Mastering Execution With Monte Pedersen

Mastering Execution With Monte Pedersen

[00:00:00] Harry: It's one thing to be a great planner, but it's another thing to actually execute an executing is what we're going to be speaking about in this podcast with Monte Peterson, he is the principal of the CDA group, and he excels at helping businesses to actually execute the plan.

[00:00:20] Are you looking to improve your sales skills without compromising your values? Welcome to Sales Made Easy, a podcast or Business and Personal Growth. Join Harry Spate, author of Selling With Dignity, your Formula for Life-Changing Sales Results as he hosts sales experts and business owners who share their journeys of personal growth and business success without resorting to pushy sales tactics.

[00:00:47] Now, here's your host, Harry.

[00:00:51] Harry: Monty, welcome to the Sales Made Easy podcast. What's the good word? Thanks for the invite, Harry. It's great, great to be here

[00:00:59] Harry: [00:01:00] Monte, we're here to talk about execution. I just wanna ask, why is this a big challenge for businesses to actually execute?

[00:01:08] Harry: it's something that, that really needs to be discovered. And let me put it to you this way. Most organizations think they have a strategy and , there's a lot of. That they can do wrong with strategy to make a bad strategy, and that, obviously happens a lot, but let's just say you have a very solid strategy.

[00:01:25] Harry: Well, the strategy doesn't enact itself, right? So you have all these people out there, Harry, that, think that they do this thing called strategic planning, when in reality there's no such thing as strategic planning, right? There's, strategy. Which is basically a theory. , it's basically your best case guess as to how you are going to perform.

[00:01:48] Harry: And then you have planning, which is,, you know, implementation. How do you take what it is we want to do in this theory and how do we go out and win in to be successful. , so that there really is no such thing. And I think that's what people get [00:02:00] confused about.

[00:02:00] Harry: And so that leads to behaviors inside of organizations where people do things like they'll, go offsite and they'll build a huge strategy and they'll be very complex and well written and well developed. And then, they'll just go back to the office and they'll expect that. Senior vice presidents and area directors and managers are, gonna implement it. That, that they know what to do and the reality is that most don't know what to do. And that's, what strategy execution is involved with. It. It takes and aligns the daily tasks and activities of every day people on your team with the strategic objectives of the organization.

[00:02:36] Harry: So, so really what we're talking. Is execution being a separate discipline from strategy and something that's a, that's a specialized discipline. That takes a pretty significant amount of effort if you're gonna do it and, and if you're gonna do it well.

[00:02:51] Harry: Yeah, I'm just listening to you and I guess I'd better stop using the word strategic in front of planning.

[00:02:59] Harry: Sounds like or [00:03:00] together at least . Can you elaborate a little bit on that as to, cuz I'm pretty sure I'm not alone as far as where we get together and you create with leadership. And you're coming up with where the strategy is going to be, but you're really saying that's separate from planning? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:03:23] Harry: I mean, it's separate. It's separate from execution and, okay. And, and, and some, some people would even pull planning out of implementation. Yeah. Okay. But, but we really like planning as, as leaders because. We're, we're comfortable with it because we understand what it is. Planning is usually concrete things that we need to do.

[00:03:43] Harry: You know, we need to cut costs, we need to market this, you know, you know, we need to build this new product, right? We do the planning part very, very well. And so, we're comfortable with that. But still planning doesn't necessarily guarantee that you're going to be able to execute your [00:04:00] strategy the way you want to and to do it at a high level and, , it's really almost a plan for your plan, you know, when you look at execution.

[00:04:09] Harry: Okay. It's probably a, a, a little bit better way to put it. Yeah. Okay. So as far as the execution is concerned, I'm thinking that as stuff has gotten rolled out in a corporate arena, Yeah, I mean, , first of all, it seemed like it never lasted more than 90 days. So internally we would say things like, well, this is the flavor of the month, or flavor of the quarter.

[00:04:38] Harry: Does this also happen, would you say, in just a non-selling department where people are getting some new strategy rolled? And people are telling them to execute and put this into practice, and they're all, and so staff is thinking is this the flavor of the month, flavor of the quarter? Or whatever.

[00:04:58] Harry: I, I think what, you're alluding to [00:05:00] is everybody has their own idea of what they need to do to be successful. And a lot of times when we do set up a strategy and we, don't have any way. Effectively translating that throughout the organization, everybody re reverts to what they're used to, which is, which is probably the financial metrics or, or hitting the numbers or, or doing what you need to do.

[00:05:19] Harry: And so ideally , what you would wanna see happen from an execution standpoint in an organization that's dealing with that is. Is to have a, a cohesive element that kind of combines what everybody's doing. So everybody understands what these other functions are doing and they're working together and they're collaborating in terms of, you know, achieving, you know, what the organization wants to achieve.

[00:05:43] Harry: And, and that just doesn't happen because you've got, , these disparate areas that are just worried about their,, they're worried. New sales budget and, hitting their numbers there and the marketing people are worried about what the next pitch is. You know,, that's gonna drive their success.

[00:05:57] Harry: And so, so yeah. So there's [00:06:00] no cohesion to what everybody's trying to do, and that's what causes people to just sort of fall back into, into their reality chamber and, and disregard what's been set up or developed a strategy and that, and that's why so many organizations today really. Don't participate or, or set up a, a, a strategy.

[00:06:22] Harry: And, that's a shame because , you really need a strategy and you need, if you need help doing it, yeah, you should get that help. But your organization's gonna perform much. Better if you have somebody helping you figure out what it is you need to do. I mean, there are, there are a lot of great people who, who do that, who can help.

[00:06:40] Harry: But, but when you are headless and when you're just launching the strategy and it's only going so far down in your organization, you're, you're, I mean, this is, this is why, I mean, the numbers are always like 60 to 90% bail rate. That's what's typically used. But I, I would. Probably less than 10% of all strategies [00:07:00] are executed fairly well.

[00:07:03] Harry: And, and le less than 2% are, are done at a high level. That's how bad it is. Yeah.

[00:07:09] I

[00:07:09] Harry: mean, and I could see why people would get frustrated from the top where, It's like, why bother? Right? We, we start, we go down the path and then, you know, three or four months into it, whatever, we're distracted or you know, we're getting pushback and it's not going as smoothly as we like.

[00:07:27] Harry: So can you think of an example, Monty, I know we didn't prepare for this, but of where this has worked, where you've seen it work, and then maybe we can talk about why it doesn't work.

[00:07:42] Harry: Well, I guess if there's a common example of where it works best, it's, it's probably in a lot of family owned legacy businesses where somebody's,, been in business 2, 3, 4 decades and, you know,, they've just honed in on what it is they do, and they've just become exceptional at it. , and [00:08:00] again, Still doesn't mean that you can't be improved by employing execution management because you probably can. Mm-hmm. , I mean, it, it, it can kind of, you know, if, if you're struggling and, and you're bankrupt and about ready to go under it could help you.

[00:08:15] Harry: But also if you're on a plateau or if, or if you've, you know, done really well for a number of years, you, you can, you know, potentially do even better if. If you have it. But, but, but yeah, if, if there's an example of the, of the organization that, that is able to effectively implement a strategy and see it through, it's the, it's those businesses like that, that have just, they know their people, they know their strengths.

[00:08:40] Harry: They know their, you know, they know what they're good at, and, and they, they zero in on it, and they, you. , they leverage everything they have against it and it and it, and it works really well. And that's ideally, that's kind of where we want to get everybody. Mm-hmm. . So how does that get rolled out where. You know, because nothing, I was just talking to [00:09:00] someone today who said, well, do you know how many times I've said we need to be doing this and that, you know, my first reaction was, it's never enough.

[00:09:07] Harry: Right? It's human nature is, until we adopt it, until we learn to adopt it ourselves, we're really speaking on, you know, deaf ears frequently until people say, oh,. That actually applies to me. So in an organization, where the, a strategy is being implemented, how is that typically communicated in a way so that it can succeed?

[00:09:34] Harry: Well, if, you're looking at , the general business community, , it's not communicated well at all, right? Mm-hmm. , so. I guess if your question is what, how does that get communicated so that it works? You kind of have to dig a little bit deeper. It goes beyond just communication.

[00:09:52] Harry: Collaborative communication is a big part of it, but it's really about changing behavior because you're so used to doing things the way you've [00:10:00] always done them. And then, you've gone through the years. Leadership has put forth an effort to try and change the dynamic and be, more strategic and try and take the company in a different direction.

[00:10:13] Harry: And people have watched it failed. So they, so they do get the flavor of the month mentality and the, if this is the same old, same old occurring, right. So mm-hmm. . So really you're talking about changing behavior and, and so execution management from, from my point of view is something that you have to.

[00:10:29] Harry: Manage at an individual level as well as a team level. You really have to go down to the point where you are basically working with everyone on your team to figure out what it is they they can do to contribute to, to organizational success. And the way, that we do that with execution management is through a vehicle called a performance agreement.

[00:10:54] Harry: And a performance agreement is nothing more than a collaboratively developed document between a manager and a direct [00:11:00] report that has three el three components. It, it has their primary job responsibilities. Basically, what does the, what does the organization expect from you in order for you to be successful in your role?

[00:11:13] Harry: And then, so there's a set of those, and then there's a set of goals. So these are the things over and above your primary job responsibilities that the organization needs you to do this year. Okay? They're like really well-written, true goals that have an end date. So you gotta deliver on 'em. Right. It's not like, attend this seminar or read this book, or, you know, do, do one of other a hundred self-improvement things that HR wants you to do. Right. It's, doing stuff that drive, , key initiatives inside the organization.

[00:11:43] Harry: So that's, that's really what execution management does. It, it gets people. Through this mechanism, through this performance agreement, to know what their job is and , to focus on that, and it's up to the manager, the manager needs to be vested in that agreement and [00:12:00] help them succeed at it, which is, which is really key because, I mean, performance agreements get aligned a lot with job descriptions.

[00:12:07] Harry: There's a significant difference. You know, a job description tells you really what the job is and, sometimes how to do it. And then it's become this, , catchall for everything else that the organization, you know, how many boxes can you lift? And if you had to, crawl on the floor, how many steps would it take?

[00:12:23] Harry: Right. You, , you've seen job descriptions like that. . Yep. So, Why primary job responsibilities are different. It cuts to the chase., it's like when you, you, you've had a summer job and, and you, you haven't really worked for anybody before and the, and the boss tells you, okay, kid, if you're gonna be successful in this job, these are the four or five things you gotta do and so people know, you know, without question what it is they need to do for, you know, to be successful. And so, But, but what's key to a performance agreement is that it's a collaboratively developed document. So your manager writes your goals with you. Your manager develops your job [00:13:00] responsibilities with you, and the the manager is invested in that person's success.

[00:13:05] Harry: So they, they're working together. And that way you not only have a discipline and accountability for getting stuff done, you've got, somebody who's basically saying, That if you don't succeed, then I look at myself as being a failure. , so you've , got this performance agreement, and every 30 days you're having a check-in with your manager to make sure that you are basically fulfilling that.

[00:13:29] Harry: And, and if you're not fulfilling it, figuring out what's going wrong, what do we need to do, you know, these, these. You know, every 30 day performance appraisals, they're, it's not punitive at all. These are coaching, guiding, leading sessions where you're basically saying, okay, here's what we did the last 30 days.

[00:13:47] Harry: These were the results. You know, you were good here, but over here and here you, you know, you need some improvement. Let's figure out what we can do to get you back on track by our next meeting. . And that's just a totally different perspective and [00:14:00] slant to take in business. And, and again, that's how you change behavior.

[00:14:04] Harry: Yeah., in my world of sales, I'm thinking, I'm just trying to come up with an example where I might have done this unwittingly is like in sales, everyone's given a number, right? It's like, This is what we kind of expect. , you get buy-in. Yes, people what they think they wanna write regardless, there is a number at the end of the day.

[00:14:30] Harry: I'm not saying I'm a huge fan of quotas and so forth, but you want to have the conversation to help a person reach their goals with some kind of revenue in inside of that revenue might be other activities that will drive future revenue. So a person could be very adept at hitting their targets, but take their eye off the ball maybe as far as how to manage an account, [00:15:00] maybe getting deeper and wider into an account.

[00:15:03] Harry: And so we have maybe, let's say a list of 10 main accounts that they sell to, but it's our strategy to sell deeper and wider into a business. Is that something that would be where, that, where that would fit in this conversation?

[00:15:24] Harry: Yeah, you would, you would absolutely want that for all your salespeople. , and, here's the way we would look at it, and I'll put it in terms of, of what I just explained to you about the performance agreement. Metrics are useful, right? I don't, I don't really necessarily like 'em as the, as the end all for, for goal setting, but obviously they're important and, and you know, we've gotta have those sales at, at, at a certain point.

[00:15:45] Harry: So in, in working with a sales team, you're gonna basically talk to that person and make one of their primary job responsibilities, their base number that they need to. , you're gonna say, okay, you are, you know, [00:16:00] you are, you know, you're responsible for selling into these 10 organizations and, and recognizing revenue at this level.

[00:16:06] Harry: Okay? You're gonna have a, you're gonna have a responsibility for that, probably in their goal. Then you're gonna write a goal for them that goes beyond that responsibility. That's their push number. That's, that's their stretch number. Hmm. So, so all of a sudden you're basically telling somebody, okay. This is, this is what the organization counts on you doing year to year and your job, but this is where we think you can go given your abilities and the client base that you're working with.

[00:16:32] Harry: And oh, by the way, here's some skill sets that would probably help you branch out and develop and, and become, , Much more astute , at working with, these types of organizations. It could be business level training or, or industry segment training. You know, you know whatever that is, you could write those into goals as well.

[00:16:50] Harry: So really what, what you're trying to capture in the performance agreement is, just an overall rounded ability, , to make that person understand [00:17:00] what the expectations are, and then help them deliver on it and make it. More than once a half year or just an end of the year process, which is, which is the way most organizations, do performance appraisals and you know, right. Everything else in between is impromptu, right. Right.

[00:17:17] Harry: So, yes. And I've been guilty of that once or twice in my life. So we, we all have, yeah. So what happened to that plan we wrote last year, a year later? How did we do? Right? No, I've never done, never ever have done that. But if I do know people that their name looked and their faces look very similar to mine.

[00:17:39] Harry: Yeah. And the whole premise of that conversation, Harry is. We get people into our organization, we do this as leaders, right? We get people into our organization and, and we're assume that we're getting this, you know, finally, you know, groomed individual who knows how to sell, [00:18:00] right? We don't, yeah, we don't look at 'em as a human and say, ah, you're, you're fairly young, or You've had one sales job before here, and you know, we, we just think you're just on your own to sink or swim.

[00:18:10] Harry: you know, that's, that's just the wrong thing to do. Yeah. And assuming that people are like us or you, right. Or me. Right. I've made those assumptions too. And you know, the older I get, the more I read . I'm definitely getting smarter in this stuff, but one of the things I was thinking about is how often do.

[00:18:35] Harry: Talk about this. Is it a monthly conversation where we are? It's like, what went well, what didn't go so well? What did we learn? Those types of conversations once a month, is that what you typically suggest or tell me

[00:18:51] Harry: once a month, is the frequency that we've landed on in terms of saying, okay, what's the right interval in terms of [00:19:00] engaging?

[00:19:00] Harry: With, with these performance agreements are designed to build the relationship between those two parties, so they build trust and respect, and so they don't preclude you from having, obviously, other conversations throughout the week or, throughout the month.

[00:19:17] Harry: But what we're saying is every 30 days, You've gotta sit down and you've gotta closely evaluate , how this relationship is going. And don't do that in an objective manner. Do it in a subjective manner where. You have data and you know what's going on.

[00:19:33] Harry: So inside of our performance agreements we, we call that every 30 day check-in a, a progress meeting. And we have a software platform that supports the process. And so , well in preparation for that meeting, one week out, the direct report and the manager will basically fill.

[00:19:53] Harry: What's called a packet . And in that packet is the individual's primary job responsibilities, their [00:20:00] goals. There's a cultural element in, in core behaviors, so basically the manager will rate the direct report on all of those area. And conversely, the, the direct report will rate themselves and, it's done on a very simple scale, like a 0 1 2 zero mean you're not, you're not meeting, one means you're meeting two means you're exceeding.

[00:20:22] Harry: And so the way the the software works is the manager will prescore that meeting and put his ratings in. The direct report will do the same. They'll come together. And that will form the agenda for the conversation, for the the progress meeting. And so, it's not a two hour meeting.

[00:20:42] Harry: It's not a three hour manager has to take copious notes and observe behavior. Basically what it is, where there's a difference of opinion in those ratings. We're talking about those things because those are, those are important. If you, if you're telling me that, you know, you're, you're doing [00:21:00] research on this organization and that you're exceeding, you know, you, you better be able to prove that to me because if I, if I rate you a zero and you rate yourself a two, we're gonna have a come to Jesus meeting about where the difference is and what, what I think versus what you think.

[00:21:14] Harry: And so what that, what that amounts to is you, you start focusing on the priorities because those goals are driving key initiative. Inside the organization. So when somebody isn't doing their part, that is what helps cause that initiative to fail, you know, because it's not being contributed to. So, so really almost in real time, you are, you're, you're able to sit down with somebody and say, you know, this is, this is your commitment.

[00:21:41] Harry: You know, here's your, here's your base level commitment, here's your stretch goal, and you know, We're six months into the year and you're, you're still significantly off. What are we gonna do, you know, to change that, or, or we're gonna have a conversation or consequence and say, this just [00:22:00] doesn't look like this is your deal.

[00:22:01] Harry: Maybe we should talk about whether you're in the right role. Mm-hmm. . So, so, you know, again, instead of having these willy-nilly meetings that just say, yeah, we met and we, we discussed. You know, we have all the data and information from, from the software platform that basically leadership can have line of sight to, they can see everything that's happening.

[00:22:21] Harry: They can see the performance agreement for everybody in the organization. And so they've got all this data that they can look at and say, okay, here's a goal. And this particular department is driving a good part of that goal of success if they're behind in their goals by their own rating. We better pull those guys together and have a meeting with 'em and find out what we gotta do different.

[00:22:42] Harry: So, so it's very analytical and it, and it, and it, it just puts a whole new spin on terms of, of how you manage people.

[00:22:50] Harry: Interesting. So is there like coaching managers as to how to have these conversations with what you do? Because I could see that potentially [00:23:00] going off the rails if someone becomes. Mm, I'm not sure what the word is politely, but you know, a little more like dictators in their management style.

[00:23:11] Harry: And this is an opportunity that I would think would be a huge coaching opportunity. So is there some. Conversations that you have when you go into an organization about that as well?

[00:23:23] Harry: Yeah. I mean, you, you're basically talking about, having difficult conversations. Right. Especially if somebody's underperforming and so the, the real value of what it is I do and the, and, and the process that I engage with clients is that I'm a facilitator and so when I, when I basically. Train people in terms of how to use the system. And really, we really look to embed this in their daily pattern of management. And, and, and how we do that is I sit in on the, you know, I sit in on the initial meetings where we develop the performance agreement.

[00:23:56] Harry: So I'm talking to both parties and I'm [00:24:00] saying, okay, you have to understand this is not something that we're trying to make punitive. This is us trying to bring out the best in this individual's performance. . You know, we really need to look at this from the standpoint that, it is a leading coaching, mentoring type conversation.

[00:24:16] Harry: And we use the word gentle accountability, okay? , where, we want accountability, but we're not trying to discipline people. We're, we're trying to be straightforward in terms of how we talk with 'em. And so, so the way it happens in reality then, Harry, is it may be awkward the first two or three months when people are on the system, they.

[00:24:35] Harry: But over time as that trust and that respect gets built up, there's psychological safety, there's people talking to each other more openly that they, they get to know each other and, and then yeah, we do, we do supply them with, you know, good questions to ask, to, you know, to bring things out. So everything, everything's done in a, I guess what, what I would say is just a real constructive manner, or it's not, you know, [00:25:00] it's not, In intentionally dictatorial or, or threatening in any way.

[00:25:05] Harry: Yeah, it sounds like it. So the benefit I think too is that if you have a manager meeting with their direct reports once a month, I mean for some that's more than they ever have gotten. Right? Other than the passing hello and you know, step up your game or maybe a little small talk around the water cooler.

[00:25:25] Harry: But a meeting where there is actual. You know, time set aside has gotta be beneficial for some of these organizations you go into. Right?

[00:25:35] Harry: It's tremendously beneficial. And, you know beyond the ratings in the in the progress meetings that I mentioned earlier. We also have three questions that get answered from the direct report side, and then there's two questions from the managerial side. From the direct report side is what do you want your manager to know? So basically it's just a, you know, a question where that person can kind of tell, you know, their [00:26:00] boss, what's on their mind. And then the second one is, what can we do to improve our relationship?

[00:26:05] Harry: You know, that's the next question. And then the third is, what else can we do to, make this relationship work or, or make our efforts more effective? So really you get these documented comments. So between the ratings and the documented comments, The manager and the direct report are seeing what both parties write before the meeting.

[00:26:25] Harry: So you go into the meeting with a pretty good understanding of where you're at and what you're gonna talk about and what that results in is a progress meeting is not meant to be a, a long meeting. It's 45 minutes to an hour.. And, we're really adamant about sticking to that because, we think your time's better. Working on the business and not doing that, but it's important that you have that meeting.

[00:26:47] Harry: How many people, I just raised a question. Appreciate you responding, and my first thought was, if you're spending maybe an hour person, how many people should a manager typically manage based on your [00:27:00] system of beliefs?

[00:27:04] Harry: You know, obviously this is all over the board in a lot of organizations, but I tend to fall in line with what the American military does, and, and that's basically they're saying if you have any more than six direct reports, you have too many. Hmm. Okay. It's six. I mean, they've done a lot of studies that basically say, you know, you can command, you know, six people.

[00:27:25] Harry: So I, I, I'd say four to six if I were to give you a number, is a very reasonable. Amount because it, because if you had 12 or 14 direct reports, you can't, it's difficult to spend 14 hours a month, you know, doing progress meetings, plus trying to manage 14 different people. I mean, it's just, you know, it's just not gonna work.

[00:27:46] Harry: Yeah. Having been there with 12 or 13 at one time, I believe , I could, I can agree with you on that one.

[00:27:53] Harry: Yeah, I know. I mean, inflates your ego. Right. Hey, I got, I got 12 direct reports, you know? Yeah. And you're, and you're basically going, yeah. I [00:28:00] bet you're not getting shit done either.

[00:28:02] Harry: , yeah, I figured that the more chasing a big number was better. But yeah, again, things you learn in life. All right, so your posts have a lot to do with human-centric leadership, right? So that's right up my alley about treating others and selling with dignity.

[00:28:20] Harry: How do you tie in this human-centric leadership with. Your business here of helping others succeed in their strategy and execution?

[00:28:32] Harry: Yeah, I think this is the real secret sauce to, good strategy execution. I just think it's the secret sauce to business in general, Harry, that if you work with people and treat them as a human being, That you are going to obviously have productivity levels, you're gonna have great working relationships.

[00:28:56] Harry: You're, you know, you're probably gonna achieve more than you ever thought you could. [00:29:00] You, you could lead, but, you know, it's just basically human-centric leadership. And if you've heard of the book, everybody Matters by Bob Chap. , he's kind of the person who's, launched that word, but he looks at it like everybody is somebody's special child.

[00:29:16] Harry: And, and you know, when you are given them, when they come to work for you, you are responsible for them. And much like,, you're giving your daughter away to be married or your, or your son. You should really look at that in terms of being a leader. That you're gonna take care of that person, that you're gonna commit to them.

[00:29:32] Harry: And again, that's not to say that you gotta carry somebody who's not working hard or isn't a good fit for the position. What it says is we're gonna be honest with you about what we need. We're gonna treat you fairly, and we hope that you treat us fairly in return and that , we have a great relationship and that,, , your actions and work here gets recognized that, you have great working relationships with your peers and we're, we're trying to do all that.

[00:29:58] Harry: And so [00:30:00] human-centric leadership is nothing more than that. It's just, that outward attitude of basically, saying that this is, this is a great place to work and if, you work with us and, and work hard with us. We're gonna have a long, long relationship and it's gonna be fruitful for both of us.

[00:30:16] Harry: Nice. Yeah, I'm just I'm a huge fan of that, Monte, it's just I summarize it in saying, you just gotta love your people. And even though. You know, there's performance challenges. Sometimes people struggle with telling the truth, you know, whatever the issues are. But if you come back with, you know, if this is my kid, you know, I'm, I'd want someone else to treat the person well.

[00:30:46] Harry: And sometimes you just have to have those difficult conversations, but you're, you're doing it from a place of love versus. , you know, you're an idiot. Get the blank outta here and I never wanna see you again or whatever. Right. But if you truly love [00:31:00] your people, that permeates the culture, I believe.

[00:31:03] Harry: Thoughts on that?

[00:31:04] Harry: Yeah. There, there's there's a level of emotional intelligence that's, that's employed in human-centric organizations. And, , that just says you don't judge people. You look at them for who they are and where they're at, and you respect that. And I'm not saying, that we don't need to fire people. , they're all always gonna be those situations. But for the most part, if you let somebody know where you stand and that you, you know, you are, you are there to help them and work in their best interests. If they're there, to help you and. Commit to doing, , the work that you need them to do, then, you're gonna have a good quality understanding,, with each other.

[00:31:42] Harry: So it's, so, it, yeah, I mean, it's, it's empathy, it's candor, it's humility, it's, utilizing those and I, I don't like the word soft skills, but you know, those, yeah, those a, those attributes that I mean, when you, when you think about it, We hire on technical ability, but holy cow, 99% of the [00:32:00] time.

[00:32:00] Harry: We fire somebody for their inability to get along with others. Yeah. I, I mean, so, right. If you don't have that element inside your organization, you know, you're, you're looking at it wrong. I'm sorry. That's just the way it is. Yeah. So love it. All right. This has been a great conversation. Super helpful. Who, who do you like to work with?

[00:32:20] Harry: What types of businesses can you really make an impact with? Monty? You know, it's a good question because so many organizations need what we've found with our framework that we use, that there really isn't an industry that, that it doesn't have application to.

[00:32:37] Harry: But that being said this was developed in the manufacturing. But financial services any professional services like architectural firms, accounting firms, so, knowledge workers, you know, in addition to manufacturing

[00:32:50] Harry: if somebody's out there. Is interested in this, just have a conversation or, reach out and have a conversation first and find out. I think you'd be interested in, , how well [00:33:00] this, adapts to just about any, business segment.

[00:33:02] Harry: Yeah, sounds great. So the conversation is free, right? Yep. And then you know, that doesn't hurt. And then maybe finding out a little bit more about how your business can, you know, what is some potential that you might have that just having a guy like Monty have that conversation with. Because as an owner of a business, You might not be able to have a safe conversation where someone's gonna say, well, what's the matter with you versus here, this is a legitimate challenge.

[00:33:31] Harry: I want to grow or I wanna be better. And having a conversation with a guy who has this kind of experience can be super valuable. And that's right there with Monty Peterson, ladies and gentlemen, is a great guy and very knowledgeable, as you can tell. So Monty, who's, I know this is probably not gonna air, but we're gonna hold you to it.

[00:33:51] Harry: You know, the Super Bowl's coming up and curious if you're you know, Eagles fan Chiefs fan or [00:34:00] maybe just a Chicago Bears fan and just say, I don't even care. Yeah. That, that's the bad news of it. Cuz I, cuz I, I, where I live in Illinois, I am, I am a Bears fan and that's, that's, that's the definition of N F L futility right there.

[00:34:14] Harry: But , but yeah. So I, I'm just an interested onlooker and I'm not an Eagles fan. I, I, I'm an N F C guy, but I'm not an Eagles fan. And I, and in my past career, one of the corporate giants I worked for, they, Philadelphia was their home base. And it just seemed like people from Philadelphia love to be miserable. So I'm okay with the Chiefs winning . Oh, it's funny. Yeah, football is a big identifier for us for a lot of reasons, but this has been a blast. I'll put your link in the show notes. But real quick, where's, what's the best way for people to get ahold of you, Monty?

[00:34:53] Harry: Probably the best places to reach out on LinkedIn. Otherwise, my, my website is [00:35:00] www.clarifieddeployachieve.com. Which is, which is the acronym for the CDA group. So, okay, well, we'll put that in the show notes. So if you're listening, pull over, right, click on the link and then we'll take you to Monte's website or his LinkedIn profile.

[00:35:17] Harry: And that's a whole nother conversation. Love to have someday, Monte, but this has been a blast. Thanks for joining me. You're a superstar. Brilliant. So great. Thanks Harry. I appreciate being with you.