January 22, 2025 • 50 mins
Meet Molly!
Zane Stevens interviews Molly Varangkounh, the Chief Sanity Officer, who shares her journey from an entry-level accountant to the president of a family-owned tractor parts business. Molly discusses the importance of curiosity, effective communication, and building trust in leadership. She emphasizes the need for businesses to understand their numbers and the value of collaborative leadership. After 20 years in the family business, Molly now focuses on consulting and helping other businesses navigate their challenges and achieve sustainable growth. In this conversation,
Molly discusses her role in helping business owners navigate their challenges, identify sources of anxiety, and facilitate change. She emphasizes the importance of understanding financials, building trust, and measuring impact. Molly shares her insights on leadership qualities, the joy of witnessing 'aha moments,' and her goals for team development. The conversation also touches on personal connections and the importance of perspective in leadership.
Takeaways
- Molly emphasizes that accounting is the language of business.
- She highlights the importance of curiosity and continuous improvement in her career.
- Building a relationship based on trust is crucial for effective communication.
- Molly learned to present financial information in a digestible way for her father.
- She believes in celebrating failures to create a safe environment for mistakes.
- Molly stresses the need to connect with employees on a personal level.
- She advises saying yes to opportunities to discover one's niche.
- Molly's approach to leadership involves asking questions rather than giving orders.
- She emphasizes the importance of follow-through to build trust within a team.
- Molly's consulting work focuses on helping businesses identify and solve their actual problems.
- Building trust is essential when solving business problems.
- Flexibility in problem-solving leads to better outcomes.
- Offering options empowers business owners to make decisions.
- Effective leaders listen and celebrate their team's strengths.
- Understanding multiple perspectives fosters a positive team environment.
Sound Bites
"Accounting is the language of business."
"Curiosity and continuous improvement are key."
"Follow through builds trust."
"I celebrated my failures."
"You need to connect on a personal level."
"I help businesses find their actual problems."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Molly Varangkounh
04:18 Career Development and Family Business
10:06 The Importance of Numbers in Business
15:34 Navigating Difficult Conversations
21:03 Building Collaborative Leadership
25:54 Creating a Safe Environment for Mistakes
27:42 Molly's New Path and Consulting Work
30:49 The Role of a Chief Sanity Officer
32:21 Understanding Business Owners' Challenges
34:14 Identifying Sources of Anxiety
36:51 Navigating Pushback from Business Owners
39:02 Facilitating Change and Decision-Making
41:35 Measuring Impact and Progress
43:30 The Joy of Aha Moments
44:56 Short-Term Goals and Team Development
47:31 Qualities of Effective Leadership
50:25 Advice for New Leaders
51:27 The Importance of Perspective
53:01 Personal Insights and Family Connections
54:08 Rapid Fire Questions
Connect with Molly:
LinkedIn personal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-varangkounh-17440270/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Proteon Conversations, the podcast where leadership in business and accounting
(00:09):
isn't just discussed, it's explored.
I'm your host, St. Stephens, and thank you for joining me as we delve into the minds of
some of the most influential leaders in the industry.
Our journey is one of discovery, from unraveling the unique stories that shaped our guest careers,
to invaluable advice that fueled their success.
We hereby provide you with a simple, actionable advice to accelerate your career and personal
growth.
Whether you're a budding professional or seasoned executive, these conversations are
(00:31):
designed to offer insight and perspectives that resonate with everyone.
So tune in, engage, and be inspired as we build better leaders together.
Welcome to Proteon Conversations.
Today we're thrilled to have Molly Varuncun, the Chief Sanity Officer, dedicated to helping
leaders break the cycle of redundancy and achieve remarkable business transformation.
Molly specializes in giving leaders the courage and tools to reimagine their strategies and
(00:56):
drive significant value in their business.
Join us as we dive into our Molly and PowerZero clients to see their challenges from a fresh
perspective, implement innovative solutions to create systems for sustainable growth.
Molly, thanks for joining Proteon Conversations.
Thank you.
Good to be here.
Yeah, it's interesting.
I always like to reminisce on how I met the various guests, and we were just the typical
(01:18):
like, hey, you're on LinkedIn.
I'm on LinkedIn.
Nice to meet you.
Let's have a conversation.
So you reached out to me and we had a couple of calls and we sort of stayed in contact.
I mean, it's going back quite a few years right now and it's not great to be able to
sit down and learn a little bit more about you and your career.
So thanks for making the time for me.
Yeah, yeah.
(01:39):
You know, I was thinking about the same thing and a lot of times our LinkedIn connections
are just digital.
And so it's always great to connect with someone more personally, even if it's through digital.
But let's have an actual conversation.
Yeah, and it also reminded me a little bit like I used to once in a while just put out
(01:59):
there, hey, if anybody just left a chat and connect in person, we should do it.
And those worked once in a while and then they sort of faded off from like, I missed
having those random conversations with people because at times, you know, you fall into
really great conversations and what ends up being, you know, interesting relationships,
you know, not close personal ones, but good enough professional ones that I always like
when I do see your name pop up like, ah, I know what he's busy with right now.
(02:23):
Yep.
That's right.
Well, let's get into it and sort of discuss, you know, your career.
And I always like to find out for people because accounting nowadays gets such a bad rap and
nobody wants to do it and nobody's trying to study it.
How did you make the decision to go into the world of accounting?
It's actually kind of a funny one.
So I actually went to business school pretty much because that was the major that required
(02:46):
the least amount of science and so I was not, that was what my main motivation was.
And then just kind of went in there with an open mind figured I'll just take some classes
and see what pops up.
And then I was sitting in a classroom.
I remember the hall, it was in Curtis Hall at, it was at Iowa State University and Jim
(03:06):
Kurtenbach was our professor and he just talked about, Iowa State is a big engineering school
and he would talk to all of us but the engineering majors, he said to all you con e majors out
there, so construction engineering, all you con e majors out there someday when you guys
own your own business, you're going to need to know this.
(03:27):
And that kind of caught my attention and I wasn't, I was not a con e major or any, anything
engineering, but I really kind of perked up and started listening to the things he had
to say and then it just kind of made sense.
So I understood, it became clear to me that accounting was the language of business and
I figured if I can learn this, then I can work my way into about anything.
(03:52):
So I went into accounting and didn't ever change my major after that.
What was your plan before that?
Like did you have some other like goal that you were after or you just sort of running
life and said, let's see what happens?
It was a little bit more like that.
Like college was the next step, but that was never, that was not negotiable.
It was just, I didn't, you know, I was the oldest in my family, so I didn't really know
(04:14):
much about what it meant to go away to college.
And so I just thought, I'm going to go figure out how to live away from my parents first
and then I'll figure out the college thing from there.
It's great.
So you got on the accounting bandwagon and all few went and you know, obviously created
a career for it.
Sort of what happened from there?
You got the degree, now you got to go be an accountant.
(04:34):
Yeah.
What happened?
So I decided to study for the CPA exam and then I actually got my first job.
It was in a public accounting firm and I was lucky enough that I started in the time where
we weren't as busy.
So in my off hours, when I wasn't working with client work, I was able to study for
(04:55):
the CPA exam at that point.
So I did end up passing that.
And so I worked at a public accounting firm and then moved to principal financial group
and worked in the investment accounting group there.
And in the meantime, my dad had said, it was right before I graduated from college.
And he said, you should come back and work for the family business.
(05:16):
And I said, what my official answer was, I think I need to get some other experience.
And what I really meant was, I don't want to live in small town Iowa.
I want to live in more of a college type town, a little bit larger.
And then along the way, I called him between the public accounting job and principal.
(05:38):
And I said, I think I'm ready, ready to come back.
And he said, shoot, I just hired somebody.
So we kind of had our dance.
And then finally, we connected and I came back and worked.
And that was actually when I started having kids.
So being near grandparents is a little more important.
And I came back and worked in our family's business and started as a low man on the totem
(06:01):
pole in the accounting team.
And just kind of happened to be curious enough to ask questions and try to learn more about
it.
It's a tractor parts company.
So I had zero interest in working there when I was in high school or anything.
But it really became a love of one of the loves of my life.
So I really spent a lot of years there.
(06:24):
I'm his right hand person and then actually ran the company as president for eight years.
Ultimately, I was just kind of hit a point where family dynamics in a family business
kind of got the, you know, just got the wheels turning on.
Is this where I want to spend the next 20 years?
And decided to take another another path along the way.
I mean, family business is always interesting, especially I can't imagine the tractor parts
(06:47):
business.
I think, you know, I'm trying to wreck my brain.
What would even go into that?
I mean, there's sales.
There's obviously some logistics.
There's everything that would go into any, I guess, any parts business.
So I shouldn't seem that weird.
It just, I guess, a little funny because it's the small time.
I'll work and hit the tractor parts.
So it feels like a little bit of a movie scene, right?
(07:08):
Yeah.
And, you know, we were, we were big enough.
We had about 120 employees and so we had multiple departments and but we were small
enough.
I got to wear a lot of different hats.
And so, you know, I started in accounting, but then I, you know, I was able to be a part
of sales and marketing and building a, you know, we didn't build our website, but we
built the thing associated with it.
(07:29):
And then the whole production flow of the parts and got to really just be a part of
every tiny little department of, of a small, of a small business.
So it was really fun.
A lot of, a lot of great experience.
So I would say a little bit bigger than small, but, you know, smaller than big, I guess.
Yeah.
And I think that's really interesting that, you know, you have a start at the bottom as
(07:50):
well.
I do like that concept, but your dad was like, no, no, no, no, no special treatment.
Just as an entry-level job.
Good luck.
Yep.
Exactly.
We kind of carried that through my daughters.
I have three daughters and all three of them worked there and we required all of them
to interview with someone that wasn't us.
And it was really pretty cute that every single one of them, they, they got very nervous just
(08:15):
like you should for an interview.
And I remember, I can't remember which one of, which one of my girls, but one of them
was like, I hope I get the job.
I'm like, I hope so too.
Don't mess this one up.
Right.
It should be a slab dunk.
So you just got to beat people.
Yeah.
You know, we tried to lean in on that, like, you know, so, but we made them practice and
(08:36):
really tried to help them learn some, some life skills.
Yep.
Because whether they decided to work at the family business with tractor parts someday
or not, that didn't matter.
Our job was to help prepare them for, for the future.
Yeah, that's great.
What is your dad's explanation to you when you first took on the job of this like, yes,
a low entry level job.
How did he expand it to you?
(08:57):
He didn't.
It was just, you know, because he was more, he was on the sales side of things.
So accounting was his last, really the last thing that he cared about.
And in fact, his, his mantra was, I just figure if you take care of the sales, the rest takes
care of itself.
And then I made it my 20 year mission to prove that that's not quite the case.
(09:19):
And you know, and so that's, that's part of what my role was, was to help kind of our
business started in 1978 when my grandpa was a mechanic.
And so we had to reinvent ourselves.
So I was there when we were in 30 year old business.
And so we'd, we'd picked up a lot of loyalty, a lot of long-term, long-term employees, a
(09:41):
lot of really good processes, but some of them have had gone a little bit stale.
And so part of my role was to help really look at it from an outsider's perspective.
And so I had to, I ended up having to tell my dad more like, Hey, have you thought about
this?
Or, you know, we really became sparring partners on, on how to take the business from mom and
(10:03):
pop shop to actual manufacturing organization.
Yeah.
And I think it's a good lesson for like business owners out there as well, like you hear that
all the time, right?
Hey, sales, we'll deal with it with sales.
So I'll sell myself out of the problem.
It'll be fine.
But if you don't look at other things, like, especially in the manufacturing price, like
costs can quickly scale up under your nose.
(10:24):
And you know, you used to getting 60, 70, 100% profit margins on your gross margin rivals.
And you're like, Oh, I'm down to 30%.
What happened?
Where did that money go?
Like it doesn't matter how much sale I sell right now.
There's not, you know, I can't cover my overheads and it's, you can't just ignore accounting.
You obviously, you don't want accounting to, you know, whack the dog or however the saying
(10:45):
is, right?
But it's important.
Like if you do want to make that step up, you got to know your numbers, you got to pay
attention to your numbers and you got to use those numbers in a very effective way
to run your business.
Yep.
Exactly.
And knowing I had to really adjust some of my delivery and communication because again,
my dad, he didn't care about it.
(11:05):
He cared about the end result, but a lot of the details in the middle, that wasn't, I
was just going to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher, you know?
And so I had to figure out how to present the information in a way that was easily digestible.
And I mean, he had a, he had a lot of things on his mind.
So I had to make it a quick impact.
(11:28):
And so I did a lot through visual charts and color coding and things like that that helped
make it a quick glance.
He knew what was going on.
And that's kind of, that's one of the things that I really, I still do to this day for
people that I work with is try to create quick visual experiences that help them demystify
(11:49):
what their numbers are telling them.
Because it's, the numbers are not that, they're not always that complicated, but they can
be overwhelming to, to, to people that aren't used to, you know, working through them.
So our job is to help, help simplify them so they, they understand what the numbers
are telling them.
Yeah, it's always interesting that, you know, it's communication is difficult to start with.
(12:13):
Then communicating a topic that you feel passionately about, like the numbers of a business, to a
person who's like, they're important, but I don't really want to hear about them.
You know, in times, maybe not your dad, but a lot of people are scared of the numbers,
right?
They don't want to know because they know there's truth in those numbers.
So if I don't, yeah, them see them, pay attention to them, well, then it's just as rosy as I
(12:34):
think it is, right?
It is a little bit difficult and trying to figure out how you communicate to people and,
you know, great using visual.
There's other people, like you put a colorful chart in front of them, they'll tell you
they're like, people, right?
Like, it's trying to figure out how do you constantly adapt to communication to the
person in front of you to make sure that they will actually pay attention and not give the,
(12:57):
you know, the Charlie Brown teacher, which I'm now going on wildly in the back of my
head.
I can just hear it as well.
So, I mean, how do you, how do you teach that?
How do you, how do you learn that skill to be able to adjust your message to the person
in front of you?
I mean, you really have to, you have to get good at observing things that are, you know,
body language and, and watching facial expressions, you know, when people start to slump back
(13:23):
in their, you know, in their chair, when you're talking, that's not a good sign or some, some
people get start to get a little more agitated and, and, but, but they'll also, if you hit
the right mark, you know, you have to try a few different things.
And when you hit the right mark, they sit up a little bit taller, their eyes get a little
bigger and then, and then the conversation actually happens.
(13:44):
So, you know, I've tried to figure out ways to shortcut that.
And sometimes asking people, how do you, how best do you learn?
How best, you know, how do you want to get information?
But not, that's not something everyone is as capable of articulating, you know, and
sometimes it's really just a matter of trial and error.
And once you see something that hits the mark, then do more of that.
(14:07):
Yeah.
And there's other people who just believe that can read the set of financials, right?
They're like, Oh, I took an accounting course once in high school when I was, you know,
sick with flu.
So I know how to read it, but they don't, you, it's, I think the skill there is picking
up that they don't really understand what you're saying.
You know, one, like, don't be arrogant enough that my way is the right way and you got it,
you got to adjust.
(14:28):
And also, I guess, you know, I guess there's some more lessons in there.
Like sometimes it can be difficult conversations.
How much harder can it be?
Like trying to tell your father, like, Hey, you need to pay attention because it might
not be as good as you think it is, is a really tough conversation.
And we get those scary clients, those scary bosses who, you know, you have to adjust the
conversation to it.
Is there any advice that you could give us from having these tough, difficult conversations
(14:52):
to your dad that we could take into some of our own scary conversations in life?
Sure.
You know, I think one of the things that I've really tried to do is even before the scary
conversations work on building a relationship, you know, a relationship that's built on trust
and you have to at least have a few wins in there in building that trust level so that
(15:14):
they know that when you have something to talk to them about, that trust is already
there.
So that foundation of trust is pretty important.
And then along the way, kind of checking, taking temperatures on, Hey, if and when,
you know, we have to talk about something difficult, how do you want me to handle that?
(15:35):
You know, and asking for a little bit of permission on how, you know, having them help give you
the keys.
Some people will say, just hit me with it, you know, hit me with it and we'll talk it
through.
But their actions don't always completely align with that.
And then and then also I tend to try to make sure I'm aligning my clients with how I operate.
(15:59):
If it's somebody that wants to completely avoid things, that's not going to be the right
client fit for me.
And so, you know, I try to help make sure in that discovery process, we understand I'm
seeking the outside perspective or I'm seeking the things that are going to help make me
better.
And that's going to also be where I align with with the client work that I do is somebody
(16:24):
that knows that there's better, they just can't quite figure it out on their own.
And they just need to figure out someone that can help them sort through it.
Yeah, great advice.
So 20 years and family business, you know, culminating in president, how do you go from
entry level accountant to top of the rock?
How does that even happen?
You know, you're about it all the time, but not many people get to do it.
(16:47):
So what's the secret?
You know, what did you do to set yourself up for that success?
You know, I really didn't ever set, I didn't do it intentionally.
It was I'm a curious person.
I asked, I just happened to ask questions.
I was trying to learn different things.
I'm innately, I always think that there's a better way no matter what, even if it's
(17:08):
good, you know, let's, is there, can we make process improvements?
And so, you know, I'm curious by nature, I asked questions and then before I knew it,
I ended up being invited to meetings.
You know, I'm sure a big part of it was, you know, I was my dad's kid.
He owned the business.
So, you know, I will say that there were, there were advantages that I probably shared,
(17:30):
but we valued as a company, we valued curiosity and continuous improvement.
So I think that, that was one of the things that, that I did.
I listened and really tried to understand what the other person's perspective was.
Because you know, not a single person rolls out of bed in the morning saying, I can't
(17:51):
wait to go screw up somebody else's day.
And so I went into it assuming the best out of people and then trying to understand how
did we get here?
And then really I, I asked questions to learn, understand, and then even asked questions to
solve.
And, and anybody that worked with me would probably say that I didn't give many direct
(18:16):
orders really ever.
My 20 years that I was there, it was a lot more about asking the questions and trying
to collectively solve for a problem that we, that we all see, we all, all understand.
We just can't quite get to the, to the solution when we're on an island, but we can do it
together.
Yeah.
(18:36):
So what I'm hearing from you is that you understood that people had a lot of good experience
under people, stood people had very specific skills.
One, you want to learn from them.
So you asked the questions, but two, you trusted that they could at least help you towards
the right answer.
And that is, I mean, collaborative leadership, we all talk about it all the time, right?
(18:56):
You can go on LinkedIn, you can go, you can go Google it, there's a thousand articles
on it.
And it's easy to say, and maybe even write about it, you know, check to your team, I
built up, you write an article about it tomorrow.
But it is still really difficult to do, right?
Because to be a good leader, you're going to, there's, you know, you've got a little
bit of alpha in you, you have to be wanting, you know, you want to be able to take that
(19:18):
situation.
And then you set yourself up in a way that you are so open to people's ideas.
Like, you said you had advantages, but you had to use those advantages, right?
You could have just sat back in your laurels and said, oh, you know, I'll be fine.
My dad's got me sorted, but you didn't.
Stayed curious, you stayed asking the questions, you kept pushing the envelope, kept pushing
the boundaries.
You want to become president of people that don't want to work for you, right?
(19:40):
So how do we set ourselves up to be that collaborative leader?
How do we build the skills to make sure that we're truly listening, truly understanding
what people are saying and using that information to drive our decision?
You know, I think I was really lucky.
I had a gal that I worked with.
Technically she reported to me, but she was more of my mentor than anybody.
(20:04):
So I was really lucky to have that person that we could have outside of the meeting
preparation conversations.
And she was able to even push back on me on like, are you sure you want to handle it that
way?
And so we put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the meeting and then being in,
(20:25):
you know, facilitating the meeting with a purpose.
And then we really put a lot of energy into the follow up and follow through.
And you know, that was one of the things that so often it's easy to, it's easy to go to
a meeting and think that that's where it all happens.
But the prep work and the post work are really where, you know, you build the trust with
(20:48):
the team around you.
And because, you know, a lot of times I remember what I remember a lot of the people that I
was working with, they were almost like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we've heard this before.
Nobody's going to follow through on it.
And so I made it a pretty important thing that if we said we're going to do it, let's
make sure we do it.
Like, let's follow through on our commitments and let's make sure that happens.
(21:11):
And I think when you move in that direction and people see that what you say is what you
will do, your words and actions align, then they start to open up on bigger things and
really help instead of you having to create the assignments that need to happen, they
start bringing them.
(21:32):
And it's like, I think we need to try this.
And then that's where things start turning on their own.
Yeah.
I mean, follow through builds trust at the end of the day, right?
Like if people see that if you've got words and then you follow through the action, they
can trust in you, they can get behind you.
They can know they can come to you with something and we can implement it and move forward.
And that is important.
I mean, I think we all have a ton of ideas.
(21:54):
There's always things running around meetings.
But if we're not following through, those meetings become really just tick the box exercise
and nobody really cares about them.
You know, everybody gets a little disengaged from the business and that's when things really
start to struggle.
So that's really great advice.
You can listen to all you like, but if you're not following through after listening, then
(22:14):
why were you even listening in the first place?
Right.
Exactly.
And another thing is to be really to be calm under pressure or if somebody brings you
something that was a mistake, they didn't do it on purpose.
And if you, I remember there being times where people would come in my office, they were
(22:34):
scared to tell me something.
And I think one of the things I hope that I did my intention was always to just say,
okay, well, what's plan B or what's our solution?
And then, and I know that the first few times that happened, there was just a sense of relief
like, oh, good.
Well, that was a really scary thing to walk through those doors and have to say, you know,
(22:55):
I screwed up or this happened or whatever.
And you also have to build a sense of trust when things aren't going well, because then
there's not a fear of having to hide something.
And then it really just continues to build that foundation.
Yeah.
A failure in a business can really be a major crutch because then people are on their toes
(23:15):
all the time.
They feel like they're working.
You know, just gonna, like who knows when somebody's going to go off.
I can't do anything wrong where, you know, yeah, let's not mess up big time.
Like let's not create really big issues.
But if there is a problem, let's be proactive, let's talk about it, let's find the solution,
let's fix it.
It's so much better than how I made a mistake, maybe cover it up because I don't want to
(23:36):
be shot at that.
Right.
Right.
I think it's difficult to bring into a business though.
You know, you did it through actions.
You said, well, let me hear you out.
What's your solution?
How are we going to fix it?
And that's great.
But it's still a really tough culture to develop outside of just, you know, showing and living
the culture.
Is there anything else that you did to sort of instill that into people that, you know,
you're not going to get in trouble?
(23:58):
Maybe you will, but you're not, you're not like you're going to come in and tell me
a problem, I'm going to fire you and then I'm going to fix it.
Like we're going to work together, continue to be collaborative.
We're going to fix this.
What else did you do other than just pure action to like get people to understand like
this is the way we're going to operate.
This is the way we're going to solve problems together.
You know, I celebrated my failures.
(24:19):
You know, I think sometimes, you know, I try to kind of laugh about them when they're not,
if it was, if it was okay to do that, you know, kind of tease about myself or, you know,
make it okay.
Like, see this, this happens.
And then I, you know, I would say that just, just trying to be a human, you know, I got
(24:40):
to know them on a personal level.
I mean, I knew every single person's spouse, their kids, their grandkids, their pets, be,
you know, connecting with them on just a regular person level helps kind of build the, I don't
know, just builds a bridge that it's not, I'm just a normal person, you know, and, and
(25:03):
that was something that was, it wasn't always like that.
And so that was really important to me is to really be just the normal person.
I have, I had team members that would text me out of, you know, for, for whatever and
every reason.
And I think that those are, those are tiny little actions that go, go a long way because
(25:24):
we're, I mean, we were a pretty small, small group of people, you know, leaning into that,
that helps people understand.
It helps get to the point where you can lean on them when you, when you really need something
and then they know it's, it's, you know, it's mutual.
Yeah, relationships are important and people, you know, want to be seen.
They want to know that, you know, you care about them as real people, even if they're
(25:48):
just your employees.
So Molly, after 20 years, time for a change.
Yeah.
And so we don't have to get in why, but you did make a change and you, in the midst of
a second career, tell us about that and sort of what you're doing, you know, subsequent
to, to your 20 years with the family of us.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, really what I, what I've been doing is really taking my 20 years of experience
(26:12):
and I know that what I did there, there was, there was ton of value.
It was needed for us to stay, you know, to stay relevant as an organization.
And so, you know, I decided there's, there's plenty of other businesses that need that
kind of guidance, but they maybe don't, they don't need it on, on a full, you know, the
(26:33):
full, full capacity.
And so I, being able to go and connect with, with people where they're at, understand the
challenges.
I mean, I've, I've seen, I will not, I will never say I've seen it all, but I've seen,
I've seen a lot, you know, in 20 years in one, one organization and being able to bounce
around and, and learn the different challenges.
(26:54):
You know, I'm able to transfer some of that knowledge and skill set and just be another
set of eyes for the people that, that need that.
And they're maybe just thinking, you know, I don't know where to go for this type of
help.
We don't need, we don't have the budget for a full-time person or live in small town,
(27:14):
whichever small town, whatever states.
We don't have access to that type of team member.
And so to really just help bring larger experiences more broadly, that's, that's what I've been
doing.
I started in saying yes to about anything.
And you know, like when you're trying to find, find clients that need, need work, it's like,
(27:34):
I told myself, I'm just going to say yes and figure it out.
And then it's been almost, I mean, it's over two and a half years, almost three that I've
been, that I've been doing this and I've slowly been refining where my sweet spot is and the,
the things that I kind of connect the most with.
And of course there's always the clients and people on the fringe, on the fringe of that,
(27:57):
that it's also about connecting on the same mindset and leadership style and things like
that.
But I really kind of just working through the almost redoing the same 20 years, maybe
faster, because you look back and go, okay, and then we did this and then we tackled accounts
receivable because people aren't paying on according to their terms and that really helps
(28:20):
with cash flow.
And you kind of just first you have to find out what the actual problem is within an organization
and then kind of dust off some, some skill sets like, okay, this is how we'll handle
it and then work with them together.
So your title at the moment is Chief Sanity Officer.
Explain that.
It's, it's really, you know, business owners, a lot of times things fall on their shoulders
(28:42):
and, and they're feeling like, you know, not getting sleep.
Their business is they're, they've hit a crossroads of, of some sort and they're, they're just
driving themselves bonkers, but, but stuck, you know, stuck and not really knowing where
to turn.
And, and I think that that's where I've had plenty of sleepless nights like that.
(29:02):
I know, I know that feeling where you wake up at two in the morning and you just can't
stop the cycle of, of let, you know, the latest thing that you just can't solve knowing that
they need a sounding board, knowing that they need an outlet for trying on a different idea
for size.
And, and you can't always share that with your team members because when you're still in,
(29:24):
in ideation mode, you need a little bit of like, well, I can't, I can't go to my team
and say, I don't really know anything, but we're going to, we have to try something.
I mean, you can, but sometimes that can create more fear than, than it, than it helps.
And so, you know, being able, you know, being able to bring a sea level presence and, and
(29:44):
help them through some of the madness that, that they're facing alone and, and just be,
be someone that they can count on to help work through it.
I mean, you sit down with those business owners.
What is the first thing you sort of sit down and say, this is where we're going to start?
Like what is that?
What does the process look like?
Well, the first thing is, you know, a lot of times I'll ask them, do you have a starting
point if, you know, like if they have something they want to tackle, then, then, and they
(30:09):
just need an extra set of hands, then fine.
A lot of times they, they know their symptoms, but they don't know like the source of the
problem.
So a lot of times what we'll do is we'll, we'll just start looking through the financial
levels, start, you know, the balance sheet and the P and L both can tell a story.
And usually, you know, you start looking through that and kind of circle the big things that
(30:34):
look like they probably are problems.
And then, so I do that on my own at first and then schedule a meeting with them and just
kind of start asking some questions to understand, can you tell me about this?
And usually there's a little bit more to that story.
And so having to understand their particular things that are, that go on within their business.
And then over time, you have to take little bites at a time and, and really just kind
(30:59):
of try to pinpoint where the main, where's the main source of their angst.
You know, a lot of times it shows up in tight cash flow or, or tight profitability.
And they're usually pretty hand in hand, but you can be wildly profitable and not have
any cash.
It doesn't have to be, but it just depends on what symptoms they're experiencing.
(31:22):
And then you kind of just start, find, find the top two to three things that you can hit
a home run on.
And then that starts to build trust when you, when you solve a big problem, they hadn't
been able to put their finger on.
You find that a lot of business artists don't really understand where the anxiety is coming
from.
They sort of, they know it's there, but they don't know what the problem is.
Yeah.
All the time.
So that's, that's definitely the case.
(31:43):
And a lot of times what we find is they have a really solid controller who is really, really
good at making sure all the numbers tie out and all the T's are crossed and the eyes are
dotted, but that controller is very backward looking and they're missing someone to help
them look forward.
(32:03):
And so, you know, those are the ideal clients for me because I'm not really that I'm the
least accounting accountant that there, that there is out there.
You're right.
A lot of business owners don't have that.
Like, you know, put the pieces together.
Like this is my business.
This is my numbers.
They don't tie together in my head.
You know, your dad was a good example of it, right?
We'll just sell our way out of it.
(32:25):
Because what's in his head and what was on paper, maybe didn't align that well with each
other, but it's fine.
We just keep moving.
We keep moving.
And I guess, you know, that's a great little circle right there.
We're putting that in and saying this is what it is and now helping the business owners
do it as well.
Do you run into situations where a lot of these business owners will push back and they'll
be like, no, that can't be the problem?
(32:46):
Sometimes.
And then it's just a matter of, you know, if it's a hard, no, we're not going down that
path.
Then fine, but a lot of times I'll still kind of keep my eye on that and look for signs
to either prove or disprove my theory, so to speak.
And you know, I think that's one of the things that I think I'm pretty good at is not getting
(33:09):
married to a solution.
And it's like, if everything, if there's only one answer to every question, then you're
missing the flexibility to solve it in a different way.
And so if there's a hard, no, I'm not going to focus on that, then I'll usually go chase
something else.
And if it keeps, you know, if life keeps taking you back to that being the source of the problem,
(33:31):
then, you know, we can't ignore that either.
And I just have to figure out a better way to communicate it.
Do you find in the work that you do that you find a problem, but do you sort of pick up
sometimes that it's maybe a behavior or a belief that the owner has that's creating
that problem?
And how do you deal with those two actions?
You kind of have to have a yes is the answer and how I've dealt with it is a little bit
(33:53):
of a drip campaign.
You know, it's like, you're not going to solve it all in one conversation.
Like usually I'll start to just kind of float some of the observations and kind of take
some temperatures, see, see how much pushback.
And again, being really good at watching body language.
And if there's an agitation that comes in, then I'll kind of, you know, take a step back,
(34:15):
give some breathing room and come back at it, you know, a day, a week, a month, whatever
later.
But, you know, people have to be willing and able to hear the information almost always.
They actually do know it's the problem.
They're just really trying to find something else to blame.
Yeah, and those are the tough ones, right?
(34:36):
When people, they do know it, but they don't want to believe it and they're trying to find
another answer.
Like, I mean, one, it's totally inefficient, right?
It's just like, you know the answer.
And I've had that conversation with people like, you know what the problem is.
Can we just fix the problem?
You've come from a family business.
A lot of time it is.
It's a family member that you need to get rid of it.
And, you know, those things can be tough.
(34:57):
How do you help those people just push through those problems?
How do you help them see through it and understand that there can be a better way you can get
the pressure off of it?
I mean, I guess in extreme cases, we're like, hey, this, you may be pulling the plug is
the right answer yet.
Like, how do you, how do you have those, again, like I'm asking you a lot about having conversations
in the difficult ones, but this is a key one.
(35:18):
And what you're doing right now is how do you have these conversations with people to
help them get out of their own way, focus on the problem, not getting to the blame game
and just look towards a solution?
A lot of times I'll find that even offering a couple options for how to, how to act, you
know, like, well, we can do this, you know, we could consider doing this or this.
(35:41):
And then, and there's a little bit of, there's a little bit of ownership in, okay, I get
a pick one.
I get to be involved in the decision because a lot of times that is the scariest part is
letting go of the decision.
And then, and then they'll get to put a little bit of their spin on it.
It's very rarely one of, you know, this one or that one, it's kind of a blend.
(36:02):
But for them to be able to hear, okay, here's this, here's that.
And then let's also talk through what happens if we don't do anything.
And sometimes that if they're, if they're okay with whatever that outcome is, it's their
business.
You know, I can't, I can't care more than they do.
You know, but my role is to make sure that they understand this is an active conscious
(36:25):
decision that you're making to not act.
And the worst thing that can happen is X or, you know, or Y. And so just to kind of help
make sure that they know that this is a choice, even if no action is still a choice.
Yeah, that's going to always be, there's some tricky ones.
And I like the idea of coming back to going like, are you okay with the outcome?
(36:48):
If we don't do something?
And that's a good way to spin it because sometimes people like, I don't want to do it because
I don't want to change, but the outcome is you're going to continue to be stressed.
Like, you know, in the worst case scenario is like, Oh, you had a mini heart attack.
Like, do you want to do that again?
Like, are you okay with that happening again?
Like getting down to the real like, well, this is the outcome.
If we don't do it, this is the effect that could happen in your life and your business
(37:09):
on the people around you.
Sometimes, you know, that does a great advice on a way to just really push it through to
people like, we don't have to, but this is all will happen.
I think, yeah, that's great advice on people just to have those, just trick your conversation
with people who don't want to change even when they know they need to.
One of the hard things though is showing people how your advice and changes and their hard
work to implement those changes is actually having a real measurable effect.
(37:33):
And you obviously have a great example, like with your dad, not understanding numbers,
giving them some pictures.
How do you approach it with these business owners to show them the change to their business,
the change to the outcomes?
How do you help them, you know, tangibly feel those changes in their businesses?
You know, again, I think that you start building a bit of a report card and a lot of times,
(37:56):
it starts with one or two numbers that that's why they brought me in.
And then, you know, we just start a cadence of reporting here's where the numbers are
and then talking through what are the things that we're trying, that we're doing, that
we're whatever.
And eventually, those actions show up in the numbers.
(38:18):
Sometimes it's aggravating and agonizing that it's, you know, it takes a long time
to turn, you know, to turn a big ship, right?
So, you know, then instead of showing the results, showing, you know, something else
that's measurable that here are the actions that we're taking that we know will show up
in results later.
(38:39):
But you know, say for example, accounts receivable, if you have a giant past due balance that
you have bad processes in place, it's going to take a few, you're going to have to address
the old receivables, but also prevent new ones from getting in there.
So there's there's a couple different tracks that you need to focus on.
(39:01):
And so kind of helping walk the the owners through the process that's happening.
So they know that and trust that something is going on, even if they can't see it in
the numbers yet.
So keeping them in like a part of the conversation as much as they want to be.
And then if they say, just just do your thing.
(39:22):
Okay, that's fine.
But I always invite them to the conversations until they politely decide to step away.
Great.
Mani, what is your most satisfying part of your job as a Chief Sender?
So what is sort of what helps you get up in the morning and keep doing it?
I just love the aha moments.
And and it's, you know, I tend to be more of an educator by nature.
(39:47):
Like I'm a learner.
So I kind of maybe mistakenly, but I sometimes assume that that's what that helps other people.
If they know and understand why we do things or why things happen, then they're they're
better equipped for for for the future and making sure that things happen properly.
So but I love the, you know, once once I've kind of tackled something, wrestle it to the
(40:11):
ground and then and then presented the either the findings or the thoughts on it.
And like just seeing that, you know, the other person's eyes light up with like, oh, I, oh,
I get it.
And I just love that because then, you know, that's something I can never take that away
from them.
They own that knowledge and understanding now.
And, you know, I get to be a part of getting that into their their wheelhouse and now now
(40:36):
they can take that.
And usually where they take it is far better than I ever would have.
I would have gotten on my own for sure.
So it's like, it's just a starting, you know, a little seedling and then the people that
I'm working with, they make it grow.
That's what it's crazy.
That the moments of success and especially when the people figure it out themselves,
that is that is always a good feeling.
(40:57):
And I would do it help me keep going.
So that's a great way to do it.
Molly, as you're busy with this new career, what are your short term goals for yourself?
My shortest goals, I actually have, I have goals to try to create within my team.
So at Altos CXO, we're a team.
So up until this point, they've been fairly singular focused and we're fairly new as an
(41:19):
organization and I'm looking for ways to more of a drop in executive team.
Like right now I'm a drop in single.
But some of the, you know, like the smaller or startup community businesses, they probably,
they hit a plateau with their, with their, the people that helped get them off the ground.
(41:41):
But I think that we as Altos, if we banded some of our different people together, we
have, you know, HR, we have accounting, we have technology, marketing, you know, almost,
you know, you go to a restaurant, you get a mix and platter or you pick three or three
or whatever.
And I think that there's something there where we can create a drop in exec team that can
(42:03):
help get, get them off the plateau that they're on and get them to the next level.
So that's one of my kind of my 2025 thoughts.
It's really pretty, it's still in an embryo state.
Yeah, I think, I mean, small businesses sometimes need that, right?
They need, you know, four hours a month, maybe, to see a bow at two hours with the marketing
person.
And one person was just like, all about the strategic plan and just making sure they're
(42:25):
sick on goals, like, yeah, that'd be great.
Sometimes people can do it all at once, but that's the time you want to hear from different
voices, other people's different experiences.
That's a great goal.
And you could like with, you know, be able to pull it out and look at your website.
And, you know, I can see the structures, there's pieces there.
So I can see how that could be a great call to work towards.
(42:46):
Yeah, that's great.
Let's go a little bit backwards now again.
And I want to, you know, you went to this, you had this job for 20 years, this career
and you became a president and you sort of touched on it along the way, but you were
clearly a leader in the business.
What quality that you have, they were able to set you up to be a good leader, to be able
to grow in the business as much as you did.
(43:07):
Yeah.
I think some of the qualities that I have is I'm a lifelong learner, live and I love
a good life lesson.
And I think that there are lessons around every corner.
And so, you know, always seeking some sort of learning that can be applied in real life
and within an organization.
And so I do, I do a lot of reading, I do a lot of just observing.
(43:31):
And so I think that that is, that's one quality.
And then another one I'm competitive, like I like to win, I like to win.
Winning isn't quite it.
I like to prove that things can be done that seem impossible.
And it's a lot more competitive means it almost sounds like there's a winner and a loser,
(43:52):
but I'm a challenge seeker.
And so that's, that's, I think that's one of the qualities that it's like, if somebody
says it's impossible, it's like, move over, let's figure this out.
We can, you know, there's, that's not a, that's that dead end is, it's more of a U-turn than
a, than a dead end.
Yeah.
I like the term competitive, you know, it just means that you've got an eye on a prize.
(44:13):
Doesn't necessarily use a winner, but it does mean that you're hyper focused on that is
what the definition of success for me, my team, my organization is kind of B.
And I'm going to be competitive to the point that we're going to meet that vision that
I have in my head.
I think it's a great way to explain it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
As long as it's used for good, absolutely.
(44:34):
For sure.
Obviously, we can all get competitive and the negative, I can see that when I play board
games with my kids at the time.
But when you use it in the positive sense to drive the business forward, I think it's
a great way to explain, you know, better than the word driven, right?
Driven means so many things to so many different people.
So I like these competitive.
(44:55):
If I was a new leader coming in today and I've just been shoved into the position of leadership,
what advice would you have for me?
Go to where the people are, meet them, talk to them, try to do your best to understand
what their actual challenges are, and that might take more than a single conversation
for them to actually open up.
So form a connection and listen and observe and celebrate.
(45:21):
Celebrate what they bring to the table a lot more than anything that you might think
that you brought to the table.
Your job is to help bring out the best in others.
And so digging for their superpower is really what the magic of the Antica leader is.
That great advice, listen to people, understand their skillset and, you know, like you've
done in your career, use that information wisely and make use of people's strengths to
(45:46):
your advantage.
Yeah.
Pretty good advice.
Lots of good advice you shared with us today, but what's the best advice you've ever received?
There's two sides to every story.
And I think that that that served me very well because often there, you know, when there
was a, when there was something that wasn't quite right, you know, I made it.
I made it a point to understand what's the flip side of that.
(46:09):
And I did it, I did it consistently asking others, you know, tell me about this.
Can you help me understand?
And usually there, there was a genuine, you know, there was a genuine interest in trying
to do the right thing.
And then it just maybe needed a little bit of refining.
And so, but if you only listen to the first, the first person that got to you, then, then
(46:33):
it kind of creates, you know, a fear that I got a race to make sure that I tell my story
first and then that doesn't create a good, a good long-term team environment.
Yeah.
I love that advice.
It's also, you know, making sure that your opinion on a situation is balanced as well
because, you know, in most cases, there's a little bit of right on both sides, right?
(46:53):
And if you can bring those rights together, you're probably going to get a better outcome
than just listening to one side of the party.
Yep.
Exactly.
So, in the last three or four party conversations, I left to learn a little bit more about people,
just like who they are as people, you know, outside of the business space.
You've obviously shared family business, Iowa, small town, three daughters.
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your personal life?
(47:14):
So, that's, so we get a better understanding of Molly, the person is.
Sure.
Um, my, I'm really, really close with my family, my kids, my, even to my, my sister's side
of the family, we have a giant group Snapchat that our kids' friends even know about how
active it is because we're always sending just jokes, sometimes life lessons, sometimes
(47:38):
just funny, funny random things.
But, but we work really hard to stay connected and just have, have good laughs and actually
some, you know, good, I don't know, life lessons that, that can help us be better people.
No, that's not, that's not amazing.
I struggled to keep up with my family, what's up groups.
So, all power to you guys to pull up this Snapchat channel.
(48:00):
That's really incredible.
That's, that's really nice.
Molly, I appreciate your time on protea conversations.
We like to end with some rapid fire questions.
Okay.
So, I have five questions for you.
If you're ready, I will fire away.
Let them go.
What would your loss, if you were in death row, what would your loss meal be?
Big potato.
Straight up big potato?
Well, with butter and salt and pepper.
So, your loss meal, you can throw in whatever there is on.
(48:22):
Okay, well, probably, probably a steak then too.
Love it.
Do you prefer the mountains or the ocean?
Ocean in the winter and mountains in more of the fall type weather.
That's a great answer.
I love that answer.
What is the quality you appreciate in a good friend?
Just authenticity.
That's a good one.
Do you have a favorite book that you recommend to people?
Good to Great by Jim Collins.
(48:42):
My favorite.
Yeah, I love it when it comes out so quick.
Cause then it's not, that's real.
Yeah.
If you're stuck on a deserted island, you can bring on any three items you like.
What would they be?
Sunscreen, probably, two items.
A book, probably good to Great.
And I guess it would depend on, I'm assuming there's a good place to live and the real
answer should probably be water or something like that.
(49:04):
But assuming I could survive.
This is your made-up world.
It could be a five-store hotel and you're just, you're the only person there.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Sunscreen, a book and a beach towel.
Perfect, I love it.
Molly, thank you so much for your time.
I appreciate your time and your conversation.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
It's been a pleasure.
Good to see you.
And with that, we ended another pretty conversation.
(49:26):
Thank you for joining us in this journey of learning and inspiration.
Today we've gained insight from our guests and taken another step towards understanding
the diverse chemistry of leadership in business and accounting.
Remember, each conversation is a step towards the positive transformation of business leaders.
We hope our discussion has given you valuable takeaways to apply in your own career and
life.
(49:47):
Please subscribe to Prairie Conversations on YouTube and Spotify so you never miss an
episode.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts and experiences so connect with me on social media channels.
I'm most active on LinkedIn and I'd love you to join the conversation.
Join us next time for more engaging stories, advice and conversations that matter.
Until then, keep striving for excellence and grace and glory.
(50:08):
Thank you for listening.
Be kind and goodbye from Prairie Conversations.
Welcome to Proteon Conversations, the podcast where leadership in business and accounting
(00:09):
isn't just discussed, it's explored.
I'm your host, St. Stephens, and thank you for joining me as we delve into the minds of
some of the most influential leaders in the industry.
Our journey is one of discovery, from unraveling the unique stories that shaped our guest careers,
to invaluable advice that fueled their success.
We hereby provide you with a simple, actionable advice to accelerate your career and personal
growth.
Whether you're a budding professional or seasoned executive, these conversations are
(00:31):
designed to offer insight and perspectives that resonate with everyone.
So tune in, engage, and be inspired as we build better leaders together.
Welcome to Proteon Conversations.
Today we're thrilled to have Molly Varuncun, the Chief Sanity Officer, dedicated to helping
leaders break the cycle of redundancy and achieve remarkable business transformation.
Molly specializes in giving leaders the courage and tools to reimagine their strategies and
(00:56):
drive significant value in their business.
Join us as we dive into our Molly and PowerZero clients to see their challenges from a fresh
perspective, implement innovative solutions to create systems for sustainable growth.
Molly, thanks for joining Proteon Conversations.
Thank you.
Good to be here.
Yeah, it's interesting.
I always like to reminisce on how I met the various guests, and we were just the typical
(01:18):
like, hey, you're on LinkedIn.
I'm on LinkedIn.
Nice to meet you.
Let's have a conversation.
So you reached out to me and we had a couple of calls and we sort of stayed in contact.
I mean, it's going back quite a few years right now and it's not great to be able to
sit down and learn a little bit more about you and your career.
So thanks for making the time for me.
Yeah, yeah.
(01:39):
You know, I was thinking about the same thing and a lot of times our LinkedIn connections
are just digital.
And so it's always great to connect with someone more personally, even if it's through digital.
But let's have an actual conversation.
Yeah, and it also reminded me a little bit like I used to once in a while just put out
(01:59):
there, hey, if anybody just left a chat and connect in person, we should do it.
And those worked once in a while and then they sort of faded off from like, I missed
having those random conversations with people because at times, you know, you fall into
really great conversations and what ends up being, you know, interesting relationships,
you know, not close personal ones, but good enough professional ones that I always like
when I do see your name pop up like, ah, I know what he's busy with right now.
(02:23):
Yep.
That's right.
Well, let's get into it and sort of discuss, you know, your career.
And I always like to find out for people because accounting nowadays gets such a bad rap and
nobody wants to do it and nobody's trying to study it.
How did you make the decision to go into the world of accounting?
It's actually kind of a funny one.
So I actually went to business school pretty much because that was the major that required
(02:46):
the least amount of science and so I was not, that was what my main motivation was.
And then just kind of went in there with an open mind figured I'll just take some classes
and see what pops up.
And then I was sitting in a classroom.
I remember the hall, it was in Curtis Hall at, it was at Iowa State University and Jim
(03:06):
Kurtenbach was our professor and he just talked about, Iowa State is a big engineering school
and he would talk to all of us but the engineering majors, he said to all you con e majors out
there, so construction engineering, all you con e majors out there someday when you guys
own your own business, you're going to need to know this.
(03:27):
And that kind of caught my attention and I wasn't, I was not a con e major or any, anything
engineering, but I really kind of perked up and started listening to the things he had
to say and then it just kind of made sense.
So I understood, it became clear to me that accounting was the language of business and
I figured if I can learn this, then I can work my way into about anything.
(03:52):
So I went into accounting and didn't ever change my major after that.
What was your plan before that?
Like did you have some other like goal that you were after or you just sort of running
life and said, let's see what happens?
It was a little bit more like that.
Like college was the next step, but that was never, that was not negotiable.
It was just, I didn't, you know, I was the oldest in my family, so I didn't really know
(04:14):
much about what it meant to go away to college.
And so I just thought, I'm going to go figure out how to live away from my parents first
and then I'll figure out the college thing from there.
It's great.
So you got on the accounting bandwagon and all few went and you know, obviously created
a career for it.
Sort of what happened from there?
You got the degree, now you got to go be an accountant.
(04:34):
Yeah.
What happened?
So I decided to study for the CPA exam and then I actually got my first job.
It was in a public accounting firm and I was lucky enough that I started in the time where
we weren't as busy.
So in my off hours, when I wasn't working with client work, I was able to study for
(04:55):
the CPA exam at that point.
So I did end up passing that.
And so I worked at a public accounting firm and then moved to principal financial group
and worked in the investment accounting group there.
And in the meantime, my dad had said, it was right before I graduated from college.
And he said, you should come back and work for the family business.
(05:16):
And I said, what my official answer was, I think I need to get some other experience.
And what I really meant was, I don't want to live in small town Iowa.
I want to live in more of a college type town, a little bit larger.
And then along the way, I called him between the public accounting job and principal.
(05:38):
And I said, I think I'm ready, ready to come back.
And he said, shoot, I just hired somebody.
So we kind of had our dance.
And then finally, we connected and I came back and worked.
And that was actually when I started having kids.
So being near grandparents is a little more important.
And I came back and worked in our family's business and started as a low man on the totem
(06:01):
pole in the accounting team.
And just kind of happened to be curious enough to ask questions and try to learn more about
it.
It's a tractor parts company.
So I had zero interest in working there when I was in high school or anything.
But it really became a love of one of the loves of my life.
So I really spent a lot of years there.
(06:24):
I'm his right hand person and then actually ran the company as president for eight years.
Ultimately, I was just kind of hit a point where family dynamics in a family business
kind of got the, you know, just got the wheels turning on.
Is this where I want to spend the next 20 years?
And decided to take another another path along the way.
I mean, family business is always interesting, especially I can't imagine the tractor parts
(06:47):
business.
I think, you know, I'm trying to wreck my brain.
What would even go into that?
I mean, there's sales.
There's obviously some logistics.
There's everything that would go into any, I guess, any parts business.
So I shouldn't seem that weird.
It just, I guess, a little funny because it's the small time.
I'll work and hit the tractor parts.
So it feels like a little bit of a movie scene, right?
(07:08):
Yeah.
And, you know, we were, we were big enough.
We had about 120 employees and so we had multiple departments and but we were small
enough.
I got to wear a lot of different hats.
And so, you know, I started in accounting, but then I, you know, I was able to be a part
of sales and marketing and building a, you know, we didn't build our website, but we
built the thing associated with it.
(07:29):
And then the whole production flow of the parts and got to really just be a part of
every tiny little department of, of a small, of a small business.
So it was really fun.
A lot of, a lot of great experience.
So I would say a little bit bigger than small, but, you know, smaller than big, I guess.
Yeah.
And I think that's really interesting that, you know, you have a start at the bottom as
(07:50):
well.
I do like that concept, but your dad was like, no, no, no, no, no special treatment.
Just as an entry-level job.
Good luck.
Yep.
Exactly.
We kind of carried that through my daughters.
I have three daughters and all three of them worked there and we required all of them
to interview with someone that wasn't us.
And it was really pretty cute that every single one of them, they, they got very nervous just
(08:15):
like you should for an interview.
And I remember, I can't remember which one of, which one of my girls, but one of them
was like, I hope I get the job.
I'm like, I hope so too.
Don't mess this one up.
Right.
It should be a slab dunk.
So you just got to beat people.
Yeah.
You know, we tried to lean in on that, like, you know, so, but we made them practice and
(08:36):
really tried to help them learn some, some life skills.
Yep.
Because whether they decided to work at the family business with tractor parts someday
or not, that didn't matter.
Our job was to help prepare them for, for the future.
Yeah, that's great.
What is your dad's explanation to you when you first took on the job of this like, yes,
a low entry level job.
How did he expand it to you?
(08:57):
He didn't.
It was just, you know, because he was more, he was on the sales side of things.
So accounting was his last, really the last thing that he cared about.
And in fact, his, his mantra was, I just figure if you take care of the sales, the rest takes
care of itself.
And then I made it my 20 year mission to prove that that's not quite the case.
(09:19):
And you know, and so that's, that's part of what my role was, was to help kind of our
business started in 1978 when my grandpa was a mechanic.
And so we had to reinvent ourselves.
So I was there when we were in 30 year old business.
And so we'd, we'd picked up a lot of loyalty, a lot of long-term, long-term employees, a
(09:41):
lot of really good processes, but some of them have had gone a little bit stale.
And so part of my role was to help really look at it from an outsider's perspective.
And so I had to, I ended up having to tell my dad more like, Hey, have you thought about
this?
Or, you know, we really became sparring partners on, on how to take the business from mom and
(10:03):
pop shop to actual manufacturing organization.
Yeah.
And I think it's a good lesson for like business owners out there as well, like you hear that
all the time, right?
Hey, sales, we'll deal with it with sales.
So I'll sell myself out of the problem.
It'll be fine.
But if you don't look at other things, like, especially in the manufacturing price, like
costs can quickly scale up under your nose.
(10:24):
And you know, you used to getting 60, 70, 100% profit margins on your gross margin rivals.
And you're like, Oh, I'm down to 30%.
What happened?
Where did that money go?
Like it doesn't matter how much sale I sell right now.
There's not, you know, I can't cover my overheads and it's, you can't just ignore accounting.
You obviously, you don't want accounting to, you know, whack the dog or however the saying
(10:45):
is, right?
But it's important.
Like if you do want to make that step up, you got to know your numbers, you got to pay
attention to your numbers and you got to use those numbers in a very effective way
to run your business.
Yep.
Exactly.
And knowing I had to really adjust some of my delivery and communication because again,
my dad, he didn't care about it.
(11:05):
He cared about the end result, but a lot of the details in the middle, that wasn't, I
was just going to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher, you know?
And so I had to figure out how to present the information in a way that was easily digestible.
And I mean, he had a, he had a lot of things on his mind.
So I had to make it a quick impact.
(11:28):
And so I did a lot through visual charts and color coding and things like that that helped
make it a quick glance.
He knew what was going on.
And that's kind of, that's one of the things that I really, I still do to this day for
people that I work with is try to create quick visual experiences that help them demystify
(11:49):
what their numbers are telling them.
Because it's, the numbers are not that, they're not always that complicated, but they can
be overwhelming to, to, to people that aren't used to, you know, working through them.
So our job is to help, help simplify them so they, they understand what the numbers
are telling them.
Yeah, it's always interesting that, you know, it's communication is difficult to start with.
(12:13):
Then communicating a topic that you feel passionately about, like the numbers of a business, to a
person who's like, they're important, but I don't really want to hear about them.
You know, in times, maybe not your dad, but a lot of people are scared of the numbers,
right?
They don't want to know because they know there's truth in those numbers.
So if I don't, yeah, them see them, pay attention to them, well, then it's just as rosy as I
(12:34):
think it is, right?
It is a little bit difficult and trying to figure out how you communicate to people and,
you know, great using visual.
There's other people, like you put a colorful chart in front of them, they'll tell you
they're like, people, right?
Like, it's trying to figure out how do you constantly adapt to communication to the
person in front of you to make sure that they will actually pay attention and not give the,
(12:57):
you know, the Charlie Brown teacher, which I'm now going on wildly in the back of my
head.
I can just hear it as well.
So, I mean, how do you, how do you teach that?
How do you, how do you learn that skill to be able to adjust your message to the person
in front of you?
I mean, you really have to, you have to get good at observing things that are, you know,
body language and, and watching facial expressions, you know, when people start to slump back
(13:23):
in their, you know, in their chair, when you're talking, that's not a good sign or some, some
people get start to get a little more agitated and, and, but, but they'll also, if you hit
the right mark, you know, you have to try a few different things.
And when you hit the right mark, they sit up a little bit taller, their eyes get a little
bigger and then, and then the conversation actually happens.
(13:44):
So, you know, I've tried to figure out ways to shortcut that.
And sometimes asking people, how do you, how best do you learn?
How best, you know, how do you want to get information?
But not, that's not something everyone is as capable of articulating, you know, and
sometimes it's really just a matter of trial and error.
And once you see something that hits the mark, then do more of that.
(14:07):
Yeah.
And there's other people who just believe that can read the set of financials, right?
They're like, Oh, I took an accounting course once in high school when I was, you know,
sick with flu.
So I know how to read it, but they don't, you, it's, I think the skill there is picking
up that they don't really understand what you're saying.
You know, one, like, don't be arrogant enough that my way is the right way and you got it,
you got to adjust.
(14:28):
And also, I guess, you know, I guess there's some more lessons in there.
Like sometimes it can be difficult conversations.
How much harder can it be?
Like trying to tell your father, like, Hey, you need to pay attention because it might
not be as good as you think it is, is a really tough conversation.
And we get those scary clients, those scary bosses who, you know, you have to adjust the
conversation to it.
Is there any advice that you could give us from having these tough, difficult conversations
(14:52):
to your dad that we could take into some of our own scary conversations in life?
Sure.
You know, I think one of the things that I've really tried to do is even before the scary
conversations work on building a relationship, you know, a relationship that's built on trust
and you have to at least have a few wins in there in building that trust level so that
(15:14):
they know that when you have something to talk to them about, that trust is already
there.
So that foundation of trust is pretty important.
And then along the way, kind of checking, taking temperatures on, Hey, if and when,
you know, we have to talk about something difficult, how do you want me to handle that?
(15:35):
You know, and asking for a little bit of permission on how, you know, having them help give you
the keys.
Some people will say, just hit me with it, you know, hit me with it and we'll talk it
through.
But their actions don't always completely align with that.
And then and then also I tend to try to make sure I'm aligning my clients with how I operate.
(15:59):
If it's somebody that wants to completely avoid things, that's not going to be the right
client fit for me.
And so, you know, I try to help make sure in that discovery process, we understand I'm
seeking the outside perspective or I'm seeking the things that are going to help make me
better.
And that's going to also be where I align with with the client work that I do is somebody
(16:24):
that knows that there's better, they just can't quite figure it out on their own.
And they just need to figure out someone that can help them sort through it.
Yeah, great advice.
So 20 years and family business, you know, culminating in president, how do you go from
entry level accountant to top of the rock?
How does that even happen?
You know, you're about it all the time, but not many people get to do it.
(16:47):
So what's the secret?
You know, what did you do to set yourself up for that success?
You know, I really didn't ever set, I didn't do it intentionally.
It was I'm a curious person.
I asked, I just happened to ask questions.
I was trying to learn different things.
I'm innately, I always think that there's a better way no matter what, even if it's
(17:08):
good, you know, let's, is there, can we make process improvements?
And so, you know, I'm curious by nature, I asked questions and then before I knew it,
I ended up being invited to meetings.
You know, I'm sure a big part of it was, you know, I was my dad's kid.
He owned the business.
So, you know, I will say that there were, there were advantages that I probably shared,
(17:30):
but we valued as a company, we valued curiosity and continuous improvement.
So I think that, that was one of the things that, that I did.
I listened and really tried to understand what the other person's perspective was.
Because you know, not a single person rolls out of bed in the morning saying, I can't
(17:51):
wait to go screw up somebody else's day.
And so I went into it assuming the best out of people and then trying to understand how
did we get here?
And then really I, I asked questions to learn, understand, and then even asked questions to
solve.
And, and anybody that worked with me would probably say that I didn't give many direct
(18:16):
orders really ever.
My 20 years that I was there, it was a lot more about asking the questions and trying
to collectively solve for a problem that we, that we all see, we all, all understand.
We just can't quite get to the, to the solution when we're on an island, but we can do it
together.
Yeah.
(18:36):
So what I'm hearing from you is that you understood that people had a lot of good experience
under people, stood people had very specific skills.
One, you want to learn from them.
So you asked the questions, but two, you trusted that they could at least help you towards
the right answer.
And that is, I mean, collaborative leadership, we all talk about it all the time, right?
(18:56):
You can go on LinkedIn, you can go, you can go Google it, there's a thousand articles
on it.
And it's easy to say, and maybe even write about it, you know, check to your team, I
built up, you write an article about it tomorrow.
But it is still really difficult to do, right?
Because to be a good leader, you're going to, there's, you know, you've got a little
bit of alpha in you, you have to be wanting, you know, you want to be able to take that
(19:18):
situation.
And then you set yourself up in a way that you are so open to people's ideas.
Like, you said you had advantages, but you had to use those advantages, right?
You could have just sat back in your laurels and said, oh, you know, I'll be fine.
My dad's got me sorted, but you didn't.
Stayed curious, you stayed asking the questions, you kept pushing the envelope, kept pushing
the boundaries.
You want to become president of people that don't want to work for you, right?
(19:40):
So how do we set ourselves up to be that collaborative leader?
How do we build the skills to make sure that we're truly listening, truly understanding
what people are saying and using that information to drive our decision?
You know, I think I was really lucky.
I had a gal that I worked with.
Technically she reported to me, but she was more of my mentor than anybody.
(20:04):
So I was really lucky to have that person that we could have outside of the meeting
preparation conversations.
And she was able to even push back on me on like, are you sure you want to handle it that
way?
And so we put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the meeting and then being in,
(20:25):
you know, facilitating the meeting with a purpose.
And then we really put a lot of energy into the follow up and follow through.
And you know, that was one of the things that so often it's easy to, it's easy to go to
a meeting and think that that's where it all happens.
But the prep work and the post work are really where, you know, you build the trust with
(20:48):
the team around you.
And because, you know, a lot of times I remember what I remember a lot of the people that I
was working with, they were almost like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we've heard this before.
Nobody's going to follow through on it.
And so I made it a pretty important thing that if we said we're going to do it, let's
make sure we do it.
Like, let's follow through on our commitments and let's make sure that happens.
(21:11):
And I think when you move in that direction and people see that what you say is what you
will do, your words and actions align, then they start to open up on bigger things and
really help instead of you having to create the assignments that need to happen, they
start bringing them.
(21:32):
And it's like, I think we need to try this.
And then that's where things start turning on their own.
Yeah.
I mean, follow through builds trust at the end of the day, right?
Like if people see that if you've got words and then you follow through the action, they
can trust in you, they can get behind you.
They can know they can come to you with something and we can implement it and move forward.
And that is important.
I mean, I think we all have a ton of ideas.
(21:54):
There's always things running around meetings.
But if we're not following through, those meetings become really just tick the box exercise
and nobody really cares about them.
You know, everybody gets a little disengaged from the business and that's when things really
start to struggle.
So that's really great advice.
You can listen to all you like, but if you're not following through after listening, then
(22:14):
why were you even listening in the first place?
Right.
Exactly.
And another thing is to be really to be calm under pressure or if somebody brings you
something that was a mistake, they didn't do it on purpose.
And if you, I remember there being times where people would come in my office, they were
(22:34):
scared to tell me something.
And I think one of the things I hope that I did my intention was always to just say,
okay, well, what's plan B or what's our solution?
And then, and I know that the first few times that happened, there was just a sense of relief
like, oh, good.
Well, that was a really scary thing to walk through those doors and have to say, you know,
(22:55):
I screwed up or this happened or whatever.
And you also have to build a sense of trust when things aren't going well, because then
there's not a fear of having to hide something.
And then it really just continues to build that foundation.
Yeah.
A failure in a business can really be a major crutch because then people are on their toes
(23:15):
all the time.
They feel like they're working.
You know, just gonna, like who knows when somebody's going to go off.
I can't do anything wrong where, you know, yeah, let's not mess up big time.
Like let's not create really big issues.
But if there is a problem, let's be proactive, let's talk about it, let's find the solution,
let's fix it.
It's so much better than how I made a mistake, maybe cover it up because I don't want to
(23:36):
be shot at that.
Right.
Right.
I think it's difficult to bring into a business though.
You know, you did it through actions.
You said, well, let me hear you out.
What's your solution?
How are we going to fix it?
And that's great.
But it's still a really tough culture to develop outside of just, you know, showing and living
the culture.
Is there anything else that you did to sort of instill that into people that, you know,
you're not going to get in trouble?
(23:58):
Maybe you will, but you're not, you're not like you're going to come in and tell me
a problem, I'm going to fire you and then I'm going to fix it.
Like we're going to work together, continue to be collaborative.
We're going to fix this.
What else did you do other than just pure action to like get people to understand like
this is the way we're going to operate.
This is the way we're going to solve problems together.
You know, I celebrated my failures.
(24:19):
You know, I think sometimes, you know, I try to kind of laugh about them when they're not,
if it was, if it was okay to do that, you know, kind of tease about myself or, you know,
make it okay.
Like, see this, this happens.
And then I, you know, I would say that just, just trying to be a human, you know, I got
(24:40):
to know them on a personal level.
I mean, I knew every single person's spouse, their kids, their grandkids, their pets, be,
you know, connecting with them on just a regular person level helps kind of build the, I don't
know, just builds a bridge that it's not, I'm just a normal person, you know, and, and
(25:03):
that was something that was, it wasn't always like that.
And so that was really important to me is to really be just the normal person.
I have, I had team members that would text me out of, you know, for, for whatever and
every reason.
And I think that those are, those are tiny little actions that go, go a long way because
(25:24):
we're, I mean, we were a pretty small, small group of people, you know, leaning into that,
that helps people understand.
It helps get to the point where you can lean on them when you, when you really need something
and then they know it's, it's, you know, it's mutual.
Yeah, relationships are important and people, you know, want to be seen.
They want to know that, you know, you care about them as real people, even if they're
(25:48):
just your employees.
So Molly, after 20 years, time for a change.
Yeah.
And so we don't have to get in why, but you did make a change and you, in the midst of
a second career, tell us about that and sort of what you're doing, you know, subsequent
to, to your 20 years with the family of us.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, really what I, what I've been doing is really taking my 20 years of experience
(26:12):
and I know that what I did there, there was, there was ton of value.
It was needed for us to stay, you know, to stay relevant as an organization.
And so, you know, I decided there's, there's plenty of other businesses that need that
kind of guidance, but they maybe don't, they don't need it on, on a full, you know, the
(26:33):
full, full capacity.
And so I, being able to go and connect with, with people where they're at, understand the
challenges.
I mean, I've, I've seen, I will not, I will never say I've seen it all, but I've seen,
I've seen a lot, you know, in 20 years in one, one organization and being able to bounce
around and, and learn the different challenges.
(26:54):
You know, I'm able to transfer some of that knowledge and skill set and just be another
set of eyes for the people that, that need that.
And they're maybe just thinking, you know, I don't know where to go for this type of
help.
We don't need, we don't have the budget for a full-time person or live in small town,
(27:14):
whichever small town, whatever states.
We don't have access to that type of team member.
And so to really just help bring larger experiences more broadly, that's, that's what I've been
doing.
I started in saying yes to about anything.
And you know, like when you're trying to find, find clients that need, need work, it's like,
(27:34):
I told myself, I'm just going to say yes and figure it out.
And then it's been almost, I mean, it's over two and a half years, almost three that I've
been, that I've been doing this and I've slowly been refining where my sweet spot is and the,
the things that I kind of connect the most with.
And of course there's always the clients and people on the fringe, on the fringe of that,
(27:57):
that it's also about connecting on the same mindset and leadership style and things like
that.
But I really kind of just working through the almost redoing the same 20 years, maybe
faster, because you look back and go, okay, and then we did this and then we tackled accounts
receivable because people aren't paying on according to their terms and that really helps
(28:20):
with cash flow.
And you kind of just first you have to find out what the actual problem is within an organization
and then kind of dust off some, some skill sets like, okay, this is how we'll handle
it and then work with them together.
So your title at the moment is Chief Sanity Officer.
Explain that.
It's, it's really, you know, business owners, a lot of times things fall on their shoulders
(28:42):
and, and they're feeling like, you know, not getting sleep.
Their business is they're, they've hit a crossroads of, of some sort and they're, they're just
driving themselves bonkers, but, but stuck, you know, stuck and not really knowing where
to turn.
And, and I think that that's where I've had plenty of sleepless nights like that.
(29:02):
I know, I know that feeling where you wake up at two in the morning and you just can't
stop the cycle of, of let, you know, the latest thing that you just can't solve knowing that
they need a sounding board, knowing that they need an outlet for trying on a different idea
for size.
And, and you can't always share that with your team members because when you're still in,
(29:24):
in ideation mode, you need a little bit of like, well, I can't, I can't go to my team
and say, I don't really know anything, but we're going to, we have to try something.
I mean, you can, but sometimes that can create more fear than, than it, than it helps.
And so, you know, being able, you know, being able to bring a sea level presence and, and
(29:44):
help them through some of the madness that, that they're facing alone and, and just be,
be someone that they can count on to help work through it.
I mean, you sit down with those business owners.
What is the first thing you sort of sit down and say, this is where we're going to start?
Like what is that?
What does the process look like?
Well, the first thing is, you know, a lot of times I'll ask them, do you have a starting
point if, you know, like if they have something they want to tackle, then, then, and they
(30:09):
just need an extra set of hands, then fine.
A lot of times they, they know their symptoms, but they don't know like the source of the
problem.
So a lot of times what we'll do is we'll, we'll just start looking through the financial
levels, start, you know, the balance sheet and the P and L both can tell a story.
And usually, you know, you start looking through that and kind of circle the big things that
(30:34):
look like they probably are problems.
And then, so I do that on my own at first and then schedule a meeting with them and just
kind of start asking some questions to understand, can you tell me about this?
And usually there's a little bit more to that story.
And so having to understand their particular things that are, that go on within their business.
And then over time, you have to take little bites at a time and, and really just kind
(30:59):
of try to pinpoint where the main, where's the main source of their angst.
You know, a lot of times it shows up in tight cash flow or, or tight profitability.
And they're usually pretty hand in hand, but you can be wildly profitable and not have
any cash.
It doesn't have to be, but it just depends on what symptoms they're experiencing.
(31:22):
And then you kind of just start, find, find the top two to three things that you can hit
a home run on.
And then that starts to build trust when you, when you solve a big problem, they hadn't
been able to put their finger on.
You find that a lot of business artists don't really understand where the anxiety is coming
from.
They sort of, they know it's there, but they don't know what the problem is.
Yeah.
All the time.
So that's, that's definitely the case.
(31:43):
And a lot of times what we find is they have a really solid controller who is really, really
good at making sure all the numbers tie out and all the T's are crossed and the eyes are
dotted, but that controller is very backward looking and they're missing someone to help
them look forward.
(32:03):
And so, you know, those are the ideal clients for me because I'm not really that I'm the
least accounting accountant that there, that there is out there.
You're right.
A lot of business owners don't have that.
Like, you know, put the pieces together.
Like this is my business.
This is my numbers.
They don't tie together in my head.
You know, your dad was a good example of it, right?
We'll just sell our way out of it.
(32:25):
Because what's in his head and what was on paper, maybe didn't align that well with each
other, but it's fine.
We just keep moving.
We keep moving.
And I guess, you know, that's a great little circle right there.
We're putting that in and saying this is what it is and now helping the business owners
do it as well.
Do you run into situations where a lot of these business owners will push back and they'll
be like, no, that can't be the problem?
(32:46):
Sometimes.
And then it's just a matter of, you know, if it's a hard, no, we're not going down that
path.
Then fine, but a lot of times I'll still kind of keep my eye on that and look for signs
to either prove or disprove my theory, so to speak.
And you know, I think that's one of the things that I think I'm pretty good at is not getting
(33:09):
married to a solution.
And it's like, if everything, if there's only one answer to every question, then you're
missing the flexibility to solve it in a different way.
And so if there's a hard, no, I'm not going to focus on that, then I'll usually go chase
something else.
And if it keeps, you know, if life keeps taking you back to that being the source of the problem,
(33:31):
then, you know, we can't ignore that either.
And I just have to figure out a better way to communicate it.
Do you find in the work that you do that you find a problem, but do you sort of pick up
sometimes that it's maybe a behavior or a belief that the owner has that's creating
that problem?
And how do you deal with those two actions?
You kind of have to have a yes is the answer and how I've dealt with it is a little bit
(33:53):
of a drip campaign.
You know, it's like, you're not going to solve it all in one conversation.
Like usually I'll start to just kind of float some of the observations and kind of take
some temperatures, see, see how much pushback.
And again, being really good at watching body language.
And if there's an agitation that comes in, then I'll kind of, you know, take a step back,
(34:15):
give some breathing room and come back at it, you know, a day, a week, a month, whatever
later.
But, you know, people have to be willing and able to hear the information almost always.
They actually do know it's the problem.
They're just really trying to find something else to blame.
Yeah, and those are the tough ones, right?
(34:36):
When people, they do know it, but they don't want to believe it and they're trying to find
another answer.
Like, I mean, one, it's totally inefficient, right?
It's just like, you know the answer.
And I've had that conversation with people like, you know what the problem is.
Can we just fix the problem?
You've come from a family business.
A lot of time it is.
It's a family member that you need to get rid of it.
And, you know, those things can be tough.
(34:57):
How do you help those people just push through those problems?
How do you help them see through it and understand that there can be a better way you can get
the pressure off of it?
I mean, I guess in extreme cases, we're like, hey, this, you may be pulling the plug is
the right answer yet.
Like, how do you, how do you have those, again, like I'm asking you a lot about having conversations
in the difficult ones, but this is a key one.
(35:18):
And what you're doing right now is how do you have these conversations with people to
help them get out of their own way, focus on the problem, not getting to the blame game
and just look towards a solution?
A lot of times I'll find that even offering a couple options for how to, how to act, you
know, like, well, we can do this, you know, we could consider doing this or this.
(35:41):
And then, and there's a little bit of, there's a little bit of ownership in, okay, I get
a pick one.
I get to be involved in the decision because a lot of times that is the scariest part is
letting go of the decision.
And then, and then they'll get to put a little bit of their spin on it.
It's very rarely one of, you know, this one or that one, it's kind of a blend.
(36:02):
But for them to be able to hear, okay, here's this, here's that.
And then let's also talk through what happens if we don't do anything.
And sometimes that if they're, if they're okay with whatever that outcome is, it's their
business.
You know, I can't, I can't care more than they do.
You know, but my role is to make sure that they understand this is an active conscious
(36:25):
decision that you're making to not act.
And the worst thing that can happen is X or, you know, or Y. And so just to kind of help
make sure that they know that this is a choice, even if no action is still a choice.
Yeah, that's going to always be, there's some tricky ones.
And I like the idea of coming back to going like, are you okay with the outcome?
(36:48):
If we don't do something?
And that's a good way to spin it because sometimes people like, I don't want to do it because
I don't want to change, but the outcome is you're going to continue to be stressed.
Like, you know, in the worst case scenario is like, Oh, you had a mini heart attack.
Like, do you want to do that again?
Like, are you okay with that happening again?
Like getting down to the real like, well, this is the outcome.
If we don't do it, this is the effect that could happen in your life and your business
(37:09):
on the people around you.
Sometimes, you know, that does a great advice on a way to just really push it through to
people like, we don't have to, but this is all will happen.
I think, yeah, that's great advice on people just to have those, just trick your conversation
with people who don't want to change even when they know they need to.
One of the hard things though is showing people how your advice and changes and their hard
work to implement those changes is actually having a real measurable effect.
(37:33):
And you obviously have a great example, like with your dad, not understanding numbers,
giving them some pictures.
How do you approach it with these business owners to show them the change to their business,
the change to the outcomes?
How do you help them, you know, tangibly feel those changes in their businesses?
You know, again, I think that you start building a bit of a report card and a lot of times,
(37:56):
it starts with one or two numbers that that's why they brought me in.
And then, you know, we just start a cadence of reporting here's where the numbers are
and then talking through what are the things that we're trying, that we're doing, that
we're whatever.
And eventually, those actions show up in the numbers.
(38:18):
Sometimes it's aggravating and agonizing that it's, you know, it takes a long time
to turn, you know, to turn a big ship, right?
So, you know, then instead of showing the results, showing, you know, something else
that's measurable that here are the actions that we're taking that we know will show up
in results later.
(38:39):
But you know, say for example, accounts receivable, if you have a giant past due balance that
you have bad processes in place, it's going to take a few, you're going to have to address
the old receivables, but also prevent new ones from getting in there.
So there's there's a couple different tracks that you need to focus on.
(39:01):
And so kind of helping walk the the owners through the process that's happening.
So they know that and trust that something is going on, even if they can't see it in
the numbers yet.
So keeping them in like a part of the conversation as much as they want to be.
And then if they say, just just do your thing.
(39:22):
Okay, that's fine.
But I always invite them to the conversations until they politely decide to step away.
Great.
Mani, what is your most satisfying part of your job as a Chief Sender?
So what is sort of what helps you get up in the morning and keep doing it?
I just love the aha moments.
And and it's, you know, I tend to be more of an educator by nature.
(39:47):
Like I'm a learner.
So I kind of maybe mistakenly, but I sometimes assume that that's what that helps other people.
If they know and understand why we do things or why things happen, then they're they're
better equipped for for for the future and making sure that things happen properly.
So but I love the, you know, once once I've kind of tackled something, wrestle it to the
(40:11):
ground and then and then presented the either the findings or the thoughts on it.
And like just seeing that, you know, the other person's eyes light up with like, oh, I, oh,
I get it.
And I just love that because then, you know, that's something I can never take that away
from them.
They own that knowledge and understanding now.
And, you know, I get to be a part of getting that into their their wheelhouse and now now
(40:36):
they can take that.
And usually where they take it is far better than I ever would have.
I would have gotten on my own for sure.
So it's like, it's just a starting, you know, a little seedling and then the people that
I'm working with, they make it grow.
That's what it's crazy.
That the moments of success and especially when the people figure it out themselves,
that is that is always a good feeling.
(40:57):
And I would do it help me keep going.
So that's a great way to do it.
Molly, as you're busy with this new career, what are your short term goals for yourself?
My shortest goals, I actually have, I have goals to try to create within my team.
So at Altos CXO, we're a team.
So up until this point, they've been fairly singular focused and we're fairly new as an
(41:19):
organization and I'm looking for ways to more of a drop in executive team.
Like right now I'm a drop in single.
But some of the, you know, like the smaller or startup community businesses, they probably,
they hit a plateau with their, with their, the people that helped get them off the ground.
(41:41):
But I think that we as Altos, if we banded some of our different people together, we
have, you know, HR, we have accounting, we have technology, marketing, you know, almost,
you know, you go to a restaurant, you get a mix and platter or you pick three or three
or whatever.
And I think that there's something there where we can create a drop in exec team that can
(42:03):
help get, get them off the plateau that they're on and get them to the next level.
So that's one of my kind of my 2025 thoughts.
It's really pretty, it's still in an embryo state.
Yeah, I think, I mean, small businesses sometimes need that, right?
They need, you know, four hours a month, maybe, to see a bow at two hours with the marketing
person.
And one person was just like, all about the strategic plan and just making sure they're
(42:25):
sick on goals, like, yeah, that'd be great.
Sometimes people can do it all at once, but that's the time you want to hear from different
voices, other people's different experiences.
That's a great goal.
And you could like with, you know, be able to pull it out and look at your website.
And, you know, I can see the structures, there's pieces there.
So I can see how that could be a great call to work towards.
(42:46):
Yeah, that's great.
Let's go a little bit backwards now again.
And I want to, you know, you went to this, you had this job for 20 years, this career
and you became a president and you sort of touched on it along the way, but you were
clearly a leader in the business.
What quality that you have, they were able to set you up to be a good leader, to be able
to grow in the business as much as you did.
(43:07):
Yeah.
I think some of the qualities that I have is I'm a lifelong learner, live and I love
a good life lesson.
And I think that there are lessons around every corner.
And so, you know, always seeking some sort of learning that can be applied in real life
and within an organization.
And so I do, I do a lot of reading, I do a lot of just observing.
(43:31):
And so I think that that is, that's one quality.
And then another one I'm competitive, like I like to win, I like to win.
Winning isn't quite it.
I like to prove that things can be done that seem impossible.
And it's a lot more competitive means it almost sounds like there's a winner and a loser,
(43:52):
but I'm a challenge seeker.
And so that's, that's, I think that's one of the qualities that it's like, if somebody
says it's impossible, it's like, move over, let's figure this out.
We can, you know, there's, that's not a, that's that dead end is, it's more of a U-turn than
a, than a dead end.
Yeah.
I like the term competitive, you know, it just means that you've got an eye on a prize.
(44:13):
Doesn't necessarily use a winner, but it does mean that you're hyper focused on that is
what the definition of success for me, my team, my organization is kind of B.
And I'm going to be competitive to the point that we're going to meet that vision that
I have in my head.
I think it's a great way to explain it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
As long as it's used for good, absolutely.
(44:34):
For sure.
Obviously, we can all get competitive and the negative, I can see that when I play board
games with my kids at the time.
But when you use it in the positive sense to drive the business forward, I think it's
a great way to explain, you know, better than the word driven, right?
Driven means so many things to so many different people.
So I like these competitive.
(44:55):
If I was a new leader coming in today and I've just been shoved into the position of leadership,
what advice would you have for me?
Go to where the people are, meet them, talk to them, try to do your best to understand
what their actual challenges are, and that might take more than a single conversation
for them to actually open up.
So form a connection and listen and observe and celebrate.
(45:21):
Celebrate what they bring to the table a lot more than anything that you might think
that you brought to the table.
Your job is to help bring out the best in others.
And so digging for their superpower is really what the magic of the Antica leader is.
That great advice, listen to people, understand their skillset and, you know, like you've
done in your career, use that information wisely and make use of people's strengths to
(45:46):
your advantage.
Yeah.
Pretty good advice.
Lots of good advice you shared with us today, but what's the best advice you've ever received?
There's two sides to every story.
And I think that that that served me very well because often there, you know, when there
was a, when there was something that wasn't quite right, you know, I made it.
I made it a point to understand what's the flip side of that.
(46:09):
And I did it, I did it consistently asking others, you know, tell me about this.
Can you help me understand?
And usually there, there was a genuine, you know, there was a genuine interest in trying
to do the right thing.
And then it just maybe needed a little bit of refining.
And so, but if you only listen to the first, the first person that got to you, then, then
(46:33):
it kind of creates, you know, a fear that I got a race to make sure that I tell my story
first and then that doesn't create a good, a good long-term team environment.
Yeah.
I love that advice.
It's also, you know, making sure that your opinion on a situation is balanced as well
because, you know, in most cases, there's a little bit of right on both sides, right?
(46:53):
And if you can bring those rights together, you're probably going to get a better outcome
than just listening to one side of the party.
Yep.
Exactly.
So, in the last three or four party conversations, I left to learn a little bit more about people,
just like who they are as people, you know, outside of the business space.
You've obviously shared family business, Iowa, small town, three daughters.
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your personal life?
(47:14):
So, that's, so we get a better understanding of Molly, the person is.
Sure.
Um, my, I'm really, really close with my family, my kids, my, even to my, my sister's side
of the family, we have a giant group Snapchat that our kids' friends even know about how
active it is because we're always sending just jokes, sometimes life lessons, sometimes
(47:38):
just funny, funny random things.
But, but we work really hard to stay connected and just have, have good laughs and actually
some, you know, good, I don't know, life lessons that, that can help us be better people.
No, that's not, that's not amazing.
I struggled to keep up with my family, what's up groups.
So, all power to you guys to pull up this Snapchat channel.
(48:00):
That's really incredible.
That's, that's really nice.
Molly, I appreciate your time on protea conversations.
We like to end with some rapid fire questions.
Okay.
So, I have five questions for you.
If you're ready, I will fire away.
Let them go.
What would your loss, if you were in death row, what would your loss meal be?
Big potato.
Straight up big potato?
Well, with butter and salt and pepper.
So, your loss meal, you can throw in whatever there is on.
(48:22):
Okay, well, probably, probably a steak then too.
Love it.
Do you prefer the mountains or the ocean?
Ocean in the winter and mountains in more of the fall type weather.
That's a great answer.
I love that answer.
What is the quality you appreciate in a good friend?
Just authenticity.
That's a good one.
Do you have a favorite book that you recommend to people?
Good to Great by Jim Collins.
(48:42):
My favorite.
Yeah, I love it when it comes out so quick.
Cause then it's not, that's real.
Yeah.
If you're stuck on a deserted island, you can bring on any three items you like.
What would they be?
Sunscreen, probably, two items.
A book, probably good to Great.
And I guess it would depend on, I'm assuming there's a good place to live and the real
answer should probably be water or something like that.
(49:04):
But assuming I could survive.
This is your made-up world.
It could be a five-store hotel and you're just, you're the only person there.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Sunscreen, a book and a beach towel.
Perfect, I love it.
Molly, thank you so much for your time.
I appreciate your time and your conversation.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
It's been a pleasure.
Good to see you.
And with that, we ended another pretty conversation.
(49:26):
Thank you for joining us in this journey of learning and inspiration.
Today we've gained insight from our guests and taken another step towards understanding
the diverse chemistry of leadership in business and accounting.
Remember, each conversation is a step towards the positive transformation of business leaders.
We hope our discussion has given you valuable takeaways to apply in your own career and
life.
(49:47):
Please subscribe to Prairie Conversations on YouTube and Spotify so you never miss an
episode.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts and experiences so connect with me on social media channels.
I'm most active on LinkedIn and I'd love you to join the conversation.
Join us next time for more engaging stories, advice and conversations that matter.
Until then, keep striving for excellence and grace and glory.
(50:08):
Thank you for listening.
Be kind and goodbye from Prairie Conversations.
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