- PNC is proud to support Business Forward, where community leaders discuss the issues confronting business in Central Illinois.

(bright music) - Welcome to Business Forward.

I'm your host, Matt George.

Joining me tonight, Steve Bellman, owner of Agents of Growth.

Steve is what I'm going to call one of the ultimate servant leaders, John Maxwell certified.

Welcome Steve.

- Thanks Matt.

I really appreciate you having me here today.

- Well, I get fired up over these types of conversations.

I love talking leadership.

You know, you and I have had conversations before, about really, we've read just about every leadership book out there.

- Right.

- But one of my favorite, one of your favorites, is John Maxwell, and those principles that he teaches, not only in business, but mainly in life.

- Right.

- They apply to everything that you do.

So we're gonna talk about that.

John Maxwell's written over a hundred books, or close to a hundred books, and he says, "Everything you do, rises and falls on leadership."

- Yes.

- What does that quote mean to you?

- You know, Matt, when I first heard that quote, I kind of thought to myself, I thought, man, that's a big statement, you know?

I'm not sure I'm bought into that.

And so it begs the question, what's leadership, right?

And leadership, according to his definition, is influence, nothing more, nothing less.

And, when you think about it in those terms, we all influence people every day.

I mean, our families, our spouses, our children, people at work, in their community, you know, you have a big reach and influence, Matt.

And, so some people get really excited about leadership, like you and I, and other people are like, I don't know.

- I'll take a step back.

- I'll take a step back.

- Yeah, you know?

But we're all leaders.

- Right.

- And so the question is, to what degree of influence, and is it positive or negative, that we have that influence?

And so, creating positive change is the biggest test of whether a person can lead well or not.

And here's the thing everyone deserves to be led well.

And so I absolutely buy into that quote now, that everything in your life, my life really, you know, rises and falls, and forwards, and backwards, and shrinks or expands, based on the influence, which is our ability, our leadership, which is our ability to influence other people.

- I'll be honest with you, when I read it, when I first read that, I read it a while ago, but I also had a pause for a minute.

And you have to almost read it, and think about it 50 times, or a hundred times.

But if you also think about it, you do on a lot of different type leadership principles, too, because a lot of leadership principles, something that means something to me, may not, we could both be good leaders, but we're different leaders.

- Correct.

- Right?

And that's not good or bad.

It's just what it is.

- Absolutely.

- So you say, "Change in business is inevitable, "but growth is optional."

I love that.

- You know, Matt, I heard a question not too long ago, and it really stuck with me, what is the best predictor of your future growth?

- What is the best predictor?

- I love that question, because the answer's very simple: It's about being intentional in your growth.

And certainly times and technology change, but leadership principles stand the test of time.

And so the calendar, this is funny, the calendar guarantees we all get older, right?

We've had those conversations.

But the only guarantee tomorrow gets better, is our own growth.

And we have to be intentional about that.

And I call growth, Matt, if I could, the great separator.

In other words, I'm going on a trip in Colorado with one of my friends, and we're gonna hike a 14,000 foot mountain.

But if he's going faster than me, we begin to get separated a little bit.

And the same is true when it comes to our own personal, professional growth, is if I'm improving professionally, emotionally, relationally, personally.

- Right.

- You begin to separate yourself from the pack, and people notice that.

And so that's the only way to guarantee that tomorrow's gonna get better.

- Is that because of what's driving that person inside to separate, because let me ask you this, when you make that effort to separate, that's a plan.

- Hmm.

- Right?

- That's absolutely a plan.

- It's not luck.

- No.

- Because you have to have that in you, that drive that want to just, whether it's competitiveness, or that yearning to learn constantly.

- Right.

- 'Cause that's what we do.

- That's true, Matt.

And that certainly can be true for some people, that internal drive.

I'm probably a bit of an overachiever myself.

But here's the thing, back to your first question, - I had nine questions in there, so go ahead (laughs).

- Yeah, yeah.

It was like, at some point, your talent and drive only take you so far.

In other words, we all are, have certain levels of gift.

You're incredibly gifted person, but when you reach that ceiling, what's next?

Well, that's when growth kicks in, and you have to realize you can develop and grow beyond what your current talents and abilities are.

- And that's constant.

- Constant.

- Yeah.

That's pretty cool.

I just love having people in our community that wanna be here, and be that positive role model.

And you're one of those guys.

You came up to me at an event that we were both at, it was one of my, it was a small intimate event.

And we had a conversation.

And you, or I, did not know going into that event, we didn't know each other.

And you didn't know, and I didn't know, when we left there, that it was not only gonna turn into a friendship, but a dual mentorship.

- Mm hmm.

Because during COVID, you and I got on, and we did several things together, to help others become better.

So, one thing I want to ask you about is, even though people like us want to always learn more, isn't it more fun too, to watch other people get better, and have them get the credit for it?

- Oh, yeah.

You know, there was a recent survey, Matt, that I was reading about.

And, it said, "What's more fulfilling, helping other people, "or helping yourself?"

And, thankfully, roughly 80% of the respondent said, "Well, I get more fulfillment at helping other people."

And I think you just touched on that.

- Yeah.

- I think we're wired as people, to really serve in our purpose, you know, knowing your purpose, and just really helping other people like that.

So it's just, it's been incredible to be mentored by you, and to be mentoring to you.

It' certainly has been a dual exchange.

- It has been dual.

So in leadership, if you think about it, if there's really one word that ties to all of leadership, it's communication, right?

And we all stink at it a lot, if you think about it.

I mean, there have been times I look at the past three years at work, where I've been really good at it.

And then there's times you question yourself, is the drive gone, or is it just a hiccup?

I mean, in your mind, how do you get through that communication piece, to always get better?

- You know, Matt, let me quick share with you a kind of a comical story of where I failed recently at communication.

- Okay.

- So my wife and I were in vacation in Arizona, we happened to go to this small town that has all kinds of arts and crafts.

And, we'd been there before, but we were going for lunch, right?

But it's one of those towns where parking spaces are a premium.

And so we were lucky.

We got there and we found a spot we parked, and we're going up to lunch to where to go to eat, and a car pulled up in front of me, and he rolled his window down.

And he said, "Can I ask you a question?"

And I said, "Sure."

He says, "Do you have any Aleve?"

And I looked at him and, and I said, "No, we just parked.

"We're not leaving."

(both laughing) And he looked kind of funny, and he smiled, and he drove off.

My wife looked at me, she says, "I think he asked for some Aleve."

And I felt terrible, because he probably needed some relief, of some kind.

I felt that I didn't listen to him.

But it's a perfect example of, I had already preconceived, what he was gonna ask me was, "Are you gonna leave?"

- Yep.

- And the reality is, that's what happens in communications is, sometimes we listen with the intent to reply, and not understand.

- That's a funny story.

- Yeah.

And I think that's where we break down in communication, sometimes is, we're not listening with the intent to understand someone else, their position, what they're really telling us.

We're sitting here going, how can I reply to this?

- Yes.

- And so I think that's a big breakdown in communication.

Sometimes we just get busy, and make assumptions, and we just go on and reply, without really thinking it through what people are asking.

- You know, that's actually a great point, because if you think about it, people will say all the time, "Well, I just need to be a better listener."

But you really don't even know what that means.

- Yeah.

- Because when you're listening, and I've gone into meetings before, going, don't say anything, don't say anything.

I could really just drill this meeting if I wanted to.

- Yeah.

- And you try to hold back.

And then all of a sudden, you just start, you know?

And, it's tough.

So one of the courses you speak about is, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect.

If I was being mentored by you, what examples would give me, that applies to that?

- You, you know, Matt, I'll just give you a kind of a funny example of where it fails.

And, when I'm thinking of that, that I love that course, Everyone Communicates.

A lot of people are communicating a ton of good information, but I really feel a lot of people aren't connecting.

And, one of the things that changed that for me was, probably 12 years ago, I was in sales and sales management.

I went into one of my accounts in November, and I explained to her, we have this new coverage called Enhanced Injury Protection, which is a fancy way of saying, "If you're injured or killed in in a covered loss, "we're gonna pay you $25,000."

And so I went on my way.

And I think the following spring, I came back about this time of the year in May, and I began to tell her about it again.

And she looked at me, she says, "Stop.

"I don't need to hear it."

And I thought I'd ticked her off, because that's kind of a gift of mine, ticking people off a little bit, you know?

But she says, "Don't you remember?

"You told me about that."

And I said, "Oh, thank you.

"I forgot about that."

And said, "No, I wanna tell you more."

And she wanted to tell me about this long term client they'd had for 20 plus years.

And for his 50th birthday, he always wanted a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

And so he came in a couple weeks after I was there in the fall, and bought that.

And she sold him that coverage.

And she looked at me, and she thanked me.

And of course, now I'm thinking I'm super rep, you know, because I'd done my job, and sold her the coverage that I was supposed to.

And she says, "No, no," she says, "There's more."

And she looked at me and she says, "He was riding his motorcycle about a month and a half ago," and she says, "unfortunately," she said, "he was struck and killed by a car."

It, and I didn't know how to respond to that, other than say, I was so sorry for that.

And she says, "No, there's more."

She says, "That coverage you told me about "took away the last financial obligation "that family had.

"And I just want to thank you for that."

- Hmm.

- And so I began to work with her, and I thanked her for that.

But here's the point: We began to track, at how she could craft that message in her industry.

And I wanna ask you, if you were to go and get an insurance quote, or policy from her, how do you think she would explain the coverages to you?

Do you think she just give you the information, and communicate that to you?

Or do you think she would help you experience that?

- Yeah, yeah.

- And because she now has crafted that, over the last 10 years, we've actually tracked, she has one of the highest success rates of any agency that I know of out there that I work with.

- Interesting.

- It's all because she took the time to grow, and learn, how to craft and communicate, but beyond that, connect with prospects and clients, and literally, anybody she talks to.

- So it's interesting you say this, 'cause I just had a conversation recently with somebody about the master of telling a story.

- Mm.

- Because that's what that is.

That's storytelling.

- That's exactly it.

- So when I talk to donors, I've got to convey a story to them.

Some don't want to hear it.

But some want to hear a different version, or not as tough.

- Right.

- You know, so you have to know your, your person, but at the same time, that's interesting.

So you, you mentioned sales, and so 12 years ago, so let's just say 12 years ago, you were selling something.

And you were younger 12 years ago.

And now you're sitting here.

How would the sales pitch be different, from a leadership standpoint, 12 years ago, or 15, whatever it is, to now?

- That's a great question, Matt.

And I will tell you that I'm probably a much better listener, because I ask a lot more questions.

- Yeah.

- And I'm reminded a long time ago, I worked in the waste paper, recycling business.

We had cardboard, and newspapers, and we would bale those up, you know?

And they put out this big bale.

And one day the baler broke down.

And so we had to have a repairman come in, and repair that baler.

And he was only there like 10 minutes.

And we got this bill, and it was a large bill at the time.

It was like over $500, right?

So I says, "You were here 10 minutes."

It's a true story.

He says, "Yeah."

I says, "Well, you're charging awful lot of money."

And he says, "Well," he says, "I got it fixed for you."

And I says, "Can you gimme an itemized invoice with that?

And he says, "Sure."

And I got the invoice.

And it said, "Parts and labor, 10 bucks, knowing how to fix it 490."

- (laughs) I love it.

- And that just struck a chord with me.

And sales is that way.

Sales is all about discovering what problem needs to be solved.

And the client, or prospect, may not even know that yet.

But your job is to question, and dig, and what is the real problem, and the need here, that we're trying to solve?

And once you identify that, then it gets pretty easy.

- Yeah.

That's a good story.

I've heard similar types of stories like that.

And you sit there and you go, I mean, it's true.

- Yeah.

- So, let's talk about personal growth.

John Maxwell says that most people run out of time in the day, before they even start getting to their daily to-do list.

Now, how do you, I'm one of those guys at every night, kids go to bed nine o'clock, nine-thirty, I do not want to go into the day next day, without my emails.

I'm organized.

I have my hit list here.

I'm going through everything, Even 7:00 AM, taking Izzy to school and, you know, I have everything down.

But then I transfer that list the next day, over to the next Tuesday.

And then some of 'em come to Wednesday.

And so, how do you deal with all of that?

- Well, I'll share with you a recent example where I was challenged in that area.

And a practice I used to do, Matt, is every Monday before I'd start the week, I would take 15 minutes to write three to five thank you cards, to people who had influenced me, or did something the week before, you know?

And it's just great to write those, and great to receive those, right?

We've all received a thank you card.

And I'd gotten away from that practice.

And I was involved in a group, I am involved in a group.

And one of the things I wanted to be held accountable for, was getting back to that practice.

And I remember several weeks ago, I committed to doing that.

Well, here it is, Monday morning, life's hectic.

And you know, we're starting the week, and I'm like, I gotta get this done, because I'm gonna be held accountable over here.

And so I did it.

But the amazing thing was, when I was doing it, I realized I was checking the box.

And I wasn't fulfilling a priority that I set.

And so I just had to make that shift to go, if this is really a priority.

It has to be on my calendar.

And even though sometimes we fill our calendars, we're not filling them with what we say is our priorities.

- Right.

- And so, I don't know if that answers your question.

- It does.

- It really talked to me about, If it's a priority, whether it's dinner with my wife, or going to one of our grandsons' ball games.

- Yeah.

- If it's not my calendar, I'm in trouble.

- Yeah.

But there's another step to that.

It's taking those letters that you write, or those notes, and actually having them be meaningful.

- Yes.

- Because I can write a note, but I can also really write a note.

- Yes.

And so one of the things that I've always done, where we're similar, is I do that every week, and have my whole life.

- Mm hmm.

- I, to donors at holiday time, we get, at Children's Home, 2000 donations.

- Wow.

- Right?

I don't have the department stamp my name.

- Mm hmm.

- I sign every one of these papers.

- Yep.

- And I look, oh, well, I better say hi to them.

And at the end, I've had even people on my team go, "Boy, why do you take so much time?"

I said, "Here's why: "When I'm out in the community, "people will bring that up to me.

"You're the only person I know that does that, "or you're the."

And that's one of those distinct identifiers, when people look at you, and if you can build 20 of those different things, when you're out and about, people know that.

It separates you.

We talk about separation.

It separates you - Exactly.

- from the pack.

So that's kind of a good come around there.

- Yeah, Matt.

I would encourage you to keep doing that, because I will guarantee you, some of those, thank you notes you have written are still sitting in someone's file folder, or inbox.

You know, they kept that because it meant something.

- You know the neatest thing is, when I walk around to people's offices, my team, the notes that I write, they're still on their wall.

- See?

Yeah.

- And over the years, there's one office has five notes.

And so that's meaningful to me that they actually care, that they received it.

So intentional growth.

You hear a lot about this term.

- Yeah.

- Is it real?

That's a tough one.

- You know, Matt, it's absolutely real.

And I I'll tell you why it's real.

The hardest person I have to lead is myself.

And why is that?

Because I know my thoughts.

I know what my opinions are, and I know, and they're not always the best.

Let's be real about that.

- That's right.

- Right?

And so the hardest person to lead is myself.

But if I'm going to be a better husband, a better father, a better grandfather, a better leader, I have to be intentional about that growth, or it's not gonna happen.

And it goes back to what we talked about earlier, being that great separator.

- Yeah.

That's very true.

So you pushed me, and I'm glad you did.

You pushed me to go to one of John Maxwell's conferences.

So I decided to go.

And you come out.

I'm the guy that, when I go to a conference, I'm the front row guy.

You know how there's the person that goes, and they sit in the back, so they can sneak out?

I'm the front row guy.

I take notes.

I filled a whole notebook.

One thing that he said that stuck with me is, "Too many people stay satisfied "with current day accomplishments."

- Mm hmm.

- So, I had a good day today.

I started thinking of all these different examples.

How true is that?

- That is so true.

That is so true.

We tend to get satisfied when we get to a certain level.

Here's the problem is, what got us to where we're at today, isn't gonna get us to where we need to be tomorrow.

- Okay.

- You know?

And he's so right on that.

- Yeah, yeah.

So I'll tell you, you know, you're talking about your grandson, and my son, they play baseball.

And you know, I tell my kids all, we talk about, "Dad, what's your favorite day?"

- Mm hmm.

- It's Monday.

"Why Monday?"

I said, "It's the beginning of a new week.

"I'm ready to rock and roll.

"I'm gonna run through a wall this week.

"This starts the week."

Most people will tell you Friday.

Never believe it.

'Cause you got a whole week ahead of you.

And so I preach that all the time.

And that is something, as a leader, as a dad, that you want your kids to have that mentality, right?

- Mm hmm.

- And so I was thinking, whenever I do these things, I do think of, or say these things to my kids, or whatever.

I'm always thinking now, the older I get, of these leadership principles, and of that conference, 'cause I've been to a million conferences, like you, right?

But very few stick.

- Right.

- I really had to think about that piece for a while.

So how do you look at other people, or their roles, in bettering you as a person?

So, like teachers, mentors, 'cause we all have mentors, but do you collect them?

Like how, how do you?

Do you have 10?

Do you have five?

How do you get better?

- You know, Matt, I certainly have mentors, and we'll talk about that.

But here's what I look at other people, almost, I try to, at least, in every interaction.

And that is, they potentially have something to teach me, and something that I might be able to add value to them.

And so I try to go into every conversation, or every meeting, or every interaction, I don't always get it done, with a learner's mindset.

What is it I can learn and take away from this particular conversation, or situation?

And so I do, I believe the best in people, and I believe they all have something to give.

And we just have to watch for that, just have a learner's mindset.

So I dunno if that answers your question.

- Yeah, it does.

So I've done a few of these Zooms with you.

And do you think now with the experience that you have, that, and I'm thinking of a couple groups we did in particular, but do you think you're just giving that wisdom now?

Before it was teaching.

But now it's just wisdom, 'cause you've lived it, and done it.

Do you think that way?

I threw you a curve ball.

- Well, it's a huge compliment, Matt, and I appreciate that.

And some people have said, you know, the last year of my life, they said you're sharing some wisdom here.

And I don't view myself as a wise person.

I'm a pretty simple person, as you know that.

But I believe that we overcomplicate life so much.

We're in an era of, the last 20 to 30 years, where there's just more knowledge dumped into our minds than all of human history before.

And yet look, we're just faced with the same problems on a bigger scale.

Why is that, if knowledge is power?

Well, we're not applying what we're learning.

And, I think that's wisdom to me, is taking something, and how can I make, not only my life better and simpler, but how can I help others lead their lives in more meaningful, and yet, simpler way, and apply one or two of those things, rather than having, you know, a library of knowledge, that I'm using none of it.

- Yeah.

- But I do believe, I think that's the biggest gap, I think, in all of our lives, is the gap between knowing and doing.

That's just a huge gap in today's life.

- Do you have mentors?

- I do.

- How many?

- You know, I'm gonna say probably right now, half a dozen.

- Yeah.

- You know, we talked, there's transition going on in both of our lives.

And so I'm gonna be doing some part-time consulting.

And so I've reached out to a couple people, and said, that are ahead of me of that, and said, "Hey, tell me about that.

"Paint the next three to five years for me."

And the same thing, you know, when you get closer to retirement, I go to people who have been there for three to five years, and I try to identify those that are three to five years ahead of me, and say, "Paint the next three to five years.

"What don't I know, you know?"

- I even take it a step further.

I go, "Tell me what potholes I'm gonna fall in."

- Mm.

- Tell me where I'll, tell me, where you know me, where am I gonna fail?

Because I know I'm gonna fail at times.

- Right.

- And I've accepted it my whole life, but I also have the mentality that I'm gonna get up, and not fail that way again.

And if I do, I'm gonna get back up again.

- Right.

- Right?

All right, so very cool stuff.

So, Agents for Growth.

Good luck with your new business.

- Thank you.

- This is awesome.

Awesome stuff.

So have fun.

You are going to be with John Maxwell, very soon.

You're gonna be teaching with him.

I'm jealous.

Have fun with that.

Bring me back another signed book or something, because I think I've had him sign about 20 of his books, and I have them in my collection.

But Steve Bellman, thank you for coming on the show.

We're proud to have you in our awesome community.

I'm Matt George.

And this is another episode of Business Forward.

(bright music) - Thank you for tuning in to Business Forward, brought to you by PNC.