December 8, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode, Ron talks with entrepreneur and Vistage chair Jim Bramlett about the mindset shifts modern leaders need—moving from command-and-control to coaching, embracing vulnerability, and leaning on peer support instead of leading alone. Jim shares lessons from seven startups, emphasizing the importance of being coachable, hiring for culture over skill, and listening across generations to build trust and accountability. They also explore key ideas from Jim’s book Stop the Hassle, revealing how companies win by delivering convenience, transparent pricing, great user experience, and trust while removing friction the way Amazon, Netflix, and Uber do. The conversation closes with practical guidance on staying curious about AI, borrowing ideas from peers, and starting small to create compounding improvements.
• leading across generations with balance and empathy
• shifting from authority to a coaching mindset
• listening more to build trust and buy-in
• learning from failure and staying coachable
• building a peer circle and finding mentors
• hiring for culture fit and coachability before skills
• avoiding the top-performer to manager promotion trap
• designing customer-centric cultures that measure what buyers value
• delivering convenience, transparent pricing, great experience and trust
• using curiosity to explore AI alongside peers
We ask that you let someone else know about the show. And if you know someone that may be a great guest, send them an email to tell them to get in touch with us.
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Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to Unpack Podcast with your host,
Leadership Consultant, RonHarvey of Global Core Strategies
and Consulting.
Ron believes that leadership isthe fundamental driver towards
making a difference.
So now, to find out more of whatit means to unpack leadership,
here's your host, Ron Harvey.
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Good morning, everyone.
This is Ron Harvey.
I'm the Chief Operating Officerand the Vice President for
Global Core Strategies andConsulting, which is a
leadership firm, which is um wespend all of our time helping
leaders be better connected totheir workforce at the end of
the day.
Once you get to the level ofleadership, it's not about your
technical abilities or how goodyou were at doing that thing.
And a lot of leaders strugglethere.
(00:41):
We spend all of our time helpingleaders figure out how to make
the transition, to take bettercare of their people and let
their people do what they'rereally good at.
I wish I was as good as I was atsomething when I was younger.
Reality, that's not the best useof my energy.
So we spend all of our timehelping leaders do that.
But we're not here really totalk about what Global Core
does.
What we're really here to is tolet our guests share some wisdom
and some insight and some funand some lessons learned.
(01:03):
And so I'm super excited to haveJim joining with us.
And always, if you follow us,always give the microphone to
our guests and allow them tointroduce themselves in any way
that they feel and share whatthey want to share before we get
into you know a richconversation for about 20
minutes.
So, Jim, I'm gonna hand the micover to you, man, and step out
your way and let you introduceyourself however you wish or
share what you want, a book, ashow, or whatever you're doing.
(01:24):
You know, introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
Thanks, Ron.
I appreciate that.
And it's a pleasure to beunpacked.
Uh my name's Jim Bramlett.
Um, I grew up in the Midwest.
Uh someone say I'm a little bitof a serial entrepreneur.
I've uh started seven companiesover my uh career, uh, four of
them for myself, made some justawful uh mistakes, and but I
(01:52):
learned from those.
And it all led to me writing twobooks um uh from the lessons I
learned and from observing someof the most successful companies
out there like Amazon, Netflix,and Uber.
But I'm very passionate aboutwhat you're passionate about,
and that's leaders.
Being a leader is hard, it'sjust flat out heart.
(02:15):
And so three years ago, I becamea chair for Vistich, and it's a
CEO peer advisory group.
And my passion is helpingleaders succeed.
Um, and uh because I justbelieve in in their passion and
and and want to see that theyput all this effort in and you
(02:37):
know benefit and especiallybenefit their employees and
their community, um, becauseit's it's a very hard journey,
as I've uh come to know.
My book is called Stop, mylatest book is called Stop the
Hassle.
It's all about uh people,process, and product, and I
really focus a lot on theproduct being very, very
(03:00):
important and what buyers arelooking for uh from any company.
And so I just kind of I wrotethat out, uh, in inserted some
culture, and uh I I like topromote that because I think uh
well if a seller truly knows thebuyer psychology and can match
(03:22):
that up, they're they're moreapt to find success than uh
making it all about themselves,which which I see too all too
often as well.
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
Yeah, Jim.
I mean, I I mean you're ofcourse, you know, so you looked
at the podcast and and you knowthat's kind of where we want to
spend time is.
You let me unpack a little bitwhere you're oftentimes in
leadership roles, it is verydifficult.
Have you seen it over the years,starting seven businesses,
writing two books, you know, andyou know, chairing, you know,
vintage, which is a phenomenalgroup for you that don't know
(03:52):
it, go out and Google it, lookit up.
It's a phenomenal CEO peergroup.
But but have you seen leadershipchange?
Uh and the reason I ask that,I'm a veteran.
There was a command and controlin uniform, um, even in
organizations.
And it and for me, I had toadjust over the years because it
got away from command andcontrol.
Just say it and people do it.
That's not reality.
What are the changes you'venoticed in leadership over the
(04:14):
years?
SPEAKER_00 (04:15):
No, the change I've seen recently is now good
leaders have to managemulti-generational workforces.
And you know, I'm a boomer, andI joked about this that I grew
up in the carrot and the stickera.
I don't remember much about thecarrot.
I do remember the stick.
Um, but I don't think that workstoday for all generations.
(04:38):
I think the younger generationis looking for much more of a
work-life balance, and and and Idon't blame them, but it it
takes a different acumen uh andskill set, I believe, to manage
across those multi-generations.
And most importantly, leadershipis a skill set.
And and I and I talk about this,and you know this probably more
(05:00):
than anybody.
I don't believe there's verymany schools that teach
leadership, they teach you adiscipline, a skill.
It's the military academies,right?
Or being in the military.
That's they're all aboutteaching leadership.
But so many leaders get intotheir position because they know
(05:22):
a certain discipline or a skill.
And and and yet, well, how areyou at motivating, inspiring,
and dealing with the mostimportant part?
People, because you're in apeople business no matter what
you do.
That that's the real challenge,I think.
SPEAKER_02 (05:39):
Yeah, I mean, so for you, I mean, you're a boomer and
you're looking at thosegenerations.
What do you tell someone thatthat's a boomer like you to get
better at or stop doing becauseit's a struggle?
I mean, you built this company,you've been around, you have a
legacy, and don't they know whoI am mentality?
What do you tell leaders thatthat are like you and I that
have been there, done it, andlife has changed right in front
(05:59):
of us?
Can you hear me?
SPEAKER_00 (06:10):
I can.
You know, the one concept in ourworld is change.
So, you know, how you did fiveyears ago, how you did that
what's really uh notable intoday's world is chaos.
Something's gonna get in theway, be it be it COVID, now be
(06:33):
it tariffs, um you know, be itnot having enough qualified
people, there's always going tobe some form of chaos that I
that I believe you know a leaderhas to deal with uh in today's
world.
It's it's just the fact.
(06:54):
And and it may not have beenthat way back when I started
out.
It was, I think, maybe more, youknow, you kind of knew the
journey, and but boy, chaos uhwears its ugly head in today's
world all too often.
And it and a leader has to dealwith that.
SPEAKER_02 (07:10):
Yeah, I I love that you're going there too.
Um when you think about it, Jim,as we look at chaos is
everywhere, it's constantlychanging, a lot of pressure on
leaders.
How do leaders, you know, whatare some characteristics of
leaders that do well um whenleading through chaos?
What are some of the things thatthat you think are super
important to lead effectivelydoing chaos?
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
I think uh here's one thing I emphasize uh to the
leaders I work with.
Uh I believe the very bestleaders are or need to be
coaches, but they've never beentrained on being coach.
And and the skills of a coachare being able to ask the
appropriate questions, you know,talk 20% of the time, listen 80%
(08:07):
of the time versus what youmight consider uh most leaders
doing, which is 10 of the timeand and listening 20.
So when you can engage and andget your buy-in from those on
your team, uh you're gonna dobetter than if you stand alone
and and try and make all thedecisions yourself and uh and
(08:29):
and go forward that way.
It takes a team and being ableto coach and engage your people,
I think, is one of the mostimportant traits of a leader
today.
SPEAKER_02 (08:38):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Have you have you noticed overtime, Jim?
What's one of the things that,you know, once you're in a
leadership role to make yourselfapproachable and accessible, how
do you get there?
Because oftentimes you thinklike you can't be, you know, I
was taught, you know, don't letthem see you sweat, don't let
them see the other human side ofyou, always be very stoic.
That's changed.
But how do you help get to thisplace where you still can hold
(08:58):
people accountable, but youdon't have to be mean, you don't
have to be this person thatthat's not approachable.
I've seen a challenge oftentimesis leading while also being a
human being and beingapproachable.
SPEAKER_00 (09:09):
Well, one of the things I ask uh of my vista
members is is come to everymeeting being vulnerable.
If you if you show that youdon't know it all, that you need
help, guess what?
People are gonna lean in,they're gonna want to help
educate you, and they're gonnawant to help you.
That's our human nature, is wewant to help.
(09:31):
But if you don't express thatyou need that help or show that
you need that help, so uh I Iknow it sounds maybe uh hard to
think about, but when you'revulnerable with your team,
they're gonna want to help you.
It's not a sign of weakness.
And and so uh I I think being alittle bit vulnerable, admitting
(09:55):
that you need help, you want,you want input, you want their
ideas, it's just creates atighter team, and and and those
leaders who can do that uh areare likely to be more successful
than those who can't.
SPEAKER_02 (10:09):
Yeah, let's unpack that for a while because it is
it is a change.
How do you get there though?
I mean, because oftentimesyou'll talk, you like you almost
have to have all the answers,but when you get promoted,
you're getting promoted becauseof your skill, you're getting
promoted because of what youknow, you're getting promoted
because of what you used to do,and we expect for you to take
this team.
So there's this this unwrittenexpectation of you're supposed
(10:29):
to know everything, and and andit's dangerous to be vulnerable.
How did you make the shift?
SPEAKER_00 (10:35):
Um I think I and I tell people this.
Look, I've way long time ago, Ihad a mentor who said, Before
you can succeed, you must fail.
Otherwise, you don't know whatsuccess really is.
Well, I took it to heart and Idid fail.
And it's very humbling.
(10:57):
Um, and and I give a lot ofcredit to those who do fail, but
they get back up on that horseand say, you know what, I
learned, I learned a lesson, I'mgonna apply it now, and and I'm
gonna go forward.
And I think that's what happenedto me.
Um, you know, one of the and youknow, this common
(11:21):
characteristics of any leader isI believe they're lifelong
learners, and and they the bestleaders constantly want to
learn.
They want to open their ears,they want to open their brains,
and they want input uh fromother people and learn.
And that that takesvulnerability and uh you know,
get back up on that horse, learnyour lessons the hard way if
it's got to be the hard way, andget back up on that horse and
(11:44):
ride that that horse again.
SPEAKER_02 (11:46):
Yes, yes.
I want to tap into thank you forsharing.
I want to tap into something yousaid when you first started
explaining how to get throughthat failure.
You mentioned the word mentor.
What role, you know, for all thepeople that are listening, you
know, how important was it foryou to have a mentor?
And how did you you how do youpick one?
SPEAKER_00 (12:04):
That's a great question.
You know, and I I reflect backnow.
I don't think I picked a mentor.
I had somebody kind of justreach out and want to help.
And um I don't know why.
Um, I I wish I'd been smartenough to say, you know what, I
do need a mentor and I'm gonnago find somebody.
(12:28):
Um, but I didn't.
I just got lucky, I think, andhad somebody, maybe they liked
me, but but and they've been anexperienced business leader, an
entrepreneur, and he just kindof leaned in and every now and
then would say, Hey, mind if Iyou know share something with
you.
No, go ahead.
(12:49):
And and those those wise wordswere always uh beneficial
because once you've been downthat track and you learn and
you're willing to share, um itit it's invaluable.
Uh about four years ago, I raninto that, and you may know this
(13:09):
when the African proverb thatsays, if you want to go fast, go
alone, if you want to go far, gotogether.
And man, when I read that fouryears ago, I go, Amen.
That is so important.
And and when I started withvistage, I I I was telling
(13:30):
people, you don't you may notrealize this, but all of you
parents have become part of peergroups.
Because when you have when youhave your first child, the
hospital doesn't send you annualthing you need to do over the
next 20 years.
So what do you do?
You well, you you might youmight go to your parents and get
(13:52):
a little advice, but youprobably go, Well, they're a
whole different generation, theycan't relate, they don't live
with me.
And so what you do, you bondwith others like entrusted
people, which are probablyparents, and say, Man, I'm
having this issue.
Oh, well, I had that issue too,and here's what I did.
Oh, good advice.
(14:12):
And and so we naturally ashumans, we we tend to stick to
to peers or or like-mindedothers.
And and so if you do it as a innormal everyday life, say as a
parent or otherwise, why don'tyou do that in business?
It's it's not a sign of weaknessof you working with others to
(14:36):
get advice, get guidance.
It's gonna help you.
And people love giving that kindof advice and guidance.
SPEAKER_02 (14:44):
Yeah, I I love that you go in there.
Um, and here's why.
Oftentimes we have a lot ofbusiness owners that listen to
the show, and and there's thisfear of, you know, I can't let
everybody know what I'm doing,or I can't share information.
It's almost like this, I gottaprotect my turf or my territory
and and intellectual property,which means they don't
collaborate and they don't shareas much, and they're very
(15:05):
protective of everything thatthey're doing.
And with AI today, I mean, it'syeah, I mean, what's what's
what's real like what can youprotect with AI today?
So, with that being said, haveyou seen a shift in how
important is it to collaboratewith other people that may do
something similar to what you'redoing, sometimes even identical,
just so you can learn from themand be in a room and not feel
threatened by them.
(15:26):
How do you how do you get there?
Because a lot of business ownersare threatened by people that do
what they do.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Yeah, uh great point.
Um I do I do exactly what yousaid on AI, and and I joke, I
say, Hey, everybody see thisgray hair?
I was around in 1995 when thisthing called the World Wide Web
came out.
And I know people back then whosaid, Oh, it's a fad, it's never
(15:50):
gonna last, you know, I'm notgonna put any energy into it.
Well, you can't be that way withAI.
Now, I can't tell you how youshould think about and deploy AI
in your organization, but I haveto encourage you to be curious.
(16:12):
And by you talking to yourpeers, you're might you're
you're probably going to getsome ideas.
Oh, Charlie's doing that.
Hmm.
I need to, I need to think aboutthat.
And and that is what you need.
You need to have an open mind,you need to be curious, you need
to ask others what they'redoing, what they're thinking,
(16:35):
and then go out and and startresearching and applying it for
your situation.
But that's some how you get someof the best ideas by talking to
others and and and being openlike that.
And I I Ron, I think that AI isan outstanding example of that
because everybody gets inundatedwith AI, this, AI, that, and a
(16:58):
lot of them don't even knowwhere to start.
Okay, well, talk to your peers.
Where did they start?
What are they doing?
That might stimulate an ideathat you want to then go run
with.
SPEAKER_02 (17:10):
Yeah, I love that you keep bringing up the the
peer.
I mean, you know, and that's avista's model as well, is having
a circle of peers that continueto help you stay, you know,
ahead and advance and what'sgoing on.
What what you started sevenbusinesses.
What's the you know, as you'vedone it, um I'm sure you've had
your your lessons learned um tohelp you.
(17:31):
What's what's the probably thethe one thing that you you wish
you didn't have to go through,but it taught you the most
valuable lesson?
SPEAKER_00 (17:38):
Well, yeah, I I I joked.
I started my first business whenI was in college, and it was not
well thought out, it was dumb,it and it failed miserably.
Learned a lesson, startedanother one five years ago.
It was all about me, notcustomers, failed miserably.
(18:00):
And I tell people I my my firstreal business was in 1999.
I raised some venture capital.
This was back in the dot-com uhhysteria, and I all of a sudden
I had a board of directors whoare our investors, never had a
board of directors before, and Iwas the visionary, I had never
(18:23):
been a leader like that.
And I've got, you know,ultimately 40 people and 40
families.
This that's a big burden, right?
And and now I've got this board,and and the one thing I learned
quickly is you don't take allyour issues to the board because
then they're gonna say, Well, wejust don't have that right
person in the chair, we're gonnahave to find the right person.
(18:47):
And I reflect back and I go,Well, I couldn't take my
challenges to my team becausesome of those challenge was
about the team, and I hadnowhere to turn, and my wife
didn't want to hear about it,and it it became very lonely.
Um I'm on upstairs, 365, 24-7.
(19:11):
I'm thinking, and it just it wastough, it was really tough, and
now that I reflect back, I go,man, I wish I had actively gone
after mentors or peers orsomebody who could help me
because I I had not been in thatposition before, and and um I
(19:33):
made a ton of mistakes, a ton ofmistakes.
And I and I I look back now andgo, you know, had I had the
right um knowledge base to tapinto, maybe I wouldn't have made
all those mistakes.
And and it wasn't the board thatwas the knowledge base.
Yeah, they're smart people, butagain, I felt reserved.
(19:54):
I didn't want to share that.
Man, I'm challenged here becauseI I like my job.
I wanted to stay there.
And and so that's the biggestlesson I think that if I reflect
back on, man, set yourself up ifyou're in a situation where you
really haven't been there beforeand and you don't know all of
(20:14):
the avenues available to you, goget help, get help.
You know, with peers, mentors,coaches, whatever it is, go get
help.
I wish I had done that.
It would have probably turnedout a little differently.
SPEAKER_02 (20:29):
Yeah, I mean, thank you.
I mean, valuable information.
You know, um, how do you get tothat place of being vulnerable,
um, asking for help?
What was it?
How important it was it for youto be, once you ask for the
help, to be coachable?
Because oftentimes you maypeople want to help you, but
sometimes you're not even readyto receive the feedback, you're
not coachable, and you got toanswer for everything that they
say to you, you have a response.
And sometimes you just don'thave a response.
(20:51):
You just don't know.
And and being able to say that,how important is it for me as a
leader to be coachable?
SPEAKER_00 (20:58):
Extremely um I I believe there are people who uh
want the best and they're likelyto be culchable, and then there
are people who want the most andthey're not as coachable.
(21:18):
Um I'm a big believer that noteverybody is culchable, and and
so you know, when you're one ofthe things I tell my my leaders
is probably the most importantthing you do as a leader is hire
others.
You're in the get it rightbusiness and put put the skill
(21:40):
set in the background, focus onthe culture.
Are they going to be a good fitin your organization?
Are they going to um match theculture that you have fostered?
And are they coachable?
Because if they come in and theyknow it all and they don't think
(22:02):
they need any help, uh probablynot going to end well.
And when you hire badly, it'sexpensive and it's painful.
And in a lot of my I talk aboutthis example all the time.
One of the one of the bigmistakes I've made it in my
life, and I've seen it happen,is you take your very best
salesperson, and when there's anopening for sales leadership,
(22:25):
oh, you've generated the mostnumbers.
Congratulations, you're nowsales manager.
Well, that doesn't mean theyknow how to inspire and motivate
other salespeople to to bringout their best, it just means
they were able to close moredeals.
And and and so I think peoplemake that mistake uh about you
(22:48):
know promoting and hiring.
And I I have become a hugeculture guy that says start with
culture and then find the findthe skill set uh after the after
you've sure that they'll they'llmatch the culture that you're
fostering at your organization.
SPEAKER_02 (23:09):
Yeah, I mean, and and you know, I love the
language that you're saying.
It's how do you get there?
You know, what build theculture, you know, of where
people want to be a part of it.
They want it, they see yourvision and your dream, and and
can you get out of the way tolet them help you achieve it?
Oftentimes, I think we we seeit, and then when people begin
to help us, you know, we want tojump in in the driver's seat
again.
You know, I tell them, no, letthem drive the vehicle.
(23:30):
It's okay.
You know, you got guardrails upin processes and procedures to
keep your organization safe, butstop grabbing the steering
wheel, let someone else drive.
It's so important in yourorganization.
People want to help you besuccessful.
I want to go to your book as weuse our time here.
You know, stop the hassle.
You know, uh, you have a bookout and stop the hassle.
Can you speak more to what doyou want people to walk away
(23:51):
that are interested in this nowand reading the book?
And share a little bit theinside the insider scoop of what
do you want us to walk awaywith?
SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
Stop the hassle, is uh the the hassle is I both you
and I are buyers, everybodylistening, we buy things, okay?
So there's a psychology to usbuyers, and and it's this we we
really are looking for fourthings, four major categories.
We're looking for convenience,price, but it doesn't
necessarily be the lowest price,but we definitely like pricing
(24:23):
transparency.
I don't like the fine print andthe add-ons and and the
surprises.
I want a great user experience.
I want to be treated like I'mthe only customer, even though I
know I'm not.
I want to be treated specially,I want quick answers to my
question.
And then I want to trust.
I want to trust that I'm goingto get A, what I'm perceiving to
(24:44):
buy, or B what you'readvertising or promoting.
And I want all four of those.
And unfortunately, mostcompanies have some sort of
trade-off.
Well, I'm going to give you agreat price, but that user
experience, uh, you know, itisn't going to be great.
Or I'm going to make it veryconvenient for you, but you're
(25:05):
going to have to pay, you know,a premium.
And in my book, I reflect onAmazon, Netflix, and Uber, who I
think provide all four.
They provide convenience, savingtime, effort, simple, easy, uh,
competitive pricing that'stransparent, an awesome user
experience, and and they haveyou know easy returns,
(25:27):
guarantees, warranties,testimonials, all the things
that are involved in being ableto trust.
And when you can hip on allfour, it doesn't leave a buyer
an excuse to shop elsewhere.
But far too many companies say,well, if I'm going to do this,
I'm going to trade off that.
They're not going to get youknow easy returns because I'm
(25:47):
giving them such a great priceup front.
And then we have an excuse to goelsewhere.
So it's it's a hard equation tohit on all four, but hitting on
as many as you can um will willdeliver the value, and because
that's what we value, uh tobuyers.
And then I then translate thaton the second half of the book.
(26:10):
I do talk about culture.
I but I'm very big in acustomer-centric culture.
I believe in constant research.
What are the customers saying?
What are your prospects?
Why aren't they buying from you?
Big on innovation, how do youcontinuously innovate to keep
competitors uh at bay andmeasuring you know, KPIs?
(26:32):
I joke, but I, you know, I'vebeen in a lot of businesses, and
and in over 40 years, anybody Iever worked for, we never
started a meeting.
Hey, we're going to talk abouthow many customers we gained and
why, and we're going to talkabout how many customers we lost
and why.
It always every meeting startedwith let's talk about our
revenue and let's talk about ourbudget and let's talk about our
(26:53):
costs and our IT project.
Me, me, me, me, me.
Well, you know, Amazon's, Ithink, one of the best ones.
It was all about the customer.
And I I love Jeff Bezos.
And when he was uh he was aclown back in the uh late 90s,
he was vilified by Wall Streetbecause he kept burning cash,
(27:14):
but he was steadfast.
This is not about us, it's aboutgiving the customer what they
want.
He won.
He won.
And that's that's what I preachin my book.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
Yes, I love it.
I mean, and so those of you thatare listening, I mean, you you
know what Jim just walkedthrough, four things that are
super important, and and it'sone of the things that that will
be the differentiator foranybody, regardless of what
business you're in, whether it'sservice or product or
commodities, whatever yourbusiness.
I can tell you, I go back to thedays of when you when you go to
buy a car, you know, you know,one thing you don't get is
(27:48):
convenience.
You're gonna have a pricing, andthey don't give you the best
price up front.
The experience depends on yourcredit score, and you don't have
a lot of trust.
You always feel like you'regonna go into a car dealership
and they're gonna take advantageof you.
And that doesn't mean that'sreality, but that's most
people's experience purchasingvehicles, so you get frustrated
at purchasing a vehicle.
So if you're listening to this,what Jim just shared, those are
(28:09):
four things that that actuallymatter to every single customer,
regardless of what they'rebuying.
If you can do that, you'reguaranteed to be successful.
SPEAKER_00 (28:18):
Yep, and all you got to do is is evaluate your
competitors, be more convenientthan them, price competitively
with them, give a betterexperience than them, and and be
more trustworthy than them, andyou will get the customers.
You don't have a world standardfor convenience and and
experience, gauge it off yourcompetitors.
(28:41):
It's it's like the MiamiDolphins are are concerned about
their next opponent and whatthey do well and how to beat
that next opponent.
Every business needs to payattention to their competitors,
be more convenient, pricecompetitively, give a better
experience and be moretrustworthy, and you will win
business.
That's what it's about.
SPEAKER_02 (29:01):
I love it.
I love it.
So, two two questions as webegin to wrap up.
Um, one is where can they findyour book?
And then how do they get back intouch with you if they want to
have a conversation with yououtside of this podcast?
SPEAKER_00 (29:12):
Yeah, certainly.
Uh, you can buy my book onAmazon, you can buy my book at
jimbramlett.com.
Um, and I've got two books, butuh that last one is stop the
hassle.
And then I'm very active onLinkedIn, or you can reach out
to me by going to my website,jimbramlett.com.
SPEAKER_02 (29:31):
Awesome, awesome.
Jim, phenomenal.
Thank you for coming on, youknow, and the work that you're
doing.
And if you don't know aboutVistach, you know, uh, we'll
probably bring Jim back on andhe'll be able to explain to you.
But it's a phenomenal group thatyou you really want if you're
going to be successful.
It's almost like having your ownyour own board of advisors, if
you will, if you go to Vista.
So it's a phenomenal group.
So and we all got to havecircles that help us grow.
(29:52):
Um, for all you that arelistening, thank y'all for
joining us.
Jim and I have enjoyed the timeto share with you some some
behind the scenes unpackingthings with you about what's
making Us successful, um, whatwere our struggles?
What were our mistakes?
We ask that you uh let someoneelse know about the show.
And if you know someone that maybe a great guest, send them an
email to tell them to get intouch with us.
We'd love to have guests um toshare with our community about
(30:12):
making them better.
This is all about professionaldevelopment and helping people
get better.
This is our way of giving backto our entire community.
Um, Jim, any any pardon words,any last-minute thoughts you
want to share with anyone?
SPEAKER_00 (30:23):
Yes, Ron, thank you for what you do because leaders
need help, and you're out heretrying to help them and guide
them.
So, thank you for what you do.
Leaders, don't go it alone.
Get help somehow.
Mentors, coaches, peers, gethelp.
(30:44):
It'll help you in the long term.
SPEAKER_02 (30:46):
Yes, yes.
Thank you, Jim.
It's been awesome for everyonewith you.
Thank you for joining us.
Until next time, Jim and I willbe signing off, and we look
forward to you joining us againon another show.
SPEAKER_01 (30:57):
Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpack
Podcast with leadershipconsultant Ron Harvey.
Remember to join us every Mondayas Ron Unpacks Sound Advice,
providing real answers for realleadership challenges.
Until next time, remember to addvalue and make a difference
where you are or the people youserve.
(31:19):
Because people always matter.
Welcome to Unpack Podcast with your host,
Leadership Consultant, RonHarvey of Global Core Strategies
and Consulting.
Ron believes that leadership isthe fundamental driver towards
making a difference.
So now, to find out more of whatit means to unpack leadership,
here's your host, Ron Harvey.
SPEAKER_02 (00:20):
Good morning, everyone.
This is Ron Harvey.
I'm the Chief Operating Officerand the Vice President for
Global Core Strategies andConsulting, which is a
leadership firm, which is um wespend all of our time helping
leaders be better connected totheir workforce at the end of
the day.
Once you get to the level ofleadership, it's not about your
technical abilities or how goodyou were at doing that thing.
And a lot of leaders strugglethere.
(00:41):
We spend all of our time helpingleaders figure out how to make
the transition, to take bettercare of their people and let
their people do what they'rereally good at.
I wish I was as good as I was atsomething when I was younger.
Reality, that's not the best useof my energy.
So we spend all of our timehelping leaders do that.
But we're not here really totalk about what Global Core
does.
What we're really here to is tolet our guests share some wisdom
and some insight and some funand some lessons learned.
(01:03):
And so I'm super excited to haveJim joining with us.
And always, if you follow us,always give the microphone to
our guests and allow them tointroduce themselves in any way
that they feel and share whatthey want to share before we get
into you know a richconversation for about 20
minutes.
So, Jim, I'm gonna hand the micover to you, man, and step out
your way and let you introduceyourself however you wish or
share what you want, a book, ashow, or whatever you're doing.
(01:24):
You know, introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
Thanks, Ron.
I appreciate that.
And it's a pleasure to beunpacked.
Uh my name's Jim Bramlett.
Um, I grew up in the Midwest.
Uh someone say I'm a little bitof a serial entrepreneur.
I've uh started seven companiesover my uh career, uh, four of
them for myself, made some justawful uh mistakes, and but I
(01:52):
learned from those.
And it all led to me writing twobooks um uh from the lessons I
learned and from observing someof the most successful companies
out there like Amazon, Netflix,and Uber.
But I'm very passionate aboutwhat you're passionate about,
and that's leaders.
Being a leader is hard, it'sjust flat out heart.
(02:15):
And so three years ago, I becamea chair for Vistich, and it's a
CEO peer advisory group.
And my passion is helpingleaders succeed.
Um, and uh because I justbelieve in in their passion and
and and want to see that theyput all this effort in and you
(02:37):
know benefit and especiallybenefit their employees and
their community, um, becauseit's it's a very hard journey,
as I've uh come to know.
My book is called Stop, mylatest book is called Stop the
Hassle.
It's all about uh people,process, and product, and I
really focus a lot on theproduct being very, very
(03:00):
important and what buyers arelooking for uh from any company.
And so I just kind of I wrotethat out, uh, in inserted some
culture, and uh I I like topromote that because I think uh
well if a seller truly knows thebuyer psychology and can match
(03:22):
that up, they're they're moreapt to find success than uh
making it all about themselves,which which I see too all too
often as well.
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
Yeah, Jim.
I mean, I I mean you're ofcourse, you know, so you looked
at the podcast and and you knowthat's kind of where we want to
spend time is.
You let me unpack a little bitwhere you're oftentimes in
leadership roles, it is verydifficult.
Have you seen it over the years,starting seven businesses,
writing two books, you know, andyou know, chairing, you know,
vintage, which is a phenomenalgroup for you that don't know
(03:52):
it, go out and Google it, lookit up.
It's a phenomenal CEO peergroup.
But but have you seen leadershipchange?
Uh and the reason I ask that,I'm a veteran.
There was a command and controlin uniform, um, even in
organizations.
And it and for me, I had toadjust over the years because it
got away from command andcontrol.
Just say it and people do it.
That's not reality.
What are the changes you'venoticed in leadership over the
(04:14):
years?
SPEAKER_00 (04:15):
No, the change I've seen recently is now good
leaders have to managemulti-generational workforces.
And you know, I'm a boomer, andI joked about this that I grew
up in the carrot and the stickera.
I don't remember much about thecarrot.
I do remember the stick.
Um, but I don't think that workstoday for all generations.
(04:38):
I think the younger generationis looking for much more of a
work-life balance, and and and Idon't blame them, but it it
takes a different acumen uh andskill set, I believe, to manage
across those multi-generations.
And most importantly, leadershipis a skill set.
And and I and I talk about this,and you know this probably more
(05:00):
than anybody.
I don't believe there's verymany schools that teach
leadership, they teach you adiscipline, a skill.
It's the military academies,right?
Or being in the military.
That's they're all aboutteaching leadership.
But so many leaders get intotheir position because they know
(05:22):
a certain discipline or a skill.
And and and yet, well, how areyou at motivating, inspiring,
and dealing with the mostimportant part?
People, because you're in apeople business no matter what
you do.
That that's the real challenge,I think.
SPEAKER_02 (05:39):
Yeah, I mean, so for you, I mean, you're a boomer and
you're looking at thosegenerations.
What do you tell someone thatthat's a boomer like you to get
better at or stop doing becauseit's a struggle?
I mean, you built this company,you've been around, you have a
legacy, and don't they know whoI am mentality?
What do you tell leaders thatthat are like you and I that
have been there, done it, andlife has changed right in front
(05:59):
of us?
Can you hear me?
SPEAKER_00 (06:10):
I can.
You know, the one concept in ourworld is change.
So, you know, how you did fiveyears ago, how you did that
what's really uh notable intoday's world is chaos.
Something's gonna get in theway, be it be it COVID, now be
(06:33):
it tariffs, um you know, be itnot having enough qualified
people, there's always going tobe some form of chaos that I
that I believe you know a leaderhas to deal with uh in today's
world.
It's it's just the fact.
(06:54):
And and it may not have beenthat way back when I started
out.
It was, I think, maybe more, youknow, you kind of knew the
journey, and but boy, chaos uhwears its ugly head in today's
world all too often.
And it and a leader has to dealwith that.
SPEAKER_02 (07:10):
Yeah, I I love that you're going there too.
Um when you think about it, Jim,as we look at chaos is
everywhere, it's constantlychanging, a lot of pressure on
leaders.
How do leaders, you know, whatare some characteristics of
leaders that do well um whenleading through chaos?
What are some of the things thatthat you think are super
important to lead effectivelydoing chaos?
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
I think uh here's one thing I emphasize uh to the
leaders I work with.
Uh I believe the very bestleaders are or need to be
coaches, but they've never beentrained on being coach.
And and the skills of a coachare being able to ask the
appropriate questions, you know,talk 20% of the time, listen 80%
(08:07):
of the time versus what youmight consider uh most leaders
doing, which is 10 of the timeand and listening 20.
So when you can engage and andget your buy-in from those on
your team, uh you're gonna dobetter than if you stand alone
and and try and make all thedecisions yourself and uh and
(08:29):
and go forward that way.
It takes a team and being ableto coach and engage your people,
I think, is one of the mostimportant traits of a leader
today.
SPEAKER_02 (08:38):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Have you have you noticed overtime, Jim?
What's one of the things that,you know, once you're in a
leadership role to make yourselfapproachable and accessible, how
do you get there?
Because oftentimes you thinklike you can't be, you know, I
was taught, you know, don't letthem see you sweat, don't let
them see the other human side ofyou, always be very stoic.
That's changed.
But how do you help get to thisplace where you still can hold
(08:58):
people accountable, but youdon't have to be mean, you don't
have to be this person thatthat's not approachable.
I've seen a challenge oftentimesis leading while also being a
human being and beingapproachable.
SPEAKER_00 (09:09):
Well, one of the things I ask uh of my vista
members is is come to everymeeting being vulnerable.
If you if you show that youdon't know it all, that you need
help, guess what?
People are gonna lean in,they're gonna want to help
educate you, and they're gonnawant to help you.
That's our human nature, is wewant to help.
(09:31):
But if you don't express thatyou need that help or show that
you need that help, so uh I Iknow it sounds maybe uh hard to
think about, but when you'revulnerable with your team,
they're gonna want to help you.
It's not a sign of weakness.
And and so uh I I think being alittle bit vulnerable, admitting
(09:55):
that you need help, you want,you want input, you want their
ideas, it's just creates atighter team, and and and those
leaders who can do that uh areare likely to be more successful
than those who can't.
SPEAKER_02 (10:09):
Yeah, let's unpack that for a while because it is
it is a change.
How do you get there though?
I mean, because oftentimesyou'll talk, you like you almost
have to have all the answers,but when you get promoted,
you're getting promoted becauseof your skill, you're getting
promoted because of what youknow, you're getting promoted
because of what you used to do,and we expect for you to take
this team.
So there's this this unwrittenexpectation of you're supposed
(10:29):
to know everything, and and andit's dangerous to be vulnerable.
How did you make the shift?
SPEAKER_00 (10:35):
Um I think I and I tell people this.
Look, I've way long time ago, Ihad a mentor who said, Before
you can succeed, you must fail.
Otherwise, you don't know whatsuccess really is.
Well, I took it to heart and Idid fail.
And it's very humbling.
(10:57):
Um, and and I give a lot ofcredit to those who do fail, but
they get back up on that horseand say, you know what, I
learned, I learned a lesson, I'mgonna apply it now, and and I'm
gonna go forward.
And I think that's what happenedto me.
Um, you know, one of the and youknow, this common
(11:21):
characteristics of any leader isI believe they're lifelong
learners, and and they the bestleaders constantly want to
learn.
They want to open their ears,they want to open their brains,
and they want input uh fromother people and learn.
And that that takesvulnerability and uh you know,
get back up on that horse, learnyour lessons the hard way if
it's got to be the hard way, andget back up on that horse and
(11:44):
ride that that horse again.
SPEAKER_02 (11:46):
Yes, yes.
I want to tap into thank you forsharing.
I want to tap into something yousaid when you first started
explaining how to get throughthat failure.
You mentioned the word mentor.
What role, you know, for all thepeople that are listening, you
know, how important was it foryou to have a mentor?
And how did you you how do youpick one?
SPEAKER_00 (12:04):
That's a great question.
You know, and I I reflect backnow.
I don't think I picked a mentor.
I had somebody kind of justreach out and want to help.
And um I don't know why.
Um, I I wish I'd been smartenough to say, you know what, I
do need a mentor and I'm gonnago find somebody.
(12:28):
Um, but I didn't.
I just got lucky, I think, andhad somebody, maybe they liked
me, but but and they've been anexperienced business leader, an
entrepreneur, and he just kindof leaned in and every now and
then would say, Hey, mind if Iyou know share something with
you.
No, go ahead.
(12:49):
And and those those wise wordswere always uh beneficial
because once you've been downthat track and you learn and
you're willing to share, um itit it's invaluable.
Uh about four years ago, I raninto that, and you may know this
(13:09):
when the African proverb thatsays, if you want to go fast, go
alone, if you want to go far, gotogether.
And man, when I read that fouryears ago, I go, Amen.
That is so important.
And and when I started withvistage, I I I was telling
(13:30):
people, you don't you may notrealize this, but all of you
parents have become part of peergroups.
Because when you have when youhave your first child, the
hospital doesn't send you annualthing you need to do over the
next 20 years.
So what do you do?
You well, you you might youmight go to your parents and get
(13:52):
a little advice, but youprobably go, Well, they're a
whole different generation, theycan't relate, they don't live
with me.
And so what you do, you bondwith others like entrusted
people, which are probablyparents, and say, Man, I'm
having this issue.
Oh, well, I had that issue too,and here's what I did.
Oh, good advice.
(14:12):
And and so we naturally ashumans, we we tend to stick to
to peers or or like-mindedothers.
And and so if you do it as a innormal everyday life, say as a
parent or otherwise, why don'tyou do that in business?
It's it's not a sign of weaknessof you working with others to
(14:36):
get advice, get guidance.
It's gonna help you.
And people love giving that kindof advice and guidance.
SPEAKER_02 (14:44):
Yeah, I I love that you go in there.
Um, and here's why.
Oftentimes we have a lot ofbusiness owners that listen to
the show, and and there's thisfear of, you know, I can't let
everybody know what I'm doing,or I can't share information.
It's almost like this, I gottaprotect my turf or my territory
and and intellectual property,which means they don't
collaborate and they don't shareas much, and they're very
(15:05):
protective of everything thatthey're doing.
And with AI today, I mean, it'syeah, I mean, what's what's
what's real like what can youprotect with AI today?
So, with that being said, haveyou seen a shift in how
important is it to collaboratewith other people that may do
something similar to what you'redoing, sometimes even identical,
just so you can learn from themand be in a room and not feel
threatened by them.
(15:26):
How do you how do you get there?
Because a lot of business ownersare threatened by people that do
what they do.
SPEAKER_00 (15:30):
Yeah, uh great point.
Um I do I do exactly what yousaid on AI, and and I joke, I
say, Hey, everybody see thisgray hair?
I was around in 1995 when thisthing called the World Wide Web
came out.
And I know people back then whosaid, Oh, it's a fad, it's never
(15:50):
gonna last, you know, I'm notgonna put any energy into it.
Well, you can't be that way withAI.
Now, I can't tell you how youshould think about and deploy AI
in your organization, but I haveto encourage you to be curious.
(16:12):
And by you talking to yourpeers, you're might you're
you're probably going to getsome ideas.
Oh, Charlie's doing that.
Hmm.
I need to, I need to think aboutthat.
And and that is what you need.
You need to have an open mind,you need to be curious, you need
to ask others what they'redoing, what they're thinking,
(16:35):
and then go out and and startresearching and applying it for
your situation.
But that's some how you get someof the best ideas by talking to
others and and and being openlike that.
And I I Ron, I think that AI isan outstanding example of that
because everybody gets inundatedwith AI, this, AI, that, and a
(16:58):
lot of them don't even knowwhere to start.
Okay, well, talk to your peers.
Where did they start?
What are they doing?
That might stimulate an ideathat you want to then go run
with.
SPEAKER_02 (17:10):
Yeah, I love that you keep bringing up the the
peer.
I mean, you know, and that's avista's model as well, is having
a circle of peers that continueto help you stay, you know,
ahead and advance and what'sgoing on.
What what you started sevenbusinesses.
What's the you know, as you'vedone it, um I'm sure you've had
your your lessons learned um tohelp you.
(17:31):
What's what's the probably thethe one thing that you you wish
you didn't have to go through,but it taught you the most
valuable lesson?
SPEAKER_00 (17:38):
Well, yeah, I I I joked.
I started my first business whenI was in college, and it was not
well thought out, it was dumb,it and it failed miserably.
Learned a lesson, startedanother one five years ago.
It was all about me, notcustomers, failed miserably.
(18:00):
And I tell people I my my firstreal business was in 1999.
I raised some venture capital.
This was back in the dot-com uhhysteria, and I all of a sudden
I had a board of directors whoare our investors, never had a
board of directors before, and Iwas the visionary, I had never
(18:23):
been a leader like that.
And I've got, you know,ultimately 40 people and 40
families.
This that's a big burden, right?
And and now I've got this board,and and the one thing I learned
quickly is you don't take allyour issues to the board because
then they're gonna say, Well, wejust don't have that right
person in the chair, we're gonnahave to find the right person.
(18:47):
And I reflect back and I go,Well, I couldn't take my
challenges to my team becausesome of those challenge was
about the team, and I hadnowhere to turn, and my wife
didn't want to hear about it,and it it became very lonely.
Um I'm on upstairs, 365, 24-7.
(19:11):
I'm thinking, and it just it wastough, it was really tough, and
now that I reflect back, I go,man, I wish I had actively gone
after mentors or peers orsomebody who could help me
because I I had not been in thatposition before, and and um I
(19:33):
made a ton of mistakes, a ton ofmistakes.
And I and I I look back now andgo, you know, had I had the
right um knowledge base to tapinto, maybe I wouldn't have made
all those mistakes.
And and it wasn't the board thatwas the knowledge base.
Yeah, they're smart people, butagain, I felt reserved.
(19:54):
I didn't want to share that.
Man, I'm challenged here becauseI I like my job.
I wanted to stay there.
And and so that's the biggestlesson I think that if I reflect
back on, man, set yourself up ifyou're in a situation where you
really haven't been there beforeand and you don't know all of
(20:14):
the avenues available to you, goget help, get help.
You know, with peers, mentors,coaches, whatever it is, go get
help.
I wish I had done that.
It would have probably turnedout a little differently.
SPEAKER_02 (20:29):
Yeah, I mean, thank you.
I mean, valuable information.
You know, um, how do you get tothat place of being vulnerable,
um, asking for help?
What was it?
How important it was it for youto be, once you ask for the
help, to be coachable?
Because oftentimes you maypeople want to help you, but
sometimes you're not even readyto receive the feedback, you're
not coachable, and you got toanswer for everything that they
say to you, you have a response.
And sometimes you just don'thave a response.
(20:51):
You just don't know.
And and being able to say that,how important is it for me as a
leader to be coachable?
SPEAKER_00 (20:58):
Extremely um I I believe there are people who uh
want the best and they're likelyto be culchable, and then there
are people who want the most andthey're not as coachable.
(21:18):
Um I'm a big believer that noteverybody is culchable, and and
so you know, when you're one ofthe things I tell my my leaders
is probably the most importantthing you do as a leader is hire
others.
You're in the get it rightbusiness and put put the skill
(21:40):
set in the background, focus onthe culture.
Are they going to be a good fitin your organization?
Are they going to um match theculture that you have fostered?
And are they coachable?
Because if they come in and theyknow it all and they don't think
(22:02):
they need any help, uh probablynot going to end well.
And when you hire badly, it'sexpensive and it's painful.
And in a lot of my I talk aboutthis example all the time.
One of the one of the bigmistakes I've made it in my
life, and I've seen it happen,is you take your very best
salesperson, and when there's anopening for sales leadership,
(22:25):
oh, you've generated the mostnumbers.
Congratulations, you're nowsales manager.
Well, that doesn't mean theyknow how to inspire and motivate
other salespeople to to bringout their best, it just means
they were able to close moredeals.
And and and so I think peoplemake that mistake uh about you
(22:48):
know promoting and hiring.
And I I have become a hugeculture guy that says start with
culture and then find the findthe skill set uh after the after
you've sure that they'll they'llmatch the culture that you're
fostering at your organization.
SPEAKER_02 (23:09):
Yeah, I mean, and and you know, I love the
language that you're saying.
It's how do you get there?
You know, what build theculture, you know, of where
people want to be a part of it.
They want it, they see yourvision and your dream, and and
can you get out of the way tolet them help you achieve it?
Oftentimes, I think we we seeit, and then when people begin
to help us, you know, we want tojump in in the driver's seat
again.
You know, I tell them, no, letthem drive the vehicle.
(23:30):
It's okay.
You know, you got guardrails upin processes and procedures to
keep your organization safe, butstop grabbing the steering
wheel, let someone else drive.
It's so important in yourorganization.
People want to help you besuccessful.
I want to go to your book as weuse our time here.
You know, stop the hassle.
You know, uh, you have a bookout and stop the hassle.
Can you speak more to what doyou want people to walk away
(23:51):
that are interested in this nowand reading the book?
And share a little bit theinside the insider scoop of what
do you want us to walk awaywith?
SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
Stop the hassle, is uh the the hassle is I both you
and I are buyers, everybodylistening, we buy things, okay?
So there's a psychology to usbuyers, and and it's this we we
really are looking for fourthings, four major categories.
We're looking for convenience,price, but it doesn't
necessarily be the lowest price,but we definitely like pricing
(24:23):
transparency.
I don't like the fine print andthe add-ons and and the
surprises.
I want a great user experience.
I want to be treated like I'mthe only customer, even though I
know I'm not.
I want to be treated specially,I want quick answers to my
question.
And then I want to trust.
I want to trust that I'm goingto get A, what I'm perceiving to
(24:44):
buy, or B what you'readvertising or promoting.
And I want all four of those.
And unfortunately, mostcompanies have some sort of
trade-off.
Well, I'm going to give you agreat price, but that user
experience, uh, you know, itisn't going to be great.
Or I'm going to make it veryconvenient for you, but you're
(25:05):
going to have to pay, you know,a premium.
And in my book, I reflect onAmazon, Netflix, and Uber, who I
think provide all four.
They provide convenience, savingtime, effort, simple, easy, uh,
competitive pricing that'stransparent, an awesome user
experience, and and they haveyou know easy returns,
(25:27):
guarantees, warranties,testimonials, all the things
that are involved in being ableto trust.
And when you can hip on allfour, it doesn't leave a buyer
an excuse to shop elsewhere.
But far too many companies say,well, if I'm going to do this,
I'm going to trade off that.
They're not going to get youknow easy returns because I'm
(25:47):
giving them such a great priceup front.
And then we have an excuse to goelsewhere.
So it's it's a hard equation tohit on all four, but hitting on
as many as you can um will willdeliver the value, and because
that's what we value, uh tobuyers.
And then I then translate thaton the second half of the book.
(26:10):
I do talk about culture.
I but I'm very big in acustomer-centric culture.
I believe in constant research.
What are the customers saying?
What are your prospects?
Why aren't they buying from you?
Big on innovation, how do youcontinuously innovate to keep
competitors uh at bay andmeasuring you know, KPIs?
(26:32):
I joke, but I, you know, I'vebeen in a lot of businesses, and
and in over 40 years, anybody Iever worked for, we never
started a meeting.
Hey, we're going to talk abouthow many customers we gained and
why, and we're going to talkabout how many customers we lost
and why.
It always every meeting startedwith let's talk about our
revenue and let's talk about ourbudget and let's talk about our
(26:53):
costs and our IT project.
Me, me, me, me, me.
Well, you know, Amazon's, Ithink, one of the best ones.
It was all about the customer.
And I I love Jeff Bezos.
And when he was uh he was aclown back in the uh late 90s,
he was vilified by Wall Streetbecause he kept burning cash,
(27:14):
but he was steadfast.
This is not about us, it's aboutgiving the customer what they
want.
He won.
He won.
And that's that's what I preachin my book.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
Yes, I love it.
I mean, and so those of you thatare listening, I mean, you you
know what Jim just walkedthrough, four things that are
super important, and and it'sone of the things that that will
be the differentiator foranybody, regardless of what
business you're in, whether it'sservice or product or
commodities, whatever yourbusiness.
I can tell you, I go back to thedays of when you when you go to
buy a car, you know, you know,one thing you don't get is
(27:48):
convenience.
You're gonna have a pricing, andthey don't give you the best
price up front.
The experience depends on yourcredit score, and you don't have
a lot of trust.
You always feel like you'regonna go into a car dealership
and they're gonna take advantageof you.
And that doesn't mean that'sreality, but that's most
people's experience purchasingvehicles, so you get frustrated
at purchasing a vehicle.
So if you're listening to this,what Jim just shared, those are
(28:09):
four things that that actuallymatter to every single customer,
regardless of what they'rebuying.
If you can do that, you'reguaranteed to be successful.
SPEAKER_00 (28:18):
Yep, and all you got to do is is evaluate your
competitors, be more convenientthan them, price competitively
with them, give a betterexperience than them, and and be
more trustworthy than them, andyou will get the customers.
You don't have a world standardfor convenience and and
experience, gauge it off yourcompetitors.
(28:41):
It's it's like the MiamiDolphins are are concerned about
their next opponent and whatthey do well and how to beat
that next opponent.
Every business needs to payattention to their competitors,
be more convenient, pricecompetitively, give a better
experience and be moretrustworthy, and you will win
business.
That's what it's about.
SPEAKER_02 (29:01):
I love it.
I love it.
So, two two questions as webegin to wrap up.
Um, one is where can they findyour book?
And then how do they get back intouch with you if they want to
have a conversation with yououtside of this podcast?
SPEAKER_00 (29:12):
Yeah, certainly.
Uh, you can buy my book onAmazon, you can buy my book at
jimbramlett.com.
Um, and I've got two books, butuh that last one is stop the
hassle.
And then I'm very active onLinkedIn, or you can reach out
to me by going to my website,jimbramlett.com.
SPEAKER_02 (29:31):
Awesome, awesome.
Jim, phenomenal.
Thank you for coming on, youknow, and the work that you're
doing.
And if you don't know aboutVistach, you know, uh, we'll
probably bring Jim back on andhe'll be able to explain to you.
But it's a phenomenal group thatyou you really want if you're
going to be successful.
It's almost like having your ownyour own board of advisors, if
you will, if you go to Vista.
So it's a phenomenal group.
So and we all got to havecircles that help us grow.
(29:52):
Um, for all you that arelistening, thank y'all for
joining us.
Jim and I have enjoyed the timeto share with you some some
behind the scenes unpackingthings with you about what's
making Us successful, um, whatwere our struggles?
What were our mistakes?
We ask that you uh let someoneelse know about the show.
And if you know someone that maybe a great guest, send them an
email to tell them to get intouch with us.
We'd love to have guests um toshare with our community about
(30:12):
making them better.
This is all about professionaldevelopment and helping people
get better.
This is our way of giving backto our entire community.
Um, Jim, any any pardon words,any last-minute thoughts you
want to share with anyone?
SPEAKER_00 (30:23):
Yes, Ron, thank you for what you do because leaders
need help, and you're out heretrying to help them and guide
them.
So, thank you for what you do.
Leaders, don't go it alone.
Get help somehow.
Mentors, coaches, peers, gethelp.
(30:44):
It'll help you in the long term.
SPEAKER_02 (30:46):
Yes, yes.
Thank you, Jim.
It's been awesome for everyonewith you.
Thank you for joining us.
Until next time, Jim and I willbe signing off, and we look
forward to you joining us againon another show.
SPEAKER_01 (30:57):
Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpack
Podcast with leadershipconsultant Ron Harvey.
Remember to join us every Mondayas Ron Unpacks Sound Advice,
providing real answers for realleadership challenges.
Until next time, remember to addvalue and make a difference
where you are or the people youserve.
(31:19):
Because people always matter.
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