WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:00.560 Foreign. 2 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:11.320 Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary 3 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:15.200 for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, 4 00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:18.720 your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of 5 00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:22.640 inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. 6 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:27.040 Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world? Remember, everyone 7 00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:30.760 not only belongs, but thrives. You're not alone. 8 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:35.200 Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge 9 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:38.760 the status quo and share stories that resonate 10 00:00:38.760 --> 00:00:42.480 deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're 11 00:00:42.480 --> 00:00:46.400 sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's 12 00:00:46.400 --> 00:00:50.360 connect, reflect and inspire action together. 13 00:00:51.080 --> 00:00:54.870 Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out 14 00:00:54.870 --> 00:00:58.670 to jo,lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk 15 00:00:59.070 --> 00:01:02.590 to share your insights or to join me on the show. 16 00:01:03.470 --> 00:01:07.230 So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to 17 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:10.830 ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. 18 00:01:14.830 --> 00:01:18.400 Today is episode 186 with the 19 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:22.400 title From Textbook to Triumph and I have the 20 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:26.320 absolute honour and privilege to welcome Scott Grates. Scott is 21 00:01:26.320 --> 00:01:29.880 a visionary entrepreneur and best selling author who harnesses 22 00:01:29.880 --> 00:01:33.160 relationship marketing to accelerate business growth 23 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:37.000 whilst empowering students for real world 24 00:01:37.080 --> 00:01:40.760 success. When I asked Scott to describe his superpower, he said 25 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:44.610 that it is transforming relationships into reciprocal 26 00:01:44.610 --> 00:01:48.610 success. Hello, Scott, welcome to the show. Thank 27 00:01:48.610 --> 00:01:52.130 you, Joanne. I'm so excited to, to be here and have this 28 00:01:52.130 --> 00:01:55.570 conversation wherever it goes. Yeah, no, it's 29 00:01:56.130 --> 00:02:00.050 phenomenal. I'm honoured. And you're joining us from 30 00:02:00.050 --> 00:02:03.810 over the other side of the Atlantic from me, so somewhere. Yeah, North America. 31 00:02:04.210 --> 00:02:08.130 So I am in central New York and we were chatting a 32 00:02:08.130 --> 00:02:11.940 little bit before we hit record here, you know, New York, everyone immediately 33 00:02:11.940 --> 00:02:15.900 thanks. New York City, Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building. 34 00:02:15.980 --> 00:02:19.900 That's about three hours south of where I am. I'm actually a little 35 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:23.500 bit closer to Canada, Montreal, Canada, than I am New York City, 36 00:02:23.660 --> 00:02:27.540 but right smack dab in the middle of the state, about an hour west of 37 00:02:27.540 --> 00:02:31.180 the state capital of Albany. Wow, 38 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:35.420 I've never been that far north. I've been to New York 39 00:02:35.420 --> 00:02:39.190 City. New York, New York, yeah, the double barreled name. Yeah, 40 00:02:39.190 --> 00:02:42.790 I worked over there in the 90s, I think it was 41 00:02:42.790 --> 00:02:46.510 mid-90s I was there and yeah, I guess it's changed a bit. But yeah, I 42 00:02:46.510 --> 00:02:50.390 remember it being near Thanksgiving and then you had all the steam 43 00:02:50.550 --> 00:02:54.550 rising up from the under road, pipe work and stuff. 44 00:02:57.030 --> 00:03:00.990 You know, people, a lot of people love the city. I'm a more 45 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:04.600 of a country lover myself. You know, we're in the 46 00:03:04.600 --> 00:03:07.920 mountains and surrounded by beautiful lakes and in the fall 47 00:03:09.200 --> 00:03:12.960 it's just gorgeous when the foliage changes and all the different colours 48 00:03:13.040 --> 00:03:17.040 and you know the air just smells crisp and clean. 49 00:03:17.760 --> 00:03:21.600 Very different than the city. But we do like to sneak down there 50 00:03:21.600 --> 00:03:25.000 once in a while and catch a show or a ball game. The food is 51 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.800 amazing and, but just a little, a little too busy. The 52 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:32.780 older I get the, the, the more space I enjoy. Yeah, no, I 53 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:35.780 relate to that. I can relate to that. I, when I was working over there 54 00:03:35.780 --> 00:03:39.780 I, I spent two or three weeks in New York City, 55 00:03:40.820 --> 00:03:44.060 did a bit in Miami and then I, I flew across to the west coast 56 00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:46.340 and did a bit around la, San Diego, 57 00:03:48.100 --> 00:03:51.940 Beverly Hills area. And there's a real distinction between the New York City 58 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:56.180 or very on top of yourself. Everything's fast paced. You get out of 59 00:03:56.180 --> 00:04:00.050 LA and everything's far apart. Place of life is 60 00:04:00.050 --> 00:04:03.970 different and it's incredible. I guess you get the difference between where you 61 00:04:03.970 --> 00:04:06.890 are upstate in that as you say in the mountains and the 62 00:04:08.250 --> 00:04:11.850 scenery. It is interesting because America 63 00:04:11.930 --> 00:04:15.850 is you know, probably a dozen good sized cities and then 64 00:04:16.410 --> 00:04:19.890 all the rest is just small towns like I live in and there's so many 65 00:04:19.890 --> 00:04:23.290 similarities but then they are very different geographically 66 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:28.140 where when you look at Boston, New York, Philly, the Northeast in 67 00:04:28.140 --> 00:04:32.060 particular, there's just this grinded out, fast paced 68 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:35.940 go, go, go mentality and then you get down into 69 00:04:35.940 --> 00:04:39.580 where you're talking about Miami and then out west into you know, la, San Diego 70 00:04:39.580 --> 00:04:43.460 and it's just more of a laid back chill. You 71 00:04:43.460 --> 00:04:47.180 know, one is live to work, one is work to live. I prefer the latter 72 00:04:47.260 --> 00:04:51.060 but we've got three teenagers and I'm not wishing years away 73 00:04:51.060 --> 00:04:54.740 but when the youngest is, is out of the house we will. They call it 74 00:04:54.740 --> 00:04:58.640 Snowbir. We fly south for the winter. Winters don't 75 00:04:58.640 --> 00:05:02.480 do it for me. So we'll be down in Florida from, from probably Christmas 76 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:06.040 until May and then come back to New York and enjoy the summers and fall 77 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:09.840 foliage here and then you know, take off again. My memory of Florida is always 78 00:05:09.840 --> 00:05:13.240 the humidity and the, the thunderstorms and the flash rain that 79 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:17.480 pulls down. You get that? Yeah, every, every area you got to get, you know, 80 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:21.480 the good with the bad. But they, you know, people don't realise Florida experiences winter 81 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:24.960 as well. We were down there this January and it was in the high 40s, 82 00:05:24.960 --> 00:05:28.780 you know, so pretty cool by Florida. The winter 83 00:05:28.780 --> 00:05:32.340 months aren't as bad. The humidity certainly is very real. 84 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:36.020 Memorial Day I had a guest on here I think back in January this year 85 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:40.100 and she was from Atlanta and she was saying it's the coldest Atlanta she's known 86 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:43.940 in Many, many years. So you've had a real mix of weather this year 87 00:05:44.340 --> 00:05:48.140 it was, it was. A really, really cold winter, I 88 00:05:48.140 --> 00:05:52.100 guess, you know, north to south here in America, but the year before that was 89 00:05:52.100 --> 00:05:55.860 very mild, so who knows? I don't know. I don't get into climate change 90 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:59.840 and, you know, just because I'm not that I don't believe in it 91 00:05:59.840 --> 00:06:03.320 or, you know, I just, I'm not smart enough to understand how all that works. 92 00:06:03.400 --> 00:06:07.080 So I'm trusting people who can figure this stuff out. 93 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:11.720 Yeah, there's the old expression, stay in your own lane. 94 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:15.280 But, you know, I appreciate sometimes you want to step out and not. And not 95 00:06:15.280 --> 00:06:18.480 be blinkered, but sometimes you think, hang on a minute, yeah, I haven't got an 96 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.800 answer for everything, even though I want to. But yeah, sometimes it's best to listen. 97 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:26.640 That comes with age, Joanne. You know, for years I wanted to have an 98 00:06:26.640 --> 00:06:30.330 answer for everything and I felt lesser if I didn't. And now I'm 99 00:06:30.330 --> 00:06:34.090 comfortable with the. I don't know. That's a, It's a great question, it's a great 100 00:06:34.090 --> 00:06:37.690 point. I don't know and I do. I find myself the older I get, the 101 00:06:37.690 --> 00:06:41.290 more comfortable I am knowing what I know and staying in my lane, like you 102 00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:45.169 said. So when I introduced you, I described you as 103 00:06:45.169 --> 00:06:49.050 a visionary entrepreneur, which is a big, weighty title to sort of 104 00:06:49.050 --> 00:06:52.770 be labelled with, isn't it? Sort of. And a bestselling author, which is also another 105 00:06:52.850 --> 00:06:56.690 thing to live up to. So you talk about relationship building and you 106 00:06:56.690 --> 00:06:59.170 work with organisations, you work with people to try and 107 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:05.160 empower them to have better success in the world through relationship marketing. Tell me a 108 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:09.000 bit more about how you got into that and what that means. Yeah, great 109 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:12.480 question. Out of necessity is the quick 110 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:16.240 answer. When I started my first 111 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:19.960 business and it was an insurance agency, I had no business 112 00:07:20.200 --> 00:07:24.200 experience. We had two babies and diapers. We were 113 00:07:24.200 --> 00:07:28.120 coming off the 2008 financial meltdown where I had lost my job with 114 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:31.840 HSBC, London based company. They got rid of six and a half 115 00:07:31.840 --> 00:07:35.520 thousand jobs on a Monday morning. I was one of them. And, you know, 116 00:07:35.760 --> 00:07:39.760 again, with age comes the understanding that when a window closes, a door 117 00:07:39.760 --> 00:07:43.640 opens and you often don't see it or understand it 118 00:07:43.640 --> 00:07:47.600 at the time, but everything is happening for us. That's where, you know, faith, and 119 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.720 it doesn't have to be religious faith, just the faith that things will work out, 120 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.580 belief in the unseen and, you know, so when I opened the, 121 00:07:54.580 --> 00:07:58.540 the first agency, I couldn't advertise and 122 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:02.020 market in traditional ways. Which are very expensive. 123 00:08:02.260 --> 00:08:06.100 And, and so I found a niche in, in relationship 124 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:09.940 building, relationship marketing, really getting grassroots and diving 125 00:08:09.940 --> 00:08:13.780 into five different areas which, which we can talk about obviously, 126 00:08:13.780 --> 00:08:17.580 but you know, small businesses being the first one. And, 127 00:08:17.580 --> 00:08:21.300 and really this whole fable of the goose and the golden egg, 128 00:08:21.770 --> 00:08:25.210 you know, became very clear to me and that if the golden egg is, is 129 00:08:25.210 --> 00:08:29.210 a prospect, a potential customer, I can spend tonnes 130 00:08:29.210 --> 00:08:33.170 of money that I didn't have or you know, run up debt and, 131 00:08:33.170 --> 00:08:36.570 and try to get all the golden eggs I can in traditional 132 00:08:36.810 --> 00:08:40.570 competitive ways like everyone else was doing. Or I can 133 00:08:40.570 --> 00:08:44.410 go deep with the geese who lay the golden eggs each 134 00:08:44.410 --> 00:08:48.170 day. And when they do, if I have the relationship with the geese, then they're 135 00:08:48.170 --> 00:08:51.920 going to send the golden eggs my way. And, and what I found is 136 00:08:51.920 --> 00:08:55.760 that the, the geese are doing the hard work. They're, they're building the 137 00:08:55.760 --> 00:08:59.760 relationships, they're building the trust with their customers. And so I said, who are 138 00:08:59.760 --> 00:09:03.120 the people that are already doing business with the people I want to do business 139 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.880 with that already have those relationships and I can just pour 140 00:09:06.880 --> 00:09:10.360 value into them without asking for anything in return 141 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:15.000 and then nurture those relationships over time so that when they have an 142 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:18.400 insurance need or their customer has an insurance need, they go, hey, you should go 143 00:09:18.400 --> 00:09:22.200 talk to Scott. And it's a long term approach and 144 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:26.120 this is why people get frustrated with it, right? But, but ultimately 145 00:09:26.280 --> 00:09:30.280 I was able to start with, with fellow small business owners here in my community. 146 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.800 Then I got into the schools, I got active with service 147 00:09:33.800 --> 00:09:37.720 organisations, I started focusing on my, my customers, right, my 148 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:41.680 call, my star customers to try to clone those people, right, that I want 149 00:09:41.680 --> 00:09:45.120 to do business with and then just very active on social media, 150 00:09:45.670 --> 00:09:49.430 aware of my personal brand. And I never wanted to be 151 00:09:49.430 --> 00:09:52.710 known as an insurance agent. I don't know if anyone does. 152 00:09:53.430 --> 00:09:57.070 You know, I wanted to be known as, as a husband, as a father, as 153 00:09:57.070 --> 00:10:00.870 a community leader, a thought leader, someone who has the servant heart 154 00:10:00.870 --> 00:10:04.150 that pours back into the place that we call home and we love. 155 00:10:05.270 --> 00:10:08.630 And oh, by the way, if you need help with insurance, I can do that 156 00:10:08.630 --> 00:10:12.590 too. And so really that's, that's the longer version of 157 00:10:12.590 --> 00:10:16.150 out of necessity. But you know, I just didn't have 158 00:10:16.700 --> 00:10:19.500 money. And you talk about being a visionary, 159 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:24.540 which I'm sure someone wrote that for me, but, but 160 00:10:24.540 --> 00:10:28.500 the truth is I'm a, I'm a contrarian. You know, I, I, I have a 161 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:32.380 knack of looking at things and saying, hey, if everyone's 162 00:10:32.940 --> 00:10:36.780 thinking this is the way to go, I want to Peek the other 163 00:10:36.780 --> 00:10:40.460 way, you know, and see what's happening over there or can we make something happen 164 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:44.380 in a different direction so that I stand out because again, I'm in a very 165 00:10:45.400 --> 00:10:49.320 competitive, commoditized. Well, I guess every industry is competitive and commoditized 166 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:53.160 now, right? With, with AI and everything emerging, we've really levelled the 167 00:10:53.160 --> 00:10:56.920 playing field in a lot of ways. So I'm always looking for, for new approaches 168 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:00.879 and this relationship piece, what I really love about it a, I 169 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:04.640 just love people and I enjoy building relationships with the right people. And 170 00:11:04.640 --> 00:11:07.320 not all people are good people. So let's be clear about that. And not I 171 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.840 don't want, I don't want to work with all people, but when I do find 172 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.420 those people. But the other piece of that is in this digitally 173 00:11:13.420 --> 00:11:16.980 dominated world, what was once old is new again. 174 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:21.260 And the power of eyeball to eyeball and really loving on people and caring 175 00:11:21.260 --> 00:11:25.140 about them like that, AI can't replace that. And you know, however 176 00:11:25.140 --> 00:11:28.980 advanced we get digitally, we still want to be 177 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:32.780 seen and heard and loved and know that we 178 00:11:32.780 --> 00:11:36.740 matter. And so really that's my focus and what I teach 179 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:40.260 my teams is to just love on people. The right people 180 00:11:41.070 --> 00:11:45.070 expect nothing in return. And what happens is when you do that, suddenly people 181 00:11:45.070 --> 00:11:49.070 want to reciprocate. They want to work with you and do business with 182 00:11:49.070 --> 00:11:52.990 you and refer others to you. And that's been our model for going on 20 183 00:11:52.990 --> 00:11:56.630 years now. Picking out some of the nuggets in there, the golden egg and the 184 00:11:56.630 --> 00:12:00.630 goose. You're not focusing on the egg, you're focusing on the geese. I love that 185 00:12:00.630 --> 00:12:03.870 idea. And I'm a great believer in relationship marketing. I'm a great believer in building 186 00:12:03.870 --> 00:12:07.870 relationships. Pay it forward. My model is more altruistic than 187 00:12:07.870 --> 00:12:11.380 paying it forward. I don't expect to ever see the return. You just 188 00:12:11.540 --> 00:12:15.540 give like, like you don't expect to see a great method. That way you become 189 00:12:15.540 --> 00:12:19.380 very authentic and people can believe and trust in you that you're not doing 190 00:12:19.380 --> 00:12:22.820 it for a reward, you're doing it because you're a great person. 191 00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:27.140 I think that that approach really resonates for me. But you were also saying, you 192 00:12:27.140 --> 00:12:30.940 know, this is 2008 financial crisis. I was trying to customer mind back to what 193 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:34.900 I was doing. So I had my own IT company back then. And so we 194 00:12:34.900 --> 00:12:38.870 were selling services and we were dealing with businesses 195 00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:42.430 suddenly closing up shop or constricting. They weren't hiring 196 00:12:42.430 --> 00:12:46.110 anymore. Had a knock on through every sector of business 197 00:12:46.270 --> 00:12:50.110 back in, back in 2008. I remember it well. But I started my first 198 00:12:50.110 --> 00:12:54.070 IT company back in 1998 and 199 00:12:54.070 --> 00:12:58.070 that's pre iPhone, it was pre broadband, it was dial up at the 200 00:12:58.070 --> 00:13:01.550 time and you were writing letters to people, sending out 201 00:13:01.550 --> 00:13:05.420 brochures and printing stuff, weren't you? And stick it in the main, it'll be 202 00:13:05.420 --> 00:13:09.300 a franking machine. If it's frank it, post it here. After we 203 00:13:09.300 --> 00:13:11.620 get letters in the morning we'd open them or bin them. 204 00:13:13.300 --> 00:13:16.980 Way of marketing. And it's gone through a big cycle I think 205 00:13:17.060 --> 00:13:20.740 back in those days I was involved in organisations I think, I don't know if 206 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:24.660 you have it in the States called BNI Business Networking International. So 207 00:13:24.660 --> 00:13:28.300 you are really taught me about the giver's game model and this getting in there 208 00:13:28.300 --> 00:13:32.110 and in the weeds and getting to know people's relationships. I think you're just saying 209 00:13:32.110 --> 00:13:36.070 to me is really resonating. But today in the digital world and you mentioned 210 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:39.430 AI, it's sometimes hard to do that again, isn't it? Yeah, 211 00:13:40.630 --> 00:13:44.590 you bring up so many good points there. The first one I want to talk 212 00:13:44.590 --> 00:13:48.590 about is people's BS metres are higher than ever 213 00:13:48.590 --> 00:13:52.590 nowadays. So if you're not doing it for the right reasons and 214 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:56.350 with sincerity and being genuine, authentic people will pick up on that. So don't even 215 00:13:56.350 --> 00:14:00.080 bother doing it. That's the first piece. And then you know, the other 216 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:04.000 thing is the bni. Yeah, we do have BNI here and so I 217 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:07.800 often equate this to what I've done. My model and the 218 00:14:07.800 --> 00:14:11.760 communities I serve as. I've built my, my own BNI for 219 00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:15.560 lack of a better term without the BNI stuff, you know, and BNI is very. 220 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:19.640 I scratch your back, you scratch mine, I give with the expectation that 221 00:14:19.640 --> 00:14:22.680 you're going to come with so many leads, you know, we don't do that. We 222 00:14:22.680 --> 00:14:26.320 just find like minded people who, who have this go 223 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:29.930 giver mentality, servant heart and, and 224 00:14:30.010 --> 00:14:33.690 we, we're there for each other, you know, and we support one another 225 00:14:33.690 --> 00:14:37.370 and there's none of the red tape, you know, kind of rules and 226 00:14:37.530 --> 00:14:41.450 you know, whatnot. So, so yeah, I say all the time if you're 227 00:14:41.450 --> 00:14:45.250 not in BNI because it is an exclusive club, right, they only take one person 228 00:14:45.250 --> 00:14:49.170 from each industry and so if you're not in the club, make your own. 229 00:14:49.170 --> 00:14:53.050 And again that, that speaks to the contrarian in me where it's like, hey, 230 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:57.150 you know, if everyone's doing this, well let me just go start my own 231 00:14:57.150 --> 00:15:00.670 thing and find people I, I want to do business with. So 232 00:15:01.550 --> 00:15:05.230 yeah, the, the AI, I'm Embracing it. So, full disclosure, 233 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:09.070 I use AI every day and, and I think it's, 234 00:15:09.710 --> 00:15:13.470 it's a fantastic tool. And it's funny how you were talking about 235 00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:17.190 2008 and I was picturing as you were talking like, almost like a black and 236 00:15:17.190 --> 00:15:21.150 white scene with, with these old printing presses and I'm thinking 237 00:15:21.150 --> 00:15:24.730 It was only 17 years ago. Right. But it feels like an eternity. 238 00:15:24.970 --> 00:15:28.890 And yeah, I was, I was with you. Right. We were still typing out 239 00:15:28.890 --> 00:15:32.650 things with certain pro is wild. But yeah, the AI, I'm 240 00:15:32.650 --> 00:15:36.530 embracing it. But, but as a tool, you know, 241 00:15:36.530 --> 00:15:40.450 and I, and I. It will replace certain things, it will replace 242 00:15:40.450 --> 00:15:44.250 certain people. But here's what I believe is that, you know, 243 00:15:44.410 --> 00:15:48.290 I'm not scared it's going to replace me. So long as I 244 00:15:48.290 --> 00:15:52.290 know how to utilise that tool to, to do 245 00:15:52.290 --> 00:15:55.930 what I need to do with my businesses and, and keep growing with it. The 246 00:15:55.930 --> 00:15:59.410 people who will be replaced are the ones who just refuse to adapt 247 00:16:00.050 --> 00:16:03.090 and, you know, they, they want to die on that hill of I'm going to 248 00:16:03.090 --> 00:16:06.409 do it this way and we're not going to, you know, and, and so, you 249 00:16:06.409 --> 00:16:09.770 know, I'm going. You have to go with it or get run over by it, 250 00:16:09.770 --> 00:16:13.410 because it's not stopping. Yeah. I mean, we've seen Blockbuster and video 251 00:16:13.410 --> 00:16:17.380 hire companies being taken out by streaming, being by 252 00:16:17.380 --> 00:16:21.300 Netflix. Traditional broadcast TV has been taken 253 00:16:21.300 --> 00:16:25.020 out, print media has been taken out by online 254 00:16:25.020 --> 00:16:28.820 stuff. It's just an evolution. It's just happening quicker than it's ever happened before 255 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:32.619 in human history. If you look at the way Sam Altman 256 00:16:32.619 --> 00:16:36.380 is, releasing ChatGPT models every six months 257 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:39.980 is a quantum leap forward. What was true one minute is now 258 00:16:40.380 --> 00:16:44.220 a potential in the next minute is now reality. And if I was a 259 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:48.040 graphic designer, if I'm a coder, the latest canva update, you can, you can now 260 00:16:48.040 --> 00:16:51.760 generate entire websites, entire entire games just 261 00:16:51.760 --> 00:16:54.880 by ideating into a chat box. It's crazy. 262 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:59.760 It really is. And I, I think for most of the listeners, 263 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:04.120 as wild as you think things are going to be in the next couple 264 00:17:04.120 --> 00:17:07.680 years in this space, I don't think you're even scratching the 265 00:17:07.760 --> 00:17:11.000 surface with your wildest thoughts. I think it's going to go way beyond that. I 266 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:14.560 don't know. We can, we can riff for hours on this, but, but yeah, 267 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:17.710 it's, I guess what happens. Yeah, 268 00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:22.710 don't fear it. You know, we initially fear 269 00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:26.110 change, but, you know, I do believe 270 00:17:27.550 --> 00:17:31.510 in the human spirit and I do believe in the human 271 00:17:31.510 --> 00:17:35.350 heart and, you know, again, it's a Tool. But 272 00:17:35.350 --> 00:17:39.350 ultimately we need each other. And I do believe that in the 273 00:17:39.350 --> 00:17:43.350 future, when robots are running restaurants, people will 274 00:17:43.350 --> 00:17:47.350 pay more to go to a restaurant and have a human wait 275 00:17:47.350 --> 00:17:51.350 staff. You know, I think that the humans will actually be at a premium 276 00:17:51.590 --> 00:17:55.350 because we'll want to get away from the machines. But 277 00:17:55.350 --> 00:17:59.150 again, that's rabbit hole stuff. But yeah, humans aren't going 278 00:17:59.150 --> 00:18:02.670 away. I get that. I mean, if I'm 279 00:18:02.670 --> 00:18:06.590 fencing, eating a McDonald's meal, for example, I've got the app 280 00:18:06.590 --> 00:18:10.430 on my phone. If I'm thinking I'll drop in on the way back and we 281 00:18:10.430 --> 00:18:13.870 can stop in there, I can order it on my phone before we set off 282 00:18:13.950 --> 00:18:17.910 for the first place, and I turn up, I put the little code in that 283 00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:21.270 I'm sat in front of and then they'll deliver it to my window, straight in 284 00:18:21.270 --> 00:18:24.230 my car and all I gotta do is eat it. And that, that helps. If 285 00:18:24.230 --> 00:18:28.030 I walk into, into the, into the restaurant, there's a big terminal. I can push 286 00:18:28.030 --> 00:18:31.350 the buttons and tap the screen and then pay for it and I can just 287 00:18:31.350 --> 00:18:33.190 wait for them to give it to me or I can go sit in my 288 00:18:33.190 --> 00:18:36.830 car. That kind of works for me that, that's the ultimate 289 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:39.760 transactional fast food. Often, 290 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:44.000 often I'll walk into McDonald's and go, I don't want to do all that. I 291 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.800 just want to talk to you. I just want to explain what I want. I 292 00:18:46.800 --> 00:18:49.400 want you to give me a Big Mac, I want to give you large fries 293 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:53.320 and I want a really nice vanilla shake. And I want to have that 294 00:18:53.320 --> 00:18:57.280 conversation. Sometimes it depends on where I am in my 295 00:18:57.280 --> 00:19:00.640 mind. If I don't want to talk to anybody, I've got a transactional way. If 296 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:04.000 I want to have human contact, I can. And sometimes I'll sit in my car 297 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:08.120 on my own, sometimes I want to sit in a restaurant and it's. I think 298 00:19:08.120 --> 00:19:11.000 we can consume in different ways now, can't we? I think, and choose it ourselves. 299 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:15.000 Yeah, I agree with that 100%. And, and that's, you know, 300 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:18.800 really why I'm all in on, on the relationship piece, right 301 00:19:18.800 --> 00:19:22.760 to, to business. And I don't know. And everyone's different, every business is 302 00:19:22.760 --> 00:19:26.400 different, but I just enjoy the human side 303 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:30.280 of what we do. And I'm in risk management and, and we talk 304 00:19:30.280 --> 00:19:34.000 about protecting assets and building assets and wealth and you know, I. 305 00:19:34.080 --> 00:19:37.940 These are very emotional, you know, conversations 306 00:19:38.020 --> 00:19:42.020 and behavioural, you know, habits are so important. And 307 00:19:42.340 --> 00:19:46.100 yeah, you can type into to chat and ask it for financial 308 00:19:46.100 --> 00:19:49.860 advice and you can give it all of Your numbers and tell it your hopes 309 00:19:49.860 --> 00:19:53.860 and dreams and goals and it will build probably a plan that's better 310 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:58.020 than what I could do for my clients. But 311 00:19:58.580 --> 00:20:02.540 you know, when they're confused or scared or there 312 00:20:02.540 --> 00:20:06.060 was a market movement or they had an accident or they were diagnosed with an 313 00:20:06.060 --> 00:20:09.880 illness, or they lost someone they loved, you know, these, these real life moments 314 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:13.840 happen, like we're still going to need each other and, and so, 315 00:20:14.320 --> 00:20:17.920 you know, I, I, that's why I just keep going back to it. 316 00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:21.120 It's a tool and it will help and it's made me, and I'm sure you 317 00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:25.040 as well, Joanne, 10x more efficient already, right? 318 00:20:25.040 --> 00:20:28.840 I mean, you took my bio and you know, plugged it in and chat 319 00:20:28.840 --> 00:20:32.200 tells you, you know, this great stuff about me, which you didn't have to research 320 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:35.080 and think about on your own, but I do the same thing, you know, and 321 00:20:35.080 --> 00:20:37.600 I've written training manuals and courses 322 00:20:40.050 --> 00:20:44.050 that, you know, it took me like an hour, which would normally be weeks 323 00:20:44.050 --> 00:20:47.930 of work. So it's making us more efficient. But I think too 324 00:20:47.930 --> 00:20:51.730 much of anything is problematic, you know, and so it has to be part of 325 00:20:51.730 --> 00:20:55.290 the puzzle. I don't think we can be all. In right there, the word you 326 00:20:55.290 --> 00:20:58.850 mentioned in there, and I latched onto it and you used the word risk 327 00:20:59.890 --> 00:21:03.650 and I can't remember the exact quote, but something like trust is hard 328 00:21:03.650 --> 00:21:07.640 fought but lost in an instant and you can never regain it or 329 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:11.280 something is kind of the. And I guess when you're talking about here in your 330 00:21:11.280 --> 00:21:15.240 financial investments, your advising clients, a lot of 331 00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:19.200 that comes from risk and trust. Do I trust Chat GPT with my 332 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:22.760 home, my family, my car, my whole life? 333 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:27.160 No. Do I trust you? Maybe not now, but I can 334 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:30.600 ask you questions and we can build up a relationship. I can meet other people 335 00:21:30.600 --> 00:21:34.570 who trust you. ChatGPT. I could meet other people who don't trust it 336 00:21:34.570 --> 00:21:38.530 at all. Or, you know, the trust with ChatGPT is cautious 337 00:21:38.530 --> 00:21:42.370 trust, isn't it? It's an assistant. I don't empower it. So 338 00:21:42.370 --> 00:21:46.290 you're talking about relationship building and trust is the key in there, isn't it? 339 00:21:46.930 --> 00:21:50.690 Yeah. And I'll give you a word that you used earlier, which is empathy. 340 00:21:50.930 --> 00:21:54.770 And this is so huge, right, because you know, AI can give 341 00:21:54.770 --> 00:21:58.690 us facts and stats and a plan and words, but I don't 342 00:21:58.690 --> 00:22:02.570 know how often it's going to say, I hear you, Joanne. I know 343 00:22:02.570 --> 00:22:06.530 the struggle you're going through. I feel the same way. I've been there. Right. I'm 344 00:22:06.530 --> 00:22:10.490 here to listen sometimes we don't even give advice, we just give an 345 00:22:10.490 --> 00:22:14.330 ear and we're there for people emotionally when they need us 346 00:22:14.330 --> 00:22:18.050 and we can guide them. You know, just that empathy 347 00:22:18.050 --> 00:22:21.850 piece is so important. And again, as the 348 00:22:21.850 --> 00:22:25.400 world goes towards mass emails and 349 00:22:25.800 --> 00:22:29.320 social and SEO and, you know, I, I just still believe 350 00:22:30.120 --> 00:22:33.560 that if you have a couple hundred really strong 351 00:22:33.560 --> 00:22:37.480 relationships with the right people now, every business is different, but in my business, 352 00:22:38.040 --> 00:22:42.040 a couple hundred solid relationships. So not just me, but my, my whole team, 353 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:46.760 we can do everything we need to accomplish for our customers 354 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:50.830 by just knowing a couple hundred of the right people and, you know, diving 355 00:22:50.830 --> 00:22:54.710 deep into those relationships. So, yeah, empathy is a 356 00:22:54.710 --> 00:22:58.190 word we focus on a lot. There's a phrase which I believe I coined, not 357 00:22:58.190 --> 00:23:01.790 anybody else in, but please tell me if you've heard it. 358 00:23:01.790 --> 00:23:05.510 Otherwise there's the old adage, it's not what you know, it's who you know. 359 00:23:06.550 --> 00:23:10.510 And my spin on that is no longer what you know or who you 360 00:23:10.510 --> 00:23:14.310 know. It's all about who knows you. So, and 361 00:23:14.390 --> 00:23:18.350 what I often say to people is, with the best and the best of intentions, 362 00:23:18.350 --> 00:23:22.070 I don't care who you are as long as you know who I am. And 363 00:23:22.550 --> 00:23:26.310 so that's about building this kind of first century personal brand, 364 00:23:26.790 --> 00:23:29.910 about creating that Persona that 365 00:23:31.910 --> 00:23:35.630 tells the story about your values, your, your hopes and fears and 366 00:23:35.630 --> 00:23:39.430 dreams that people can then buy into you. And I remember being always 367 00:23:39.430 --> 00:23:42.950 told at networking meeting, don't give your business card out, collect other people, 368 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.480 that way you can email them, that way you've got control of the conversation. 369 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:50.800 But I learned over many years that I would never call them, I would never 370 00:23:50.800 --> 00:23:54.240 phone them up, I would never do all this. So actually I want you to 371 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:58.080 know who I am so that, that's more important to me. I leave a room 372 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:02.280 with 50 people knowing me and then they will go, oh yeah, I 373 00:24:02.280 --> 00:24:05.760 remember Joanne, I remember Joanne. But I can never contact the thousands of people I 374 00:24:05.760 --> 00:24:09.730 come in Contact with on LinkedIn Everywhere else now the relationship 375 00:24:09.730 --> 00:24:13.690 there changed a bit. That's a great take, you know, so my book is called 376 00:24:13.690 --> 00:24:16.970 Referrals Done Right and the old school 377 00:24:16.970 --> 00:24:20.930 networking is in my opinion the wrong way to do it. 378 00:24:20.930 --> 00:24:24.769 And that's what you're talking about with these forced social interactions and networking and the 379 00:24:24.769 --> 00:24:28.610 grabbing the cards and following up and making the calls. And I love your take 380 00:24:28.610 --> 00:24:32.170 on it, which is, you know, I want you to know me. And I tell 381 00:24:32.410 --> 00:24:35.450 people all the time that you aren't who you think you are in the business 382 00:24:35.450 --> 00:24:39.320 world. You are who your Google reviews say you are, because that's what other people 383 00:24:39.320 --> 00:24:43.320 are saying about you. And my, my kids, I, I just try to impress 384 00:24:43.320 --> 00:24:46.240 upon them so much. All kids that I talk to spent a lot of time 385 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:50.000 with, with working with high school students is this brand awareness 386 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:53.800 and, and what an amazing time for them to be alive 387 00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:58.160 and be able to build your personal brand. Because, you know, I mean, I'm staring 388 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:02.040 down 50, but even in, during my years when, when you 389 00:25:02.040 --> 00:25:05.980 go back like you, you had to know certain people to get into certain 390 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:09.940 universities or get certain jobs or get into certain rooms, get certain meetings. 391 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:13.860 You know, you had to have a certain amount of money or social status or, 392 00:25:13.860 --> 00:25:17.300 you know, there was these family connections and social ties that were so important 393 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:21.540 today. I'm not saying that's not important, but for the kids, the 394 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:25.580 playing fields level now, you know, and it doesn't matter. You can be 395 00:25:25.580 --> 00:25:29.580 in your bedroom and creating amazing content and a personal brand and 396 00:25:29.580 --> 00:25:33.540 become a millionaire. You know, you have access to, to the Internet 397 00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:37.600 and know you have access to information. You know, 398 00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:41.320 holding a cell phone, a 16 year old today has access to more 399 00:25:41.320 --> 00:25:45.080 information than President Barack Obama did when he first took 400 00:25:45.080 --> 00:25:48.840 office. You know, 20 years, not even 20 years ago. And 401 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.840