Ep. 85: TL;DL - Second Chances and Business Exits with Jeff Parnell

Summary:

This episode features a Too Long, Didn't Listen (TL;DL) summary of my conversation with Jeff Parnell, a fractional interim CEO with 30 years of operational leadership experience. After a 2018 life-saving heart transplant, Jeff crystallized his mission to help business owners transition before it's too late. We explore three key insights: his results-first philosophy from Overton's where numbers mattered more than prettiness, his approach to the silver tsunami of aging business owners held hostage by their companies, and his commitment to execution over beautiful consulting reports. Jeff challenges owners to plan for the unexpected, embrace vulnerability, and surround themselves with people who've been in the trenches.

Show Notes:

01:31 Key Takeaway 1: Owning It - Numbers Need to Work

02:28 Key Takeaway 2: The Heart of Transition Metaphor

03:57 Key Takeaway 3: Execution Over Beautiful Reports

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:32 Guest Introduction
• 1:31 Key Takeaway 1: Owning It - Numbers Need to Work
• 2:28 Key Takeaway 2: The Heart of Transition Metaphor
• 3:57 Key Takeaway 3: Execution Over Beautiful Reports
• 5:22 Final Thoughts
• 6:18 Outro

Transcript

Intro

Welcome to The Corvus Effect, where we explore what it takes to succeed professionally and truly enhance all parts of your life. I'm Scott Raven, Fractional COO and your host. Each episode we go behind the scenes with leaders who've mastered the delicate harmony of growing their professional endeavors while protecting what matters most. Ready to transform from Chief Everything Officer to achieving integration in all facets of your life? Let's soar!

Guest Introduction

Hey everybody, it's Scott. Welcome to this TL;DL, Too Long Didn't Listen episode from my conversation with Jeff Parnell. Jeff is a fractional interim CEO who brings 30 years of operational leadership to businesses facing the most critical transitions. It was a truly unique transition that happened in 2018, a life-saving heart transplant that gave him a second chance and crystallized his mission to help business owners transition on their terms before it's too late, as he speaks about in his upcoming book, The Heart of Transition.

Jeff now uses the transplant experience as a powerful metaphor for business requiring boldness, transparency, and the willingness to change when the stakes couldn't be higher. I encourage you to listen to the full episode. It was full of wisdom, but in the TL;DL, I'm going to summarize some of the key points.

Key Takeaway 1: Owning It - Numbers Need to Work

First, his foundational philosophy of owning it traces back to his trial by fire experience at Overton's 30 years ago. His first job description was simple but brutal: make the numbers work. As he explained, the owner of this company was a fantastic visionary, a driver, super passionate, off the charts passion, but he was all about the results. The other stuff, the prettiness, the semantics, the narrative, really didn't matter that much. The numbers needed to work.

It was the essential truth that the measurement of everything you can do and the relentless pursuit of your KPIs in order to create the output that will produce impact was in full effect and has carried him through to this day. This is very much part of our Corvus principle that we are about the results, substance over style, because that will create the sustainable success that we seek.

Key Takeaway 2: The Heart of Transition Metaphor

Second, his profound insight that business transition mirrors the heart transplant process in ways that could save countless businesses and families. After a five week stint in the hospital, he had an idea in terms of what it would mean, but he had to go through a series of practices, including talking to a psychologist indicating, are you really going to change your behavior? Are you going to make sure that you take your daily pills? Are you going to make sure that you live the lifestyle that is associated with this new gift?

Jeff carried that forward to the businesses that he helps with transition. His provocative question to aging business owners perfectly captures this: What happens if you're in the hospital for 90 days? He had one conversation with an owner who got very quiet and then responded, can you help me sell the company? I need to sell it.

It's one of the things that Jeff's mission addresses, what he calls the silver tsunami, aging baby boomers in their sixties, seventies, even eighties, who want to live life but they're held hostage by their business. While it's not necessarily their fault that they didn't plan, you do have to address the situation sooner rather than later. This powerfully integrates with our Corvus principle that true life integration means building a business that serves your life rather than consuming it.

Key Takeaway 3: Execution Over Beautiful Reports

Finally, his fierce commitment to execution over beautiful consulting reports speaks to his painful experience of being on the receiving end of million dollar consulting projects that went nowhere. When they went nowhere, it was a backfire. Lives were lost, jobs were lost. A lot of drama that just didn't have to be.

Jeff says you go back to the issue of boldness. Sometimes people think it's safe to get a great study, put it on a shelf, and it's a little bit of a ruse. They get the results, but they don't act on it, and by not acting on it, they don't get the value from it. It just looks pretty.

His recent experience with a coffee company illustrates this, where the owner was transparent, open, bold, and willing to listen. She had a mission, and by staying on the mission and acting on the recommendations that came out, she was able to bring her business to where it wanted to be. His philosophy is perfectly summed up by saying you've got to be around the people who have been in the trenches and have your best interest at heart. This aligns perfectly with our Corvus emphasis on authentic partnerships that drive real transformation, because the best plan means nothing if you don't have the courage to execute it.

Final Thoughts

So I encourage you to go back and listen to the full episode. It was an absolute pleasure and honor to have Jeff on the podcast, and making sure that we take the wisdom from Jeff and apply it to our daily lives. Do not be prideful would be Jeff's final words. Make sure that along the way you are getting the assistance from those people who have been there, particularly when you are in the heart of transition.

As always, please feel free to subscribe to the podcast, share with people who could use this wisdom in their lives, and feel free to leave us comments so that we understand how we can do better in our quest to provide impact through this vehicle. Until next time, I'm Scott. I'll see you on the Corvus Effect. Take care.

Outro

Thank you for joining me on The Corvus Effect. If today's conversation sparked ideas about how to free yourself from overwhelm, visit TheCorvusEffect.com for show notes, resources, and our free Sixth Dimensions Assessment, showing you exactly where you're trapped and how to architect your freedom. While you're there, check out the Corvus Learning Platform, where we turn insights into implementation. If this episode helped you see a new path forward, please subscribe and share it with others who are ready to pursue their definition of professional freedom. Join me next time as we continue exploring how to enhance your life through what you do professionally. It's time to make that your reality!