The Common Issues Plaguing Leaders & How To Overcome Them

Running a business is no easy task. If it was, everyone would be doing it. I have with me today an executive and business coach with over 30 years of experience. Bob Reish with Caveat Institute is going to share some of the common issues plaguing leaders and how to overcome them.

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The Common Issues Plaguing Leaders & How To Overcome Them

Tim Fitzpatrick: Running a business is no easy task. If it was, everyone would be doing it and they're not. I have with me today an executive and business coach with over 30 years of experience, and he is going to share some of the common issues plaguing leaders and how to overcome them. Hi, I am Tim Fitzpatrick with Rialto Marketing, where we believe marketing shouldn't be difficult. All you need is the right plan. I want to thank you so much for taking the time to tune in. I am really excited to have with me today Bob Reish from the Caveat Institute. Bob, welcome and thanks for taking the time.

Bob Reish: Thank you so much, Tim. I'm glad to be here. Excited.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Yes. Yes. Now, you're based out of Arizona, correct?

Bob Reish: Yes, I'm based out of Surprise, Arizona. For those of you that are in Phoenix, you know our Surprise is. But for those of you that are outside, it's Northwest Phoenix area.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Northwest Phoenix. OK, so you're at the time of year where you're spending a lot of time indoors, right?

Bob Reish: Yes. Like we say it, now is the time to breathe the air you can wear.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Awesome. So before we jump into talking about leadership, I want to ask you a few questions. Help us get to know you. You ready to jump in?

Bob Reish: I am ready. Let's go.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Awesome. So when you're not working, how do you like to spend your time?

Bob Reish: Generally with my family. I have three children. I have one that's out of the house. I've got two that are still in the house. So spending time with my family, just basically focusing on things around the community is pretty much where I spend my time. So I'm helping people in my business that I get to spend time with people outside of my business as well.

Tim Fitzpatrick: What's your hidden talent?

Bob Reish: Probably what people have told me is my hidden talent is reading people. You know look at somebody and watching somebody, I'm really able to kind of get a really good read on sometimes who they are, where they're at. And I'm able to kind of ask him that question. So what's going on? I'm seeing some things. Is everything OK? So people always seem to like that when I ask them, is everything OK? And they always like to see that because they know I care, because I ask that because I do.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Might have even be able to say that's a superpower in addition to a hidden talent. I like that. What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?

Bob Reish: My best piece of advice I've ever been given was back in high school with my basketball coach. You came up to me and he put his arm around me and he said, "I believe you'd make a great wrestler." And I think back on that. And really what he did is he understood that I wasn't where my talents, where I was or where I needed to be. And really, he guided me to another area that he thought I would be better. And what I think about that, that's always been my career I've kind of lived with that is understanding that you're not always where you need to be. But it's important to find out where you were born to be. And I think that's very important.

Tim Fitzpatrick: That's awesome. I like that. What's one thing about you that surprises people?

Bob Reish: One thing that surprises people is I'm a coach. A lot of time, you know, people will see what I do. And, you know, I have a lot of I have my hands on a lot of different things. And when they really understand what I do is I love to sit and help people. And I listen to people and I ask the right questions and I help other people get to be where they want to be. So even in my success, it's not about my success that I'm excited about. It's the success of others. And that seems to be why I do what I do, because I get excited when I'm successful. But I seem to get more excited when other people are successful. And I believe that's one of the reasons I was born. To do what I do today is because of that. And, you know, yes, I always believe what Zig Zigler says. Would you take care of other people? You get taken care of. And I live that because it's true. And that's where I get my satisfaction from. So I think when people see that, that's one of the things that surprises them.

Tim Fitzpatrick: What does success mean to you?

Bob Reish: Success means focusing on how to become better and how to become more focused on helping other people become more significant, and I would always say a success is helping me become more significant, is helping other people become more and you can be successful without becoming significant. But when you're significant in the lives of others, you are always successful.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Where's your happy place?

Bob Reish: My happy place is right here, right in my office, right in front of other people. This is what I get to do for a living. This is something I've always been able to do free and volunteer over the years. But today I get to do it as a vocation and an obsession and I get to do it for people every day. So where do I want to be? Is right here. I want to talk to you today.

Tim Fitzpatrick: What qualities do you value in the people you spend time with?

Bob Reish: Two things, I tell people I can work with anybody if there's two characteristics, one of them is communicate, and the other one is honesty. And I always tell people, if you communicate clearly and you're honest, you can work with anybody.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Love it. Tell us a little bit more about what you're doing, types of businesses you're working with. What makes you different from the other people that are out there?

Bob Reish: Here at Caveat Institute, we have a different mindset and we really want to focus on how to make other people significant. And one of the things that sets us apart is we really don't focus on our services. We don't focus on our products. And the reality they really don't matter. What matters is helping people and letting them know that you understand them and care about them. And when we focus on the content that we have, we have Brian Tracy content. We have John Maxwell content. I've been writing content for over 30 years. That's not what people are focused on. What they're focused on is somebody that understands them and cares about them. And I focus on businesses that are big, that are small, that are solopreneurs. But really what we've zeroed in on is how to take care of people personally because people are looking for five things and this is what sets us apart. Number one, they're looking for somebody that understands them better than anybody else. Number two, they're looking for somebody that has a passion about them. And we at Caveat Institute will have more passion about people than anybody else. And that's what people are looking for with the exception of them. Number three, we provide hope. We provide hope and showing people that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And we also let them know that it's not an oncoming train. And then we also provide accountability. But most of all, we are that trusted advisor. And what we're able to do is be that one person in their corner that they know that this person is really all about them.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Awesome. Thank you for sharing that. I really appreciate that. So let's jump into leadership. This is, man, it is a vast topic and it is not something that is easily mastered. What's the biggest mistake you see business owners making when it comes to leadership?

Bob Reish: Great question, as I see that question and I hear that question, the first thing that comes to mind is great leaders don't do it alone. Great leaders are not lone rangers. Great leaders put people around them that many times are better than what they do than they are. They put people around them is going to keep them accountable. They put people around them, is going to tell them the truth. And great leaders understands that what makes them great is the team around them. And I'll give you an example. As many years ago, I would have the privilege and the honor to be the director of a camp for kids. And each year we have eight days, usually around the July time that we had four hundred kids and seventy five volunteers at this camp. And one of the things that I focused on was not me being the director and being in charge. The first thing I did is I put five directors around me. They were actually more qualified than I was. My job is not to tell them what to do. My job is to serve them. And I not only gave them the responsibility, but I also made them accountable for what they did and what we focused on is I had no more than five people that I was responsible for. Each person had no more than five people that they were responsible for all the way up to the kids in the cabin. And one of the things I took from that over the years is me being the leader is not about being the boss and telling people what to do. Me being the leader is serving those around me and putting those around me that not only help me be accountable, but allow me to serve them as well.

Tim Fitzpatrick: So, the biggest mistake is they're trying to do it alone or they feel like they need to do it alone, right. But we shouldn't as leaders, we shouldn't feel like we're Tom Hanks on Castaway out there on the island by ourselves to really maximize. We need to surround ourselves with the right people, get those people in the right seats and be there to serve them, but let them do what they do best.

Bob Reish: Absolutely. And really, our job as leaders is not to lead so other people see us. Our job is to create leaders in future generations. One of the best advice I've ever gotten from one of my leader mentors many years ago was put your hand in a bucket of water. When you pull it out, the indention that is left should be your impact as a leader. And the reason I say that is your impact as a leader is not measured by when you're there. Your impact as a leader is measured by when you're not there in the next generation and the generation after that. So as leaders, we need to be building other leaders. And how we do that is we got to surround ourselves not only with other leaders, but people that we're helping become servant leaders as well.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Awesome. So let's talk about low-hanging fruit. It's there in every business. What's some of the common low-hanging fruit you see for business owners to see quick gains in their business and what they achieve?

Bob Reish: One of the biggest ones I see is have a coach. What we see with every athlete, every professional athlete is they always have a coach. They have that person that's not there to tell them what to do, as much as asking the right questions, being there to see things that they can't see. And one of the things I always tell people as a business coach, how can I be a business coach if I don't have a coach myself? Because how can I expect somebody else to invest time, energy, and money into their business if I'm not willing to do that in my business? And that's one of the biggest ones, is make sure you have that one person that's able to be around that around you. That's going to be honest with you. That's going to tell you where things are at and help you get where you need to be by asking the right questions. And it gives you somebody to bounce ideas off of that gives you somebody that you know, that's there to help you when you have that struggle of who do I talk to? That person is always there. That help is there it's just a matter of going find it versus thinking you have to do everything by yourself. I hear all the time that, "Oh, when I grew up, I had to do things by myself, that I always do things by myself, that I don't like to talk to people. I don't like to open up to people." That is one of the biggest mistakes that leaders make. The low-hanging fruit is making sure that there's people around you because there is people around you. Make sure you take advantage of them.

Tim Fitzpatrick: One of the things I want to pull out that you just said that I think is really important is it's that that outside eyes and helping you see things that you can't see. We see this from a marketing standpoint all the time. As business owners, we it is very difficult for us to see the forest through the trees. We can't think about our businesses objectively. And so having somebody that can see a little bit more clearly and point that out to you, a lot of times you're just like, "Oh, my God, why didn't I see that? Well, we all fall into that boat at times. So I love that. So low-hanging fruit is making sure that you've got whether it's a coach or just, you know, outside people that are giving that you can trust, that are giving you guidance and the feedback that you need to see the things that you can't.

Bob Reish: Absolutely and, you know, people tell me all the time is what I become successful. I'll get a coach when I become successful I'll put people around me. But you never see a world champion athlete get a coach after they win the championship. They had a coach from when they were in tee ball, when they were in peewee football. And business professionals are no different. We need that same advice. We need that same support as athletes do. And this is where I talk to my clients all the time is the first thing you need to do is invest in yourself. The first thing you do is put those people around you. They're going to help you get be lifted up. It's going to help you get where you need to go. And I find that is probably one of the best lo- hanging fruit so that I could probably talk about today.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Do you think, this is somewhat related, coaching versus like mastermind groups? I know there's a lot of people that are in masterminds. What are your thoughts on that? Like, when is it best to look for a coach versus being in a mastermind group and vice versa?

Bob Reish: Yeah, it really is going to be unique for each individual person. But I will always say this is find that group or find that person that really resonates with you. One of my resources that I have on my website is called What to Look For in a Business Coach. And there's eight things on there that tell people what to look for. You know what's your ROI? What kind of training do they have? What type of resources do they have? Because finding a coach is very personal and very important. And when people find a bad one or not a good one, it really doesn't relate to them. And it doesn't mean that coaches are bad. Coach, you're not a bad coach. Sometimes they just don't connect. I think the same thing happens with mastermind groups is make sure you are in one that really resonates with you. Are they really do they understand your needs? Do they ask the right questions? Are they really giving you that support that you're looking for? And really, when you're looking at a mastermind group and a coach are kind of two different things. But really the common ground between both of them is make sure that when you align yourself with the group or a person, it's somebody that not only sees your value understands your needs, but is willing to be vulnerable, somebody that you are willing to be vulnerable in front of because it's so important that honesty is there and that communication is there, as we talked about earlier.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Awesome. Thanks for expanding upon that. So how do we promote our value to reach maximum potential? We see a lot of business owners struggling with how do we what is our value and how do we communicate it best?

Bob Reish: It really starts right here. And I had this conversation this morning with a client of mine and he says, "All I want to do is make money. All I want to do is make as much money as I possibly can." And it's all about the money, money, money. And I understand that money is important. I understand that we need to make it to survive and we need to make it to pay our bills. Richard Branson says that if you focus on the money, you're out of business. And one of the things that we teach here at Caveat Institute, is that there's two purposes to every business. The first purpose is not making money. And that's where a lot of people make the errors. They try to go into a business and how much money they're going to make. And yes, I understand numbers are important and margins are important. We need to understand those things. It's not necessarily about the activity. It's about what's in here. The first purpose of every business is to create value. What are you doing to create value in somebody else's life or somebody else's business without thought of a return? And when you focus on other people's needs and taking care of other people, money no longer becomes a goal. Money now becomes a result. And when money becomes a result, now you're truly fulfilling, I believe, your true purpose, in your words on the question, your true maximum potential and what I've taught you when I teach sales classes, one of the things I say is if you're in this class, if you were in this room and you're here to make money, I invite you to leave, because if you're here to make money, you're in the wrong place. But then I say, if you're here to take care of people, you're in the right place. And the message is that when people ask me questions is my business isn't working, I generally say you're doing two things wrong. You're trying to make money and you're trying to sell. Quit trying to make money and quit trying to sell. A good number of people walk away dejected. But many people say, tell me more. And really the key here is, is the less you're trying to make money, the less you're trying to sell. The reality is, is more you'll sell and the more you make money. So it's really about in here is it's not about making money and selling. It's about serving the people you're talking to. It's about asking the right questions to understand their needs. So they see that you're there to take care of their needs and then when they see our value attached to their needs, that is when they're interested in the ideas that we have, which may be any of our services or any of our products that we may have. It's not us that is promoting the value. It's them that see the value in us.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Do you think that when the most important thing business owners are focusing on is the money that they tend to make more short term decisions? That often aren't necessarily in the business's interest in the long term.

Bob Reish: Absolutely. And that's where a lot of times people are focused on their expenses. They're focused on the short term. They're focused on making just enough money for tomorrow or just enough money for this year. And they're focused so much on scarcity. There's so much focus on what do I need to do now that they lose focus of the big picture. And really, when you focus on reinventing yourself and finding and investing in yourself and focused on the real purpose or why are you are really doing what you're doing, that's what's important. There's a couple of things that we teach here at Caveat Institute that are very important. Number one is, are you living above or below the line? Are you are you thinking of being positive or negative? Are you thinking about being abundance or scarcity? Is it about what do I have to offer or what I'm going to get? And the other one that we really focus on is really about how to understand a person's need and help them get where they need to be, which helps us get where we need to be. And that is really all about the one question that many coaches don't ask. That is, what business are you in? And many people think they're in the landscaping business or they're in the construction business or they're in the orthodontist business. The reality is that's not the business that they're in. And here's where I see the example that I use is the reason that many of the railroads in the 60s went out of business is because they thought they were in the railroad business and they weren't they were in the transportation business. And here's a real-life example of one that has just happened recently. As I was talking to an orthodontist and I asked him, I said, what business are you in? And he goes, I'm an orthodontist. I said, no, you're not. And he was really confused. And we talked about what business is he really in? It took a couple of months. But what he came to the conclusion of he's not in the Orthodontist business. He's in the business of helping people smile without being embarrassed for a picture. It seems so simple, but the moment his mindset changed, his business tripled just like that. He didn't tell the people that it's because he was thinking different. And believe it or not, people can hear what you think.

Tim Fitzpatrick: So I love that question. So what business are you in? You're really digging deep into the result that your clients are coming to you for, right? And once that's stuck in your head and it's in your mindset, you start to think about and look at things differently.

Bob Reish: Yes. And that process that we take people through, what business are you in? Is actually 18 question process. So that takes us a while to get through. But remember, it's not about the fire hose or the big storm that the water rushes through. It rushes away. It's really about the drip system that slowly drips, that go deep because we're really not looking to just go through the surface. We're looking to look for the deep growth. We're looking to really grow those roots, because once those roots become strong and deep, that's when the tree grows. That's when the growth really happens. It's not about the surface growth. It's about the deep roots. And that's really what we're focused on. And you're absolutely correct. It's about understanding them at a deeper level. It's helping them understand themselves at a deeper level.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Yeah, that's fascinating. Thank you for sharing that. Do you have you've shared some awesome info here Bob, any other last-minute thoughts, words of wisdom you want to share with us?

Bob Reish: I'm going to take it right back to the question that you asked me earlier about the one piece of advice, and I'm going to go back to Coach Cook that says, Bob, I think you'd make a great wrestler. And when I say that, really, I didn't know this at the time, but he really kind of launched me on a path that I'm at today, because over the years I've had those same experiences. I went to tech school and became an electronic technician and is working on big phone systems. And my boss came up to me and he goes, Bob, I think you'd be better in the classroom. Why? Because everything I touched, I broke. What I found was when I was in the classroom, that's where I thrived. I thrived on teaching. I thrive on interacting with people. I thrive on helping other people get where they need to be. And through my ministries that I've been involved with and through the insurance industry and through different businesses, I've been involved with, one truth that I have learned over the years is there's two types of things that we need to focus on. Number one, on that step ahead. Is it a stumbling block or is it a stepping stone? When we see him as a stumbling block, we will always fall backwards and defeat. When we see it as a stepping stone, we will move forward. And one of the things that I have learned through the years is I've had some great mentors. I've had some great people that really have helped me get where I need to go. But one of the things that I'm really grateful for is those people that tried to stop me, those people that tried to hurt me, those people that tried to keep me from being successful, because although what they try to mean for me being hurt somewhere, that is actually propelled me. I had a boss for many years that tried to hurt me and try to fire me. And what he ended up doing is saying no more training, no more raises, no more support. Well, in that particular contract that I was in, I was teaching insurance agents all over California and Arizona. And the fact that they left me alone for seven years at the time, I'm thinking, look at how bad things are. People are being promoted over me. People are getting raises. People are getting more. But what I look back at seven years that I was being ignored, I wasn't being ignored. I spent seven years honing my process. I spent seven years holding my systems. And because of that, I was able to say, you know, now I'm ready to start my own business. This is why I say, don't look at them as a stumbling block. Look at them as a stepping stone. And sometimes I like to say is I need to write him a thank you note and say thank you for being a jerk because it gave me what I deserved. I would not be where I'm at today. So I see the value of my mentors. I see the value of those people that tried to derail me because it's not about them. It's about what I think about the step. Is it a stepping, stepping stone or a stumbling block? And that's a choice that we make.

Tim Fitzpatrick: I want to pull something out here because they think this is a really good point you're making. Any tips for people who are struggling to kind of find that zone, what is their zone of genius? Right, or where where do their skills really lie, like when you're helping people with that? Where do you start?

Bob Reish: It's really about understanding who you are at. And it goes back to don't try to do it alone. Don't try to think you have to figure it out alone. There's people out there that can help you. Call us here at Caveate Institute. We will ask you those questions that can help you get to that next level. There's a lot of great coaches out there. Find that coach, find that one person that you're going to resonate with, because that's what's so important. This is why on my website, I put the format what to look for in a business coach. I'm not as concerned about whether you hire us or somebody else. What is more important is that you find the right person for you and that and that PDF that's on there is a great resource for you to ask the right questions to that right coach. So I would say the number one tip is find that one person that you can have around you that's going to help you get where you need to be, not tell you what you want to hear, not tell you that you're doing great at everything. But that cares enough to ask you the right questions, to get you to the next level. The second one is, is read a book. You know, you'll get out there and just find somebody, a book out there that resonates with you and always look to learn something new each and every day. And I would say the number three is don't listen to those people that tell you that you can't because there are so many people out there. They're going to tell you you can't or there's going to be people out there that say, don't. Don't listen to them. Why is because you have value. You have something to offer to the world. If you believe it, find somebody else out there that's got to believe it and run together. Because, again, it's not about doing it alone. It's about being there as a team because it's about creating leaders for future generations.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Fantastic. Bob, thank you so much for taking the time to share some awesome info with us today. Where is the best place for people to reach out? They like what you say, like, man, I got to talk to Bob.

Bob Reish: Caveat Coach Dotcom, if Caveat Institute is our is our company. Here's the Caveat as our podcast. If you type in Caveat coach dot com, you'll see our phone number, you'll see our email, you'll see all of our links. Any information that you want to find out about us on our contact information, you can find it under Caveat coach dot com. Go ahead. Look us up. Call us. Love the chat with you. I love to answer any of your questions. Just type caveat coach.

Tim Fitzpatrick: Awesome. So that C A V E A T coach dot com. Awesome. Thank you so much Bob. I really appreciate it. Thank you to those of you that are watching, listening. If you want to gain clarity on where to focus your marketing efforts right now, hop on over to our website, Rialto marketing dot com. That's R-I-A-L-T-O Marketing dot com. Click on the get a free consult button. Be happy to chat with you and help you push through some of those roadblocks that you're running into and give you clarity on where you need to focus right now. Thanks so much. Till next time. Take care.

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About the Host Tim Fitzpatrick

Tim Fitzpatrick is the President of Rialto Marketing. At Rialto Marketing, we help service businesses simplify marketing so they can grow with less stress. We do this by creating and implementing a plan to communicate the right message to the right people. Marketing shouldn't be difficult. All you need is the RIGHT plan.