, your own mindset, um, and what, and, and, the other way I’ll describe it is really about how to take greater ownership of your time, so what you’re doing, when you’re working, when you’re not working, a lot of people do not have time. Ownership over their time, uh, which then generates or leads to, which leads to freedom of time. And that leads to, um, taking greater ownership of your money. So, both the quality and the quantity of it. What are you doing to, to make your money? And it’s so important to have access so that we can Pay for people, as we were talking about before we hit record, pay for talent, pay for our families, pay for free time. Um, and then that leads to really, that leads to greater freedom, which means really owning your relationships. One of the things that’s great about getting older is that you can be much more discerning about with whom you work. And that’s both from the client’s side, that’s both from your team’s side, you just, you get to be pickier is how I describe it.
MARK WRIGHT 05:18
I love it.
SHANNON WALLER 05:19
After 32 years of coaching.
MARK WRIGHT 05:20
How tactful you are, I love it.
SHANNON WALLER 05:22
I’m, trust me, there’s times where I’m not. Uh, but it’s, it’s actually refreshing to be able to go. And if someone doesn’t like how you’re, If, if you’re not their person, that’s fine. They can, they can go do them, right? There’s, there’s just this freedom of that. Um, and then also people in your personal life, too with whom do you want to spend time. And ultimately, it leads to ownership and freedom of your purpose. Um, so that you can be your most authentic, most integrated self in the world and expand that. Which always, when people are, we were talking about this today in our, in our, book recording. Um, which you can just be your best self out in the world and that’s always going to have a positive impact. Uh, so that’s, that’s what Coach allows people to do. It’s very much a mindset program. 240 different concepts and tools. Different, different levels of the program, but ultimately this entrepreneurial community with these focused structured thinking and, um, action structures are what, is what Coach is all about.
MARK WRIGHT 06:20
Well, I want to dig deeper into all this stuff, but I want to go back in time. Um, earlier in your career, you started in sales and you were pretty good at that. And I’d love for you to take me back to that early part of your career when you really started to understand, you know, what business is and how it works, which provided the foundation that led you ultimately to strategic coach. So where did it all start for you?
SHANNON WALLER 06:45
Oh, my goodness. Well, I was one of those super confused um teenagers, old, like, 18 to 20, like when you’re going to university, which, and I was like, what the heck am I going to do? And I could not figure it out, and so, because, you know, my family was, my, my dad was a lawyer, my mom had been a nurse, and so, but the expectation for most of the people I went to high school with was that you would go on to university, and in Canada that’s what we call it, not college, it’s university, and, because I’m in Toronto, and so I was like, I was trying to figure out something I was interested in, the only thing I could figure out was philosophy.
MARK WRIGHT 07:24
How come? Why did that resonate with you?
SHANNON WALLER 07:26
It was the only thing I was kind of interested in at that point. So, which is, like, the most impractical degree ever. So, I went to one university, did philosophy for one year, didn’t love it, to be honest, took a year off, went and worked two different jobs, and I actually, I think I was in debt at that point, so I needed to earn some money. And then I, then I was working actually at a lingerie store, uh, and I was asked to manage the, this small store, and I was like, um, no, I’m going back to university, thank you very much. Because I was really clear that working retail was not my future. Um, and this is, Dan talks about having the value of, of bad jobs. Cause it gives you incentive to do something else, right? So I went back, and then I, this program at the University of Western Ontario, which is where I had originally wanted to go but didn’t get in. I got in the second time I tried. Uh, was around, uh, it’s called, I have the longest three-year degree title in the history of life, which is a Bachelor of Arts, Administrative and Commercial Studies in Social Organization and Human Relations. Right?
MARK WRIGHT 08:32
That’s a mouthful.
SHANNON WALLER 08:33
It’s over here actually, my degree. And, but what it really was, was about people in business. And I fell in love with it, I love organization behavior, I love organization development and actually what I consider I do now in, in one, through one lens is organization development for entrepreneurs. So that’s, I love people in business and, and I think, I think business is actually one of the very best vehicles on the planet for growing personally. Like if you wanna grow professional, grow professionally, you have to grow personally. You cannot do one without the other. And I’m all about that. That was my family culture. Uh, so be, first of all, because there’s no. Well, you have, you have to be growing or you don’t survive for very long, at least. And the more entrepreneurial the company is, the less bureaucratic, the more that’s a priority. So I love it. I love people in business. It’s been my passion roughly since I was 18. And it’s ironic, I was telling, I tell Dan this all the time. Dan,
MARK WRIGHT 09:32
And you’re talking about Dan Sullivan, right?
SHANNON WALLER 09:34
I’m sorry, Dan Sullivan. Yeah, Strategic Coaches is owned by husband-and-wife team Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith. And for anyone who’s curious, Babs runs the company, not Dan. Don’t spit out your coffee.
MARK WRIGHT 09:46
I almost squirted my coffee out. Okay, we’ll keep that between us.
SHANNON WALLER 09:50
You were like, oh, what would Dan say about that? I’m like, Dan will have no idea, but Babs will. Uh, it’s pretty funny actually. Uh, Dan does run the program and the ideas and the concepts, but Babs runs the company. And that’s the dynamic duo is what I call them. But I do, I really do consider Dan to be, at least in my experience, the world’s foremost, most practical philosopher. I’ve ever had the pleasure to encounter. He’s that good a thinker. So the fact that I get to hang out with them, do our Inside Strategic Coach podcast together, record the quarterly books that we do together is kind of like a dream. I feel like in some ways it’s come full circle. I still love philosophy. I just, I prefer this brand. Thank you very much.
MARK WRIGHT 10:32
I love what you said about developing personally has to come at the same time or before we grow professionally and I love that because how often have we had managers in our careers and it’s like wow, how did that person get promoted to management when they have absolutely zero people skills? And so, so drill down further if you would Shannon on that idea, what sorts of things personally do we need to develop before we succeed in business, truly?
SHANNON WALLER 11:01
Oh, this. It’s probably a long and a short answer to that question. It, it depends on what your priority is. I mean, there are some people who are just stars. They’ve got a very concentrated, we would call, we call it unique ability, in a particular area, and they just need to do that and, and nothing else. So there are those just very technically superb people, and hopefully they’re supported by, and appreciate the support that they get. That’s kind of, and that, but I, I find that to be rare. The people in, in our experience, directly in my experience too, are people that are brilliant at, they really know who they are. Dan and I were just talking about really owning, as I talked about, who you are, what your contribution is, how you can be useful. Um, and then be really, really good at unique ability teamwork. You know, you know what your strength is. You know, I was saying mine is not organization. Before we jump, as we jumped on today. Um, and I have no hesitation, no shame, no nothing. I know where my mental energy plays out, and I know where it doesn’t. And I’m quite clear about how I would need to be supported, and I find people who would love to do it are far better than I am, and I’m incredibly appreciative, and we have phenomenal unique ability to teamwork, right? So those are the people I see that go really far. What, what, there’s an African proverb, If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. And I think that, in a very short, succinct way, kind of describes it. And, and Dan got to a point, actually, where he said, okay, I’m kind of done working on me, I know what my unique ability is. Now, I think this was when he turned 70, he’s 79 now. Um, now my focus is on unique ability teamwork. Now, he’s always been good at unique ability teamwork. I’ve worked with him for 32 years at this point, since 1991. Uh, but he’s gotten even better. He’s, he’s a dream to work with in my estimation. Uh, so that focus on knowing who you are and then really focusing in on other people’s talents and helping align on the bigger future goal. This is a subject on my next podcast. It’s like you gotta know you, you gotta know the other person, and you gotta know where you’re going. And if you can triangulate those three things, you’re going to get there.
MARK WRIGHT 13:18
And being okay with your weaknesses, I guess, is something that is profoundly part of the process. I mean, I feel like ego drives a lot of people in business. Like I’ve got all the answers. I’ve got all the abilities. I don’t have any weaknesses. It’s like sort of the, you know, the proverbial, uh, job interview question. What would you say your greatest weakness is? And a buddy of mine said, just say chocolate and laugh and move on when they do that. So, but, uh, it makes, it, it, it, when you talk about, you know, we talked about our, our Colby scores. And we’ll get to this maybe in a little bit. But, you know, assessing what our true abilities are in terms of how we get stuff done and how we navigate in the world. I think that’s, that’s super interesting. But I have a larger question, Shannon, that I’d like to ask. What separates, you’ve worked with entrepreneurs for a long time, what separates entrepreneurs from everybody else in the world? Like what makes them unique?
SHANNON WALLER 14:11
My number one answer for that is their willingness to cross, we call it the risk line. They are, they, there’s a streak of independence where they are not willing to do it other people’s way. And in fact, they’re kind of terrible employees.
MARK WRIGHT 14:29
I’ve heard, I’ve heard several say that. I’m a, I was a terrible employee.
SHANNON WALLER 14:33
Yeah. And they get fired. Yeah. Because, bureaucracies, we, like, what do they do with unique ability? They go, bleh. You don’t fit in. You’re asking too many darn questions. You’re challenging the status quo. People are like, why are you in such a darn hurry? Yeah, we’ll consider that idea in six months. And they’re like, right, you’re just an irritant. You’re a burr underneath the saddle of a of a larger company. Um, so the so the success strategy then if you’re a company that actually has capacity for unique abilities. Oh my gosh, you have such a wicked advantage in the marketplace. It’s not even funny. Um, but most companies do not. So, so entrepreneurs have this streak of independence and needing to do things their way. And that’s also measurable. There’s a profile that measures that. Um, or else they’re driven by wanting to have a really, really big impact. And then they really, this is going to be a theme today, they really own who they are. You know, if you’re trying to be average, You’re not going to admit to any weaknesses, but you’re also not going to develop your strengths. I consider chocolate a strength, just by the way. I just finished some dark chocolate. It’s a superpower in my life. And, you’re just going to be average. Which is kind of a fascinating concept because it turns out there’s a great book by Todd Rose called The End of Average. Average is strictly a mathematical calculation. It does not apply to people. There’s no such thing as an average person. And he proves it, which is so fascinating. Um, but you’re going to dampen down your strengths and you’re going to try and pretend or fake out your weaknesses or compensate for them. But that doesn’t lead to, you might even get excellent, you might get really, really good, where you have superior skill, but you’re never going to give, you’re never going to unleash your, your, your, your highest level skill that’s combined with passion, right? And that’s, that’s the epitome. And, and I think entrepreneurship actually gives the freest reign to that of any, of any way of working. Um, is when you can, when you, it, it actually gives you, I can’t even say permission because you’re giving yourself permission, but that’s where there’s the most room. Uh, to express and explore unique ability.
MARK WRIGHT 16:44
And having the courage, I’m thinking about when Bill Gates was at Harvard, and I think he dropped out after his first year. And I’ve, you know, spent some time with his dad, was a member of the Rotary Club of Seattle. And, uh, so I had a chance to have lunch with Bill Sr. at Rotary one day. And I had to ask him, you know, we’re just chatting, eating our rubber chicken at the hotel in Seattle. And I said, Mr. Gates, I have to ask you a question. He put up his hand and he said, stop. He goes, let me guess, you’re gonna ask, did I know that Bill, you know, Jr. would be the, become the richest man in the world. And I said, how did you know I was gonna ask you that? He said, of course I knew he would. And then he kept, went back to eating. And then he stopped and laughed. Just roared, laughed, and slapped my leg and said, there’s no way of knowing these things. And then with a twinkle in his eye, he said, but it turned out nicely, didn’t it? And I think that you know, probably what was a, you know, a really tough time when Bill dropped out of college, you know, he soon saw the value of what, what was going to happen.
SHANNON WALLER 17:50
It’s interesting that you say that because I think just from the standpoint of being a parent, because I have a 20 and 23 year old, so this is a very relevant conversation knowing about Colby, knowing about Clifton Strengths, knowing about all the profiles that I’m, I’m so fond of, and knowing about Unique Ability has given, it’s expanded my mindset about what is actually the best for my kids. Like, do I think a formal education is the right fit for everybody? Actually, no I don’t, and Todd Rose helped clarify that too. Do I want my kids to keep educating themselves? Heck yes. But I don’t think it has to be as prescribed as it used to be. Do you know what I mean?
MARK WRIGHT 18:32
Yeah, Shannon, yeah. How often do we hear someone say, well, my dad made me go into this, or my mom said I needed to go into that. And then 20 years into their career, they’re like, I hate this.
SHANNON WALLER 18:42
They’re miserable. And then they have a grind, and they get stressed, and they can’t wait to leave, and they want to quit, they want to retire, but they can’t, and they’re trapped, and then they’re raising kids like that. Ooh.
MARK WRIGHT 18:52
So how are you navigating that with your kids now?
SHANNON WALLER 18:55
They’ve got a lot of room, including to fail, let’s be clear, and I’m just very supportive. Like my one daughter has taken a two-year break from her education, she’s, she’s got, she’s got, well, because she’s changed schools twice, um, she’ll have another 15, 18 months, she might be able to do it in a year. Um, but she took a full 12-month internship. I’m all about practical. I’m all about, go test yourself against the world, right? And then, um, and then the company that she’s working for goes, Um, this job has come up now for the second time. Could you please apply? So they wanted her as a full, so she’s, she’s being paid to do work that she would have paid to go to school for. I’m like, that sounds cool to me, right? So I know, so I’m like, good, go test yourself on the marketplace. That’s how you’re going to learn. This is the time to experiment. This go throw yourself at the world, see what sticks. You know, I’m all about that. And, but I think it’s key to be in motion. I think it’s key for people to, um, you can educate yourself 16 ways to Sunday these days. You know, everything from YouTube videos to Google, University, to all the things. There are so many ways to learn. Travel is huge. So I just for me, my kids know that they have permission to do things differently. Sometimes they hold themselves to a different standard. I’m like, you know that’s not my way of thinking, right? They’re like, oh, I thought you wanted me to. I’m like, no, I never said that, and nor would I. So, no.
MARK WRIGHT 20:20
That’s really enlightened. That’s really cool. That you have that attitude toward them.
SHANNON WALLER 20:24
Yeah, but they also don’t, per, I think, well, no, it’s not Bill Gates, but it’s um, the other richest man in the world.
MARK WRIGHT 20:31
Oh yeah, Jeff Bezos.
SHANNON WALLER 20:22
No, um, older.
MARK WRIGHT 20:36
Oh, Warren Buffet.
SHANNON WALLER 20:37
Hathaway. Warren Buffet. He says, I wanna give my kids enough to do something, but not enough to, so they can do nothing, right? They gotta do something. Let’s be clear. Um, and they were raised by a working mom, so they’re, they’re used to that idea. But I, but I’m so clear on Uniqueability and I simply want people to find their, their passion, what’s gonna make them happy as part of my uniquability statement. Uh, so people are happy with themselves. So that’s super important to me and obviously useful in creating value for others too.
MARK WRIGHT 21:04
Yeah. Um, I’d love to ask your opinion on this question. Why do, I mean, you coach some of the top entrepreneurs in North America. Why is it that these people who we perceive to be super talented, super creative, super successful in the business world. Why do those people need coaching? I mean, you think that they would have it all figured out, right?
SHANNON WALLER 21:30
I’m going to answer that with another question. Why do Olympic athletes have coaches?
MARK WRIGHT 21:34
I thought you would say that. Why did the top golfers in the world, the top anybody in the world, they all have coaches, right?
SHANNON WALLER 21:40
Yeah, because a coach, and here’s the cool thing about coaching versus training versus school. You know, those two things kind of treat you as an empty vessel and they’re trying to pour stuff in. Right? Coaching is about reflecting back to you, asking questions. A really good coach asks really good questions. Well, coaches ask questions. Really good coaches ask really good questions. That make you think about things differently. That have you see a part of your experience. We all have blind spots. Dan has coaches. I’ve got coaches. Babs has coaches. Our coaches have multiple, our clients have multiple coaches. We’re only one. Um, but it allows you to get, and I don’t even like the word, term well rounded. It just allows, if you have a coach, you’re not just counting on your perspective. You’re asking someone else to reflect back. What do you see? You know, and leaders can do this with their teams because we all, as leaders, we have blind spots. It’s like, where am I, where am I winning with you? And where do I have some blind spots? Where do I need to learn? Where do I need to grow? And it’s because of this absolute commitment to growth that people have coaches. People who aren’t growing, why in Lord’s name would you hire a coach? You’re not going to. Um, so they do it because they’re growth-oriented. They do it because they’re passionate. They’re going, they have some big goals that they know that they can’t get to by themselves. And they’ve gone as far as they can on their own, which is pretty darn far by the way. And they know that there’s a little bit of a missing structure that if they could just tap into that, they can take it that much further. So that’s why really successful people, in fact, I would hazard a guess that the most successful people have coaches. And the ones that kind of plateau are the ones that don’t.
MARK WRIGHT 23:28
Kind of speaks to the human condition that, that we kind of have a hard time getting out of our own heads. And we can’t really see ourselves the way that others can, right?
SHANNON WALLER 23:39
No, and I think it would be foolish to try. You know, we’re only experts. You know, we’re the only ones who have our own experience, but we don’t always know how it’s being received by other people. Um, you know, sometimes we need other people to rough, scrape off the rough edges or reflect back. Like, I’ve gotten some great coaching from both Babs and Dan. Babs was like, one day when I was in sales and I was out wandering in the office, I was not on the phone. And she goes, Shannon, um, focus first. And I was like, oh, that’s a concept, right? So, I got to focus. She, I think she had a focusing sign made for my door. And if I went out of the office when the, my door, my office, when the, when that was on the doors, people were like, um, what are you doing? I’m like, oh, bye, back to my office. You know, um, I, oh my gosh. I mean, we all remember when someone reflected back to us something that we were doing that probably wasn’t working. Now, the people who did it the best were ones that did it out of, Love and care and compassion, not to punish, not to be cruel or mean, but in our best interest. They were for us, right? We can all think back where you just made a course correction because someone said, hmm, I know what you’re trying to get to, but that approach is not working for you, right? And those, and those hopefully are our good friends, but it’s also our coaches. Um, so I think that’s, I think that’s, or, or my favorite way of coaching is to reinforce what people are already doing well because often they don’t take it seriously. So, it’s like, do more of that. That is not, like with Dan, Dan will tell me five things or three things. I’m like, that idea Dan, we need to do a podcast on that. That’s an awesome concept. I want to hear more. And he’s like, okay. Right? I don’t tell him what I don’t think works. I tell him where I’m like, ooh, there’s juice there. Right? Like that’s also what a coach does. They reinforce what’s already working well.
MARK WRIGHT 25:29
Shannon, is there a client? that you can remember over the years that was just an amazing story of, wow, um, how you took them from, from one level to, to the next level and just something that jumps out at you?
SHANNON WALLER 25:44
I’m going to talk about a friend of mine who’s also a client. There’s a, there are a few. Oh my gosh. I just watched a testimonial video. I just got a text from one of them. There’s a couple. Um, there’s one client that I work with. His name’s Ben. And he invested in me coming, well actually him flying his team up to work with me, um, over time. And so, we did a whole self-managing company series of workshops. And he really credits that with having a self-managing and what we call self-multiplying company. He said, there’s no way I would have been this free to, he said, I always would have stuck with financial services. There’s no way that I would have been freed up enough to focus on my unique ability. And it lists the five things that he does. There’s no way that I would have bought two other companies in different, one’s an accounting firm, one’s a, a storytelling video firm marketing. Um, he said, there’s no way that would have happened. And so, you just get to see the freedom, back to what I was talking about, that is so, so much fun. My other friend, um, initial CB, uh, is someone who went from being a second generation, maybe even third actually, um, you know, and how he’s just expanded his vision of what’s possible, expanded his own, his own strength as a person, being really clear on his values, his boundaries, now completely taken over the business. Purchasing other stores, it’s in the, in the retail, um, grocery store business, um, and just accelerating. And there’s, there’s just so many stories, Mark, it’s kind of impossible to narrow it down. But you just see how people, and the first person is growing at 30 plus percent a year. Like this is not just happiness and not just light airy-fairy things. This is practical money in your pocket. Expanded free time, lots more vacations, lots more happiness, new babies. Um, people fulfilling their dreams and their contributions. So, yes, I can think of two right off the bat.
MARK WRIGHT 27:44
Yeah, so is the common denominator that they maybe couldn’t see what some of their abilities were or opportunities that were pretty obvious to you?
SHANNON WALLER 27:56
It’s not so much, it’s not like we’re walking around with our clients saying, oh, this is an opportunity for you, that’s an opportunity for you. First of all, they know their worlds way better than we ever will. But it’s more that how we can ask questions that will help uncover things. And Dan was talking about this today. He said, I love talking to people and asking, how did you get here? Kind of the story that you asked me. And how did you get here? And what did you notice? And what do you think that you did really worked? What would you never do again? You know, there’s a whole. There’s a bunch of different types of questions you can ask. And as a result of talking it through, they have new insights into their experience. They have new insights about what did, what did you do that really worked there? Could you do that again? Right? Like, and they’re like, oh, yeah, I could. Well, what would that look like? How long would it take? You know, one guy, Dan was talking about, it was really funny, we did this in the podcast the other day. He asked a client about going to 10 times, because that’s one of our concepts is going 10x. And we usually take revenue, but there’s different ways to calculate it. And he goes, oh, I could never do that. And Dan goes, well, why? He said, well, I couldn’t do it in three years. And Dan said, well, who said anything about three years? He said, Dan went and said, Well, what about 25 years? He goes, oh, it wouldn’t take me that long. Well, how long do you think it would take you? Oh, 15. Okay, and once you got to that, once you got to that 10x, then what do you think? So, I think I could go another 10X in the next 10 years. So, Dan’s like, okay, three minutes ago, you just told me that there’s no possible way you can go 10X. And in our conversation now in 25 years, you’re a hundred X.
MARK WRIGHT 29:37
Wow. So, this is a level of coaching that, that people can, can enroll in that, that actually the goal is to, to go 10X of what they’re, what they’re doing right now as a business.
SHANNON WALLER 29:47
It is. And so, everyone starts with this, with the strategic coach program. So, this is the, the fundamental level, because you have to get, it goes back to experiencing more freedom of time and money. You know, you have to have those fundamental structures in place, or it’s kind of like, if you think about multiplying complexity, no sane human being does that. Really, really not a good plan, right? So, you have to simplify before you multiply. So, the minimum, the first year in coach, you, you will dramatically simplify your time, simplify your money, make more, let’s be clear. And in the process of one to three years, people double their income and double their free time. Kind of cool. Nice multiplier there. And then, then you’re kind of freed up to think about 10x, right? So, we call this the 10x Ambition Program. And then you want to be with other people who are going at that kind of accelerated level. You don’t have to go to that level. You might be very content just doing, doing the, the Strategic Coach Program. And, but then you can stack on top. We actually like people to do, we don’t want people to just, oh that, I don’t want to do that program anymore, I only want to do this program. No, no, no, they work together. And they keep reinforcing it. So then, you know, I, I really want people to do at least year two. Because there’s so much good stuff that you’re going to miss. If you don’t. Then you can stack on 10x. And then, and that’s kind of when you get to the self-multiplying company. So self-managing company is when it can kind of run without you and you’re really freed up just to really help focus on future growth. 10X is when you kind of accelerate that process. And then minimum two years, often more, then the option is to go to free zone. And free zone is actually where you are free from competition. It is all about collaboration. Um, and it’s, it’s the highest level of entrepreneurship I have ever seen. It’s pretty spectacular. It’s a very, I call it the cool club. I may or may not be cool to say. Uh, but the people in there are just so much fun because they have so much freedom as an entrepreneur and then they’re just out there creating new value, transforming industries. Um, it’s pretty phenomenal to see that.
MARK WRIGHT 31:53
And what they’re actually doing by being freed up is they’re getting back to that creativity and freedom that they had at the beginning of their career.
SHANNON WALLER 32:00
A hundred percent, a hundred percent. Only with a whole new set of capabilities and teamwork and technology and knowledge and wisdom and motivation. It’s yeah, they’re there, they’re actually even more ambitious than they were at the beginning. But they do have that kind of initial freedom when you were just making stuff up at the beginning because there was no structure. Now they are able to do that at so much of a higher level and it’s just, they’re just having fun. It’s really cool.
MARK WRIGHT 32:30
I’d love your perspective, Shannon, on hiring people. I was talking with an entrepreneur recently and he told me one of the mistakes that he made early on in the growth of his company was he hired too many people who were just like him. Because it felt right. It felt like he was an extrovert and he loved being around extroverts and those job interviews felt so good and then he looked around he’s like, oh my gosh, I’ve hired a whole bunch of me.
SHANNON WALLER 32:53
You’ve hired a whole bunch of people who want your job.
MARK WRIGHT 32:58
So, give us some wisdom, when, when these companies are growing, like how do you how do you avoid making that mistake?
SHANNON WALLER 33:07
You require self-awareness. And, and for a lot of my close clients, they know that my number one rule is know thyself. So, it requires knowing your strengths, knowing your non-strengths, if you don’t like the word weaknesses. And I completely own what is not a strength for me. I have no problem with that. I am happy.
MARK WRIGHT 33:25
So, tell us what those are, Shannon. Like, what are your non-strengths?
SHANNON WALLER 33:28
Any kind of deep, deep research and fact-finding. Any kind of structured organization. I can do inventory, but don’t ask for it to be accurate. Like that kind of thing. Um, I can do one, in terms of scheduling, I can do the initial outreach. I may or may not read the second one back as to whether, and if it requires more than that I’m done. I’m out. Um, I went to take my car in for servicing and for some reason that was super stressful. That wasn’t good. Um, there’s a ton of things. In fact, all of us are, there’s a far greater range of things we’re not good at. We’re really, really unique out of very few. So, I’m, but as you can tell, I’m, I’m quite happy to share those things that I’m not good at, where I don’t have mental energy, I don’t have patience, I don’t suffer fools gladly, um, there’s, there’s a long list, just saying. Um, so it’s easy for me to do that, but you have, you have to know yourself, because then you can communicate to people, here’s how to win with me, here’s how to not win. You know, we have a great tool called the 4×4, which is, you know, how you can be a hero to me. Here’s the results that I want you to focus on, faster, easier, cheaper, bigger. Uh, I want you to be alert, curious, responsive, resourceful in these particular areas. And my fourth quadrant, my favorite, here’s what drives me crazy, right? And it’s very personal. And you can have someone who’s fabulous and lovely and capable, but if they drive you crazy, you’re going to fire them, right? So, and it’s very personal, so you have to know yourself. If you don’t, you’re going to be a lousy leader. Just saying. Um, so that is, that is critical. By the way, hiring a clone is pretty much the number one hiring mistake. So, and I’ve heard it a million times, so that person’s not alone. Because it feels so good, just to your point.
MARK WRIGHT 35:19
Yeah, like if you’re an extrovert, and there’s a really introverted person that comes into the job interview, it’s like, ooh, that guy seems a little weird, and he’s always thinking and kind of not talking. But sometimes you need people like that. I mean, you do need people like that in certain parts of the organization.
SHANNON WALLER 35:35
100%. So, this is why you being really clear on how you’re unique actually opens your eyes to how other people are unique. If you think everyone should be a certain way and that you want to make everyone a round peg to fit into the round hole, you’re gonna miss, you’re gonna miss 99% of the time. Um, if you start to appreciate how people are unique and really, you have to appreciate how you’re unique and then to that degree you can appreciate how other people are. And then you have to be really clear on what you need. So, I know for me, and this is where I use profiles because I consider them to be an incredible shortcut. I’m not a patient human. Quick start will lead to that. Um, I’m not, I’m not, I’m not patient intellectually. I’m not patient emotionally. I’m not patient striving. I’m just not patient. So, I want the quickest, shortest result I can possibly get. And I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t, so I keep looking for more of these. But so I look, um, if I know that I’m, in my Kolbe profile, if anyone’s familiar with that, and Kolbe, by the way, is K O L B E, not the cheese.
MARK WRIGHT 36:37
Named after Kathy Kolbe, is it?
SHANNON WALLER 36:39
Kathy Kolbe, yeah. Kolbe. com. Go to your Kolbe A index. Brilliant. I’m not getting paid to say that. It’s just one of the most useful things I’ve ever found. In fact, I will not coach anyone individually without knowing their Kolbe profile.
MARK WRIGHT 36:50
Do you think that’s the most important, uh, tool in terms of measuring personality profiles in business?
SHANNON WALLER 36:57
Um, I, I think it’s important. It is the one I start with, to be honest. I don’t think it’s the only one. Um, I like to get a full picture. I actually like the cognitive, the affective, and the conative. Why I love Kolbe is it’s the hardest to see. We see personality. We see intelligence. How do you measure volition? Kolbe is the only accurate, validated profile that does that. So, I, I start with that because it’s the hardest to discern in any other way. If that makes sense. Other things you can kind of get a clue from either experience, job testing, um, how people show up in the interview, what have you. But Kolbe is really hard to see. And people can actually override it with their personality and their cognitive. So, I want to get at the inside of someone and it’s, I’m pointing at my gut because it’s, that’s where it comes from. So it’s, it’s, I’m not sure if it’s the most important, but it is the one I start with, uh, to answer that question. Uh, so it’s, so if I know where, where, how I strive, I want, I’m going to look for someone. So, I, Katrina, who helped organize today, um, profiled her before I hired her. I profiled my previous brilliant assistant, Nicole, before I hired her. Actually, Nicole helped hire Katrina, and both of them initia, well, actually, Katrina is a 7 follow through. That is so essential. 90% of supporting me is scheduling me, right? And without her coordination, I would be at least, well, I, my productivity has gone up four times, measurably.
MARK WRIGHT 38:31
Wow. That’s amazing. I don’t want to call you out here but, I heard a rumor that you profiled your husband before you married him.
SHANNON WALLER 38:40
100% true. I absolutely did. And by the way, I highly recommend it.
MARK WRIGHT 38:45
And did he know it at the time?
SHANNON WALLER 38:47
Oh, hell, yes. I’m like, you need to do this.
MARK WRIGHT 38:50
You know, you’re a nice guy, but I’ve got some paperwork that I need you to fill out.
SHANNON WALLER 38:56
Well, it’s really funny. My youngest daughter, um, who’s 20, and she is in a long-term relationship, and I, I gave her partner three different profiles. There’s one more I still have to do.
MARK WRIGHT 39:09
Oh my gosh, she’s probably thinking what am I getting into?
SHANNON WALLER 39:11
Poor Jocko is like what the hell kind of family am I getting involved in? Um, she did, she did the five love languages with them on a date.
MARK WRIGHT 39:20
Well, that’s smart.
SHANNON WALLER 39:21
I know and she was, I think she was 17. You go girl. So, I just have to tell a funny story. So, yes, I did profile my husband before I married him, which was really important actually because would I have not married him if he didn’t have the right profile? No. Because you’re in a relationship with someone because of how you feel about them. So, this is a heart thing. Kolbe measures volition. This is your gut, how you strive, but I had to know how did he get results? Well turns out, even if you don’t know what the numbers mean. He, so he and I are basically clones or twins. So, he’s a 2, 2, 10, 4. Ironically, the same as Dan. I don’t know how this happened. But, so, if I, do I want to expect him to be a fact-finder? No. To be a follow-through? Heck no. To be a 10 quick start compared to my 9? We come up with lots of ideas. How many do we take action on? Hmm, one or two, right? Um, building is interesting. I’m like, did you use a level? Because my implementer is a little longer than me. Uh, but it’s, it’s, so we strive very much in the same way, but that meant I knew that when we had a family, God help us, if we want to have anywhere near a clean home, we need help with that. So, we have a brilliant house cleaner named Anita. Um, and then we also, like, I don’t think I’m going to be the person walking to my kid to and from school eight times a day, right? And so, we did have a nanny. Both of us were working. And we, I knew that we needed that stability. We needed that consistency. We needed someone who would add some structure to our lives. So, we have a home support team now. We kept our lovely nanny till my daughter was 12. Um, cause she was the tiniest of all of us. That may have been a mistake. I’m just saying. Um, but it. But yeah, I absolutely did profile Bruce and it meant that we could manage expectations about one another, and we do this in our couples conference. We have people compare their Kolbes, they’ve got a brilliant thing called the A to A, the comparison A to A, which means what you can expect from your spouse and what not to expect. The worst mistake you could make, my favorite part of the profile, how their mental energy plays out. Brilliant to do with any partner, especially your life partner. So absolutely, I profiled Bruce before I married him. And last week, we just celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary.
MARK WRIGHT 41:42
Oh, congratulations.
SHANNON WALLER 41:43
And we’ve been together for 33 years. So, I don’t think it was a bad idea. Just saying.
MARK WRIGHT 41:50
I love it. When you first started that, I mean, it’s hard to believe that you’ve been with Strategic Coach since you were in your mid-twenties. When you started with Babs, um, did you ever think you would be at this point? And, and what’s the, what’s the thing that you’re most proud of in terms of your time at the company?
SHANNON WALLER 42:10
Oh my gosh. No. I had no conception. I look around at my life sometimes and go, I could never in a million years have predicted this. Could I, could I predict that I’d be doing Quarterly Book with Dan, that I’d be doing podcasts, that I would be almost completely front stage? Um, which means that I’m presenting directly. Could I predict that I’d be coaching ten times? Well, no, because ten times didn’t exist, but I wouldn’t guess that. Um, would I have dreamt that I had written two books and contributed to two more? Nope. There’s no way. Would I have my own podcast, Team Success? None of it. None of it was even a glimmer. So, no. I had no idea. But it, it, it goes back to, and I think this is true for anyone, if you keep pursuing that thing that you have a passion for, that you care about, that you want to keep growing your skills, and you keep taking yourself seriously in that aim, stuff just unfolds, right? And I’m happy to be in an environment where there’s just a ton of freedom to do all those things, and it’s very valued. Um, and Dan and Babs would tell me all the time, they, there’s no way they would ever have created a team program. Like this is, this is my part of the company. Um, and that’s not something that was a passion for them. It is a passion for me. So that’s, so in terms of what I’m most proud of, I would definitely say it’s creating, it’s kind of like team stuff is a little entrepreneurial company within an entrepreneurial company. So, I’m definitely proud of. It’s my other baby, other than my real ones. So, all of the team’s success, and it’s not even that I’ve written these things or done these things, it’s the fact that it’s made people’s lives better. The fact that it’s helped people be happier with themselves, work better together, experience the growth that they tell me about, um, that lights me up. Like that feeds my soul. So, I think it’s the impact, the positive impact on other people is really what I’m the most proud of. Yeah.
MARK WRIGHT 44:00
Yeah, I feel like I would be remiss in not asking you what the secret to building a great team is because every business has teams, and I feel like sometimes they’re not even really aware of how they put those teams together. But what’s your best advice to a manager or business owner when it comes to creating great teams?
SHANNON WALLER 44:22
Well, it’s interesting because there’s teams and there’s great teams, and I think there’s a far bigger distinction than just teams. There’s an awareness of, if that makes sense. And a great team, in my experience, and the way I think about it, is a unique ability team. So, again, it goes back to, there’s no way you’re going to create a unique ability team unless you understand and appreciate and develop your own. Um, and that’s ability to spot talent, to let, to, to let it grow. I mean, I complimented Dan today, I was like, Dan, you are really good at long-term relationships. Like he’s had, like, our audio engineer that we were working with this morning, 28 years, I’m 32, um, Dan and Babs have been married longer than that, can’t remember. Um, like, just long term, and I’ve worked with a lot of my colleagues for 20 plus years. That’s really unusual, just saying. But he, he does, he finds, he finds people who are attracted to his ideas. That’s his pick up, for people. And, but then he just lets them do what they’re best at, and counts on them for that and gives, gives direction and purpose to their talents. And so, it creates, creates incredible loyalty, longevity, not having to find new people every year or two. Um, and that’s, and that’s powerful. So, if you can develop a culture that supports, rewards, attracts unique ability, um, I think you have a superpower that results in happy people, great culture, and great results. Like if you’re looking for productivity and profitability, I think uniquability is the best strategy on the planet. Um, and people think it’s a nice to have because we use the words love to do something or really enjoy it. There’s a passion there. Uh uh. This is the, I’m all about maximizer strategies, Clifton Strengths. Um, and I have to tell you, Uniquability is the best maximizer strategy that I know of.
MARK WRIGHT 46:19
I don’t think I asked directly, Shannon, what your unique ability is when people ask you, what is it?
SHANNON WALLER 46:24
Oh my gosh. I have a statement, but I haven’t read it out loud for a long time. Um, but it’s something like this. It’s really about, um, intuitively, um, understanding what the key issues for people are, and then compassionately communicating practical strategies to align people’s thinking with what’s real. Not what’s fake. All about real. Um, so that they can build better teams. Um, there’s another, produce more results and be happy with themselves.
MARK WRIGHT 46:55
Oh, that’s cool.
SHANNON WALLER 46:56
Uh huh. And that’s what I love to do.
MARK WRIGHT 46:59
So, before we wrap things up, Shannon, I’d love to ask your advice on the best way to set targets as an organization. Because over the years I’ve observed a lot of companies that just sort of arbitrarily set targets and goals. It’s like, wow, we did this in sales this year, so next year we’re going to go 25% above that. Well, not basing that 25% on anything that they’ve researched or rational, it’s just like, oh no, we’ve worked our tails off this year and now we have to do 25% more. What’s your best advice on setting goals, measuring the accountability and achieving those goals?
SHANNON WALLER 47:36
All right, this will be a short answer to a big question, but we, we’ve grappled with this, and it’s interesting because entrepreneurs and their teams often have a very different approach. Because the team is looking at, okay, here’s what we did last year, here’s what the market’s doing, there’s all of this other, factual evidence. And the entrepreneur is like, I don’t care, I want this. There’s because that’s good. That’s good. That is what gets them excited. They’re futuristic and that’s the thing. So how in the Lord’s name do you reconcile that? So, we’ve been trying to crack this nut for a long time and we finally figured it out. So, I’m very excited. This is a Strategic Coach thing. This isn’t a Shannon thing. So then what we came up with and it’s true because sometimes even just doing what you did last year is a win. Like there’s so much of sales and marketing that you have to create fresh every single year. You are kind of starting from zero. So, we have our very first level of any kind of target is holding holding ground. So, if you just did what we did last year, that’s actually the base. So, when we have our bonus structure, which we have a companywide one, um, that’s where it starts. The next one is making gains. So, this is, you know, so that’s usually some kind of a percentage, depending on what the, what we’re, could be, could be profit, could be revenue that we’re looking at, and depending on what it is, there’s a percentage that’s there. That would go with it. And depending on your industry, it could be 2% or it could be 20%, right? You know, increase over last year. So, it’s, it’s holding ground, making gains, and then there’s always a big breakthrough. So, the big breakthrough is if we just knock it out of the park, if we just all the stars align, all of the things, that’s a big breakthrough. And that has really proved to be the integrative structure that satisfies the entrepreneurs need for a big ass goal that they’re just gonna be really excited about. It also satisfies and doesn’t freak out the team. They’re like hang on a second, we’re starting from zero this year. So, holding ground, making gains and big breakthrough. When we finally came up with that, whew, just calmed everyone down. Everyone gets to see where it goes. We get excited when we go past holding ground, into making gains, and we’re on the way to big breakthrough. It’s very energizing and incentivizing for people. So, we do that. The other thing is key to setting the target. So, we’ve got, gosh, people are so good at understanding, they’re really good at measuring. I think that’s a key thing. You have to know what you’re tracking, and then you have to track it. So, and measure what matters. So, we’ve got people who are very good at that, and they provide us with a lot of that raw data, on which we base the goals, and then we communicate like crazy. I actually just sent an email to Tammy Covill, who’s our kind of Director of Operations, and our integrator, to use EOS, Operating System terms, and she, I just complimented her, because she’s so good at communicating. She sent out, here’s where you are with our Q, quarter three goals. I was like, Tammy, you are so good at keeping people in the loop. I would do it very sporadically. She’s much more consistent, much longer follow through, um, than I am. And I just appreciate that. So, communicating, keeping people in the loop with our revenue goals, like we don’t keep that a secret. And then people get to be on the same page, and they get to get excited, and we share it at every uh, company meeting, which we have one a quarter, so we keep people in tune with what’s happening so that they’re in the loop and they’re invested and then there’s, there’s cash at the end, right? So when, when, when we win, we all win, which is another part of it. So, a few different answers in that, in my long discussion, but that distinction of those three different levels, from holding ground to big breakthrough has, was a breakthrough for us in getting all of us on the same page without people getting angsty or frustrated anymore.
MARK WRIGHT 51:25
Yeah. And I feel like a lot of companies don’t even acknowledge holding the ground because to get to just hold what we did last year, if you don’t recognize that, you’re completely dismissing all of the hard work that got you to that substantial level. It’s like, well, that doesn’t really matter. Um, yeah.
SHANNON WALLER 51:43
Well, and there’s, there’s nothing more disheartening than not having your progress acknowledged. We’ve got a whole concept is, I think you’re aware of the gap and the gain. So, the gap is measuring yourself against an ideal or your company, or your team, or your spouse, or your kids against an ideal. Well, ideals are great for motivating us and keeping us strong during tough times. They’re crappy for measuring progress. You’re always going to fall short because our ideals are like. It’s like the carrot in front of the donkey. It keeps moving with the donkey. It’s like the horizon. It keeps moving. So, ideals are ridiculous to measure against. Turn around and look where you came from. And then have, throw a big you know what party. Oh my gosh, look what we accomplished. Look what we learned. Debrief the whole thing. I actually did this in my meeting. This was EOS coaching. I sat down with the team, and we’d hit most of the goals for our quarter, and I had everyone take 60 to 90 seconds to say, hey, what have you learned? If you hit your goal, if you didn’t hit your goal, you know, what have you learned from that experience? And then everyone went around and shared. They rated it as the best meeting that we’d had. Because they got to learn and, well, capture and learn from their experience and from other peoples. So that acknowledging and celebrating progress is so fundamental to growth. So, it, so just skipping over it or just paying it lip service just because you’re impatient does not, does not work with, with team members. Again, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
MARK WRIGHT 53:17
Yeah. Best strategy for keeping employees right now. This is sort of a lightning round.
SHANNON WALLER 53:23
Oh, I love it. Um, give them a lot of appreciation for the specific ways that they’re contributing. And specific, not just, oh I love you, you’re amazing, but why? Um, give them a really big, important purpose, like what you’re, what your company is up to in the world and what difference it makes. I think that’s key. Um, as my friend CB that I was talking about earlier, don’t be a jerk. He had a different word for it, but you can imagine. Like, just don’t be a, his word started with a D. Um, so don’t be that. Um, and if, don’t keep it a secret about what drives you crazy. If that’s why you’re being a jerk, then let people know, and then they can choose whether or not they want to work with you or at least they know the danger zone where not to go. So, I think, um, and frankly, being a decent human being. You know, if, if you acknowledge progress, if you acknowledge some, someone’s specific contribution, you’ve got a big purpose, people know the impact you’re having in the world, and you’re, you’re good at teamwork, you’re gonna keep people. And, and, they’re gonna say, Oh my gosh, you have to come work here. They’re gonna attract other people. Because you’re so diff It’s not, frankly, it’s not hard to differentiate yourself from other companies. A lot of other companies out there don’t do any of those things. Just do those, and, and you’ll, you’ll, you’ll attract really great contributing committed human beings.
MARK WRIGHT 54:43
Best advice anyone given you related to business.
SHANNON WALLER 54:48
My don’t be a jerk. Um, this is one of the best coaching things, that’s sort of an answer to your question. Um, all of Dan’s advice is brilliant. But one, I was, I was working with someone, it was actually a volunteer position, but I was working. And I had a really bad habit, I think I was 19. If every time, every time she told me something that she didn’t think I knew I’d go back I know I know I know I was that cocky 19-year-old and finally she sat me down this goes back to coaching she sat me down she said Shannon every time you say I know I feel like you’re spitting on me. And I was like uhhh, never did it again. So, and that was some of the best coaching I ever got. She did it, and she didn’t have heat on it. She did, she still liked me. It was like a friend giving me advice, but she delivered it straight, and clear, and thoughtfully. And I was like, damn. So, she shifted how I showed up. And I think she probably saved me at least five or six years of personal growth because she delivered the message that way and I got it. Um, so it, probably a different answer than you were expecting. Um, but that personal course correction I am extraordinarily grateful for. And it made me less of a jerk.
MARK WRIGHT 56:14
And it goes back to that, you know, how do other people perceive us? The wisdom of that.
SHANNON WALLER 56:19
Right, right, exactly. That’s why I’m like, coaches can show us stuff we wouldn’t otherwise see. And I think she, that allowed me to be a better person, which opened up more doors. Like, we don’t know why we don’t get opportunities. But it’s like, this is why grammar is important, this is why speaking is important, this is why dress is important. We don’t know why people close the door, and that would have closed a million doors for me. So that was one of the early, like this was me really young, but that, that one piece of coaching was invaluable.
MARK WRIGHT 56:52
Wow, that’s really cool. And the fact that she did it in a kind way is also super cool. Well, I guess I’d like to leave our conversation today, Shannon, which has just been fantastic, but you’ve had an amazing career. What haven’t you done to this point that you hope to do before you head off into the sunset?
SHANNON WALLER 57:11
Yeah. Yeah, coach, we kind of don’t do that.
MARK WRIGHT 57:15
There is no sunset.
SHANNON WALLER 57:17
Right. What haven’t I done? It’s interesting. There’s some things personally I haven’t done. Like I’d like to do more travel. I mean, I’ve been to Africa, which was a dream. Um, I’ve been to Australia, so I like to do more of that. Those are some of the things. Um, but work professionally. What I, what haven’t I done? Done a lot. I actually, my biggest thing right now is writing more books. Um, there’s ideas in my head that I don’t have time. I’m sitting in the marketing seat as well right now at Coach. Can’t really say it’s my unique ability yet. Um, so, so there’s not much time to write it. I’m, I’m trying to see how AI can help me with that.
MARK WRIGHT 57:54
Yeah, for sure.
SHANNON WALLER 57:55
But I, I do need it to come, be real and come from me. So, I think putting more information out into the world, um, and I would also say doing collaborations, because there are a lot of people, I, I just have some incredible professional friends, I sort of call them, that’d be really, really fun to do some joint projects together. So I would say those are the two areas. For me, that would be very enjoyable, interesting, fun, challenging, growth inspiring. Um, so yeah, that’s a great question. I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that question before, so thank you.
MARK WRIGHT 58:26
Okay, I just thought of one more question. Yeah. You are on a sales call. I’m a potential client. Why should I sign up for a strategic coach? Because it’s not cheap, right?
SHANNON WALLER 58:37
No, but I’ve learned compared to other things, it’s also not that expensive. Which is kind of interesting. It’s an investment. Right, so if you, so okay, if you have hit a ceiling of complexity where you’ve, you’ve gone pretty far, you’re, you’re happy with your progress, but you really, really want to grow more and you know that you, to use your expression before, want to get out of your own way more and be in a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, a Strategic Coach is the best. You know, it’s, it’s so core, it’s so cuts to the chase, it’s so essential that you just, once you ingest some of these ways of operating, you cannot help but grow. Um, now if you don’t want to grow, don’t do Strategic Coach. I’m really, really clear on that. It will be too challenging. Or if you have people in your life that don’t want you to grow, you will also find a challenge. Uh, but if you want to grow in a community of awesome humans, I think we have the best clients in the world. Sorry to any other company, but I think that’s true, and our members are inspiring and fun and generous and successful they’re all the things It’s smart. So, if that’s the community of people that you would like, oh, that’s what I’ve been looking for I cannot recommend Coach highly enough and I I can say that as a client Because my, my closing question for joining Coach was, because I didn’t qualify back then, was do I get to do the program? The answer was yes. So, I have been in the program since July of 1991. So, it, it works is what I can tell you. Um, and if you want to hang around with cool humans, cool entrepreneurs and grow in, in the least painful way possible, Coach is a brilliant fit. So absolutely come join us.
MARK WRIGHT 01:00:22
I love that answer, Shannon, because I think all of us, if, if we really want to become better human beings, we have to commit to growth, not just at work, but in our marriages and our lives and our relationships with our kids. It’s just, you never arrive, right? You just, you just try to get up and try to be better than yesterday.
SHANNON WALLER 01:00:40
Yeah. And, and to enjoy the journey, you know, Dan’s core values this morning when we were talking about it were to be useful, to be appreciative. And to, um, his last poem is about really making that positive difference. So, if you want to grow in, there’s growing the hard way. Not my fave. I’m a maximizer. I like someone to reinforce my strengths. Um, so if you want to grow in a really appreciative environment that’s going to really help you hone in on your best attributes and capabilities to help grow those and be supportive of other people to, um, this is just an incredible environment in which to do that. And it’s interesting, because it’s only, it’s only four days a year. I mean, there’s lots of ways you can connect with us in between sessions, don’t get me wrong. Lots and lots of different ways. Um, but that’s the time commitment, is four full days a year. And it’s, it’s kind of impressive what can happen in between those quarters. And it’s just constant improvement, constant growth, reflect back, what worked, what didn’t, what can I do differently going forward? Set your big goals, but then just focus on them a quarter at a time. So, it’s not a stressful process, if that makes sense. Um, and then all of a sudden you look back and you’re like, holy mackerel, how did I do that? Because you, it felt slow and steady, kind of like going through a lock system. But then you look back and you’re like, wow. So, it’s, that’s, that’s the experience I went that I have and I, and I love my workshop and I love, I was in my workshop with our coach Chad Johnson in Chicago. I had so much fun. I was like, I said to Chad, which is a pretty big compliment, I said, this is like the workshop where I have been like my most authentic, most real self. I just, I just felt like it was playing all day and he goes, and that’s a high compliment for me and he, and he was like, wow, that’s a big compliment. I’m like, yeah, it is, but I had so much fun, and I learned a ton and I got wiser and I had new things to come out with. Um, so yeah, that’s what to look forward to.
MARK WRIGHT 01:02:38
That’s cool that you see your job as kind of, you know, what Dan named this podcast (our Dan, Dan Rogers), BEATS WORKING, you know, when you’re in your spot, it doesn’t feel like work, does it?
SHANNON WALLER 01:02:50
No, there’s so much, when we can free people up to live their joy, to live their passion, gosh, the world could benefit from some more of that. There’s a lot of unhappy people in the world right now. And when we can share and demonstrate a different way of showing up and making a contribution, it’s like one person in their unique ability, contributing what they have to contribute, making a positive impact on other people is the, is like the antidote to 10 or 20 or a hundred people who don’t have that sense. So, I think it’s, I think it’s a great contribution. I think there’s a lot to be uncovered and freed up so people can be their best selves. And that’s, that’s in my experience, what Coach does.
MARK WRIGHT 01:03:30
Yeah. Well, Shannon Waller, it’s been a pleasure having you on the BEATS WORKING podcast, and it’s so clear that what you and Strategic Coach are doing to redeem work is having such a big effect on people all over. So, keep up the great work. So nice to spend time with you and be in touch, okay?
SHANNON WALLER 01:03:45
This is wonderful, Mark. Thank you so much. And I’ve thoroughly, thoroughly loved and enjoyed this conversation.
MARK WRIGHT 01:03:51
I’m Mark Wright. Thanks for listening to BEATS WORKING, part of the WORKP2P family. New episodes drop every Monday. And if you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Special thanks to show producer and web editor Tamar Medford. In the coming weeks, you’ll hear from our Contributors Corner and Sidekick Sessions. Join us next week for another episode of BEATS WORKING, where we are winning the game of work.
