EXPERIENCE 133 | Jennifer Lewis - EOS Implementer | Mom | Rare Disease Advocate - Leveraging Business Impact Through Sales Operations, Relationships, and EOS Implementations

Jennifer Lewis grew up in West Loveland in an entrepreneurial family and started her career with Mr. Neats Formalwear when she was 15 years old. She excelled in sales and relationship building and became a store manager and part of the leadership team at the age of 19. She took early morning and late night classes at UNC after high school. And quickly shifted from a medical track to a business track in her education and stayed on with Mr. Neitz as they grew to a total of 19 locations before selling to a larger enterprise that she soon departed. Jennifer journeyed through a high impact career in the years to follow with breaks for lifestyle and marriage and children and after some time away from the industry, she joined another fast growing formal wear company with her previous boss and mentor. She ascended to the VP of sales role as the company continued to grow through a season of industry decline. A later career stop was leading sales for a consulting and training company that was utilizing the entrepreneurial operating system. And she quickly fell in love with the framework. Now 20 months into her own entrepreneurial journey, Jennifer has been helping companies as an EOS implementer, driven by a heart for people and strong experience leading sales and building relationships. I'm certain you'll love her story and her heart and be blessed by the many business insights she shares in this episode. So please enjoy, as I did, my conversation with Jennifer Liss. Welcome back to the Loco Experience Podcast. I'm joined today by Jennifer Lewis, and Jennifer is a professional EOS implementer, and that is the Entrepreneur's Operating System, right? Yes, that's right. And, uh, yeah, we've, you, you're actually our second or third EOS implementer on the show, but we've spaced them out. So, uh, for listeners that haven't listened to previous, What's that mean? What do you go about doing? Yeah. So EOS, um, is the entrepreneurial operating system. And so it's a set of, uh, tools and processes that help entrepreneurs get whatever they want out of their business. So the type of clients that I typically work with are clients that are, you know, stuck hitting a ceiling, uh, whether it's profit or they just. can't seem to get the right people in the business and they're just feeling like they need to get to or they feel like they need to get to the next level and they just don't know what to do. And so I really enjoy working with entrepreneurs that are growth minded and just really want to get unstuck and want to scale their business. Do they have to be stuck? They don't. I mean, they could be growing just not as fast as they would like to or whatever. Absolutely. If they, they want to, you know, scale their business and just want to get to the next level and things are going really, really great. Um, and they just want a little bit of help with either processes or people. Um, I'm, I'm always happy to work with them. And that's kind of the, the idea is, is having a system like not organically growing a system to, to, Solve problems as you create new problems as you grow, but more of. intentionally developing a system or implementing an existing system into their business? Yeah. So every business has an operating system. Uh, it's just whether it's working or not for you. So, um, it's, you know, how you come in and, um, hire people or it's how you, you know, deliver a product or a service. And so those Everyone has an operating system. It just kind of depends if it's like delivering you results, whether they're good or they're bad. So, I guess, what are the commonalities of the U. S. system, like, because there's all different kinds of businesses can use it, I trust, whether they be wholesalers or manufacturers or whatever. Yes. What's that toolkit look like or the similarities? Yeah, absolutely. So EOS is actually agnostic, so it doesn't matter what type of business that you have. Um, it could be a product based business or it could be a service based business. Um, all you have to have is, uh, people and a product or a service that you're actually, you know, offering. Already selling. Yes. Exactly. Not appropriate necessarily for real small businesses or startups. Right. Because there's just not enough there to mold yet. Exactly. Yes. Um, so EOS, I run my business on EOS and I'm a solo paneur. Okay. And so it, it works for any type of business, but you have, You should have, um, you know, a product or service that's already established. And, um, typically I love working with companies that have 10 or more employees. Um, just because they, that, that's where we see people start getting a little bit stuck is when they have a little bit more employees. Can you lay out kind of the, the. the big picture theme of traction. I often describe kind of that visionary integrator relationship when I'm relating to, you know, would be members or things like that because a lot of people have read it. But how does that shake down into the implementation? Yeah, definitely. So there's six key components of the EOS model, um, vision, people, data. issues, uh, process and traction. And so we go through a deep dive of actually how to implement that into your business. So my, typically people that I work, clients that I work with, uh, we work with them for about two years to implement EOS. And so I meet with them once a month for 90 days to implement, um, the traction basically. And then I start meeting with them on a quarterly basis. And, um, we do an annual style retreat, uh, once a year. And so we do that for two years. And so my job is not to instill myself into their business, but to help them become experts of EOS. And so that's what I'm there to do is take. teach them, uh, EOS, coach them and uh, facilitate, uh, their meetings to make sure that we're doing the very best for what's best for the company. And you go kind of stepwise through those six pillars kind of, or is it a little bit of time? Yeah. So it's incremental learning. Um, and that's why, you know, we have, we're meeting once a month for 90 days. Um, and so we do, um, Uh, it, we go through a process in which that we teach the tools. Um, so there's an accountability chart, um, and how we structure the business and we wanna really build a great foundation, um, first. Yeah. And so that's how we, we start. And so I basically, it's almost like listing all the things that the business does. And then who's responsible for that? Exactly, yeah. So the accountability chart is, um, basically roles and responsibilities for the business. And so we always, um, take a structure first approach and then people second. And so we start building out what should the business look like, you know, six months to a year from now for them to account for the type of growth that they want to have. I think about that sometimes with, with local think tank, right? Like. I've built it largely on a relationship sales standpoint, but if we're going to scale geographically, we'll probably have to up our marketing game more and our lead generation and follow ups and being more systematized so that those future franchisees or licensees or whatever can really maximize their opportunity to grow and scale in their marketplaces. Absolutely. But it's not what we're doing now. Very good at least and so imagining that that future state and then how to get there Yeah, it seems like an interesting case. The best way to predict the future is to create the future. And so that is Is so true. You would have to figure out what what is it that I need? In order to get what I want out of my business and so what would that structure look like and I would imagine from like an ops standpoint you would have to have somebody that you know, has systematized how you run your, your peer advisory groups and, um, really make sure that that's, you know, as to like the facilitators and the member engagement element, what are they expecting? Exactly. All of that. Yep. And, and standardize all that process. But trust me, you'll love it. Uh, sales pitch isn't... No, that probably isn't gonna, you know, just work, but you... At least not at scale. Yeah. Not at scale. So it's like, you know, who would be going and vetting those facil, facilitators and making sure that they fit your culture. Mm hmm. And so you would need to list out, you know, what those rules and responsibilities would, Probably training, uh, up leveling our training component, things like that, so it's more consistent and repeatable. Absolutely. All those kind of things. Yeah. You asked me why I wouldn't do traction because it sounds like a lot of work, but it probably would be very beneficial. It is beneficial. We always say it's, uh, you know, simple, but not easy. Right? Yeah. Anybody that wants to implement traction, uh, the one thing that. It comes to light pretty quickly is that, you know, all the, the issues and, you know, in inefficiencies in your business comes to light pretty quickly. And that's hard in some regards, but being able to, um, go in and, and mitigate those issues and be able to solve those issues. So that way you can get them out of the way and get to the next level. That's what's so critical in getting to, um, the next place. One thing I've seen, um, when companies implement traction is that sometimes there's a, an uptick in turnover for a while as people not in the right seat or not up to the task of implementing their zone or whatever, or. offloaded. Is that common to your experience as well? Or yeah, so I think it's different for every business. Um, and so there's businesses hit a level of where they, um, that they have thrive. And then for them to get to the next level, sometimes they will have to bring in other expertise in order for them to, um, get Um, you know, more profit or better at their processes. And so oftentimes the leadership team that I start with might not always be the leadership that, you know, after their two year journey, um, they end with. There might be people that come in, um, because they added a product or a service. And so they needed to, you know, bring somebody in that has that expertise. Um. Interesting. Interesting. Just like through exploration of the, what are we doing now and where do we want to. Go that kind of Supports innovation, I guess, or at least revenue enhancements. Right, so more so if like, you know, somebody needed to, if they wanted to bring in another service, and they didn't have a subject matter expert. Who's the who on that? Yeah, exactly. Then they would need somebody to come in that gets it once it has the capacity. So we use GWC as a common language to ensure that somebody really understands their roles and responsibilities or is in the, is the right person for the right seat. What's the difference between gets it and wants it? Yeah, that's a great question. So gets it is they like, um, innately understands like how to do those responsibilities and wants it is that they simply just want to do the job. Cause there's so many people that are good at what they, they. you know, what seat that they're sitting in or their responsibility of the job that they have. Yeah. However, if they don't want it, then it's not helping the company. And, um, I see that sometimes in companies where they, they love, you know, bookkeeping for instance, or I'm sorry, I should say not love bookkeeping, but they're really good at bookkeeping, the accounting piece. And this actually just happened in one of my companies is they, um, were really good at, you know, doing the bookkeeping and, and ensuring, um, you know, money was going out properly and monies that were coming in, except for their love was HR. And they really just didn't want to be in that seat. They really wanted to be more of like a recruit. Cruder and he was actually, uh, went to school for that, like the organizational, um, psychology. And so he just wanted to go and, and help people. And so after we figured that he didn't want that seat, it's like, is there any, anywhere else in the company that he could be in and help us, you know, grow and expand it? And where do we find our bookkeeper? Yeah, yeah, exactly. So. Once we figured out there was a space for him to sit in that HR seat, then we went and found a bookkeeper that actually wants to be a bookkeeper, right? Yeah, yeah, and has the capacity to do it. Exactly. And the skill set. Yeah. So how do you discover that? Is that, um, just through the unfolding of the things, or do you guys use personality profiles and different things like that to We use, uh, a tool called the People Analyzer, and so, um, that's one of the tools that we use to make sure that we have the right people that fit our core values. And, um, so the way that we, you know, discover that is basically by building accountability charts, and we do a real time, um, uh, People Analyzer with our leadership team, and so that helps us really understand Um, And so sometimes that's, you know, hard conversations to have. Um, but also it validates that we have the right people in the right seat. Yeah. Are you having fun? Yes. Why? It just seems like you are. You're excited. But when we first met, you were, um, Pretty brand new. Maybe six months in or something like that. I think so, yeah. You had, I don't forget, three or four or five clients so far, but you're, uh, built your book a fair bit. Yeah. Still open to some more probably. Absolutely, yes. But, uh, but you've had a lot of your own experiences of seeing this really work. Mm, yeah. I actually, um, how I came to EOS is the last business that I ran, um, we, we, Implemented EOS, uh, with an implementer. And so we implemented it before the pandemic and, um, really saw some great traction and, um, so grateful that we did implement it before the pandemic because we were able to really pivot and, um, sustain the pandemic. Cool. And a lot of it is attested to EOS and making sure that we were all on the same page and, um, moving in the, in the same direction. So then. You like fall in love with EOS because you implemented it and you're like, uh, I think I have a next calling in my career. Yeah, so yeah, I was just like, wow, I can see the power of it and then also know other business owners that have ran on EOS and saw the power of it and their success. Yeah. And so I just got to the point where I've always wanted to be a, an entrepreneur. I, uh, I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. Um, I grew up here in Northern Colorado and my parents owned a couple of different sign shops and grandparents and so had a family business. And so I've always had this like, you know, entrepreneurial itch, but I just didn't, I've always ran companies before. And so that's when I decided to take the leap and, and become an implementer. Here we go. Yeah. Uh, it feels like. The right time to jump in the time machine. Would you like to grab that wine? We parked it a long ways away. Oh, yes. There is a little table there if you'd like to set it there instead. Thank you. Um, are you ready for the time machine? Sure. We're back in kindergarten. Hmm. You grew up in northern Colorado, you said. Yes. Where are you in kindergarten at? I was at Namaqua Elementary. Okay. That's in West Loveland, kind of? It is. Yeah. How do you know that? Well, because Namaqua Road is right over there. Very good. Yes. That was just a guess. Makes sense. Yeah. No, I've never been to Namaqua Elementary School. I was wondering. Might have driven my van past there a few times. Just kidding. That sounded a little creepy. Yeah, it was. It was intended to. But, uh, so, West Loveland girl? I am a West Loveland girl. I never ever thought, um, I would call myself that, but yes, I am. At least from your, from your origins anyway. What were your, you said your folks had a sign company? Yeah. At that time already? Yeah, so, um. Lay the setting for me at that time. You know what? I don't, I can't really remember, like, at what age, um, my, my grandfather, um, who's my, you know, mentor, he worked, um, as a engineer at HP and he always had different, um, you know, side gigs going on. And so, I think he, I don't, I don't remember what age I was, but I probably was like, you know, 10, and they decided to, um, to buy a sign shop. It was called The Signary. Okay. In Loveland. And left his HP job to do it? He didn't. No, he bought it on the side. No, yeah. Well, it was, I mean, tough to leave that. It was probably a six figure job, which was a lot more back then. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And, and so he, uh, you know, enlisted my, my manager and yeah, no, my mom, my mom, uh, left HP. Oh, wow. Yeah. So, um, she worked in the PC shop at the, at the, um, HP facility in Loveland. I see. Uh, where the warehouse accelerator actually is. Yeah. Yeah. And so, uh, yeah, so she, she ran it and I had an uncle that ran it as well. Interesting. Yeah, it was interesting. I gotta see all the joys and pains of running a true entrepreneurial company. Well, and a sign business is interesting in that, you know, there's a lot of competitors as well as a lot of economic variability. You know, if people aren't opening businesses, Or growing their businesses, or opening other locations and stuff, they aren't buying signs. Right. So the lows are pretty low. They were low. And the highs are awfully busy. Yes. Yes. And then, um, yeah, I, I remember having some really, like, tough times, uh, where the lows were like, oh my gosh, I think we might need to, you know, close up shop. And in fact, um, they ended up, uh, Um, closing one, that sign shop and then opened, um, more of like a big, uh, signs, like the neon signs. So the signery was like, you know, your real estate signs and, you know, those, those type of like window signs, like with the vinyl. Window like the vinyl. And then, um, uh, around the same time, and of course I'm a kid, so I don't really remember all of it, but uh, they ended up doing like neon signs, and Interesting. Yeah. They're like, well, we can make these hundred dollar signs, but it takes a lot of them to make a difference. If we could do some ten thousand dollar signs, that'd be better. I think that was, yeah, really what they were going for. Describe your family dynamic. Do you have brothers, sisters? I do, yeah. So I have four brothers and a sister, and I'm the oldest. Okay. Yeah. Were you the, the overachieving oldest one, then? Always. Yeah. 4. 0 starting in first grade kind of thing. Just about. I don't know about 4. 0, but yes, I always had, you know, just this overachieving, um, you know, passion to, to do things right. Yeah. How would, uh, your, your third grade friends have described you? My third grade friends. In third grade language. In third grade. She's really nice. I don't know. Uh, yes, very nice. I always was, you know, the bubbly one and, uh, making friends and I think they would describe me as, you know, just friendly and fun. Yeah. Uh, any major milestones in your kind of going into high school? Did you spend a lot of time around the business and things like that too, or was it mostly not in your space? No. In fact, my parents were, my mom was like, um, you need to get a job when you're 15, like a real job. And I'm like, as if, you know, our, our companies weren't real, but yeah, I, uh, I, when I was 15, um, I, I did some. Silly, but did some modeling and so my mom knew, um, somebody that was in the wedding industry. And so she was like, Hey, you know, if you guys ever need, uh, somebody to do like runway, then, you know, my daughter would be willing to do that. And so, um, they were like, well, she's a little bit young cause she's, you know, 15, but does she want a job? And so, uh, yeah. I started working at Mr. Needs Formal Wear, um, yeah. Oh, so that was your first job. Fifteen, yeah. Grew quite a bit from there. Yeah. So when I, I went to interview with them, I interviewed for the warehouse. Right. Because the, um, the president at the time, she was just like, you know, we don't, you don't hire 15 year olds. For the front area. Yeah. For, yeah. For interactive customers. Exactly. So how about the warehouse? And so the warehouse manager interviews me and he's all, um, I, I think you might want to interview her for like the front of the house. You know, like, maybe in a store? And she's like, No, like, that, there, no way, she won't be mature enough. And so, anyways, I ended up, um, interviewing with their VP of sales, and they're like, Yes, we should definitely hire her. And so, yeah. That's cool. Oh, very flattering. Yeah, it was, it was nice. I was glad I was not, you know, cleaning shoes in the back. Were you just really good at, Speech and communications and held yourself as a 18 year old or 17 year old, even though you were 15 or I think I, um, where did that grow from? Yeah, I think it was just more that I was Um, I had a way of connecting with people that, uh, I think was conducive to sales, right? Like, sales is all about relationship building. And, um, yeah, I think I just held a very mature... Presence and um, and I was incredibly responsible. I was like, you know, I'd go to school and then come back and and work and so I ended up becoming a manager when I was 19 and going to college at the same time and Full time job. Yes. Yeah full time and quickly found myself on their leadership team And in top sales people and you know little Loveland, Colorado While you're going to school Why I was going to school, I, yeah, that was, uh, you know, it was wild. Well, they have pretty long hours, kind of, right? Like, uh, aren't they open until like 7 p. m., or is it kind of a retail environment? It is a retail environment, but I worked downtown Loveland. Which, you know, everything closes. Shuts down at 6 or whatever. Yeah, so that was like, you know, worked out for me because I would go to school in the morning before the store opened. So I had to be there at 9, so I got... Uh, one or two classes in, and then, um, and then I worked all day, and then I had, uh, like two classes, you know, at night, and so, yeah, I was going, I was going to school because I thought I wanted to be an intensive care, like, baby nurse. Oh, wow. And I thought it would go into, like, the medical field and, uh, I just quickly decided that wasn't for me. I actually did an internship at Rose Medical and, uh, and found out that, um, I just didn't want to be in that environment where babies, you know, passed away. Two, two babies have passed away. So, anyways. Yeah, no, that's fair. Well, and I remember, uh, we did a HALOS, uh, assessment and green type is your green orange, I think, was your... Green and orange. Yeah. So that social relational, just the, kind of the, the anguish of having empathy over um, um. All these losses. Yes, I just, yeah. You can want to help, but that just might not be your calling. Exactly. And I was super successful at work and I was like, well, I don't know if I want to keep going through this. Um, and so I, you know, just Yeah, yep. So, you're this, whatever, 22 year old butt kicker. On the Mr. Neitz team, just getting ready to get out of college and stuff like that. And it was that, did you stay? Was that the way that I did? Yeah, I stayed, um, until the owner decided to sell. Um, and so we got acquired by another company and, um, Mr. Neitz, I'm so grateful for that experience because I got. To see how an incredible company can be run and it had how many locations were they? So we had 19 locations. I think at the end there and so Yeah, so I stayed till the end And I you know went on with a new company and I just quickly found that my values Like, did not align with theirs, and just what they were up to. That's what I was going to say, that, that segue sounded a little bit loaded, like, Mr. Neitz was awesome, and the acquiring company wasn't as cool. Yeah, it, it, it just, uh, didn't fit my core values. Yeah. Which is funny, because we talk about that so much in EOS now. But I even knew back then, really young, that it was important for me to really work with a company that I aligned with. Yeah, and do you expand upon that at all or not really? Well, no, I I uh I think it was that they just didn't really take into account like their people so I I worked for with and on a leadership team that was all about leadership development and making you know people feel valued in creating this culture. In fact, I think at one point they said that we had something kind of like a cult and I just laughed. It was just that we were all completely aligned. You were eager to be a part of that team. Everybody was. And if, if you weren't, then you, and you weren't accountable. Um, not that, that that's what I was thinking about back then, but if you, you know, if you didn't fit our culture and um, didn't want to be there, yeah, yeah, exactly. Or, you know, asked to be departed, departed. Yeah. Well, and uh, it has to be really both flattering and honoring to be advanced so quickly as such a young person, you know, um, and that takes some insights by a company, like a 16, 17, 18 years old. are just not going to be ready to actually move you into leadership because they just fear you'll be gone next year for college or this or that or whatever, right? Sure. Yeah. I think, uh, I, I just have this way of being so invested in what I'm doing and so I didn't really think about it back then as like flattering. It was just that I was I was doing my job and I, I believed in what I was doing and I loved working. Yeah. And I loved working with the people that I, you know, I, I worked with, like I had some incredible employees. In fact, like I'm still friends with all of them, you know, from. you know, long ago, and, uh, so I just enjoyed what I did. So circle me a little bit. When is this? And it sounds like you made a relatively soon departure from the acquiring company. Yeah, it was in my, um, my mid twenties. And yeah, my early 20s. Yeah, because I like the early 2000s somewhere. I don't know how old you are. Uh, it was like the, like early, early 2000s, like 2005, I want to say 2006. So mid. Gotcha. So you're 40 ish now. Just kidding. Yes, I am. Tell everybody. Yeah. Thanks. Well, you look 35. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. So, so you like. Did you start looking for other jobs? Did you, yeah, how did that go down? What was the first probably, um, serious career pivot? Or a thought process of your career to this point. Yeah, interestingly enough, I, uh, got married at the same, like, right around the same time, or got engaged, and then, and then got married. And so I just took on a job, um, with a local company here in, uh, in Northern Colorado and, um, did some inventory management and purchasing. And it was one of those things that was kind of like just figuring out what I wanted. They punched your ticket off of the existing situation and gave you some free space to look around for what's next. Yeah, yep, exactly. And so I was there for a short period of time and I had my daughter. And, yeah. Yeah. And so, um, I had my daughter at that time and I just, you know, decided that I wanted to be home with her. I was like, I don't know who was going to be worthy enough to watch this amazing human that I just had. Look at what I made. Yeah. And so, um, I, I, Stayed home for a whole year and I gotta say I have an immense amount of respect for stay at home parents But I quickly found out that that wasn't for me. Yeah my husband at the time would you know come home and he was a teacher and I would be like, you need to talk to me. Like, I want to have conversations. That's what I was just thinking. I don't want to talk. And I'm like, yeah, I'm like, I intellectually need to be, you know, stimulated. And so, um, luckily during that time I had, um, my really, um, amazing friend and, and mentor, um, who ran the tuxedo company call me and She was like hey one of our vendors is purchasing some formal wear shops in the Midwest, okay, and And I need your help like can you come? You know, help me run them and, you know, recreate some of what we had done here in Colorado. Oh, so this is a new, not really a spinoff, but a bit of a spinoff of the acquiring company, but... It wasn't at all. Oh, just a whole new Yeah, a vendor that, uh, provided tuxedos for us, and, um, he was like, I want to acquire some of these. He was like, whatever you guys created, I want, I want to figure out how to create this, but I'm buying some mom pop tuxedo shops here in the Midwest. Can you help me? Can you help me? Yeah. Recreate Mr needs from there or just the experience, that theme, whatever. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And so, uh, I, I was like, thank you for thinking of me. I appreciate it and I love where I live and I'm not, moving like our warehouse was in Sioux City, Iowa. And so I was just like, no, I, you know, like, thanks, but no, thanks. Yeah, a little too early for the fully remote. Yeah. And you know, I love Colorado. So right. Uh, and so I think they, we had conversations and they're like, well, what if you, you know, worked remotely? And this was like before like remote work was actually a thing, right? And I'm like, Oh, well, maybe like, what would that look like? Yeah. And so I think it, uh, I w I was very interested. And so I, uh, did some. More of like, um, data analysis for them at the beginning, but then they started building stores in Kansas City and they're like, why don't you come out and, you know, see our stores? They're beautiful and, you know, uh, like meet the team. And so I quickly just, uh, I'm trying to remember how that all happened, but I just, I love being with people and meeting and yeah. Yeah. And so I just kind of, um, somehow ended up traveling and, and leading their, their team there. Interesting. Yeah. And so it was, it was, uh, it was amazing. It was a great. Like traveling a lot like back and forth to Kansas City was your job for a while kind of thing? Yeah, so we had stores in six different states. Okay. Yeah, so they when I first started I can't remember how many stores we had but he started with five and so I think maybe we had seven So by the time I left we had 23. Oh, yeah, so we grew and yeah, so you were kind of key it The launches or the whole thing, were you, what was your, were your operations manager kind of a role in regional? Oh, sales more. Yeah, sales and ops. I mean, we didn't have... It kind of goes together. All you have to, not all you have to do, but a lot of the hard part is... So, uh, sales and operations wasn't, you know, it, it wasn't separated really, um, operations from like a warehouse standpoint, you had somebody there, press the clothes and stuff like that. Well, and get our tuxedos. To the right sizes, to the right places and all that. Yeah. Stores, which was huge. Um, so yeah, I ran the sales, um, with the, um, my mentor, um, who was the vice president of, um, sales at the time. And so, um, eventually she left that company and then I, and then I took her, her role. Oh, okay. So, yeah. Um, and did the company continue to scale from there or? Yeah, so we grew 20 percent year over year, and what's interesting is it kind of was a, um, a time where the tuxedo industry was really struggling, um, because at the point where rentals get to be the same cost. Right. Yeah. The Chinese tuxedos that you can buy or whatever, Filipino, whatever, and You're, you're pricing yourself out of the market. And so we, we knew that, right. At some point in time, it was just like, we needed to, you know, pivot and figure that out, but people around us were like, how are you guys growing that quickly? And, you know, and I guess this headwind kind of. Yeah, and it, and it goes back to a lot of what EOS does. It's having the right people in the right seats. It's having metrics and data and specific KPIs that is, um, making sure that you're moving your company forward and, um, and just building an incredible culture. And did you succeed? Did you kind of mostly recreate that kind of culture that you had created? Before you've been a part of before more. So it was different, right? It was absolutely different. And, and I certainly can't attest to taking all the credit, but we had an amazing sale, you know, amazing team leadership team and, uh, the owner, you know, allowed us. to, you know, take the reins and he, he was great at that, which is really hard for some visionaries to let go and allow your team to, to, you know, run with what they think is best and move the company forward. So I'm so grateful for that experience on both accounts in both companies because those visionaries really did, um, let go of the vine as we call it. I hear, uh, It's, it's said sometimes that, you know, Traction has that visionary and integrator kind of thing and that visionaries are awesome, but really good integrators are actually more rare. Does that fit your experience? Yeah. So great integrators are hard to come by. Um, absolutely. And when you can find one and you've got to, you know, hang on to it because, um, you know, there's not a lot of people that can take those visionaries ideas and sort them out and then decide which ones to execute on. And also having that relationship with a visionary and be able to communicate and have that respect. I mean, there's so, I mean, it's like a marriage, right? Like, yeah. Uh, having, uh, an integrator and a visionary that, uh, communicate really well and being on the same page because they operate so differently. Yeah. Yeah. So different. That's, uh, you know, uh, young Alma who just took our picture and set us up with the microphone. She's, uh, in the hallows color, she's, uh, a blue brown, which is the organizer planner and the integrator. And, uh, you know, she's 20 years old also, but we're moving her toward kind of that operations manager role with Loco by her election. I kind of wanted to make her that before she knew enough about it to be comfortable and ready, but I think our relationship is there now and her confidence where we can be successful in that space. That's great. And you're an orange and a green too? I'm a white green. A white green. Yeah, ideas and people. Yeah, so that's like a, you know, you guys are different, you're wired different, which is such a blessing and it can cause friction, which isn't, you know, which isn't bad by any means. And I think sometimes we don't embrace that enough. Yeah, yeah, I think that's, uh, I would say I would compliment myself in appreciating that she adds a lot of things and things comes about. Uh, I find it a valuable thing, and sometimes it's annoying, especially for her on me. I'm like, and she's told you a couple of times that she needs specific details of something. Right. Yeah. Well, and just guidance on, uh, I think I remember her saying to Kim, one of our facilitators, Kurt has a lot of ideas. It's, you know, and sometimes they throw me off track chasing all these rabbit trails, uh, and, you know, I think now she's developed the confidence to say, yes, that's a good idea. And it's six months out before we even have a minute to think more about that because we don't have this in place or this in place. And both of those are clearly more important, Mr. Barrett. That's right. So, yeah, she's like connecting all the dots. And so for you to be able to trust her and realize, you know, she can see down, you know. Yeah. The path of, of success, um. Yeah, she sees all the steps between where we are and where I want us to be. Exactly, and so then she's gotta guide you and say, you know, yes or. Or at least build the forms for the concrete so we can pour the steps, you know. That's right. Yeah. So, um, I think we were coming up on your departure from this, this next formal wear, is that true? Yeah, so, um, I had my son and, uh, I was in the, in the company, we were growing, things were going really great. And, um, I, I, uh, I was Pregnant with my second, um, and I also had a husband, um, who passed in August of this last year, um, who was just really sick at home. And so for me to be, you know, traveling and, uh, it was no longer practical really. It wasn't. Yeah. And it was the, probably one of the hardest decisions that I made because I was already grieving that loss. Yeah. My heart was, you know, there and I wanted to be a part of, of that and, and I loved the people that, um, was that we had, um, there. And I know that I needed to go back and not travel as much. And so I left and, um, Um, I did some non leadership roles. I did business development for another company and then I did sales and marketing for a software company. So, very diverse background between, you know, software and product and service. Yeah. Always relational focus though. Sure. Yeah. Absolutely. And so, um, yeah, so I, I found that I, really enjoyed, you know, being a leader and running companies and I, um, I, I just missed it a whole lot. And, uh, so I, uh, decided to leave both of those companies and, uh, and then I ran, uh, safety consulting and training company. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And that's a firm that Seth, our mutual friend Seth, had done some work with. Yes. Yeah. Seth is, uh. Yeah, he did marketing. Apollonia. Mm hmm. I remember that name. It's pretty easy to remember. Yeah, yeah. I've never met, but. Yeah, she's amazing. Yeah. Incredible visionary. Um, from, you know, just have an amazing ideas and great relationships and. And what is this? They do safety consulting or is it a product? No, it's not a product. It's safety consulting. Okay. Um, and then training. So safety training. So you're like bloodborne pathogens and all of. Oh, okay. There's specific safety trainings that you have to take on an annual basis. I was thinking more about like a. Like manufacturing settings and OSHA kind of stuff, but this is more... It's all OSHA, yeah. Oh, okay. Yep. Yep. Exactly. So, um, yeah, so that is where I ended up running on EOS and, uh... Gotcha. Yeah, and she wanted to, you know, scale her business and, and, uh, I saw some inefficiencies when I came in because I was, um, there in a, in a sales role and, uh... And so I think there, and there was a lot of... You're selling things that couldn't be delivered upon. Yeah, yeah, I think it was, um, Yeah, there was, you know, some inefficiencies in how we were taking care of clients. And, um, you know, it's common, uh, issues. Yeah, exactly. That all businesses have to, you know, figure out one way or another. And, um, so I had... a friend say, you know, have you read the book traction? And I was like, no, what is it? And they're, you know, they explained, you know, it's entrepreneurial operating system. It's getting everybody 100 percent on the same page of where you guys are going. But it also like helps you just develop develop a structure for the business to scale. And so I ended up reading the book. The structure sounds attractive to you and the growth sounds attractive to your owner. Yes, exactly. And so, well, both of us, because I wanted to scale too. Right. And, uh, So I, I read the book in like two days and I'm like, Oh my gosh, this is exactly what we had done in, you know, the other businesses, uh, and, and the tuxedo businesses. But it had like a language, um, and a simplicity to it that really, I felt like I could go to our leadership team and say, like, we really have to do this. So that's what I did. I brought her the book and I was like, look, I just read this. We have to do it. I want to help you. I want to have you, you know, I want to help you scale and, uh, I'm, uh, we have to do it. So did you work with an implementer like yourself in this? I did. Yeah. Yep. Ken Schrader. Oh, you did. Okay. Yeah. Ken's an amazing human. Yeah. Great guy. Yeah, I was just thinking about, there's an old phrase, I think it's from that book, uh, Getting Things Done, uh, I forget the author, but it's, uh, Complicated is interesting, and simple gets done. Yes, yeah. And it's, you know, we tend to complicate things as humans. Well, as humans, that's what, you know, we do. It's interesting. We overthink everything. Yeah. And, yeah, if we could just get back to the basics. And, uh, I really enjoyed having Ken as an implementer, because you, you can self implement, uh, EOS. Sure. Um, but what's so great about Ken... was, um, one, he was an expert of EOS, so, uh, I didn't have to go and become an expert of EOS right, right away. And um, and then also he, was a great facilitator. He, you know, and, and he was a coach. And so he would, he would see things in the room that was happening and being like, you know, calling it out. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, right on the spot. Yeah. Is that part of your job now too? Sure. Yeah, absolutely. We're, we're a coach. And so, you know, we're, we're seeing what's going on between, uh, you know, leaderships and you can't be a part of a system and, You know, see your blind spots. That was the question. I was, uh, couldn't find a space for earlier, but when you were talking about how How your heart was so invested in, in really both of these formal work companies that you were a part of. And I wonder if you have that same kind of experience when you're implementing with somebody now. Are you, like, invested? Like, you're a, almost like you're a partner with them even though they own the company and you're a contractor or whatever. Absolutely. Um, I am, you know, part of their leadership team, um, in a, in a sense. In a real way, yeah. Yeah, I want to help them. Strategy team, the... Yeah, I'm not a consultant, so I think that's kind of, you know, a misconception is an implementer is not a consultant. They are an expert of their business. Right. And so I'm an expert of EOS. And so I'm teaching them how to implement EOS and use the tools. And I'm also, you know, guiding them and coaching them to be their best self and do what's best for, you know, the greater good of the company as well. I'm imagining it's been a real joy to Unfold the, all the various other different kinds of companies, like you had a lot of experience, but mostly in kind of a tight demographic of, uh, retail, formal wear, rental kind of firms. And now you're working with moving companies or manufacturing companies or. Who knows what? Yeah, CPA firms and yeah, there's multitude of different, but you know, it doesn't matter what type of business it's EOS just helps you really get, um, transparent in your business and figure out what those inefficiencies are. So that way you can get out of your own way. Does that include financial transparency as well? Is that part of the platform? It is, yeah. With everybody, or at least the leadership team, or whatever you want to do? Well, I think it's... Well, I should say that it's up to the owner and how fine, you know, transparent they are, but it also helps people understand where, you know, their business is going and how to help. And so I really advocate for that. And we do an EOS of, you know, sharing revenues and profit and, and, you know, different kinds of measurables and sharing that with, you know, the leadership team and. with the rest of the company. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. The revenue and profit at least. At the very least. Yeah. We do that here too. I'm just like, here's last month's financials. You know. Right. We broke even again. I hope you're breaking more than even. Come on. You know, we don't make a lot of money because I've got probably more staff than I might need and we do a lot of event sponsorships and things trying to grow. Um, and, you know, we do okay. It's not that bad. But, uh, I look forward to the days when it can be a larger profit percentage for sure. Absolutely. I'm sure there's some ways that you can. I'm pretty sure it's doable. Yeah. If I worked a little harder on it, probably. Yes, absolutely. Um. So, how many companies, uh, if, if you're, if you're willing to share, like how many companies have you worked with all the way through so far? So, all the way through, I've been an implementer for a year and a half, a little year. Oh, you couldn't even have one for two years. Yeah, exactly. So, as an implementer, I, you know, haven't gone through the full two years quite yet. Does it stick? What do you mean by that? Like, after you go through the two year program, Uh, then do you need checkups or polishing, dust offs, things like that at all, or is a company pretty well equipped to just kind of run EOS after that? So my job is to help them become experts at EOS, and so, um, if I do my job really well, then they become experts. I think, uh, a lot of people keep their implementer, uh, after that two year journey. We always, you know, that's when they graduate. At least for an annual retreat or something like that, maybe, or just to facilitate their, their meetings, because there's so much value when you have somebody running your meeting and being a mirror and coaching you. Yeah. A little more perspective, uh, outside the meeting, you know, outside the. daily operations, that kind of thing. Yes. And so, um, you know, it's up to the client if they want to actually, you know, move on or if they want to, you know, continue forward. So I know many implementers that have, you know, clients that they started with. That would be like for a long term situation. That would be like amazing if, if you had whatever, 50 former clients and you don't really have to do the really heavy lifting anymore. You just. I think we'll just tap everybody once in a while. Well, there's always heavy lifting. Fair enough. There's always heavy lifting. I think about that. Like, you know, business, I think that's, it's forever changing. We don't all get to just stay the same. I've never really known a business owner that could just like keep one finger on the steering wheel after it got to a certain place, you know. Well, I, I mean, I think it's, there's a point where you can surround yourself with all of the right people and getting them in the right seats and really, um, elevating that visionary or owner can really elevate them to what they do very, very well. And um, the business can, it can operate without the visionary. Yeah. Um. Much better than it can without the integrator. Yes, sometimes better than it can with the visionary Well, we you know, I I don't want to Well, I know that sometimes I think I get in my own way. Yeah. I mean I think visionaries, uh, you know can You know, cause some havoc in companies when you're, you know, growing them off when they get bored. Yeah, they get bored and they're like, oh, I think we should, you know, start selling donuts and you know, we're a CPA firm, right? Right. But in that case, it's better to be like, okay, Mr. Visionary. Yeah. We got this. Go start something else. Almost. Start something else? Or, you know, like go and Or start a new segment. Whatever. Yeah. Exactly. Or, like, how can you pour into your biggest clients and, uh, ensure that they're, you know, that they're, um, you know, well taken care of? Yeah. Yeah. And so, I think every visionary has different, you know, uh, superpowers. Sure. Or zone of geniuses. Yeah. Yeah. And so, they, uh, that's what we're trying to do is, is help them. Absolutely. Absolutely. Be in that, you know, spot well, and to some extent free them for being able to execute more great ideas. Absolutely. Rather than be feeling like they're buried in the day-to-day, what, to them becomes the minutia of the day-to-day. Right. Yeah, exactly. Fair enough. Yeah. Um, What else do you want to tell me about the business journey? Do you have any, uh, like, favorite authors, favorite themes, consistencies that you've seen in success? Yeah, I, uh, I'm really loving 10x is better than 2x Benjamin Hardy He's a organizational psychologist and, uh, just, you know, an incredible, inspiring leader. And, uh, I think that He, he talks about how, basically what we've been talking about, like how do we get out of our own way and, um, be able to allow people to be in their own zone of geniuses, uh, how can we surround ourselves with those type of people. And so that zone of genius, that's another kind of a platform or system as well. Is Patrick somebody? No, it is. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Uh, is that, that's not necessarily part of the Traction EOS system, but it's something you've found. Useful, at least. Yeah. Useful. And, and we also, um, you know, use those tools and systems, um, in, in EOS and, you know, give that as, as homework. So, um. What's your zone of brilliance or genius rather? Yeah. My superpower. I think my superpower is, um, being able to. To create a lasting impact with somebody by, um, figuring out what they are incredible at and being able to articulate that to them and helping them just believe in themselves. Um, yeah, one of my clients just, uh, text me on Sunday and just said, you know, you, you caught me in a really bad spot and you believed in me and, um, You know, I just am so incredibly grateful for your help and you know, that's, that's why I do what I do. Yeah. And so, um, actually another loco think tank member. Um, yeah. And so it's just that, that's why I do what I do is, uh, it's funny, it's not funny. It's funny how correlated our journeys are in some ways in the past. Gosh, way back. When I was in Thrivant, I, I, one of my phrases was, uh, my special talent is identifying special talent. Mmm. And I heard a lot of the same things, and encouraging it. Yes. Um, and, you know, that's been, I think, a consistent thing throughout my career as well. Yeah, I think we all, um... You know, get stuck, uh, personally sometimes and we need those people around us to be really good, um, mirrors and reflectors and, and, and notice and, and remind, uh, you know, each other that, that we matter. I think that's so critical. Uh, Rhonda Palomino, if you're listening out there, Rhonda was my last loan assistant in banking and I came to this bank that had all kinds of troubles. Uh, dirty files and, you know, bad credits that my predecessor had granted and things like that and, and I was the relationships guy that could convince somebody that indeed we do need to get your last three years of tax returns and things like that. And Rhonda would queue up every file for me. I mean, we went from like a. 80 percent of the files were crappy to like 0. 8 percent of the files were a tiny bit wrong. And it was all Rhonda. You know, I got a lot of accolades from it organizationally because it was my department and she was my report, but she told me what to do, you know, I didn't tell her what to do. Right. But anyway, that was her zone of brilliance was just the ability to, to monitor this system and to end up manage me and, you know, make me do the things that she needed to really succeed in her role. And so she was, you, she was your... She was my loan assistant. So she put my documents together and things and made sure the files... She wasn't responsible for calling the customer and saying, Hey, I need this and this and this. Or negotiating with somebody to say, Hey, I need you to pay this down 20 percent before we can renew it. That was me, and that was my social relational abilities and persuasiveness could do that. But her organizational skills and willingness to engage forthrightly with me, Uh, that did all the difference, really. I think we need... People around us that I mean we're better together than we are apart and for sure well And that was part of our strength was that she recognized talent within me, too, right? You know so it was mutual admiration club of sorts And when you can have that in a group of five or ten or twenty people where it's pretty much across the board Oh, that's beautiful. Magic things happen, right? Yeah, for sure. For sure. Yeah. Uh, and that, yeah, that's what I'm, I'm hoping that we can get to with all the companies that, that, you know, I work with and, and I think that's, um, Yeah, that's, that's the, the hard part is getting owners to, to realize that, that they need to With the actual value of that. Yeah, and surround themselves with, you know, people that are just as great as they are, but in their own way that will help them. You know, excel their company forward with whatever it, it looks like, not just from a profit standpoint. Yeah. But, you know, making an impact in this community. Yeah. I mean hopefully that's how dollars are measured somewhat. Is how much of a positive impact impact do you make on your customers? Yes. And And your employees. And your employees. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I think so. Um, I'm feeling like we might as well, uh, take a short break and come back for, let's do that. Closing segments. Yes. Alright. Cheers. And we're back. And we've got a very lively... We do. Three year old upstairs or something like that, hopefully you don't pick up too much on the recording. I don't think so, but man, he's having a lot of, he or she, yes, he's having a great time up there. Or maybe there's three of them, I don't know. It's hard to say. It sounds like there might be an army up there, actually. So uh, we, thanks for, for sharing, I've really enjoyed, uh, getting to know your, your career journey and, and just your heart for impact. And. Mm. Yeah. You know, I think, uh, it was, it was Miles and Val from Old Town Media that said, when I asked, how do you know if, if somebody should be a partner? And they're like, well, they act like it right from the start. And that seems to be a consistent thing for you as you've acted like a part of the organization you're with right from the start of each tour. Yes. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. So now the, uh, Whatever, closing segments. Faith, family, politics. You had a call from your, your son. I did. While we were on that short break there. Do you want to start with family? Sure. Yeah, I would love to. Yeah, so I have a nine year old, um, son that, uh, when he was two and a half got diagnosed with a very rare disease, which is called agenesis of the corpus callosum. And so basically that means that he doesn't have the middle part of his brain. Oh, wow. Yeah. And so, um, when I was two and a half before he was two and a half, yeah, my, uh, Uh, I, uh, my, uh, his dad was with him for, um, He was sick and basically I was going to my grandmother's funeral and I got a call and he said, everything's fine. So I know when, you know, someone starts a conversation with everything's fine, not everything is fine. But, uh, Keegan had a seizure. I called 9 1 1. The, um, The ambulance is, uh, here and we're gonna go to the hospital and I'm like, what? And, uh, I, I hadn't left for my grandmother's funeral, which was in Estes yet. So it was, um, uh, in Loveland with my parents and, uh, I drove, uh, from Loveland to Fort Collins at probably a hundred and, you know, plus miles per hour, which seemed like the longest trip ever. And, um. The fire truck was there in the ambulance and I ran into my front door and it was locked and I was like, what is going on? And so the, um, the, uh, fireman came and he was like, you know, your son's in the ambulance. And so I got in there and, uh, the paramedic was incredible. It was a woman. And, uh, so my, um, husband at the time was in there and he said, um, you know, everything's fine. And, uh, and, and then the paramedic was like, you know, well, one of you needs to drive the car home. And so I was like, you need to get out. I'm, I'm staying with my son. And, uh, you know, she, she seriously was like an angel. Um, I have an immense amount of, um, respect for, um, paramedics and, uh, thank you. And, uh, she just kept me super calm, um, at that time because I just was, I mean, freaking out because he was still unconscious at that, I mean he was conscious, I shouldn't say unconscious, but he wasn't with it. I mean, um. Yeah, yeah. If anybody's gone through a seizure, you're still discombobulated. And so, um, and he was so little, he was, you know, just two and a half. And, uh, she was just like, his vitals are fine. And she's like, literally just walking through and just, you know, he, you know, telling me. that everything's going to be okay in a sense of just, you know, going through all like his heartbeat and, you know, he's starting to come back out. And my son has had a seizure before, whether he, she actually had a son or not that did, but he's going to be fine. There's not going to be anything that, um, you know, that, that, uh, you know, if, if there was something that was going to be. Real bad happening, we know by now. Yeah, exactly, yeah. So he stabilized his brain, basically. And so, um, I was so grateful, but when we got there, he had a CAT scan. And so the doctor came in, um, and basically, you know, had a piece of paper in his hand and said, um, So, his CAT scan looks fine, um, and I just want to share with you that we found that he has something that's called agenesis of the corpus callosum. And so, I was like, I'm sorry, did you just speak English? And um, so we, you know, slid a piece of paper across the table. And was like, here's some information on it. And, you know, like you're going to have to go to children's hospital at some point in time and, um, you know, get some testing done. And I said, some point in time, and he's like. I was like, like right now, like we need to go to Children's Hospital right now. He's like, no, maybe in like in the next couple weeks and so it was like really nonchalant about it. And so at that time I was just, you know, like Googling it and you know trying to learn everything I could like a mom would. And, uh, and I couldn't find much. It's, it's very uncommon. And, um, and it's usually associated with other, um, like disabilities as well. So he hadn't really shown any. signs or symptoms speak of showed as a normal to no. So when I was pregnant with him, they said that he had something wrong with his heart. And so I had a multitude of, um, ultrasounds during that time. And, um, and they couldn't find anything. I'd been to Children's Hospital and had a cardiologist there say. Uh, to the, the doctor up here, like there is nothing wrong, you know, with his heart. And so we had a whole team to fight, fight for life him, um, to Children's Hospital. And uh, when he was born, he was breathing fine. He nursed fine. He, he was. Perfect. And so we were just like, I was a little bit mad actually at that time. Cause I was just like, why did I go through so many ultrasounds for my baby to be perfect? And it sounds really awful because more than anything, I just want my baby to be fine. Right. But it was a very, uh, hard experience. And so. Um, he was really delayed in all of his milestones, like sitting up and crawling and walking. He didn't walk until after he was two and he didn't talk until he was like four. And so it was really a blessing in disguise because he, um, I mean, it just kind of helped us understand why he is, is him and, uh, and, and so, um, Now to this day, they basically said he did a ton of, you know, testing and said that he's basically, basically intellectually disabled. Um, he has a lower iq, but he has empathy, um, more empathy than anybody I know. Interesting. And so he has this ability to, like, walk into a room and light it up. Like, he would be, uh, he can't, he has a hard time with short term memory, so, like, remembering your name, he wouldn't remember. But if you told a story about your wife, and she did this most amazing, you know, like, had... Yeah. Or not even. He would, he would remember that and ask you the next time that he saw you. And um, he just has this, an, an incredible way of connecting with people, um, that I've never experienced before. And so while Keegan may not be, you know, like this, it won't be a rocket engineer. Probably. He's. He's, he's probably not going to, you know, be a rocket scientist, uh, but he has the way, a way of like moving people in such a, um, incredible, yeah, just way and connecting and making you feel so special that I know he's going to do something great in this world. Yeah. It's really touching. Yeah. He's nine now. He's nine. He's in fourth grade. Um, still not reading or writing, um, and so. I don't think I prepared you for this, but we usually do a one word description of the children. Oh, one word. Yeah, can you boil it down? Oh, peer, well, those two. Joy. Yeah, for Keegan. And, uh, then I have a daughter that's 13. And, uh, she's gonna be a CEO of a company. I'm pretty confident. Does she have a name already? Yeah, she already has a business. And, uh, she sells nachos. natural, you know, dog treats made in my kitchen and to our, you know, neighborhood. And she, you know, started a website and takes orders and apparently the, like, you know, apples don't fall too far from the tree. And so, um, yeah, she's just incredibly mature and very independent and, um, an excellent leader. Yeah. What's her name? Maya. Hi, Maya. Yes. Um, would you care to hazard a one word description for Maya? Oh, um, hers would be independent. That's fair. Mm hmm. Um, and I know that you, you, you lost their dad a couple of years ago now, is that true? Just a year ago. Just a year ago. Just like right off a year ago. So he had sickle cell anemia and he had the full blown disease, so it's a genetic blood disorder, uh, that you're born with. Mm hmm. And, um, yeah, so the average life expectancy, um, of a male is 42, and he, Wow. Wow. Is that something that you knew or that you discovered together after you were together? No, he knew, I mean, he knew from the, um, very beginning. So, um, his mom, uh, actually, um, Uh, passed a law that, that you had to get, um, tested for sickle cell in the newborn screening. So every newborn after 1979 gets, uh, tested for sickle cell anemia. So he, he's known it, he's been, you know, uh, struggling with it his whole life. And so, before we got married, I got tested to make sure that I didn't have the gene, and I don't. So, um, my kids have a 50 percent chance of having a baby with a sickle cell gene. So, um, my kids have the trait, and um, it's very interesting because if you have the trait, it said that it's been a mutation for, um, people in the area for Um, malaria, so like Italy and Africa and like the Mediterranean, um, like places. And so it was a mutation to protect people from getting malaria. So people that have the trait, uh, have a very, very, very rare chance of getting malaria. Interesting. But. It comes with some consequences, too. It does, yeah. And I know you were already split from him, uh, Yeah, we, we divorced. Before that. Yeah, yeah. How's that for the kids, uh, is that a challenge, or? Yeah, so, One year in, it's maybe hard to say still, a little bit? Yeah, yeah, no, my kids are incredibly resilient. I think kids are resilient, um, just in, you know, in general. Yeah. Um, we've had some incredibly intimate moments of just, you know, pure grief. And, uh, and, and so my daughter would call me and be like, I can't get through the day. Like, come get me. And, um, so. Glad that I could, you know, be there for her and, and come get her. And, um, so we, we do lots of things to remember him. Um, we lit a candle, um, during Christmas just to, you know, honor his presence. And, um. We, I asked them how they wanted to celebrate his birthday because, um, he died in August and his birthday is in October. And so they wanted to, you know, do all of his favorite things, which was like Cheesecake Factory and he was an avid Jordan collector. And so they wanted to, you know, wear their favorite Jordans. And he was a very well known teacher in our community. Um, and his superpower most definitely was. to, um, uh, to help kids that were really struggling and help them, uh, get back on a good track track and path. Um, and so, you know, there was, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And so, and then basketball, we had a club basketball team that we owned, um, as well when he was, you know, alive and he coached and we had coaches as well. And so. Um, yeah. So just honoring all of his favorite things, basketball. So we played basketball and, you know, we've sent balloons to heaven, as my son said. And my son was like, he's playing basketball with Kobe Bryant and, you know, in heaven. And so we just, you know, do different things to just honor him. We did a sickle cell walk in honor, um, in honor of him to raise money for sickle cell patients and, you know, really figuring out what that cure looks like. And so, yeah, so there's still ways that we honor him. And He was a, he was a good dad to them. Are your folks still around? They are. Supporting the family? And no more sign companies, I assume. My mom works for a sign I have a, My sister, um, who's in Loveland and um, I have a brother that's in Steamboat that we go and visit all the time. Very cool. Yeah. And then, um, all three of my other brothers live here. That's the best. Like, then you don't have to actually live in Steamboat to have access to it. Yeah. It's fantastic. We go, you know, multiple times a year and enjoy. But you rarely have to shovel snow. Yeah. Only when it snows while you're there, but. Not even. You know. Right. He does this stuff. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. He, uh, he, yeah, he takes care of all of that. That's cool. So it's part of his business as well. That's great to have all that family, uh, in the, in the sphere here. Oh, I love it. I, um, just, I think that's one of the things that I value probably the most. Yeah. Mm hmm. Faith or politics, would you care to talk about next? Sure, you can talk about faith. Sure, if you like. Yeah. Uh, what would you say about it if you did? Yeah. Um, I could just aspire to be like Jesus every day. That's what I, you know, want to do. Yeah. And, um, to serve others and, um, whether, no matter. Love God, love people kind of thing. Yeah. And just meet people where they're at and, um, and so I, you know, my kids, um, have Grown up Christian for a really long time, but I was actually, um, my great-grandfather was a minister in the Methodist Church. Okay. And so I grew up in the Methodist Church. Um, and then, uh, there was a little bit of a falling out with my grandparents. Hmm. And, um, so I started going to a church, um, called Unity here. Oh sure. And, um, Fort Collins and, uh, It was really interesting because I realized at a very young age that I didn't love organized religion, like from a feeling standpoint, if that makes sense. So I would go to Unity and just have this immense amount of like, um, I don't know, just like this feeling of love and, you know, respect for people. But no dogma, very little religion. Right. Religiosity. Judgment, shame. Yeah, exactly. All those things. And, um, and, and I'm only speaking from when I was, you know, a child, um, and how I was feeling. But when I would go to the, you know, to church, the Methodist church, it was very, like, um, structured and you have to do everything. This is the method. Yeah, exactly. And it was just like this, like, I have to do it. And I, and I didn't like it. Like I didn't feel good. connected. And so I think that I'm feel most connected to God, um, when I'm connecting with other, you know, like humans and when I'm out in nature and, um, and, and just helping, like, if I can make a big impact, I, you know, just. That's where I, I know that I'm using those gifts. And so are you still active with like Unity Church? No. Or do you have a, don't really have a congregation? Yeah. So since COVID, I think, gosh, with, you know, church in general, I think, uh, the church communities are really struggling. And so, um, we had a church that had, that I went to for a little while and, um, they got a new pastor and so it, it just was one of those things that, um, yeah, we just decided not to go back to that guy as much or whatever. It's not that I didn't like him. It was just not, I think I was just in a different space, um, spiritually and trying to figure out what I, um, Um, you know, where I want to go. Um, my daughter is very actively involved in fellowship Christian athletes and actually speaking on Friday. Oh, that's exciting. Yeah, of how she feels connected to God, which is so funny because she was working on a speech all week in regards to that. And so we've kind of been talking about that. Yeah. What a blessing that is. Mm hmm. My wife and I, uh, church shopped for. Probably like 16 months or something in Colorado Springs when we lived down there. And that's a royal pain. Uh, just like checking out different churches and just, you know, there's a different place for everybody. There is. Yes. And, and you can, it's pretty obvious if you're not in the right place. Absolutely. In my experience anyway. Yeah, and I think it's just, you know, uh, am I connected to God when I go to church? Um, yes, and do I have to, is that the only place and I, and I, and I don't feel that way at all. And so, um, just figuring out what that community looks like for us is kind of what we're working on right now. Well, our church is 10 o'clock on Sundays if you ever want to visit. All right. Um, Let's see, faith, family, politics. Yeah, politics. Yeah. Um, I grew up in an incredibly liberal family. Really? Okay. Yeah. My grandparents, um, you know, if I, you know, came and, um, You know, had a tattoo, uh, No, not a tattoo. Oh, no, sorry. Liberal. Yeah. Very liberally. Why don't you have a tattoo yet? You're 18. Yeah. O open and, uh, and so yeah, I don't have any tattoos actually. Me neither. Um, you know, it was just like if I was very close-minded and mm-hmm. you know, You know, it was interesting because it felt like, you know, uh, conservative and liberals were really put into like black and white, black and white buckets, uh, like growing up. And so it was like us against them, uh, kind of thing. I didn't really feel that until much later in my own. Oh, really? And maybe that's because I was from North Dakota where everybody's pretty conservative. Oh, yes. Like, the Democrats are, like, they'd be a Republican most other places. Mm hmm. Um, but yeah, for me, it was kind of more invisible for most of my growing up years at least. Yeah, no, I felt that growing up and if I was ever going to become a Republican, like I might have been kicked out of my, you know, family kind of thing, uh, what is, which is interesting. But now, um, I am very middle of like, I would say that I'm a libertarian. I'm conservative from like, a business standpoint, right? Basically. Yes, and then regulation regulatorily generally. Mm hmm and then from like a From a people aspect sure 100 percent more like just on that liberal side I like half my guests basically, you know, they basically identify with the libertarian principles But the Libertarians always lose or get like 1 percent or whatever, so there's no point in actually identifying there. Yeah, my stepdad growing up was a Libertarian. Is that right? So, yeah. A closet Libertarian. And, uh, yeah, so I, I, you know, I think it, uh, as I've gotten older, I realize there's a lot more gray in this world than, um, than people allow. What would you say? How has that precipitated that shift on the kind of business front and economic front or whatever, if you will? Yeah, I mean, I think just understanding economics more, one, from like an education standpoint. And, um, you know, I've worked with a lot of, in a lot of industries that are, you know, more Republican. Yeah. And, uh, if you will. So you think that you were influenced somewhat by those owners and things like that? Um, I don't know about that. I don't know. the actual, how the. Economy hits the business. I think it's just how the economy hits the business. It wasn't from like any owners or anything like that, but just, um, really from like a knowledge. Picking up your own information. Yeah, exactly. Condensing it. What, uh, what's going to happen in the 2024 election? Oh my gosh, I don't know. You'd have to be a clairvoyant plus an oracle, I think, to have any good prediction at this point. I think. I just have a lot of anxiety always going into, um, election years. Just in general? I do, yeah. I just feel like it's very polarizing. Yeah. And um, It, and I feel that so strongly, and I, I think it's maybe just because I'm a little bit of a empathic person in general, but I don't like that. I don't like the state of our, you know, of our nation where we're just in so, you know, just in fully different places and people are so volatile, I think, when they get in, you know, those black and white spaces. Well, and like we got like. Crazy orange haired guy versus super obviously, uh, senile. And, and it's hard to tell which is more corrupt, even though only ones in jail right now are under indictment. Right. Um, yeah, so I think it's going to be an interesting, um, year for everyone. For sure. I have no idea. Uh, I think. Probably my best guess would be Michelle Obama. You think I had to pick one person that was the most likely to be the president in January of 2025 or whatever. I would love that so much. I'm down, I guess. I don't know. Uh, it's, it's better than Biden. I just think that she, um, it, yeah, she just is incredibly, um, thoughtful, she's, um, I mean, she's ran, you know, she's been in, oh yeah, she's been around, yeah, she's been around. So I feel like, well, arguably her husband is still the president right now for some people. Yeah. So, I don't know. I think we'll have to see, is that something you'd be interested in in the future? No. Not at all? Not at all. Okay. I definitely would not want to. You could make that government work a lot better. Yeah, thank you. Apply some EOS in that that's something in my future. Okay. I won't push it. Thanks for asking though. I'd vote for you. Well, thank you. Um, the Loco experience. Have you, uh, had that come upon you? What's the crazy experience that you're willing to share with our listeners? Oh. Crazy experience. Give me some, a little bit more context of... Oh gosh, I mean, uh, A. J. Fountain cut the head off of a dead frozen moose that they found up by steamboat with a Leatherman tool. Uh, Amy Lindgren recently shared a story of falling 100 feet down a hill, including a 30 foot plunge into a... Stream. Yeah. And being found by some passerbys or what? Or helped by some passerbys and so it could be a near death experience. You know, I've had people that spent a year abroad in China and didn't know Chinese when they got there, or That would be interesting. And I can't think of like any insane experience. Well, I mean this ambulance situation with your two and a half year old has to be Oh, as traumatic as anything else I can remember. Yeah. I don't know if there's other, I think, probably the hardest is, my ex husband, had, he got a blood transfusion, from University Hospital in Denver. and he would get a blood exchange every month, from, hospital in Denver. And, um, he would get pain medication, because I, I've had many ER doctors tell me that they wouldn't wish their worst enemy to have sickle cell disease because it is so painful. Um, you are in pain every single day of your life. Yeah. And even more so when the fresh blood comes in and wants to fight with it almost. Yeah. And so he had, um, had. gotten pain medication and also had gotten a, um, anti nausea medication. Okay. And they mixed together, uh, in a way that caused them to basically flatline. Oh. And so, um, when my daughter was two and a half, we were driving back from, um, Um, from the hospital on I 25 and, uh, he just went unconscious and, um, I had to pull over and get him out of the car, you know, and which was hard in itself and I had to give him CPR, um, on I 25 while my daughter was like, Mommy, what is happening to Daddy? And, uh, I. you know, was calm the whole time, being like, Daddy's just having a hard time, you know, waking up right now. And so I'm on the phone with I, or with um, 911. And uh, they're walking me through like what that, you know, like how to give them CPR, even though I've, you know, been certified, but yeah, but you just in the moment, you just, yeah. So I was giving them CPR until the paramedics got there and talking to my daughter and trying to keep her, you know, really calm. Yeah. And so, um, so they got there and, uh, and, and gave him some medication to have him come back. But, uh, yeah. And so he came back, thank goodness. Yeah. Then two years later, uh, something similar happened. Um. Wow. Different medication, though, mixed together and, and caused him to fat, flatline. And this time I didn't have any kids in the car, thank goodness. And uh, I was a mess. I could not keep it together at all, and I couldn't get him out of the car, which was so... It, it was like scary because I, I, I, he's not a big guy, but you know, when you're, it's dead weight. Right. Like I, he just was stiff and I couldn't get him out and it was just, I just was free. I was just like literally using all of my might in order to get him out. And I just was, I just couldn't. I could not get him out and somebody, um, on the frontage road had stopped and it's hard to even remember right now because it feels like such a dream, but I remember, uh, the guy stopping and he's like, do you need help? And I'm like, I can't get him out. I can't get him out. And he like, literally like just ran over to the car and just like, grabbed him and I don't know how and just got him. And so, um, I started working on him and, and, uh, he was just like, I got this, like, you just let me, you know, work on him. Why don't you just hold his hand? And it was just, um, was he like a paramedic or something or just, no, just an amazing, yeah, exactly. And so, um, but interesting the, um, You know, just, you know, it was saving grace that somebody would be there because I'm not sure if he would have, you know, died at that one point in time because they couldn't get him out. And, um, yeah, and interesting also how mom instincts happen or parental instincts happen because I was cool as a clam when my daughter was there. Right, for her sake. You know, that's like leadership, you know, and just, and so much, um, you know, like what it is to be an entrepreneur sometimes when, you know, shit hits the fan, you have to show up and be cool, cool, calm and collected. Don't let them see a sweat kind of thing. Yeah. And, and not to not be vulnerable, but just also like, that's your energy, you know, affects the rest of the team. Well, and you're going to translate to everybody else too. Yeah. If you're freaking out, they will too. And so, um, That's an interesting contrast. Yeah. And so... Both very local, uh, crazy stories. Just, yeah, I'd never wish that on anybody, you know, and, uh, and, uh, I just... I'm so grateful that that gentleman was there and I don't even know his name or I said, I don't know. I hope I said thank you. Right. Well, the way I see it, you saved his life twice, uh, which is two more life savings than I've done in my life, unless you've got other life savings out there as well. No. Not yet. No. No. Well, you might be surprised. You might get some more, hopefully, uh, in less stressful situations. Yeah. So, if people want to find you, uh, hire you for EOS or just, uh, buy you a cup of coffee and say thanks for being such a good mom to these kids or whatever that looks like, uh, how do they track you down? Yeah, so, uh, my email is jennifer. lewis at eosworldwide. com and, uh, that's probably the easiest way to... They can stalk you on LinkedIn LinkedIn and then also... So, uh, you know, usworldwide, um, forward slash jennifer dash lewis. Okay. Um, one last question. Uh, what's your favorite food? My favorite food? Favorite food. My favorite food is, um, a really, really good filet. I had one of those just, just a week ago. Yeah? Yeah. I, I think that means I'm a Colorado girl, because I'm, you know, steak. Yeah. Well, thanks for being here, Jennifer. It's been a joy. Thank you. And I look forward to our next conversation in whatever setting that is. Thank you so much for having me. Godspeed.