Passionate and powerful discussion with Urshel Metcalf where we discussed some of the challenges of entrepreneurship related to sales and selling.. very very high impact segment! Reach out to Urshel for help with your company. Later in the discussion we also discussed the importance of why, relating back to Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, which is linked (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA) and in the video.
A few books we mentioned, referred to:
Start With why by Simon Sinek (https://amzn.to/39LRQVZ)
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (https://amzn.to/3inj09m)
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (https://amzn.to/3ipthlu)
I didn’t mention this one but you should read it,
Go-Givers Sell More by Bob Burg (https://amzn.to/2LYHhXs)
Show sponsor today is R.D. Adair PLLC (https://adair.law)
AUTO-TRANSCRIBED
Aaron Spatz 00:10
Good morning DFW. This is the Dallas Fort Worth Business Podcast. I’m Aaron Spatz. I hope that you’ve had a great weekend. And holy cow, here we are Week Three January 18 2021. I can’t believe it. And so I just want to thank you for tuning in. If you’re enjoying the show, of course, I’m going to ask you to do all the obligatory stuff, right? So like, subscribe, share all all of that fun stuff. If there’s any specific feedback that you have. I love talking with you, I love to understand the things that you really, really enjoy. So like let me know if there’s certain episodes or certain guests or certain things that you just really, really enjoy hearing from, drop me a line podcast at Bold media.us and we’ll pick it up from there. So we’re having a great time. For those of you that aren’t also aware if you’re interested in possibly being selected for the February show the guests like just opened up this past Friday. So if you are again, someone you know, would like I would like a shot at appearing on the Dallas Fort Worth business podcast. Please, please, please please let them know about it. And I would love to see what we can make happen. So today I’m excited to welcome Urschel Metcalf to the show. He is a man of many talents, and a wide and varied background. I’m excited to talk with him this morning. Urschel managed want to thank you so much for being on the show this morning.
Urshel Metcalf 01:24
Hey, man, thanks a lot for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to chat a little bit.
Aaron Spatz 01:28
absolutely know that this is fun. So one of the things I love about social media and one things I just love about our DFW Metroplex is one it’s, you can reach out and touch just about anybody. And in DFW, there’s so many, like, there’s just so much going on here. And so there’s no there’s no shortage of people to network with and talk to. And so yeah, again, I, I appreciate it. And so but let’s, let’s dive a little bit into your story. So just just real quick share with everybody a little bit of your background, where you come from one of the questions I’d love to ask is Where are you originally from? Because it’s not every day I meet DFW natives sometimes I do. But a lot of times we all came from somewhere else.
Urshel Metcalf 02:07
Right? Well, I am one of those rare DFW native born. We did it. Right here in Dallas. I spent some of my formative years down in the hill country, and a beautiful little place called Marble Falls, Texas, but came back, graduated from Berkner High School in Richardson and you know, had had a great time there. It was like the perfect High School. It was like an amalgamation of every 80s movie that you ever saw. Yeah, we were the exam. Of all of those things. Huge, huge, you know, I was like 1100 people, I think in my graduating class, and, and then joined the Marine Corps after that and started making the world my oyster.
Aaron Spatz 02:55
Wow, man, that’s crazy. Yeah. So one, yeah, you’re just one of a few people that have that have had on the show that it’s actually a native. So Richard, I cannot imagine the growth that you’ve seen occurred just over, you know, over the years.
Urshel Metcalf 03:09
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, graduating in the 80s in Richardson. I mean, there were times that I came to McKinney, or Allen, or even planner, which we called playing zero at the time, which is where I’ve learned things I came back. You know, if I came here was generally for sports or something school related. And there was really nothing, you know, that I even appreciated. I didn’t even know there was a town called Frisco. And, you know, in that 31 years, from the time I left to when I came back, I mean, it it. It was like I was moving into a place that I barely knew.
Aaron Spatz 03:49
Wow. Yeah, yeah. No, it’s not. It’s just, I mean, things change, things grow. I mean, as as we all know, right? There’s a ton of business, a ton of people coming to North Texas and just Texas in general. And so it’s the business environment for a lot a lot of companies and in a lot of states has just not been super favorable. And they’re a lot more favorable here in Texas. And so it’s been, I think, that’s been a huge driver of growth, and it’s a great place to be Man, I’ve really enjoyed I’ve been in Texas 2012 And it’s just I mean, I can’t believe how fast the time the time flies. It’s been it’s been really cool. But no, so like, share with us a little bit then of your, your journey. So you is obviously born raised here you joined the Marine Corps. You you have fun doing that making, as you said, making the world your oyster and then and then on the tail end of that, then did you did you come back here to the Metroplex or like what’s your story there?
Urshel Metcalf 04:46
No, I, interestingly enough, and you’ll understand this I was in the Marine Corps active duty for 13 years. And up until the last three years I had never been stationed at Camp Pendleton or campus you and which is rare, because those are the two, you know, places where most people at least spend time at one of those. And I spent my last three years in camp Legion in North Carolina. And when I got out there, I immediately transitioned into the, it’s I tell people now that the business of religion and I started working vocationally in ministry, and worked at a local church there and, you know, helped to build that, you know, kind of small storefront church of a couple 100 people, you know, to close to 2000 people and, and during that time, we’re doing, you know, missionary work as well, and, you know, Mexico, lots of trips back and forth to Brazil, which was really, you know, it’s what we record those those hardship duties, right. Yeah. And even before that, you know, watching or church out and Italy as well. And so that’s really what consumed the next almost 10 years of my life, I did a lot of music. During that time, a lot of traveling. It was a it was a lot of fun for me. And that was about the next 10 years and till I came back to came back to Dallas, and specifically to Plano and and then started on my entrepreneur journey as we’re
Aaron Spatz 06:26
Wow. Yeah. So So talk with us about the entrepreneurial journey. What does that what does that been like for you? I mean, I mean, no doubt, like, like, I talk to everybody that has it has its unique challenges, right? It’s like, what’s that been? Like?
Urshel Metcalf 06:37
Yeah, and for me, you know, when I look back, in retrospect, it seems like it’s been a series of accidents. And I’ve fallen up to some degree, right. Um, but, you know, it was 2009. So, you can think economically, you know, not exactly the best time to be changing careers. And so, and I mean, early 2009. And so, I came back. And, you know, in my mind, I had done technology and communications. And again, in the 80s, when I joined the military, you know, when I left home, there was Ericsson, at&t MCI, I mean, Richardson was littered with communications technology companies, so that was, you know, kind of a default, where I would end up but then, you know, planes flew into a building in, in New York, in 2001. And, you know, our communications alley and all of that, you know, obviously, face to face, its challenges. And so, I ended up in one of the places that’s kind of always hiring, and that’s selling insurance. And, you know, and I was, you know, selling senior market, you know, Medicare Supplements, annuities, long term care, and, and there’s a part of the business that I really found myself attracted to, and also felt like, was more lucrative, and that was the financial products side. And so, after a little over a year, I realized that, you know, I’m, I’m working really hard in kind of not so great of a national company. And, you know, I’ve got limited things that I can offer my clients, and so it becomes that, if, if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem is a nail, you know, I’m meeting with people, and I’m trying to fit their unique circumstances into the, you know, three financial products that I have. And so I just decided, you know, one of the times and there have been several now that I’m going to bet on myself, roll the dice all in, and I’m going independent, I’m going to contract with, you know, every carrier that’s out there, and I’m going to tell my clients I represent you and not accompany, I’ll find what’s best for you. And, you know, I had a few agents that ended up, you know, working underneath me, and, you know, so it kind of built my own small little agency. And, and then that shift for me started focusing not just on the financial products, but I started learning things about the tool of insurance and how it can be used. And in getting into some different strategies there and get excited about that, and, you know, shifted my focus there and still had other people who were, you know, focusing on the senior market and, and so then I found a boutique financial firm that was doing what I was doing, but you know, they had more structure and organization and so, you know, I thought well, I mean, let me link up with them and, and so I did for a while, and then here’s where the major trip and fall, you know, took place As a result of networking and relationships there, I ended up leaving there and launching a small private equity VC hybrid firm, we had this very unique strategy that we were funding companies for a short period of time. Non recourse, and, you know, so they were excited about that, and we weren’t trying to, you know, take them over and, you know, take their equity, no, no equity, no debt, revenue based financing. So it just, you know, I met this really, really smart guy who turned out to be a car and paid him a lot of money over, you know, a year’s time. But, but Aaron, I call that today, I call that to issue I learned the whole
Aaron Spatz 10:50
man, man, that’s a great, that’s a great perspective. And it’s, that’s, that’s an encouraging that, like, it’s a very encouraging tone that you’re sharing, right? Because one, I just, I appreciate you, I appreciate you being so open and so honest about your journey, because your story is not unique to just you, like you, you have your your experiences are unique to you, of course, right, there are so many other people out there that have experienced very similar things which you’ve experienced. And so you’ve, you’ve had these opportunities to, to, to learn and like just talking to you and kind of hearing you talk, like I get the sense that you’re your guy, you love to learn, you love to apply yourself, you love to kind of investigate things and see what else is out there. And so like you’re going, going through this whole journey of doing that, and then and then like to be lied to, or taken advantage of, or whatever, whatever we want to call it. And then for you to sit there and be able to say like, Yeah, I’m just, I’m paying some tuition. And but you know, that, that difficulty, I can only imagine what kind of fuel that has been for you now going forward? Has that been like?
Urshel Metcalf 12:03
Well, you know, it has really, it fuels a perfect word, because it’s really knighted me for what, you know, I really discovered is probably going to be as a career. You know, my greatest passion is because having been an entrepreneur, having been, you know, totally, you know, worked over twice, to the point that one of those people one of those people in in less than two months will be facing Federal sentencing sentencing. Yeah, I mean, you know, but here’s the thing, you know, I work with business owners now every day. And, and many of them, like you said, have experienced similar things, I get to look them right in the face and say, you know, what, your situation is unique. But it’s not uncommon. Yeah, right, revive this, this is a reason why you need to have people you know, you need to have advisors, you need to have people that have been down this path that are, are helping you. But this is kind of the cost of doing business. And I have another Marine friend who’s a tax attorney, and I would have him come and talk to some of the entrepreneurs, that I was trying to him back when I was with another organization, and, and he said, Listen, if you’re going to be a business, here’s the thing, you’re going to get sued, don’t take it personal, just the cost of doing business. And so, you know, it’s those sorts of things that say, you know, keep the main thing, the main thing, stay focus on your business, these things are going to happen, you know, we, you know, we live in a litigious, you know, country, you know, people Sue, you know, markets change. I mean, who knew, you know, we would even no one predicted anything, like what we experienced in 2020. And so all of those experiences it, it’s exciting to me, because I get to look at it and say, let me tell you not bragging, but let me tell you some of the things that I’ve survived, let me tell you some crazy decisions I made. Let me tell you how I ignored you know, a lifelong friend who’s a business attorney when he told me, you know, don’t do this, don’t do this. Don’t do that. And everything he said happened. And I still got lucky enough to have the opportunity to dust myself off and start again.
Aaron Spatz 14:28
Wow. And it gives people hope, right, it gives people hope, because it’s not, it’s not this fairytale journey. And I think for the there’s a lot of folks watching listening to this, that have that have experienced this. And I think there’s also a lot of people that that have this idea. There’s this notion that okay, I go down the path of entrepreneurship, and it’s you know, sunshine, unicorns and rainbows. I mean, it’s just like, never ending success and everything’s a party and you know, and it’s all like this. Yeah, it’s just it’s, it’s crazy to me, it’s like no, it’s it’s, it’s probably the heart you’re ever going to do in your entire life. And you’re going to go through a ton of ton of valleys a ton of peaks, there’s gonna be a lot of things that happen. And, you know, I’m still I’d like, I mean, I’m still kind of early into that journey myself, right. But there’s, there’s a ton of lessons learned when you go back and you look at your career, like, as long as you have, right, you’ve, you’ve had this long career of different things that you’ve had the opportunity to do. And you’ve taken every one of those things as learning. And and you’ve taken that learning forward with you. And so like one of the things that you said, and I want to circle back to it, because there’s been several, several little snippets that you’ve mentioned, and I, and it just grabs my attention. So talk with me real quick, you don’t have to apply it to, you don’t have to play necessarily to what you were talking about originally, but every every problem requiring a hammer, and so talk talk with me about what you’ve seen, just in business in general, right doesn’t have to be your experience directly. But just what does that like for people when when they feel like all they have is like one or two things that they can offer. And they they’re trying to bend a customer’s need into what they need, instead of addressing the customer’s need for what they actually require.
Urshel Metcalf 16:14
Absolutely, that’s, you know, that’s a great conversation to have, especially when you’re talking to entrepreneurs, because at the end of the day, business is about relationship and trust. And, and so when, when you’re walking around, and we used to call it commission breath, when you’re walking around with that commission breath, because you got to close this today. So you can buy groceries next week, or make the car payment. And so you’re desperate. And you’re kind of, you know, you’re saying whatever you need to say and doing whatever you need to do using all your sales power. And you know, fighting those objections and everything else, because you’re in the sales game, but you’re thinking about yourself, you’re thinking about your needs, and you’re thinking about your crisis. So that’s this, you know, there’s only one problem, and that problem is a male, and I’ve got to drive this sales pitch, I’ve got to close this deal, I’ve got to get this contract signed, because of my knee, right. And so it’s very myopic, it’s very short term thinking. Because what you really want and what you really need as an entrepreneur, is more than you need to close that deal. You need that person, as an advocate, you need that person trusting you, you need that person thinking about the fact that you’re thinking about them and their needs, and that you’re listening, and then your understanding. And so if you’re just trying to drive that nail, at some point, it becomes this battle, you know, of, you know, and I had a friend that used to say, you know, every conversation someone gets sold, right? Either either they sell you on why they’re not buying them or why they are. And, and so when you change that, and you become a person that’s listening and understanding their need, you know, I’ve learned and, and I’ve experienced this so much, that, you know, I may not get that deal, I may not get that client, but I might get that friend, or I might get that person because I said you know what, you’re actually in a good situation, you really don’t need what I have to offer. And as I evaluate at the time, you know, then your insurance needs to evaluate your financial situation, or as I look at your business, you know, I’m not the person that can really help you with what you need. I do know someone, I can introduce you to this person that might be able to help you in this area. But you know, I want to say congratulations on what you’ve done and what you’ve accomplished. And then that changes the whole dynamic because now it’s not this adversarial sales relationship. It’s I am, I’m here to be a professional. And I would expect that if I went to a doctor, and he and I thought, you know, I have these symptoms, and this and that. And he examines me, you know, and I think that, you know, because I’ve I’ve gotten my, you know, online Google Medical Degree in the lab, right, based on my symptoms, and if I go to that doctor, and he examined me and he’d run some tests, and he says, You know what, you kind of just got a common cold man, you know, you’re you’re not dying. And, you know, at least not today, unless you get hit by a car. But but but you’re okay. And so, you know, go to Walgreens, you know, get some Theraflu get some good sleep, drink some water. You know, I’m I liked that doctor, because he, he didn’t heal me, but he made me feel better. Right? And so when we can shift out of that, you know, I got to sell this person what I have and just say, How can I help Every person that I talked to, and it sounds trite, and you know, and everybody repeats Zig Ziglar, you know, if you want to fulfill your dreams help, as many people, you know, fulfill their dreams. But guess what? It’s true. Because what you really need in the business world, is you need allies and collaborators. You need people that trust you, and believe that you’re good at what you do. And then you need to help as many people as you can. And some of those people, it’s not going to be lucrative. It’s not going to be the best deal, but you don’t know who they know. Right? You don’t know what introductions they can make. And so that’s really the biggest thing I’ve learned from that is, you know, no matter how desperate I might feel at the moment, you know, every problem can be solved, the obstacle is the way right. But get rid of that commission breath, get, you know, get you a mental Altoids, you know, and relax and go into a situation, listen to every person, and then find a way that you can help them or validate them or support them, but make sure that they feel that you care about who they are and what they do.
Aaron Spatz 21:08
So tremendous wisdom, tremendous wisdom in that. And it is so hard to do, right there is because when you are in a situation where like, like, like you said a minute ago, right? Like, hey, I’ve got a car payment, I got a mortgage, I’ve got I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed. And you know, we’ve all met them if we haven’t been if we haven’t been this person ourselves, right? We’ve all we’ve all met people with commission. I’m never gonna forget this the commission the commission breath, visual man, because it’s like, Yes, I like it is just as offensive as not brushing your teeth in the morning and you’re like, dude, stay, stay away, stay away.
Urshel Metcalf 21:50
I’m not answering that call, because I get you know, I can I can smell it through the phone. Right?
Aaron Spatz 21:56
It’s the it’s the only smell that you can smell through a phone. That’s science right there, man that science?
Urshel Metcalf 22:03
No, and we were trained in that, you know, I mean, you know, I was, you know, in meetings with people, and they’re like, you know, hey, you know, here’s my car, you know, asleep with my phone next to my bed, you know, and I’m available 24/7 You can call me anytime call me on Christmas morning. And I’m gonna answer, you know, and I just learned in its perspective, two, I learned that I had to look at myself differently. I had to exercise my belief in my faith, because there are going to be challenging and lean times. And, and I’ve been through those, and I’m still here, you know, most of the people that live in my house still, like me, relatively, you know? These decently right? And so you can, you’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to do the work. But you have to relax, you have to exercise some belief and faith. And and you have to really get into those, you know, I like doing with people sometimes the seven levels of why, well, why did you start your business? Well, I wanted to, you know, have an independent income, I wanted to retire my wife so she can stay home, why is that important to you? Well, because, you know, the way I grew up, and why is that, and really boiling that thing down to what really matters to them. And, and just to, you know, tell you quickly, like for me, I, it took me I’m going to turn 51 This month, and it taken me
Aaron Spatz 23:29
You look awesome, by the way, all of it.
Urshel Metcalf 23:34
taken me almost all of that time to recognize, you know, I used to tell people well, you know, I’m great at being the number one I’m a really good number two, but I’m only a good number two, in an organization for about 18 months, maybe 24 depending on the culture, and then it becomes a problem because usually I come in to deal with a situation or be a catalyst to growth or whatever. And then there’s this other stuff starts to happen at about 18 months. And you know, and it’s it becomes it can become adversarial, different things happen. I become a threat. And then But then I realized, you know, and my wife said something and it offended me maybe a year and a half two years ago, and she were watching something and she was like, you know, that’s who I think you’re a kingmaker what she said, and I was offended. I was like, Hey, I’m you know, I’m a fuck man. You know, I’m an out front guy. You know, I’m a, you know, I’m a visionary. I’m not I’m a king. Not a kingmaker is really what my ego was saying. Yeah, sure. And but then as I made this shift into really just focusing on coaching and consulting businesses, in the areas where I have the ability to really help. I realized that you know, she was right. Because I’m at my best when I’m getting the best performance out of other people when I’m driving them towards their highest level of achievement. And in that way, I’m I’ve never become the competitor. And I get to be know and use my gifts in my abilities to be able to and one word that has followed me throughout my my entrepreneurial journey, and I use it and it’s the focus now is optimize. And because I believe really that’s, that’s what I do is and the reason why I use that word optimize is because wherever you are, you can optimize you can you can become more efficient. You can you know, you can you can, you can reduce costs, you can do whatever these things to optimize today. And guess what, if you do it today, six months, you can still continue to optimize, you can always tweak and get better at that performance.
Aaron Spatz 25:51
That’s true. That’s true. Well, we’ll come back to the break, I would love to go back and talk a little bit more about the why process. And so like, what, what is it that you found, like I would love to hear like some of the some of the insights that you’ve gleaned from people as you’d like, drill down into those many layers of why. And I just I’m just generally curious, like, what if, what if some of those results been what is what is those discussions look like? And then, and then kind of what you’re doing today. And so we’ll be we’ll be right back. So this show is made possible by amazing sponsors, and some incredibly grateful for those that have sponsored the show. And so this week, our sponsor for this week is rd, a dare business attorneys. And so for those of you that are looking for business attorneys, folks that help right, so if you need solid legal help, I’d point you to Ryan Adair, so he’s he’s the head guy there at rd adera PLLC. He and his firm they handle various business law matters from disputes and litigation to the whole business formation and transactions stuff and everything in between, right. So everything from you got to go to court to hey, I want to get started. And so that you’d be very well served, reach out to them, so they can assist you with your legal concerns. I’d give them a call, see what they’re able to do for you. But they’re solid folks. And they will they’ll definitely treat your right. So incredibly grateful for them. So back back to Urschel. So man, thank you for for sharing some app, I love to love to drill down into like, okay, like that whole? Why think so like, so I’ll so I’ll just ask you, you said it already. But I’m, like, I like to kind of recap it against like, what, why is it important to understand that, and then give me an example of like, of when you’ve had to drill down into a couple of layers of why to get to the root of somebody?
Urshel Metcalf 27:37
Yeah, I think that it’s important. And, you know, and I’ve got to give a lot of credit to even, you know, starting that part, in our entrepreneur training I was doing before, and this was for all veterans in the organization that I was with, you know, before we talked about their business, before we talked about, you know, whether it’s gonna work or, or whether they really have a marketable eye, ear, any of those things. I one of the first things I had them do was Simon Sinek start with, we would watch, you know, that TED talk and talk about? Yeah, it’s great. And, and, and since I first watched it, however, many years ago, there has never, there has not been a year that I haven’t watched that TED talk, you know, multiple times, just to reinforce that, but in the end, so the reason why initially that became important, because I understood as we were getting veterans coming in who wanted to start their business, one of the challenges that I saw initially is, you know, the Marine Corps, you know, made me a, you know, highly trained communications technician. And so, you know, I worked in electronics, and you know, everything from I was joking with some people who have not been around the sun as many times as I have, you know, a few days ago, and I said, you know, when I joined the Marine Corps, they and went into technology school, they were phasing out the teletype and, and they looked at me, and they said, What’s a teletype? So I had them google it. What a teletype machine was, and, and they were like, Oh, my gosh, you’re really old. And, and I said, Well, you know, the Marine Corps doesn’t necessarily let go of things, you know, you know, at the whether or not you’re so true.
Aaron Spatz 29:31
I mean, you’ll you’ll have stuff that should have been long gone, but it’s still sticking around.
Urshel Metcalf 29:37
Exactly. But so we would get these men and women and who are veterans who want to start their business. And a lot of times, you know, the what I saw even before that is the Marine Corps made me or the Army made me a diesel mechanic, so I get out. And you know, and I was a good diesel mechanic and I was you know, this and that, you know, and I could do this and they get out and they go get a job as a diesel mechanic working for us. Um, trucking company, right? And, and then they start drinking more or drinking with less purpose than we did. while on active duty, they start, you know, feeling differently and having marital problems. Because, you know, in the Marine Corps, you know, I worked on diesel engines, but I was a Marine. And I was providing, you know, freedom to the world. And there was almost this identity and purpose, you know, the man and woman to my left and right, that was my brother, my sister. So there was this camaraderie, there was a whole lot that came into that package. And during the day, and at night, sometimes I worked on diesel trucks, right. And so my identity was tied up in being a Marine, my purpose, the mission that was bigger than me was being a Marine. Now, I’m just turning wrenches and busting my knuckles for a paycheck. I don’t, you know, have to, I don’t probably don’t like the people I work with. And maybe I do, maybe I don’t, but I don’t call him brother, you know, we’re, you know, our life isn’t tied together. So one of the things that I recognize then is that I need to, before we go down this, or help them down this challenging journey of entrepreneurship, I need to make sure that they understand things about themselves, who they are, what really motivates them. And no matter what you’ve heard, or what anyone’s told you, or, you know, you see the you know, 24 year old billionaires out there on yachts, you know, whatever you think about entrepreneurship, let’s get down to the core of who you are. And because maybe you do have that entrepreneurial gene, but you’re, you know, you’re trying to do something that you don’t even really like, you just think it’s gonna make money. And making money is never enough. It’s never it, that can not be the end goal. Because, you know, as Steve Jobs said, I don’t want to be the richest man in the graveyard. Right. And so, so that’s why I started, you know, initially working with this process of why. And in for those that are interested, you know, it that our veterans, Simon Sinek has a course that you can take, and if you’re a veteran, you can take that course, I mean, it’s a fraction of the cost, I think it it costs, I know, I’m making up the numbers, it’s three $500, to take the course, if you’re a veteran, you can take it for like 49 bucks. And it requires you to get you know, an outside person that you can talk to, as you’re submitting your stuff. So just a little side note for anyone that’s interested in that. But one of the things that I see, as we start to drill down in that, you know, I’ve got a guy and I’ll throw his name out there, you know, down the road, here might be a great interview for you. His name is a name of his company, his his JP auto fleet, and, and he, you know, a good mechanic, and he was a mechanic in the military, but his passion for fixing vehicles, comes from his grandfather, and his father, and that it was passed on to him. And then the, the one thing that was so unique about him as a mechanic is that I have never, ever in my life, talked to someone who fixes cars, that I feel such a sense of integrity. And he was in a cohort that had with it was predominantly women. And when I would start this process and talking with him, every woman in that room, wanted him as their mechanic for this simple reason. They felt like and we know what it’s like sometimes for women, if you’re going to, you know, see your mechanic or have some look at your car, they think you don’t know anything, you get the mansplaining and, and maybe overcharge. And there was a sense of integrity, because everybody in his grandfather’s town, trusted him as the person that could fix their car. And that was part of his DNA. It was, you know, yes, he had a passion for it, he loves to do it. But it’s, there’s something that’s so phenomenally intangible, about being the person that people trust, to take care of what gets them back and forth to work, what transports their family to church, you know, all of those things, and that’s who he was. And so, as we started working down in that, you know, it was really it’s not it wasn’t the cars, it was being that person that people came to and trust it. And I was you know, so this guy now has his own mobile mechanic shop here in DFW and you know, he’ll come to where you are, he’s got his vehicle business has been going great. And and you know, and he’s, and his primary focus is, you know, working with businesses that have a fleet of vehicles and you know, keeping their uptime up and just got A great business model, but it’s that the core integrity of who he is. And again, in the reason why that’s important, let’s say all of a sudden, Aaron, you know, technology takes another huge turn. And and, you know, all cars are self driven. Or we finally get the transporter room that we wanted from Star Trek, we got everything else from Star Trek. Yes, yeah. And cards go away. If this guy became a doctor, if he if he became anything else, where he’s providing service to people, that real why that he has that comes from his grandfather. That’s what translates if the business, if the market changes, if everything else shifts, and you didn’t get a vote into that shift, and now you got to figure out what else if you understand your why, if you if you when you really dig down and you say, This is what motivates me, this is what drives me, then, then you can now translate yourself into the next thing or the next shift, you can find your place in the world. Because you’re uniquely you, you belong here, that’s why you’re here. What you do is less consequential than who you really are.
Aaron Spatz 36:19
Man, that’s good. So good. It’s like, if you’re watching or listening to this, just rewind five minutes and listen to it again, and just put, just put this on repeat. Because now that it’s solid, man, it’s like the and I and I love that TED talk that he gave, right? It’s like, I think it’s like a 10 minute video, if I can, I will link that in the show notes if you’re watching this on YouTube. But the the whole why and I and I love how he went through that about okay, a lot of us a lot of us talk about what we do. And we talk about how we do it, right, we’re stuck there. But when there’s never a there’s never this core focused why and Bennett chain, it changes, it changes everything. And he went through and give a bunch of examples. You just give her a beautiful example of this guy who just truly truly loves to help people and he just it it has a whole nother meaning a whole nother purpose to it. And then and obviously I relate as being as being a fellow veteran, there’s a lot of veterans here in the DFW Metroplex also. But you’re, you’re connected to a purpose and to into A into something much larger than you and there’s that there’s a, there’s a why behind that. And then companies here inside the match in there. And there are there are some amazing companies here in the Metroplex, that have done a great job at, at helping people develop, like having a very clear, clearly focused, why it really, it makes all the difference. Because then if if all else fails you as a company, it doesn’t matter where you are in the company. You remember why you’re even here? Like why why is the company here and so it’s, it’s a, it’s a phenomenal thing to talk about. And we can talk about that forever. It’s it’s pretty, pretty fascinating.
Urshel Metcalf 38:02
It’s so powerful. And then the people who do that well, and and if they translate that into their organizational culture, and they make sure that that y is solid, and established. And then every employee understands that why and where their why fits into you know, that organizational why? My kita is trying to come in and join the interview.
Aaron Spatz 38:29
Oh, good, I get it. This is the challenge of the 2021. So
Urshel Metcalf 38:33
yeah, I’m not mad at it, you know, I just, you know, I like I say it’s, it’s, it’s all opportunity, it’s all learning. And, but but when they when when you bring in people, and even making that part of the interview process, this is who we are as a culture, I’ll give you a quick great example. There’s a there’s a company, um, you know, I prefer unlike my good friend that I was telling you about, I prefer not to have to fix things with my hands. You know, my, my list of tools that are scattered around different parts of the house that may be holding up a bookshelf or whatever, is nothing to brag about. But there is a tool company that I am in love with. And, and the CEO of the company, he told me he said, you know, if you have my tools in your house, and you’re not a commercial mechanic, you have a you know, you have an issue, you know, you shouldn’t be buying our tools, but the the the name of the company is Hilty. And you’re familiar, orange, I am yeah. And and I tell you and they do tours, and they do training and all of this stuff. They have a culture, like I have never seen everybody knows what the culture is. Everybody has voice everybody has influenced thanks spend so much time on retreats and, and you know, really capitalizing on this collaborative work mentality. One of the people, if I if I, if I would work there that the person that I would want to work with and for her official title is Chief Sherpa. And her job is to kind of guide people through the the culture and maximizing their potential. And it’s kind of like, I don’t know, if you’ve watched the show billions, but they have the psychologist who’s a part of the organization, okay. It’s that mentality. And, and, and I’ve gone there, and I’ve toured a couple of times, and just listen to them talk about their culture. And so then even as a part of the interview process, this is what we’re really talking about is do you fit into this culture, of course, you can do the job, you know, almost everybody can do almost every job, if you get the right training, right, you know, you can pull this lever, turn the switch, but can you not only fit into the culture of the organization, but here is the group of people that you’re going to be working with. And so we’ve got to, you know, make sure that this is a cultural fit. And you need to be honest about asking the questions that help us understand who you are, and what motivates you, because we don’t want to put you in the wrong place in the wrong environment, because we don’t want to hire anybody to fail. And they said something that I thought was just, it was just crazy to me hearing it for the first time, they said, you know, we believe, you know, so we’re very slow to fire and lots of people say that, right. And but he said, you know, we believe that it takes someone you know, at least three years to really evolved into our culture, and really become a part of it. And so if it takes that long, we’re willing to go through that process, and develop them into that culture. And then even if they if it becomes, you know, if it starts to look bad, we’re not going to immediately dismiss them, because we’ve invested a lot of time, there’s a reason why they became a fit. And so we’re willing to go through a process of getting them back into the culture, all while keeping extremely high standards of what we expect and require. And so we hear a lot of patience, for the development and for the cultural agreement, while maintaining a high demand for delivery. And, you know, and, and so then you know, it. So here’s what that does, you know, I go to a company like this. And you know, I’m there learning because of a leadership program. I don’t care about tools. I don’t like tools, you know, I don’t want to have to work on things. I don’t want to show off my tools in the garage. I want to show off cars in the garage, because that’s nice, but I want to work for this company, not because of what they do. But because there’s something about who they are. That is so attracted to me that I’m attracted to that culture. That’s, you know, that’s the highest level of this thing that I’m talking about. So that why that individual why that corporate why and the collective why all becomes very, very powerful. Wow.
Aaron Spatz 43:20
Yeah, that’s a that is a that’s a great example. So you’re in just make sure I’m talking that we’re talking about the same company. So you’re talking about Hilty tools like ah, I LTI.
Urshel Metcalf 43:31
Yes, yeah. Nice. Yeah. With America, they’re, you know, they’re right here. Legacy. Hey, buddy, come back over there. Yeah. And their legacy legacy West was where their North American headquarters was.
Aaron Spatz 43:47
Okay. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Yeah, that that’s a tremendous, tremendous, tremendous, tremendous story.
Urshel Metcalf 43:58
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, and, and one of the reasons why I love it so much is because it was totally unexpected for me, right? To go into a Tool Company, and then just be blown away by the fact that they have this culture, where they care more about people than tools and the CEO, he retired, a few years back, okay. But at the time, he had been with the company, and he’s the CEO of Hilty, North America. At the time, he had been with the company, and again, I’m making up the rules, like a numbers like people do statistics. But he had been with the organization, I think it was on the north side of 30. You know, like, 36, you know, you know, maybe around 40 years, he’d been with the company, and he was 17th. In seniority in the company. Holy cow. So there were there were 16 people who had been with the organization longer than him and he was CEO of North America.
Aaron Spatz 44:56
So, have you seen a correlation then because of that? It’s kind of a, that’s an easy question, actually, like, I have a suspicion about this, but have you? Have you seen a correlation between give positive, like great company culture with tenure?
Urshel Metcalf 45:12
Yeah, I think it’s a 100%. And, and I think the main reason why is because if that point, it’s more than just going to work. Because if again, if I’m just busting my knuckles, turning wrenches, and getting paid, you know, this much, even if I’m getting paid, well, you know, someone else can pay me a little bit more. And if there’s nothing else that attracts me, that drives me to showing up at this place and doing this thing there, then, you know, I can, it’s, it’s what we call it, it’s that transactional thing, there’s no relational aspect to it. And so now I’m available to the highest bidder. Now, if there’s something that happens that I get a boss that I don’t like, or, or someone gets a promotion other than me, then you know, I’m on Indeed, you know, I’m on LinkedIn, I’m looking for other opportunities, because the one thing that has me there, and that’s paycheck is not the all encompassing satisfaction, but when that cultural aspect is there, and when, when there’s an understanding, and here’s another big part of it, when I understand the why of an organization, and that fits my why that’s, that’s what gets back to you and me, you know, serving Uncle Sam, right? It is now I’m, I understand my role in making this thing that is greater than me great. And I understand the value of what I’m doing. So, you know, the cost, from a business perspective, the cost of not having that in your culture, you need to work with the type of accountants that can really help you see, here’s the cost of turnover, here’s the cost of sick days, here’s the cost of you know, people, you know, taking, you know, extra smoke breaks and complaining in the break room, and all of those things, here’s the cost to your bottom line. And that’s really hard to quantify. And the only way to really see the value of it is when you have that in your culture. Because people are willing to do whatever it takes in you, you know, you read about companies where the company’s in crisis, and and then the employees say, Hey, listen, instead of you having a layoff, you know, you know, 10% of the people, you know, will all take, you know, a pay increase, or a decrease of 15% for the good of the company. Because we believe that when we get on the other side of this, everything will be made, right. And you read those stories, and you say they got it. And again, if that company, you think about all the alcohol companies last year that had the switch to making hand sanitizer and things like if if that type of crisis comes to your business, and you’ve created that culture, you can sit down and you can forget, forget the shareholders meeting, you can sit down with your staff and say, Hey, this is where we are, you know, this is a family meeting. This is where we are, this is what’s going on and, and we’re trying to come up with decisions. Now everyone takes ownership of that crisis, and everyone wants to contribute. For the sake of the company, they’re not even thinking about their job security first, because they love the company that they work for.
Aaron Spatz 48:27
so powerful, that sense like, and to recreate that and to be able to do that it takes takes exceptional skill. And I think it’s just a lot of leadership, a lot of knowledge, a lot of foresight, a lot of perspective. And I think it’s it taking into account a lot of things that you’re sharing, and some of these other recites, it’s so easy to talk about, though, it’s it’s another thing to actually execute. And so like, Are there are there any resources, are there any things that you would point people towards when it comes to like, trying to identify that in their own?
Urshel Metcalf 49:00
There are lots of lots of resources, but But you know, what, I think, I think the most valuable thing for this for business leaders and business owners, and and I’m going to be, you know, a little you know, self serving and okay, but even but even beyond myself, you know, there are organizations, you know, groups like Vistage and other organizations where company leaders, CEOs, and even collaborating with other organizations, I think that the best thing that someone can do, because I read a lot of books and I get a lot of you know, information and I get motivated by that, but then there is a total it’s one thing for me to read Malcolm Gladwell his book, it’s another thing for me to be able to sit down with him you know, once a month and then really flesh some things out and and have some accountability and you You know, kind of be called on the carpet and you know, and have someone run up the BS flag, you know, what I’m getting all salesy and all, you know, whatever, and say, you know, but what about the main thing, because the read, like you said, the reason why it’s hard, even when you want to instill this culture, you still got to run the business, you know, you still got to deal with all of these little details. And you know, as it says, you know, like, in the Bible says, you know, it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine, right, you still got to, you know, put up this fire and deal with this and deal with that. And so it’s easy to not think about, you know, these things and not make that a priority, even though that may initially been your intention. So, the most important thing in there, there are lots of tools, and you can start with Simon Sinek. And you can, you know, lots of things that to help you develop the culture. But I think the most important thing is developing relationships with people on that same level, or higher level, that are doing this, and you know, connecting in those groups, you know, I, I find more value in networking, not because I’m going to this networking group to find customers, but I’m connecting with people that are driving and helping me to become better loved, right. And that’s, to me, that’s the power of networking, because I do not have a competitor on this planet. I am not competing with anyone. And and I want to help people be better. And I know that if I’m around the right people, if I’m circling myself up with the right people, you know, they’re not going to accept my excuses, you know, they’re not gonna let me just say, all management talk, you know, 2020, right, you know, the people that I want to hang out with, you know, they’re not buying that they’re not. Okay, 2020 was a tough year. So just pack it up. Now they’re staying there, they’ve given me books, like, the obstacle is the way, you know, I know that we have more opportunity now than we did in 2019, when we, you know, when things are coming easy to us. And so that would be the number one resource is to find networking opportunities. masterminds, you know, that’s a big part of what I want to develop more of this year is small, you know, eight member mastermind groups of CEO, or C suite level people, so that they drive success within each other. I think there’s so much power that
Aaron Spatz 52:25
I cannot agree more. I’m like, over here, like jumping up and down on the inside, like, preach it brother, like, awesome, awesome. Like, how can people get a hold of you? Like, what, what the quarter you work on right now? And how and how can people get get connected to you?
Urshel Metcalf 52:41
Well, two things, the easiest way to find me one, my name is Ursula and it starts with a you. So if, you know, if you just Google you’re going to find me, eventually you’ll find you know, my son because he’s going to be a world changer too. But but the easiest thing on the business side is you can go to you are optimized. So that’s Urschel you are optimized, calm. And, you know, you’ll see some of the things about you know, what I do to help businesses, nothing, not selling anything there, you can download one load of book, you know, ask business questions, but that’s one of the quickest ways to you know, get connected with me. And, you know, I’ve got some other websites that are coming up. And another thing that should have a website up this week, one of the other things that I’m focusing on is developing a coalition we’ve decided to call it COVID Small Business relief coalition. And we’re just collaborating with other business owners that have something that they can provide to digital marketers of different people, something that they can provide for free that is going to help businesses that have been challenged like we all have over the past you know 11 months and and we’re going to offer this to businesses to excuse me to help them you know, get over the hump and and really, you know, accelerate as we go into 2021 and, and whatever services we advertise will will be for free to the business owners to you know, to help and and the biggest thing that we’re asking is you know, some accountability some feedback of results and and then you know, possibly it will turn into lead generation for you know, some of the people that are providing but again, we’re going to help first and but yeah if you go to you are optimized, calm, and you know, you can you can find out about the business stuff. And if you go to YouTube and look up our show, you’ll you know, see me just talking about whatever I feel like talking about on a regular basis, which is you might tell I like to
Aaron Spatz 54:44
do that right. Oh, no, no, no. optimized with a D. Yeah. So why this is why are we this is why we ask our optimized calm, right, yeah. Yeah. So that’s it. Awesome, awesome. Well, Urschel man again, I just I can’t thank you enough. Thanks for Thanks for spending time with me on a Monday morning. This has been a blast. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and just thanks so much for for spending time.
Urshel Metcalf 55:12
Yeah, man, thanks for reaching out and you know, on a business and professional level, I really enjoyed getting a chance to chat and I look forward to connecting more and, you know, figuring out you know, some great things that we can do together.
Aaron Spatz 55:23
Absolutely. Absolutely.