Meredith Bell - Communication Builds Strong Leaders and Teams (#79)

Tom Bronson, host of the Maximize Business Value Podcast, interviews Meredith Bell - Co-Founder and President of Performance Support Systems - about building strong leaders and teams in the workplace. Meredith is passionate about helping others strengthen their communication skills in order to create healthy work environments. Her book, Connect with Your Team: Mastery the Top 10 Communication Skills, addresses the foundational need for empathy and active listening skills in order to understand others. Want to build a stronger and healthier work environment? Listen now to learn how!

As President of Performance Support Systems since 1991, Meredith Bell is head of marketing and sales, and she’s personally worked with thousands of entrepreneurs, leaders, consultants and coaches.  She loves building strong relationships with our clients, resellers, affiliates and vendors. She understands what’s required to build the loyalty and commitment that lead to repeat business and referrals. Meredith is always looking for great joint-venture and affiliate relationships, so contact her if you have an idea for one! She is also the host of the popular Strong for Performance Podcast and is a frequent guest on other podcasts, where she addresses topics like essential communication skills for the workplace, the benefits of focusing on giving and being of service, and what’s required to develop positive habits and skills over time.

Tom Bronson is the founder and President of Mastery Partners, a company that helps business owners maximize business value, design exit strategy, and transition their business on their terms. Mastery utilizes proven techniques and strategies that dramatically improve business value that was developed during Tom’s career 100 business transactions as either a business buyer or seller. As a business owner himself, he has been in your situation a hundred times, and he knows what it takes to craft the right strategy. Bronson is passionate about helping business owners and has the experi

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Tom Bronson is a serial entrepreneur and business owner. He is currently the founder and President of Mastery Partners, Mastery Mergers & Acquisitions, and the Business Transition Summit. All three companies empower business owners to maximize business value and serve business owners in different capacities to help them achieve their dream exit. As a business owner, Tom has been in your situation a hundred times and knows what it takes to craft the right strategy. Bronson is passionate about helping business owners and has the experience to do it. Tom has two books to help business owners on their journey to a dream exit: "Maximize Business Value Playbook," (2023), and "Maximize Business Value, Begin with the EXIT in Mind," (2020). Both are available on Amazon.
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Transcript

Announcer (5s):

Welcome to the maximize business value podcast. This podcast is brought to you by mastery partners, where our mission is to equip business owners, to maximize business value so they can transition their business on their terms. Our mission was born from the lessons we've learned from over 100 business transactions, which fuels our desire to share our experiences and wisdom. So you can succeed. Now, here's your host, the CEO of mastery partners, Tom Bronson.

Tom Bronson (35s):

Hi, this is Tom Bronson and welcome to maximize business value of podcast for business owners who are passionate about building long-term sustainable value in their businesses. In this episode, I'd like to welcome our guest, Meredith bell, she's the co-founder and president of performance support systems. Meredith is also the co-author of connect with your team mastering. Let's see, mastering the top 10 communication skills. We'll talk about that a little bit today. She was introduced to me by my good friend and podcast guests Leilani Quiray today. We're going to talk about growing strong leaders and teams and the communication skills that you need to do so, so I am excited about this podcast and looking forward to our conversation.

Tom Bronson (1m 24s):

So welcome to maximize business value. Meredith, tell us a little bit about performance support systems,

Meredith Bell (1m 32s):

Tom, thank you so much for having me on your show. I'm excited about what we're going to be talking about today. Our company is focused really primarily on helping people improve the way they interact with each other in the workplace. And so for more than 30 years, my two business partners and I have first been consultants and then a software company, and then publisher of books, all focused on this very important topic because we know how, how much of a difference it makes when people really know how to communicate with each other clearly directly. And honestly,

Tom Bronson (2m 12s):

Yeah, I know that you really focus on business communications, but I mean, communication is so important in life, right? And if you learn great communication skills that you can use at work, you can probably use that at home. When you were talking about that. It just made me think of when my wife and I, before we got married and we've been married for 30 and a half years now, the, the pre-marriage counselor told us that communication is the key said, think of communication as the thermostat in your marriage. So if things get too hot, what do you do? You go to the thermostat and turn it down, communication things, get too called.

Tom Bronson (2m 53s):

You go to the thermostat and you turn it up. And so, so when you said that, it just gave me that rush of memory. And so I had to, I had to bring that up. I love talking about communication. So what is your background and perhaps the background of your partners and why did you guys start this business?

Meredith Bell (3m 11s):

My original career was teaching. I always wanted to be a teacher, but I realized after a few years that I didn't care for the routine of the classroom teaching the same things every year. So I got my master's and thought I can have a greater impact if I move into a supervisory role at the school board office. And then after working in three different school systems, I realized, oh, I don't do politics. Well, I don't do bureaucracy well. So I, but my favorite thing and all of that had been working with the teachers, teaching them and especially around these interpersonal communication skills. So I decided to go out on my own, and this should be encouraging to any of your listeners, Tom.

Meredith Bell (3m 54s):

I had zero experience in business. I had never taken a business course yet. I had this desire to have an impact. And so I, and this was back in the early eighties where there was no internet. And so I studied books. I talked to other business owners and I just got out and did things. And I just found that I really enjoyed this whole idea of helping people learn how to play nicely together at work, because there was just so much drama that would happen that would eat away at productivity and performance and just cause such ill will. And so in 1990, I met Denny coats who was also a solo consultant and we started collaborating on some things and decided we were compatible and wanted to put our two businesses together.

Meredith Bell (4m 48s):

And we brought in at that time, a third person who had the business background, she was more of the operations, legal finance, all of that. And so the three of us have worked together now for 30 years and we made this pivot from consulting to software in 1994, when we were looking for a tool in our own consulting business and decided we would hire a developer to create it for us for 360 degree feedback, helping people get feedback from those around them to learn what is it they need from me? What are my strengths? Where do they want to see me improve? And we made that pivot to being a software company because we realized there are a lot of other companies that need this kind of program.

Meredith Bell (5m 33s):

And what was out there at the time was really expensive, hard to use. So we've just been committed to helping organizations use this, to give leaders teams and an entire organization feedback that will help improve performance, improve productivity in the workplace. And last year with the pandemic, we just decided let's capture our greatest about communication in the form of a book. And that's where connect with your team came from. We just felt like it was important to get it out in a bigger way. So that's how we came to be where we are today.

Tom Bronson (6m 12s):

The, the irony is not lost on me. That that the reason you didn't like working in sort of the school districts or corporate America, for that reason that, you know, for that is the politics and isn't politics all about communication. And so isn't it, the irony is not lost on me that now you've got a business that helps people navigate

Meredith Bell (6m 33s):

Exactly. I've had the pain, you know, on the other.

Tom Bronson (6m 39s):

Awesome. Awesome. So the name of the company is performance support systems. So what is the number one thing a business owner should focus on to boost employee performance and achieve better results, which of course leads to maximizing the value of the business.

Meredith Bell (6m 56s):

Well, this won't come as a surprise to you that I think communication effective communication is the foundation for getting people motivated to give their best and you know, wanting to contribute at the highest possible level that you, you know, throwing money at them, bonuses that does not suffice if they don't feel valued, appreciated and cared about. So I, and, and you do that through the way you communicate with them in writing, you know, verbally, all the different elements, even the non-verbals communicate in a big way.

Tom Bronson (7m 34s):

Yeah. My money is way down on the list. I think it's like four or six or something like that in terms of, of job satisfaction, right? And, and so, so many people use money as a substitute for the things that they really want and desire. And that is great feedback. I've, I've talked with a lot of folks and we've had other guests on our podcasts that talk about communication, but you know, the, the big Delta between generations is that the younger generation today really wants that constant feedback. They want to know how they're doing, how they can improve and, and, and our, our older generations weren't like that at all.

Tom Bronson (8m 16s):

And so, so I love the fact that you guys talk about how to be effective communication leaders in the business. And I agree with you, that is, that is top of my list. So if I'm a business owner committed to developing my team, what's the most effective way to structure training so that it has a lasting impact on the business.

Meredith Bell (8m 42s):

That's such an important point, Tom, because too often we think about bringing in the top drawer trainers, right? Let's pay big bucks to bring in people that can really get folks motivated, excited. And in fact, I remember years ago when I was doing training, this one fellow that was considering hiring me did that said that very thing, you know, I want to get these people motivated and excited. And so I said, well, what do you have planned for follow-up after this wonderful experience? He hadn't thought it through. And I said, you're wasting your money if you are bringing in somebody for any event.

Meredith Bell (9m 24s):

And that's what I would tell to business owners think of training as ongoing and the key aspect of it. You don't even have to quote, send people to a training class. You can provide development opportunities on the job because the real test of effective training is P do people use those skills once they've left the training in their, in their interactions with other people. If we look at what, you know, the interpersonal skills too often, and it's in the billions of dollars, Tom, that are wasted every year, people company spending money to send people to training that has no impact back on the job.

Meredith Bell (10m 9s):

And the, and the key missing piece is the follow-up. So what are you doing upfront to prepare people for whatever the training is that you want them to learn? What are you doing afterwards that gives them the opportunity to get practice, get feedback, and support?

Tom Bronson (10m 26s):

Well, that, that is a mouthful, you know, follow up for business owners is sometimes a challenge, right? Especially because especially if the business is dependent on the owner and they're very involved in the day to day, you know, they, they will issue a mandate or do some training and then just expect that it's going to happen. And the reality is is that if you don't measure it and monitor it, then it's going to die on the mine. And so, so that is great advice, not only for communication skills, but throughout the business, you know, in the, in the book when I was reading the book, I think I bookmarked this. Did I? Yeah. So in the book you talk about rewiring your brain, right.

Tom Bronson (11m 12s):

To, to think differently now, is that actually possible? Or are we hardwired

Meredith Bell (11m 18s):

Well, when it comes to certain kinds of skills, like communication skills, those are hardwired. And, and, but hard-wiring doesn't mean they can't be changed. This is where any habit we want to change, where we've created this pattern in our brains over time, it's a physical connection that's going on. It literally is hard wired. We don't just form connections. There's actually this protective covering that goes over that to make it stronger over time. So let's just say, for example, you have a habit, or I have a habit of interrupting people. That's just my way. When somebody is talking, I may be impatient.

Meredith Bell (11m 59s):

I may be ready to move on. They're taking too long to get to the point. You know, all these reasons we might interrupt them, finish their sentence. That's a habit I've created. And that's it. It's my way of doing it. That doesn't make it the right way. And I can definitely change that if I've gotten feedback about the fact that it really is annoying and frustrating to people around me and I make the commitment to do something different. Here's the challenge when we have that hard wiring, just because we make the decision to be something different, doesn't mean it's going to happen overnight. It doesn't, we don't rewire our brains overnight. So if you imagine an analogy of the way you're doing it now is like a super highway for you.

Meredith Bell (12m 44s):

You go fast, you go easily. If you decide you're going to do something different, and you were mentioning earlier about being a golfer. So if, and this applies to golf lessons or any sport lesson, if you work with a pro who shows you a better way, it's going to feel really awkward at first. So a change in a habit feels sort of like going down a gravel or dirt road. It's rough. You know, it doesn't feel good, it's uncomfortable. And we have to be willing to persist with the practice of it over time until that new way becomes hardwired because it will, and it actually causes the other one to get less, less strong, let's say.

Meredith Bell (13m 33s):

And so you, you, that becomes your pattern. So yes, you can rewire your brain. This is why the followup after training is so important. If you just go for, to a golf pro for one lesson, and then you say I got it, and then you go practice it yourself. You may not have it because you're not getting feedback. You're not having that continued coaching and support. And it's the same thing for any skill in the workplace.

Tom Bronson (13m 60s):

Wow. So I'm just curious why you chose interrupting people, because,

Meredith Bell (14m 8s):

Well, I'll tell you why,

Tom Bronson (14m 9s):

Because you started, you said, well, you, and then you said, well, I, and

Meredith Bell (14m 13s):

That's right. Well, here's the, because I didn't know if that was a trait of yours, but I will tell you, this was actually a problem with Paula and me with Demi years ago, because he was retired military. He was used to moving, you know, quickly, and he would interrupt us and finish our sentences. And I think I'm better at not doing that because of having experienced it from him. But here's what we did to support him. First of course, we let him know, you know, this is really frustrating to us. You don't know what we're going to say next, and you need to be a little bit more patient and give us to finish our thought before you jump in.

Meredith Bell (14m 54s):

So we started doing two things to support him in helping him become more aware. One was if we were in an in-person meeting and he was in, or whoever he was interrupting, we just put our hand up like a stop sign. And that was his visual cue. I'm doing it. But the other thing is something that we actually still practice. As recently as this week, we were having a conversation. And what we started doing is just saying, I'm not done yet. If somebody else jumped in, initially he was the one that jumped in. But what we have found over time is that when we get into a creative brainstorming or discussing something important, we don't want to lose our thought and we'll jump in.

Meredith Bell (15m 38s):

And the other person, you know, this is just our habit now, Hey, I wasn't done yet. And so we don't say it in a way, like I wasn't done yet, you know, to be sarcastic. And as a put down, it's just a reminder that let me finish without saying it in a, an effect. You can say that to let me finish, or please let me finish. It's the intonation that you used is really important to whether you escalating some kind of thing and building it up into a problem versus, oh, we're just all enthusiastic about wanting to participate. And I just need to wait until the opportunity is right for me to speak up.

Tom Bronson (16m 17s):

Wow. I think I show amazing restraint by not interrupting you and you're giving me an answer. And so, because that wouldn't be the way I've been hardwired. And, and I will, I recognize that because that is a piece of knowledge that I hold, right. I, I recognize that that's perhaps a, a character flaw of mine, and I might do that in normal communication. But for the purpose of recording these podcasts, I have to be very intentional about not interrupting. So I don't muddle the message and, and lose, lose your train of thought. So, so perhaps I should carry over a motor restraint to the rest of my life.

Tom Bronson (16m 56s):

And perhaps my family would be happier.

Meredith Bell (16m 59s):

Exactly. You, you hit the nail on the head, you see, you're showing that you can do it in certain situations. So it's a matter of applying it.

Tom Bronson (17m 9s):

I sure hope my family doesn't listen to this podcast. Hey, before we break, you know, bringing in a coach for a company's top leadership team is a common practice, I think, to accelerate growth. But I think everyone could probably benefit from coaching too. What do you recommend as an economic? It may not be a practical approach to bring in somebody for every employee, but what would be sort of an economical, practical way to provide coaching for employees?

Meredith Bell (17m 41s):

Yes. Well, as a matter of fact, we wrote a book called peer coaching made simple for that very purpose, because it really isn't economically feasible typically to bring in a coach for everyone, you could bring in a coach to do group coaching with a lot of people, but even then, that's not as frequent as what might be necessary to help people support each other. So pairing people up as accountability partners is huge and very, you know, it's just a few skills that are required. They don't have to go through certification themselves. And one of the benefits of doing this, Tom is you are helping to create a culture where people are willing to coach each other because they're acquiring skills around what it looks like to coach by asking questions, by, you know, giving someone feedback and encouraging them if they see they're discouraged.

Meredith Bell (18m 40s):

So there are a number of benefits of a really empowering everyone in the organization to learn how to be a support coach to someone else.

Tom Bronson (18m 50s):

I love that. I think accountability is something that, that is sort of a great chasm and in business today, holding people accountable and doing it effectively and having accountability partners, I think is a wonderful way to be able to do that. And then it could be even be potentially a less threatening than a, you know, a a, a, a, a direct report situation where a supervisor is the accountability partner. If you can find ways to, to have the employees hold one, another accountable. I just love that. So we're learning all kinds of lessons, not just about communication here today. So we're talking with Meredith bell, let's take a quick break.

Tom Bronson (19m 31s):

We'll be back in 30 seconds.

Announcer (19m 34s):

Every business will eventually transition some intermediate employees and managers, and some externally to third party bikes, mastery partners, equips business owners to maximize business value so they can transition their businesses on their terms. Using our four step process. We start with a snapshot of where your business is today. Then we help you understand the way you want to be and design a custom strategy to get you there. Next, we help you execute that strategy with the assistance of our amazing resource network. And ultimately you'll be able to transition your business on your terms. What are you waiting for more time, more revenue, if you want to maximize your business value, it takes time.

Announcer (20m 15s):

Now is that time get started today by checking us out at www.masterypartners.com or email us at info@masterypartners.com

Tom Bronson (20m 27s):

We're back. And we're having a great conversation with Meredith bell co-founder of performance support systems and co author of connect with your teams mastering the top 10 communication skills. So let's talk a little bit about the book in the bug connect with your teams, you and Dennis deliver Denny as you call him, deliver practical advice for developing great communication skills. So what are the most important communication skills business owners need to get really good at to make sure that they're building strong relationships with their teams and clients and potential clients and with their vendors?

Meredith Bell (21m 6s):

Well, the first one would be listening because to me, that's the foundation skill really for all the others. And I think it's important to explore this a little bit, Tom, because you know, a lot of people, if you ask them, are you a good listener? They'll say, oh yeah, yeah. But in reality, listening involves a lot more than just sitting and being quiet. You know, listening does not imply you're passive. In fact, it's why it's so hard to do it well, because it's multifaceted for one thing, you're, you're not just listening to the word someone is saying and trying to get their full message. You're paying attention to their body language.

Meredith Bell (21m 47s):

If you're on a zoom call or in person, you're listening to their tone of voice, you're looking at gestures. In other words, the whole package, because that is going to tell you whether, you know, what they're saying is really consistent with what you're seeing and hearing. And a key element of being a good listener is curiosity. Are you curious to learn more about what's behind what this person is saying? Because too often we make assumptions or we take at face value what someone is saying. And if we explore a little bit more by asking good questions, it's amazing what we learn about that person and how that can inform what we do in the future in terms of assigning projects, or, you know, bringing out the best in them.

Meredith Bell (22m 39s):

Another aspect is empathy, and this is where the other person feels really understood. So we're, again, we're not just trying to get the literal message they're giving us. We want to pick up on the feeling that's behind it. And you know, some owners may say, I don't have time to get into this feeling stuff. Well, yes, you do. Because if you neglect it, you are really neglecting attending to the whole person. And people come to work, you know, as full human beings. And so to really appreciate and, and find out what makes them tick so that you can help them perform at their very best.

Meredith Bell (23m 22s):

You've got to listen, you've got to find out what's going on with them. And so when I say empathy, it's not the same as sympathy. It's really letting them know that you get what they're trying to say. So you say things like, oh gosh, it sounds like you're really frustrated. What's what's happening right now. Or you're really frustrated aren't you? So you can put it in the form of a question or a statement, and then you let them respond to confirm or say, oh, no, it isn't that it's this over here. Well, now you've learned something else you didn't know before. So these elements are really key to being able to move forward with a conversation and get to the results that you want.

Meredith Bell (24m 10s):

In fact, another aspect of listening that's applied everywhere. Is this the skill of asking questions? It really permeates several of the other skills that are in the book, like getting buy-in on things you expect the person to do. You know, if, if you're seeing someone is resistant and they are, you know, either complaining or bringing up why this won't work well, what would it take for you to get on board, you know, just to explore and find out. So we, again, we don't assume there's a reason, oh, they've always been a complainer. You know, we tend to label people as a problem employee or whatever. And if we simply slow down and take the time to get to understand them and know what makes them tick, it's amazing how people will get on board when they feel that somebody is really caring about me.

Meredith Bell (25m 5s):

They're really interested in me. It's huge

Tom Bronson (25m 9s):

While I want to unpack a few of those things, because there are several things that you said there that are important, that last point about communicating with the employees, you know, as, as you know, and our listeners know, I coach business owners and maximizing value. And during our coaching sessions, you know, every month, then occasionally I'll hear a business owner say, well, they're really frustrated with so-and-so. Their performance has dropped and all that. And I say, well, have you talked to him about it? And there's this silence, right? Because like, well, no, I just I'm unhappy with their performance. Is there something else going on in their life that perhaps might be impacting them?

Tom Bronson (25m 50s):

Have you thought about just having this conversation with them? It doesn't have to be confrontational just having a conversation with them. So, so I like that. I think that when, when something happens or you notice something different, then we shouldn't feel like we can't go have a conversation right. With our folks and it doesn't have to be confrontational. Now I will. You, you mentioned that, you know, folks will on average say that they're good listeners. I would, I would invite you to perhaps modify the, the question once you ask them, if they're good listeners, ask them a follow up question. Are you good with names? Because almost everybody will tell you they're not good with names, right?

Tom Bronson (26m 30s):

Remembering names. And many years ago in a, in a, a class that I took, God, gosh, this is probably 30 years ago. The, the instructor asked us if we were good with names and he did a long demonstration of, of how you can remember names. But then he said, the point is, is we're not good with names because we're not listening. When we, when we meet somebody for the first time, we're not paying attention to them. We're thinking of our next response or, or introducing ourselves, or what, what question or something interesting we can say. And if you just stop and listen, then you'd be great with names.

Tom Bronson (27m 13s):

And I thought, wow. So that's something that Karen and I have employed, you know, throughout our life, our lives together, that, that we've become really good with names because we pay attention to what people are saying. So it's amazing what you can find out if you're a really, really good listener. So, so those are some excellent points. And I don't want to go into all of them because, you know, because I want people to go and buy the book, right? It's got 10 things, 10 communication skills that, that every business owner should develop. So we'll, we'll put a link to that.

Meredith Bell (27m 45s):

I would love to just add one more real quick. That I think is really important. That tends to get overlooked, especially with business owners, because being one, we get busy, we're in a hurry. We're trying to move along. And if we could slow down long enough to pay attention to what people are doing well and comment on it and express appreciation, that is huge because people tend to get five times more criticism than they do positive feedback. And so to take time, to be specific to, it's not saying, oh, you're wonderful. It's saying I really appreciate it. In that meeting that you notice Jane wasn't contributing and you encouraged her to speak up because her ideas were really important.

Meredith Bell (28m 27s):

You know, little things like that. And of course it requires us raising our own awareness to notice when people are doing these good things and someone might say, well, you know, I'm paying them to do their job. I shouldn't have to be patting them on the back all the time. The reality is every human being needs to know. They matter needs to know they are valued and valuable and, and expressing appreciation is one of the biggest deposits you can make into the bank of your relationship with another person.

Tom Bronson (28m 60s):

I love that, you know, one of the things that I used to talk with our leaders about course, the, the old style of management would have been catch people, doing things wrong right. And pointing them out. But I always challenged our leaders to go catch people doing things right. And be sure that you point that out. Not just good job, good job. Cause if they hear a good job, good job over and over again, then, then it just starts losing meaning. But I really liked the way you handled this and give them that good, positive feedback. That is, that is so very important to developing that relationship. And it really is motivational to the employees, you know, as the CEO of, of, you know, fairly large companies, I caught people doing something, right.

Tom Bronson (29m 43s):

I really complimented them on it. And it was the kind of thing that made them just want to over-perform in the future. And so, so if you want to get your teams really on board, give that good feedback and, and be sure to be sure to overload with positive feedback where there are opportunities don't shy away from doing that. And I always did that. I don't know whether it's right wrong or indifferent, but I said criticize in private and praise in public. So, and of course I would also give praise in private. So I, I don't know if those are the right things to do, but, but perhaps you can school me on that.

Meredith Bell (30m 23s):

Definitely criticism in private, no one, no one wants to be humiliated. And all you do, if you do that is you build up resentment. And by the way, not just from that person, but the others who witnessed it. So it has a negative impact that has a ripple effect that does not work in your favor. Okay.

Tom Bronson (30m 44s):

Oh yes you are. Absolutely. Right. So, so, you know, being, being a, in a business partnership, you know, you touched on the length of time that you guys have been together. The, and I apologize guys, guys, and gals, you have two women and one man. And, and I've, I grew up in the south. And so I've used that term illogically for years. And so you, men and women have been working together for 30 years now, being in a business partnership can be difficult at times. I know this because I've been in difficult partnerships, but you folks have been in business together for 30 years. What is the secret to creating that relationship that you guys have that is lasting all these years?

Meredith Bell (31m 29s):

I think it's sort of like when you get married first is choose well, right? You want to be sure that you go into business with people who share your values and, and, and, you know, you want the variety, the diversity of ideas, but there has to be this, this fundamental shared values about how we do business, you know, related to integrity, fairness, honesty, and then you just work at it. It really is very similar to making a marriage work because no two people think the same thing and agree on everything.

Meredith Bell (32m 12s):

And so when you have three, it complicates it or potentially complicates it even more. I think what's happened over the years is we have come to really value the unique strengths that each of us brings to the table. And we are willing to be honest with each other, if somebody does something and it, you know, is upsetting or that sort of thing, w we, we bring it up. And so we don't fester, you know, problems. Don't simmer under the surface, we're just open about it with each other. And I think that that's really a key aspect and, and just being respectful in the differences that we might have and say, okay, I disagree with that.

Meredith Bell (32m 56s):

I think a better approach would be this. And we, we listen to each other's ideas with an open mind. I think that's really been important too. We set ego aside. We're not focused on being right. And this is something that, you know, we had to learn over time. I, especially with sensitive to Denny has a PhD in English. And so when I would write something and he would start, you know, the equivalent of a teacher red marks, right. I would go, oh man. And I would feel bad. And because I was taking it personally. And so I learned over the years, I grew up emotionally better.

Meredith Bell (33m 37s):

And now it's like, we don't waste any time. Okay. If we're going over each other's work, I'll say, get rid of that word. That phrase is too formal sounding. You know, we are, we're quick to approach editing without any emotions attached to it because the goal is let's get this done. Right. And let's produce the best thing possible. So I think over time, we've come to appreciate love and respect each other so much that we've got this solid foundation that we could weather anything together.

Tom Bronson (34m 11s):

I think that's wonderful. That doesn't mean that you probably haven't had rough patches, right? Just like any marriage, any marriage that's perfect. I would, I would bet that most of the people in those marriages will tell you that there are rough patches as well, but I will tell you, I thank you for sharing that. I think that's so important for business owners to hear that it is possible to build that long-term relationship. If you want to hear the other side of that story. Then a few weeks ago, we had Mike muni on who was the founder of act software and actually created the CRM category know, and for software that was like you before the internet. And he told a story about, and was very vulnerable with his response.

Tom Bronson (34m 55s):

He told a story about a failed partnership, you know, two best friends who had been working together. And then they grew apart and it got so ugly that they ultimately sold the company. And so, so if you'd like to hear that, then just dial back a couple of weeks to the podcast, or it might be any part of the 17% club podcast series that we've just wrapped up. So, so one last question, one last business question for you, Meredith you know, this podcast is all about maximizing business value. What is the one most important thing that you recommend a business owners do to build value in their business?

Meredith Bell (35m 32s):

It ties back to something you said earlier about the younger generations, wanting opportunities and a key aspect is they want to grow and learn. And so I think one of the biggest ways a business owner can build value is being willing to invest time and money in the development of your people to help them learn new skills. Yes, they may eventually leave just because they see another opportunity, but, but while they're with you, you want them to be performing at the very highest level. And so one way to do that is helping them feel that you care about their development as a human being.

Meredith Bell (36m 14s):

And that way, if they do eventually leave you, they can still be a great ambassador for you to other people because of how you treated them. I think we have to take a long-term view here of what can I do to invest in my people, because they are the most important resources I have for building and expanding my business.

Tom Bronson (36m 37s):

That's awesome. That is great advice. So, you know, our listeners always know that I asked my bonus question. And so we're going to compile answers on the bonus question one of these days and just do one podcast on that. But, you know, I was thinking about not asking you this because you're such a nice person and I enjoy talking with you. However, we already pointed out one of my character flaws earlier today. So now I'm going to have to ask you to turn the tables and ask you Meredith what personality trait has gotten you into the most trouble through the years.

Meredith Bell (37m 8s):

I would have to say curiosity from two different perspectives. One, I love learning. And so I've gotten distracted by shiny objects. So many times that have derailed me from the area I was focusing on. And it was because, oh, that looks interesting. So I'm curious about learning the other aspect of curiosity that has sometimes not often, but sometimes got me into trouble is because I am very curious. I tend to ask a lot of questions and sometimes I'm asking too quickly. I like going deep, you know, getting to the meaning of things, not staying superficial and not everyone's ready for that.

Meredith Bell (37m 48s):

And so I have gotten into trouble at times by asking questions that, you know, come across as being a little too pressure by someone else just because I want to learn. So I've, I've tempered that over time. I'm still curious, but I, I, I, I tend to monitor the pace based on the responses that I'm getting.

Tom Bronson (38m 13s):

Well, that's a new one. I've heard all kinds of responses, but curiosity is a new one for us. You know, what I'm hearing is, you know, my five-year-old children. Why, why, why? And they keep asking those questions. So I understand how that might've gotten you in trouble through the years. This has been such great fun. How can our viewers and listeners get in touch you Meredith

Meredith Bell (38m 37s):

Our website is grow strong leaders.com so they can learn more about our books and products there. And I also have a way for them to set up a call with me right there on the homepage. If they'd like to have a conversation, they can also connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Tom Bronson (38m 56s):

Awesome. Thank you so much for being our guests today and educating business owners about communication skills. You can find Meredith Bell growstrongleaders.com or on LinkedIn. And of course, reach out to me and I'll be happy to introduce you to my friend Meredith bell. This is the maximize business value podcast, where we give practical advice to business owners on how to build long-term sustainable value in your business. Be sure to tune in each week and follow us wherever you found this podcast. And if you'd like to get our weekly newsletter, that's full of tips for maximizing business value. Be sure to sign up at masterypartners.com.

Tom Bronson (39m 39s):

So until next time, I'm Tom Bronson reminding you to develop strong communications and teams while you maximize business value.

Announcer (39m 53s):

Thank you for tuning into the maximize business value podcast with Tom Bronson. This podcast is brought to you by mastery partners, where our mission is to equip business owners to maximize business value so they can transition on their terms on how to build long-term sustainable business value and get free value building tools by visiting our website, www.masterypartners.com that's master with a Y masterypartners.com. Check it out.

Tom Bronson (40m 38s):

That was perfect. I wouldn't make any changes.