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The HaBO Village Podcast

Defining Passion & Provision for Your Business [Podcast]

Episode 64: In this episode, Michael and Kathryn define the foundational concepts of Passion & Provision and discuss why they're the most important elements of a healthy, growing company. If you feel like you are barely treading water when it comes to your business, and want to achieve BOTH profit and joy in your company, then give this episode a listen.

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In This Episode You Will...

  • Get an overview of the pillar concepts we've refined for over 16 years.

  • Discover the true meaning of 'provision' and what it looks like to thrive as a company and achieve profitability.

  • Find out if you are experiencing work that is 'toil' instead of 'labor'.

  • Learn common misconceptions about the term 'passion' and how we define it when it comes to doing fulfilling and meaningful work.

  

"When we talk about Provision, we are talking about a company that brings in enough money for you to pay the bills for today and live into your dreams for the future."

- Kathryn Redman

"Real Passion is a positive emotional indicator that testifies to the fact that we are doing work that aligns with our talent and skill, has purpose and meaning, and creates contribution."

- Michael Redman

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Michael:       Hello everybody, and welcome to HaBO Village Podcast. I'm Michael Redman.


Kathryn:
      And I'm Kathryn Redman.


Michael:
      And we're really glad you're back today. Today we're going to talk about Passion and Provision. Now it's been a while and obviously, we talked about it a lot in a lot of different episodes, but we did. And when we first started this podcast, we did what we call pillar casts. And it really kind of sets the stage for it. And that was over 60 episodes ago for us, it was a couple years ago. And-


Kathryn:
      And pillar cast by the way, is what we would say, if you really want to understand Passion and Provision, go listen to that podcast, right? It's that pillar establishing this is what we're about kind of thing.


Michael:
      ... Yeah, a matter of fact, we do pillar blogs. So it's like the four to six major blogs on your website that are like, these are pillar, these are things you're linking back to all the time, they're the core. If somebody wants to know about you, they'll read those blogs.


Michael:
      In podcast land, we like three pillar podcasts.


Kathryn:
      Pillar podcasts.


Michael:
      Pillar podcasts. Say that three times best.


Kathryn:
      P squared.


Michael:
      So one of them is Passion and Provision, and it came about in the office and we started talking.


Kathryn:
      Can we say pillar podcast about Passion and Provision, five times fast?


Michael:
      I wouldn't say it.


Kathryn:
      Okay [crosstalk 00:01:13].


Michael:
      It sounds too dangerous for a podcast. Way too dangerous.


Kathryn:
      Way too dangerous, it can get messy.


Michael:
      Okay, that's kind of radical behavior to give... Like you can have accidents with that stuff.


Kathryn:
      Absolutely.


Michael:
      Alright, so what we decided in the office was it was time to really kind of do an update because as things have happened over the last couple of years, we've launched the HaBO Village course, Passion and Provision course. We have been working for a very long time on a book... There's the announcement on the podcast. But we have actually taken some steps and stepped into a new season and we are-


Kathryn:
      Darn serious about it.


Michael:
      ... expecting a book. I'm going to say this, because I'm putting myself in every situation we can't hold ourselves accountable.


Kathryn:
      There will be a book.


Michael:
      There will be a book, it might be a pamphlet that we print on our printing machine at the office.


Kathryn:
      Oh God, I hope not!


Michael:
      January or February-


Kathryn:
      Of 2020.


Michael:
      ... Of 2020.


Kathryn:
      I know.


Michael:
      The book on passion and provision.


Kathryn:
      I can hear you applauding, and it's encouraging me to applause, finally.


Michael:
      Oh my gosh! Some guy running down the street, his arms like, "Yes, finally, the book's coming." Accidents happening on the freeway, because he's like, "Yeah, we're finally going to get the book."


Kathryn:
      Yeah, we know that's happening out there.


Michael:
      Okay, so...


Kathryn:
      All that to say, when you start moving into a season where you're refining things down, and you're actually taking concepts, and you're putting them into concrete presentable materials, what you discover is that you're refining your thinking.


Michael:
      Yes.


Kathryn:
      When we first launched this podcast, I'm pretty sure we launched it with the nine areas of business. Is that right?


Michael:
      I think we did. And we've actually refined that down to six. So, we going to have to redo that too.


Kathryn:
      Yeah, well, at one point we updated it to four, and now we're refining to six. So just know, if you are constantly rethinking, and shaping, and molding in your business, that's not a bad thing.


Michael:
      No.


Kathryn:
      It's okay to be like, "You know what, I don't think that quite works, or-


Michael:
      It's called optimization.


Kathryn:
      ... Yeah, I feel like I left something out. And so as we have sort of put a stake in the ground with the course on six areas of your business that you need to run a passion and provision company, so we really want to speak to that.


Michael:
      And over time. So passion and provision; we're not going to talk about the six areas today, right?


Kathryn:
      No.


Michael:
      We're just going to talk about passion and provision, that's what this is about. And for us, passion and provision is really important. If you're new to the podcast, and you haven't listened to Passion and Provision, this will be new to you. This is part of our core philosophy. It really talks and speaks to what we believe, kind of our world frame view on business. It also speaks to what we believe is possible, because we've done it and we live it. And we try really hard to differentiate on this podcast in all our material, the difference between theory, we're learning this, and we've actually kind of walked this out.


Kathryn:
      And we'll continue to walk it out and continue to learn but yes.


Michael:
      And optimizing and everything else. Yeah, absolutely, because failure is a great opportunity to learn if you choose to. So Kathryn, for those who have not heard this before, and as a reminder to those who have, what do we mean first of all by provision? Let's start with that. I want to start with the last one first.


Kathryn:
      So when we talk about provision, we are talking about the reality that there are a ton of companies out there, who are young business owners or even further along business owners who have companies that are kind of just limping along. They're not making enough money to survive.


Kathryn:
      So when we talk about provision or to thrive, we talk about a company that is bringing enough money and for you to pay the bills for today and live into your dreams for the future.


Michael:
      Oh, that's good. I like that. That's nice.


Kathryn:
      Yeah.


Michael:
      All right. Yeah, we really... that is a big deal, because first of all, the 90% failure rate is at 10 years for businesses, the 50 to 80% failure rate for businesses is at five years-ish, depending on the research.


Kathryn:
      Depending what you're reading, yeah.


Michael:
      And strangely enough, it's not just in recession times, over the last probably 40 years, a lot of that research has been going on, and it peaks in the recessions and actually goes up higher.


Michael:
      But with that failure rate going on, there is this sense of, "Okay, what's going on? Why are they failing?" And one of the reasons they're failing is there's just not enough money. Somehow there's not enough profit to continue to pay bills. You got to bring in more money than you are spending, and that is not an easy thing to do in business.


Kathryn:
      As we read the research, one of the things we realized is that's not like all of these companies are just going bankrupt.


Michael:
      Mm-mm (negative).


Kathryn:
      They're not, it's more like they've just been treading water, and they get worn out, just tired of treading water, not able to kind of get ahead, not able to really live into their dreams, "This isn't what I thought it was." And so you feel like you're slogging up the hill in the mud, and you don't see any chance that, that's ever going to change. You're just worn out.


Michael:
      I really like the treading water illustration because, if you've ever spent a lot of time in a pool swimming or in a lake, or in an ocean, especially in a lake or an ocean, and you're far enough away from the shore, you get to that place where you're exhausted, and you're trying to get to the place where you can touch the bottom. And if you've swam for any length of time at all, you realize that there are moments when you're so exhausted, and you're like, "Okay, I'm having trouble staying on top of the water. I'm bobbing, I'm breathing really excessively and I'm sucking in water, every once in a while." And quite frankly, sucking salt water, sucks! it


Kathryn:
      Yes.


Michael:
      It's not fun.


Kathryn:
      And having a business where you feel like you're sucking salt water on a regular basis, that is-


Michael:
      That's so good.


Kathryn:
      ... that's cause for being like, "I don't want to do this anymore."


Michael:
      And that's kind of... I wanted to start with the second one first, because it's more of a no duh. Like everybody knows, "Oh, okay, Redman's, you're not teaching me anything new, you're not saying anything new." But actually touching this and thinking about it, going, "Okay, this is challenging," because, quite frankly, within 10 years, 70% to 90% of businesses are failing. Within five years, 50% to 80% are failing. So this isn't... for a lot of people, you may have been on your second or third business even. And you're going, "Yeah, I want a business like that. I want a provision and I don't know what went wrong, because I can blame it here, I'm blaming it there. But I need enough financial provision for today, and then for us to grow." Because...


Michael:
      Here's two other examples of how this gets a little bit more sophisticated in businesses that are moving. One is RHH, our Rabbit Hole Hay company that we sell, it's been growing at an extensive rate for the last four years. It sounds real sexy to say we double every year, it's actually really painful.


Kathryn:
      Agonizing is the word.


Michael:
      We have a very healthy gross sales, and yet, we've been continuing to struggle to figure out how to crack the code on making it profitable, and breaking through profitability with the amount of money that it's taken to invest in this company, being vulnerable a little bit. And then at the same time, realizing that not only is the break-even down the road a bit, but the cost of growing two times a year and of manufacturing company is extremely difficult. It's not nearly as difficult in a service... not service based, an information based, where you have super high margins and everything else. It's like having a startup for us every four to six months, or it has been. It's getting better, but that kind of thing of, okay, well, that's a business that's alive and thriving in many ways, but it's not thriving in all the ways. The cylinders are all running, but some of them aren't running as efficiently and smoothly as they should be. And we need to continue to tune that up and work on that.


Michael:
      So we're working towards having adequate provision in Rabbit Hole Hay. There's another person we've talked to, in the last few months, that has a company that is multiple millions of dollars. They have several employees, probably over 20 employees, they have a partnership, they have a business. And what they did is... we ended up in a story where they were struggling because they're having a hard time having a regular paycheck.


Kathryn:
      Yeah, the principles, they're paying everybody else.


Michael:
      Right, everybody else is getting paid, the principles aren't. This is a multi-million dollar company, that realistically should have been creating a profit a long time ago, or at least enough for them to pay salaries a long time ago. But somehow in the way they managed it. They've managed to keep this company going and revenue coming in and everything else, but they're working for free or pennies on the dollar, as periodically, because it kind of bumps up and then it comes down.


Kathryn:
      You can imagine how discouraging that is.


Michael:
      Absolutely.


Kathryn:
      Like you're you're working 12 hour days, and at the end of the day, your clients are happy, your employees are happy, but you're kind of sucked dry-


Michael:
      Done.


Kathryn:
      ... and there's no reward for it, or very little reward. So, those are the kinds of places where we're like, "Okay, how do we move into a place where there is provision, where you're actually being able to provide for your own needs, the needs of your employees, and then really build for the dreams of the future?"


Michael:
      Well, and to grind on those things, and all of those situations that we've talked about, you do get that sense of, "I'm swimming, I'm doing great, I'm getting exhausted, and I'm getting discouraged." And sometimes in the discouragement, and the exhaustion, panic can rise up. And there's moments where you go, "Okay... " And quite frankly, for a lot of entrepreneurs that we've talked to, the panic doesn't last long, it's short, and then you grab ahold of all your emotions, you grab ahold of your body, and you tell them-


Kathryn:
      Take control.


Michael:
      ... to go back into that little hole that you wanted to put them in, because you're an entrepreneur, you don't get scared these things. But quite frankly, if... It's amazing how many people have told us in private, (a) I don't have a problem with that. And then two drinks later, or-


Kathryn:
      They're confessing, they're actually terrified on some regular basis.


Michael:
      ... And you have told yourself that you're fine. So in some senses, you are, in some senses your aren't. So that provision is not only important as a fuel for the company when it comes to cash and resources, but it's for you. And it's not for you to get 20 years down the road, it's for you to get to the next phase, the next season, the next... Whether it's two weeks down the road of paychecks, again, or its to the next season of growth for your company, everything else. Like a ship going from port to port, filling up on provisions, and going, "This last leg was a short half a day, the next leg's two days long. We need more provisions for that. And we need enough for that so we can continue our journey." That's what we need. And that impacts how we experience our companies, the fulfillment we get out of our companies. And it's just a real thing.


Michael:
      And so, we want to say, "Yes, how do we help all those companies, the companies that aren't surviving, understand how to handle a company and build a company with provision more," because it's possible. And a lot of the companies that aren't getting provision or having close, the research has shown... our experience has shown that there are things that can be done to save a lot of those companies. A lot of education, training and coaching, could actually change some of the things they're doing and change their behavior. Not 100% of them, because some of them can't be fixed. Selling a bad product to the wrong people, or selling the right product to the wrong people, or the wrong product to the right people is things that can't be fixed, unless you just totally change your business model.


Michael:
      But these are things that are super important. Yes, those people need it. But the folks like RHH, and the story about the company over 20 people and over $6 million, they need it too, it would be helpful for them. And when we bring in good training at any level of your business, no matter how much you're making on the bottom line, no matter what kind of car you're driving, no matter how many people you're feeding, you can always run into that problem of provision, and there's almost always ways to train and teach and stuff. Bringing in consultants, bringing in people who can bring perspective from the outside.


Michael:
      But it may mean having to do some things, because what got you here won't get you there. So you're going to have to tweak and change some of the things you do. You have to learn some things, and actually do some things differently. But provision is possible, which, as we've talked about, it flies into passion.


Michael:
      But passion is a weird word. And as we've talked about passion, we've stuck to our guns, we've liked it, right?


Kathryn:
      Yeah, I love the concept of Passion and Provision. But passion gets dicey because people define it very different ways, right?


Michael:
      It's a fuzzy term.


Kathryn:
      It's a very fuzzy term. So Michael, give me your best definition of passion, the way that we see it.


Michael:
      The way that you and I see it?


Kathryn:
      Mm-hmm (affirmative). The way that we are actually using it in this context.


Michael:
      Thank you for asking.


Kathryn:
      You know what? You're welcome.


Michael:
      I so appreciate that.


Kathryn:
      I believe in you.


Michael:
      So my latest writings on this, I was writing last night after you went to bed.


Kathryn:
      See how he says that! I gave up on the world, and he just kept working.


Michael:
      No, I just wanted to stay up late. I'm such a dedicated person, just slave into the night, and she just sleeps, and sleeps. No, actually, it's not the case at all.


Michael:
      So this is my best shot at passion right now. And I don't have this memorized. It's really cool if I could read it. It's more eloquent on the paper. But it really is this, passion is so often perceived as something that we're going after, it's a thing to grasp.


Michael:
      And what I believe passion is now is, passion is actually an indicator. It is not fleeting, because when we chase passion... we're probably understanding... Let me back up.


Michael:
      When we chase passion in general, as a population, we are chasing the wind, we are chasing something that so often just, we get it and then all sudden, it's like, "Oh, this is my passion." And this is the complaint people have. People say, "Oh, this is my passion." And then two weeks later, or two months later, they're off to something else. And they're like, "Oh, that wasn't my passion. This is my passion now." Or, "That was my passion last week, and this is my passion this week." And they're flailing all over the place. And what they never do is they never dig their feet in and work. They can never figure out how to work through anything hard because the assumption is you should be able to feel these super positive emotions of what we call "passion," without having to do really hard work.


Michael:
      What I believe passion is, is what we talk about, what we believe passion is, real passion, true passion, is actually a positive emotional indicator that comes about as evidence that testifies to the fact that we are doing work that aligns with our gifts, talents, skills and has purpose and meaning.


Kathryn:
      Its contribution.


Michael:
      It creates contribution. When we create contribution in our community, in life, in the world, in a way that aligns with our gifts, talents, skills, and I left off interests, because I believe that helps. Sometimes folks are really good at math or spreadsheets, but they just don't enjoy it, no matter how much context they have for it. Those things are powerful.


Michael:
      And so, what I believe is... passion then starts to happen, it's not because of work or not. Actually you find more passion when you find work that is not toil but labor. Talk about toil and labor real quick, because I think that's really important in the conversation of passion.


Kathryn:
      Yeah. So we want to make a distinction. Work is... even the word work sometimes is negatively viewed. Like I work for the weekend, I work because I have to, I work because there's no choice.


Michael:
      Work is laborious.


Kathryn:
      Work is laborious. And we would say that work is actually a gift. That work is something that you want to be doing because work is where you find most of your passion and meaning, not most of it. I mean, you've got life obviously, but work is a really-


Michael:
      It's part of the way we're designed.


Kathryn:
      ... It's a key part of how we're designed, is to contribute to do something. It's part of why when men retire or women retire, and suddenly they just don't have any purpose, they don't know what to do. And that's a really difficult thing. So, we see work as an incredible gift.


Kathryn:
      And what we think is that there's a difference between what we call labor and toil. So toil, think of doing something that absolutely produces zero fruit.


Michael:
      Dig a hole.


Kathryn:
      Like you are working, you dig a hole and the next day you come back, someone's filled it back in, and you have to dig the hole again, you're doing this repeated thing over and over again. There is no movement, no purpose, no fruit. Nothing comes out of it that's positive. That is what we call toil. And when you are in a job or in a situation where you're just kind of going through the motions, doing it over and over again, and there's no... like you're not connected to it, there is a sense of toil, it is just painful.


Kathryn:
      But then there's this other thing that we think work... actually worked on right is and it's called labor. And labor is when you get to the end of the day, you have worked really hard. But you look back and you go, "Wow, that was fruitful, I got a lot done, I moved things forward, I made a difference." And there's this sense of what you're doing is bearing fruit with the work. And so when you're bearing fruit, when you're shifting the needle, when you're moving forward in projects, whatever it is, that is rewarding. And so that's the kind of the difference between labor and toil.


Michael:
      There's two different ways of looking at labor I would suggest that are important. One is when especially aligned with passion. So when everything is working right, this is this one type, everything's working right, and your work, your labor, aligns with your gifts, talents, skills and interest, and there's purpose and meaning in it.


Michael:
      It's as if you're completely... you're flying a plane, you're going in a boat, or it's totally aerodynamic, it's streamlined. It's amazing because it's driving that sports car that flies through and weaves, and the suspension is great, and it feels good to drive, it feels good to soar as opposed to driving a giant big old box truck that the wind blows on the freeway, and it pushes you, and jerks you around, it doesn't accelerate fast, and everything else.


Michael:
      That one sense of passion and knowing that it's there is when everything is just as smooth. And you're like, "This is fun, I'm enjoying it, we're getting stuff done, and we're going, and it's easy, the skids have been greased." That is one part that is a very legitimate part of labor and passion and when they align, and you can say, "Okay... " This sense of Wow. "Because we're doing something that makes me feel good, and it has all those key elements, one of them being purpose and meaning."


Kathryn:
      Yeah, I was just thinking, one of the ways that you know, you're working in what we would call passion is, have you ever had that moment where you're doing something, especially work related... you're doing something, and you suddenly think, "Oh my gosh, this is what I was made for. I am in my sweet spot right now. And it is an amazing thing. We were at a training a couple days ago, and I was watching Michael be in his sweet spot. And it was just this incredible, like, oh my gosh! You are so freaking good at this. And this is your talents and skills coming together. And you know that it's working when the people on the other side, as we say, they perceive it as help. Like helping and help isn't perceived as help.


Kathryn:
      And so here you are, you're doing something that you like to do, and the feedback is this incredible thing. And you just go, "Okay, this is my sweet spot. How do I get to do more of this?" That's part of the identifying of passion.


Michael:
      Yeah, no, it's true. That is really true. There is that sense of, "Man, this is what I was made for." You're looking at somebody and going, "Wow! I'm enjoying being a part of this, because you're working in your sweet spot. You're doing using your gifts, and your talents and skills. And it's clear that you're competent." Your competency is also high in those areas, because you can have gifts, talents and skills, and not have practice and worked on it. So you've got some natural talent, but you haven't taken the discipline to hone it and strengthen it.


Kathryn:
      Hone it, yeah.


Michael:
      So when you walk with that, there's that sense. So that part there, it's easy, it's wonderful, the skids are gliding. It's like having that mag train that just floats on air with the magnetic, there's no friction at all, 500 miles an hour.


Michael:
      The other side of this coin is not to say that it's true or not true, its different types of labor. And that is the type where you're using your gifts, talents and skills, you're working for purpose, you're doing all that, but it's not easy. There is a sense in which we've hit these things in the coming seasons, where you have chosen to try and accomplish a task that is bigger than you, bigger than your team, bigger than your group.


Michael:
      And with companies and vision, we talk about a BHAG, a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. And there are lots of little giant goals... A little oxymoron there. Little giant goals-


Kathryn:
      Smaller giant goals.


Michael:
      ... that are things that are really tough. They're problems that you're trying to solve. And when you're trying to solve those problems, whether they're intellectual problems or, physical problems, or you're building something, or digging, or construction, or whatever, and you hit something where it's like, it was all easy to this point, now it's hard. And then when you no longer... It no longer feels easy, it no longer feels streamlined, you're working hard at it. And you get to this place where you go, "Ah," and it's scary, and it can be frustrating, you want to give up at times, especially when it's a really big goal, then you break through.


Michael:
      Maybe you give up today because you can't get through, and tomorrow, and it's not going to happen in a few minutes or a few hours. But this is going to be days and maybe even weeks. Some great solutions have come up from weeks and months and maybe even years of failure and pushing things off. Great pieces of literature sometimes took 40 years to finish. Because... And when you think about it, like, "Wow, they gave up two or three times or stopped and put it in a drawer," that type of work, that type of labor is really hard. But you're still using gifts, talents, skills, interest, you're still having purpose and meaning, and you solve something, and you break through. That type of thing bring sweat and everything else, but it's worth it. At the end of the day you went, "Man, that feels good that we accomplished it."


Kathryn:
      Well, and I would say, and I think we would say that passion is what allows you to actually keep moving forward when the going gets tough.


Michael:
      Well, I think passion is part of that. Absolutely. Because when you realize... Passion is like a flywheel. It's really hard to get started. But when you start living a life of this passion and provision, when you start running, or you start accelerating more of it, because maybe you're already running some of it in your life...


Michael:
      A lot of leaders that we have, they have pieces and parts of it. And if they learn to align certain pieces and understood how to codify passion and provision and the tools in their business, we find that they actually start to... the flywheel moves faster, because it's more accomplished, less energy, and it just kind of moves and accelerates. And so that passion becomes part of the fuel that's feeding it to the next level and to the next spin, that can allow you to solve larger problems. But really large problems are hard to solve when you first start, and then moving there. So this passion, that's what we mean by passion.


Michael:
      And the question is, do you want that kind of sensation? Do you want a sense of fulfillment? Do you want that sense that you're doing more of what you're supposed to be doing, more of what you were designed to, and trained to, and wanted to?


Michael:
      And we talked about the idea that passion and provision company that you need, should be seeking out 51% of the work you do in a given time period. Sometimes it's in a day, sometimes it's in a week, sometimes the season is a little longer. But in that period, a minimum of 51% of your time is focused on those things that you do best. Some people call it your genius, some people call it your amazing gifts, or whatever, what you were created to do. But that said, if you get to do that kind of stuff, and really spin, then there's a lot of value and benefit that you experience. But the community around you benefits from you working within that place, because it's like you finally found the perfect position on the team that you're supposed to be doing, and you're doing it well. You're doing it at least minimum competency, and growing in that.


Kathryn:
      Yeah, and we say 51% because let's face it, there are very few of us that get to do that thing that brings us the most joy 100% of the time in a job. There's... I don't know, for me, there's paperwork, and I have to do accounting sometimes. And those things don't bring me joy, but they're necessary pieces of the business. So 51% is the minimum that we think you need to have in order to really kind of be in that place where you are living in passion.


Michael:
      And I think one other things that's really important here to talk about is how important purpose is to passion. Gosh! In doing some reading lately, I read about this great comment in an introduction to a book folks, this was like, wow! It's written in the '90s, and I thought this author did a phenomenal job of just articulating this concept. He was illustrating and trying to figure out how to illustrate to his audience, how important purpose is to this sense of... Really, he was talking about passion, but talking about it differently. He is talking about it in a sense, turning toil into labor, a sense of alchemy.


Michael:
      And because there's a lot of people who go, "This is toil, this is awful work. It's just... I'm digging ditches, its... I hate it." And what he said was having a purpose that has a meaning, something that has a bigger purpose than yourself, can actually turn this toil into labor. So here is his example. He said, in certain areas where things flood, people use sandbags more often. In the West, we don't use them as much. But lately because of rains, maybe we should be using them more.


Kathryn:
      Right.


Michael:
      And so there's different... Sandbags have been being used for a long time to help block water coming into homes and shore up levees and things like that. But being given a job when there's no problem with rain, and there's no problem with flooding and everything else, your job is just go over to that pile of sand and take those piles of bags, and just start shoveling in the sand, and just make them one after the other, after the other. There's no need for them, the weather's great, we have no problem, blah, blah, blah.


Michael:
      And at that point to say, "But someday we may need them," doesn't really change much. But when the waters start coming, and the levees are starting to crack, and the city is in danger, and everybody is coming down and starting to build and throw sand in sandbags because now you have a purpose that you are saving somebody's home, you're saving somebody school, that laborious work, that toil is transformed into a labor because it has purpose.


Kathryn:
      Great illustration. Wow.


Michael:
      And I was thinking recently with the fires we've had here, that growing up in an area where there's lots of woods, forests and things like that, our forests in the west are vast. The idea that you're going to go out and clear land can be overwhelming, and just cutting brush and things like that, it's just like, "This will take me forever, and I still won't be done." And when you say, "I need to cut a fire break," and we haven't had any massive fires, because up till about seven, eight years ago, Northern California has been relatively safe for the most part when it comes to forest fires,


Kathryn:
      Maybe not Lake County because they seem to have a fire every year. But the rest of us...


Michael:
      Oh, those poor people, the rest of the people in the country don't know who these people are. There's a lot of our forests that were surviving. And until the last few years in Northern California, the idea that you would have to create a firebreak around your house or a fire breaker on your property that might be like, several miles long on some large properties, or roads that's 20 or 30 feet wide, so that the fire can't get across it, is just like, "Okay, how many times are going to have to do this for something that has never shown up in my lifetime." And yet, when we had the several massive forest fires here lately, fire breaks are everything. And they're trying desperately just to get the fire breaks built when the fire is happening, because we don't want the fire to keep jumping and running. And all of a sudden, this thing that has no purpose, or seems laborious, and like, "I don't want to spend my life doing this," now has amazing purpose and meaning and saves people's homes.


Kathryn:
      Yep.


Michael:
      And it's relevant. The ability for an individual to be mature enough to see the purpose, that's a long ways out, is a skill that has to be learned and developed over time.


Kathryn:
      Well, and as leaders, our job is to help our employees connect to the future sometimes. It's to create vision, purpose and meaning so that they can connect what they're doing today to a bigger goal or purpose, if it's not obvious.


Michael:
      Yeah.


Kathryn:
      Right.


Michael:
      So we've talked about a lot of things today about passion and provision, to recap, what we really mean. This is something we've been added a long time, we are very committed to it, because having a Passion and Provision company means not only that you're doing the work as a senior leader, doing the work you like, and you get to do that. And as you move towards the future, the idea that retirement... There's a concept called Retiring Into Your Company. That means that instead of having to sell it to finally get some retirement or peace of mind, or whatever, it's you grow a company with the plan that you're going to get to settle into, 80%, 90% of your work is in the sweet spot.


Michael:
      And you don't have to work 80 hours a week, you don't have to work 60 hours a week, maybe you could work 25 or 30 hours a week, or whatever works for you and have more vacation time and stuff. You get to continue to be purposeful and useful, and yet you don't have to do all those other things. I think that's an amazing piece.


Michael:
      But the last piece to talk about, probably in this is, not only is your work in a Passion and Provision rewarding, but the culture is rewarding. The culture brings peace, the culture brings joy, the culture brings satisfaction and fulfillment, because it's working like a finely oiled and well maintained machine.


Kathryn:
      Yeah. I would say too that, if it isn't obvious, one of the things that we firmly believe is just, we believe that you can have both, passion and provision.


Michael:
      Yes.


Kathryn:
      So part of our push on this topic is that there are people who believe you either choose to do something you really like, and you don't make much money, starving artist, I don't know, or you choose to make a bunch of money, but you sacrifice kind of your everything else to the altar of the money. So just the concept of the fact that we believe that you can actually have a passion and provision company. A company where you're getting to do something you love that has purpose and meaning, and creates livelihood not just for you, but for your employees and gives back to the community, all those things can happen. And that's really what we're wanting.


Kathryn:
      Is we're wanting to build into the mindset of leaders that there is the possibility of both. And actually, there are ways to learn and understand and train, so that your company can become more about passion and provision. So that's our BHAG, is to kind of inculcate to the universe with the concept of passion and provision


Michael:
      People's lives... It's too depressing and too discouraging when we talk with leaders that come to us for consulting and things like that, and they're wore out, they're discouraged, they're frustrated, they're tired. And there is a better way often, and to be able to tune up, even tuning up a company that's actually pretty healthy. Tuning up in these places, gives people a renewed sense of energy and vitality. And it just happened two days ago for us with the client that was in a place where they're pretty frustrated, the board was struggling, and issues of trust. People were like, "This is hard."


Michael:
      And what we did is, we came in and we did some trainings on some skill sets that would increase passion, would increase that sense of fulfillment, would increase the sense of healthiness, because a healthier company has the chance to provide more of that opportunity of that passion, that fulfillment and purpose and meaning and contribution. So that whole thing's speaks to, it's possible.


Michael:
      We just want to remind you and speak to you that if you want this kind of work, you want to build this kind of company, and you provide this. The more you provide this for your employees, the more it actually feeds back into you, and builds because you build this culture, that's a passion and provision, culture, just like the flywheel. It goes through your company, and through your employees, and it feeds you and builds you, and supports you up and encourages you.


Michael:
      And we just want to expose you to that more, or if you've already been exposed to it, remind you more, that this is the thing, and this is what you can have. And if you are experiencing it, now we want to celebrate with you, that is completely amazing and awesome, and we just wish you that and more. And that you would continue to be able to train your employees, the new ones and the old ones, what this looks like because the more they do this, the more easier it's going to be for you to lead an organization towards this goal that you already have.


Kathryn:
      The more easier.


Michael:
      The more easier.


Kathryn:
      Yeah.


Michael:
      I mean-


Kathryn:
      I mean-


Michael:
      ... come on.


Kathryn:
      ... that's great grammar.


Michael:
      Thank you.


Kathryn:
      I like it.


Michael:
      All right, well, we probably should wrap this up. This is fantastic. If you are interested in more of this content, and you've come across this podcast, we really appreciate you and we wanted to send you over to habovillage.com. It's the new website, for those of you listening, it's about ready to go up, habovillage.com, you'll be able to sign up for emails to alert you to new podcasts, you'll be able to read blogs, and be exposed to other tools, and principles, and ideas, and training that can help you grow a Passion and Provision company. Whether you've never experienced this before and it's brand new to you, or this is something that you've dedicated your life to, and you want to continue to sharpen your skills at the advanced level, we would love and be honored to help you at any level possible to be successful in that story that you're writing, with your company, and your life, and the people around you.


Michael:
      So thanks again for listening to HaBO Village Podcast. I'm Michael Redman.


Kathryn:
      And I'm Kathryn Redman.


Michael:
      And we will see you next time.


Kathryn:
      Bye bye