It's Just Business

87. Generate Your Value with Andy McDowell

July 13, 2022 Dana Dowdell and Russ Harlow Episode 87
It's Just Business
87. Generate Your Value with Andy McDowell
Show Notes Transcript

What's the best way to create more value in my business? How can I add value to my business' products and services? Why is added value important to a business? We talk with Andrew McDowell of Generate Your Value. Andy is an engineer by trade and a creative by nature and we have a great conversation about using strategic skills to Generate Your Value in your personal and professional life.

Where you can connect with Andy McDowell
Website: http://www.generateyourvalue.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generateyourvaluellc/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/generate-your-value-llc/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/genyourvalue

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You can find Dana @adashofboss, @dana.dowdell and @hrfanatic
Dana DowdellBoss Consulting – HR Consulting
Google -  https://tinyurl.com/y4wxnavx

You can find Russ @reliable.remediation
Russ HarlowReliable Remediation – Disaster Restoration
Google: https://g.page/r/CXogeisZHEjMEBA

Dana Dowdell  00:06

Hey, Russ!

 

Russ Harlow  00:07

What's happening? 

 

Dana Dowdell  00:08

How are you? 

 

Russ Harlow  00:09

I'm living the dream as always.

 

Dana Dowdell  00:13

Did you have a good week? 

 

Russ Harlow  00:14

I always have a good week. 

 

Dana Dowdell  00:16

Good. You made it to the other side. 

 

Russ Harlow  00:20

Set those expectations in a place that they're achievable sometimes. 

 

Dana Dowdell  00:24

There you go. So we have another awesome guest with us this morning, we are joined by Andy McDowell. He's the founder and owner of generate your value, which I think people are gonna get so excited to hear about because we think when you start a business, there's always conversations about value. How do you instill value? How do you prove your value, right?

 

Dana Dowdell  00:46

But Andy's a life leadership and business coach, and we're going to talk all about that, Andy, welcome to it's just business.

 

Andy McDowell  00:55

Great to be here. Thanks for the invite. And good to see you both day numerous. Thank you. Thank you. 

 

Dana Dowdell  01:00

So you have a common path of a lot of other business owners where you worked corporate, for a little known company that I'm sure people have heard of, but why don't you tell us kind of your origin story and how you got started with generate your value and what you were doing before that led to it?

 

Andy McDowell  01:20

Well, it came out of my college years, you know, a bachelor's and master's degree, and then started my entrepreneurial journey that has had many shapes and sizes, so to speak to it. So I worked for two entrepreneurs, 50 person or less organizations, so I was an employee in an entrepreneurial business or businesses. And one of those got acquired by a very large company happens to be the largest exporter in the United States in terms of dollars, called Boeing, you know, manufacturer of the airplanes, and the defense, business, and so forth. And I was asked to start a consulting practice for the company in the areas of airspace design, simulation, and modeling. So we went out to governments around the world, and our main focus was helping them to bring GPS into their flight and ground operations. So at that time, everybody had their garments in their cars. And we had been using GPS for a number of years. But the airline and aviation industries, like the medical fields, everything is tested and tested and tested and tested, make sure everything is safe before it gets brought on, by Boeing wanted that to be done. So they could increase the size of their market to sell airplanes, because by bringing in GPS, and flights being more accurate in their navigation, you can put planes closer together without reduction safety that we enjoy today in our air traffic control system. So I spent 20 plus years, building that business for Boeing. So as an entrepreneur within a major corporation, you know, I still had to go out and find the resources to help me with marketing and accounting and all the things that an entrepreneur needs to do. And unfortunately, it came to an end, along with 1000s of other people because of the 737 max crisis, with layoffs, and I had a dream of 30 years of Boeing and then doing what I'm doing today on a part time basis. But you know, I got shortened to 22 years. So I decided to do it full time. And it's my favorite part of what I did in my job within Boeing was to mentor and lead people. I had people within the company that sought me out to be a to be a mentor for him. Unfortunately, half the year I was on the other side of the world somewhere doing my thing so it was kind of hard to take on a lot of people but it's something I greatly enjoyed and I had been told that I was good at it. So here I am today at generate your value cranked up the business. September of 2019. Love have a bumpy roads, you know this thing called a pandemic came along. Your business coach, you started the business five months before pandemic, what do you think?

 

Dana Dowdell  04:32

We've talked to so many more journey. That's my story of where I am today. We've talked to so many people who started their business like the February before COVID. You know, like so there must have been something in the water at that time because there was a lot of new businesses that started so you're not alone. 

 

Andy McDowell  04:53

No, no, I know. I wasn't alone. It was just the hardest part of the job is doing the networking You're finding clients and when you're quarantine sitting at home and only have a computer to work with, it's difficult. 

 

Russ Harlow  05:06

Yeah, I think that was challenging for a lot of businesses. I know that I mean, I was doing networking, you know, two, three networking events a month, and chambers and you know, BNI, and everything else, and it just kind of, and then we kind of got out of the habit of it. Right. So now I'm still trying to get back in the groove and get back out there and, and meeting people and, you know, expanding that. So, I mean, things have changed. And they're kind of going back to the same, but I don't know. So what was the biggest challenge overcoming it? I mean, you did that entrepreneurial thing, but kind of with a safety net at Boeing. But now you kind of jump out? How does, how does that kind of go? It's got to feel a little bit different, at least? 

 

Andy McDowell  05:47

Oh, absolutely. I mean, like anything in life, there's pros and cons, the pros is I get to set my own schedule my own intent, what I want to do with this business, it's my own messaging, I get to create that as opposed to having to get it from from above down and try and figure out how my business fits within that and so forth. So that those are the the enjoyment of it, but it's, you know, it's risky, it's scary, you know, you're out there on your own trying to deliver your value in the world, and where are my peeps? You know?

 

Russ Harlow  06:24

No, absolutely. And I, and I think that's the biggest, we always think, Oh, I just got to have this great idea, I'm gonna go, I'm going to do this thing, and people will just gonna come. And we all hit that realization of Where did everybody go? 

 

Andy McDowell  06:42

Where did everybody go? And it's the number one topic in, you know, my mastermind, like groups and in my coaching is, where do I find customers? How to? How do I increase my revenue? And where do I find my customers? The number one topic always?

 

Russ Harlow  07:02

And are people looking for any customer? Or are they looking for their ideal clients? Because that's the question that I always have.

 

Andy McDowell  07:09

And that's hard to do. I think when revenue is not pouring in, it's about doing the right thing, it's having an eye, I think of it as having a long game mentality. If I just treat people, right, in the long run, this is you know, call it karma call it to you, whatever it is, it builds your reputation, if nothing else, of being somebody who is trustworthy, and, you know, service minded. And I think that's great playing the long game.

 

Andy McDowell  07:09

Well, that's, that's one of the biggest pitfalls for people starting in business and becoming an entrepreneur is, is if they got a brick and mortar place, every person that walks in, they see dollar signs, dollar signs, right? And how do I get the sale when they may not be your ideal customer. And that's one of the workshops I do in my clients is to help them figure out who is their ideal customer. And how, even though you might turn a customer away, you still in the end, in the long run, still gain as a customer, because of the way that you approached it, and you help them to find a vendor, that would be an ideal match for themselves. And so they remember that they might even recommend you to the neighbor next door on the following day, because of the experience, even though you didn't get a single dollar for the person.

 

Andy McDowell  08:28

Well, I mean, one of my philosophies in life, and in business is complete overlap. And this is what I call the be, do, have model. You know, Hollywood's out there selling the do have be model, right? You go do these things, and you get to have these things. And then I get to be something in this world, as opposed to where you find more joy and happiness in life is the is the B do half, I'm going to be a certain way, I'm going to be a certain business, I'm just going to be just going to be here, my tribe is going to find me, then I'm going to do these things, whether it's a service or selling a product, whatever you're in business is that aligns with who I am in this world. From that perspective, and then I get to have joy and happiness and success in my life and in my business.

 

Dana Dowdell  09:21

I love that mindset. I feel like there's so much pressure to you know, you see other people doing similar work and you want to kind of catch up to where they are overnight. And it can be hard not to go into business go and go into starting a business not feeling that way, you know, not feeling like you have to do all of these things in order to be successful. 

 

Andy McDowell  09:48

Yeah, there's always that pressure putting food on the table and a roof over your head and those things that life requires, so to speak, and the difficult It is not making that your number one priority, and seeing it as an outcome. If I be the certain way and aligned my business we might be, and allow that to happen as an outcome as opposed to the main, the main item that overrides everything else may take you a little bit longer to get to where you need to be, but you're going to enjoy the journey so much more.

 

Dana Dowdell  10:28

And it's probably a more sustainable province more sustainable?

 

Andy McDowell  10:33

Much more sustainable. Yeah. 

 

Dana Dowdell  10:35

I'm curious. Because I think sometimes when people work, you know, for corporate, right? It's, it can be a little bit soul sucking, and they think that it's just a stepping stone. Right, but you worked for Boeing for 22 years. So you must have gained some incredible knowledge. What were some of the big takeaways that you learned while working for Boeing that you were able to take with you, when you created generate your value?

 

Andy McDowell  11:09

Well, the biggest was just how to lead lead people. I was pretty good at it halfway through my career, and one of the blessings I got from my time at Boeing was a sign me an executive coach, to help me to sort of do a 360 review of my leadership style, you know, gain input from people above or below and to the side of me, that gave me the areas where I needed to work from that perspective, and coupled that with my growth mindset is continuing to work on it, work on it, work on it, be able to see what that coaching model looks like. From that perspective, that's, that's the biggest takeaway I had from it. Also, another was the whole dynamic of love versus fear, and how that interplays into your leadership and your leading style, and it can greatly affect outcomes with your team, if you allow your fears to really creep in, into the culture of that you're creating amongst your team.

 

Dana Dowdell  12:22

Let's Can you dive into that idea, a little bit more of love versus fear, because I think people are probably like, I love everybody, I love my job. I love what I do. And that's not necessarily what we're talking about. Here's like, when you say the idea of love versus fear, how does it manifest,

 

Andy McDowell  12:40

It manifests in a usually one of two ways, right? So it either causes you to not address items. In other words, you sort of go into your cave, and just hope it all just goes away, you sort of sweep it under the rug, and that the issues sort of fester within your within your organization, or you don't want it to appear. So you become over controlling, trying to control the environment to control the team. So it's that whatever you're fearing won't ever show up. And that leads to micromanagement and other leadership styles and wants to control everything that people don't get, or feel like they have the emotional safety and the freedom to provide input or start new projects or generate new ideas or anything, it's just like, Well, I'm just gonna sit here till to my bosses, for me to do something because it's all like a puppeteer, or patrolling and kind of nature, in the culture and leadership style that you have. That's what I mean by love and fear. It's, you know, choice is the most powerful tool that your human being has. So how does love and fear creep into the way you make decisions and make choices in your own life as well as in your business and in your leadership?

 

Russ Harlow  14:05

Yeah, you know, and I've been part of an organization where fear was the primary motivating factor, and God it just it got toxic so quickly. You know, it's always either do this or you get punished, you know, and it was always, you're always looking for ways of round instead of ways to get better. And I think that's the big difference between if you're going to lead from a from a point of, you know, love or fear, either you're going to encourage your people to grow and they're going to look for ways to improve, or they're just going to be looking ways to avoid you and your wrath. And if you've ever been on the underside of that, it sucks. And you don't want to be that kind of leader. But, I mean, how do you there's got to be some factor that sometimes bosses are like, Oh, All you got to put your foot down, you got to, you know, but it's not really about being firm and having discipline is it it's, that's not what we're talking about. 

 

Andy McDowell  15:07

No, it's about painting a vision. As well as having a mindset that, here's the vision I want remember the team just like, even though I'm the leader, I'm a member of the team, we together as a team are going to go after this vision or goals or whatever phraseology you want to say, and I'm hiring you to come on and be a member of the team, and I'm going to invest in you just as much, you're going to invest your 40 plus hours a week in terms of your precious time, your talents, your skills, and everything else, that's what you're bringing to the table, I'm going to invest in this company, in this culture and environment. And I'm going to turn around and invest in you to try to get the best out of you. So that you're bringing the most value to our team and to the organization to help push it to whatever the vision of the goals are, that have been set. And we together as a team is only as good as whatever we accomplish. And I think you could easily say that brings about a much better result than somebody who's leading with fear go do this or else kind of saying she's not going to get the best out of everybody in that kind of environment. Because it's not emotionally safe. And that's the number one thing it's not talked a lot about, but it's the number one thing that people are looking for.In a company, and in particularly a leader, a leader of their team, which is in the end, the number one reason why people leave their position is because of the relationship with the boss.

 

Dana Dowdell  16:57

The fish stinks from the head down. Do you think it you know, does that style of leadership, right? Like, I think you and I, I'm a Human Resources consultant. So I see a lot of leadership gone wrong. 

 

Andy McDowell  17:16

And, you know, you're the one or the emergency room department.

 

Dana Dowdell  17:21

Oh, I prefer that over complaint department. But, you know, I feel like, we know what good leadership looks like, right? We know what it takes and why they say a leader is different than a manager. Right? What are some things that holds people back from getting to that level of leadership? Well, ultimately, every leader is judged on do they get the results or not?

 

Andy McDowell  17:54

Number one, so how is it you're going about getting the results? Are you creating a toxic environment, you're riding over the top of everybody, you may still get the results, but you lose half your team every year because there's just like, Heck with this, walking out the door, or you have an inclusive leadership that's engaged, you're explaining why you're doing things to everybody so that they can buy into the story, buy into the reasonings behind why we're taking this particular strategy, your path, and so forth. And if you get that buy in, it's like, okay, how high do you want me to jump from that perspective, and you easily achieve your results, if not exceed them because everybody's bringing their best game, so to speak to the table to accomplish that, because you're getting the best out of your people from that perspective, and that's, you know, if I was a CEO of a company, that's what I'd be looking for my next round of leadership underneath me is number one, are they cheap achieving the results a company is looking for but even more importantly, what I want to focus on my my motivation and incentives is, how they're leading. How's love and fear playing into what they're doing? What kind of culture are they creating, when they're team? Are they getting the best out of their people? And those type things? To me, I would probably weigh that 60% And the results 40% And I would let them know right from the get go. This is what I'm looking at these these are my hot buttons.

 

Russ Harlow  19:40

And that's good leadership from above, right. You know, you're putting those people in charge of your, your departments or whatever. But how you familiar with the book Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink, Leif Babban Navy SEALs, it's one of my favorite leadership books. And my favorite chapter in fact is there are No bad teams, only bad leaders. And you know, the idea is if your team fails, it is 100% Your fault, you either didn't put them in a position to succeed, you didn't give them the tools they needed, or the proper communicate how it needed to be done. And 100% of the time when that mission is achieved, it is their success, not yours. With just kind of that brief look at the philosophy, how does that look at you know, how we build better leaders and become better leaders ourselves? 

 

Andy McDowell  20:29

Yeah, I totally agree with it, you know, another, I'm a big Simon Sinek fan. So eaters see last, right, if we're successful, they get all the, all of the accolades. And if we fail, then I get all those accolades. From the perspective that I didn't do my job and motivating, getting engaged with them to leading to where we need to be, I can buy into that 100%, 

 

Dana Dowdell  20:55

You talk a lot, obviously about value, right, your business name is generate your value. So how, how is value defined in business?

 

Andy McDowell  21:07

Oh, the way I always answer this question is that value comes in many shapes, and forms. There's physical value, financial value, emotional value, spiritual value, relationship value, and in each is different, a little bit different in their own way. So if I'm a company delivering value, you have to look at where the, the need or the problem is. Because then whatever you're going to provide is going to be a value by the person that's on the receiving end, you know, value is either generated or extracted in the world. And creativity is the engine, that's, that's creating that value, or generating that value out there in the world. So whether you're a husband and a relationship, or you're a leader in a business, or a nonprofit, or in a friendship or whatever, how are you generating value in that entity? And what are you extracting? And are you extracting more than you're generating? Those are all the questions that I would ask, right? Even with a business, I'm sitting down with a business plan, trying to build it out, I'd be asking, Okay, what, what is the value I'm gonna be offering to the marketplace into my customers? What's the value I'm gonna be offering to my employees? What value am I gonna be offering to supply chain, etc, etc. And they're all gonna be different answers and going to have different looks and feels, to each but the important thing is asking a question, will it all come down to kind of your culture and kind of what's important to you, as a business and business owner, it's all talking to grow out of that, right? Your, the value you add, so I'm going to come out to from be right, I'm going to be this way. And if I, if I am this way, then inherently, I'm going to be generating value. Customers, Employees, you know, whatever from that nature, before I even start doing. And one of my favorite phrases is that culture eats strategy for lunch. You can have the best strategic plan in the world. But if you're being a certain way that extracts value from your strategy and your business plan, you're not going to be successful. And so I always like to start with the be word first, who are we going to be in this world, I want to start a company that's in this particular industry, and I get to the heart of this with my clients is when I first meet them, and have their first cup of coffee or whatever, it's why are you here? Who are you being in this world? And why are you here? Why do you think the world needs what you have to offer? What value are you generating? And that's what sets the tone for the rest of the engagement on down the days, weeks and years, you know, from that perspective, because it to me, that's where it all starts. 

 

Dana Dowdell  24:26

So it sounds like it's beyond just someone saying, Well, I want to be myself I want to be a business owner and just be myself. 

 

Andy McDowell  24:34

Well, okay, define yourself. I'm not saying that's a wrong answer, but no, I think I'm gonna keep peeling that onion back and go okay, give me some words to define yourself. 

 

Dana Dowdell  24:46

Well, I think it's to that point of like, of being an authentic and authentic business owner. You know, like if, if I one time had someone say to me, you know, you can be successful but you may have to be someone that youDo that you don't, you know, like, you may have to kind of change who you are a bit. And I was like, What the fuck does that mean? You know, so I think I think people go into business sometimes and be like, well, I I'm just going to be myself when I interact with these clients, or I'm gonna be myself when I deliver these services. But it's, it's more than that, right?

 

Andy McDowell  25:26

Well, it's understanding what you where your strengths or weaknesses are, what you're delivering to the table. So the business success may have these certain needs, and I might check off eight of the 10 on that list. If for those other two, I'm going to hire a vendor or a company to come in or hire an employee that has strengths in those areas, so that all those 10 are going to get delivered in the execution of the business. But if you can't sit down and be introspective, or sit down with other people and get feedback as to where your strengths are, you might be fooling yourself and may not lead to the success that you're looking for.

 

Russ Harlow  26:06

So how do we how do we realize whether or not we're building that in the right timeframe? I mean, a lot of us just kind of launch into business, or we're like, Hey, I've got an idea. I mean, at some point, we realize something's not going right. And so how important is it to have that extra set of eyes from the outside to help us realize what it is exactly that we can't put our finger on? That's not going? Well?

 

Andy McDowell  26:36

Yeah, it's important to go back to, you know, what I said about the executive coach, in my own career, having a 360 review? So are you having those open and honest conversations with your employees are, you know, did you did you hire a coach to come be an independent party to come in and look at it?Talking to other business owners, you know, anybody that in that kind of ilk, so to speak, that you can get feedback from, or some advice or have some conversations might raise some flags or, or give you areas that you need to be working on to get a better result, the most important thing is have a growth mindset and say, Okay, I'm not a failure, because of this, you know, fell off my horse, but I'm dusting myself off, being going to be introspective, about my business and my leadership, and so forth, and adjust a few things and get back on that horse and try again, hoping for a better result. Because in my eyes, you're not a failure to quit.

 

Dana Dowdell  27:50

What about when a business owner feels as though their clients don't value them?

 

Dana Dowdell  28:04

 Yeah, you know, they're just feeling like, their clients either don't take their advice, or don't value their services. Is there a way to kind of recharge the course in that working relationship? 

 

Andy McDowell  28:21

There's always that possibility, but it's going to take some very open and honest and authentic conversations to make that happen. You know, in my days at Boeing, we weren't coaches we were we were consulting practice. So we were handing them answers. Here's the answer, go do this. From this perspective, and we had some clients that would go do would take that not do anything at all, or they would take it and slightly modify it and do something slightly different than my, my team members that come running in my office, you won't believe what Turkey did, or you won't believe in it, you know, whatever kinds of statements and listen to put my hand up and say they're making their choices. We were asked to look at a situation and provide our best advice, what they need to do to get the outcome they're looking for. And we're going to lay that on the table. Now, it's their choice to they still have to pay the bill. But outside of that, the start, it's their choice to pick it up and do exactly everything we say or to modify it or not do a thing. I know it's frustrating, because we put all this time and hours into it, but that's what we own. They own the choice. They're the customer paying the bill and we have to put our best foot forward. So if you have a client you feel like it's not connecting with you. You have to decipher is it something about their choice that they're making even though you put your best foot forward or is there a disconnect in the communication that can be better that would change things around, you got to play detective a little bit and try and figure out where the ball is being dropped. Because it may all be in their court, not yours. But it may all be in your court. But you've got to have that open, honest dialogue and try to figure out what the disconnect is. 

 

Dana Dowdell  30:20

So how do you approach that conversation? Is it you know, I feel like you don't value the advice that we're giving? 

 

Andy McDowell  30:28

Or I've offered you some advice, and I don't see you undertaking it, or doing it slightly different. Is there a reason behind that? Did I not explain this well enough and what the outcomes would be? Do you not value my advice? And then I'd have to ask you, then why? Why did you hire me? You know, it's, it's a relationship. Right? So just like your relationship with your spouse, or friends or whatever, you got to have that open and honest conversation. Looking for that golden nugget. And that golden nugget may be I am doing it all wrong. I didn't listen to you Well, enough, the beginning of the conversation, I delivered something that you are not asking for. Just be honest.

 

Russ Harlow  31:19

That's yeah, but that's not always easy to do, because you're afraid of one losing the business you're afraid of, you know, but maybe we need to lose that business. Sometimes. I mean, we have to have that kind of openness. Right? And we have to be, it's, it's just like, in the beginning, we talked about having that conversation with potential clients, and we may not be a great fit. Here's somebody who may be it's the long game. And it's okay, as long as you don't burn bridges. Because you just never know when that relationship might come back. And they're different, you're different, whatever it is. There's just every, the universe is lined up a little bit differently. And I don't even believe in that kind of universe lineup kind of stuff. I'm just saying it's different situation. And you don't want to burn those bridges. i It's just terrible to do in business. 

 

Andy McDowell  32:03

Well, it's just like the mindset of you know, cultures can eat strategy for lunch, right? I used to tell my team all the time. Don't worry about the dollars. Worry, worry about your relationship and how you're treating the customer. And do you have a good, you know, because at the end of the day, it was is not a great relationship. They're going to tell two friends, you're going to tell their two friends, you're going to tell their two friends within the industry. And all of a sudden it's it's, you know, a toxic that sweeping through the Marketplace about your business that you don't want any part of so let's put the relationship first knowing if we put it first the dollars will come. I guess in the end is what I was what I was telling them. Let's be a partner to the customer and treat them with respect and honesty and forthrightness and authenticity, authentic and so forth. From that perspective, so that even if we lose $1, so they chop us off mid project or whatever, we can help hold our heads high and at the same time, really put a damper on the possibility that they're going to go tell their two friends to tell her two friends about how our relationship with them was.

 

Dana Dowdell  33:25

That takes a high level of emotional intelligence. 

 

Andy McDowell  33:28

Yes. 

 

Dana Dowdell  33:34

I can say from my own personal experience, like I've had clients who have said no to me, and then three years later have come back and said, Yes, not even clients, leads, you know, and so if you are not in the mindset of abundance, and that there's plenty of business and all of that stuff, and you let those negative interactions or those, you know, many failures in business, eat at you, what's, what's a way that you can kind of turn that mindset around.

 

Andy McDowell  34:08

And this is why I like to get into the insides of people because to me, that's a self love question, you know, a mindset of abundance, a mindset of growth, and everything are all to me outcomes of a self love for oneself. To say, I'm worthy of it, I'm here for it. It's what I want out of my life. And those type things. So if you have that, that mindset and that self love, then you're going going to create a culture and an environment, if you will, for your life and for your business that seeks that. That has that as a desired outcome. And so I'm going to be thinking that way. Making decisions that way to allow the best opportunity for that to arrive? 

 

Russ Harlow  35:07

Dana, you're right. I think a lot of things do take some that emotional intelligence, but it requires some intention as well. I mean, right? We none of this, none of this is ever going to happen by accident. It requires intentionality in understanding who we are trying to build a culture. Because if we're not building the culture in our company, someone else is it doesn't happen by accident, there is someone building a culture, and if it's not in alignment with you and your values, it is just a disaster waiting to happen. So I mean, is that all part of your program as you're talking about, you know, generating value and generating your value as a business? That's kind of that coaching program that you help move people through? 

 

Andy McDowell  35:51

Yes, intention is one of my favorite words in the world right out there revalue. And it all has to start within intention has to if you don't have the if you don't have the intention to want to generate value in this world, then my program is not going to help you. I use an analogy I like to use is about a rubber dinghy in the ocean. If you don't have an intention in your life, then you're in a rubber dinghy in the ocean and you're allowing the ocean and the winds to just blow you. Blow you wherever. But as soon as you can bring intention in then that rubber dinging gets turned into a sailboat or a motorboat allows you to choose a port of call of where you want your life to arrive at, you know, much like you're arriving into a port and gives you a direction to work towards. And oh, by the way, you may be heading to one port of call and halfway there and then find out something about yourself or about life or whatever it says no, I want to tweak that to you know, instead of going to Naples, I want to go to Rome. And it's just a slight degree turn to now go to Rome, but you're still still moving forward and heading into the place that you think is going to be joy and happiness and success in your life. But if you don't have that, if you're not introspective and don't have that intention in your life, then you're you're at the whims of the wind in the ocean to get you to Rome.

 

Dana Dowdell  37:33

You have a podcast, right? That kind of, yeah, that goes through a lot of this topic. Where can listeners hear the podcast and learn more about you as a as an individual and as a business.

 

Andy McDowell  37:50

Best place to go is my website, which is www dot generate your value.com. You can access my podcast there or it's out on all the major platforms. I have a co host, much like Dana has a co host and in Ross. He's a business owner. So you sort of get to see my style of coach working with a business owner on these topics in conversations so that if he did come on as a client, you wouldn't see anything different than what you see out on the podcast. That's an interesting dynamic. I like that. And I love the idea of just trying to figure out how to generate your value. Because each of us is unique, different and we have kind of a do us a value add.

 

Russ Harlow  38:37

And I just think it's a great philosophy. I want to I appreciate you stopping by the podcast today. It's been great having you.

 

Andy McDowell  38:44

Yeah, we've enjoyed our conversation, and I greatly appreciate the input.

 

Russ Harlow  38:49

No, it's fantastic. And I want to thank our listeners for listening as well. Thanks for coming by. Remember, if you know somebody who maybe could, you know, learn something from this, please share it with them or if you've learned something, you know, leave us a review. We really appreciate that. It helps us it helps others because they'll be able to hear the content as well. You can find us at it's just business podcasts on all the things and all the places. Remember it's not personal. It's just business.