Nov 19, 2019
Brian Anderson: The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Ralph Nader. I am Brandon Anderson and I'm a Tri-Cities influencer.
Paul Casey: And if we must assume the only thing I would say is to assume positive intent. So if there's a gap between why that person behaved as they did and you don't know the answer, fill in that gap with positive intent and check it out.
Speaker 3: Raising the water level of leadership in the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington, it's the Tri-Cities Influencer Podcast. Welcome to the Tri-Cities Influencer Podcast where Paul Casey interviews local leaders like CEOs, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit executives to hear how they lead themselves and their teams so that we can all benefit from their experiences. Here's your host, Paul Casey of Growing Forward Services, coaching and equipping individuals and teams to spark breakthrough success.
Paul Casey: Thanks for joining me for today's episode with Jane Winslow. She is the creative director and brand strategist of WinSome, Inc. And a fun fact about Jane, she said, if we really get her laughing, we might get a snort. Well, before we begin, let's check in with our Tri-City Influencer sponsors.
Neal Taylor: Hello. My name is Neil Taylor. I am the managing attorney for Gravis Law's commercial transactions team. The CT team helps business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs accelerate and protect their business value. Today we're talking about employment law and alcohol and cannabis licensing. Josh Bam and Derek Johnson are both here with me now to describe those practice areas. Take it Derek.
Derek Johnson: Thanks Neil. I'm Derek Johnson, partner at Gravis Law. We find that many employers in Washington State simply don't have handbooks, employee policies, or any other written materials to protect themselves and their employees. Without having these types of policies in place, an employer can run into trouble by firing employees even if the employee isn't properly performing or causing issues at work. Even if an employer fires someone for performance issues, for example, but fails to take the proper steps, they may run into trouble by inadvertently exposing themselves to a wrongful termination suit. We build strong, predictable and protective employee policies to protect our client's business.
Josh Bam: That's true. Thanks Derek. And having employment policies in place when you're dealing with cannabis or alcohol licensing is especially important. We know that clean employment policies, clean corporate structure, and having an attorney that can work with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is critically important to protecting your business through licensing. The attorneys at Gravis Law have this experience. Visit us today, www.gravislaw.com
Paul Casey: Thank you for your supportive leadership development in the Tri-Cities. Well, welcome Jane. I was privileged to meet you... Boy, how many years ago has that been now? Maybe like eight, seven or eight years ago.
Jane Winslow: I don't do dates well, so probably.
Paul Casey: Yeah, I was doing these events called The Edge, where a guy named Preston House who was one of our very first podcast guests. He said, "Let's combine pizza and professional development." And I went, wow, I've never thought of that. But he goes, "I want to platform you and the good stuff you're doing." I thought, wow, I'm just so humbled that you'd be, that sacrificial about it. And we had Edge number one, I think there ended up being 15 of them and Edge number one, he introduced you to me and me to you.
Jane Winslow: Yes he did.
Paul Casey: We've been friends ever since.
Jane Winslow: Yes absolutely.
Paul Casey: Very cool. Well let's help our Tri-City influencers get to know you. So take us through your past positions that led up to where you are right now.
Jane Winslow: All right. Well I think my very first job was I had a coloring job at home. I would color pictures for my dad and we would have meetings when he got home from work. My sister was my secretary. I used to file them under the cushions in the couch, but that was my first job. And then he would check in with me at the end of my day. How was your day? And I would, you know, I would ask my dad, how was your day Raymond, because I think I was three possibly at the time. So I have always worked with a lot of different entrepreneurs.
Jane Winslow: So when I got started working, you know, my dad owned a small business. It was a small family owned insurance company. They've been in business over 110 years now. It's still in the family. I think we're on generation five. And so I'd hear my dad talk about working with small businesses and some of the challenges and things. And as I grew one of my first jobs kind of in my field because I've done a lot of things. I worked for a glass and ceramic decorator, I worked for a truck driving school in the textbook printing division. And when I moved to the Tri-Cities I worked for Eagle Printing. So I kind of came up through print and my degrees in graphic design, and at the time, before Al Gore invented the internet, print was the thing.
Paul Casey: What did you learn from influencers along the way at some of those positions? Were you associated with some people who became like mentors to you or gave you good advice?
Jane Winslow: I was really fortunate in my opinion, really fortunate to work with pretty much all small businesses. And when you work in a small business you have the opportunity to work directly with the owner and you get a real sense for what's happening in the business. They share things with you, and they make sure a lot of times, at least the ones that I worked with, they make sure that you understand why what they've asked you to do is important. You know, it may be go clean the conference room table and reset the chairs before this meeting. Why? Why can't somebody else do that? Well, because it makes a difference to make a great first impression.
Jane Winslow: You know, why should I send this proof to them again? Because they said they needed this by a certain date and that they don't sign off on the artwork, we can't get it ready in time. That's why. So really great communication and all through the way. When I moved to the tri cities and I worked for Dude Bodie and Dave Henry who owned Eagle Printing, worked a lot with Dude Bodie and he said to me, "I want you to treat this division, this department," which was graphic design and fairly new for them, "I want you to run it like it's your own business. You make the decisions, you work with the customers, you send the invoices and you get to collect the money." That part I didn't like so much, but I learned how to do it and he said, "I trust you and when you run into a problem you come to me."
Paul Casey: I love how you shared a leadership principle there of giving people the why, because if you just bark out orders, people are wondering in their head why anyways, so give them that upfront. That answer, which again creates more of the purpose. It's also like delegating vision where if you just delegate a task, well they might just bang that out, but they're going to be going, "Why am I doing this?"
Jane Winslow: Exactly. Exactly. And you know, without telling me as you know, this minimum wage employee with absolutely no skill, not at Eagle, but in Indianapolis when I started working, you know, it gave me a bit of a sense of purpose. I felt that the job I was doing was important, that if I wasn't there, there was a noticeable difference.
Paul Casey: Yeah. Connect tasks to the greater purpose. And that's why people stay engaged at work. And when they're disengaged at work, that's usually a disconnect there.
Jane Winslow: It's pretty much always the boss' fault.
Paul Casey: That's right. People keep leaving their bosses, not their companies.
Jane Winslow: Yes.
Paul Casey: Well, when you created this business, what was your original vision and then how has that sort of morphed along the journey?
Jane Winslow: You know, it's been interesting. So I quit my job at Eagle Printing and I quit because I wanted to do more design work, the kind of design and the kind of printing that Eagle wasn't doing in house, but that the customers were asking for. So I saw a need that they couldn't actually fulfill. So I left and I thought, well, this will be great. Maybe I'll start a family, you know, I'll do all these things. Well, inside 10 months, I had a few clients that followed me, and inside 10 months we were so busy, I had hired five people. We were working in an eight by eight, I'm bad with measurements, could have been 10 by 10, bedroom in my house.
Jane Winslow: When one person had to get up and leave the room, everybody had to get up and leave the room in single file. It was really that hilarious. But I thought start a family. So we finally had to move out. Eagle Printing actually came to me and offered me my old space to run my business because the person they hired to replace me was leaving and they knew I was looking for space. So they actually let me come back and run my business in my old office, which was kind of cool. Little did I know I was pregnant. Had no idea.
Jane Winslow: So it's really morphed into something completely different. You know, we've been very fortunate that our clients have come to us over 22 years through other client referrals and things that they've seen people, people have seen us doing in the community. So we haven't had to do a lot to drive business. And a lot of times I really feel like I'm holding onto the tail of a wild animal that is dragging me. And sometimes it's really nice when it slows down enough that I can say, "Okay dog, we're going this way." You know, and kind of make a few more strategy plans where you say more, I want more of this kind of customer and less of this kind of customer and so you start navigating. But it has been quite the whirlwind, which is funny because it's been 22 years of whirlwind.
Paul Casey: Yeah, that's a great way to describe the entrepreneur journey. Holding onto the tail of a wild animal. We're along for this ride. But that's what makes it fun too, right? Every day is different.
Jane Winslow: Every day is different. Every day is a new challenge. Every day is a new adventure and I'm the kind of person that I love challenges. I'm not somebody that is afraid of change or challenges. I love challenges. Let's solve a problem. I love puzzles.
Paul Casey: What are you most passionate about in your business right now and why?
Jane Winslow: My team. I have the absolute best people surrounding me. They're multi talented, hardworking, they care about each other, they care about me, they care about the business, they care about the client, they care to be engaged with the client. Every one of my people treats the business as though it is their own. In fact, frequently I have been introduced by a client to someone else who introduces my staff member as the owner because they think that they're working with the owner when it's-
Paul Casey: That's cool.
Jane Winslow: One of my staff members and it just, and it's awesome. And I don't usually correct them, plus it's important and somebody had to sign a check. But you know, I think it's fantastic. I get such incredible reviews from my people. Different people lead different projects and I get so much great feedback from them. They love each other, they love the company, they love me, they love the clients. And that creates an incredible atmosphere to work in.
Paul Casey: It does. And how did you get such great people? I mean what did you look for in the hiring process? And we're not going to say their names because then they're going to get poached away. No, no, just kidding. Just kidding. Just kidding.
Jane Winslow: Stay off my website.
Paul Casey: But what do you look for to create a culture that you have this wonderful team right now?
Jane Winslow: Well, I can tell you I've done it wrong a lot of times. Frequently I have hired for resume experience or the look in their portfolio and those things. But what I have found is that if I hire for fit and I know they have the skills, everything else falls into play. You know, I need people that feel the way that I do about them, that feel the way that we all feel about each other and that feel good about coming to work and putting their skills to the best possible use for the client. Because we've got a culture and I don't know, a work environment of everybody is willing to pitch in at any time.
Jane Winslow: If somebody finds themselves with kind of a lack of things to do in the afternoon because so many things are out with clients waiting bids, they visit every single person. "Do you have anything that I can help you with?" Every single day. It's awesome. It's really an awesome experience and I haven't always had that. You know, I've had people that are secretive, that are undermining, that allow their personal life to come in and dominate the workplace and it's just... It pulls everybody down.
Paul Casey: So those people were not in the right seat on the bus as Jim Collins would say.
Jane Winslow: True.
Paul Casey: And so how did that come to your attention where you realize this is not a good fit? This does not fit the culture I'm trying to create here?
Jane Winslow: Well, when I start seeing my staff struggle to tell me something because you know, I do have an office, it is an environment, I am the boss. And so sometimes they struggle with, do I really want to tell her she made a bad decision here, you know? And I have always encouraged them to be open and honest with me and I've told them sometimes I'm going to do what I want to do anyway. But just like I tell my clients when I advise them and they say, "I'm going to do the thing you told me not to do anyway." When it blows up, they come back to me and say, "You were right." Well, same thing in the office. So if I make a bad call, they find sudden... Well subtle ways to let me know that this isn't working. And if they're very concerned, they come out and tell me and we can either try to work with that person or that person needs to go. I've gotten a lot better about pulling the trigger on the person just needs go.
Paul Casey: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Very difficult day to let somebody go.
Jane Winslow: It is. It is. But I can tell you that most of the time when I have let someone go, they have come back and thanked me for it, which is a weird position to be in, but it's nice. Because I don't, not an angry fire person. I'm not. It's just not the right fit. It's not working for what we need at this time. And you know, we try to mitigate some of those things beforehand, but if it just isn't going to work, it isn't going to work. And ultimately people spend most of their life at work. You need to be doing the things that make you happy. You need to be doing the things that you're good at and you need to feel valuable and you need to feel part of a team.
Jane Winslow: And if you don't feel that way, if you're not happy going to work, you don't really want to be there anyway. It's not about the paycheck. It's really about cultivating a life that you want to live. So you're dragging me down and we're dragging you down. This isn't working. You know, I know you need a job, we all need a job. I would be happy to give you a great recommendation and a great reference and I'll help you find something if I can.
Paul Casey: Yeah, that probably means you did it well. If they come back and thank you after getting let go.
Jane Winslow: Hopefully. We're all learning, we're always learning.
Paul Casey: Well I'll take that rabbit trail. So then there's people on your team that do fit the culture. But they might be in the wrong seat on the bus. In other words, you've probably had to move people into different roles, responsibilities. Talk to me about maybe situations where that happens.
Jane Winslow: So one of the tools that my coach gave me-
Paul Casey: Who's that?
Jane Winslow: Who may or may not be Paul Casey. So one of the tools that you recommended a long time ago was the StrengthsFinder test and a long time ago was probably a year ago. So you recommended that we do that. And so my whole team did it and we found it really, really cool. We're all nerds at heart, we love data, we love compare, contrast, those kinds of things. I mean we're designers so a little bit of friction is good, right? So we came up with our top five strengths, excuse me, we put them all out on a board. We looked at where people matched and where people were standing alone in a strength. Alysha, who's my office manager, printed out top five strengths for every single person with a picture and our name on it. And it sits on everybody's desk every single day and we've all learned what all those strengths mean and so it's been really, really nice to figure out and apply to our work what skills are needed for this type of project.
Jane Winslow: Why when I say Lynette thinks differently than I do, how awesome that is because I don't want people that think exactly like me on a creative team. I want more ideas because more ideas is better options for the client and better results, right? So we've got more things to choose from. So it has really helped. And then conversely, if I've tried to ask an employee who seem to have more time or bandwidth to do something that I needed to delegate and then comes back to me and says, "I'm really not strong in this area, I want to help tell me which pieces I should do and then when to hand it off, because I think that Vanessa would be better than this, or Michael or Nathan." And it's been great. It's been really great. It's been a great communication tool and a great learning tool.
Paul Casey: Let's stay on that staff topic. How do you keep your staff inspired and affirmed?
Jane Winslow: So one thing is, two of the people on my team decided to make themselves into the sunshine committee, which is awesome because everybody needs a little joy or a lot. And so they plan monthly events for staff. Now, depending on where we are and how busy we are or what budget is, you know, sometimes they're office potlucks and they'll have a theme or sometimes we go out, we'll go to a movie, we're all nerds. So we all went and saw the Spider-Man movie together. We also saw the Men in Black movie together, you know, we also seen Avengers: Endgame. We had to see that in stages. But you know, we go out and we do things, we go to the Americans game and we go out to dinner and we do things together.
Jane Winslow: We all really like each other, which we have been told, I've been told numerous times by clients and vendors both, it's really weird how much you all actually get along. I'm so used to going into offices where everybody's super happy and then they're dissing each other, you know, on the back. And that doesn't happen with these people. That doesn't happen with my team and that's reiterated with clients. The other thing is transparency. I am overly open and honest with my team about exactly what's going on in the business. Good, bad, ugly, all of it. They know. I personally believe because I have been on the receiving end of this as a staff person, when the boss is really upset, the boss is in a bad mood, the boss is constantly locking themselves in their office or storming in and out and it doesn't have time for anybody. You're short with people. I don't ever want to be that person.
Jane Winslow: I've worked for horrible managers, none of whom I've talked about today, so don't go looking. I've worked for those people and I don't like it. I don't like the culture. I don't like going into work scared every day. I don't want to be afraid for my job. I want people to know. And what's great about this is that when my team knows, my team all pulls together to help every way they can. And when it's a great thing, they are all on board with celebrating. Everybody loves to party. But they get it and they get that work comes first and they get that this is how we have fun and we have lots of opportunities and we want to do something that everybody will enjoy. But we also want to push people to try new things. So, it's good.
Paul Casey: A spirit of celebration.
Jane Winslow: Yes.
Paul Casey: Well no one wants to get stale in their leadership. So how do you stay relevant? How do you stay on the cutting edge yourself and how do you foster innovation in a creative company?
Jane Winslow: So as I said, we're all nerds, so we all are looking and trying to develop new skills, looking into other uses for software. We all love to look at different marketing trends and we all kind of do that in our own way. Look at different creative tools, look at different drawing tools. You know, what are the trends and not that I care really what the trends are because I would rather be different. You know, but looking at what's going on and even different industries because we do a lot of work in healthcare, we do a lot of work in construction, we do a lot of work in arts and in education. So looking at what things are going on there, so in terms of research and just being aware. I'm in your mastermind group, the small business mastermind, which I absolutely love. I'm in a BNI chapter, I'm in the dream team right now, but I know and network with several of the other chapters as well.
Jane Winslow: I'm in several different Facebook groups that are groups for entrepreneurial women or local business owners or graphic designers or restaurant groups because we've got a product that's specifically for restaurants and entertainment venues. I do some of the more laid back networking events like chamber and Link and just some different things. And then I've got a network with my clients. I talk to my clients. I love to learn what's going on in their industries and how it can apply to my industry or how I can put that client with another client and come up with something new. And then I've got a really great group of fellow business owners that I call brain trust and it's good to just really look, and I use the mastermind group that way as well, as these people that are leaders in their fields who are seeing different things that I'm seeing. We look at trends, we look at, you know, buying habits. We look at all kinds of different things, but they're just great resources.
Paul Casey: People, people, people. I mean you just really-
Jane Winslow: Yeah there's always people.
Paul Casey: I mean you just mentioned dozens of people in your life that you surround yourself with to grow from.
Jane Winslow: Yes. Yes. I am an active learner. I am a hands on, active learner. I love to read, but I don't make time for it anymore because I would rather be able to ask questions back because that's how I process information. I process it best that way. My brain is already engaged and I want to know why. And so instead of writing a thousand questions in the margins of a book as I go through it or talking to the air or my dog on a podcast, I am an active, engaged networker.
Paul Casey: Extrovert, you.
Jane Winslow: Yes, maybe a little.
Paul Casey: Well, before we head to our next question on what makes a great day at work and at home for Jane, let's shout out to our sponsors.
Paul Casey: Jason Hogue, American Family Insurance. Jason, what is the biggest pushback you get about life insurance?
Jason Hogue: Hey Paul. Yeah. One of the biggest push backs I get from life insurance is from folks that are single. They usually ask me, "Why do I even need this? I don't have kids. I don't have, you know, any dependents or a spouse. Why do I need this?" Ultimately whenever you pass on, there's going to be somebody there to pick up the pieces. There's going to be somebody to deal with your affairs and I would say it's your responsibility to make sure that there is funds, that there's money there so that person can take the time needed to go through it properly and not make it their responsibility.
Paul Casey: Awesome, Jason. So tell us how can our listeners get in touch with you?
Jason Hogue: You can swing by our office on Road 68 and Pasco, or give us a call. (509) 547-0540.
Paul Casey: So Jane, what makes it a good day? Just overall for you personally and on a good day at work, you look back at the end of the day and you go, "It was really a good day today." What happened in that day?
Jane Winslow: I love new client meetings, absolutely love new client meetings. I love to learn about a business. I don't care if I have five clients or 10 clients that do the same thing. I love to learn about a business. I love to learn their story. I love to learn their why, because those are the things that truly make marketing a unique experience for them. You know, we work with a lot of real estate agents and I asked them what makes you different? And they all tell me exactly the same thing. Exactly. Well, excellent service and I'm very attentive to detail. And they are. They are. So I don't want to belittle that, but that's not what makes them different.
Jane Winslow: What makes different is why they chose real estate. What is their passion? Give me some stories of your favorite customers because now we get back to the why. You know, in the mortgage industry and the banking industry and the insurance industry, in education, it doesn't matter what it is. We all believe the brochure copy that we're doing, all the script, not the copy I wrote, by the way, we all believe we're doing this great service. But at the end of the day, your passion for why you do what you do is what makes you unique. It is what makes you special. And it is the thing that people respond to.
Paul Casey: It's not that I've been in business since 1985?
Jane Winslow: It is actually not. In fact, if you have a meeting with me, and you give me that information as something you'd like in your brochure. What are the words I will say to you, Paul?
Paul Casey: Nobody cares.
Jane Winslow: Nobody cares but you.
Paul Casey: So that's a great reminder. It's the why.
Jane Winslow: It's the why.
Paul Casey: It's the why. So it makes it a good day for you when you get to meet with those clients and brainstorm and attack their challenge and-
Jane Winslow: Yes. Yes. And it's energizing. I absolutely love it. That's my favorite part of it.
Paul Casey: Well, take us behind the scenes of your life a little bit. What's your best habit and what's your worst habits?
Jane Winslow: All right. Personally or professionally?
Paul Casey: Yes.
Jane Winslow: Oh no. Okay. So personal best habits, I drink a ton of water, I eat clean, I take my vitamins and I have a wicked awesome skin care regimen. So those are good things. You know the things every woman is supposed to do. But my worst habits, I'm a pack rat, not hoarder level, but I do have all of my projects from college. I graduated a thousand years ago and I still have all of them there. Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous. I'm not hoarder level, but it could get that way.
Paul Casey: You've given stuff to Goodwill, I know this.
Jane Winslow: I have, I have, I've gotten rid of a lot of clothes. So professionally I am very honest. I'm very honest with clients and I do, I can usually tell when they kind of are not ready for the truth but they're asking me my honest opinion and I tell them, "You are paying me for my advice and my recommendations. This is what I see, this is what I recommend." And if they come back at me and say, "Yeah, no, I really want to do it this way." That is okay. You're the client, it's your budget. We're going to do the best we can in that direction.
Jane Winslow: And then if it doesn't work and they come back and, "You were right, we should probably do the other thing instead." And sometimes I'm wrong. It has happened a couple of times. Not totally wrong, but kind of a, well this was pretty amazing that this works. Let's try that again and let's grow this way now because we saw some increase in revenue, let's add this other strategy and see what happens. And 11 times out of 10, the second strategy takes off way better than the first one. But it's important that the business owner is engaged. They know more about their business than I ever will. And that's important. I only want to work with people that are engaged in their businesses and care about the direction it goes and their why. It is their why. And that's important. And if their big why is that we've been in business since 1920, I will work with it. I can absolutely work with it.
Paul Casey: But you found the direct approach is the best approach. You're not going to schmooze them, you're not going to try to sell them other stuff. You're going to shoot straight with them.
Jane Winslow: Exactly.
Paul Casey: This is what I think is going to make you successful.
Jane Winslow: Exactly. And I'm really good at leaving money on the table quite frankly. I would rather somebody come to me with a realistic budget and then we say, in fact, I had a client meeting today and she gave me her budget and I said, "I know you can do a lot of the pieces, the execution work that I'm going to recommend and what I would like to do is factor that into my proposal to say, you'll handle this once I give you the tools to do it and use your budget for these other things that I know you can't do. But I don't want to just take all this for you and have you at the end of the day say I could have done 75% of that myself." So trying to help people use their budget and hire the experts for the pieces that they can't do or don't want to do or just have me make it easier for you to deploy it. That's what I want.
Paul Casey: Those are three good outsourcing rules of thumb. You said can't do, don't want to do and was the third one?
Jane Winslow: Well, it takes too long. I mean, I like to make it easier for them. It's like, let's just tighten this up and make it easier for you so that it is super easy for you to create that brochure within these tools that I've given you.
Paul Casey: How about a favorite quote, Jane?
Jane Winslow: Favorite quote? Well, this is on my screen at my office is, "Empowered women empower women." And I am, not that I have anything against you guys out there, I totally don't. I have a lot of male clients too so, and colleagues, but women business owners are a very strong vertical who don't believe enough in themselves. And as a female entrepreneur doing far more than I ever thought that I would as far as growth in my business. And, and I mean sideways and vertically because I mean, you know, I've got a lot of different pieces going on. But we all struggle, men and women actually, with this self doubt and we need each other to hold each other up and support each other and learn from each other and network with each other. And I think women in particular don't want to be seen as vulnerable or failing or anything else.
Jane Winslow: Men don't either, but it's a little bit different because women an awful lot of the times, you know, we have to be successful mom, we have to be successful wife, we have to be successful boss, business owner, networker, colleague, vendor, salesperson, all the things. And I think that our ownership of all the things as a woman is different than the ownership of all the things for men. I think that men see them as different size responsibilities and women see them all as huge and full-time.
Paul Casey: And that can be overwhelming.
Jane Winslow: Yeah, absolutely. So I mean I know I struggle with it and I've got a great team of people around me and that is the secret.
Paul Casey: And that's why we have to keep pumping each other up because who knows that that positive comment, "You can do this," is going to take that person and push past that obstacle.
Jane Winslow: Exactly. Exactly.
Paul Casey: How about favorite book that everybody should read?
Jane Winslow: So my favorite book or the one that has I think impacted my style first and foremost is Eat That Frog, which is what, 12 pages?
Paul Casey: Oh yeah.
Jane Winslow: I think it's maybe, you know. It's a super fast read, but of course the gist is, do the hard, awful thing first. You know, if you get up every day and eat the frog and just do the worst possible thing, the thing you're dreading first and get it out of the way, the rest of the day is so much easier. And it's hard because sometimes that eating the frog thing, it's the really long thing that you can't make time for and you have made it up into this giant thing in your head. And if you just get through it, everything else is so much easier.
Paul Casey: Yup. I'd rather cross off all those little things that give us the endorphin rush. But if we get the one big thing done, oh. Then we get so much more done after that.
Jane Winslow: That's true.
Paul Casey: It's just like a snowball effect in a good way. How about an influencer in town that Tri-Citians should meet?
Jane Winslow: So I don't spend a lot of time looking at other business people and what they're doing and how they're doing it and try to figure it out and modeling myself after that. I'm just not that person. I've never been that person. And I try to not get externally competitive. I'm very competitive with myself. So I asked some friends, you know, it's like, okay, I know Paul's going to ask me this question, what should I say? And four out of five of them said, "You, it's you." Okay, so we're just going to answer this way. Well, thanks. But why? I'm like, okay, really? It's like, yeah, why me?
Jane Winslow: They said, "Well, you're a power networker and you see solutions that other people can't see. And your ability to collaborate and put people together to make something completely different happen is unlike anybody else in the Tri-Cities. What you do with your clients and your friends and your power groups is completely different. And it sends businesses in a completely different direction and elevates them in a way that traditional marketing can't do and doesn't do or hasn't done."
Paul Casey: Yeah, I would totally describe you as a connector. Totally.
Jane Winslow: Thank you.
Paul Casey: Totally. This person, I know this person over here. And of course that's how BNI is built. Givers gain.
Jane Winslow: It is. Well, and that's what attracted me to BNI. Dana Mundy and I started BNI in the Tri-Cities, so a thousand years ago. I'm bad with dates, so I don't know however long it's been in the Tri-Cities, Dana and I started it. And really Dana started it. She researched networking groups and she came to me and called me and said, "Hey, would you join this?" I'm like, yeah, sure. I'll come and check it out. I didn't realize I was the second call and that we were doing this together, so I-
Paul Casey: And nine chapters later or whatever it's at now-
Jane Winslow: I don't know how many there are now. But it was a natural fit for me. It was just a natural fit because that's how I work anyway. So yeah, I would be a power connector in BNI.
Paul Casey: If you left a letter on your desk for the leader who comes after you at WinSome, Inc., what would it say?
Jane Winslow: Run! No. Seriously, if I were to leave my desk tomorrow, with the current team in place, I would tell the new me to love these people, trust them, encourage them and be honest with them that they will push this company to new heights and you just get to enjoy the view and ride the wave.
Paul Casey: Great letter. All right. Finally, what advice would you give to new leaders or anyone who wants to keep growing and gaining more influence?
Jane Winslow: Well, I think it's kind of been the theme of this podcast and that would be network. Get out of your own head. I frequently when in our masterminds, we've got a couple of people in the masterminds that are really good at telling me that I am the one in my own way. And it's really hard as a business owner because we're responsible for everything. We're product, we're development, we're staff, we're office, we're bills, we're management, we're vision, we're mission, we're everything. We're absolutely everything. We are the lifeline.
Jane Winslow: So get out of your own head to get out of your way. Surround yourself with people that you trust, who look at things differently than you do and have a different skillset. There's no business that can succeed by itself in a vacuum. You can't be successful personally and professionally doing everything yourself, you know? So create that brain trust. When I worked for Eagle Printing, my boss said to me, you know, "You need to surround yourself with people who can do things that you can't do." You know, ask them questions and let them ask you questions because you are an expert in your field. Ask them questions. Work together. Don't be afraid of the competition. Learn how to work with the competition.
Jane Winslow: We all have our own whys. I have a lot of competition in the Tri-Cities, but I do things differently than they do even though we technically, just like a real estate agent, offer exactly the same services. You know, why work with me? You've got to understand who your brain trust people are and they'll be honest with you, especially if you're sharing with them and they're sharing with you. Be honest with me. Tell me when I'm in my own way and I've got some great people that are really good at that.
Paul Casey: Fantastic. Well, how can our listeners best connect with you?
Jane Winslow: So you can find, let's see. I don't even know the answer to that question. So we've got a website winsomedesign.com W-I-N-S-O-M-E design.com. We've got a Facebook page, WinSome, Inc., and my phone numbers are on there. My office is at 1201 Jadwin in Richland. There.
Paul Casey: Excellent. Well thanks again for all you do to make the Tri-Cities a great place and keep leading well.
Jane Winslow: Thank you.
Paul Casey: Let me wrap up our podcast today with a leadership resource to recommend, actually it's more of a personal resource to recommend and some of the clients I have are thinking about, well I just need a hobby. You know, I just need something to lighten up my life. And so I found a website that's called notsoboringlife.com. notsoboringlife.com/list-of-hobbies. List of hobbies. And it's like 308 hobbies. If you're just thinking, I have got to try something new, I've got to stop working, not be a workaholic anymore. I need a new hobby. Check out notsoboringlife.com, list of hobbies. And don't forget to consider patronizing our sponsors of Tri-City influencer, Gravis Law and Jason Hogue, American Family Insurance. Finally, one more leadership ticket for the road to help you make a difference in your circle of influence. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." Keep growing forward.
Speaker 3: If you enjoyed this podcast or it piqued your interest in learning more about leadership and self leadership, you can continue to glean from Paul and his Growing Forward Services. Check out Paul's blog and the products, tips and tools on his website at www.paulcasey.org and opt in to his Target Practice inspirational e-newsletter. You'll get his 33 top tips for becoming a time management rockstar when you subscribe and consider buying one of his three books. The most recent one being Leading the Team You've Always Wanted.
Paul Casey:
This podcast has been produced by Bonsai Audio at Fuse Coworking Space.