3 top tips from Renee Russo
1. The Power of Focus
The first step is the power of focus.
Just getting very clear where you want to go, getting really clear on that, being able to see it, and name it by being able to write out what your life looks like three years from now, or what the year looks like at the end of this year, is really powerful.
When we then start to manifest the actions around executing on that, so focus is important to be able to see where you want to go. But also be very specific around what you gotta do, and what you’re best at. And so, for me professionally, I’ve been able to identify what I’m good at and what I’m not. And put that to work every day. And in businesses, when you can get focused around what you’re best at. And to be best at the world in the world app, you can create really powerful focus, you put all your energy into that and you know, you have more power.
So focus is key.
2. The Power of Discipline
Discipline, you know, the only person who can truly hold you accountable truly is yourself.
And so making commitments around discipline, just like we do, you know, with fitness and health, it’s the same in your profession, in your business. So first of all instilling good discipline in the way that you as an individual show up, then having integrity around, holding good discipline and being your best self. But then, in the organization as well, creating that heartbeat of good discipline in the business is essential for sustainable growth, and good momentum.
3. The Power of Believing
The last one is believing.
You know, I always say the only difference between those who do and those who don’t, is those who believe they can.
And I spent a lot of my early years, looking for other people to believe in me. And as time has gone by, I realized that I just need to believe in me, I need to decide, I need to be willing to give myself permission to thrive, I need to believe in myself first. And in that you unlock all this potential, all this fear mentality starts to go away. And you’ve got this deep rooted belief in what you’re capable of. And that certainly has helped myself and a lot of people that I coach get to their next level of performance through just simply believing that they can
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
business, implementer, people, work, eos, clients, tool, helping, industry, discipline, challenges, professional, share, parent, life, gave, learn, thrive, continue, podcast
SPEAKERS
Renee Russo, Debra Chantry-Taylor
Debra Chantry-Taylor 00:12
Welcome to another episode of Better Business, Better Life. I’m your host, Debra Chantry-Taylor. I’m passionate about helping entrepreneurs and their leadership teams get what they want at a business and life. On the show, I invite successful business owners and expert speakers to share their successes. They are open and honest about the highs and lows of business and also life as a business owner. We want to share those learnings with you to inspire you, but also to help you avoid some of the common mistakes. My hope is that you take something from each of these short episodes that you can put into action to help you get what you want. Not only out of your business, but also your life. Good morning, and welcome to another episode of Better Business, Better Life today I’m very privileged to have many Renee Russo with me when he is a certified EOS implementer based out of Canada, and really great to have you on with us this morning.
Renee Russo 01:03
Thanks for having me here.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 01:04
Oh, absolute pleasure. Hey Renee, I’d love to get a little bit of a sense of who you are, and what to become on your journey throughout life in business. So would you mind sharing with us your story so far? And perhaps a professional and personal best that you’d like to share with us?
Renee Russo 01:20
Hmm, absolutely. Well, I grew up in Melbourne, Australia, in a very humble, hard working middle class family, my parents had a couple of jobs, um, you know, providing opportunities for my brother and I. And so early on, I learned the importance of hard work and discipline. I happened to be good at numbers at school and this teachers said, you should become an accountant. And because my parents had not finished high school, I really didn’t understand what a lot of professions were. And so follow that path and found myself at KPMG, where I began my professional journey. And as I passed around the firm and worked in and out of businesses, I realized that I love the inner workings of the business and the people more than I liked the general ledger. So, I pursued the path of people became an HR professional recruiter, as well as advisor, and in that started to learn the real power of the human potential and businesses. Around that time, I also married a visionary entrepreneur, he was Canadian, born and raised. And so I took a leap of faith and came out to Canada to begin my life with him. And what I realized was that in entrepreneurship, there was very little gameplan. And there was not really a known science around how to run a great company. And so I’ve watched my husband put more and more time and energy into the business and get over time, less and less back. And something didn’t add up. So, in a call to universe, my brother gave me a copy of Traction, which gave me your tools and disciplines and everything I needed to help stabilize the business, scale it 30% growth year on year, multiple locations, and actually have a life outside of it. And in that I realized that if we could do it, anybody could do it. And I discovered that you could become a professional in helping people to transform their business and get everything they want from it. So that’s what I do now.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 03:26
Perfect. Okay, so typical visionary, your husband, would you say? Definitely, yeah. And so with that, you know, personally coming into my path, as an implementer, I started to understand the integrator seat. So, personally coming into understanding my role in my marriage, and in my family, and how I could capitalize on a lot of my natural abilities to be, you know, a great mother to my family, was very enlightening for me and a real highlight in my path, I didn’t see myself necessarily as a parent, having children and then when I came into that opportunity, have three beautiful children, I kick me to say my role as the, you know, the glue in my family, the one who makes sure that we’re acting in the greater good. So that was a real highlight for me becoming a parent and coming into my myself on a personal level. And in and around that time, I also started to unlock some superpowers professionally, and so re entering the workforce, after many years home with my children would have to be my professional highlight. So motherhood and then coming out of that into the professional world, was my professional highlight for sure. So I’m very, very lucky to have had opportunities to experience both and now juggling the two of them proves to be continued, challenging and continues to be a little bit of a challenge, but rewarding nonetheless. So, now with my role as an EOS implementer, I can be the mum, I want to be on the professional as well. Tell me a bit more about your superpowers.
Renee Russo 05:12
Oh, um, you my high level of empathy, and compassion and the ability to see the human and others with forgiveness, and kindness. You know, parenting taught me that my yoga practice taught me that, you know, this was really… I lead from the heart. And I’ve found that it never really fails me. So leading with my heart, seeing the human in others has allowed me to, you know, continue to thrive personally and professionally.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 05:42
And how did you come to uncover that persona? Often people struggle with… They do what they do, because they don’t ever told you that fall into it. Obviously, you love what you do, that’s very obvious. And you kind of uncover those superpowers and discover the truth. Yeah, well, in this work, I mean, as an EOS implementer, I have the pleasure of teaching, coaching and facilitating, and I’ve learned that I have the ability to, you know, manage a room. And with good facilitation, just like I would manage my household. You know, the coaching piece, that’s a consistent messaging, helping people see that blind spots, and that just natural, empathetic maternal side of me, allows me to, then, you know, take what I observed to you know, warmly, communicating that to people and helping them grow and thrive. And then the teaching part, I feel what I love about the teaching elements of being an EOS implementer, is that I learned too, and so I’m simultaneously the student and the teacher in the room, and I can love that. So yeah, I’ve been able to really celebrate things that I naturally gravitate to in my profession. It’s amazing. I’m just interested, so does your husband still have his own businesses that still?
Renee Russo 07:04
He does. Yeah. He had a copier and IT business
Debra Chantry-Taylor 07:07
Fantastic. And so when you implement EOS, people often think that, you know, they go into business, because they’re really passionate what they do, they want to grow it usually to get more freedom, more money, more time. And often, like we said, it gets busier and busier, and they have less and less freedom, less, less time, and often less money as well. So what were the kinds of key challenges that you managed to uncover going for the EOS process? And how did you overcome it?
Renee Russo 07:08
Oh, so much in there! So yeah, my husband founded the business and had great dreams and ambitions, but was not able to communicate that to other people, and help align them around that. And so what he didn’t realize was that so long as the vision was in his head, it was never going to become a reality. And so in this work, you know, I realized that was a challenge. And then this beautiful opportunity with the EOS framework to get very clear on the vision and share it with everybody. So that was really great. And needed, very much needed. And the thing about small business, when you found it, you get very stuck in the day to day and lose perspective on it. And he was so in the weeds of the business and entrenched in every aspect of it. He had a hard time developing the structure, and then also the trust, to delegate things to other people and trust that they will do their work. And so this gave organizational transparency and accountability that he could then hold people to those expectations. Or he could get clear on those expectations, and frankly, get more people doing what he wanted and needed to make the world go around. But I feel like it’s the dream that entrepreneurs are chasing into their business. And seldom do they realize the dream while they still own the business. And the power of starting to actualize the vision is like a dream coming true. And so you need to be able to share that vision and have the right people to then make it a reality. And I feel that these challenges were not just present in our business, spent in every entrepreneurial business that I start working with. And so that being clarifying that it wasn’t just us, we didn’t just suck ourselves. We didn’t know any better, because we didn’t have a playbook to navigate.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 07:58
Awesome. So you’ve been implementing now for how long?
Renee Russo 09:39
This coming February will be my fourth year.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 09:43
So you obviously work with a number of different clients and about. Do you have a favorite sort of type of industry that you’d like to work with? Or what’s your view on? Yeah, Home Services is one of the industries that I’m fascinated by you know, your furnace, your plumbing, your central cooling and heating and things like that. That demand continues to increase over time. And so it’s a business that has a lot of upside potential. And I’m always curious, though the demand continues to increase why they don’t scale and and revolve through those ceilings. And so you know, as has helped unlock a lot of that potential and help my home services company get to the next level. every industry has its, you know, its uniqueness and gift. And that’s what keeps me coming back to my work, I work at the moment across 23 different industries with clients. So that means that and then I’ve got some depth in the Home Services. But that means I’m gaining insights into all these different industries, which then I can start to connect the dots and share some of that insight across industries who never thought about, you know, what they could learn, a marketing company could learn from an HR company or a plumbing company, or what a construction company could learn from, you know, like a retail store, there’s not a lot of cross industry learning that takes place. And so yeah, that’s what I really love about this work. I must admit, I had the same kind of situation I was at the Ice House, I work with both startup businesses, and established businesses. And what I found was that there were so many learnings that both could take from each other. And so by working across the board range of, you know, sizes, startup through the established, but also across different industries, gave me a great chance yet to learn and share with other parts as well. And some of the EOS, so tell me about your success story, I guess, with an EOS client.
Renee Russo 11:53
Oh, yeah. I got to work with a beverage canning company during COVID. Because a lot of the breweries were not selling to restaurants anymore, they would sell direct to the market in Cannes, a client of mine was happened to be in that space, already a high demand industry. But they were not immune to COVID. And though the business was thriving, the human elements of what was taking place were real, you know, the ability for people to work to access childcare, to, you know, the safety levels around showing up to work. And so watching them navigate through that and continue to stay strong and steady throughout, has been fascinating. They have also simultaneously gone through the challenges of COVID an exponentially growing revenue. And so watching the not only manage, but also scale and continue to use the EOS tools to adjust at every stage of that rapid growth has been really powerful to watch. So it can help. EOS can help with the challenges you’re experiencing, you know, because of complex external factors, but also, you know, rapid scale. So watching that duality take place has been amazing. Yeah, I mean, so many others, you know, an automotive company, a dealership, they had silos across sales and service and parts, and there was a lot of tension, and now they move as one unit. And in that industry, their silos are pretty deeply entrenched. And watching them overcome that and come together as one team has been amazing.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 13:37
Do you have a favorite EOS tool? I know that there’s a few in the toolbox that we have a favorite one for you?
Renee Russo 13:43
Um, well, I would say to like the level 10 agenda. You know, I don’t know if I could ever go to a meeting without an agenda now. And nor can my clients tolerate that. So we take turning, you know, bad meetings around and that whether you’re using EOS as a system, or just that tool alone, you can get a lot of, you know, wins on the board with very little effort. And the people analyzer, like I mentioned, some of my clients were in downturn during COVID. And then others were in upswing, but that tool, is like a market, you know, independent agnostic, because and whether you’re an upturn or downturn, it can be used in both ways. So what types of people are we going to add to our employee base? And what types of people do we need to let go off when we need to scale back or just because we need to make changes as a business. So it’s powerful, and it really creates some level of objectivity around a very otherwise uncomfortable and subjective topic, which is human performance in the business. And so when we’re really looking at their alignment and how well they live the core values alongside how they’re technically performing in the work, we can get to the root of a lot of issues and have more confidence around acting on those, and also make better hires when we’re bringing people into the business. So it’s a cost saving tool, it reduces the complexity, and allows us to make more people decisions more confidently,
Debra Chantry-Taylor 15:15
I must admit the level 10 meeting for what you said, even if you’re not using EOS bringing that strap from making such a big difference. And I was talking to a client the other day, who basically shared with me, they reached 50%, on top of their target already, and there are only a few months into the year. And I asked them what they thought it actually created, that most of the level 10 meeting tool has just kept them really focused. And so now with all the projects that they found that over a long, long time, it never quite got finished, or actually being completed. And that is leading to increase in sales and also productivity. So it’s amazing how those simple tool really can make such a significant difference.
Renee Russo 15:54
Absolutely, yeah.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 15:55
And the people analyzer, I know that hiring on values is important. But it’s difficult sometimes to do that. That gives you a really great tip. As well as letting go of the length.
Renee Russo 16:09
Yeah, you know when Seattle was closing down, my one of my clients has five coffee shops there. And they needed to go down basically, to skeleton staff like they’ve never seen before. And the first tool instinctually that they got out was the people analyzer, they just knew that they needed to use it more, with more scrutiny than ever before. And then those people have written out the storm and now continue to stay with them.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 16:35
Hey, look, I always like to share some tips with our listeners, because I want them to be able to walk away, not only inspired by your story and your help, but to actually go and do something quite practical, quite pragmatic. So what would you say are the three top tips you could share from your experiences, either with your husband’s business an implementer, that the listeners could take on board?
Renee Russo 16:56
Yeah, great. I always think in threes. Anyway, I have three kids and I my ideas coming through. So that’s a perfect number. I think the first step is the power of focus, just getting very clear where you want to go, getting really clear on that, being able to see it, and name it by being able to write out what your life looks like three years from now, or what the year looks like at the end of this year, is really powerful. Because when we then start to manifest the actions around executing on that, so focus is important to be able to see where you want to go. But also be very specific around what you gotta do, and what you’re best at. And so for, for me professionally, I’ve been able to identify what I’m good at and what I’m not. And put that to work every day. And in businesses, when you can get focused around what you’re best at. And to be best at the world in the world app, you can create really powerful focus, you put all your energy into that and you know, you have more power. So focus is key. Discipline, you know, the only person who can truly hold you accountable truly is yourself. And so making commitments around discipline, just like we do, you know, with fitness and health, it’s the same in your profession, in your business. So first of all instilling good discipline in the way that you as an individual show up, man having integrity around, holding good discipline and being your best self. But then in the organization as well, creating that heartbeat of good discipline in the business is essential for sustainable growth, and good momentum. And, and the last one is believing, you know, I always say the only difference between those who do and those who don’t, is those who believe they can. And, you know, I spent a lot of my early years, looking for other people to believe in me. And as time has gone by, I realized that I just need to believe in me, I need to decide, I need to be willing to give myself permission to thrive, I need to believe in myself first. And in that you unlock all this potential, all this fear mentality starts to go away. And you’ve got this deep rooted belief in what you’re capable of. And that certainly has helped myself and a lot of people that I coach get to their next level of performance through just simply believing that they can
Debra Chantry-Taylor 19:23
That’s the cat feeder deciding to feed the cats right in the middle of our podcast.
Renee Russo 19:30
Well, fortunately, was there was a pause
Debra Chantry-Taylor 19:33
It’s all good. It’s one of the joys of recording from home. Okay, so I suppose one of the things that I have found over the last, you know, 12 months with COVID going on, a lot of people seem to be sort of really trying to fight fires and maybe not finding the time for these small things that you talked about the focus, the clarity of finding yourself later. What would you suggest that they do? How do they lift themselves out of the weeds so out of the fire fighting to actually take the time to do the stuff that is really important.
Renee Russo 20:05
Mm hmm. Yeah, I mean, I feel that there’s three parts to that some kind of a coach, who you have a structured relationship with, that really kind of hold you accountable to stepping back from your world, and getting some clarity around it and taking ownership and things like that. So important peer group, you know, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort and making the same mistakes that your peers are making when you actually have a structured peer group environment for shared learning. And then you can gain insights that you wouldn’t really have read in a book or maybe necessarily experienced on your own. And then a good system around doing that work, stepping out of the business to work on it. So an operating system that drives a discipline, and that instills it in the business is powerful. And if you don’t have the operating system like EOS in place, you can certainly just create a more structured approach to literally stepping out of the business, taking a clarity, break, getting clear and objective, or taking your leadership team out of the business so that you could all gain that clarity and objectivity. So those are the kind of three success factors, I think.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 21:15
So what does this next year hold for you?
Renee Russo 21:18
Well, yeah, I’m really enjoying my work as an EOS implemented coach. And so I’m taking on a new batch of implementers to coach they’re taking my coaching up to a whole new level, which inspires me and keeps me learning. So like the teacher and the student piece there. My practice is strong, there’s a little bit of a, you know, a moving up the tide in with EOS clients every 3 years. And so some of my relationships with existing clients are starting to come to an end. And I’m taking on some new opportunities. So it keeps me fresh and excited about the future as I start to then, you know, proudly, you know, graduate some clients as well. So, a bit of change.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 22:02
our purpose is not to be there forever, it’s that help them get to a point where they can go do it and they can do it by themselves. And that must be a great feeling once you get to that stage.
Renee Russo 22:12
Yeah, and more structured, free days, planning to take more blocks of time having the right team in place around me allows me then to step back from my business and have a vacation so more structured vacations and a bit more travel. It’s been a while.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 22:26
It’s been a while hasn’t it? That’s great. Hey, look. So if anybody wants to get in contact with you, I guess around either using you as an EOS implementer or interested in your coaching, how would they get hold of you Renee?
Renee Russo 22:39
a few means to do that. You can even email me directly. And details can be provided after today. You can follow me on my website, which is riseupbc.com And my social profiles are Rene Russo EOS. So social media, I’m very active, have quite a range of amazing conversations every week in that space. So that’s a really quick and easy way to reach out. But then lastly, the EOS worldwide directory is a really great place EOSworldwide.com you can find not just me but the rest of my implementer community, including Debra on there and so really powerful way to, you know, reach out to us as a community.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 23:26
I really appreciate you taking the time. I’m not quite sure what time is it over there, at the moment?
Renee Russo 23:30
It’s 3:30 in the afternoon, the day before you.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 23:36
So you’re still on Monday. Well, you have a fantastic rest of your Monday. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. And I’ll look at catching up with you again soon.
Renee Russo 23:45
Awesome. Thank you so much.
Debra Chantry-Taylor 23:47
Thanks again for joining us some Better Business, Better Life with me Your host Debra Chantry-Taylor. If you enjoy what you heard, then please subscribe to this podcast. And let us help you to get what you want out of business in life. Each week we release a new short episode which will give a success story and three takeouts to put into action immediately. These will help you take your business from good to great. The podcast is also supported by free resources, templates and useful tools, which you can find at DebraChantry-Taylor.com. I am a trained entrepreneur leadership and business coach, a professional ers implementer and an established business owner myself. I work with established businesses to help them get what they want. Feel free to contact me if you’d like to have a chat about how I might be to help you. Or if you’d like to join me as a guest on this podcast. Thanks again to entered audio editors for producing this podcast. See you on the next episode.
Debra Chantry-Taylor
Professional EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner
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