About Mike Paton, EOS Implementer and Author of "Get A Grip"
Paton grew up in a household full of teachers and entrepreneurs, cut his teeth in banking, and then spent ten years leading entrepreneurial companies before discovering EOS® in 2007. Instantly drawn to its timeless concepts and simple, practical tools - he became one of the first EOS Implementers®.
Since then he’s conducted over 1,500 sessions for more than 150 companies, co-authored the book GET A GRIP with Gino Wickman, spent five years as EOS Worldwide’s Visionary, delivered more than 200 highly-rated talks and workshops for entrepreneurs around the world & launched the top-rated business podcast, The EOS Leader™.
He’s grateful to be living HIS ideal life, because he’s able to spend all of his time helping other entrepreneurs run better businesses…and live THEIR ideal lives.
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About Mike Paton, EOS Implementer and Author of "Get A Grip"
Paton grew up in a household full of teachers and entrepreneurs, cut his teeth in banking, and then spent ten years leading entrepreneurial companies before discovering EOS® in 2007. Instantly drawn to its timeless concepts and simple, practical tools - he became one of the first EOS Implementers®.
Since then he’s conducted over 1,500 sessions for more than 150 companies, co-authored the book GET A GRIP with Gino Wickman, spent five years as EOS Worldwide’s Visionary, delivered more than 200 highly-rated talks and workshops for entrepreneurs around the world & launched the top-rated business podcast, The EOS Leader™.
He’s grateful to be living HIS ideal life, because he’s able to spend all of his time helping other entrepreneurs run better businesses…and live THEIR ideal lives.
MORE RESOURCES FROM MIKE PATON
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Rob Hughes, MBA (00:03):
Whether you're an entrepreneur starting out in business or have been leading your company for years, this episode is for you. In this interview. I sit down with Mike Paton, POS implementer in leadership icon to discuss how to enjoy the leadership journey today on the thrive collective people, entrepreneurs, small business owners and leaders. Welcome back to the thrive collective. You know, this is your show designed to help you make more money, avoid costly mistakes, and fully integrate your faith into your life, into your leadership. As your host, it is a joy to serve you. I am Rob Hughes and welcome back today. We're talking leadership lessons with Mike Paton, EOS implementer in leadership icon in the EOS world, the entrepreneurial world Mike Peyton Peyton has spent his lifetime learning from entrepreneurs and leaders. And really today he's spending all of his time giving back as an author, speaker and host of his own podcast. If you haven't checked out the EOS leader podcast do so. It's awesome. He's also a certified EOS implementer working with companies around the globe, helping them implement the power of the EOS system that Gino Wickman authored in the book traction. Very specifically, he's passionate about helping entrepreneurs run their businesses better and live better lives by mastering those principles in some of the ideas that he's going to be sharing today with us. So buckle up. This is going to be a fun interview. Hey Paton. Welcome to the thrive collective.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (01:47):
Thank you, Rob. It's great to be here. And for the record, the key to my success is lowering people's expectations. If you could, if you could just rerecord that intro, that'd be great feeling a tremendous amount of pressure right now.
Rob Hughes, MBA (02:02):
Good, good at well, you know, I'm a firm believer Peyton that you could tell what is inside the fruit when the pressure is on. So here we go. Buckle up buttercup.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (02:12):
Yeah. I, everything cinched up. We're good to go. Yeah.
Rob Hughes, MBA (02:16):
So, so Peyton, here's the deal I have spent hours and hours and days and weeks with you behind ink on paper, get a grip was like walking through our EOS implementation. It was a fable story that just invited me into the EO. So if you haven't read thrive, collective, get a grip. It's, it's a Peyton's book that he has authored or coauthored with Gino Wickman, fantastic reading. Step-By-Step walking a company through the EOS process. So it caught my attention. I reached out to you on LinkedIn said, Hey, we got to connect. And so here we are. So I spent a lot of time with you, but the thrive collective that's for some of them, this be their first introduction to you. So help the thrive collective family. Get to know you a little bit. What's your story? Peyton
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (03:06):
And leadership. Yeah. I'm happy to do that. Robin. I'll try and keep this reasonably brief, although I have a lot of years to cover here. So I grew up in an entrepreneurial household. My father was a real estate broker and, and a real estate investor. My mom worked in his business, ran the property management division. And so for me, my business career started around the dinner table, watching my parents never be able to put their business down. And you know, that tends to create some sensibility towards business in you. So I, you know, I was buying boxes full of candy at the local five and diamond selling them out of my locker and I had a paper out. So I'm a lifelong entrepreneur looking to make a buck. Right. And and so you know, 50 years later, I'm still trying to do that.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (03:57):
And and enjoying the ride to be honest with ya, I went off to college graduated with a degree in English. My first real career move out of college was to go into banking. I took a management training job at a 14 branch savings and loan in Columbus, Ohio, and I, and my dad was so disappointed. He sat me down and said Peyton, you know, what, what mark Twain said about bankers, right? And I said, no, dad, what? And he said, well, a banker is somebody who gives you an umbrella when it's nice outside and takes it back the minute it starts to rain. So, so the truth of the matter is I always kind of knew that banking was a nice stepping stone for me to figure out what made for a successful business in a successful business owner.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (04:46):
I felt more at home with my clients than I did, you know, with other bankers. And so I left banking after about 10 to 12 years, much to my father's delight and, and began my first of four opportunities to run or help run entrepreneurial companies. Two were great. Trainwrecks two were great successes. I take responsibility for the train wrecks and they're the things I'm most grateful for in my career, because we all know when we've been through hell and high water, that the challenges you face make you, the person you are. And so everything I've learned, I've learned from making mistakes. And I'm, I'm grateful for the wisdom that comes from that. After the fourth opportunity, which was a train wreck, I was struggling to reach the founding owner of an entrepreneurial company and find a way to collaborate with her, to take it to the next level.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (05:45):
And have neighbor introduced me to ELs. This was about 14 years ago. And I read that was right after the initial printing of the book traction, the ink was still wet and, and I read it and fell in love with it. It was very simple, very practical. I could see it not only helping the struggling companies, I was trying to lead, but also having been helpful in the companies that were great successes, right? And so I knew Gino had something there. And so I was curious, and I ended up spending some time with Gino and Don Tinney decided to fly off to Detroit and become an EOS implementer a little less than 14 years ago. And the rest is history. I've been helping entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. Ever since I spent five years running, EOS, worldwide as the successor to Gino Wickman in the visionary seat. And last March, 2020, I stepped down to refocus my time and attention on being a professional EOS implementer, because that's what I was put on the planet to do and what I enjoy doing more than anything else.
Rob Hughes, MBA (06:53):
I love the, the thread of growth through each of those stages. I mean, not that some things never changed the curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit that you had in the early days. I could just see that carrying through as well. And one of the many things I really respect about you, Peyton, is, is just your eagerness to grow and develop in leadership. As I've listened to your podcast and I've read your book, just the curiosity that you bring to every role that you're in. Where does that come from this curiosity to learn and grow? W w w what have been some of the influential factors that have shaped that in you?
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (07:34):
So it's really two things. The first is that as a young man, I grew up in my my grandparents home for a much of my young childhood. And my grandparents were both teachers. My grandmother was a sixth grade teacher. My grandfather was a high school math teacher, and both invested a lot of time and energy and fusing in me, a love of learning. And so I have you know, sort of natural passion for contemplating something I don't fully understand to the point where I understand it. There's such tremendous satisfaction that comes with that. The other quite frankly, is just a weakness in that much of my life. I was held, bent on proving to everybody how smart I was and how right I was. And every time I screwed up something that was important to me, it was because I was more interested in being right than being smart. And I found that when I quit trying to articulate an advocate for my own position, I moved forward in my life a lot faster because I was really listening to the wisdom and experience and perspective of the people around me. And so that has not come easily to me even to this day. It's very difficult, but I recognize the value of that. And so it's that sorta, you know, bravado where you want to puff up your own chest and, and win every argument.
Rob Hughes, MBA (09:02):
Well, I just, I just love it. I hear just this idea of humbling, your own perspective, to be curious, to learn from others and subordinate, really listening to with empathy and authority as a StoryBrand guide. We talk about this all the time. You got to walk in with empathy rather than trying to force your perspective, seek first, to understand then be understood, right,
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (09:25):
And be prepared and be prepared to be wrong. I think that the dangerous thing in the world today is certainty. There are so many people who are cocksure they're right, and everybody else is wrong. And as a result where we're just not anywhere near as good at listening as we used to be. And when you listen, you learn period.
Rob Hughes, MBA (09:44):
Yeah. So good. So good. So you've listened over the years and that listening and curiosity has shaped your leadership. And, you know, it's kind of interesting because the topic of leadership, Peyton, it's one of those that probably, if we lined up 50 executives and asked them all to define leadership as a term, we'd get 50 different definitions in a lot of ways, maybe some common things. I I'm just curious as we kind of enter into this discussion today, how does Peyton define the term leadership? What does that mean to you?
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (10:16):
Well, I'm going to, I'm going to quote Simon Sinek who I was fortunate to meet many, many years ago when start with Y had first come out and I helped the local EO chapter, bring him to Minneapolis to do a chapter event. And I got to spend the day with them. And when he went on stage, he asked the audience something really funny. He said, who can tell me one thing all leaders have in common and three or four people volunteered an answer, which was wrong. And I only regret that I wasn't one of the goobers who thought he had the right answer to this question too. And Sinek was kind of having fun with the audience. And he said, the one thing all leaders have in common is followers.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (11:01):
And that has always resonated with me is sort of the defacto answer to that question. I don't know what leadership is Rob, but I know that people who are effective leaders have followers for some crazy combination of reasons that make sense to the followers, what you and I think about it doesn't matter one iota. And this is why I'm so curious about leadership because you can have styles ranging from military drill. Sergeant take no prisoners to I'm happiest in the toddler room of a daycare center. Cause I just like the nut nurture and cuddle everybody and everything in between, you can be an effective leader, but you can also have all those styles and be a terrible leader. And so I don't think there's a simple answer. I think it's behaving in a way that people want to follow you on whatever journey.
Rob Hughes, MBA (11:56):
Hey gang, just want to take a break from our episode to let you know, we have a new resource that's been designed for you, the small business owner and entrepreneur, it's called the five ingredients to a website that works. It's a video training course. We put together totally complimentary to show you the five essentials that are necessary for a website that actually makes you money rather than cost you money. Simply click the link in the description and access. This course it's totally free for you. Our thrive collective family. Okay. Now back to our episode, isn't that interesting? I love the idea of leadership means that you've really stewarding followers. You've got people that are followed, which yeah, clearly that makes sense. It's so funny though, because you could go to a leadership conference or read a leadership book and it really not have a following, but think that you're doing leadership, but at the end of the day, by definition to lead means others have to follow in that.
Rob Hughes, MBA (12:56):
So it's about influence there. It's just, I really liked the simplicity of that. So, okay. You've led, you've had followers, what they're in companies and organizations that you've led as an EOS a certified EOS implementer. Of course, you've got to influence the followers of the companies that clients that you're serving. You've got a following that you've built with your EOS leader podcast. There's gotta be some challenges woven in through that leadership journey. It's not all rosy. So can you think Peyton of a challenge or two that you've experienced in your leadership journey over the last few decades, and I'm just curious to explore those challenges that you've experienced and what, what what lessons you've learned from those.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (13:45):
Yeah. So for the record, I can think of two challenges and last 10 minutes of my journey, I'm trying to think of two, one or two profiles just to share. So, you know, number one, I'll talk about the challenge I had as the visionary for EOS worldwide, as it was growing and changing at a pace that exceeded my capacity. And you know, quite frankly, I was overwhelmed. I was frustrated. I was not at my best at home and at work. And yeah, I felt obligated to my leadership team members and the founders and the shareholders and you know, everybody on the planet to do my level best. And it finally dawned on me that I was holding the company back and I was really hurting all those people more than helping them by pretending to really want to work super hard to meet their needs.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (14:45):
What had happened is EOS worldwide visionary seat had become a full-time job. And I had committed only 80 days a year to doing that job. And I'm not sure I had all of the skills and experiences that would have made me successful in the job, even if I were working full time. And so I was at an inflection point where I had to decide either to lead EOS worldwide, full time, assuming the shareholders and my integrator agreed that was the right thing for the business, or be an EOS implementer full-time or whatever, you know, retire and go fishing for a living or whatever it was. And I really struggled acknowledging that that was the choice I needed to make. I kept trying to find a way to make everything work. And and so, you know, ultimately thank goodness I was clear and I was clear because I thought you know, I consulted my family.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (15:45):
I consult the God. I have my mind body spiritualists gave me some advice that was really helpful not to try and figure out the whole next 20 years, but to just think about what the next step in the path towards the riverbank was, I'm in the middle of a river with water rushing all around, just pick the next step. Right. And and so that is, is one that I think was, was really important. And it's one that I see my clients struggle with all the time when their seat has grown beyond their own capacity. We, we tend to not want to wrestle with that early enough to not feel rushed, to make an emotional decision. And, and I struggled with that too. So that's one of them
Rob Hughes, MBA (16:35):
It's I think that there's every, every listener listening to this podcast or replay has probably been their Peyton especially if they've been on the field for some time, because if you do your job well, as a visionary, as a leader, things will grow, it will begin to scale. And if it can use to continue to do that beyond the constraints, you see so many good leaders burning out. Yeah. so I'm just, I'm curious in that where there you know, to the extent that you're comfortable sharing, like when did you start to feel that how long did it take you to discern that major decision and any advice if somebody is listening saying, man, I'm there, they're driving right now, home from work, feeling that tension, what advice would you give them?
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (17:24):
Well, so, so just so you hear me say this, the only reason I was even remotely able to process all this and come to a decision that I think served the company well, and definitely served me and my family well, is that I teach other entrepreneurs how to stay connected to their passion, take control of their lives and their businesses and manage their time and well, and to be candid with you, the one thing that really ate away at me more than anything else is I'd be coaching my clients and I'd stand in the front of the room, feeling a little bit like a fraud, you know, Hey, I want you to live the EOS life. Well, I'm not living the EOS life. So how can I, you know, be an able-bodied guide to help people do that. And so the first thing I did was I just reckoned with the disconnect between what I wanted and what was happening in my life.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (18:22):
I took inventory, you know, and I, and I said, you know, what is, what, what are the root cause of my wife? And I sat down, I did a Ben Franklin analysis, you know, pros and cons and, and, and without giving too much away. What I want you to know is the pros of me just being an EOS implementer, where I was going to reduce stress and live a better life. That was pro number one, I was going to be able to fully engage with my family. When I came home from work, number two, I was going to make more money, number three. And I was going to have more time to pursue other passions, number four. So, and if you add a number five, I was going to go home. Most days, feeling like I was pretty good at my job should have been number five, but I didn't have the courage to write that.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (19:18):
So, you know, when you start reckoning with what you're feeling and you start making lists it, I mean, you look at a list like that and you're like, why would I even make a con, right. It's just silly. And so it, once I did that, once I reckoned Rob, it really happened fast. And, and to the credit of the people around me, I got nothing but undying support from my integrator, from the shareholders, from our business partners, from the leadership team, nobody said anything other than me, other than to me, other than good for you, it, and we want you to get what you want. And, and I think that was such a huge relief. And I want your listeners to hear the people around you who care about you want you to be well. And when you're not, well, your fear that you're going to let them down is just kind of silly.
Rob Hughes, MBA (20:12):
Th this is, this is straight wisdom from like life experience. Peyton, I'm loving this, loving this. I have a follow-up question just because I think this is such a relevant topic. We, and again, we're just, we didn't even know we'd end up here where we're here now. And so let's just lean into,
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (20:31):
Yeah. Do you have a leather couch and grab onto
Rob Hughes, MBA (20:35):
Here? Welcome to the counseling,
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (20:37):
Started chain smoking before
Rob Hughes, MBA (20:41):
I just, I just think they'll paint. And so here's the deal, like the challenges that we go through and we learn from there's, there's kind of two ways to, to learn a lesson in life. One is through enduring those challenges ourselves and the other is through gaining wisdom from somebody else who's endured those challenges. I kind of feel like that's where we're at today. So if I were to ask you 10 years ago, Peyton, how do you define success compared to today, Peyton? How do you define success? What's changed in that definition.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (21:16):
That's a, that's a, that's a great, great question. And I want to think for a second before I respond. Yeah. You know, I right away, I can tell you what today's success means today. Success is I'm at peace and I'm helping the people I care about most be at peace that's today. That's beautiful. The definition of success 10 years ago was external extrinsic, you know, leading people, making plenty of money, appearing to be important, having lots of followers on Instagram, if that's been a thing, do you have,
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (22:01):
I don't know. I don't know whether you're a light. I don't know what they're called, but, but, but, you know, and, and, and I think, I think, you know, age has some, some value. And then, you know, that that never ending pursuit of external accomplishments, you, when you achieve enough of them and don't get that inner satisfaction that you're looking at, you're forced to contemplate the fact that you might be faulty in your logic, right? Like I've achieved some amazing things in my life and career for which I'm internally grateful and wouldn't trade for the world. But none of them made me happy, fulfilled content or satisfied. None of them being at peace and, and watching my 14 year old, who's stressed out about some completely irrelevant thing in his life, which feels like the most important thing on the planet, watching him come to me, who's always been a lunatic and ask for advice on how to be calmer.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (23:03):
That brings me joy. That brings me peace. And I am not able to get that feeling from extrinsic accomplishments. So that's what I'm all about today. And you know, it does make it easier when some of the extrinsic things are there and you have time to be there for your kids. I totally get that. And I don't wanna come off. Like one of those self-help gurus that professors, you can flip a switch on the wall and everything changes tomorrow, and you're going to be some Shama and always at peace, but that's the journey you are on. And the sooner you recognize that the quicker you're going to get there,
Rob Hughes, MBA (23:44):
I mean, this is this is real wisdom. I mean, truly Peyton. It's almost as if I think some of us listening in, and those of you who are tuning in, in the car, or, you know, wherever you're in the shower, wherever you're listening to Peyton in my conversation here, I got to think that there's at least a couple of you that are dealing with this right now. You're burning the candle at both ends. You're really burning the candle at both ends for noble motives. It's like you started your business five, 10 years ago. And of course it all relied on your shoulders. And so you had to do everything. The challenge is you haven't gotten out of that gear and you're still using a startup mentality in second stage. And, and what I hear is like, you got to think differently. And as you advance through your leadership journey, we're hearing some of the lessons of what it looks like on the other side of that. Peyton, what would you say if, if you were sitting with a startup entrepreneur who was kind of looking for some leadership wisdom, kind of nuggets of gold, what would, what advice given your experience in the early stages of your career startup now, knowing what, you know, what advice would you give somebody in that startup phase?
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (24:54):
Yeah, so, you know, most startups are driven by passion and skill, right? You know, I'm, I'm passionate about having an impact in some way. And, and I happen to be skilled at a thing. That'll allow me to have that impact. And so, you know, I think the advice to the startup is never, ever, ever lose sight of that, but also recognize that your organization's ability to execute is going to be more important than your individual passion and skill sometime soon. And you need to start laying the foundation for that to transfer out of your control and into the control of the other people you're hiring before. You know, it's important. That's where I think a lot of folks, you know, Peter Drucker's famous quotation is the bottleneck is always at the top of the bottle. The more vital you are to your organization, the more likely you are to be the bottleneck when you're unable to achieve your growth goals and not cause chaos. So be aware of both your gifts and the finite nature of your gifts as you grow in scale.
Rob Hughes, MBA (26:15):
So the, I love that quote, the bottleneck is always at the top of the bottle. And you also said before, you know, you need it. Yeah. Did I hear you right. To externalize to build their systems or delegate training others before you feel you'll need it? Why is that why is that a statement? Is that a pretty common? Yeah.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (26:35):
Yeah. It's super common. So, so, you know, there's all kinds of reasons for that. Rob, number one, you know, when you're a startup, every cent counts, not just every dollar, but every cent counts. You know, w when I became an entrepreneur, after working in bigger organizations, my whole career, I all of a sudden stopped throwing away paper clips. Right. You know, I, now I would fish in trash cans for paperclips. I mistakenly threw away because every cent counts. And so there's a fiscal responsibility thing going on there where you're not going to spend money on something until it's absolutely necessary. And the problem with that is that you start costing your company money before you solve your capacity problem, by investing in a talented resource to support you. Okay, you start getting overwhelmed. You're less on top of your game. You're missing your kid's sporting events and your, your spouse is off at you.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (27:38):
And so you're, you're distracted during the day. There's all kinds of things that are happening before you spend your first dollar on your first employee that are negatively impacting your company's effectiveness. And it's only when that happens repeatedly and you feel awful and you're overwhelmed, and you've got to either hire somebody or you're going to shut this thing down and go take a job with a big company down the street. That's when you make the hiring decision, it's certainly been true for me. So there are probably entrepreneurs out there, way smarter than me that don't have this problem. But honestly, Rob, you know, working with thousands of entrepreneurs over the last 14 years, I've probably heard that story 600 times, 600 times, you know, and it's, it's kind of like if you're worth $400 an hour to your company, when you're working in your sweet spot, what you love to do and are best at, and you're doing $25 an hour work, something you could hire a, an administrative assistant to do. You're costing your company $375 an hour period. And we don't think about it that way. We think we're saving money when we don't spend 25 bucks an hour for a person who's going to be 10 times better at the administrative menial tasks than we are.
Rob Hughes, MBA (29:02):
Yeah. Great advice for the startup to really be thinking bigger. I don't know if it was you and a podcast or maybe a different environment. I heard make tenure decisions. What's this, if I'm pinching pennies and saving paperclips, it's been two hours a day to do that. What's the implications of that in 10 years,
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (29:20):
That's, that's Gino talking about talking about the 10 ways to manage your energy. Well, as 10 year thinking this, this dollar you're saving today could be a hundred thousand dollars, five years from now, come on, stepping over dollars to pick up or stepping over nickels to pick up dollars.
Rob Hughes, MBA (29:40):
Exactly. I love it. And if somebody is a bit more advanced in the career, I know you've worked with companies big and small, kind of, what advice would you give a leader who's been on the trail
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (29:49):
For some time, and maybe it's kind of hidden that leadership in business plateau and the advice that you've gained that you would offer to them? Yeah, for sure. That's the sweet spot for us implementers, right? Tend to 250 people privately held the, the, you know, the company's gotten stuck one or more times and the owner and leadership team are, are struggling to get it unstuck without help. And so, you know, my, my biggest piece of advice there is you don't have to figure it all out yourself. Don't be afraid to ask for help EOS isn't for every, for everybody or every company or every leader. But there are lots of systems for running a business out there. And there are lots of business coaches and helpers out there. There are great round table groups that you can join. I would just urge you when you're not seeing the business results you want or living the life you want. Don't feel like you have to figure that out yourself, go get some help.
Rob Hughes, MBA (30:47):
Yeah. I love it. And as a small business owner, sometimes you could be so close to your business that you have a hard time seeing it objectively. So working with a guide like Peyton can help give you some of that perspective to see your business a little differently and perhaps map that path forward through the forest. So,
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (31:10):
Yeah, and just to make everybody who's struggling with that, feel a little bit better, know that that's human nature, right? When, when you're drowning and a life guard swims out to save your life, your automatic human response is to fight them off, even though they're there to save you. It's just the way we're hardwired psychologically and sociologically. And so know that this sounds easy when somebody like me says it, but it is hard and feels counter-intuitive. And yet I've seen it work over and over and over again. So trust that somebody out there who's got the right desire to help and skills to help is probably worth the phone call or a coffee meeting, or, you know, 90 minutes in a conference room.
Rob Hughes, MBA (32:00):
So there's a lot of ways to seek help small business leader, mid-sized business leader. You know, in fact, Peyton, I know you're working on a few projects right now, even the EOS leader podcast is an excellent resource. Go over subscribe now and in listen, I mean, give us a little sense of ELs leader, podcasts, you interview small business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs from across the globe, really you know, bring advice and counsel and their stories to the table. Yeah.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (32:29):
Well, folks rent ranging from people who own wellness spas in the middle of nowhere in Canada to an NFL player and his agent that are an incubator for minority owned businesses. And so what I'm trying to do is interview a really broad spectrum of international leaders to create a couple of things. Number one, this sense that all these unique things we feel as leaders of our own organizations, and often feel like there's nobody on the planet we can talk to about it. Right. You know, I know when your family is tired of hearing you about your business and your friends don't even pick up the phone when you call them anymore. Cause it always seems you want a big gym and your employees or your leadership team members are the ones that are driving you crazy. So you can't talk. It is a lonely feeling. So I'm trying to reduce the loneliness. And then the second thing I'm trying to do is help us all feel like we're dealing with the same set of problems, challenges, and obstacles. And there are 27 different ways to tighten that screw. And maybe one of those 27 is something you haven't thought of before. And I might unlock a couple of things for you by asking questions and being genuinely interested in what people have to say about their own leadership journeys.
Rob Hughes, MBA (33:52):
Yes. A tune in the EOS leader podcast, an excellent resource. Mike, Peyton's also a book author of get a grip with Gino Wickman, pick up a copy, wherever you purchase books, amazon.com get a grip is a step-by-step field guide, a fable that walks kind of through the lens of a almost in, in first person, point of view, you get a chance to see what it looks like to implement the systems and process for the EOS toolkit. And then Mike, I are, I know that you're working on a project right now, are you comfortable sharing kind of what's in the laboratory in terms of process and I'll pay it and you get this new project that you're working on to.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (34:35):
So, so for your listeners that know what EOS is, there are six key components in the EOS model. We believe businesses are either weak or strong in the vision, people, data issues, process, and traction components. And, and one of the components that, that our clients either resist strengthening or struggled to strengthen is the process component. And so Lisa Gonzales, a world-class implementer out of Denver and I are working together to write a deep dive into the art and science of strengthening your process component. And it's really designed to, you know, I say, I say that to you on this podcast, knowing at least half your listeners are going to think, oh my God, I'm an entrepreneur process. That's not for me. And that's kind of the point of the book is that to be free, to be an entrepreneur, as you grow and scale your company, the people that execute day-to-day in your business need to execute with discipline, consistency and accountability and strengthening the process component is the way to make that happen without creating a borough bureaucracy without eliminating the need for independent thinking, creativity, innovation, et cetera. And that's what we're trying to share with the world. This is not a false dilemma between chaos and a rigid corporate bureaucracy. There's a way to get a little structured, discipline, accountability, and consistency, and still run a free, nimble, flexible entrepreneurial company. So hopefully that's an exciting concept to the folks that are listening.
Rob Hughes, MBA (36:16):
It is because it's probably the squeakiest wheel for many entrepreneurs and small business leaders that are out there that it truly is. So, I mean, to have you as a visionary, cause that kinda is your natural tends to be the visionary, but writing material on the process component those two for me as a visionary, I feel like oil and water. So they had another fellow visionary writing about process. I'm all in. I want to be on the the first to know would that book gets released in Dell,
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (36:45):
All of 20, 22. Is that a tentative publication date? Look forward to it.
Rob Hughes, MBA (36:52):
Okay. Look forward to it. Absolutely. Well, Peyton, it's been a joy to have you on the the thrive collective today. As we wrap up our time, is there one final piece of advice? One kind of like last thing that you'd like to share with the small business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders who tune in I would welcome you to share that last piece of advice. And then if somebody wanted to reach out to you for a potential engagement or to explore that, how might they best do it? Yes.
Mike Paton, EOS Implementer (37:22):
So I'll start with the contact information first and then I'll, I'll share a piece of advice. So EOS worldwide, that com is a website that can share more about EOS than I can in this or any podcast. And so it's a one-stop shop. And I welcome people finding my bio page on that website and reaching out to me directly to ask for help. I'd also urge your listeners to find a local EOS implementer in your community to partner up with because it does help to have somebody you can meet with and connect with on a personal basis. In terms of piece of advice, you know, I've been signing my emails stay focused for many, many years, which is somewhat ironic for a visionary. But I learned that from Gino and I've recently changed it to enjoy the journey. And the aha here is most entrepreneurs. I know, pour their hearts and souls into their company, their people, their customers, even their vendors, much of the time it's to their own detriment, the sacrifices we make personally in order to serve all these other constituents crazy. If you're not having fun, something is wrong. Enjoy the journey. You should have fun every day. Most days, I mean, come on every day is crazy, but most days enjoy the journey. That's my one piece of advice. Hope this podcast helped at least one listener to get a little closer to making that happen.
Rob Hughes, MBA (39:10):
Amen. And I just, this is going to be one of those episodes, Peyton, that I go back and listen to time and time again. Just to relive this experience, it was so great to have you on the show, thank you for your investment in the thrive collective family and you know, thrive collective, you know, this is your show. We bring on subject matter experts in key leaders like Peyton to bring in subjects and topics that help you revenue generation make more money, avoid costly mistakes, which burnout may. And that could be so costly, both for yourself personally, and then also for your company. And then, you know, my heart is to help you fully integrate your faith into your life and leadership. I am Rob Hughes, your host. It's a joy to have each of you tuning in, be sure to subscribe to our podcast and we'll see you at the next episode, take care of.