Leadership Lessons from Gordon Parkman: Empowering Teams for Growth

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With a robust background in electronics manufacturing, particularly

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during the pioneering era of solid

state computers, our guest, Gordon

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Parkman, has dedicated over two decades

to transforming various industries,

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including the vibrant music sector.

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His journey began with the launch

of an electronics division, which

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he skillfully expanded from a

small, dedicated team to a thriving

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operation of 200 talented individuals,

spread across multiple locations.

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This remarkable growth is a

testament to his visionary

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leadership and strategic insight.

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As a corporate leader, Gordon has

played a pivotal role in numerous

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business acquisitions and turnarounds,

demonstrating his ability to

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navigate complex challenges and

drive significant improvements

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in organizational performance.

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Recognizing a need for guidance among

small business owners, Gordon founded

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Achieve Results Consulting, ARC, in

: 2009

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his extensive experience into

coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs.

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Over the past 16 years, ARC has

distinguished itself Through its

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unwavering focus on personalized client

strategies, Gordon believes that every

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business is unique and therefore he

empowers owners to implement tailored,

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success driven practices that foster

sustainable growth and resilience in

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an ever changing market landscape.

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Through his efforts, many small

business owners have been equipped

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with the tools and knowledge necessary

to thrive and achieve their goals.

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Welcome, Gordon, to the

Business Superfans podcast.

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Gordon Parkman: I'm wonderful, sir.

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Thank you very much, Freddie.

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The weather has cooled off, so we're

getting into the real comfortable

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time of the year in Arizona.

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Freddy D: This is the good time, and

you can eat breakfast outside and have

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dinner outside, and it's comfortable, and,

everybody envies us at this point in time.

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Gordon Parkman: Put the screen

on your patio door and let

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some fresh air into the house.

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Freddy D: Totally agree.

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That's why we live here.

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Gordon Parkman: Yep.

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Freddy D: so Gordon, share with

the audience your story of,

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how did you get to becoming a

business coach in the first place?

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So what is your background

and how did that contribute

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to becoming a business coach?

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Gordon Parkman: Basically my background

primarily in electronics manufacturing,

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multitude of different types of

industries, but we're really talking

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about solid state computers long before

desktop, before even desktop computers.

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22 years of my career in

the music industry business,

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primarily in the manufacturing.

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My first assignment was.

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To create an electronics manufacturing

division from pretty much an

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empty warehouse and six people.

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I had the opportunity to turn that

into 200 people on two shifts,

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and three additional buildings.

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I've been involved in business

acquisitions, turnarounds, all of

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these, as part of my corporate life.

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So I spent really the better part

of the last 20 some odd years of my

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life as a senior manager, and growing

businesses and turning them around.

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Graduated from Corporate America December

of: 2008

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before I retired what I want to do and

I said, I think I have an opportunity

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to help other small business owners or

help business owners from my experience.

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So I started my coaching practice

and I'm into my 16th year of that.

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I've worked with individuals and

about any type of industry you could

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probably imagine and some of the

things people did that I didn't even

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know anybody did those kind of things.

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But it's really all about the focus

of my practice is partnering with my

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clients and growing their businesses.

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I don't do project work.

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I'm looking for long term relationships.

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Some of my clients and I have been

working together since: 2015

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And it's all about growing the business.

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I guess you really never stop growing

the business, as we're working

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through the growth process, we're

also building value into the business,

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making sure all the processes are in

place, all the systems are in place.

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Somebody's going to go buy a

business, they're not going to

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buy the owner of the business,

they're going to buy the business.

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The expectation is it runs very well

without that owner, that's the focus

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that I have in working with my clients to

get them to the point where managing the

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business and managing the growth of the

business and not working in the business.

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Freddy D: So with that, of being

able to, like you just said, managing

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the business, not working in the

business, how important is it for them

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to have a good team and them taking

care of that team, their employees.

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And because that team is really the front

line to prospective existing customers,

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complementary businesses, suppliers,

distributors, if they have those, how

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important is that culture in that company?

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Gordon Parkman: I think that's

absolutely critical because business

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has to realize that, the individual,

contacting the customer, is the point

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of connection, and as that goes, the

perception of the company grows, you

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really have to have individuals.

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everybody has to play a position

in the team and everybody

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has to help out and grow.

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So it's really all about picking the

right people to do the right job.

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And again, providing them opportunity

to grow within the business.

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And I've seen this within a number

of my clients I've worked with when

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they'll bring individuals on at

maybe an entry level and the next

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thing you know, they're, number two

or number three within the business

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they're committed, as well as the

owner of the business, committed

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to the growth of the business.

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And I think what happens oftentimes,

Individuals just go hire somebody

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and, number one, they have no

idea what they want them to do.

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They don't know what skills they should

provide, bring to the party and so forth.

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But it's really all about

positioning a business.

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and getting the people in the business

that will be the contributors, the

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key players in growing that business.

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And my clients really, I encourage

them really to make sure that they're

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taking care of their employees in a

fashion when you obviously, depending

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on where the business is or whatever,

sometimes they can't initially offer

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benefits or whatever, but as the business

grows, Provide opportunity for Bennett.

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Freddy D: because, in my experience, you

really want to transform those employees

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into what I would call superfans of that

business, where they're excited about

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the fact that they work at this company.

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They tell all their family

and friends about the company.

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And that energy transcends when

they're talking to a prospective

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customer or an existing customer.

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As earlier, they're the front line.

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And so if they feel unappreciated, Don't

get the recognition that they deserve.

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There isn't any gratitude in the company.

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That's going to change

and sour the culture.

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And now that business has turnover and

that turnover is costing the business

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money in a big way, because people

don't realize that it is multifaceted

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because just because a person leaves.

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Okay, there's a cost to that.

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Now you've gotta onboard a new person.

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So you got the cost of onboarding,

finding and onboarding a new person, and

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now you've got the cost of two people

because you've got the new person and

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somebody training that new person.

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And when they're training that

new person, they cannot be

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productive to do good training.

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I'm sure you've seen that in some of

the companies that you've stepped into

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and helped transform that whole culture.

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Gordon Parkman: I think that's really key.

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And to me, when I'm working with my

clients, and typically in a lot of

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cases, I'm also in addition to working

with the owner of the business, I'm

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working with their team members as well.

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And it's really all about helping and

helping them feel like they're, that there

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is as much of the business as anyone else.

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And I was, the attitude say, okay, if

this was your business, what would you do?

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How would you act if

this was your business?

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Because in essence.

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It is your business because to the

outside world, you are XYZ business.

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And so in essence, if you're not

committed and passionate about what you're

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doing and where you're working, it's a

complete reflection on that individual.

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And more importantly than or in worst

case, Reflection on the company.

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Freddy D: Yeah, you look at sports

teams as an example, and they've got

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a player that seems to be mediocre,

and so they trade him to another

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team, and then all of a sudden that

mediocre player, is a superstar.

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And it was like, what changed?

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The player didn't change.

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It's the environment and the culture.

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businesses need to really,

you can have the right people.

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As you said, it's important

to bring on the right people.

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But if the culture is toxic, that

person isn't going to perform at

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the level that they can perform.

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Gordon Parkman: I think another part

you mentioned culture, and I think a

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key part of the fact is that you're in

your employees within a company or what

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determines the culture of the company,

what you want it to be and what it's

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going to be is probably not going to

be the same thing because the key piece

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is, The culture is an evolution of the

people that are part of your team, how

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they are, are they gung ho and ready

to do whatever they have to do and

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provide you all the assistance in the

world and in turn, the respect of you

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as the leader and more importantly,

you're respecting them as a team member.

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And as you say, the other part too

is the fact that when you bring in

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new people into the team, having

team members interview them as well

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.

I know I'm here to provide you the resources and the guidance

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and where we need to go.

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But you're not gonna want to

work with so and so , then it's

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not going to help either party.

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Freddy D: Yeah, one of the things

I learned about leadership.

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In my years in the corporate

world and beyond is a good leader

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empowers their team and their job

is to make their team successful.

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If they make their team successful, they

don't have to worry about their success

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or the company's success because the team

will take care of that automatically.

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Gordon Parkman: I know the key

element of being a good leader

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is being a good listener.

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Listen to what's going on.

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I know that in the businesses that I ran,

they were all manufacturing businesses.

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And one of the things that I made

sure every single morning I went

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around and said good morning to

every single that worked for me.

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And I think what happens is, it provided,

a level of interaction and respect

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for one another that, if they had

something bothering them, they would

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say, Hey, you got a couple of minutes

and I'd take that couple of minutes.

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I remember, I never forget this was many

years ago, but I was going around in

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the morning and one of the ladies said.

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You didn't come around yesterday morning.

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How come?

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And I said, I had actually the

president, my boss, the CEO, had come

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up, we had an offsite meeting early

in the morning and by the time the

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day came, he was there and I just

didn't have a chance, but it was like.

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I said, thank you.

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And she said, let me thank you.

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I said, thank you for reminding me

of what I need to do every morning.

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Freddy D: Yep

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Gordon Parkman: That's when you

develop the respect and they're

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feeling part of the group.

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The other thing I used to do was I

would have a monthly company meetings.

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And I'd tell him how we were doing

and I was having, remember I was up in

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Washington State, and I was having dinner

with a gentleman I had met up there.

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He was in another business and we're

having dinner and he said, how's your day?

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So I had my company meeting,

my quarterly company meetings.

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What do you tell him?

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I said, I tell him how things are going.

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He said, What do You tell them.

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I said, the only way that I can improve

on where we are is that the people who

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are part of my group understand where we

are, where we need to focus our attention.

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If something needs a little

bit more focus, they're the

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ones that are going to do it.

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Fix the quality problem.

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I'm not going to be the one that,

get our production back to the

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amount we need to get out per day.

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Those are the people

that are going to do it.

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Freddy D: When I was running the

interpreting translation company

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for a little while, what we did is

when I took over, the company, we set

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up Monday morning meetings at 10 a.

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m.

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it was 30 minutes, Each department

reported, what was the previous week?

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What was their goals and

thoughts for the upcoming week?

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But we knew the mark that

we were shooting for.

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And then when we had the accountant

in the meeting as well, it

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says, okay, where are we at?

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To our goal.

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And okay, we've hit this much.

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And so I said, I'd be cheering and

say, all right, man, congratulations.

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We hit another milestone and we grew that

company close to a million dollars in

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a year's time because of that, because

everybody knew what the goal was.

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And just like you said, everybody

was, Part of that process,

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they weren't left behind.

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They knew where we were financially.

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We didn't place secrets.

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We shared what the profit margin

is, where we're at, all that stuff.

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Because they were, like you just said,

you and I couldn't do it by ourselves.

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We need them to help do it.

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And more importantly, they were

working with independent contractors

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that were our interpreters.

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One of the things I talk about, in my

book, Creating Business Superfans, is

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the importance of recognizing everybody

in the whole ecosystem, because there's

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speakers that talk about, employee

experience and customer experience,

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but nobody talks about Subcontractors.

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Nobody talks about suppliers.

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Nobody talks about distributors.

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Nobody talks about

complementary businesses.

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And the reality is, all

that comes into play.

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And what we did is, we

started a newsletter.

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For the interpreters.

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And we edified an interpreter once a

month that went above and beyond stuff.

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And that started to change.

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We started sending birthday

cards out to the interpreters.

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And these are independent contractors.

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But the reality was,

they were the front line.

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That would go to a particular hospital

and do interpreting, or go to a court

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and do interpreting for an individual.

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They were representing the company, so it

was important to have them as a superfan

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that says, man, this is a great company.

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Because then, that customer says, all

right, we picked the right company,

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especially if it's a new customer.

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we ended up getting more

business out of that.

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Gordon Parkman: Oh, I think those are the

kind of things that are really critical

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you talk about, I think really what you're

looking to do is go back to earlier

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is the fact that, developing a team of,

superfans, and radiates throughout the

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community, when these people are out

in the community, they're out talking

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to other business people, they're out

talking to family people, I mean they're

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talking about, hey, this is really

what was going on, hey this is really

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cool things are going, these kind of

things what happens is it develops a.

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A network which really ultimately

strengthens a business because the

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community is hearing from people who

are part of the business, the people

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who are making things happen in reality.

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Hey, this is a really cool place to work.

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And going back to what you talked about,

turnover is incredibly expensive and

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I think what happens oftentimes is

inexperienced business leaders have no

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concept of that and how much it really

costs you and I think you went through

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the scenario of what's involved in it

and you become incredibly, inefficient.

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Because, you're starting

out all new people.

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You're taking somebody that

is, you need to do a job.

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These are some of the things

that I'm working with my clients.

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And in a couple of cases, I not only

work with the owner of the business,

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but I work with their team members and

helping them in developing themselves

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as individuals, in how they can be

more efficient, more effective for

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themselves, which in turn is becomes more

effective and efficient for the business.

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From a standpoint of providing them

guidance that helps, ultimately at

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the end of the day, helps the overall

business because these people are

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more efficient, which in turn makes

the overall business more efficient.

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These people are committed,

realizing the fact that their boss

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is spending money on me to help them.

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So the level of their appreciation

of the fact that this, really feels,

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really important because They're

providing Gordon as a resource to

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help me, and become a better employee,

become a better performer within the

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business, and those kind of things.

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Freddy D: One of the things that I

implemented, and was taught years ago,

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was, where I would have the team member,

write down how they would describe them

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being successful in their position.

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So they wrote it all down.

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They wrote out what the goals would

be, what the measurements would be.

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They did it all.

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I provided them with the guidelines and

some questions, but they put it together.

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So now they owned the position,

because they created the job

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description of their position.

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So it's their job and it's their goals.

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So my job became easy because now

my job was to try and say, Hey,

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Gordon, this is what you described as

being your objectives for this year.

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And we're doing pretty good on

these, but we're coming up short.

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How can I help you hit goal

number four on your list?

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It's a completely different mindset

because they've owned it now.

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Gordon Parkman: I think that's

as you described in the kind of

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the way I work with my clients, I

always, when I'm talking to them,

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I'll say, okay, what does success

ook like for you in December,: 2027

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This is one of the, usually when I'm

talking with someone, this is almost

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an entry level question I ask them

because I want to get an idea of where

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they see themselves and I always use

what does success look like for you?

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Because, in essence, that's

really what it's all about,

304

: 00:18:38

is them being successful and

305

: 00:18:41

Freddy D: doing their job.

306

: 00:18:42

Gordon Parkman: Okay, now what do

you need to do to reach that level?

307

: 00:18:46

What are the goals that

you need to look at?

308

: 00:18:48

This is where you want to, if this is

success looks like for you in: 2027

309

: 00:18:53

what do you look like in December of 2025?

310

: 00:18:56

Freddy D: What resources can

I provide to help you achieve

311

: 00:19:00

your goal as my team member?

312

: 00:19:02

Gordon Parkman: I think those are the

kind of things, that I really, encourage

313

: 00:19:05

all the business leaders I work with to

be talking with, their people because

314

: 00:19:08

it's the same thing as a standpoint

of they need to look at it from a

315

: 00:19:13

standpoint for me to be successful.

316

: 00:19:15

This is what I have to do when

I reach this, I'm making this

317

: 00:19:18

contribution to the company.

318

: 00:19:20

In turn, the company is providing

me these resources to help

319

: 00:19:23

me do these kind of things.

320

: 00:19:25

And I think when we talk about the

whole team thing, the team in reality

321

: 00:19:29

goes beyond just direct employees.

322

: 00:19:32

The team is, Individuals that you

interact with on the outside world, okay?

323

: 00:19:38

Who is your business attorney?

324

: 00:19:41

Who is your, business accountant?

325

: 00:19:44

Who is your CPA?

326

: 00:19:45

These people, you need to have the

connections as a business owner.

327

: 00:19:48

These are all part of your team.

328

: 00:19:50

Freddy D: All are the

contributing factors.

329

: 00:19:52

Gordon Parkman: You need to be successful.

330

: 00:19:54

You need to have these.

331

: 00:19:55

Who's your business banker?

332

: 00:19:57

Who are we going to go to

if you need a lot of credit?

333

: 00:20:00

These are the kind of things that in

my mind are incredibly important for

334

: 00:20:05

business owners to realize that there's

a wealth of resources in the community

335

: 00:20:11

to help them become more successful

and the ability to grow their business

336

: 00:20:16

because they're going to have a question.

337

: 00:20:18

Let's say you have a

legal question, whatever.

338

: 00:20:21

That's not the time to go and go

looking up on Google and finding

339

: 00:20:25

a business attorney or whatever.

340

: 00:20:27

It's a situation when I always

talk to my clients here.

341

: 00:20:30

Connect.

342

: 00:20:30

I, maybe give them a couple of different

people that are, very strong business

343

: 00:20:34

relationships to me and say, Hey,

these people get to know you because

344

: 00:20:38

when you do have a problem or you

have a situation, you don't have to

345

: 00:20:41

go through, tell me all about it.

346

: 00:20:43

They already know about you.

347

: 00:20:44

They know about your business.

348

: 00:20:45

They're dealing with directly the

problem you have or the help you need.

349

: 00:20:49

So you need to have that resources

out there that know them.

350

: 00:20:54

Freddy D: They've got to be what I

would call, a superfan of you because

351

: 00:20:59

of the fact how you treat them.

352

: 00:21:00

So as you mentioned, the CPA, external

lawyer and all that stuff, you need to

353

: 00:21:05

recognize them, give them a birthday card.

354

: 00:21:07

You need to, appreciate them, so that all

of a sudden you get in a pinch, and life

355

: 00:21:13

happens, you need to have those people

that have your back, because, the last

356

: 00:21:19

thing you want to do is search for it.

357

: 00:21:21

A solution online because the, you got

a deadline of tomorrow to get this thing

358

: 00:21:28

handled and you don't have any other

resources because you didn't take the

359

: 00:21:32

time to build those resources and maintain

those relationships with those resources.

360

: 00:21:37

It's one thing to also have a

resource, but if you don't have a

361

: 00:21:41

ongoing relationship with them, you

call the red phone, it may not get

362

: 00:21:47

picked up because, oh, that guy, I

haven't heard from him in a year.

363

: 00:21:52

Gordon Parkman: He must want something.

364

: 00:21:54

Freddy D: Yeah.

365

: 00:21:54

Gordon Parkman: As opposed to, Oh my

God, we had coffee last week, to me,

366

: 00:21:58

when we talk about the developing

the relationships, yeah, internally

367

: 00:22:02

and externally, it's really all about

the continuing dialogue with these

368

: 00:22:05

kind of always make, the, as you,

as you said, your employees have to

369

: 00:22:11

be superfans within your business.

370

: 00:22:14

Because they're gonna interact

with people outside the business.

371

: 00:22:17

They're gonna interact

372

: 00:22:18

Freddy D: with other, and you gotta have

super fans of all the external components.

373

: 00:22:23

If you got suppliers that are

providing you, you're a manufacturer

374

: 00:22:26

or whatever, you got products that

come in, or you're in construction

375

: 00:22:30

, you've got still gotta get material.

376

: 00:22:31

If you don't have a good relationship,

with that supplier who's a super

377

: 00:22:37

fan of yours that says, oh yeah.

378

: 00:22:39

My buddy, Gordon calling me here, he

needs this shipment of these things.

379

: 00:22:44

Yeah, let's prioritize that and

get that to him because he's a

380

: 00:22:48

good guy, he takes care of us.

381

: 00:22:50

Versus somebody else that comes along

and reaches out to them once year

382

: 00:22:54

when they need it and then they

start yelling because they can't

383

: 00:22:56

get the product delivered in time.

384

: 00:22:59

It's going to get slow boated,

385

: 00:23:01

Gordon Parkman: One of the things

that we, when you talk about the, I

386

: 00:23:04

think in my mind, if we talk about,

the super fans and that type of a mode

387

: 00:23:10

of discussion, it's really all about

business owners being a proactive

388

: 00:23:15

and not reactive and being proactive

and they're establishing the kind of

389

: 00:23:21

things that they need to have in place.

390

: 00:23:25

That are the resources that

they need for the business.

391

: 00:23:28

It's also the standpoint.

392

: 00:23:30

And when I'm talking with my clients,

we talk about, okay, what's your goals?

393

: 00:23:33

What's your action items

to complete those goals?

394

: 00:23:36

And oh, by the way, what are the potential

obstacles that we're going to run?

395

: 00:23:39

We could run into because we

want to be in a situation that

396

: 00:23:44

should one of those come up.

397

: 00:23:46

We already know what we're going to do.

398

: 00:23:48

Okay, this comes up then.

399

: 00:23:49

We already talked about this

is what we're going to do.

400

: 00:23:52

And to me, that's how you become

and continue to be incredibly

401

: 00:23:55

efficient and effective,

because you're not wasting time.

402

: 00:23:59

In a reactionary mode, you are functioning

and proactive, and I think that really

403

: 00:24:03

the whole environment of, the business

community is really to have that

404

: 00:24:08

kind of resources available to you.

405

: 00:24:10

Have that mentality.

406

: 00:24:11

Think ahead.

407

: 00:24:12

You have to always be thinking ahead.

408

: 00:24:15

Freddy D: Yeah,

409

: 00:24:15

Gordon Parkman: Not worry about 11

o'clock this morning, but let's worry

410

: 00:24:18

about, what do I what do we need to have

get in place by the end of this year?

411

: 00:24:22

So when we hit January 1st,

: 2012

412

: 00:24:25

off and dealing with that.

413

: 00:24:27

And we've cleaned up all the

stuff we need to have in place.

414

: 00:24:31

So whatever it is, we're not spending time

while we're really effectively pushing

415

: 00:24:38

and growing the business, cleaning up

a bunch of stuff that We should have

416

: 00:24:42

already dealt with a long time ago.

417

: 00:24:44

Freddy D: Absolutely correct.

418

: 00:24:45

And the other thing too, is that

if you don't have those things

419

: 00:24:48

in place, you don't have standard

operating procedures in place and

420

: 00:24:52

things like that, the business

can't scale, it's going to plateau.

421

: 00:24:57

It's going to hit a certain level, and

if you're working in your business,

422

: 00:25:01

you're going to reach a plateau.

423

: 00:25:02

You're going to have some success,

but you're going to hit that ceiling

424

: 00:25:06

and you're going to keep hitting

your head against that ceiling.

425

: 00:25:09

You're not going to pass beyond that

ceiling because, you can only do so

426

: 00:25:14

much working in the business versus

getting the team and releasing yourself

427

: 00:25:20

to where you're saying, okay, that

person is going to take over this

428

: 00:25:23

responsibility and empower that person

with decision making capabilities

429

: 00:25:28

so they can make the decisions.

430

: 00:25:30

If they make a wrong

decision, don't chastise them.

431

: 00:25:34

It's a learning experience because

they'll feel bad enough about it.

432

: 00:25:40

You don't need to make it worse.

433

: 00:25:42

Because then they're going to be, now

if you chastise, that person now becomes

434

: 00:25:47

apprehensive of making any decisions,

and so you just went backwards.

435

: 00:25:50

Gordon Parkman: I was, and even

in my corporate life, and even

436

: 00:25:54

when I'm working with my clients,

I always talk about is, let's not

437

: 00:25:57

worry about who caused the problem.

438

: 00:25:59

What are we doing moving forward?

439

: 00:26:01

It's things happen.

440

: 00:26:03

Let's worry about what do we

have to do to move forward.

441

: 00:26:05

That, to me, is the most important thing.

442

: 00:26:08

It's, people make mistakes.

443

: 00:26:10

Again, those are learning opportunities.

444

: 00:26:12

That's how I look at it.

445

: 00:26:13

Freddy D: A learning opportunity,

and most people, if you empower them,

446

: 00:26:19

will acknowledge the mistake, come

to you and say, hey, I made a bad

447

: 00:26:22

call here, I'm sorry, this is how I'm

going to fix it, and then they'll ask

448

: 00:26:27

you, is this okay if I handle that?

449

: 00:26:28

Typically, I've always said,

Your call, you're in charge.

450

: 00:26:32

Don't come to me, you're in charge.

451

: 00:26:34

If you can't handle it, then we have

to have a different conversation.

452

: 00:26:37

Usually they've come up with a better

solution than you and I would have

453

: 00:26:42

thought up, because they're into it.

454

: 00:26:45

They're in the game.

455

: 00:26:46

Gordon Parkman: Yeah, and I think,

that's really the key part of it, too,

456

: 00:26:49

is the fact that, it's really all about

developing a solid attitude within

457

: 00:26:54

the company so that, people understand

that, hey, I'm looking to do the best

458

: 00:27:01

I possibly can, and things are going to

happen, so let's move on behind them.

459

: 00:27:04

What do we learn from it?

460

: 00:27:06

One of the things I always talk

about, in the first meeting of

461

: 00:27:10

every month is I always tell them

three questions I ask my clients.

462

: 00:27:13

What went well?

463

: 00:27:15

What could have gone better?

464

: 00:27:17

And what, if anything, are you

going to change moving forward?

465

: 00:27:21

Because for things to get better,

it's nothing more complicated than

466

: 00:27:25

some kind of positive behavioral

change to make things move forward.

467

: 00:27:30

You have to look at it

from that standpoint.

468

: 00:27:32

Capitalize on the great things,

but if we had done this instead of

469

: 00:27:35

that, this might have gone okay.

470

: 00:27:36

In the future, this is what we'll do.

471

: 00:27:38

Everything's a learning experience.

472

: 00:27:40

Every day in business is,

you're learning something.

473

: 00:27:42

You're going to encounter things.

474

: 00:27:44

today that you did not

anticipate, some good, some bad.

475

: 00:27:50

So what do you need to do?

476

: 00:27:51

Digest all that.

477

: 00:27:52

What do we need to do moving forward

what are we going to do differently?

478

: 00:27:56

Freddy D: The other thing too that

I think needs to be incorporated

479

: 00:27:58

is, edifying team members that have

done some great things in front of

480

: 00:28:07

the rest of the team, because to me

that's empowerment of that individual.

481

: 00:28:13

Now that also creates fuel for the

rest of the team, because now as the

482

: 00:28:19

leader, the owner of the company,

and I turn around to take a moment to

483

: 00:28:23

recognize Michelle in front of everybody.

484

: 00:28:26

Michelle , kicked it this last

month, she helped us grow.

485

: 00:28:30

We had the situation with this company,

she handled it, she solved the problem.

486

: 00:28:36

The company's happy and they've actually

ended up doing more business with us.

487

: 00:28:41

Now Michelle becomes a superfan of

me as a leader, and more importantly,

488

: 00:28:45

the team become superfans because they

go, man, I want to be that person.

489

: 00:28:50

So they step up their game.

490

: 00:28:52

Those are, some management skills that

I think a lot of businesses, especially

491

: 00:28:58

small businesses that are working in the

business, not on the business, should

492

: 00:29:03

be doing that stuff so that they can

transform themselves from working in

493

: 00:29:08

the business to working on the business.

494

: 00:29:10

Gordon Parkman: I think you really doing

the kind of things you just talked about.

495

: 00:29:14

It's really going to have these

other people with part of the team or

496

: 00:29:18

may go up to the lead and say, Hey,

okay, is there anything I can do?

497

: 00:29:22

Maybe I can do something different

or maybe I can help out so and or,

498

: 00:29:27

I'm really interested in moving

ahead and strengthening myself.

499

: 00:29:30

What can I do to possibly

Help you and the business.

500

: 00:29:34

To me, again, we're back to that

whole attitude is everything

501

: 00:29:37

and that's a key element.

502

: 00:29:38

If you have employees with the right

attitude, that they are the super fans.

503

: 00:29:43

I think it's really all about giving them

the opportunity to contribute and grow.

504

: 00:29:48

Those are the people you want.

505

: 00:29:49

You want the people who are gonna step up.

506

: 00:29:52

Freddy D: Yep

507

: 00:29:52

Gordon Parkman: One of my clients,

it was a situation, where things

508

: 00:29:56

did not go well at a particular job.

509

: 00:29:59

I was talking with the owner

of the company and said,

510

: 00:30:02

Okay, so how was it handled?

511

: 00:30:03

They said the person that went

out, the team leader, stepped up.

512

: 00:30:06

They went and they talked to the

person, they got it all squared

513

: 00:30:09

away, and they talked to the team.

514

: 00:30:11

Let them know scolded or

anything else, or it was a fact.

515

: 00:30:14

I said, what do we do?

516

: 00:30:15

It was amazing because that particular

individual wrote an incredible review

517

: 00:30:22

for the company based on the actions

of that employee to deal with the

518

: 00:30:28

problem, fix it, and get it squared away.

519

: 00:30:30

So they just created a

superfan right there.

520

: 00:30:32

And this superfan is a client who

just wrote a review to let the

521

: 00:30:36

whole world know, hey, this is a

company you gotta work with, things

522

: 00:30:39

happen, these people deal with it,

and they fixed it and moved on.

523

: 00:30:42

Freddy D: And that's the secret.

524

: 00:30:43

And right there, you

can't buy that kind of PR.

525

: 00:30:48

That's a monster testimonial that

now they can turn around and says,

526

: 00:30:53

Hey, this is who we are as a company.

527

: 00:30:56

Life happens, but we step up to the

plate and we get it taken care of.

528

: 00:31:01

Gordon Parkman: Oh yeah, for sure.

529

: 00:31:02

Or telling other people about what's

been going on in the business.

530

: 00:31:06

And those are the greatest, the

greatest things you can do because

531

: 00:31:10

those people in essence are, have taken

the role on, Hey, this is my business.

532

: 00:31:14

I'm the one, I'm telling people

how great XYZ companies are.

533

: 00:31:18

The company I work for,

this is how they treat us.

534

: 00:31:20

This is what we're doing, by the way,

and I think what happens is you want

535

: 00:31:24

people to be in a situation where.

536

: 00:31:27

You're seeing as a location for

people that want to go to work for.

537

: 00:31:31

And be attracting, the right people

from the beginning because they say,

538

: 00:31:36

hey, I want to be part of this team.

539

: 00:31:38

Freddy D: Attraction, one of the

terms that I utilize is, attraction

540

: 00:31:41

marketing is one of the things

that I really specialize in myself.

541

: 00:31:45

And that's part of it is you create

that attraction for that company.

542

: 00:31:50

So now you've got people

that want to work for there.

543

: 00:31:54

You've got the word gets out.

544

: 00:31:55

Customers are saying, we got

to take a look at these guys.

545

: 00:31:59

We're hearing through the buzz

that this is a great company.

546

: 00:32:02

We need to really look at that.

547

: 00:32:04

And you start attracting more business

and that's how I, talk about the

548

: 00:32:10

fact that, having a team of superfans

collectively is what helps propel a

549

: 00:32:16

business and it doesn't cost them money.

550

: 00:32:19

Gordon Parkman: All the kind of things

that we've just talked about in no

551

: 00:32:22

matter, shape or form between anybody.

552

: 00:32:24

Freddy D: Yeah.

553

: 00:32:25

It doesn't cost any money.

554

: 00:32:26

and that business is going to

skyrocket because the employees

555

: 00:32:31

are going to take care of it.

556

: 00:32:32

Their customers are going

to take care of them.

557

: 00:32:35

Their external partners, as we talked

about, CPAs on stuff, going to refer them.

558

: 00:32:40

Their suppliers or distributors,

if they have that, they're going

559

: 00:32:43

to be talking about that business.

560

: 00:32:45

So you've got a whole.

561

: 00:32:46

team of people promoting that business.

562

: 00:32:50

And so that's how that word

of mouth starts to take off.

563

: 00:32:54

And once it goes, it's a machine.

564

: 00:32:58

Gordon Parkman: Oh yeah.

565

: 00:32:58

That's it because in essence your company

gets positioned in the marketplace

566

: 00:33:03

as, a key company to do business with.

567

: 00:33:05

Freddy D: Bingo, that's it right there.

568

: 00:33:07

Gordon Parkman: A point of view.

569

: 00:33:07

Freddy D: Company to do business with.

570

: 00:33:09

Gordon Parkman: If you're not the

major player in your marketplace, then

571

: 00:33:12

you've not, being good is unacceptable.

572

: 00:33:15

You need to be great.

573

: 00:33:16

you need to be the major

player in your market.

574

: 00:33:19

And for you to do that, you

have to have the right team.

575

: 00:33:22

You have to have the right group

of resources available to you.

576

: 00:33:26

And again, The word on the street

is that you are a solid company

577

: 00:33:34

because of this, and this.

578

: 00:33:35

And oftentimes it's the fact of and part

of that is how you treat your employees.

579

: 00:33:41

Freddy D: It all starts there.

580

: 00:33:42

It really all starts there.

581

: 00:33:43

And that's what people don't understand

is it starts with the internal team.

582

: 00:33:48

You have to have a growth mindset.

583

: 00:33:51

And that's the first thing.

584

: 00:33:52

You have to transform your mindset to

being a growth mindset because then that's

585

: 00:33:57

when everything starts to come into play.

586

: 00:33:59

Gordon Parkman: And to me that's where

I, decided to focus my attention with my

587

: 00:34:03

clients is on really growing the business.

588

: 00:34:06

People always say what's

a good client for you?

589

: 00:34:08

anybody who's committed and passionate

about growing their business.

590

: 00:34:11

I don't care what they do.

591

: 00:34:12

It doesn't really matter.

592

: 00:34:13

A business a business.

593

: 00:34:14

Freddy D: Fundamentals are fundamentals.

594

: 00:34:15

Gordon Parkman: Yeah, financial

controls, marketing, sales, operation,

595

: 00:34:19

administration, doesn't matter what

you do or what service you perform,

596

: 00:34:23

what product you build, whether you're,

an attorney or a doctor or a dentist,

597

: 00:34:28

a manufacturing company, whatever

it is, it doesn't really matter.

598

: 00:34:33

Business is a business.

599

: 00:34:34

The most important things are the same,

and you need to know them, Business owners

600

: 00:34:39

really have to have a clear understanding

of what their business needs.

601

: 00:34:43

It's not all about them,

it's what the business needs.

602

: 00:34:45

What do you need to do for your business?

603

: 00:34:48

And again, we've spent a good deal

of our time talking about people.

604

: 00:34:52

In my mind, and I've always felt this

very strongly, that people are our

605

: 00:34:56

business's most important asset, and

you have to invest in that asset just

606

: 00:35:01

like you invest in any other asset.

607

: 00:35:02

I always take away the standpoint of

things get tough, Things are really

608

: 00:35:06

getting tough, so I got to cut costs.

609

: 00:35:08

I always encourage people, let's

not start looking at people, let's

610

: 00:35:11

look at other words, the cost.

611

: 00:35:12

Because we're going back to the

conversation we had, replace these people.

612

: 00:35:16

It's going to be very

expensive when things swing.

613

: 00:35:18

Freddy D: Yep

614

: 00:35:18

Gordon Parkman: to maintain a

level that we keep these people.

615

: 00:35:23

So that when things swing

around, we got, we're not

616

: 00:35:25

Freddy D: Team is still there

617

: 00:35:26

Gordon Parkman: Starting over theory.

618

: 00:35:27

Freddy D: Oh yeah, absolutely.

619

: 00:35:28

Gordon Parkman: You forget where you

are because, you got to get people

620

: 00:35:30

trained, understanding what you do,

how things work within the business.

621

: 00:35:36

Freddy D: So as we come to the end here,

Gordon, it's been a great conversation.

622

: 00:35:40

Do you have, an offer that you want

to present, any of our listeners?

623

: 00:35:45

Gordon Parkman: Sure, happy.

624

: 00:35:45

I would like to, provide anyone, a

discovery meeting, which is really

625

: 00:35:49

a consultation about their business.

626

: 00:35:52

I provide that, to be both confidentially

and confidential, and again, it's

627

: 00:35:57

really all about helping me understand,

your story and your business.

628

: 00:36:03

That's on the table for anybody who'd be

interested in taking advantage of that.

629

: 00:36:07

Freddy D: How can people find you, Gordon?

630

: 00:36:09

Gordon Parkman: I have a good,

solid presence on LinkedIn.

631

: 00:36:11

That would be a great place if

people want to understand me.

632

: 00:36:14

I have a website,

AchieveResultsConsulting.

633

: 00:36:17

com.

634

: 00:36:18

My email is gparkman at

AchieveResultsConsulting.

635

: 00:36:23

com.

636

: 00:36:24

Those are the best ways

to get in touch with me.

637

: 00:36:27

I do have a phone, but typically what

happens if my phone rings the name

638

: 00:36:30

doesn't show up, I don't answer the phone.

639

: 00:36:32

Freddy D: All right, Gordon.

640

: 00:36:32

It's been a pleasure you on the show.

641

: 00:36:35

Great conversation.

642

: 00:36:36

And we look forward to having

you on the show down the road.

643

: 00:36:40

Gordon Parkman: Thank you very much.