Ty Cobb Backer: 0:00

and we are live. Welcome back everybody to Beyond the Tool Belt, episode 294. I am your host, ty Cobb-Backer, and thank you for joining us on this Wednesday edition.

Speaker 2: 0:24

We will be right back after a short intro from our sponsors. Welcome to Behind the Tool Belt, where the stories are bold, the conversations are real and the insights come to you live, raw and uncut sites. Come to you live, raw and uncut. Every week, host Ty Cobb-Backer sits down to bring you the stories, the struggles, the lessons learned and the wins. No filters, no scripts, just the truth. Please welcome your host of Behind the Tool Belt, ty Cobb-Backer.

Ty Cobb Backer: 1:00

And we are back. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Behind the Pool. I am your host, ty Cobb-Backer, and today I'm rolling solo to talk about something that sits at the core of everything we do Right? Four topics Leadership, responsibility, vision and company culture. These four things are more than buzzwords. These four things are more than buzzwords. They're the foundation of every successful business, especially in the trades.

Ty Cobb Backer: 1:31

And for those of you that listen to me know that I talk a lot about you know leadership, culture, vision and all these things. And it seems like over the past you know, 44 days these were some things that I really dove into and I got to experience some things. It's funny how God works. I got to see myself in other people, um, and, and I've learned a lot from it, and I've learned a lot of what not to do. I've learned a lot about what to do under certain circumstances and how to treat others. So I thought today, you know, I thought today would be a good day to talk about those, those four topics, you know responsibility, the vision and company culture. You know responsibility, the vision and company culture. So, whether you're a business owner, a manager or just someone who's passionate about growth, I think this one's going to be a good one for you.

Ty Cobb Backer: 2:38

And leadership it's a huge buzzword, you know that everyone's using today and really, what it comes down to it's it's the stewardship and and how we carry ourselves and the impact that we want to have on those around us. And, and a lot of it has to do with with serving. Even though we're using the word leader, it really pertains to servant ship, not necessarily leadership. And, and quite frankly, the leadership is the engine that's behind all of this. It's, it's, it's. It isn't a title, it's a responsibility, you know, and my journey over the years has been a wild journey.

Ty Cobb Backer: 3:21

I've read, I've led with an iron fist. I've I've led with my hands too far off the wheels. I've led with not setting expectations and boundaries. I've been walked on, I've been stepped on. I've stepped on, I've walked on others. I've belittled others, I've done other people wrong. I've done a lot of good, I've done a lot of bad over the years and you know, I've had a lot of time and I mean a lot of time, more than just this past 44 days of the challenge and what I've discovered is is it's, it's. It comes down to what I'm doing personally, on a personal level, taking care of myself, and we talk a lot, a lot, a lot, about personal development and what I do behind closed doors, when nobody's watching Right, or, probably most importantly, when people are watching and I don't know they're watching, you know, and I got a story where this along this journey, where this is where it started to really become more about other people and not so much about myself and the company, but but more so for other people.

Ty Cobb Backer: 4:46

It was 2011. And some of you may have heard me talk about this before, but it was. It was 2011. Insurance laws were changing and we were.

Ty Cobb Backer: 5:10

We had a decision to make. We had to decide whether we were going to keep people as 1099. And I'm I'm talking about, you know, in-house. You know service techs, gutter installers, window installers, our in-house team. We are, we are technically a construction company. We're not a paper contractor. We actually employ people that do the work, and I'm not saying we don't use subs. We do use subcontractors that predominantly, only work for us and get trained by us and follow the rules and whether it's health and safety standards or quality standards, they all get, you know, the certifications and the training. That way they can articulate the same performance that our in-house guys would.

Ty Cobb Backer: 5:55

But we had a decision to pull them off of being a 1099 contractor or or bring them in as as W2 employees, and it was. It was a tough decision because it costs a lot of money to to do that, and not just, not just for us, but but for those that you know we're paying money to. So if we're paying somebody $20 an hour and they're having, you know, 20 to 40% taken off their check, you know, on a week to week basis, you know that's unemployment and workers' comp, being in the space that we're in is about $0.25 per every dollar that we pay someone, we have to pay $0.25, somewhere between $0.25 to $0.12. So in theory, it's really costing us an extra $5 an hour to pay someone $20 an hour, that it's costing us $25 an hour to cover. You know all those things. But what solidified the, the, the decision to do this, was that you know if somebody did get injured, we'd have workers comp. They'd be covered. They'd be covered. If we would had or have to lay somebody off, they would be covered also by unemployment compensation that way too. So it's kind of like you know what I think. I think the risk, I think the reward is worth worth, worth the risk, especially for those that that that work for us. So what? What we elected to do and I actually discussed some of this Hunter wrote a book, his last book.

Ty Cobb Backer: 7:49

I wrote um a little bit about this I can't think of the name of his book, right, right, this second but um great book. It's got a bunch of us, um successful entrepreneurs in that book. But I I, you know touched a little deeper on this. So we, we elected to go that route. But what? Not only did we do that, it planted the seed. You know where it was. Like, man, how great would it be. Not only are we offering you know we can offer over time, we can, we can offer, you know, unemployment and workers comp and you know all these things. But how, how bad ass would it be if we could offer health insurance? You know, that's, that's, that's kind of where that seed was, was planted for me, and this was uh, uh, 2011.

Ty Cobb Backer: 8:41

So we went all in. We, we put everybody on the books. We took a hit? Of course we did, but what it, what it did was, I mean, it did so many things, um one, I could sleep better at night, knowing if anybody got hurt or injured or anything like that, uh, that we were covered, they were covered, all that good stuff. But, um, the plan of the seed to to want to provide, you know, health insurance. And then I started thinking even bigger 401k and all these things.

Ty Cobb Backer: 9:11

So, you know, we went to work and we did that, but anyhow, um, that was a, that was a, that was a turning point for me where it wasn't just about trying to make ends meet for us but trying to help and make ends meet for everyone else around us. And I'm not saying that I didn't have that attitude and I didn't pour into everybody back then. But you know, it's just funny how things happen, sometimes forcefully, and sometimes, you know, we, we have a good idea and and we go for it, like the health insurance. So it helped us attract better talent, it helped us retain, um, people who, who have been with us since then. We still have people that back then that still work for us today. You know, and and, um, you know.

Ty Cobb Backer: 10:01

So that was one of those, one of those moments along my journey here, a growth moment for me, you know, personally and professionally. So, you know, and I'm grateful, I'm grateful that we went that direction. What's happening, guys? Good to see you guys, leonard and Zach and John and Victor, david, bruno, good to see you guys. But anyhow, you know, of course, there's a whole lot that has happened since then. You know good mistakes, bad mistakes, but all have been learning experiences.

Ty Cobb Backer: 10:38

And one of those decisions that I decided to make was, you know, uh, going this personal development and pushing myself and pushing my mind and and stretching my mind and all those things. So I started picking up a lot of books and one of those books and I think I talked about it last week was, uh, uh, the energy bus by John Gordon, and I I'll honestly say, you know, that has changed and solidified the way that I lead today. And, and if I didn't express this enough last week, you know, everybody should be and can be a CEO, the chief energy officer. You know that your team, your team reflects, our team reflects my energy, okay, and and it radiates on the others where they walk out of the room and then radiate that energy. Right, your team reflects that energy. If I show up unmotivated, you know, consistently, so will they. You know, and that's something I learned.

Ty Cobb Backer: 11:46

I learned that early on, you know, um, and unfortunately, I radiated a lot of negative energy. I feel like maybe I was unapproachable. I was angry most of the time. I don't even know what the hell I was angry about. Actually it was. It was, it was fear. I was fear driven and and the way that I covered up my fear was was through through anger. And you know, through my, my journey of personal development, I had discovered that that I was a fear driven person and I didn't want anybody to know that I was fearful. So I led with an iron fist my way the highway.

Ty Cobb Backer: 12:24

I led with an iron fist my way the highway and I thought the only way to get my point across was to, you know, raise my voice and be the loudest in the room and speak over people and set things in motion that way, and then to come to find out, you know, I was losing a lot of respect from people and I, yeah, I was losing a lot of respect from people and I, yeah, I, I feared to fail. I did not want to fail. I felt like there was a lot of eyes on me and a lot of people holding their breath. Um, and and uh, I hope, I hope no longer. I hope they they aren't holding their breath any longer because, uh, that'd been a hell of a long time for them to be holding their breath.

Ty Cobb Backer: 13:07

But I got to show up motivated and this is what's cool with the team that we have today. If I do happen to show up unmotivated the team there's been enough energy stored up. You know, and I've talked the trust bank being built up where every now and then I can take a withdrawal from that trust bank and not lose trust. But the same thing works with energy. There's an energy bank and and sometimes it gets depleted, but then because of that energy bank being so full, all the time, that energy has been able to radiate onto my coworkers and my co-leaders where they in turn can radiate that good, positive energy into, you know, those that are under their lead and some of the ways that I've tried to, you know, keep that energy, because it's been a long time. We've been doing this shit, a long time right and to suit up and show up day in and day out.

Ty Cobb Backer: 14:15

I think most people in my position would be looking for a way to exit or get out, but I always feel like that. I'm continuously. I'm just getting started and Vic and I, and Baker and you know, a few of us, you know and John and Brian Brian Good, by the way, who's crushing it down in Greenville for the past month, those you know men and women, um, that we have surrounded ourselves with, that that really truly make make our our culture today, but that that had to start somewhere Right, and I have to. I have to on a day-to-day basis, like just a little bit ago I did a cold plunge, I had to take a cold plunge and and that's something along my journey here, my personal development journey I've learned, really helped stimulate my mind and, along with all kinds of other health benefits that that does, by signing up for challenges and by pushing myself and figuring out what works and what doesn't work and what motivates me, what gets the creative juices going, and re-recruiting the team and and surrounding myself around other entrepreneurs or leaders, you know, and listening to what they're actually saying, and and and and stay learning, like I have to stay learning, you know, on a day-to-day um basis. I have to remain a student and, um, if I don't, you know, if I'm not growing, I'm going, and I'm sure a lot of people um, have heard that quote before. But, uh, you know, I choose today to keep learning and and and know that I don't know everything. And you know, what's cool is is that when, when you're learning more from your team, that's when you know that you have a genuine culture and and and a great group of men and women that you have surrounded yourself with.

Ty Cobb Backer: 16:21

But leadership, a lot of leadership, is also about clarity. You know, and this is something that that most recently, um, I've it's been brought back to my attention, uh, through some certain situations of not having or articulating clarity. You know, people, people don't follow confusion, right, they, they follow vision. Um, you know, unfortunately, with having an amazing team, there can be a little bit of confusion, there can be a little uncertainty from circumstances and changes and uncontrollable events that no one could predict might happen. Or when I'm not around. Right, the team. Right, because the vision has been casted, the energy has been built up, the trust bank is full. You get a group of men and women that help carry you through that. But that doesn't give me the right to panic or freak out or make the situation worse. Right, because nobody again can follow confusion. They like decisiveness and, again, having a great group of men and women. You can have a little bit of uncertainty, but you can't have it for long, okay. If the vision isn't clear at the top, it's going to be cloudy the whole way down.

Ty Cobb Backer: 17:57

And casting a vision is one of the most and I can't emphasize this enough is one of the most powerful tools as a leader can possess, not just for setting direction, but to inspire belief and action. Um, if you want your co-leaders which I want my co-leaders to drive the company forward, they must first catch the vision, okay. Then they need to own it and finally they need to carry it on to others. Right, and that's what I've been trying to explain, you know, and I'm saying this out loud so I can actually hear it, okay, and again, like I said, this has been brought to my attention again. God seems to work in mysterious ways. Sometimes you know, and and, uh, you know be reminded that people are inspired by purpose and not necessarily processes. Right, because you can have the greatest processes, you can have a million dollars worth of SOPs and KPIs, but if your culture is poop and if you're surrounded by a bunch of shitheads, it doesn't matter about SOPs, kpi's, because no one's going to follow that shit Anyhow, right.

Ty Cobb Backer: 19:30

So I read a book. Imagine that I read a book a while back and read it several times and start with why. Okay, by Simon Sinek. And people like to know the why and not necessarily the. What People don't buy into, what you do, they buy into why we do it right, why are we doing this?

Ty Cobb Backer: 20:02

And I think Simon said it some some some other way, but you know at at, you know, at the beginning of our meetings at least the ones that I'm involved with, especially the global meeting that we have we start the meeting with, um, the vision of the company. What I mean by that is is that somebody is elected to read one of our core values, um, it basically explains why the company exists beyond profit. Who are we serving? What, in fact, are we making? You know, um, the vision must flow through at every level.

Ty Cobb Backer: 20:52

You know, and I, and I know at times we, we as a company, struggle to get, you know, that vision, especially out into the field, and that's something again that's been brought to my attention, that I've been reminded of. That. You know, it's one thing for all of us. You know, I got to hang out with a few of them, uh, man, a week or two ago, a group of us went golfing and then we went golfing again and then, um, I got a couple of them out fishing and I was reminded again, I was reminded again, I was reminded again, like three different times in like a two and a half week period of time, where it's like there's a we have a disconnect where you know our purpose or why, you know after listening to, you know a certain individual like damn it, like I completely missed the mark here, like damn it, like I completely missed a mark here. You know what I mean, you know, and it's important, like we.

Ty Cobb Backer: 22:28

The golf tournament, right, was for York Builders Association and I can see where somebody standing on the outside looking in wondering like well, shoot, that's a Thursday, like should you guys be working? You know, I could see where someone on the outside couldn't see the importance of us participating in a local builders association that we were actually invited to, right, because I used to, early on in my career, I used to avoid public engagements or invitations to participate in things and didn't understand the power of networking, didn't understand the power, you know, because of ignoring those things and not participating in those things, be a huge part of the community and New York Builder Association is one of those outlets, one of those conduits for us to really really get involved with the community. So that's why we didn't have to go but we elected to go. We had two foursomes. We brought one of our manufacturers with us. So again we're networking. Our team got to meet our shingle rep, got to meet our siding rep, which on a day-to-day, especially being out in the field, they just know we use these products but they don't know who services us with these products. That and we got to experience a great day and camaraderie and fellowship and build our culture and build our culture.

Ty Cobb Backer: 24:05

Okay, and again I'm pretty big part involved with you know, the builder association and Vic, I'm going to throw this out there but I'm being elected for 2026 to be the president and there's going to be a big old party, the inauguration, and we got to get 50 to 70 of us to show up to this thing to celebrate because they're going to let a knucklehead like me be the president. So that's why we have to attend these things and bring our people this is our company. I am proud of the people that I work with to these events and to these functions and they hear so many great things about us. Well, it's not me, it's these guys over here that's out here tearing up the golf course with me. Right, that's why we do these things.

Ty Cobb Backer: 25:01

So, having a conversation with one of our production guys, I had realized that you know this. What our why is? You know? It's like we're not just putting roofs on people's houses, we're putting dignity over people's heads. We're building a reputation Our kids can be proud of here. Right, like this is. This is what we're doing here. And, and roofing and shingles and siding and windows and gutters and gutter guards and solar is just the vehicle for us, right, to put dignity over people's heads and be and participate in the community. Get ourselves out there. It's like I'm done hiding, done, being humble. You know like we need to get ourselves out there and be more part of the community, and not just administratively, not just our sales people, not just our sales reps, but you know everybody involved.

Ty Cobb Backer: 26:09

So what's Ben saying here? He said come up with a plan One, come up with a plan to give simple, clear, yeah. There you go, that's it. That's it in a nutshell. You know what I mean. So a muddy vision leads to fuzzy execution, right. Boil the vision down to a single sentence that can be repeatable by every leader, co-leader, manager. Avoid buzzwords. Be clear, human and compelling, impelling. Okay, repetition creates retention. Say it often, right. And just for an example of a you know vision statement right, we're here to be the most trusted name in roofing by delivering quality building leaders and giving back to our community. Like, remember that. Right, everybody in the company should know that that's like, that's what we're doing here. In a nutshell, that is our core values. Right, we're here to be the most trusted name in the roofing industry by delivering quality building leaders and giving back to our community.

Ty Cobb Backer: 27:22

Okay, and again, all of this stuff, as I've been reminded over the past several months and that's kind of the reason why Vic and I elected to do the Fearless 44, you know so, and I got to make sure, too, that it's getting down, you know, from from me to co -leader, to team. Right, we just can't tell them what to do. We have to show them where, where we're going and how they fit into it. You know, I need you know, in phrases that I've used in the past is you know, hey, I need your help, um or um, can you do me a favor. But one of the most powerful um things that I say all the time is is you know, everybody's job is so important. Your job is so important that the person sitting next to you has a job. Okay, they, they have to understand and again being reminded the vision why we exist. Okay, your job, your existence, you being here, is so important.

Ty Cobb Backer: 28:44

Every doesn't matter what position you hold within the organization is going to affect impact, positively or negatively. If you're doing a shitty job, it's going to have a ripple effect. If you're doing an amazing job, it's going to have a ripple effect, and that's why we have to get everybody rowing in the same direction. Okay, felt like Vicki said something here. Servant leadership is the foundation of all our missions. We're here to support each other and be there for each other, absolutely, absolutely. There's no other reason why we're here to support each other and be there for each other, absolutely, absolutely. There's no other reason why we're here.

Ty Cobb Backer: 29:31

So, but the important part of this is it can't be just me screaming from the rooftops hey, we're doing this, we're doing this, we're doing this, we're doing this. Everyone that I've surrounded myself with, whether it's Ben, whether it's Brian, whether it's Lee, whether it's Glenn, whether it's Lauren, zach, kim, sam, sammy, chris Baker, everybody they have to fully understand the vision, okay. So then, when I'm not there, okay, I shouldn't have to be there. I should be able to sit in another room and have that vision casted whether it's a new hire coming on, okay, which I've got to actually experience some of that too, where the vision has been casted. Well enough, the message has been clear enough. I've overheard our team saying the same word verbatim that have that have come out of my mouth. Okay, and also invite feedback right from your co-member.

Ty Cobb Backer: 30:27

But co-members, right? Um, buy-in starts starts with with being heard, right. Anybody that feels like they're a part of, they're empowered and they're being heard Right. And again, what do you think? I use that all the time and you decide. I heard Craig Grishel say that on a podcast one time and I thought you know what? I'm stealing that. But I've had people come in they're like hey, I got this, this, this, and right away I'll say you decide, you get to decide. No better way to empower another human being to take ownership and feel trusted, right, everybody wants to be loved, everybody wants to be trusted. Um, and uh, feel part of something, right Like, I think, when we feel part of something you know and it makes the mission, they understand the mission, they feel part of it.

Ty Cobb Backer: 31:27

They're more apt to work harder and I know that's how I feel so hopefully they're passing the vision down right, because a vision without transfer is just a dead end, right, and that's where it's good to surround yourself around good, like-minded people who are in it to win it and ready to kick ass and take names. You know, and this is the cool thing too, you know, when it's being articulated by Vic, by Brian, by Ben, by Glenn, right, I think the, you know hearing them say I think it can be more powerful having them say it right, not just me talking shit, or you know it's. Oh, you know we get fed that line of shit all the time at the last three places that I've worked before. But I think I think when it's their voice and not mine, it's more powerful. And where this takes place right, or where it should take place, is, you know, every sales meeting, every crew meeting, every team huddle, any job site is an opportunity or a chance to reinforce the culture. And I'm emphasizing, you know, team huddles, safety meetings and job sites. You know, corey, if you're listening out there or anybody that's out in the field, whether you work for us or not, job sites is a good place to, you know, galvanize. You know our why we're here right, like don't, let's not get it twisted. You know, I think sometimes we get so complacent where we just show up it's just another roof, it's just another gutter job and it's like, no, it's way, way, way, way bigger than that. There are so many different facets that this touches right. So we need to get better. I know we need to get better at that.

Ty Cobb Backer: 33:28

You know, and like I talked about earlier, it's like these small little tasks that we do on a day-to-day basis create such big results. All these little micro things that we do. I've had the pleasure of fishing with somebody who has a lot more experience than I do, and it's not that he just does. One know that makes the difference of either putting five fish in a boat or 25 fish in the boat, from doesn't matter on how he you know what line he uses to how he attaches the main line to the leader, um, what hooks he uses, how he ties his hooks on there, which direction he sneels it, schnelles his hook to, what I mean all of it. All these little micro things, right, that give us those big results.

Ty Cobb Backer: 34:36

You know, like when Brandon shows up early and handles customer service and things like that, he's making sure that everyone is taken care of Like nobody. I don't think anybody puts anything takes that into consideration. Brandon is one of the people that show up super duper early to before his team gets there, right, and they might not sound like a big thing like that, you know, getting up before the sun gets up, but he gets in there, he checks all his emails, he goes replies back to the to his emails. I'm sure he's on the phone all day long communicating with, with supervisors and his teammates and and stuff like that. But by him doing that, um, he's enabling those uh to to continue to have a job. They have a job today, right, because of him doing that one little micro thing getting there early, replying back to emails he's keeping the customers happy. He's providing work for the team that's coming in, you know, to get out there and hopes that they do a good job. So then he looks good, right, like.

Ty Cobb Backer: 35:46

So there's like this ripple effect. Like they may not have met Brandon, which I'm sure everyone has met Brandon, but let's just say the client has never met Brandon. The team that goes out there now becomes the face of the company. Okay, so their presentation, their performance, now becomes the brand of the company. Okay, that's their first impression and will be their last impression, right? Even though Brandon may have been the first impression because how quickly he responded and got it on the schedule.

Ty Cobb Backer: 36:19

But realistically, when that team shows up, they get out there. They look good, their presentation looks good, they do a good job. We don't need to get, we don't, we don't get a call back. We don't have to go back out and fix whatever it was that they thought we fixed or whatever the case might be. We go out there, we knock it out of the park. Then you know the team, that team members, the brand, but then that client, that homeowner, that customer, becomes our brand later.

Ty Cobb Backer: 36:48

So I just I really wanted to dive into a little bit of that ripple effect. So, but then also, we need to celebrate those wins, right? So if we, we crush it, crush it out of the park, you know, or closing rates, closing rates were up, you know, um, we were able to, um, you know, donate money to, and I'm just, I'm just trying to pull something out of my ass here as an example of like, if you know, if by celebrating the win that you know, we get to either go someplace, we get to do something or we get to donate to the, the food well, pantry, right, right, something that has to do with the mission, the vision of, like, why we exist. Right, because you guys have done such a great job, we're able to host the 21 Turkey Salute with very little donations. Okay, and I try, I've tried to over the years and I think we do a pretty good job of it's articulating, um, that vision and making a vision a big part of our everyday lives and a big part of our meetings.

Ty Cobb Backer: 38:15

You know, like I said, I I think we start our weekly meeting, or monthly meeting, or quarterly meetings at least, and I'm sure, on the micro meetings with the finance team and sales team and all those guys, you know they start the meeting with a 30 second. I'm going to call it a vision check, right, like, this is why we're here. This is our core values, you know, and and I know Ben does a great job, brian does well too is celebrating team team members. You know, and I know Baker does too, we do shout outs at our meetings, right, um, celebrate the team members who who are living out the vision that week. You know, and I don't think we do that enough and we should probably do that more often, but I I do know, and I'm probably thinking we don't do it enough, but it probably happens more than than I know, um, and then at the end of the meeting, I always try to remind them where we're going and why it matters. Even when I'm going through it and I'm in my own shit, that helps me pull my head out of my butt. And I have conversations with Dick all the time.

Ty Cobb Backer: 39:22

It's like man I forgot. Sometimes I get so caught up in the fire drills that I forget why, why we're here, what the hell we're doing, like, why are we even doing this shit anymore? You know, um, and one of my jobs, which is to empower our co-leaders, is to be vision carriers. Okay, they got to carry. Our co-leaders must go from being task managers to culture carriers Right, teach them. Teach them how to speak the language of the vision, right, practice it. You know. You know, I think, by saying it over and over and over and over, and I think we've done a good job of that. You know, at every meeting, or you know any one on one, that that I might have, I try to articulate, you know, the vision, like, why we're here, why we're doing this.

Ty Cobb Backer: 40:24

It isn't, you know, we were never a money driven company. The very rarely do I bring up which I probably should. More often than not, um is is talk about the profits and stuff, and that's the other thing too. It's like somewhere along the line, I think, profit has become a bad word. But without profit, we can't donate, without profit we can't um bring in more people. We can't market, we can't brand, we can't retain, we can't market, we can't brand, we can't retain, we can't reach, recruit, we can't train. All of that stuff takes, takes, takes money, and when we're good at all that upfront stuff that I was talking about earlier, you know, money, that it just it, it, it comes like we, we get gifted, we get blessed. It's a tip at the end of the week and it seems to always just work out.

Ty Cobb Backer: 41:16

Um, you know, and what I need to probably do is start asking the question um, how are you carrying the vision you know to your team today? Um, I should probably make it a part of the KPIs. Um, you know, because it's not just, it's not just about the production, it's about the influence, you know. So, anywho, you know, people follow energy and believe if you're enthusiastic, right, I've learned to be the most passionate person in the room. Celebrate progress loudly right, I've learned to be the most passionate person in the room. Celebrate progress loudly, right. Make wins visible and remind everybody that you know the tone. Your tone becomes their tone, right, so my tone becomes Brian's tone, my tone becomes Vic's tone, my tone becomes Baker's tone, right, and then there should be that, that, that, that ripple, that trickle down effect. You know, you know. And then there's the other side of it.

Ty Cobb Backer: 42:26

What happens when we don't cast the vision right On a regular basis? Because I've, I've fallen back again. I've been reminded right, I default back to putting out fires. I've become a fire person, fire fireman Right, and I've seen that happen to my co-leaders, where, instead of building something bigger, right, we become firemen. We, just we, we, we show up, show up. You know, team members become transactional. They just do the job, they punch the clock. And really that's not the atmosphere that I'm trying to create. It's never. That was never.

Ty Cobb Backer: 43:04

My intentions was just to have people show up and clock in and clock out and just do a job. I wanted them to know how important their job was. They need to know how important it is. They will do better unknowingly, because they know what they're doing is affecting other people. So that's kind of where I've been like for a minute for a while now.

Ty Cobb Backer: 43:32

Um, so, anyhow, lead, lead, lead, lead with why right Connect, connect to purpose? Um, uh, clarity and repeat right, a sticky, a sticky, simple statement. Like I had mentioned earlier, um, invite ownership. Like I said earlier, um, what, what do you think? Or you decide? You know, vision must be caught, not taught. You know, I heard that a long time ago. I don't know if that was from Ed Milet, um, or or who that is. That's where I always say you know, lead by example. You know to the point where now, brandon is the first one, denny is the first one in the office. Um, kim is probably one of the first people actually in the office, not the shop. Um, you know Chris Baker, he's there, all you know. If I wouldn't have done that early on, do you think that the start time at the office would be at six o'clock? No, it would be at eight, eight, 30, nine o'clock, like whenever anybody wants to show up. That's not. It's because we've led by example, we've been consistent. You know, invite, I've invited that ownership, you know at least I hope so, I hope I hope so Right Connect tasks to impact.

Ty Cobb Backer: 44:56

Daily work fuels the mission, everything everybody's doing on a day to day, day to day, day to day. John, his marketing skills and talent, right. That allows the phone to ring. That allows the phone to ring. He understands that the phone ring, our project consultant goes out. He or she finds the issue with the homeowner's house. We fix it up for them, we give them safety, security, we create a healthy environment. We put a roof over their head, we add gutters, we put more windows in that are energy efficient. They save on costs, right. That impact go out, find a solution, provide value, right, and then we get a tip. We get a tip from that. We get to do other amazing things for each other. We get to do other amazing things for our community and that shit's contagious right.

Ty Cobb Backer: 45:56

That, I feel, is very contagious when we show up at the home shows. I think a lot of people want to be a part of that, that energy that we bring to events, home shows, roofing conventions I think a lot of people either want to. We've inspired them to want to be like that. We encourage them to want to be better. We set a different standard, we raised the bar or they want to be a part of that and that's an awesome place to be. And I'm not saying that we're necessarily trendsetters. We're just actually doing what we're supposed to be doing. We're doing the next right thing and all that good stuff. But it all comes down to I go back to that CEO part again right, show up with the energy. Belief is contagious.

Ty Cobb Backer: 46:57

You know, culture eats strategy for breakfast. Man, like I was saying earlier, you can have all the greatest strategies and the SOPs and the plans. A great man. When plans change and things go south, you know that's where. That's where you get defined. Either you freak, you panic, people quit. That will show you right away, real quick, on how, how great of a team you have right there. Way, real quick on how, how great of a team you have right there. So you know culture's built. You know, one decision at a time. You know how your, how, how our team treats our customers, how we treat each other is really. You know. How we treat each other is really all that matters. And the difference between a workplace and a winning team, you know, is the culture, not KPIs and not SOPs, it's, it's, it's the culture that we have, uh, a strong culture um um will will outlast any anything, you know, and I, I can't even.

Ty Cobb Backer: 48:12

I can't even, um, and I can't even express my gratitude towards the team right now. But a strong culture helps with recruiting and retaining the right people. A good culture attracts talent, all that good stuff. So I guess the bottom line is okay. Bottom line is is that, you know, leave with vision, leave with purpose. Uh, build a brand that that people can trust. Okay, um, and create a culture that people want to be a part of. Right, if, if we are doing, if we are doing, you know these things consistently, um, I don't care what business you're in, you're going to win, you know, and we are winners.

Ty Cobb Backer: 49:07

Everybody on this team, man, we, we have crushed it and it's it's, it's because we've, we've continuously done the right thing. We've created a group of people, whether they knew it or not when they joined this thing, that are set on a mission. Brian told me today he's like I'm fighting a good fight, and he is too, and that's amazing. I know he's getting shit done down there without me micromanaging stuff, so it's good stuff anyhow. So I think we're about 50 minutes into this, um, I guess. Wrap this thing up here, um, put it in a nutshell you know, if, uh, if, uh, if today's episode of beyond a tool belt you know Tool Belt has given you any hope or inspiration? I hope that this gives you some real clarity and confidence on how to lead better. I know it has for me.

Ty Cobb Backer: 50:07

Build a stronger brand, and with purpose, with consistency and responsibility. With leadership comes a lot of responsibility. Right, the responsibility of you know, not the you know. You hear people say I won't work anybody. Now, when I hear that, when I hear I'll outwork everybody, I true. Now I look at somebody and I and I wonder if they really know what that means. The standard is is what the standard is Like. Do you really know? Do you really know what that means? Because it takes a lot of work. It takes more work to do this thing. Right, then it does wrong. So let's not like outwork Anybody To step on people, to screw them over, to lie, manipulate, steal for selfish and self-centered, selfish leadership purposes. Right, let's, let's, let's be responsible and create a company culture worth fighting for, which I've I've got to experience that lately, you know, in the teams fighting like hell.

Ty Cobb Backer: 51:22

Remember, leadership isn't about the loudest person in the room. The standard is shut your face. It's about being the clearest. You know your vision matters, your energy matters, and how you show up every day shapes everything around you. It truly does so. If this episode fired you up, do me a favor Share it with a fellow business owner or leader who needs to hear it and make sure you're subscribed. Like love, share it, get it out there, okay, and don't miss what's coming up next. Next week we have Deshaun Bryant 7 pm tomorrow night, and until next time, keep leading with purpose, keep building with pride and keep showing up the world's what's possible when you do the right thing the right way every time. Until next week, you guys take care of each other. We're signing out. Have a good day everybody.