Mark Stone  00:00

My focus was on what makes people stay in the workplace longer, kind of looking at how engagement and identification can be key in regard to that. And I studied first I was going to study millennials, but of course they kind of aged out. So I focused on emerging adulthood theory, which is 18 to 29 year old.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  00:25

So good morning, and welcome to another episode of Better Business Better Life. Today, I am joined by Dr. Mark Stone, who is over in Phoenix, Arizona. Now, Mark is actually a professional EOS implementer. But he’s also got a strong history in organizational development leadership, which we’ll tell you more about. So welcome to the show, Mark.

Mark Stone  00:41

Thank you for having me. Good to be here.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  00:44

Absolute pleasure. Hey, we’ve just been having a quick chat before we came on the podcast as we always do hearing a bit about your, your life story, would you mind sharing a wee bit of you know where you came from? And how a Brit ended up in the US?

Mark Stone  00:57

Of course. So I was born in Sheffield, northern Northern England. So like a whole bunch of as a that not quite make it soccer players move across to the northeast of America to go kind of coach and still kind of live out the trends and still be a player but having to move into coaching. So I moved to Philadelphia in 2006, and set up a sports coaching business there. And then several years later, I moved out here to the, to the sun, right, the other side of the country. So did a couple of humps.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  01:26

Nice. And so that’s what took you there in the beginning. But obviously life has changed a wee bit since then.

Mark Stone  01:33

Yeah, absolutely. So I I work as a professional EOS implementer. So I get to live in that special world of helping business leadership teams go and kind of chase down their dreams and go on their journeys together. So I’ve been fortunate through my work career in the US to visit about I think 3535 states, there’s been a whole bunch come on from Canada, you know, trudging around the fields of Philadelphia Coaching Soccer.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  02:00

So yeah, I mean, obviously, we share that same passion, right, that whole, I fell in love with EOS because of the fact that it works on both the business and the lifestyle of business owners, which I think is really important. But what got you into Eos, right? Where did because you’ve from what we talked about, you know, you started off in sports instruction, but then moved into some sort of tech companies ecommerce, what what how did you come across the US? And why did you decide to pursue that.

Mark Stone  02:25

So it was handed to me via SEO, who’d just read it and put a whole bunch of it into practice in his in his firm. So he just said his 10 year target. And he was all excited in terms of that realm. And for me, when I read it, I’m quite quantitative. So it kind of hit all the right spots for me. And I felt as a business owner, I’ve done several of the things, probably in a much less eloquent way. So it kind of almost kind of had that kind of magic effect of feeling like, Hey, these are the things I’ve been seeing and thinking and doing for several years. And somebody managed to kind of put it into a well thought out process. So yeah, that was kind of at that point. And then kind of reframed my, my thinking a little bit. That was the way I think, you know, things should ideally be done.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  03:06

It’s interesting, because I had the same experience. I mean, I’ve been actually coaching for a number of years, it was running businesses, and I have done my MBA program. And so for me actually encompassed all of that learning that was completely impractical. With all the practical stuff I’ve been doing in terms of running businesses, and through the coaching that I did is like, wow, this is like somebody’s actually put this all together in a really simple pragmatic format, that I think gives entrepreneurs a chance to not lose that entrepreneurial spirit, but just have a little bit of structure around it to help them kind of go forward. So you obviously fell in love with the same thing.

Mark Stone  03:37

Yeah, just the right amount of structure. I think that’s the I think that’s right. Absolutely.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  03:43

Yeah, I always say we don’t, we don’t want to restrict you know, entrepreneurs, because it’s them, they really do change the world and being an entrepreneur myself. But you know, I know that I tend to get distracted by bright shiny lights. But if we can just give a little bit of structure and I say like, we want to still zigzag but just a little bit, but shorter zigzags rather than kind of going off and complete tangents. So tell me a little bit about you know, you’ve got a doctorate tell us a little bit about that.

Mark Stone  04:06

Yeah, so I studied here at Grand Canyon University was, was a five year journey. So it kind of becomes a battle of attrition, at a certain certain point, working through the classes and then developing a paper and kind of like all good kind of stories. Mine had a twist in that I did my actual study through COVID. So when you’re kind of studying leadership, and its effect on on turnover, and then you know, unemployment kind of goes through the roof, and everybody’s concerned about the job, but it kind of made it an interesting, an interesting study. So my focus was on what makes people stay in the workplace longer, kind of looking at how engagement and identification can be key in regard to that. And I studied first I was going to study millennials, but of course they kind of aged out. So I focused on emerging adulthood theory, which is 18 to 29 year old so obviously, as new generations come through the face of challenges, and it’s kind of a Golden Ticket, if we can work out how to get those young folks on board, train them up, make them happy in regards to what they’re doing and keep them for a long while. So there was a was a fun time to complete the study.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  05:11

I can imagine, that must be absolutely fascinating, cuz I know that a lot of business owners I work with struggle, you know, to actually retain stuff, and particularly that younger age group. So what was the key learnings that you took from that study?

Mark Stone  05:23

So I studied authentic leadership, which is just that, you know, kind of authenticity and self awareness have kind of become pretty big buzzwords this past, you know, certainly in 2022, but essentially, where those younger staff are able to identify that there’s a good clear vision in place, and they’ve got people around them, who will, who will be honest with them, who will encourage them who will call them out when they’re not, when they’re not kind of doing what they’re supposed to do. That makes people feel part of things and stick around longer. So the kind of key finding was that the leaders they kind of have to be their self, they have to show an openness, a good moral perspective, be transparent about the decisions. And that’s, that’s pretty inspiring. So it’s not necessarily a secret sauce, but leaders just being themselves and looking to involve their younger people in in some of their thinking, sometimes.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  06:11

I can see how that dovetails perfectly with EOS  Right, because we’re all about actually having those open, honest conversations fighting for the greater good. And working together as a as a leadership team, as opposed to indistinct silos. So I can imagine that would have appealed. The EOS framework were appealed in terms of that.

Mark Stone  06:29

Yeah. And then And then obviously, the Jim Collins that we speak to the right people, right, right, see where you can set people up in, in that regard, that can be absolutely absolutely key as as well to allow people to go perform, I seem to speak to a lot of leaders in this past six months who, you know, heavily focused on work life balance, which of course, we, you know, we do our very best is to help folks get us, you know, as kind of a strong as possible. But then also hear a lot of leaders kind of apologizing for the leader that they’re not. And I try and encourage everybody to be self aware about the things that might be blind spots for us, but really be more about our strengths and focus on focus on those then the more you know about our weaknesses, kind of after 2324, we’d kind of who are we are we who, how we’re going to be anywhere for the rest of our lives. So make sense to kind of make the most of that rather than worry about the stuff we’re not?

Debra Chantry-Taylor  07:23

Excellent. So I know that you graduated from a US boot camper earlier on this year. And you’ve got quite a number of clients that you’re working with, what have been some of the real key aha moments for you and some of those businesses? Because, you know, I know, they’re all very, very different. But there’s often you know, similar things that we see happening in those businesses.

Mark Stone  07:42

Yeah, I think every business is unique, and it has its own variables and goals and challenges. But I think that those, several of those kinds of challenges are on quite similar themes. I think it’s pretty fantastic. What we do that we get to partner with folks to work on some of those, some of those things. And, you know, I think my key learning has been that the knowledge is nearly nearly always in the room, it’s up to us to help groups to kind of dissect it, pull it out, and then kind of jump on it. So I think that’s, I think that’s maybe the most fun part of what we get to get to do on a daily basis.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  08:18

I agree with you, I think that a lot of people think that, you know, business coaches or consultants are there to kind of tell them what to do. But we all I always joke that I’m just the dumb blonde with a marker at the front of the room. Because as you said, the knowledge is in the room, it’s our job to just get that knowledge out, ask the hopefully intelligent questions and get them thinking about what is the right the right answers?

Mark Stone  08:37

Yeah, that question. That’s a fun thing to be to be a part of, and particularly as we help people develop those vision, traction documents out to them to be able to see the kind of energy in the room when those things are kind of crystallized and perhaps even clarified for the first time is, is pretty key. I chatted with a business owner yesterday who kind of mentioned he has a whole bunch of that kind of mapped out but he’s not shared it with any of his people yet. And I’m like, that’s really kind of the secret secret sauce, go talk about it, go share it regularly and, you know, work out who really wants to be on board with it.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  09:06

Yeah, I think it’s really interesting. When we did the second day of EOS, are we actually getting into that, you know, what, what’s our big was our core values, what’s our 10 year target? What is our core focus? We know that this vision already exists, right? It already exists in the brains, usually of the founders and often the whole leadership team. And often the founders, you know, when they share it and they get the team’s input, they realize that they’ve all they’ve all been on the same page, but they haven’t been able to clearly articulate it and you know, have the same message that they can then share with the broader team. So I always love it when you have that light bulb moment like that’s it we’ve nailed it. That’s what the that’s what it’s all about.

Mark Stone  09:43

Going back to mine, come back to my study a little bit. That’s kind of key because that gets people engaged and focused and, and driven. I think when when folks truly feel part of something where it’s not as much of a mandate then it really gets kind of buy in and it’s just more fun as well, right? You get to kind of really enjoy each kind Step in the in the journey.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  10:02

Yeah, absolutely. Have you ever had a team where there hasn’t been quite so much cohesiveness when you’re doing that that longer term planning?

Mark Stone  10:13

Yeah, I think I did I, I’ve worked in some other realms where we do behavioral assessment. So I think when you see people come in with different viewpoints, sometimes I found that people can ultimately believe and see the same thing, but describe it differently or come up, you know, kind of come at it from a different angle. So I think that’s pretty, pretty common, I think something that’s really kind of enjoyable on APA is, is kind of supporting people in developing a synthesized view. So I’ve had a few teams where they’re necessarily not cohesive, but have different kinds of viewpoints, and allowing them to kind of share those and get on the same page and work out which things to focus on. It’s been pretty fun. But it’s just, it’s just interesting. We’re all we’re all different in terms of our kind of natural levels of extraversion and in our competitiveness that levels of patience we have. So it’s interesting when you mesh all those in the room and a successful business needs different different viewpoints and different characteristics and different drive. So yeah, it’s fun to do that. I’ve done some work previously, in working with folks where identify some of those things. So again, it goes back to trying to help people focus on what they are and what they’re what they’re not. And that’s okay. You know, don’t try and change to the room be yourself.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  11:29

Yeah. And that goes back to the right people in the right seats as to doesn’t make me you actually want you want a range of different people with different skills, but all on the same page in terms of the core values that they believe in what’s what’s, you know, how do we

Mark Stone  11:42

Page can sometimes be quick and sometimes be a little longer? And, and that’s okay, that’s okay, too.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  11:47

Yeah. Perfect. One of the things that I always loved about EOS, and it was one of the things that kind of sold me was that in terms of the proven process, we don’t jump into that vision, core value stuff in the first day, our first day is very much about teaching practical tools they can take out and use and, and having worked for many, many years at the Ice House and other other various incubators, we always have this big session of who let’s develop our vision and our mission and all these things. And, and we have a great day, and then we walk out of the workshop space go out into the real world. And of course, nothing had changed, which means we’re back to fighting fires, we’re back to doing all the same stuff we always did. And I always wondered, you know, how come the people didn’t embrace this and just run with it? And I think what I learned through EOS is that actually, you’ve got to change fundamentally the way the business works. First of all, before you can introduce that stuff in an effective way, which is what our first day does. So yeah, tell me a little bit about that process for you and what you love about it.

Mark Stone  12:40

Yeah, have a mentor who’s quite familiar with our process. And we’ve discussed that several, several times, he kind of asked me, Hey, how can we, you know, how come you don’t do the vision related stuff, the core values and the core focus on the on the first day? But yeah, I think, at least there’s a, there’s a lot of benefits to what we do and making sure that whoever’s going to put their hand up and take responsibility has a has a say when those, you know, bigger picture and longer term target to a certain place. So I think it’s, I think it’s really key to make sure you have the right people contributing into that, you know, early defining period, and ultimately taking responsibility for going and working on it kind of day one after after deliver our session. Yeah.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  13:21

So you’re talking about the fact that we deal with structure. First, we look at the accountability chart go right? What’s the right structure that we need to actually deliver on that the long term vision and then we sort of give them some tools to actually start putting in place. So when they come back on the second day, they can then start to look at that, that longer term picture?

Mark Stone  13:35

And it’s so often, Go ahead.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  13:39

No, don’t go on.

Mark Stone  13:39

I said, it’s I think it’s so often the case that where the accountability chart isn’t, isn’t quite set, and there are right people, right, see issues that are so many issues that derive from the right from that. So I think it’s really a key, you know, it’s obviously a key tool that we use to help people get to people to get set up. But there’s so many times I think, when there is an issue in a business that that, you know, that people know that people element is the thing to go fix and work on, you know, really put a whole bunch of effort into getting getting straight As quickly as possible.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  14:08

Yeah, completely agree. So I have a favorite tool in the EOS but not going to share that Yeah. What do you have a favorite tool that you sort of just feel really changes things sort of fundamentally for businesses?

Mark Stone  14:18

Well, I can I want to hear what yours is, first, am I allowed to? It’s kind of like No,

Debra Chantry-Taylor  14:22

No, I’m gonna I’m gonna hold on to I want to know what yours is. And I’m happy to share.

Mark Stone  14:26

I think mine is our level 10 returns and the issue solving issue solving track, I’m, by nature, a fast moving, proactive individual. So that kind of mechanism for getting issues out on the table digging into the, to the root causes to make sure we’re having, you know, real, purposeful, authentic conversations, and then having a way to go, you know, get to make decisions and set, you know, actionable to dues that were accountable for right. I love that mechanism for bringing people together and it’s also dedicated strategic time it allows for those Folks, we’re working on that work life balance to know, this is a daily issue that I really should go chat with somebody about today. And this is a issue to save for our strategic meeting. So I think it’s that it’s those level two meetings that really bring everything together and allow those leadership teams to, you know, get and stay on the same, the same page. So how about you?

Debra Chantry-Taylor  15:20

Actually, we’re on the same page. It’s also my favorite tool. And what I love about the IDS particularly, is I think that as humans, we’ve got this natural tendency to want to jump in and kind of solve things immediately, without spending the time to work out what’s really behind the issue. And so I love the fact that IDs kind of forces you to spend a lot of time identifying what that real issue is, and then discussing all the possible options, not just going Yep, I’ve got the solution. Let’s fix that. And before you actually get to the practical, okay, what are the next steps what to do? So, yeah, I do believe that that just even even just using IDs without a level 10 meeting can fundamentally change the way you approach business and life.

Mark Stone  15:57

Yeah, and I think going back to how people have different viewpoints that that moment, when we’ve discussed an issue where, you know, somebody calls out, or we will be ready to make a decision here, I found that, you know, in observing those and working with my, my teams to get feedback that, you know, about half of the time, the issue is everything that said, as needs to be said. And then the other half of the time somebody’s had a new thought, or they’ve been kind of sat on something that they want to contribute and move towards. So I think it’s kind of a feel that leadership teams, leadership teams develop to make sure that before they do make a decision, everybody’s been heard had some input, and, you know, to look for full, high quality decision, rather than just a tick box to move on something else.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  16:36

Surface level. Yeah. Now, it’s really interesting. I was working with a client a little while ago. And I mean, you know, we talk about the fact that, hey, you’ve got accountabilities, if you can sell things in your own area, you know, go ahead and do that. But if you need the help of the team, bring it up to the leadership team. And this was a company that had it was having a few few cashflow issues, few challenges, and that sort of cash flow area. And they were a food manufacturer. So they had a head chef who was kind of in charge of the recipes and producing the meals, and they had all the so he was there. In terms of the operational side of things, we had all the usual sales and marketing, you know, the integrator visionary, and the finance is up in person. And of course, people would normally think our cash flow has to be resolved by the finance team. But it was actually the chef in the end, who came up with the solution, because he was the one working in the space day in day out. And once he understood what the issue really was, he could have put his mind to it. And they discussed it. And, and you know, of course the team owns the decision, but he was one that she brought something a bit new to the table that they couldn’t see for looking in some respects.

Mark Stone  17:32

Yeah, I am. I’ve taught at the business school nearby, and I teach marketing and leadership, which are, which are my passions, but I’ve been trying to kind of project on the students, I’m like the classes, you really need to be listening to other ones in finance and accounting, if they’re not your first love, because they’re able to see somebody else’s viewpoint, I think is key to being a good leadership team member. So yeah, I think it goes back to those different viewpoints and trying to get a balanced level of input from each each expert, right?

Debra Chantry-Taylor  17:59

Yeah, yeah. So if we’ve got some people who are sitting here thinking, Well, what the heck is EOS? I mean, I would hope that they’ve heard a little bit about it on the podcast, but how would you describe what EOS is, and, and what it does for a business.

Mark Stone  18:13

So to me, I go back to the it’s a business operating system to harness human energy. And then the other way, I would always, you know, like to explain it as it’s a, it’s a set of, you know, simple tools that are rolled out in a very kind of careful manner to help groups achieve those, you know, three, three focus areas of hours of helping them with their vision, traction and health. So I think sometimes, you know, what our business operating system, you know, is requires some explanation, but I tend to just lean on the it’s a, it’s a whole bunch of simple tools that, that we use in a very careful order to, you know, to get you all on the same page and moving together with that accountability.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  18:51

Yep. Yeah, that’s cool. I think it’s, I mean, I often when I say, and I’ve got I’m an EOS implementer, or entrepreneur, operating system is a soft piece of software. It’s like, well, no, it’s not a piece of software. There is some software that can certainly help you. But really, it is as aid putting some structure around all those key areas in the business and making sure that you said implementing simple what I call them pragmatic tools that you can put in place in a certain order that helps to bring everybody onto the same page and have that discipline accountability, and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I think that’s one of my favorite, you know, of our healthy rules. I I always talk about the elephant in the room. It’s one of my sort of specialties is like uncovering that elephant and, and helping them resolve it. But I think that a lot of teams just have never had the opportunity to be really open, be really honest, and have those frank discussions about things that are pretty major in the business.

Mark Stone  19:40

Yeah, I think it gives I think we give folks a forum and almost permission to go and, you know, almost an encouragement and maybe even a slight pressure to go to duck, go dig in and, you know, be that open and honest and, you know, really share your feelings and I think it puts the onus on on folks, and I think that’s a great thing in the long term because again, it gets that he gets that engagement and give people pause or something. So yeah, I would I would entirely agree.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  20:06

Yeah, I was working with a team that, you know, they started doing EOS. And it’s always a little bit difficult. In the beginning, I always feel a little bit sorry for them as we kind of challenge everything that they know. And we really put them on the spot in terms of changes and things. But after nine months, I’d actually hit their 12 month target, and the team that had come in in the beginning. So the team that was actually there at nine months was slightly different. Because we’ve gone through the accountability chart, they’ve been some changes in that leadership team. And from not really knowing you know, why they existed, what they were there for, it was really going on, even after nine months ago, it was just such a fundamental change in that team, and how they work together. And they had the fights, but they did it for the greater good, which meant that, you know, they’re getting the right results. And it’s just great to see them actually having those open frank discussions, makes my heart sing seeing that kind of stuff happen.

Mark Stone  20:52

Yeah, and I think that even that word, you mentioned that change word for, for a whole bunch of bunch of folks in the world. That’s exciting. And for the other half, that’s something that kind of makes them kind of shudder a little bit. So I think be able to support groups through those changes. Yeah, I think that’s a really fun part of what we get what we get to do.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  21:11

So what’s been the biggest kind of challenge that you’ve had yourself, either in your own businesses or in working with people through EOS? What do you think is the biggest thing that’s been a hurdle?

Mark Stone  21:21

I go back to my own my own challenges. One of the first jobs I had was for a company that went bankrupt. A couple years later, when I decided to set my own business, if I did it, without particularly any, any capital, the bank manager that wouldn’t lend us 600 pounds to go set up a business, I kind of routinely went into give him a hard time and let him know, hey, we’re still here, we’re still functioning. But I think there was probably a method to his madness. But in setting up kind of sick kind of learning those lessons of seeing how a company have overspent and didn’t have great systems in place, I built my first two businesses with contractors. And I also kind of had the priority that we were going to pay people that we owe straight away. So as soon as somebody’s wage was due, we were going to pay that and that was a priority. So in trying to build fast growing aggressive businesses without a whole bunch of capital, that was probably the biggest, that was probably the biggest challenge.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  22:15

I’m interested because you know that definitely having contractors makes a bit easier in the beginning, but how do you actually motivate, inspire, and keep contractors on the same page? Because people will often say, oh, contractors, they don’t actually work for you, now they’ve got every opportunity to kind of leave, how did you keep them motivated on the spot on the same page,

Mark Stone  22:35

I think that was a great learning opportunity for me, because in my 20s, where you’re, you’re naturally Extra Bold and ready to move on things, I really needed those contractors much more than they needed. They needed me. So I think it meant that the folks that we brought in, we really did have to become about that kind of exciting vision and be clear with people on how they could come in, you know, do well and be part of it. I think it made that the central focus out of kind of out of a desperation. So as you know, when you get those people that are excited about what you’re doing on board, typically good things fall into, into place. So in the two businesses, I set up one state almost entirely on a contractor model with the exception of some full time staff. The other business, the one back in Britain transitioned to have, you know, full time salaried, salaried staff, but I still thinking even in that entity, were able to keep the same, same kind of commitment and focus. So it really does connect him with, you know, one of the key pillars of EOS is getting the right people on people on board to make life life easy.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  23:36

Yeah, people who kind of share your why and share your core values. It’s interesting, one of my clients is actually a VA virtual assistant service. And she’s got 40 Odd contractors around New Zealand, and they are all contractors, and yet they still run EOS, they still had their level 10 meetings, and the team, they’re just another team, it doesn’t matter what their status of employment is, they’re still on the bus with them, you know, living and breathing the vision and, and all in it for the greater good.

Mark Stone  24:01

Yeah, and I think that since obviously, the pandemic that has become a new pressure on organizations to really go out and foster that, you know, that environment to be able to keep and retain and, you know, kind of maximize the talent that they’ve got. And I think, I think in many ways, that’s a that’s a good thing. It’s really put pressure on organizations to go and to go and be appealing to people. So I think it’s an opportunity and those that those that kind of do best of that are going to have the best talent and, and win in the long term.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  24:29

Yeah. But the reality is, sometimes we have the wrong person, right. And we actually don’t want to keep them because they’re not doing great things for the company. So have you had you know, What experiences have you had with that and how have you dealt with or have you seen others deal with it?

Mark Stone  24:44

Yeah, I’ve dealt with that several times. And I think it’s that in working with folks who are handling that because it is it is difficult, again to transition and change is always is always tricky, but I think it’s also it’s also the best move for an individual many times if somebody’s you know, some He’s not capable of excelling in that role, or they don’t jive with the company’s culture, it really does help that person to cut to the chase as quickly as possible. And as we know, if somebody sits in a role, it’s not right for them for six months, and then, you know, they they leave, then, you know, they have to go find another role. And then they’ve got short term job position on their resume. And I think it’s really better both for the business and for the person themselves, where there’s good, open, honest, Frank, Frank conversations and opportunities to change or progress or adapt, or perhaps find another seat. But I think that, that boldness and openness and honesty is can be pretty pivotal for everybody.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  25:37

And I always sort of think that, you know, just because somebody isn’t right for your organization is mean, they’re not gonna be really happy somewhere else. Because let’s face it, there are many, many different organizations when he made different cultures, different ways of working, and I think sometimes, you know, I mean, obviously, as you wonder everything in your power to help a person become the best they can be and fit in with where you are, if it’s not working your best to let them go, because they will be happier finding somewhere else where they fit in better, but also from a company perspective, it just changes the dynamics in the company as well. Right?

Mark Stone  26:06

Yeah, and going back to those younger stuff, you know, they’re supposed to be going through a whole period of exploration, you know, when I, when you look at the population in the US how, you know, younger people are staying younger, longer, that, you know, they’re getting married later, they’re having children later, they’re buying houses later. So, you know, in theory that 20 is a great time to explore and the, you know, the chances and probability of finding a great company and a great industry, the first one or two jobs are naturally naturally quite high. So I think I think white folks can have good conversations about that. That’s, that’s key. And of course, that goes back to those core values being defined and, you know, banging the drum on, on what they are and why they are the way they are as regularly as possible.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  26:47

Yeah, and hiring, firing rewarding and recognizing with those core values cool. Now I know that you have a family that when you got couple of daughters, and I see my wife over there so your your do you use EOS in your family life?

Mark Stone  27:00

Yeah, we have a we have a scorecard on our, on our fridge. So I have a seven and a 10 year old girl. So Emma and Olivia, and you know, my wife Jamie, that mom, she’s a teacher. So they’re all tremble enough to school early and getting home late each day and working hard on the homework. So we use the scorecard in our house to try and get the right balance between the schoolwork and kind of a healthy body and a healthy body and mind. So yeah, small story. The other day, the ASA, our elf on the shelf actually happened to be reading, reading one of the attraction books one morning was either miraculous and magic or quite witty on the on the on the part of my other half.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  27:43

That is awesome. So do you have things on the scorecard to you and your wife?

Mark Stone  27:49

Um, yeah, I’m pretty diligent on my scorecard again, being in excuse me one second. Just being very quantitative. I like that weekly accountability so that I have two scorecards for my my practice and one for personal things. And I think it’s good to keep going and we looking at what’s important. And yeah, those weekly kind of check ins for all different areas are so beneficial.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  28:16

Yeah, no, I completely agree. It’s funny, because my husband’s been saying recently, whenever we have some kind of chat, shall we IDs that can he hasn’t quite embraced us yet. But he’s, he’s starting to pick up some of the terminology, which is good. That talks about

Mark Stone  28:30

Families a little bit with his right to be part of it.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  28:33

Yeah, yeah, it’s great. Okay, so we’ve heard a little bit about, you know, sort of your your story and what you’re doing, I’d love to hear from you. Because we’d like to give the listeners a couple of you know, tips or tools they can use in their, in their personal professional life, do you have a couple of tips or three tips or tools you could share with us?

Mark Stone  28:52

So sure, I think that the key one that’s always stood me in good stead is having that clear, clear picture. And I think when you’re working on a vision with folks, it’s important to have that both at a group level, whatever group it is, whether it’s a sports club, a charity or a business, I think it’s important to have the big overarching vision, and then also spend the time working with with that individual to make sure that you’re aware of their vision, and you’re, you’re able to have some kind of commitment and part in that. So I think certain visions are different at different levels is really important and making sure that it’s exciting and appealing and that you’re on the on the same page. I think that’d be my, my first one. I think there’s, I think the second one, to kind of repeat it again, after our mid 20s. It really just makes sense to concentrate more on our strengths than our and our blind spots. Be aware of those blind spots, but really just be the kind of who you are and really hammer home on those on those strengths. And I think part of our job is we very often and get to let people know, you know, and clarify what their strengths are, what their strengths are. So if somebody is unsure, go ask the four or five people in and around. Yeah, you know what, you know, what do you think my strengths are and you’ll get some great I get some great insight. And then I think the other one in terms of accountability, it’s, it really comes down to the people that you, you know, you kind of have around you, you know, those that you have conversations with the kind of, you know, shared discussion on some of those blind spots and those that help hold you accountable to those, you know, to those big, audacious goals. So, I think those would be my three, the vision, the, you know, knowing your strengths and acting on them, and then, you know, having great people around to help keep you accountable. And, and I think also inspire you as well, that’s, that’s key as well.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  30:34

Yeah, I always say that, you know, I’m, I actually, I enjoy exercise, but I’m not very good at going to the gym on my own. And so I have to have somebody who actually holds me accountable a personal trainer three times a week, I have to go in there do my weight training, otherwise, I would find every excuse under the sun not to do it. So I think, yeah, that accounts of having people around you who can actually hold you accountable is really important. For me, that’s for sure.

Mark Stone  30:55

Yeah, I think there are certain things that we naturally kind of hold ourselves accountable to and then there are some areas where we would need that help. So I think I like the idea of well,

Debra Chantry-Taylor  31:05

Thank you. He had a business business, I got no problem with whatsoever, whatsoever. But yeah, that’s actually helping. Okay, so Mark, you work with companies, you actually help them to implement EOS, you’re there to kind of teach them the tools, facilitate discussions, and hold them accountable. What kind of clients do you like to work with? And where are they located?

Mark Stone  31:24

My executive coach actually asked me this question the other day, and I kind of gave it a kind of a feeble, nonspecific answer. But when I thought about it, from them, to me for any any leadership team that are on a, you know, they’re looking to head in a certain direction and open, honest, growth oriented and ready to go take those next steps. I’m always happy to have to have conversations with those. And it’s, it’s kind of fun, right? You feel that excitement when you have a great conversation with other with other leaders. So I think there might might criteria. For me, I try and bring that positivity to things. And I’m naturally quite purposeful. So I think the clients that are suited to me are the ones that want to benefit from somebody who can help them in working out what are three, four or five steps ahead? And then what things do we need to take care of to kind of get that.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  32:13

Perfect? And is there a particular location? So I know that you’re obviously in Phoenix, Arizona, what are the areas that you you tend to work in or is

Mark Stone  32:21

So typically out here in the in the southwest, so happy to travel anywhere in this region. So you know, Arizona, California and New Mexico, Texas and search again, dependent on the dependent on the team and the the opportunity being abroad, I’ve been able to hit 30 odd states in the US. So I’m always always kind of open to traveling somewhere new and new and exciting, I have a couple that are on my list to try and get to in the next couple of years, but primarily in the southwest.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  32:49

Fair enough. But you also can do things virtually as well, right. And we’ve all we’ve all adapted to doing virtual, particularly when you’ve got teams that are based around the world.

Mark Stone  32:57

And I have a company at the moment, a wonderful group of leaders who specialize in virtual events, that kind of, you know, perfectly suited to managing the environment. But I just had a new client I partnered with this week who we’re going to have, I think folks in three different three different countries for our calls. So that’ll provide a unique challenge. And we’ll be checking our world clocks to make sure we’ll start at the right time. But yeah, I think virtual is just become become part of it at that point, right.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  33:26

Absolutely. So people want to get ahold of you Mark, where would they actually find you?

Mark Stone  33:32

LinkedIn is always a good spot. So just searching for Mark Stone, Phoenix EOS on LinkedIn. I’ll do it all by email mark.stone@eosworldwide.com.

Debra Chantry-Taylor  33:44

That’s fantastic. Hey, look, Mark, thank you so much for spending time with this morning. Really appreciate really appreciate having a chat with you about your experiences. I look forward to keeping in contact and hopefully seeing you again soon.

Mark Stone  33:55

Well, thank you so much. I enjoyed the enjoy the chat.