The Ultimate Measure of Great Coaching: Enterprise Value with Ben Blankenship

What if the best coaches aren’t the ones with the most answers, but the ones who can turn strategy into execution and create lasting value?

In this episode, Cam sits down with Ben Blankenship to explore how coaches can create transformational impact by helping leaders move from vision to execution. Ben shares his unique journey from professional chef to restaurant executive, entrepreneur, EOS Implementer, and ultimately a Scaling Up coach and Certified Exit Planning Advisor. They discuss the importance of building a coaching practice around clear standards, why strategy without execution creates little value, and how great coaches help leadership teams align around a shared vision while driving accountability. Ben also unpacks his passion for value creation, the growing opportunity around exit planning, and why investing in personal health may be one of the most important leadership decisions a business owner can make.  

Biography

Ben Blankenship is a Certified Scaling Up Coach, Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Project Management Professional (PMP), and former EOS Implementer. Drawing from a diverse background that includes leadership roles at Qdoba Mexican Grill, executive leadership positions, and years of coaching entrepreneurial companies, Ben helps leadership teams create clarity, drive execution, and increase enterprise value. Through his firm, Acuo Business Consulting, he specializes in helping business owners build stronger organizations, create scalable growth, and prepare for successful transitions and exits.  

Links

Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benblankenship/ 

Learn more about Ben’s work: https://acuo-bc.com/ 

Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam 

Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Ambitious Coach Lab, powered by Nike. I'm your host, Dr. Cam Lawson. Each week we explore the real tactics, tough conversations, and breakthrough moments that drive coaching success. Let's jump into today's episode. Hello, friends. We have got Ben Blankenship with us today. I am so excited about this conversation. Ben and I have gotten to know each other over the last few years, and I've just been so impressed with him. Ben is a certified scaling up coach, a SIPA, a certified exit planning advisor. He is also a certified PMP and a former EOS implementer. So all the credibility, we were actually just joking before we got on here of the uh all the cred uh behind and all the uh certifications that you can get, but really interested in learning more about why you went down the route that you did. So tell us a little bit more about how you got to being the coach that you are today.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Yeah, Cam, it's so good to visit with you. Thank you for the invitation. Always a pleasure to hang out with you. Uh yeah, so the I think the story is kind of goes back to the beginning. I out of high school, I decided to become a professional chef. I went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and really started building the foundation for the coach I am today. What's really interesting, if you think about what it takes to be a chef, you know, think about the atmosphere or the environment. There's there's a lot of planning for the future. What's going to happen tomorrow, next week, the next month? Um, and then you back that all the way up to what's going to happen a minute from now. And so when you think about the world of coaching, there's all this emphasis on strategic planning, but then there's this really important part that comes right after that, which is the execution. And so chefs are built to do that. Not only that, but under really high stress environments, hot and cold, sharp, heavy, slippery. Will my staff show up? Yes or no, right? Uh, am I gonna get burned? Um, you know, so it's a bit of a tumultuous environment where you're also always thinking about the the strategy, the tactics, and like really executing at a high level. So uh I became a pro uh after graduating, I became a uh chef at the age of 21. There was this uh beautiful resort in the Colorado Rockies. And then I went back to school and studied finance, and I joined the uh the founding team of Qdoba Mexican Grill. Uh it's called uh Qdoba Mexican Eats Now. And uh, real interesting fun fact for the listeners, Qdoba used to be called Zuma, Zuma Mexican Grill, which was named after one of the two general partners. Their black cat was named Zuma. So anyway, there you go. Qdoba trivia for everybody out there. And so when I got into that role, I I not only was doing a lot of the menu stuff, but I shifted into more scaling. So I got into restaurant design, uh planning out territories, uh, site select, real estate site selection, construction management, kind of like market grand openings. I got into some outsourcing of food products and kind of uh scaled menu development at that point. And then I finally was working with franchisee partners or operating and financial partners to help them uh identify and then build and grow their markets as well. So again, there was a this this another layer of strategy, converting strategy to tactics and tactics to execution. Um, and uh, and so all of those reps of really exercising from kind of ideation to like boots on the ground and really seeing get into action, I think was uh kind of the bedrock for who I am today. After I got out of the restaurant business, we sold Qdoba. That was a great, great for everybody with sweat equity. Uh I did a bunch of different things for for-profits and nonprofits and worked as a CFO and a chief operating officer. I was a CEO for a bit of time as well. And and uh and what I realized through that time was I am a sprinter, I am a builder, I am a fixer, I am not a long-term sustainer. So that's kind of where my energy is at. And coaching was really the right blend of everything for me. Uh, I was able to go to the strategy, the tactics, the execution, and by my the opportunity to work with several different clients, it really fed my curiosity, which is uh, I think one of my strong traits that has to be fed. So uh anyhow, I um that's that's a lot of my journey to becoming a coach. I started as an EOS implementer. Uh, I did a self-implementation with one of my uh when I was an employee with an organization, and I found uh EOS to be wonderfully uh simple and and prescriptive and um and uh got into EOS for a while and then was just looking for a few different things and gravitated over to scaling up, both amazing platforms uh uh and uh but gravitated over to scaling up. And and so now today, I would say I am a business coach that's highly uh uh focused on value creation. So I pull some of that CFO background back in and a lot of the strategy and tactics, of course, and and uh really think about value creation plans and how to you know really create a uh a clear pathway towards creating greater enterprise value for my clients. And sometimes that means an exit, and sometimes that means the opportunity for additional investment and growth from there.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Yeah, man, I love that. Such a cool, unique background. And I love the the narrative that you've been able to find through that. That's something that I think is, you know, even in the age of AI, I was talking to a friend about this the other day. It AI is great and there's all sorts of things that we can go in and build, but there's a story that we individually bring to everything. And as we go into strategic planning, as we go into working with clients and all these different things, at the end of the day, it's the stories that make things come to life, and I think that are so applicable. And you have such a unique ability to be able to provide that, even from early days of being a chef, tying those into how that appealed to like core parts of you that that inevitably led you to becoming a coach. I think that's just I think that's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

So talk a little bit about some of the things that maybe excite you going forward as you are now with all the the different things that we mentioned before, but as you go into this next year, we're recording here kind of at the tail end of January. But yeah, yeah, what does 2025 and beyond look like for your practice?

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Well, I will say this. I am definitely the best version of myself. I love what I do. So I'm gonna keep on keeping on with the business coaching. Uh, I am a continuous learner, so I will continue to feed my brain and I mean, for that matter, my my my body and my soul as well. I think that that's uh important to feed all parts of us. Talk more about that later. But um, I would say that, you know, my intentionality uh moving forward into 25, 26, uh, first of all, my my words for this year is uh more no's for better yeses. And so that really speaks to just making sure that there's really good alignment between uh who I am and what I stand for and the value I can bring to my client partners and my client partners and making sure that they're they're up for the ride with me because it's a big investment of time and energy and uh stretching and growing together. I would say that that regarding kind of market size, I will continue to focus on like lower middle market, say 5 million to 250 million annual revenue companies. Uh, I am going to be more intentional about focusing on uh owners and CEOs that are working towards an exit. I think that that's really the that's really kind of the final exam or uh, you know, the the the big win uh for the value creation pathway is is an exit. And that's super exciting. And so uh it won't be exclusively exit uh focused organizations, but but I will be making a more intentional focus on companies that want to exit. There certainly are a lot that will need to based on uh companies owned by baby boomers and them needing to transfer their their wealth. Uh so I would say that those are some of my intentionalities and things I'm pretty excited about uh moving forward in the next year or two.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah. Yeah, we uh we have a strategic partnership with EPI. So the the organization that that certifies the CEPAs. And so we were fascinated with that because there is, I mean, over the next 10 years, I truly believe you are going to see a lot of boomer specifically owned organizations. There is going to be a transfer of wealth, so a huge opportunity to take a look at your organization and figure out, okay, what do I need to be true for me to exit? And then also to drive the most value. So I think you are uniquely positioned with your experience both in scaling up and EOS and understanding that aspect and then having the personal side of it. I love that. And I love your clear vision for that. Can you talk a little bit about one of the things that we believe is a core competency of building a coaching practice is creating a clear vision for who you are as a coach, what you practice, all of that, you have to be crystal clear on that. So, can you talk a little bit about your why and how that guides you as you read your practice on a daily basis?

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Well, so my my tagline is lead with impact, live with purpose. And really what that means is if you take a step back and you think about what it means to be a business coach, you know, we go into organizations and we work with at first CEOs or owners and their leadership teams. And we bring clarity to their vision. Uh, we bring uh their purpose, their why for existing core values and core beliefs and core behaviors. Uh, we we help clarify their their mission and uh their long-term goals. Uh, we help bring self-awareness to individual team members and psychological safety to their teams. Uh, we help give them new language for effective communication and how to be really results driven and keeping things positive versus negative. And if you think about it, that like all of those personal assets that you're helping develop, they don't stay in the office. They bring those home. So now all of those lessons that they just learned in the workplace, they're starting to share with their spouses and with their children and with their friends and with their other loved ones. And and they're having there's a chance to level up several people based on one touch. And and so if you think about it, it's pretty profound the number of lives that you're impacting, you know, outside of the organization with with whom you're serving. And then certainly not only that, but you think about just maintaining livelihoods. And if the company grows and prospers more and and in better ways, then everybody working there does too. That is an awesome privilege, right? To truly touch lives. And so when I think of like lead with impact and live with purpose, I'm I'm talking about like lead like living intentionally, leading intentionally, um, and uh and like having having a real uh purpose in life to be a positive influence, uh, not only internally in your organization, but but externally as well. So that's that's why I get up and do this work. It's the opportunity to touch lives, to be frank with you. That one of the byproducts of the way I work is is increasing enterprise value, but it it all starts with the people, you know. If the people are are aligned and um and uh can share a vision and they're they have a rhythm together and they're going in the same direction, that's just a byproduct of all of that.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Man, that's that's so good. And you you talked a little bit about this when we talked through just what's the next plan for for your organization. But you talked when we met originally about this, about creating standards for your practice, um, while instead of just it's it almost after realizing you were saying yes to everything. And I think this ties into your vision. But can you talk a little bit about what that means to you?

SPEAKER_01 13:36

I think as in many things with life, we we learn from doing some of the best lessons, anyway, are learning from doing and and kind of uh you know, having things maybe not work out every time. And and so I I learned, I learned that that not every potential engagement is right for me. And through some of those engagements that didn't go exactly as I would have hoped, um, I created uh some standards. And and my standards are uh committed to being transparent and having authentic relationships. Uh, this is not a transaction. A coaching relationship is very intimate. Uh, it's very confidential. And so there has to be a relationship and it has to be very authentic, and you have to get everything out on the table and a commitment to supporting a culture of collaboration and trust. Like the the things that coaches unpack with teams, uh, starting with that executive leadership team, starting with the CEO and owner, but then with the executive leadership team, that's uh that's some pretty high trust stuff. And there has to be that open collaboration and that sense of trust building. Uh the uh commitment to maintaining a mindset of curiosity and innovation. I I've run across some experiences where there was very little curiosity, that uh the at least some of the folks on at the on the team thought that they had it all figured out. And that's that's not gonna help you scale. That's not gonna help you grow and get healthy and be ready to scale. Uh, and then a commitment to self-awareness and personal improvement, and then the evolution of others. So uh something else I ran across was some leadership teams were were committed to just investing in themselves. And that's where the investment stopped. And so all of the management level and other roles in their organization, those folks did not get uh the opportunity to to grow themselves in such an intentional way. And I realize that there's budget budget considerations everywhere, but there are some free or pretty inexpensive ways that I think we can invest in folks. And so that was another really important part. And there are four more, so just bear with me. And so the other piece is kind of the first is committed to, the second section is ready to and ready to invest funds and experience coaching and advising. So I've run across some cheap skates in my past, you know, it's an investment. So it uh one of the things I've I've I'm kind of hearing myself uh give my spiel, but coaching is not an expense line item. It is absolutely an investment. And I think every client should expect a return on investment. And so for new coaches out there, I think that's really important for you to hear is we are investments and we bring ROIs, and you should be able to show your return on investment. Um, the ready to invest adequate time and patience and the process. The stuff that we do as coaches does not happen overnight. It can take a year to introduce a new platform, get through all the tools, then practice the tools. It's one thing to introduce them, and it's another thing to really put them into practice. And sometimes you need several reps of practicing a tool, I'd say, in order to get good at it and to appreciate the value. So there's that patience piece, uh, ready to invest in a relationship rather than a transaction, a little repeated, but it's worth repeating. Uh, and then to be focused and disciplined and action-oriented, and this is a really big one, being decisive. Uh, and so working with CEOs and owners and leadership teams who have the ability to make decisions or they are curious enough to learn how to make decisions. Uh, so those are my standards. And when I see big gaps between my standards and a prospective client, it's time for me to slow down and ask some follow-up questions. And frankly, if if there's not satisfaction, then it's probably not a good fit.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

How do you feel that I I love that, first off, um, of having those different, different uh filters that you can run run through. But how does that look like when you're in a qualifying conversation, maybe an initial conversation or maybe a little bit down the road? What are maybe maybe an example if we have that? Or if if you can just talk through conceptually what that looks like to help identify where they say something. Is it one time? Is it three red flags? I mean, what does that look like where you're going through that qualifying process and then you're realizing this really isn't probably a good fit?

SPEAKER_01 18:24

When I am vetting a new client, uh one of the tools I use that's frankly a leave-behind asset for them is called a scaling up assessment. And it explores probably about 20 questions in the areas of people, strategy, execution, and cash, which is the kind of the foundation of scaling up. And and through that, I can see pain points in the organization, strengths, and pain points. It goes to the CEOs or owners and then their leadership team. And uh it also compares the CEO's responses to a peer group in a database. And so uh so through that, I can kind of glean some of my standards and how they might play out and where there might be significant weaknesses that could also be kind of tied to some of my standards. And there might be uh there might be kind of an inverse relationship or disparity between them. Uh, but I always have a follow-up conversation with the CEO or owner about the results. And through that conversation, I learn a lot more about their responses to those questions, which really answers, really touches on all of my standards. Yeah. Like the way that we interact really speaks to curiosity and innovation and the willingness to learn and consider new perspectives. And if that conversation is a lot of yeah, but and them just justifying how their way is the way, then I know, okay, this is this is probably not going to be a very innovative, open-minded relationship and may not be the best for me. And of course, you know, the the the money conversation is always an easy one. If the relationship starts where they're pinching pennies and they don't, they can't understand that it's truly an investment, as as investing in a piece of stock would be an investment because the work will yield returns, right? Then it's probably not a good relationship as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Yeah. And kind of switching gears a little bit here, but you obviously have a lot of experience in in the restaurant um industry.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

But you have mentioned um, and and there is some coaches would argue that maybe there are riches and niches. I don't know if niches, niches, I don't know. But for the rhymes perspective, we'll just say niches. Um, but you know, there is lanes that you've played in that you're comfortable in, right? Let's play in that. But you have mentioned that for for really a pursuit of greater fulfillment, that you're not just tied down to the restaurant industry. Can you talk a little bit about how you came to that conclusion and how you found that out? Of, hey, I want to look broader than just this one specific industry of being able to help that, even though my background says that I've been in this. Can you talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Sure. And and I what I do want to, I'd like to lead with saying there's nothing wrong with a coach choosing to hang out in a niche or niche.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Whichever.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

But but for me, this goes back to my this insatiable curiosity to want to be a lifelong learner and continue to grow in different ways. So that is really the fuel uh that kind of is my my uh my tailwind that pushes me forward uh with wanting to work in different industries and different size companies as well. But I would also submit the idea of what got us here won't get us there. And and so fresh perspective. Is really important. And sometimes if you are a SME, a subject matter expert that's always been in one niche, and then your client is asking you to solve a problem, you might go back to what you've always gone back to. And what it's really required is innovation and a different way of thinking and an aha moment that's hard, that's hard to come up with sometimes if you're stuck in in one world, right? And so what I find is I will pull aspects, aspects of different industries that I work in into different client engagements. And it's really interesting how sometimes it's those different ways of handling things that lead to really innovative ideas.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

I I feel like I have pulled so many things in technology from my time back in landscaping, which is just wild because those are just polar opposites. But at the same time, there are still core parts of what makes an organization tick and to do it well. And so I think that then allows you to tap into some things. But I I appreciate you sharing that. Switching, switching gears now into a different core competency. So we've talked a lot about mastery uh together and just what that means. You've already alluded to that. I mean, really, even what you said just a second ago alludes perfectly and segues into this. But can you talk about what mastery looks like and how you maintain that competitive edge in a, I don't know if I would call it a saturated industry, but there are a lot of coaches out there. How do you approach mastery to staying competitive?

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Part of what I lean in on uh is is actually how I chose to build myself back from my culinary days. Uh it is very attractive to clients when you are a strategist and and you're able to execute when you when you can when you can help plan and implement. Uh because there are problems in both sides of those equations with so many businesses. You know, if if you're if you're just executing with no plan, then that's just that's insanity. Uh but but you get nowhere if you're a great strategic planning team, but you can't get anything done, which happens quite often too, where teams have a real hard time executing. And so I would say that that for me, this uh the the continual learning and how I fortify myself as a coach is I continue to think about actively both sides of those equations. How do we create uh how do we identify the right strategy? That's not a strategic plan, that's coming up with the right strategy. Landing that strategy into a plan then becomes your strategic plan. But then how to operationalize it, how to activate it, how to create accountability, how to uh keep that rhythm of accountability because it's really easy to get out of the rhythm and people get tired about it. And if somebody's not watching, most people don't want to be under the lens. So they're like, hey, that's good with me. You know, the person who is facilitating the meetings is kind of losing their rhythm. So, you know, uh nobody's watching us anymore, kind of thing. And really what you want to do is you want to create a team sense of co-ownership. Uh, but I would say that kind of coming back to center in the question, just being able to really have a strength and strategy in execution, I think, is important. I continue to focus on it. And so, so with that in mind, I am always learning. And so professional development is very important. You mentioned earlier that I'm certified in a few things. And so, so through through each of those certifications, I'm actually required to continue to learn. As a scaling up coach, uh, as a SEPA, as a professional project manager, uh, I have to continue to learn. And so it's through the lens of strategy and execution that I am constantly learning new tools and techniques and ways of thinking about things and human psychology as it relates to those. We mentioned certifications, courses, networking and collaboration, being curious and meeting new people and asking them provocative questions and understanding how they do things and uh being open to different ideas. I'd say reading and research is really important. Um, getting feedback from my clients, like really open, honest feedback because I want to get better. So that's something else that I'm I'm focused on. Uh, mentorship and coaching. So I have my own coach, but I also am a mentor through a leadership group in the Triangle area of North Carolina, where I'll have a couple of mentees every year and they are from the community, and I don't get paid anything. It's just me giving back. Uh, but I think that being a mentor helps in getting those reps also contribute to one's coaching practice and how you interact with people and how you shift between being a coach and being an advisor, which are different, right? Um and uh and then I think the last thing is speech, speaking engagements, podcasts or or speaking at conferences. I think that that can really help fortify your coaching techniques and probably bring in some new tools for you to consider in order to be successful in those engagements.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Yeah, there's I feel like there's definitely something to be said about just the the reps of getting, you know, being in a in a session room, getting that, because there are situations that are gonna come up that after so many sessions, you're probably gonna have seen before. And so you know how to respond to that. So I think there's so much wisdom to that. But I love the aspect of having this you having a coach, but then also you going in and mentoring others. It's kind of that always having like going up and then being able to invest back in. I love that concept because there's value on both sides of that as you're working through and you're interacting with people that maybe not as quite far along as you are in their career journey and you're able to invest in them and port into them, you're gonna get things out of that that you probably wouldn't in another situation. Yeah. And then also having that someone that's a little bit further down and being able to go into. So I love that you pointed that out. But you've also mentioned that you are a big reader. Are there any specific tools that you use or specific, are you a nonfiction through and through, or do you go to all sorts of lanes? Can you kind of talk through that, that how you read?

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Yeah, sure. So uh if you don't mind, I'm going to recenter the topic as how I consume information. Sure. Uh, because I think it's a really like we as coaches have to consume a lot of information, whether it's directly from our clients or it's we're trying to get ahead of things and learn and bring new tools and techniques and ideas. So one tool that I lean on heavily is Blinkist.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:42

Uh, and I and I love it. And it has a lot of business books, not all of them, and they're open to recommendations, that's for sure. But it has a ton of business books. And I get recommendations all the time. Like weekly, I probably get you know 10 to 20 recommendations. Right. And so I'll I will check Blinkist first and see if they have their summary. And what they do is they create summaries, and then there's an audio version version of the summary too. So if if I am driving instead of being at my desk and being able to read, then I'll just listen to the summary. And if I find that there's enough uniqueness in the book, then I'll just buy it and I'll read the entire book or might listen to it more often just reading. Uh if it sounds a lot like uh other books that I have read and I under already understand the concepts, might just leave it in blankest and just go back to the the key points every once in a while. So that's uh uh then I'll I also have an audible account. So I'll listen to full books when I'm driving to see clients or when I'm flying to see clients. I have Kindle. Uh some books though, like the ones that I'm like, oh, this is this is gonna be a resource, right? It's not just a good read, but it's a resource. Then I'll also buy them in paperback or hard copy. And I'll earmark them and all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Yep. Gotta get the highlighters and the pins and all that out. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

There's something about holding a book, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:14

That's right. That's right. I feel like I'm old school in that way. My uh my wife is like, you need to sell some books before you buy some more. We don't have any more room.

unknown 31:22

Like, there's always room.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

My like stairs on my uh going up to my office are like lined with books right now. I'm like, oh boy, she was right. Yeah, that's right. Um, no, there's something about that, that hunger and that ambition to to go in and learn, but I think you hit it because there is, and I have felt this tension. We are in a very content-heavy culture now. Everyone goes out and writes blogs and articles, and it almost feels like everyone has a book now. And it is almost overwhelming. And so I think a tool like Blinkus is great because then, and I love the you, it's not replacing the resource or the book or diving into that. It's more of almost a qualification of let me invest. I'm not sure how long the summaries are, but maybe 10-15 minutes. I don't know. Like, but you go in and uh I can give 10 minutes to understand if this book is gonna be worth anything, and then man, this is really good. Let me dive into this, and then I can go in, and that saves you from having all sorts of resources that may have you may have eight of the same one, but then you can utilize this tool. So I I appreciate you sharing that a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

Yeah, my pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

I I'm a big reader as well, and it's those little tools are great because it does, it allows you to understand just a summary of it is sometimes all you need to get the key points and then determine yes, I want to dive into this or no, already already feel like I'm comfortable on this.

SPEAKER_01 32:57

Yeah, there's a real balance in life, right? Between like the certainly the concept and the work that we're doing of bringing new ideas to our client partners and being well read. But the other ideas, this is all you get. Like this is it. Time is our greatest asset. And so that sensitivity to not burn a lot of time reading about the same idea, kind of just uh worded in a slightly different way. I'm I'm sensitive about that. So, you know, back to Blinkist, it is and it's such an easy investment. I think it's like a hundred bucks a year or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:35

Uh if for for a tool that I use like every day. Right. That's fantastic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

And it probably would even, I mean, as you starts to learn, you may give recommendations based on like previous type, you know, resources. So then you're probably learning new books, maybe. So um, so on let's keep going on the on the tech stack uh aspect where we have you know a little bit of blink is from a development aspect, but what other technologies do you utilize? Do you have a CRM for for how you manage your clients or any other practice management tools? I'd love to learn a little bit more about that if you don't mind sharing.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

No, no, I don't. I use ClickUp for my CRM. And uh and then the other two pieces of software. So I and then I use a variety of other pieces of software. And it really depends on my client. So two pieces of software I'll use with many of my clients. One is uh it's scaling up cash, it's fueled by uh uh cash flow story that is for really planning and monitoring uh profitability and cash flow, and it has some really great valuation tools in it so you can track the improvement of enterprise value over time. And then another piece of software and associated reports is uh capitalize. Um, and that's a pretty fantastic planning and valuation tool that is uh certainly more focused on a company that's really intentional about exiting. So, you know, I'd I'd use certainly um the scaling up cash with with any client and then capitalize with clients, and and then as well, I would use capitalize with clients who are intending to exit in a certain period of time. So those are two pieces of software that I use pretty frequently. And then uh and then as well, I meet my I meet my clients where they're at. And so that's it's a really interesting point you bring up. I think another aspect of being a really good business coach is being a technophile, truly loving and embracing technology. And um, and that oftentimes will mean meeting our clients where they're at. So for example, you know, I love 90.io. It's a fantastic piece of software. But some of my clients just got done implementing an ERP and and uh and they are they have no more gas in the tank uh to learn another piece of software, right? And so there's a timing thing going on where it's not a uh never to 90. It's uh this is not the right time to implement it implement a new piece of software with them. So I'll build a an event, I'll build an environment in Google Sheets if they're a Google shop or in Microsoft Excel 365 if they're a Microsoft shop and create a simple tool to track all of the key elements going from strategic planning through our weekly meeting rhythms, right? And it's simple. There are a lot of bells and whistles that you don't get, you get in 90, but it it gets us by for the time being. And then when they're ready, then we go back to a more sophisticated tool that's programmed by talented folks like your team. Uh, and then we'll implement those new tools. Um I've used Asana and ClickUp and Trello, uh, and and had to stay agile and creative because sometimes these are this is what you get. You, you know, this it's an Asana shop. They're not gonna adopt anything other than Asana. And by the way, Asana is a perfectly fantastic program too. Um, and um, and so you just kind of have to figure out like, where am I gonna put all this stuff to make it work? Uh, so I would say that that's that's my bid on technology is that it's part of our jobs as business coaches to to really embrace technology, to know technology, uh, and to work with our clients to kind of meet them where they're at. And then hopefully we'll get that window and the pains enough where we can bring in a new piece of technology that really optimizes that kind of strategic uh planning, lands it somewhere, uh, allows us to convert strategy to tactics and then create accountability, which 90 does so well.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

Yeah, man. I I appreciate you saying that. Didn't make him say that, so I appreciate that. That's true. Uh no, but it's so true though, because I think it goes back to what I said earlier. I mean, it's a content heavy uh culture now, right? Yeah, yeah. And that goes in with software heavy too. It can very easily be you have 10 softwares to run your business before you know it. And it then it's like, oh my gosh, it's too much. And so I think there's a lot of wisdom to be said around there of understanding where your clients are at, where are they at in their specific organizational journey, and then understanding, you know, be a master of everything, but at least understanding where the different tech stack is gonna come in so you can recommend that. I I love that because I do see, and and how would you challenge, because there is sometimes a little bit of a not a stigma, but maybe that's the best way to explain it around technology in the business coaching world. How would you counteract that even more than what you've already said to a coach that's maybe like, no, it's just it's the conceptual that matters? How would you you argue the the the the usage of technology and almost what you just explained?

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Yeah, I mean, I I think that the tools are what create the insurance policy for creating accountability and getting results. And so uh I I agree that part of our job as a business coach is the conceptual and the vision and landing the the strategy, right? But all of that information has to land somewhere. And I think we're doing our clients a disservice if we don't land it somewhere that is actionable. Uh and and when I say actionable, okay, you might not take action with a finalized vision statement, but at least accessible, easily accessible. So for example, with core values, when we're going to make a really important hiring decision or deciding if we want to do it, go and get into a JV with company XYZ, we we have easy access to our core values to say, does this meet who we are? Right? Oh, it sure does. Great. There's an action though that we need here. Yep, right here, because we're right in the system where our core values live, and we can create an action item. But now an issue comes up. You're right. We didn't think about the whole insurance play here, and we need to talk about that as a team. Well, where is that gonna go? Oh, well, we have an area for issues, and we're gonna talk about that at our next strategy meeting, you know, our next 90-minute meeting next week. And so having a place to put everything is so important. I think as a business coach, you create such a more substantial asset, a stronger return on investment for your client if you insist that there's a place to put everything. And the easier you can access it, the better.

SPEAKER_00 41:08

Man, couldn't have said it better myself. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

Uh that's where it's at. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_00 41:12

I mean because it there's so much information, and I'm I'm a communication guy, right? There is so much loss of communication because it stays in someone's head and they're the ones that have that information and they're the gate holder of that, and it doesn't get documented anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Or Cam, it's it's a it's a picture of a whiteboard from your session that's in somebody's drive, right? Who knows where it is, rather than landed in a piece of software that everybody can access. And they're like, Yep, that was from our meeting on December 3rd, and that was our final vision statement that everybody agreed to. We have a single source of truth. We know where to go for this, right? Yes, so important.

SPEAKER_00 41:55

Absolutely. Well, Ben, thank you so much for coming on and sharing just so much wisdom. I I've enjoyed this conversation, but I always like to ask guests just two questions as we conclude. And the first one is if you had to go back to Rookie Ben with all the knowledge and experience and all of the different frameworks that you've taught and experiences you've had with clients, with all that knowledge, what advice would you give yourself just starting out?

SPEAKER_01 42:30

So I'm I I'm gonna change the context a little bit of your question. I'm gonna answer the question, but it the answer might be uh unexpected. Okay. Um, and this goes out to the owners and the CEOs of the world. I would pay more attention to my health. I I would I would get I would really focus on mind, body, and soul health. And I uh I bit I I am into Peter Atiya and Andrew Herberman, and uh and so like understanding what your VO2 max is, to know that your cardiovascular health is is good. And you know, we as as owners and and uh and CEOs and business leaders, we should be accustomed to KPIs. So knowing your VO2 max, knowing your APOB, which is a is a measurement of your cholesterol, it's one of the now I think is probably one of the most important measures of good health. Um, your A1C for blood sugar. And here's the reason why I'm saying this the mind, body, and soul health. We have an entire organization counting on us, right? They're counting on our good energy and our positive attitude and setting an example. And we have all the stresses of running a business. And it's no joke, it is lonely at the top. And the healthier you are, the better energy, the better psyche you're gonna have, the better you're gonna feel going. Home and being a spouse or a parent to your children. And so that is what I am. I am consuming that advice myself. And I'm not saying it's easy to do, but I would say that that is some solid, solid self-advice. And for others, is like get vigilant about like owning your health, mind, body, and soul.

SPEAKER_00 44:27

And that's, yes, that's a good word, whether you are, like you said, a business leader or or a business coach, because it can be so easy to just white knuckle and grind and go, go, go, go, go. Cause I feel like, especially with the kind of people that I am surrounded with at 90, whether that's ambitious founders or ambitious coaches, there's this idea of ambition, which typically means working really hard and going after something. And it's so easy to neglect. The most important thing is your health. And if you can't be healthy, you can't be going at that same pace.

SPEAKER_01 45:07

Well, here's a cool thing, Cam is that if you are healthy, if you prioritize that, other people will see that.

SPEAKER_00 45:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

Then they are going to feel the license to do the same thing themselves because there is no mistake a power dynamic, right? Between the CEO and owner and the rest of their company. And if they see that that's okay, it is okay for me to focus on not only okay, but it's it's recommended that I focus on my well-being, my health, then you're gonna have a team of healthy people and you're gonna be able to actually run faster because everybody is is fit in every way, right?

SPEAKER_00 45:42

Yes. Good stuff. And then second question that I always like to ask, and you are you can be as open, vulnerable, whatever you want on this question as you'd like, but what is a lesson that you're in the middle of learning right now in this moment?

SPEAKER_01 45:58

I would say that um knowing that that mental health, this is back to health, but this is a sensitive topic. Yeah, that everybody needs help to make sure that their psyche is in check. And that not only is it okay, but it is highly intelligent, I would submit, for all of us to have a therapist. Yes, somebody who is a prof they are subject matter experts at tuning up our our brains and our psyche. Why wouldn't we hire somebody that is an expert at doing that? There they have tools in their toolkit that we can't imagine until we learn them. And so I would, I'm, I'm in the middle, I have, I have, I have become practiced recently at that, and it's so very helpful for a variety of different reasons, right? And I would really share that with everybody else that that listens to this podcast. It's okay. There's nothing there's nothing broken about us getting a therapist. It's just like hiring a mechanic. You're not gonna fix your car yourself because you don't know you don't even know how to. Or you might see the tool, but you really don't know how to use it. And uh, and so that's that's my response to that question.

SPEAKER_00 47:22

Man, that's that's good. I I appreciate you sharing that. Um good word. Uh I've got a therapist and it is uh it is very helpful to get things out and have that sounding board.

SPEAKER_02 47:33

So absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

Um so if people want to get in touch with you, maybe they want to learn a little bit more about your coaching services, or maybe they do as a peer-to-peer, want to dialogue on some of the things we talked about. What's the best place to get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_01 47:46

Yeah, hey, thanks for asking that. So my website is w uh. I pronounce it acco-o. Uh so A-C-U-O-H-BC, that stands for businessconsulting uh.com. And then my email address is Ben at ACUO, BC.com. If you decide to email me, if you wouldn't mind popping in uh 90.io podcast, it'll just help me understand how we were connected. Uh, but I'd be happy to connect with you and share my story and look forward to hearing yours as well.

SPEAKER_00 48:21

Love that. Yeah, we'll link all that out in the show notes and and some of the other tools that Ben has mentioned and some concepts. We'll link out to all those in the show notes. So if people are interested in getting in touch with you. But Ben, thank you so much for coming on and having this conversation. I know I have benefited from it. Um, lots of uh just tidbits of wisdom of just your experience. So I appreciate you coming on and and sharing that. And uh, for those of you that are listening, um, we are passionate about helping ambitious coaches build their practice. We're still learning all of this as we're going out and having dialogues, but as we talk to ambitious coaches like Ben, we learn more about that. So if you want a dialogue on that, feel free to reach out to me. Would be happy to talk with you and learn more about your practice and some of the goals of how we can come in and help you build the practice of your dreams. Thanks. Take care. Cheers. That's it for today's episode of the Ambitious Coach Lab. My hope is that something here helps you sharpen your craft and keep building a coaching practice you're proud of. Before we wrap, a quick thank you to our sponsor, 90. If you're coaching leadership teams, having your clients run their entire world in 90 truly elevates your work. Vision, rocks, scorecards, issues, it all lives in one centralized place. The clarity keeps your clients aligned between sections and makes every conversation you have with them more focused and more impactful. I've used 90 with over 500 leadership teams, and I can tell you it makes great companies better and great coaches even more effective. Feel free to use promo code AC20 for 20% off. Again, that's AC20 for 20% off. Thanks for hanging out with me today. I'm Cam. Cheering you on as you grow your ambitious coaching practice. We'll see you next time.