by Shawn | Mar 4, 2021 | Podcast
So much rides on good communication and yet we’ve all seen what happens when it goes bad. Miscommunication, assumptions, lost opportunities, stained relationships, waste and more. Today, we begin to lay the groundwork for topics we’ll cover in future episodes.
If there’s a phrase that has captured the last year of life her in our world, it’s probably this: “you’re on mute”.
If you’re one of the handful of people who hasn’t been on a zoom, teams or other video call this last year I guess you missed out on this treat.
But for the rest of this, I’d say I’ve only heard this phrase uttered… every… single… meeting.
After a while, you just laugh because, for as advanced as we are as people and with all of this technology, we still (myself included… often) haven’t figured out how to unmute ourselves when we’re ready to talk in a virtual meeting.
At this point, it’s just become commonplace… and honestly quite funny. Most meetings, I’m making silent bets with myself on who will forget to unmute and how far we’ll make it into the meeting before someone does this.
But it just brings to the surface how important communication is. I’m not a great lip reader so I have a hard time figuring out what someone is saying when they’re muted… especially if their video is off too.
But in our daily lives, the same thing plays out over and over. Lack of communication. Or sometimes miscommunication.
And when that happens, in our home lives or especially in business, it can take a huge toll.
You’ve seen it happen over and over and I’m sure you’ve got some great examples that just rose up into your brain of when miscommunication cost you money in your business, or caused a rift in a team relationship or created a frustrated customer or disgruntled employee. I could go on. Products scrapped. Deadlines missed. Leadership questioned. Embarrassment. Wasted time. Pain. Brokenness.
It’s so crazy because it’s just words, right? It wasn’t like you meant to ship that product to your customer but you decided to toss it off the side of that bridge instead. Nope. You just sent that email and they read it differently than you did in your head.
Communication can be, at the same time, the simplest thing we use and deal with, and yet one of the most complex and potentially destructive when used the wrong way.
There’s so much to unpack in this area and I can’t wait to dig into all of it in the episodes ahead.
Communication affects both your people and processes in huge ways.
As a leader, you set the direction for this. When done well, good communication makes processes clear, helps team members know where they stand and feel valued, sets a plan of action for the company and a unified focus, eliminates so… much… waste.
Communication is just words. But those words are like rudders on a thousand tiny ships. And when those ships go off course, they collide, sink, cause destruction.
As we talk about the different ways communication affects your company, I want to give you little snapshots that can help you identify the areas that need adpdressed, give you hope and vision for communication done well, and bring to light pitfalls as well.
So, as we dig deeper into communication next time…
Sorry, I was on mute. My bad.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
I can’t wait to connect with you again tomorrow
by Shawn | Mar 3, 2021 | Podcast
Curiosity is one of the most valuable skills you and your team members can have. It leads to positive change, new ideas, streamlined systems and clarified communication.
Notes from today’s show:
Welcome back to the Engineering Your Business podcast, the show that helps business leaders like you do more with what you have.
I’m your host Shawn Washburn.
Do you remember your child’s first word? If you don’t have kids, do you remember your own first word?
It might have been “mama” or “dada” or “blah” or something like that. So precious. So sweet. “Oh, she just said her first word!”
Every parents loves that first word (unless of course it was “mama” and you’re the dad).
But most parents despise the first question.
Oh, that first question that children learn and then use over… and over… and over.
I think you know it. It’s “why”.
“OK, Billy, time to get your PJs on” “But why?”
“Because it’s time to go to bed” “But why?”
“Because you need to get your sleep” “But why?”
“Because… honey, you want to step in here at some point?” “Why should honey step in?”
You get the picture. If toddlers have a PR problems it’s the “why” problem. Why can’t they just be satisfied with my first answer!!! we think to ourselves… after we’ve put them to bed finally and settled down for some Netflix.
But what I think is so cool is that we are born with a natural curiosity. Remember that kid that had to be told to ask “why?” Yeah, me neither. It just comes natural to us when we’re little. After all, we spend nine months in this warm, dark little pool and then suddenly we’re yanked out, surrounded by a room full of people staring at us, wrapped into a little cloth and left to try to figure out “what in the world just happened”.
It’s natural that we should want some answers. And now. Unfortunately (or fortunately for most parents), kids can’t actually articulate the word why for several months. Kind of like a gracious breather for parents before the onslaught.
But all the parental frustration aside, it’s pretty amazing to watch little kids operate like that and it’s a skill that I believe is one of the most important to have… and yet is often so rare. Curiosity.
Maybe it’s because it’s been beaten out of us by the time we’re 4 (“Stop asking why!!”).
Or maybe it’s because the world becomes more familiar and slows down a little bit for us and we just settle into an understanding of it. Or so we think.
We feel we know what’s going on or accept what we’re told and we just go with the flow.
Or maybe we used to ask questions but got in trouble for it and lost that curiosity.
Whatever it happened to it, it’s something I believe is crucial for you and for your team members if you want to really thrive in your business.
Let’s start with you, because they will follow your lead. Are you curios about the world around you, or do you just go with what you know, or think you know? Equally as important is this: are you approachable?
Because if you set out to encourage a culture of curiosity, you need to be willing to be challenged, questioned, to change and grow on your own.
I’ve had the privilege of mentoring a lot of co-ops (interns) over the years where I’ve worked. And one thing that I tell each of them when we first get going is that I want them to question everything. Yes, everything. They’re coming in, seeing with new eyes, learning and processing. I want them to turn over the rocks in our organization, question why we do things that way, explore possibilities of a different approach. I don’t want their ideas to be limited by budget or how we currently do things or that thing we tried before that didn’t work five years ago.
I’ll be honest. The good ones, the ones that are willing to take me up on that, can sometimes make me a little uncomfortable. Especially if I have more of a personal fingerprint on that process or design. But if I really want to make it better, I listen and we discuss.
I truly believe that some of the best change can come from when new people enter your team. If you allow them and encourage them to be curious and if you’re willing to be approachable and discuss their ideas.
You might be amazed at what you’ll find.
Now… if they come in and just ask why over and over… well, that’s a different story.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
I can’t wait to connect with you again tomorrow
by Shawn | Mar 1, 2021 | Podcast
Today, we talk about the wonder of people and set the stage for future episodes about how to value your people and leverage their strengths to thrive in your business
Let me say up front here that if you are a robot listening today… this episode is not for you. Go ahead and do something else while we talk for a few minutes about how awesome humans are.
No offense to you. You’re amazing too and can automate and pick stuff up and weld things and even dance now, apparently, but this episode is for the people. So, be on your way (even though I know you’ve already tapped into this feed, transcribed it and have scanned it for errors.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s you and I just talk for a few minutes, human to human.
One of the things in life that I’m most fascinated with… is you. A human being. I mean, probably not you specifically since I’ve most likely never met you. But no doubt, I’d feel the same if I met you.
But humans in general are just amazing.
We come in all kinds of shapes sizes, skin colors, personalities, senses of humor (or lack thereof), passions, skills, and more.
I believe that you were created for a reason. You were designed and planned, and you bring something unique and vital to the world around you.
The same is true for each of the people on your team or in your company
I’ll be a little transparent here. I believe we were all created by a Creator. But sometimes I think, “wouldn’t it have been easier to just make everyone the same?” I mean, from an efficiency standpoint it just makes sense. If you want to make a bunch of people, design one and just copy that.
But that is actually what makes us so special. No one is the same. Think about it. If I played a five second audio clip of someone you knew just saying random things, you could pick out their voice… out of billions in this world.
And every time I think that we’ve come up with everything new in this world or used up all the great ideas… boom, here comes something new and different.
In my 25 years in manufacturing, this has been one of my favorite things to see. Yeah, welding robots are cool. And yes, riding on top of elevators to learn how they work was fun. And sure, traveling to another country to verify a new machine was incredible.
But topping all of that has been witnessing the breadth of personality and creativity and life experience and humor and strength and ideas and heart within all of the people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside.
I know it’s cliche to say that “people are our most important asset” but it’s true… if you’ll let it be.
That said, I’ve also seen so much potential go wasted and so many great ideas stay bottled up and so many much optimism get squashed when that most important asset doesn’t truly get valued and used to it’s full potential.
In the coming episodes, you’ll find that I talk about people a lot. How they’re wired. What makes them tick. How to truly listen to them, encourage them, empower them, not only get the most out of them but help them to get the most out of themselves.
Your people truly can be your most important asset. If you’ll let them. I want to help you do that.
I’m not an expert on people, but I have a heart for them and a brain wiring that has helped me connect deeply and tap into their lives and what fills their cup.
So, I hope you’ll join me in this journey as we look to harness the power and potential of those humans you rub shoulders with every day.
The robots? Well, they’ll do fine on their own.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
I can’t wait to connect with you again tomorrow
by Shawn | Feb 22, 2021 | Podcast
Let me say up front here that if you are a robot listening today… this episode is not for you. Go ahead and do something else while we talk for a few minutes about how awesome humans are.
No offense to you. You’re amazing too and can automate and pick stuff up and weld things and even dance now, apparently, but this episode is for the people. So, be on your way (even though I know you’ve already tapped into this feed, transcribed it and have scanned it for errors.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s you and I just talk for a few minutes, human to human.
One of the things in life that I’m most fascinated with… is you. A human being. I mean, probably not you specifically since I’ve most likely never met you. But no doubt, I’d feel the same if I met you.
But humans in general are just amazing.
We come in all kinds of shapes sizes, skin colors, personalities, senses of humor (or lack thereof), passions, skills, and more.
I believe that you were created for a reason. You were designed and planned, and you bring something unique and vital to the world around you.
The same is true for each of the people on your team or in your company
I’ll be a little transparent here. I believe we were all created by a Creator. But sometimes I think, “wouldn’t it have been easier to just make everyone the same?” I mean, from an efficiency standpoint it just makes sense. If you want to make a bunch of people, design one and just copy that.
But that is actually what makes us so special. No one is the same. Think about it. If I played a five second audio clip of someone you knew just saying random things, you could pick out their voice… out of billions in this world.
And every time I think that we’ve come up with everything new in this world or used up all the great ideas… boom, here comes something new and different.
In my 25 years in manufacturing, this has been one of my favorite things to see. Yeah, welding robots are cool. And yes, riding on top of elevators to learn how they work was fun. And sure, traveling to another country to verify a new machine was incredible.
But topping all of that has been witnessing the breadth of personality and creativity and life experience and humor and strength and ideas and heart within all of the people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside.
I know it’s cliche to say that “people are our most important asset” but it’s true… if you’ll let it be.
That said, I’ve also seen so much potential go wasted and so many great ideas stay bottled up and so many much optimism get squashed when that most important asset doesn’t truly get valued and used to it’s full potential.
In the coming episodes, you’ll find that I talk about people a lot. How they’re wired. What makes them tick. How to truly listen to them, encourage them, empower them, not only get the most out of them but help them to get the most out of themselves.
Your people truly can be your most important asset. If you’ll let them. I want to help you do that.
I’m not an expert on people, but I have a heart for them and a brain wiring that has helped me connect deeply and tap into their lives and what fills their cup.
So, I hope you’ll join me in this journey as we look to harness the power and potential of those humans you rub shoulders with every day.
The robots? Well, they’ll do fine on their own.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
I can’t wait to connect with you again tomorrow
by Shawn | Feb 22, 2021 | Podcast
Today I’m introducing a new podcast that’s been already playing in my head for years but will now finally make it into your earbuds for the first time. Going forward, a new episode will come out every weekday morning, starting a week after this intro episode.
Before I get into the show itself, let me address the change in the podcast feed. You may notice that there are older episodes out there of a podcast called Stories of Starters. If you’re new to it, that was my first podcast, where I interviewed people who had taken a vision or passion and turned it into something bigger.
In order to preserve those interviews, which I still think offer a lot of value, I decided to start here where they left off instead of with a totally new feed. But feel free to dig through some of those older episodes and enjoy.
As for the Engineering Your Business podcast, it will be a totally different format and focus. Where Stories of Starters was a semi-weekly show that featured interviews which could be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, Engineering Your Business will be a short daily show (I’m thinking five minutes or less) that will focus on helping you optimize the People and Processes that you deal with every day as a business leader. My goal is to provide you with bite sized episodes that you can easily grab and go daily… or even batch on the weekends.
Personally, I have a mix in my own podcast playlist. Some are longer, interview or monologue shows while others are short daily shows like this one. I’ve really taken a liking to the shorter ones as they pack a punch, have a lot of variety and yet are easy to get through even if I’m short on time.
So, back to this podcast, you might ask “why the name Engineering Your Business”? Well, it has sort of a dual meaning. On one hand, I’ve been an engineer working in manufacturing for over 25 years and I’m bringing some of the lessons I’ve picked up over that time to your and your business field. As well, the episodes will help give you tools, encouragement and practical ideas that you can use to engineer your business and get it running at peak efficiency.
Now, about the specific focus, People and Processes? That comes from my wiring and makeup. I’m part engineer (it’s my job and I’m also generally curious about how things work), I’m part human resources (in that I’m relationally wired), I’m part creative (I love to write, create and see things differently) and honestly I’m part comedian (sarcasm is one of favorite languages). Granted, I’m not sure that those four types would often hang out together outside of my head, but somehow they get along in there.
And that all brings us to you, the listener. You are a business leader with a lot on your mind daily and a weight of responsibility for your business or department. You have demands. You have stresses. You have goals. And a lot of the time you might feel stuck. I want to be able to help give you a jolt, a boost, some new insight or even just some encouragement along the way.
Personally, I’ve often found that I can pound my head against a wall over and over trying to solve a problem or how to make something more efficient and then someone will come by, offer a few words and totally change my thinking or perspective. And that’s my goal with this podcast.
That said, I also believe in being yourself and offering the world your own special flavor, so you’ll find plenty of humor and creativity mixed in among the often-stuffy business talk.
I appreciate you taking the time to listen to this intro episode. Your time is valuable and I don’t take that for granted. I mean, you could have been catching up on the latest social media buzz or watching ESPN highlights or organizing your sock drawer, but you chose to spend these few precious minutes with me… while probably also doing those other things… which is why I love podcasts so much.
If you haven’t already, hit subscribe so that the next episode drops right there into your favorite podcast player. And I’d love it if you told a friend or coworker about the podcast as well.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
I can’t wait to connect with you again tomorrow
