September 12, 2024 • 30 mins
Ever wondered whether great salespeople are born or made? Join us as we sit down with Dean Karrel, a career development advisor and sales trainer with over three decades of senior management experience, to unpack this fascinating debate. From his illustrious career in publishing with giants like John Wiley & Sons and Simon & Schuster to founding the Sky Ridge Group and becoming a LinkedIn Learning instructor, Dean shares the pivotal moments and lessons that have shaped his approach to leadership, mentorship, and career success. Get an exclusive sneak peek into his book, "Mastering the Basics," and discover the essential skills of emotional intelligence and confidence that are crucial for thriving in any business environment.
In our conversation, Dean reflects on the transformative shift to hybrid and remote work settings and how it has altered learning dynamics and mentorship opportunities. We explore the evolution of LinkedIn into a powerful networking platform, providing unprecedented connectivity and learning resources for professionals. Dean also challenges the conventional image of salespeople, advocating for a more nuanced view that prioritizes problem-solving and emotional intelligence. Whether you're just starting your career or are a seasoned professional, Dean’s insights on continuous learning and adaptability are invaluable. Tune in for practical advice and personal anecdotes that highlight the universal nature of sales skills and the importance of always staying curious and open to growth.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Strategy Next by Jay Helme and Company,
the premier podcast for businessleaders and professionals.
On Strategy Next.
We delve into the latesttactics and strategies driving
the future of business throughinterviews with top industry
experts and thought leaders,from growing startups to leading
large enterprises.
(00:23):
This podcast is a must-listenfor executives, managers and
aspiring business leaders.
Tune in to stay ahead of thegame and elevate your strategic
planning.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome to Strategy Next by Jay Helmy and Company.
Today we have with us a veryspecial guest.
Dean Carroll is an esteemedcareer development advisor and
sales trainer with over 30 yearsof senior management experience
.
Founder of the Sky Ridge Group,dean recently authored the book
Mastering the Basics SimpleLessons for Achieving Success in
(01:00):
Business.
Dean is also a LinkedInlearning instructor and just
recently his course SalesClosing Techniques achieved
325,000 learners, which is justamazing.
Lots of people being helpedthere by Dean.
Dean, welcome to the program.
We're so pleased to have youwith us today.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
John, thank you so much.
It is an absolute pleasure tobe here today.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Wonderful.
Well, it's our pleasure andDean.
Perhaps for those who are notas familiar with who you are and
what you do, could you give usjust a little bit of background.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Absolutely Well.
As you said, I spent more than30 years in the publishing
business, most recently asSenior Vice President of Sales
with a business book andjournals publisher named John
Wiley Sons, based out of HopeOaken, new Jersey.
About 10 years ago, I left andstarted a new business of doing
sales, training and coachingcareer coaching for people, as
(01:51):
you mentioned.
I have courses with LinkedInLearning, with now 1,500,000
global learners have taken mycourses, which is absolutely
amazing, and I'm thrilled that Iwrote a book called Mastering
the Basics.
I do presentations based off ofthat.
So a little mixed portfolio ofbusinesses that keep me out of
trouble.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Absolutely Well, very impressive, and for those in
the business world I'm surethey've heard of Wiley as well
as Simon Schuster it seemed likeyou achieved the pinnacle of
success in terms of thepublishing world.
You were in New York City,you're at these top publishing
houses.
What led you to kind of switchgears about 10 years ago and
pursue the training aspect ofyour career?
Speaker 3 (02:33):
A lot of people have asked me that.
You know I was very lucky.
I used to say I had the bestjob in publishing.
I worked with Wiley, which was,and is, a growing company, and
it was a big era where they weredoing a lot of acquisitions and
growth, and I got to ride thatwave In about 2008,.
The world changed that was theglobal economic crisis that a
(02:54):
lot of things, a lot ofbusinesses changed and we began
a process at Wiley where,instead of growing and acquiring
, we had to reevaluate thebusiness.
So, instead of coaching andtraining and motivating,
unfortunately, I was in aposition I've had to do a fair
amount of reorganizing andrestructuring and I left the
company on good terms, but itjust got to be a point where the
(03:16):
company needed to go in adifferent direction, and I did
too.
I went back to school and Isaid I wanted to do something
different.
My house is paid for, my kidsare out of college.
This is not something I wouldhave been able to do in my
thirties and I went back toschool, took courses in training
and coaching and developed awhole new business for myself.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
And that you have, that you have a whole second
life of your career.
You might say.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
It really was and again, I was very fortunate.
I started with a publishernamed Prentice Hall, which was
the number one textbookpublisher in its day.
That was later merged in with acompany named Pearson.
I worked with Simon Schuster,which was the big trade and big
trade general interest publisher, so I got to ride the wave of
some big bestsellers there and,as I mentioned, wiley was a
great and is a great company towork with and I spent more than
(04:00):
20 years there.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Wow, wow.
And I'm certain over those 20years you must have thought to
yourself there's a book in mymind.
Somewhere Did you say toyourself someday I'm going to be
the author.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I think we all say that.
You know, we all say we'regoing to write a book and then
but when you have to sit downand do it, it's a it's a major
task, and I just started to takedown some of the tidbits of
things that I focus on, and youknow, things I talk about are
things like you don't need tohave a Harvard MBA to be
successful in business and thusmastering basic skills, and it's
(04:33):
something that has helped methroughout my career is focusing
on those things, and I knew Iwas not going to be CEO material
or doing the strategic plan fora big Fortune 500 companies.
I knew my strength was workingwith people, motivating people
and coaching people, and thesewere some of the lessons that I
picked up along the way and Ithought why not try to take my
(04:53):
time and write a book about it?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Excellent, excellent.
Well, to that end, can youmaybe touch on a couple, three
of the lessons that you have,the nuggets of information that
you've shared that readers couldtake advantage of?
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Well, you know, the number one thing I talk about in
business to be successful is aterm called emotional
intelligence, eq the importanceof being aware and listening to
people, showing care, showingunderstanding, showing empathy.
Now, whether you're in sales,whether you're in marketing or
no matter what position youmight be in, or senior
leadership, having emotionalintelligence is important.
(05:28):
So I talk about that throughoutthe book.
I talk about the importance ofhaving.
Since we were little kids, ourparents or relatives would
always say you know, you have tobelieve in your abilities or
have confidence in yourself.
That's easier said than done.
We've all had the highs andlows in life, but it is so true
that we need to believe inourselves and believe in our
abilities.
(05:48):
And the stories I tell there isthat you know, I was a B
student.
There were students a lotsmarter than me who got straight
A's.
I had to work, I had to workhard just to get a B, and there
are a lot of us out there.
So how do you become successful?
Well, it's enhancing the skillsthat we were given at birth,
(06:09):
building off of those and thenbelieving in ourselves.
The other lessons are justbeing ourselves.
Sometimes we try to overthinkthings or try to be like that
other person, who may make moremoney or have a loftier title or
a fancier degree.
At the end of the day, we can'tchange our personality.
We can't change who we are.
So just try to build on theskills that we were given at
(06:32):
birth.
So those would probably bethree key lessons of the book,
absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Thank you so much.
And I remember years ago asales manager said to me every
sales guy and gal knows whatyou're supposed to do in terms
of blocking, tackling, makingthose calls, making the
follow-ups.
He said the difference betweenthose who excel in sales and the
rest of the pack is that thewinners, the most successful.
(06:57):
They take the basics and theyactually execute with discipline
.
They actually do.
Everybody can read about whatyou're supposed to do, but do
you find that?
I mean, maybe in your years ofexperience in business, do you
find a lot of people maybe don'treach their full potential
because they say that they'regoing to do X, y, and Z, but
(07:17):
they really never execute.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Bingo, You've just hit the nail on the head, John.
It's so true.
Basics such as show up on time,follow up, do what you say
you're going to do.
If you tell a buyer or a clientor a customer that you're going
to provide a certain product orservice at X price by such and
such a date, well you have tofulfill that obligation.
And that's not rocket scienceand you don't need an MBA for
(07:39):
that.
That is saying what you'regoing to do and actually
committing yourself to gettingit done.
And for me that has worked.
And you would be surprised andshocked at how many salespeople,
how many business people, nomatter what job they have, miss
those basic skills of gettingthings done.
And again, that's what's helpedme throughout my career, of
just managing those basic skillsand fulfilling my obligations
(08:03):
to people.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yep, Yep.
I think we can all relate aswell.
We've all heard Bill Gates, forexample, or Warren Buffett.
I don't have a magic box.
How did I become number one,number two, most wealthy person
in the world?
Focus on the basics, LikeBuffett loves to say.
Find something you understand,invest in it and stick with it.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Great philosophy, right?
I mean, that is his philosophyinvest in things he knows and
understands, and that's sure, asheck has worked for him.
That's you know, that's forsure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
One thing I love about the book and I would
encourage all of our listenersto pick it up on Amazon wherever
available.
But each chapter I would sayyour average chapter is two or
three pages, so it's easy topick up and learn something and
especially on a busy day, Icertainly appreciate that being
able to dive into something,pick up some skill or just,
quite frankly, learn something.
(08:51):
You had a chapter titledExhibiting Empathy and
Compassion and I think that'sanother set of skills that
perhaps and you've mentionedalready EQ, but especially in
business, there is still a senseon this part of some that boy,
you got to be tough, you got tobe.
You know it's too bad if I'm ajerk, but that's what it takes.
But you say no, empathy, softskills are important.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Oh yeah, absolutely, and I think it's just trying to
be a good person and it's partof my philosophy.
You're good to people, peoplewill be good back, and if
they're not, then these arepeople you don't want to work
with whether they're a customeror a coworker.
If somebody's not nice, why doyou want to work with them?
I want to work with optimisticpeople, I want to work with
positive people.
I want people who work withpeople who are fun to be around.
(09:36):
And it goes back to thephilosophy of just being
yourself and, I think, beinggood to people and showing
empathy, showing care, beingthere when somebody has lost a
job and trying to help them out.
I think that's so important orwhatever it might be be there
for people in the good times andwhen the bad times may strike
(09:57):
people, because we're all.
We have all been there right.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
All of us can relate.
Another chapter you have isleadership versus management and
the difference between whatmakes a true leader.
It's not just rarely is it thejob title, quite frankly.
Can you talk to about that alittle bit?
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yeah, it's.
I think we've all worked withpeople who are managers, meaning
they've, they're sticking tothe book.
You have to have to do X, y andZ by a certain time, a certain
date.
They're not caring, they're notunderstanding, they're not
really coaching.
They are so focused on the job,responsibilities and the tasks
that they're not really showingyou the way or modeling the way,
(10:37):
which is what a good leaderdoes, the way or modeling the
way, which is what a good leaderdoes.
And again, I was so fortunatethroughout my career to work
with good leaders guys by thename of George Stanley, will
Pesci, stephen Kipper and GaryGutschel my first boss who were
people who were leaders and theyhelped.
They were like blockers infootball.
They opened up the path for meto be successful, they kept
(10:59):
their egos in check and let mesucceed.
And that's what good leaders dothey coach, they train, they
motivate, they encourage, theyshow care, compassion and
unfortunately, what I found isI've done my coaching work.
Now A lot of people aren't asfortunate as I have been to have
worked with good leaders.
They work with a lot ofmanagers and then become
(11:21):
involved in toxic workenvironments.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Absolutely.
And, of course, the M word,mentor, so important.
In fact, I wrote a post onLinkedIn several years ago
titled Everything I Know AboutBusiness Almost I Learned in
United First and the gist wasthat I used to travel so much
that I could score the uptracewith United Airlines and I had
the benefit of traveling with myboss to various conferences and
(11:45):
meetings and the time I spentwith her, the tidbits, the
advice, the perspective, as shewas closer to the end of her
career.
I was just a young guybeginning my career.
So important to have a mentor,to find someone and then,
conversely, to pay it back Ifyou've gotten to a point in your
career where what do they say?
(12:06):
Send the elevator back downonce you've gotten there.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
John, that's great advice.
Paying it back is so importantand it not only helps that other
person but it makes you feelgood too that you've been able
to assist somebody along the way.
You know you make a good pointabout.
You know those early days inbusiness, for you were traveling
and being with somebody.
I think I mean I'm old schoolhere, but with as we are all in
hybrid work environments orfully work from home, we miss
(12:32):
out on those times when you'rewith your manager in a
non-business setting.
When you're at the airport, yousee how they handle a stressful
situation, you see how theyhandle, you know who's running
onto the plane first or who'sgetting the taxi first, or are
they there or just basicconversations.
And that's where you reallylearn a lot from people is in
the non-business setting.
(12:54):
So if you're in a hybridsituation now or fully work from
home, you're missing out onthat.
You know I call it leadershipby walking through the hallway
and having those off-the-key,off-the-record conversations
with somebody, ad hocconversations where you can
really learn from somebody.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Absolutely.
That brings us to the topic ofnetworking and let's reflect on
LinkedIn, because you had somuch success with LinkedIn the
early days people said it wasjust Facebook for grownups and
there used to be actuallydisagreements Keep this stuff
off LinkedIn, it doesn't belonghere.
And then, in my opinion,through the pandemic, it became
(13:33):
more of a community.
Feel like, hey, we're all kindof stuck, how's everybody doing?
And LinkedIn has evolved, Ifeel over the years and I just
know by numbers and experiencethat if you're trying to build
your business or network fordifferent opportunities, there's
really nothing else like it.
What are your thoughts onLinkedIn and your success on the
(13:55):
platform?
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I think you described it perfectly.
You know you go back 5, 10, 15years ago LinkedIn.
You put your resume out there,some basic information, and you
clicked like on a couple oftopics or whatever and you
really didn't participate.
And I think now it's a placewhere you're sharing ideas and
sharing thoughts and you'remeeting people.
I'm amazed.
(14:18):
I communicate with people fromaround the world now about sales
, about careers, and I have afair number of followers and
that's not everyone that I speakwith or not everybody I'm
connected to, but it's sharingideas and the easy thing to do
is just click like or you putyour photo up there and a basic
description of your work.
But this is where you can learnfrom people in different
(14:40):
businesses by posting yourthoughts, posting your ideas,
and it's not that hard.
You know people talk aboutnetworking.
We all think about what we'veall been to the conference,
where we have that little nametag that says hi, I'm John or hi
, I'm Dean, and it's called anetworking break, and you're
sitting around you know hemmingand hawing in the coffee area
outside of a conference roomright.
(15:01):
We've all been there.
But networking with LinkedIn isreally.
It's participating with ideasand next thing you know you're
connecting and meeting peoplefrom other states, other
countries, other businesses, andit's opened my eyes.
And so people say, Dean, you'resuch a great networker and I
actually just think it's me justwriting my ideas down and
(15:23):
responding to other people andthat's as simple as it can get,
being yourself is the key Bingo.
Bingo.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Absolutely, and for those who are interested, I
believe it's LinkedIn slash inslash, dean Carroll.
Just as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
That's me and I reach out to people and they're
always available to reach out tome if they have a question,
that I can answer everything.
But I try to.
Again going back, how do we payback?
How do we help others advancetheir career or answer questions
?
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Absolutely.
Let's pivot a little bit tosales training.
I know that's near and dear tothe heart of many of our
listeners.
Are great salespeople made orborn?
Born or made.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Oh, there could be a big debate on that one.
I think we all have salesskills and I think, no matter
what job we have, whether we'rein project management, whether
we're in marketing, whetherwe're an accountant or lawyer or
doctor, there's a sales aspectto everything, meaning we have
to influence people and we haveto help people make decisions or
help guide them.
I think we all can get betterat sales and too often we are so
(16:31):
fixated on the stereotype ofwhat a salesperson is, and I
often say that comes from themovies that we watch.
It goes back to Alec Baldwinand Glenn Gary and Glenn Ross,
where he goes always be closing.
The leads aren't weak, you'reweak.
And then, of course, the Wolfof Wall Street, which is a fun
(16:52):
movie, so to speak, because it'sentertaining.
But it makes me cringe everytime I see it, because they've
all since reformed because theyhad to pay for their sins.
But a lot of these salespeoplethey were crooks, they were
crooked and they paid for it.
So a salesperson is a goodlistener, they're caring,
(17:12):
they're understanding.
It goes back to my basic theoryof what you're trying to do is
help somebody solve a problemwith their product or service
that can make their life better,whether through making them
more money or make their jobeasier.
That's what a salesperson does,and whether you're selling cars
, insurance or whatever it mightbe, or a product or service, it
is.
You're trying to solve aproblem and if you answer
(17:35):
everybody's questions and ifyou're honest, lo and behold,
you're going to make some sales.
Business will follow.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Absolutely.
And of course, you mentionedlistening, which I think is, I
would almost argue, your numberone skill as a salesperson,
because so many folks they're so, especially younger people,
they're so eager to show theirslides or the slick brochure the
client you know, certainlythey'll be impressed that you
have this four color brochure.
But you need to listen, youneed to hear what they're saying
(18:04):
, and if you listen well enough,if you have the skill of
listening, people will tell youeverything you need to know to
meet their needs and then youoffer up the proper solutions
and it's a sale.
It's how you can make a sale.
I mean, do people need tolisten more, wouldn't you agree?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
John, you and I are preaching to the same choir here
.
We're on the same wavelength.
I agree with you 100%.
Listening skills are soimportant and you're absolutely
right.
We get into sales and we thinkyou're so excited to talk about
your product or service thatsomebody says hello and the next
thing you know you're trying toclose a sale.
And it goes back to emotionalintelligence.
(18:41):
If you're aware and a goodreader of eyes and good reader
of body language and a goodreader of what somebody is
saying and responding to you,that's how you become a good
salesperson knowing when to bequiet.
You know too often we talkourselves out of sales because
we don't quiet.
You know it's like just listen,listen and be aware of the body
(19:01):
language and what somebody istelling you, whether it's in
person or on a Zoom call, and solistening is the most important
thing.
And it took me a long time.
I'm not saying I'm an expert.
I love to talk, but you have tofight it and just say let the
other person get a word in andask them, have their objections
(19:22):
or have their concerns, or, youknow, providing more information
.
And so I'm agreeing with you100%.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Great.
What advice would you have,dean, for somebody who's
listening and that maybe they'rea few years into their career?
Right, they've graduatedcollege, they landed their first
job, they're 25 and they'rethinking I could do more.
What's my next step?
As compared to, say, someonewho's 55 and has had a solid
career but maybe doesn't feelfulfilled?
(19:52):
Do you have any advice forpeople on both ends of that
spectrum?
Speaker 3 (19:55):
I think for people early in their career, it's
always knowing that you'realways going to be learning.
There's always something new.
Were we talking aboutartificial intelligence two,
three years ago?
Maybe a little bit, but now itis the talk, it is part of our
business, everything that we'redoing, and there'll be something
else in two or three more years.
When I first got in business,technology was near what we have
(20:15):
now the idea of having laptopcomputers and mobile phones
where we could get our data, youknow, in real time.
So for somebody new, it'salways realize your training
never ends and you always shouldbe learning.
That's not a catchphrase alwaysbe learning.
It's something you're going toneed to be doing throughout your
entire career.
(20:35):
Same holds true with somebodywho's 55.
And you know, when I firststarted coaching, I was working
with people my age and a lot ofthem who were in their 50s think
well, I'm old, now I can'tlearn something new, and that's
a bad habit to fall into.
And we're so concerned aboutage bias, which is some cases.
(20:56):
It is true, very true, but thefact is that you just got to
show the skills that you can doto improve.
I talk about myself.
I went back to school I waswith students half my age or
more, so brilliant and learn newthings.
And you always can learn, nomatter whether you're 25, 45 or
55 or 70, you can still do it.
(21:18):
And it's going back to what Isaid before believing in your
abilities.
Not everybody's going to bethere supporting you, but what
you're looking for is that oneperson to support you.
So it's like that one sale tomake that one person who's going
to be your mentor, that oneperson who can help you be
better, whether you're 25 or 75.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Absolutely so.
Tell us a little bit about theSky Ridge group.
What exactly is that practicefor, or what do you do?
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Well, what's interesting the Sky Ridge is?
Actually, I was trying tofigure out what do I call the
business that I have and that'sa street that I grew up on, sky
Ridge Road back in Connecticut,and I said, well, I like that
and it's just my work.
And when I needed something tohouse my coaching business, my
training business, and I calledit the Sky Ridge Group and it
sounds nice.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
I like the idea.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
I like the idea.
You know it's funny that whenyou start a business, it's like
I spent money on a website.
I spent money on doing allthese things.
And going back to what youasked me about networking so
much of business is throughreferrals and you've done a good
job here and somebody opens upthe door somewhere else.
Going back to networking, john,I trust you.
(22:29):
You introduced me to somebodyelse.
I introduced you to some of myfriends.
You can have the fanciestwebsite in the world or the
fanciest name of a company, theSky Ridge Group, whatever.
People know me as, dean Carroll.
Dean, you're going to help medo something and that's what it
comes down.
You peel away all of the stuff.
What does Dean offer?
I offer basics of business howto work better in corporations,
(22:52):
how to learn better, be a bettersalesperson and again, it's
peeling away a lot of the stuffto say what does Dean really
offer?
Career coaching, sales trainingand motivation and
encouragement.
Terrific, and it would probablybe worth saying as well, dean,
(23:38):
even if somebody's not ready tocompletely jump back into
learning mode, you know, stoptheir career and completely
switch gears, learning, you cando a little bit as you can.
Business subjects I'm alwaysreading, and not every book is
going to give you a lot ofvaluable tidbits, but for $20,
$15, or an e-version for $10, ifyou get two or three good ideas
, that can be a game changer.
There was a book for me, thePower of Simplicity, that I read
30 years ago and 25 years ago,and it was.
You know.
Break things down, make itsimple, stop overthinking things
(23:59):
.
Don't have a to-do list of 40items.
Have a to-do list of threethings.
So that one book, the Power ofSimplicity, really changed my
thinking of how to do businessand how to do my own work.
I go way back to a book calledwhat they Don't Teach you at the
Harvard Business School thelessons of you know.
(24:20):
They have all of the fancythings about, you know strategic
plans and so forth at this andadvanced thinking at Harvard
Business School, but what theydon't teach you at Harvard
Business School are the basicsof business.
And that book also changed mythinking about how I get things
done and my whole philosophy ishow do you break things down
into small pieces, make thingsthat you can accomplish, set
(24:43):
achievable goals, and so ifyou're learning and growing in
your career but you don't wantto go back to school or you
don't have the time to take allof these classes part-time.
Find a book, invest in that, orgo to your local library and
check out a business book.
Going back to LinkedIn followcertain people that you get
great lessons from Guys likeChris Croft, david Crenshaw,
(25:08):
todd Dewitt, sarah Kennedythere's a whole list of people
that I follow that I learnedsomething from.
It's like wow, what a greatidea and that's free Free from
joining.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
LinkedIn?
Absolutely, and I noted too youhave some chapters on time
management.
A lot of people will say I justdon't have the time, dean, but
you always have time for whatyou put first right.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Well, that goes back to the fact of how do you keep
things simple, and as you addthings, you have to take things
away.
You can't do everything andthere are only seven days in a
week and you also need to havetime just to relax and have food
and be with your family and bewith your friends.
So what do you give up?
What are you doing now?
That's not productive and forme, for time manager, for me is
(25:53):
I again, instead of having thatlaundry list of 15 things to get
done, what are the three thingsthat I want to get accomplished
this week and what are thethree things I mean?
For example, today I wanted todo some things.
I knew I was going to be withyou today, so I said I'm making
sure my afternoon is free, thisblock of time is free, so that
I'm clear that I'm ready andavailable to be here for you so
(26:13):
we can have this discussiontoday.
I'm not doing 15 other thingsright now, so I'm focused on you
, john, and so it's beingrealistic about what we can
accomplish and what we can getdone, and that's how you do
effective time management.
No, there's never enough timeto do everything.
So what are the things that canmake a difference and that you
(26:34):
want to accomplish today, thatare going to make you feel good
today too.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Absolutely, and all of us at Jay Helmy appreciate
you making the time.
It's very gracious of you tospend some of your time as we
get toward the end of ourdiscussion.
Dean, are there one or two mainlessons?
If somebody was to rememberjust one or two things from our
discussion today, aside fromyour LinkedIn address, hopefully
(26:59):
they will visit you there.
They'll pick up the bookMastering the Basics.
Are there one or two lessonslife lessons perhaps that appear
to you to be most importantover the years of working with
thousands of people?
Speaker 3 (27:10):
A few there.
I mean one is to be coachable,always be open to listening to
new ideas.
You're always going to be ableto learn more.
The other one I always talkabout all the time is focus on
what really matters, focus onthe priorities.
I always say to everybody andthey've heard this throughout my
career is family comes first,our families, our personal lives
.
You know the business willalways be there.
(27:32):
There's always going to be asale or an opportunity.
There's always going to besomebody have a customer service
issue or something.
So focus on your family andfocus on your health and focus
on things that really matter,knowing your priorities.
The other one is be good topeople.
It's paid off for me.
I spend my time, I try to benice.
I mean, do you need an MBA forthat?
(27:54):
No, so I met you, john.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I finished first.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah Well, I try.
I'm not perfect.
None of us are.
You're not either, john and Joe, none of us are.
But what we try to do if youcould try to help somebody, it
pays back in dividends try to doif you could try to help
somebody, it pays back individends.
And again, you don't need aStanford MBA, a Kelly School MBA
or Harvard MBA to do that, andthat's what I talk about in my
book.
That's actually lesson numberone is be good to people, smile,
(28:21):
say hello, help people out and,again, knowing your priorities,
focus on what really matters,and I think that pays off in
dividends.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Dean, it's been an absolutepleasure speaking with you and
I'm so appreciative that youtake the time to visit with our
audience Again.
Dean's new book is Masteringthe Basics with Dean Carroll
Simple Lessons for AchievingSuccess in Business.
Dean's available on LinkedIn.
And any last words for ouraudience, dean, before we let
you go.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Well, again, I appreciate the opportunity you
and Joe reached out to me and Ireally look forward to
opportunities like this to speakwith people and if you're an
audience, please do follow me onLinkedIn.
Connect with me.
I'm happy to chat and I posttwo to three times a week on
LinkedIn, whether it's a videoor some topic of interest to me,
and I'm more than happy toreach out and talk to people.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Wonderful Dean.
Thank you so much.
This has been John Lobb forStrategy Next brought to you by
Jay Helmy and Company, and we'lllook forward to seeing you on
the very next episode.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
That's it for this episode of Strategy Next.
We hope you enjoyed ourconversation and felt informed
and enlightened about the topicdiscussed.
Don't forget to subscribe toour podcast so you never miss an
episode.
You can find us on all majorpodcast platforms and if you
have any comments or suggestionsfor future episodes, please
reach out to us at strategynextat jhelmyco Week, with another
(29:48):
expert guest ready to sharetheir insights and expertise
with you.
Until next time, thank you forlistening to Strategy Next by J
Helmy Company.
Strategy Reinvented.
Welcome to Strategy Next by Jay Helme and Company,
the premier podcast for businessleaders and professionals.
On Strategy Next.
We delve into the latesttactics and strategies driving
the future of business throughinterviews with top industry
experts and thought leaders,from growing startups to leading
large enterprises.
(00:23):
This podcast is a must-listenfor executives, managers and
aspiring business leaders.
Tune in to stay ahead of thegame and elevate your strategic
planning.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome to Strategy Next by Jay Helmy and Company.
Today we have with us a veryspecial guest.
Dean Carroll is an esteemedcareer development advisor and
sales trainer with over 30 yearsof senior management experience
.
Founder of the Sky Ridge Group,dean recently authored the book
Mastering the Basics SimpleLessons for Achieving Success in
(01:00):
Business.
Dean is also a LinkedInlearning instructor and just
recently his course SalesClosing Techniques achieved
325,000 learners, which is justamazing.
Lots of people being helpedthere by Dean.
Dean, welcome to the program.
We're so pleased to have youwith us today.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
John, thank you so much.
It is an absolute pleasure tobe here today.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Wonderful.
Well, it's our pleasure andDean.
Perhaps for those who are notas familiar with who you are and
what you do, could you give usjust a little bit of background.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Absolutely Well.
As you said, I spent more than30 years in the publishing
business, most recently asSenior Vice President of Sales
with a business book andjournals publisher named John
Wiley Sons, based out of HopeOaken, new Jersey.
About 10 years ago, I left andstarted a new business of doing
sales, training and coachingcareer coaching for people, as
(01:51):
you mentioned.
I have courses with LinkedInLearning, with now 1,500,000
global learners have taken mycourses, which is absolutely
amazing, and I'm thrilled that Iwrote a book called Mastering
the Basics.
I do presentations based off ofthat.
So a little mixed portfolio ofbusinesses that keep me out of
trouble.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Absolutely Well, very impressive, and for those in
the business world I'm surethey've heard of Wiley as well
as Simon Schuster it seemed likeyou achieved the pinnacle of
success in terms of thepublishing world.
You were in New York City,you're at these top publishing
houses.
What led you to kind of switchgears about 10 years ago and
pursue the training aspect ofyour career?
Speaker 3 (02:33):
A lot of people have asked me that.
You know I was very lucky.
I used to say I had the bestjob in publishing.
I worked with Wiley, which was,and is, a growing company, and
it was a big era where they weredoing a lot of acquisitions and
growth, and I got to ride thatwave In about 2008,.
The world changed that was theglobal economic crisis that a
(02:54):
lot of things, a lot ofbusinesses changed and we began
a process at Wiley where,instead of growing and acquiring
, we had to reevaluate thebusiness.
So, instead of coaching andtraining and motivating,
unfortunately, I was in aposition I've had to do a fair
amount of reorganizing andrestructuring and I left the
company on good terms, but itjust got to be a point where the
(03:16):
company needed to go in adifferent direction, and I did
too.
I went back to school and Isaid I wanted to do something
different.
My house is paid for, my kidsare out of college.
This is not something I wouldhave been able to do in my
thirties and I went back toschool, took courses in training
and coaching and developed awhole new business for myself.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
And that you have, that you have a whole second
life of your career.
You might say.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
It really was and again, I was very fortunate.
I started with a publishernamed Prentice Hall, which was
the number one textbookpublisher in its day.
That was later merged in with acompany named Pearson.
I worked with Simon Schuster,which was the big trade and big
trade general interest publisher, so I got to ride the wave of
some big bestsellers there and,as I mentioned, wiley was a
great and is a great company towork with and I spent more than
(04:00):
20 years there.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Wow, wow.
And I'm certain over those 20years you must have thought to
yourself there's a book in mymind.
Somewhere Did you say toyourself someday I'm going to be
the author.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I think we all say that.
You know, we all say we'regoing to write a book and then
but when you have to sit downand do it, it's a it's a major
task, and I just started to takedown some of the tidbits of
things that I focus on, and youknow, things I talk about are
things like you don't need tohave a Harvard MBA to be
successful in business and thusmastering basic skills, and it's
(04:33):
something that has helped methroughout my career is focusing
on those things, and I knew Iwas not going to be CEO material
or doing the strategic plan fora big Fortune 500 companies.
I knew my strength was workingwith people, motivating people
and coaching people, and thesewere some of the lessons that I
picked up along the way and Ithought why not try to take my
(04:53):
time and write a book about it?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Excellent, excellent.
Well, to that end, can youmaybe touch on a couple, three
of the lessons that you have,the nuggets of information that
you've shared that readers couldtake advantage of?
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Well, you know, the number one thing I talk about in
business to be successful is aterm called emotional
intelligence, eq the importanceof being aware and listening to
people, showing care, showingunderstanding, showing empathy.
Now, whether you're in sales,whether you're in marketing or
no matter what position youmight be in, or senior
leadership, having emotionalintelligence is important.
(05:28):
So I talk about that throughoutthe book.
I talk about the importance ofhaving.
Since we were little kids, ourparents or relatives would
always say you know, you have tobelieve in your abilities or
have confidence in yourself.
That's easier said than done.
We've all had the highs andlows in life, but it is so true
that we need to believe inourselves and believe in our
abilities.
(05:48):
And the stories I tell there isthat you know, I was a B
student.
There were students a lotsmarter than me who got straight
A's.
I had to work, I had to workhard just to get a B, and there
are a lot of us out there.
So how do you become successful?
Well, it's enhancing the skillsthat we were given at birth,
(06:09):
building off of those and thenbelieving in ourselves.
The other lessons are justbeing ourselves.
Sometimes we try to overthinkthings or try to be like that
other person, who may make moremoney or have a loftier title or
a fancier degree.
At the end of the day, we can'tchange our personality.
We can't change who we are.
So just try to build on theskills that we were given at
(06:32):
birth.
So those would probably bethree key lessons of the book,
absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Thank you so much.
And I remember years ago asales manager said to me every
sales guy and gal knows whatyou're supposed to do in terms
of blocking, tackling, makingthose calls, making the
follow-ups.
He said the difference betweenthose who excel in sales and the
rest of the pack is that thewinners, the most successful.
(06:57):
They take the basics and theyactually execute with discipline
.
They actually do.
Everybody can read about whatyou're supposed to do, but do
you find that?
I mean, maybe in your years ofexperience in business, do you
find a lot of people maybe don'treach their full potential
because they say that they'regoing to do X, y, and Z, but
(07:17):
they really never execute.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Bingo, You've just hit the nail on the head, John.
It's so true.
Basics such as show up on time,follow up, do what you say
you're going to do.
If you tell a buyer or a clientor a customer that you're going
to provide a certain product orservice at X price by such and
such a date, well you have tofulfill that obligation.
And that's not rocket scienceand you don't need an MBA for
(07:39):
that.
That is saying what you'regoing to do and actually
committing yourself to gettingit done.
And for me that has worked.
And you would be surprised andshocked at how many salespeople,
how many business people, nomatter what job they have, miss
those basic skills of gettingthings done.
And again, that's what's helpedme throughout my career, of
just managing those basic skillsand fulfilling my obligations
(08:03):
to people.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Yep, Yep.
I think we can all relate aswell.
We've all heard Bill Gates, forexample, or Warren Buffett.
I don't have a magic box.
How did I become number one,number two, most wealthy person
in the world?
Focus on the basics, LikeBuffett loves to say.
Find something you understand,invest in it and stick with it.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Great philosophy, right?
I mean, that is his philosophyinvest in things he knows and
understands, and that's sure, asheck has worked for him.
That's you know, that's forsure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
One thing I love about the book and I would
encourage all of our listenersto pick it up on Amazon wherever
available.
But each chapter I would sayyour average chapter is two or
three pages, so it's easy topick up and learn something and
especially on a busy day, Icertainly appreciate that being
able to dive into something,pick up some skill or just,
quite frankly, learn something.
(08:51):
You had a chapter titledExhibiting Empathy and
Compassion and I think that'sanother set of skills that
perhaps and you've mentionedalready EQ, but especially in
business, there is still a senseon this part of some that boy,
you got to be tough, you got tobe.
You know it's too bad if I'm ajerk, but that's what it takes.
But you say no, empathy, softskills are important.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Oh yeah, absolutely, and I think it's just trying to
be a good person and it's partof my philosophy.
You're good to people, peoplewill be good back, and if
they're not, then these arepeople you don't want to work
with whether they're a customeror a coworker.
If somebody's not nice, why doyou want to work with them?
I want to work with optimisticpeople, I want to work with
positive people.
I want people who work withpeople who are fun to be around.
(09:36):
And it goes back to thephilosophy of just being
yourself and, I think, beinggood to people and showing
empathy, showing care, beingthere when somebody has lost a
job and trying to help them out.
I think that's so important orwhatever it might be be there
for people in the good times andwhen the bad times may strike
(09:57):
people, because we're all.
We have all been there right.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
All of us can relate.
Another chapter you have isleadership versus management and
the difference between whatmakes a true leader.
It's not just rarely is it thejob title, quite frankly.
Can you talk to about that alittle bit?
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yeah, it's.
I think we've all worked withpeople who are managers, meaning
they've, they're sticking tothe book.
You have to have to do X, y andZ by a certain time, a certain
date.
They're not caring, they're notunderstanding, they're not
really coaching.
They are so focused on the job,responsibilities and the tasks
that they're not really showingyou the way or modeling the way,
(10:37):
which is what a good leaderdoes, the way or modeling the
way, which is what a good leaderdoes.
And again, I was so fortunatethroughout my career to work
with good leaders guys by thename of George Stanley, will
Pesci, stephen Kipper and GaryGutschel my first boss who were
people who were leaders and theyhelped.
They were like blockers infootball.
They opened up the path for meto be successful, they kept
(10:59):
their egos in check and let mesucceed.
And that's what good leaders dothey coach, they train, they
motivate, they encourage, theyshow care, compassion and
unfortunately, what I found isI've done my coaching work.
Now A lot of people aren't asfortunate as I have been to have
worked with good leaders.
They work with a lot ofmanagers and then become
(11:21):
involved in toxic workenvironments.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Absolutely.
And, of course, the M word,mentor, so important.
In fact, I wrote a post onLinkedIn several years ago
titled Everything I Know AboutBusiness Almost I Learned in
United First and the gist wasthat I used to travel so much
that I could score the uptracewith United Airlines and I had
the benefit of traveling with myboss to various conferences and
(11:45):
meetings and the time I spentwith her, the tidbits, the
advice, the perspective, as shewas closer to the end of her
career.
I was just a young guybeginning my career.
So important to have a mentor,to find someone and then,
conversely, to pay it back Ifyou've gotten to a point in your
career where what do they say?
(12:06):
Send the elevator back downonce you've gotten there.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
John, that's great advice.
Paying it back is so importantand it not only helps that other
person but it makes you feelgood too that you've been able
to assist somebody along the way.
You know you make a good pointabout.
You know those early days inbusiness, for you were traveling
and being with somebody.
I think I mean I'm old schoolhere, but with as we are all in
hybrid work environments orfully work from home, we miss
(12:32):
out on those times when you'rewith your manager in a
non-business setting.
When you're at the airport, yousee how they handle a stressful
situation, you see how theyhandle, you know who's running
onto the plane first or who'sgetting the taxi first, or are
they there or just basicconversations.
And that's where you reallylearn a lot from people is in
the non-business setting.
(12:54):
So if you're in a hybridsituation now or fully work from
home, you're missing out onthat.
You know I call it leadershipby walking through the hallway
and having those off-the-key,off-the-record conversations
with somebody, ad hocconversations where you can
really learn from somebody.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Absolutely.
That brings us to the topic ofnetworking and let's reflect on
LinkedIn, because you had somuch success with LinkedIn the
early days people said it wasjust Facebook for grownups and
there used to be actuallydisagreements Keep this stuff
off LinkedIn, it doesn't belonghere.
And then, in my opinion,through the pandemic, it became
(13:33):
more of a community.
Feel like, hey, we're all kindof stuck, how's everybody doing?
And LinkedIn has evolved, Ifeel over the years and I just
know by numbers and experiencethat if you're trying to build
your business or network fordifferent opportunities, there's
really nothing else like it.
What are your thoughts onLinkedIn and your success on the
(13:55):
platform?
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I think you described it perfectly.
You know you go back 5, 10, 15years ago LinkedIn.
You put your resume out there,some basic information, and you
clicked like on a couple oftopics or whatever and you
really didn't participate.
And I think now it's a placewhere you're sharing ideas and
sharing thoughts and you'remeeting people.
I'm amazed.
(14:18):
I communicate with people fromaround the world now about sales
, about careers, and I have afair number of followers and
that's not everyone that I speakwith or not everybody I'm
connected to, but it's sharingideas and the easy thing to do
is just click like or you putyour photo up there and a basic
description of your work.
But this is where you can learnfrom people in different
(14:40):
businesses by posting yourthoughts, posting your ideas,
and it's not that hard.
You know people talk aboutnetworking.
We all think about what we'veall been to the conference,
where we have that little nametag that says hi, I'm John or hi
, I'm Dean, and it's called anetworking break, and you're
sitting around you know hemmingand hawing in the coffee area
outside of a conference roomright.
(15:01):
We've all been there.
But networking with LinkedIn isreally.
It's participating with ideasand next thing you know you're
connecting and meeting peoplefrom other states, other
countries, other businesses, andit's opened my eyes.
And so people say, Dean, you'resuch a great networker and I
actually just think it's me justwriting my ideas down and
(15:23):
responding to other people andthat's as simple as it can get,
being yourself is the key Bingo.
Bingo.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Absolutely, and for those who are interested, I
believe it's LinkedIn slash inslash, dean Carroll.
Just as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
That's me and I reach out to people and they're
always available to reach out tome if they have a question,
that I can answer everything.
But I try to.
Again going back, how do we payback?
How do we help others advancetheir career or answer questions
?
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Absolutely.
Let's pivot a little bit tosales training.
I know that's near and dear tothe heart of many of our
listeners.
Are great salespeople made orborn?
Born or made.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Oh, there could be a big debate on that one.
I think we all have salesskills and I think, no matter
what job we have, whether we'rein project management, whether
we're in marketing, whetherwe're an accountant or lawyer or
doctor, there's a sales aspectto everything, meaning we have
to influence people and we haveto help people make decisions or
help guide them.
I think we all can get betterat sales and too often we are so
(16:31):
fixated on the stereotype ofwhat a salesperson is, and I
often say that comes from themovies that we watch.
It goes back to Alec Baldwinand Glenn Gary and Glenn Ross,
where he goes always be closing.
The leads aren't weak, you'reweak.
And then, of course, the Wolfof Wall Street, which is a fun
(16:52):
movie, so to speak, because it'sentertaining.
But it makes me cringe everytime I see it, because they've
all since reformed because theyhad to pay for their sins.
But a lot of these salespeoplethey were crooks, they were
crooked and they paid for it.
So a salesperson is a goodlistener, they're caring,
(17:12):
they're understanding.
It goes back to my basic theoryof what you're trying to do is
help somebody solve a problemwith their product or service
that can make their life better,whether through making them
more money or make their jobeasier.
That's what a salesperson does,and whether you're selling cars
, insurance or whatever it mightbe, or a product or service, it
is.
You're trying to solve aproblem and if you answer
(17:35):
everybody's questions and ifyou're honest, lo and behold,
you're going to make some sales.
Business will follow.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Absolutely.
And of course, you mentionedlistening, which I think is, I
would almost argue, your numberone skill as a salesperson,
because so many folks they're so, especially younger people,
they're so eager to show theirslides or the slick brochure the
client you know, certainlythey'll be impressed that you
have this four color brochure.
But you need to listen, youneed to hear what they're saying
(18:04):
, and if you listen well enough,if you have the skill of
listening, people will tell youeverything you need to know to
meet their needs and then youoffer up the proper solutions
and it's a sale.
It's how you can make a sale.
I mean, do people need tolisten more, wouldn't you agree?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
John, you and I are preaching to the same choir here
.
We're on the same wavelength.
I agree with you 100%.
Listening skills are soimportant and you're absolutely
right.
We get into sales and we thinkyou're so excited to talk about
your product or service thatsomebody says hello and the next
thing you know you're trying toclose a sale.
And it goes back to emotionalintelligence.
(18:41):
If you're aware and a goodreader of eyes and good reader
of body language and a goodreader of what somebody is
saying and responding to you,that's how you become a good
salesperson knowing when to bequiet.
You know too often we talkourselves out of sales because
we don't quiet.
You know it's like just listen,listen and be aware of the body
(19:01):
language and what somebody istelling you, whether it's in
person or on a Zoom call, and solistening is the most important
thing.
And it took me a long time.
I'm not saying I'm an expert.
I love to talk, but you have tofight it and just say let the
other person get a word in andask them, have their objections
(19:22):
or have their concerns, or, youknow, providing more information
.
And so I'm agreeing with you100%.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Great.
What advice would you have,dean, for somebody who's
listening and that maybe they'rea few years into their career?
Right, they've graduatedcollege, they landed their first
job, they're 25 and they'rethinking I could do more.
What's my next step?
As compared to, say, someonewho's 55 and has had a solid
career but maybe doesn't feelfulfilled?
(19:52):
Do you have any advice forpeople on both ends of that
spectrum?
Speaker 3 (19:55):
I think for people early in their career, it's
always knowing that you'realways going to be learning.
There's always something new.
Were we talking aboutartificial intelligence two,
three years ago?
Maybe a little bit, but now itis the talk, it is part of our
business, everything that we'redoing, and there'll be something
else in two or three more years.
When I first got in business,technology was near what we have
(20:15):
now the idea of having laptopcomputers and mobile phones
where we could get our data, youknow, in real time.
So for somebody new, it'salways realize your training
never ends and you always shouldbe learning.
That's not a catchphrase alwaysbe learning.
It's something you're going toneed to be doing throughout your
entire career.
(20:35):
Same holds true with somebodywho's 55.
And you know, when I firststarted coaching, I was working
with people my age and a lot ofthem who were in their 50s think
well, I'm old, now I can'tlearn something new, and that's
a bad habit to fall into.
And we're so concerned aboutage bias, which is some cases.
(20:56):
It is true, very true, but thefact is that you just got to
show the skills that you can doto improve.
I talk about myself.
I went back to school I waswith students half my age or
more, so brilliant and learn newthings.
And you always can learn, nomatter whether you're 25, 45 or
55 or 70, you can still do it.
(21:18):
And it's going back to what Isaid before believing in your
abilities.
Not everybody's going to bethere supporting you, but what
you're looking for is that oneperson to support you.
So it's like that one sale tomake that one person who's going
to be your mentor, that oneperson who can help you be
better, whether you're 25 or 75.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Absolutely so.
Tell us a little bit about theSky Ridge group.
What exactly is that practicefor, or what do you do?
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Well, what's interesting the Sky Ridge is?
Actually, I was trying tofigure out what do I call the
business that I have and that'sa street that I grew up on, sky
Ridge Road back in Connecticut,and I said, well, I like that
and it's just my work.
And when I needed something tohouse my coaching business, my
training business, and I calledit the Sky Ridge Group and it
sounds nice.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
I like the idea.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
I like the idea.
You know it's funny that whenyou start a business, it's like
I spent money on a website.
I spent money on doing allthese things.
And going back to what youasked me about networking so
much of business is throughreferrals and you've done a good
job here and somebody opens upthe door somewhere else.
Going back to networking, john,I trust you.
(22:29):
You introduced me to somebodyelse.
I introduced you to some of myfriends.
You can have the fanciestwebsite in the world or the
fanciest name of a company, theSky Ridge Group, whatever.
People know me as, dean Carroll.
Dean, you're going to help medo something and that's what it
comes down.
You peel away all of the stuff.
What does Dean offer?
I offer basics of business howto work better in corporations,
(22:52):
how to learn better, be a bettersalesperson and again, it's
peeling away a lot of the stuffto say what does Dean really
offer?
Career coaching, sales trainingand motivation and
encouragement.
Terrific, and it would probablybe worth saying as well, dean,
(23:38):
even if somebody's not ready tocompletely jump back into
learning mode, you know, stoptheir career and completely
switch gears, learning, you cando a little bit as you can.
Business subjects I'm alwaysreading, and not every book is
going to give you a lot ofvaluable tidbits, but for $20,
$15, or an e-version for $10, ifyou get two or three good ideas
, that can be a game changer.
There was a book for me, thePower of Simplicity, that I read
30 years ago and 25 years ago,and it was.
You know.
Break things down, make itsimple, stop overthinking things
(23:59):
.
Don't have a to-do list of 40items.
Have a to-do list of threethings.
So that one book, the Power ofSimplicity, really changed my
thinking of how to do businessand how to do my own work.
I go way back to a book calledwhat they Don't Teach you at the
Harvard Business School thelessons of you know.
(24:20):
They have all of the fancythings about, you know strategic
plans and so forth at this andadvanced thinking at Harvard
Business School, but what theydon't teach you at Harvard
Business School are the basicsof business.
And that book also changed mythinking about how I get things
done and my whole philosophy ishow do you break things down
into small pieces, make thingsthat you can accomplish, set
(24:43):
achievable goals, and so ifyou're learning and growing in
your career but you don't wantto go back to school or you
don't have the time to take allof these classes part-time.
Find a book, invest in that, orgo to your local library and
check out a business book.
Going back to LinkedIn followcertain people that you get
great lessons from Guys likeChris Croft, david Crenshaw,
(25:08):
todd Dewitt, sarah Kennedythere's a whole list of people
that I follow that I learnedsomething from.
It's like wow, what a greatidea and that's free Free from
joining.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
LinkedIn?
Absolutely, and I noted too youhave some chapters on time
management.
A lot of people will say I justdon't have the time, dean, but
you always have time for whatyou put first right.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Well, that goes back to the fact of how do you keep
things simple, and as you addthings, you have to take things
away.
You can't do everything andthere are only seven days in a
week and you also need to havetime just to relax and have food
and be with your family and bewith your friends.
So what do you give up?
What are you doing now?
That's not productive and forme, for time manager, for me is
(25:53):
I again, instead of having thatlaundry list of 15 things to get
done, what are the three thingsthat I want to get accomplished
this week and what are thethree things I mean?
For example, today I wanted todo some things.
I knew I was going to be withyou today, so I said I'm making
sure my afternoon is free, thisblock of time is free, so that
I'm clear that I'm ready andavailable to be here for you so
(26:13):
we can have this discussiontoday.
I'm not doing 15 other thingsright now, so I'm focused on you
, john, and so it's beingrealistic about what we can
accomplish and what we can getdone, and that's how you do
effective time management.
No, there's never enough timeto do everything.
So what are the things that canmake a difference and that you
(26:34):
want to accomplish today, thatare going to make you feel good
today too.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Absolutely, and all of us at Jay Helmy appreciate
you making the time.
It's very gracious of you tospend some of your time as we
get toward the end of ourdiscussion.
Dean, are there one or two mainlessons?
If somebody was to rememberjust one or two things from our
discussion today, aside fromyour LinkedIn address, hopefully
(26:59):
they will visit you there.
They'll pick up the bookMastering the Basics.
Are there one or two lessonslife lessons perhaps that appear
to you to be most importantover the years of working with
thousands of people?
Speaker 3 (27:10):
A few there.
I mean one is to be coachable,always be open to listening to
new ideas.
You're always going to be ableto learn more.
The other one I always talkabout all the time is focus on
what really matters, focus onthe priorities.
I always say to everybody andthey've heard this throughout my
career is family comes first,our families, our personal lives
.
You know the business willalways be there.
(27:32):
There's always going to be asale or an opportunity.
There's always going to besomebody have a customer service
issue or something.
So focus on your family andfocus on your health and focus
on things that really matter,knowing your priorities.
The other one is be good topeople.
It's paid off for me.
I spend my time, I try to benice.
I mean, do you need an MBA forthat?
(27:54):
No, so I met you, john.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
I finished first.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah Well, I try.
I'm not perfect.
None of us are.
You're not either, john and Joe, none of us are.
But what we try to do if youcould try to help somebody, it
pays back in dividends try to doif you could try to help
somebody, it pays back individends.
And again, you don't need aStanford MBA, a Kelly School MBA
or Harvard MBA to do that, andthat's what I talk about in my
book.
That's actually lesson numberone is be good to people, smile,
(28:21):
say hello, help people out and,again, knowing your priorities,
focus on what really matters,and I think that pays off in
dividends.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Dean, it's been an absolutepleasure speaking with you and
I'm so appreciative that youtake the time to visit with our
audience Again.
Dean's new book is Masteringthe Basics with Dean Carroll
Simple Lessons for AchievingSuccess in Business.
Dean's available on LinkedIn.
And any last words for ouraudience, dean, before we let
you go.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Well, again, I appreciate the opportunity you
and Joe reached out to me and Ireally look forward to
opportunities like this to speakwith people and if you're an
audience, please do follow me onLinkedIn.
Connect with me.
I'm happy to chat and I posttwo to three times a week on
LinkedIn, whether it's a videoor some topic of interest to me,
and I'm more than happy toreach out and talk to people.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Wonderful Dean.
Thank you so much.
This has been John Lobb forStrategy Next brought to you by
Jay Helmy and Company, and we'lllook forward to seeing you on
the very next episode.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
That's it for this episode of Strategy Next.
We hope you enjoyed ourconversation and felt informed
and enlightened about the topicdiscussed.
Don't forget to subscribe toour podcast so you never miss an
episode.
You can find us on all majorpodcast platforms and if you
have any comments or suggestionsfor future episodes, please
reach out to us at strategynextat jhelmyco Week, with another
(29:48):
expert guest ready to sharetheir insights and expertise
with you.
Until next time, thank you forlistening to Strategy Next by J
Helmy Company.
Strategy Reinvented.
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