Entrepreneurs are artists in business clothing.
KPIs.
Operations.
Management.
Meetings.
Hiring.
Marketing.
Processes.
Sales.
Customer Service.
Funnels.
SCALE.
Important, even impactful…but often boring.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
I’ve been there. That is why I sold my company. Losing connection to the very people I served, and boring meetings replaced fulfillment.
I was doing everything “right.”
Annual objectives.
Projections.
Daily huddles.
It was time to invent my winning game. To create the life from which I didn’t want to retire. I had to practice what I preach.
But it had a cost.
Is More Better?
Playing to win is exhausting. Rarely room to celebrate. Grow, grow, grow. More and more.
From six figures of revenue, to seven and even all the way up to eight. Inc 500.
How great.
Maybe.
All the things we are told to chase. But what is more? What would “more” bring?
A more boring business.
Less happiness.
Less fulfillment.
Less joy.
Can you have it all?
YES.
But it may mean letting go. It may mean reinventing. It definitely means knowing your win, creating your rules.
To scale, there are costs. To let go, there were different costs: The loss of relationships. Loss of recurring revenue. Feeling the loss of my creation.
Hard to let go with so much at stake. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
When to Let Go
Winning games aren’t always easy. They require a different type of work. It may mean letting a part of your identity die. Letting go of the familiar.
It was a great twenty-five-year ride. So many lessons, so many great moments and memories along the way. Some ups and downs. Difficulties and victories.
Values matter. Your winning game matters.
I had partnered with someone who referred to one of our coaches as a cup. He told me our coach was no different than an object.
I knew it was no longer for me.
This was a business I birthed. With three partners way back in 2000. Two of them died, one of them is alive and one of my best friends.
But slowly the values I espoused, and the way I committed to live, could no longer survive what we had become. It became more about revenues and profits than people. This one person cared about control and money at any expense.
It became more about numbers on a spreadsheet than connection to our members. Sounds easy to move on. But what about the clients, the team, or even my legacy?
Hard choices.
Philosophies are easy to understand, not always easy to live. The higher the stakes, the more stress and tougher the choice became.
Scarcity is not a way to live. It is not a way to manage. Over time I was operating in a “play not to lose” type of mindset. Don’t upset the scarcity monger.
It wasn’t fun. No more play, no more connection. We scaled. And things felt more like a chore.
This can happen when giving up control. When running things in the old way of business, instead of creating a game worth playing or doing what I loved with those I love, it became robotic.
The New Way of Doing Business
I thought I was doing the right thing. I was being acknowledged, recognized, and told it was “maturity.” That I wasn’t supposed to handle things “below the line.”
But that is where the culture was created, where the team lived. Sure, below the line meant details. But it is like the rudder on a boat, determining the direction.
Without a clear direction, “more” becomes the guiding principle. More revenue, more profit, and anything for growth. ANYTHING. More about executive compensation than
value creation. Value extraction rather than vision.
This is the old way of doing business.
What about people? Seeing them? Loving on them? Having their back?
I love to do the things that don’t show up on the balance sheet.
A handwritten note.
A check-in call.
Sending a gift.
Getting to really know someone.
Laughing together.
This is the part of business I love.
People.
Connection.
Breakthrough.
There are times for automation. There is a place for structure, processes, and frameworks. They are essential. Instrumental for success. But they are meant to support value and to be a byproduct of vision and values.
Byproducts. Focus on value and money chases value. Chase money and always feel exhausted and unhappy. Vision informs value. Balance sheets tell us some of the story with our vision and value. Some.
We don’t grow profits by merely cutting
expenses. Some, sure. But profits are driven by our ability to serve, solve problems, and create value. Value consistent with who we are. A model we determine. Our way.
What could you dedicate decades of your life to?
The new model of business isn’t simply to “exit” or find something that absolutely bores you just to make money. Those can work for some, but not for me.
For me it is helping people change their finances and family’s destiny. To heal their relationship with money and have them feel heard and seen.
Maybe it means fewer clients. Maybe it just means removing gatekeepers, being vulnerable, and loving on people. Maybe it means building a
community so there is more
relationship capital.
Maybe it means doing
comedy so people can laugh and learn. Or creating a
theatrical keynote that is more memorable for the crowd.
Where is Your Heart and What is Your Win?
What is it for you? What will you do? What do you want to do? What is your winning game? What would you have to stop doing to play your winning game? What would you start?
What is missing? Do you get to connect with your customer? With your employees?
Is there a place for love as a value in business? In loving what you do and who you do it with?
YES! Absolutely.
Maybe we scale back for a minute to consider who we serve before having a goal of how much we earn or how to scale as quickly as possible.
What is the byproduct? The outcomes for our clients that drive our income? What if we go deeper with those we serve? What if we do what we can commit to for decades to come because…well, it is fun?
What if it isn’t play not to lose or play to win?
As Rick Rubin says in his book The Creative Act,
“It isn’t play to win, it is play to play.”
That speaks to my soul.
It is about flow, it is about value creation.
What model represents who you are? What model allows you to connect, add the most meaningful value, and feels more like play than work?
KPIs have a place and can be a great guide on how we are doing, on how much value we are creating, and processes can help us deliver that value…if we know what value we want to deliver.
What are you wanting to measure, is it what you really want to create?
I sold my business because it was time to change the game. To create a culture that lives in my heart and is congruent with my soul: Know you are loved I see you (I hear you) I’ve got you Vulnerability, connection, intimacy, and a safe space. Create a life you don’t want to retire from.
I had to let go to grow, grow myself, my happiness, and my value.
It wasn’t an easy choice. It had a seven-figure annual cost to make the decision.
But it wasn’t about continuing in a losing game to make money. It was about living a life I loved, doing what I love, with those I love. It was about taking a leap of faith to do what would make the most impact.
With a new vision. A new way of setting goals. Adding measurable results that help people to live better lives along the way and enjoy their wealth (and creating a legacy).
A better way of connecting and adding value.
Sometimes our past can hold us back and cloud the future. Money can be a great motivator or enslaver.
Sometimes it is about doing what you can commit to rather than taking the advice of the masses.
I love to write I love to speak I love to connect and meet new people I love to facilitate breakthroughs.
What do you love? How can you share your work in a way that builds value, connects you to the work and to the people you serve?
What is your win
6 thoughts on “The Heart of Business”
Amazingly interesting storyline. Side note (after reading “What Would the Rockefellers Do”) I signed on to be be a Wealth Architect thinking I’d be working with you only to find out after going through the process that you’ve moved on. I felt tricked, and I was bummed out and was sure to let the Wealth Factory folks know about it. Thought about quitting within days of paying but decided to stay on. I absolutely resonate with people over profit part:
“I love to do the things that don’t show up on the balance sheet.
A handwritten note.
A check-in call.
Sending a gift.
Getting to really know someone.
Laughing together.”
Maybe we’ll join forces soon.
How have your results been?
Shoot me an email, garrett@garrettgunderson.com.
Let’s connect.
Garrett, You nailed a lot with this post! Simply accumulating money can be a reaction to fear. When you go beyond that fear, what really matters? Time, being of service, and connection. My wins are creative troubleshooting, using my time so efficiently that I have quiet in my life, and being connected to all of the life around me. Thanks for creating a space for me to say this!
Yours, Larry
Thanks for letting me know, Larry. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and have designed your life in a meaningful way.
Know and celebrate wins along the way.
To everybody who can find value in this written words (like me), there is a book that fits with the idea of value creation and who to create this value in your business.
https://www.amazon.com/Karmic-Management-Around-Comes-Business/dp/0385528744/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JMPN0VP6CVWB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.D6TcOsvAKJa97n-6iun908ZnQY3A-MTywnGv4OsBpG1MfvQf5s4X365rNZ7lg8yMyRbDGNw1eSrobjF-wMAGObjmDrcG7SJPRAIRjPnrIz4KBjfCDXs1vXEpMpS8gtcaUwFEaYS0ofoYisliQlyXo3raCQD0tAbtu5ZiTFnaasyAPfsIMpOe8v0D35wCoo4QOVtF300l4dLm8RqEW9QiJS_-aNaDqBaRMI2o19So0QA.zcKEyYsSrIqbIr7FzuRobIbYGfHex_TLGhwUAd35NKU&dib_tag=se&keywords=karmic+management&qid=1723362594&sprefix=karmic+man%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-1
Thank you Garrett for your words of wisdom, I really enjoy your writings and your way of thinking. Hope to meet you in person some day in the future.
All the best from Germany,
Christian
Yes, it would be great to meet in the future. I’m glad this writing resonates and speaks to you. Thanks for reading.