1442: Freedom by Design: Escape Burnout, Scale Up, and Put People First with Business Strategist and Author Michael Walsh

Robert Plank 0:01 Most business owners dream of freedom, but hitting seven or eight figures can actually trap you in a grind of stress, shrinking margins and a team that leans too hard on you, and that's the problem that Mr. Michael Walsh is here to help us solve, to help us crack that nut. He has a book called freedom by design, the established business owners guide to grow, make an impact and find joy. So if you're one of these leaders who's looking to escape this trap of burnout while also scaling your companies, and he is the guy to talk to, we can fall in love with our business again, and we can find a better way of letting go of control and just having the fun again, but also making money and taking some things. So Mr. Michael Walsh, glad to see you. Glad to be speaking

Mickael Walsh 0:52 with you. Well, thanks for having me here.

Robert Plank 0:55 Happy to have you, and so I did my best to introduce you. But what are you all about? All about?

Mickael Walsh 1:00 Um, well, I run a business consulting firm, and we basically help people grow their companies in support of whatever their goals and commitments are in their lives. You know, whether it's whether it's to an experiment, how they go to the next level, whether it's a for legacy, you know, passing it on, you know, an established business on to to family or to sell it to employees, or to, you know, move things forward or to make a quiet impact. In some corner of the world, people have lots of different things they want to do with their companies, and what my firm does is helps them do that.

Robert Plank 1:35 And why don't most people have this figured out? Why are people stuck on the launch pad? Are they just they don't have someone like you to ask these questions or think like this, like, why aren't more people looking into these paths? You suggest, the passing it on, the making an impact? Like, what's the hurt in the world? Why is this happening?

Robert Plank 1:55 It's happening?

Mickael Walsh 1:55 Well, everybody tries to do that, and some are more successful than others. One of the things that I find is that there are a lot of people out there that give people a lot of great advice. You know, 20 years ago, 85% of all businesses never made it five years. Okay? That means 15% did five years ago, 55% of all businesses never made it five years. That means that means the 45% did so it literally tripled over the, you know, over the last couple of decades. The The thing about that is, with the internet, there's lots more information available to everybody in terms of how to run and grow business and things like that. Although the one thing that I find is, while survival in business is on the upswing, dramatically. Growth is another story at all, or altogether. What I find is that 85% of the businesses out there right now, when you take a look at small to medium sized businesses, never make a million in revenue. Of those who do, 95% of them never hit 5 million. And of the ones that hit 5,000,098% of those never hit 10 million. Now then there's a whole other stratosphere of the Fortune 1000 but they started about $5 billion so that's a whole different league. But you know, for the small to medium sized businesses, it's like a cliff that people have difficulty going through. And here's the thing that I find, there's two things. One, there are as many ways to grow a business as there are people. We all have different skills and talents and and things that you're unique about is so there's lots of many ways, you know, many ways to grow a company. The problems are pretty much all the same, though, and, and so when it comes to the marketing, you know, business development, or sales, production and delivery of your goods, the money, the people dealing with the evolving marketplace, you know, how do I figure out the strategy and leadership? There's lots of information on all that stuff, and what I find is business owners are pretty savvy group. If they can see a problem, they can figure out a way to find out how to fix it. If they can't see the problem, but they know that it exists again. They can figure it out, and, you know, get the resources needed. The ones that get people these days are if they can't see a problem and they have no idea it even exists, even while it's got them in its grips. They think it's something else, something more like the marketing, operations, finance, all that kind of stuff, and this thing has got them, and they have no idea that it's got them. Well, it's really hard to fix a problem. I have no idea that it even exists, even if it's got me. So that's one of the things that I find really stops business owners. And in fact, that's what this latest book that I've written is about.

Robert Plank 4:47 And as far as these missing or these invisible problems, right? They don't even know what exists, there's like a pie chart breakdown. Are there common ones, or is it all across the board? As far as these. Problems that these business owners don't even know. Are there?

Mickael Walsh 5:03 Well, what we've identified are four danger zones. So after somebody gets past their first million in revenue, as they approach 2 million, there are certain things that just start to show up. There's a whole different set of problems that started showing up just after 5 million, assuming they get through that, that $2 million chasm, and then, and then, when they're just about a 10, between about eight and a half or nine and 10, there's another set of problems. Again. They don't look like anything like the first set of the second set. And then there's this chasm between 12 million and 20 million, which is like no man's land. So those are four specific areas, the problems all look different, but the source of the problems are the same thing, and in fact, it's a combination of two different things in there, okay? And these are the things that people don't realize. One every time you grow your company, you outstrip your business structures. You've got systems and structures, and that's fine, and they may work for a company up to a couple of million dollars, but when I started hitting my head on $2 million what happens is that the structures are no longer working like they used to. So that's one of the and some people can see, oh yeah, I've got stripped this structure. I've outstripped that structure. And but then there's this second dynamic that's that's happening at the same time. And the second dynamic is our ranks have swollen, so we've got more people there, and there's this thing called human behavior. And the more people you've got, especially if you're outstripping your structures, it doesn't look pretty, you know? It's fascinating, because if you see, you know, if I have a little company of four people, okay, myself and three others. There's actually six one on one relationships that are there in a group of four. Okay? When I go to say 25 people, that number swells to 301 on one relationships. If I went to 50 people, my 300 goes to 1225 one on one relationships. And what if I grow the business to 100 people? There's almost 5000 relationships. There's actually 4950 relationships. So it's almost 5001 on one relationships. Now there's, you don't control our relationship, I don't control our relationship. There's this thing called the relationship between you and I. Now you can, you can influence it. I can influence it. I mean, either one of us can influence it by just walking away, but we can also sort of nurture it and see that it goes well, here's the thing, I can't control that relationship unless I try to control you, and you can't control the relationship unless you try to control me. Well, nobody really likes to be controlled. So we're in a situation where I've got all these one on one relationships, and let's look at ourselves in a 50 person company. If they're all in the same location, everybody knows everybody else. Now they may not know them all intimately, but they do know them. They know them by their name, and they you know, they'll have different levels of acquaintances and friendships with different people from that side. So you got, you know, and at 50 people, you're talking about over 1000 over 1200 of these, one on one relationships that exist that nobody controls, but everybody has an influence. And people wonder where the name herding cats came from. Okay, so we're in a situation where, you know, the bigger it gets, these things are going on. And so what happens is, as I strip my structures as a business owner, you know, I really love my people. I want to take very good care of them, you know, especially in professional services or skilled trades, you know, where, where it's all service based businesses, they're in a situation where they know the value of their people. But if I got 25 or 30 or 40 people, I'm in a situation where this is getting untenable. So as I outstrip my structures, I put in new structures, maybe I can get them to do what I need them to do, and use the structures to well, that's just a control mechanism. And what happens is, again, people don't like to be controlled, so the the dynamics between personal, you know, human behavioral aspects and decide stripping your structures and putting in ones that don't serve the people is what usually creates a lot of turmoil for business owners. And people don't realize. They just figure that I just can't find good staff anymore. Well, actually, if you can sort out these underlying issues, a lot of these problems go away.

Robert Plank 9:20 Oh, so you're saying treat the root cause, not the symptoms, right? If there's the turnover, there's the toxic relationships, the processes, or a Mets, maybe they're out of date, or the people need to do better. And it just, it sounds like a quite a huge problem. So is there a straightforward solution? Or when someone comes to you and says, Help Michael, like it worked great with four people, but now that we're at 5200 we're just completely overwhelmed. What's the answer?

Mickael Walsh 9:46 Well, the first thing is, you want to understand, what are the structures that are, that are in place, and notice when you starting to strip your structures? I mean, I'd love if everybody we said, you know, come talk to Michael. But it's like, you know, there's. A lot of people around, and we want to make the book actually helps people out as well, but, but the you want to notice when you're outstripping your structures, and again, as they approach to just after five, approaching 10, in between 12 and 20, they're all different structures that are being out stripped. That's why it always looks different, because it's always different structures. But the other side of it is, if somebody could take a few minutes and learn and understand some of the basic elements of human behavior. 80 to 90% of these problems go away. Okay, so, for example, there's four core elements of human behavior that I talk about in the book. Number one, we all have the biological need to survive. It is built into our biology. Okay? Second, we have an innate desire to thrive. So survival is about protecting ourselves and those that we call part of us, like our family or whoever. Thriving is about others. It's about contributing to others and also participating with others and creating cool things. The third thing we have in common is that we have both the need and the desire to connect with each other. And the fourth one is we have the capability to adapt to a changing environment, even if we don't like the environment and how it's changing. We can adapt again. Our survival techniques kick in and and, you know, we can actually deal with that. So if I understand that, you know, fundamentally, everybody needs to survive. They want to thrive. They they can and want to connect, and they're able to adapt, I can then start watching human behavior through those lenses, and I can actually say, okay, you know what? This person's not a jerk. They're just scared something's going on that that's that's not helping them out. And so how do I actually support them in that? The other thing that I find gives people a lot of clarity. The past belongs in the history book. Okay, the few both the past and the future are mental constructs. The only place we are is in the present. But the truth is, the past lives in the present. It's in our memory, in our in our perceptions that we gained as a result of whatever experiences we have in the past. Our future also lives in our present. Is what we anticipate. You know, as far as that's concerned, well, part of the structures to behavior is your perceived

Mickael Walsh 12:15 future shapes your present.

Mickael Walsh 12:18 So if I see a brighter future for myself, I'll be happier and more productive in the present. If I see a dimmer, stuck future for myself, I'll actually not be too happy in the present. So when I see somebody that's struggling or negative or having difficulty, the question, I don't tell them to go change their attitude. They can't, because it's based in this feeling that they get from whatever they're perceiving about the future. Instead, what I would do is I'd go find out what's the future they're looking at. What are the concerns that they've got now, given that it's a mental construct, the future does not have to happen that way. There's, you know, we have a lot of choice in life, and if I can support somebody in how to steer their way to a future that really gives them what they want. They're far brighter in the present. And if I put in structures that help them be at their best, rather than structures to try to constrain or corral their behavior, I'm in a situation where I get the best out of my people. And you know what? When companies get the best out of their people, if the people are happy and they're productive, it's way more profitable. This is about as hard nosed as it gets. You know, people go, Oh, well, the people stuff, oh, that's all nice and fine. And that's the woo, woo stuff. And it's, no, it's not, it's as hard nosed as you get. If I got everybody working at their strengths, and I put together teams of complementary strengths, I got killer teams, I got clients that are happy. I've got a whole bunch of stuff that's going right. And guess what happens to my freedom? I get more freedom in my business doing the stuff that I love. I get more freedom from my business. I'm actually able to take time off because I've got teams that are working. And I get freedom because of the business, whether it's to make an impact, whether it's freedom, you know, financial freedom for my family, whether it's actually the freedom to support the growth of the people within the organization, there's so much that's available from it just by treating people like they all want to be treated as as opposed to thinking that I need to change their behavior by trying to control them some way.

Robert Plank 14:18 Well, I love the enthusiasm that this new way of thinking is required, right? And perhaps getting back to the fundamentals and getting people excited and motivated again. And as you've been saying, is every situation is different, right? There's all these different people are so unique, and there's all these different kind of problems and all kind of shapes and sizes of businesses, but you've seen some things, and because it's a podcast, it's always fun to jump into a story or two just to find out where you really shine. So what do you have to share with us today as far as like, success story or case study?

Mickael Walsh 14:51 Well, there's an engineering firm I'm working with right now. I actually met with them this morning and and it's interesting, because I started working with these people. Goal about five years ago, and their goal at that time, they wanted to actually, it was interesting, because these were, there were nine people in a management training course that I did, and I and I worked with them, and what happened was they said, you know, we'd like to make more money, but we're employees of this company. I said, Well, what if we could set up a game where you could actually double your income. And they're like, that sounds great. These people were all making between 50,000 a year each and and they said, sure, but I don't believe that the boss is going to accept that. So I went to their boss and I said, and boss was one of the partners of this firm, and the boss said, Well, you know, if we double the company, we're not going to double everybody's wages, because, frankly, it just goes up. It goes up by the same amount. That's that doesn't actually give us enough value. All it does is just cost us. My message, just have another person doing the work, because I don't want to run somebody, you know, ragged. I said, so what would it take? And he said, Well, what if we tripled the business? I said, okay, but only double the staff. He says the productivity of the people that are here is not what it needs to be. They know what. We know it. They've been struggling in terms of how to really support people to be at their best in that and so let's build if they are willing to actually triple the company while only doubling the net staff count. You know what? Sure, we'll make sure everybody gets double and so, okay, so went back and talked to the this management group and said, you know, are you on for that now? Yeah, we can do it, you know? And I said, Okay, so how long do you think it'll take? Well, the most optimistic person with the most bravado said it would take three years. The person who was the most hesitant and nervous said it would take eight years. And we said, okay, so sometime between three and eight years. And of course, the other people in the in the group started teasing the guy that said eight years, a little bit of what they do, but, but long story short, they actually went from six and a half to $20 million with no more than double the staff count in a three and a half year period. And what they did was they actually was everybody who actively participated in that organization. The way they they increased them was they promoted them into basically a junior partner. And so from the partnership percentages, these people actually ended up, on average, they tripled their income just because they were in a whole different class and they were having a different position. So on the one hand, we actually help people, you know, grow their their corporate income all the time. But this was the first time that I'd actually supported these people in in actually growing their personal income as as a non owning employee in a company. And it's interesting, because now they want to do it again, right? Increasing them all, yeah, this is kind of fun the first time. Let's, you know. And so they come back to me and they say, you know? And I'm like, Sure, why not? Let's, let's see we can do. And you should see how focused they are on on that. So, so that's one example. There was another one that in the UK, I had a woman who, at the time was age 52 she'd spent 10 years in a marketing initially, was a marketing company, and then it grew into an E Learning Company, and she was bouncing around between 250 and 400,000 pounds per year in the UK. And she wanted to grow. She thought, you know, I'd love to make a million pounds. Okay? And so I went over there, and we talked a little bit, and within three and a half years of when I started with her, she'd gotten herself up to 2 million pounds. So she went from 400 the year before I started to 2 million. So it was in a four year period she did 2 million pounds. And in fact, my second book was written about some of the myths and misconceptions that she discovered and overcame on her journey the the then in the next four years, she went from 2 million to 7.3 million pounds, which is about 10 and a half million US. So so she went from the equivalent of 600,000 US to about 10 and a half million US in a period of about eight years. Now this was a woman who was when I met her, she was 52 years old. We're not talking some mogul or some shark. She wanted to grow the company, but the reason she wanted to grow was because she really wanted to create a space for her managers to continue growing in their profession and and, you know, really just flourishing in terms of what's available to them in their careers and their lives. And it was an, you know, an E Learning Company, and it was, and it was interesting, they ended up being bought by a private equity firm, and the firm has since doubled it again. And, you know, and on it goes so, and she's retired now, and you know, she's at home and she's got she paints watercolors, and she does different things, you know, but just quiet support of people doing things that make a difference for them and make a difference for others.

Mickael Walsh 19:55 That's very cool,

Robert Plank 19:58 and it's amazing to hear about. What's possible, right? Because it's such the cliche of the employee that hates their job. But there's also the business owner that hates what they built, right? They built themselves another job. You hear about the owner's trap. You hear about command and control and all these things that we fall into when we don't have a plan or we don't even know about the problems that are in front of us that thanks to you and your book, which is called freedom by design, we can know what's in front of us depending on the size of our company and where we're growing, and we can figure out if we have outstripped those business structures and if we need to reconfigure the people. And there's always these new questions that ask, isn't it? There's always these new solutions to be had. And you just you've seen so much, but we're short on time, and I want to make sure that we focus on what's important to you. So in this conversation we're having here, Mr. Michael Walsh, is there a missing question in our conversation? What should I be asking you? I just don't know what to ask you. Ask.

Mickael Walsh 20:59 Well, the question is, what's the role of people versus structures in the company and so? So my answer to that question would be, you know, too often people think that structures are more important than the people. And in fact, structures tend to like form 80% of a company, and people are the other 20% the problem with that is that structures, you know, if, if structures are more important, they're bigger, for sure, but if they're more important than people, people become cogs in a system, and so they're part of the machinery of a company, and they lose their humanity. And that's, again, you know, owners try to control them when that happens. The truth is that, in any service based business, people are, you know, an intelligent ecosystem. They're actually the people. They're actually the source of what gets done. The machine doesn't get stuff done. People use the machines. But the truth is, the structures are there to support the people, and people are there to bring them to life. And leadership's job is to generate the structures that support the people so that the people can be at their best, and then the people can bring this whole thing to life. You know, if I go to a Starbucks, you know, why is my caramel macchiato taste the same in Santa Monica, California, as it does in Lisbon, Portugal. You know, does Mary Sue jump on the plane and run to the Starbucks location ahead of me? Well, how does she know which one I'm going to go to there's 10, there's 10 locations of Starbucks in Lisbon downtown. So it's, of course not but, but I got to tell you, if Mary Sue hadn't treated me well in Santa Monica, I probably would have looked for a local bistro when I land on Lisbon, because I wasn't really that impressed with Starbucks. So, so part of the you know, the people really do bring this to life and and you know, if you actually treat the people as more important than the structures, even though the structures are bigger, and then you set up the structures to serve the people to be at their best, what happens is you actually will gain the freedom that you want as an owner, and people have a better time, and the business is just more profitable and more sustainable. So that's the answer to the question that you asked me to ask myself,

Robert Plank 23:08 of course, well, it's great to think about, and I imagine that so many business owners aren't even considering this, right? They're just limping along. They're just struggling. They're like, well, I guess that's how life is, but you're saying that there can be a better way, right? If we take some of these things seriously, if we learn from all the business owner cliches, and if your company has surpassed the $1 million mark but left you with more stress, with shrinking margins and a team that leans too heavily on your shoulders, you need to check out this book. It's called freedom by design, the established business owners guide to grow, make an impact and find the joy again. And in this book, Mr. Michael, he'll show you about how to rethink the core. Hire smart, train and grow people. Focus on your teams. Grow managers, develop leaders. There's all these things that maybe looking back at the basics of what you should be doing, or maybe can be doing if you want to make things easier on yourself and your company and grow more and all these things that Michael will share with us today. So if you're ready to stop surviving your success and start enjoying it again, there's this book, freedom by design, by Mr. Michael G Walsh. You can find it on Amazon. And the website is Walsh, business growth.com, and as far as some next steps here, Mr. Michael, what should someone do after listening to a podcast episode? Are you a guy that says, website? Book, contact you. Where should somebody go?

Mickael Walsh 24:38 Think, yeah. Think, just go to the website. We have contact information there, we'd be happy to answer any questions they have. The book actually does a really good job people. It's interesting because people think that the book is way simpler than they than they expect, especially as they read through it, until they get to the summary chapter, when they're like, whoa. There was a lot more in this than I realized, and I find consistently, people go back in their. Reading it again. And if somebody's got questions, you drop us a line through the website, we'd be delighted to answer any questions so that people can actually use these tools and support them in the growth of their companies.

Robert Plank 25:11 I like it. So use the tools over there. You don't have to figure it all yourself. That's Walsh business growth.com and you can click around there and get educated about their programs, about their books, and especially freedom by design. Because, like Michael says, you'll look at it, you'll see the summary, you'll be like, Oh my gosh. Like, where has this been all my life? What have I been missing out on? And it'll get you so excited to grow your business again. And all these possibilities that you mentioned at the beginning, right? You can have an impact. You can sell it off. You can, you know, paint watercolors, right? You can live the life that you've always wanted way back when you started or bought this business, and you thought it was going to be all great, and then at some point you got discouraged. Well, now it's time to get that excitement back by checking out this book, freedom by design, by Mr. Michael G Walsh, and as people are heading to Walsh business growth.com. It's time for the scary part of the show, Mr. Michael, where we try to stump you. We try to put you on the spot by asking you about a fun quote or lesson that has served you. So what comes to mind, as far as a fun quote or Lesson

Mickael Walsh 26:20 No one ever lost a deal by listening too much. That would be my lesson.

Robert Plank 26:29 So let's listen. Let's examine as we go to Walsh, business growth.com no one ever lost a deal by listening too much. And you can read the book freedom by design. You can listen to it on Audible audiobook form, so check it out. That's Walsh business growth.com. And we've been chatting with Mr. Michael G Walsh, author of freedom by design, the established business owners guide to grow, make an impact and find the joy again. It's time to get to it. And thank you, Mr. Michael, for showing up, stopping by and giving us a good time, educating us. I'm glad that you came, and I appreciate you

Mickael Walsh 27:06 well. Thanks for having me. You.