goals

162: Dean Lindsay: I do now own my entire bio

Intro: Welcome to the Fast Leader Podcast, where we uncover the leadership like hat that help you to experience, break out performance faster and rocket to success. And now here’s your host, customer and employee engagement expert and certified emotional intelligence practitioner, Jim Rembach.

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Jim Rembach:   Okay Fast Leader legion today I’m excited because we’re going to get somebody who could probably help us with our customer-centric and digital transformations in our organization. Dean Lindsay was born in Irving, Texas and raised in Denison, Texas, a small town on the Red River. His parents divorced in her early age when he was in his teens and he also has one younger brother Lance. Dean was active in many, many things in high school including student government where he was student council president, theatre and Texas high school football. Dean is a proud member of the undefeated 1984 Texas 4A State Champion with Denison fighting Yellow Jackets. This experience of winning team work has led Dean to a lifelong study of what traits make a winner in sports, business and life. Dean’s early career was as actor and acting coach. He played one of the bad guys in Twister and was LeAnn Rimes On-Set Acting Coach for both a Hallmark Movie of the Week and on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. It was acting coaching that encouraged Dean to look more into how to coach and inspire professionals in other fields to communicate from a place of confidence and positive strength. 

Dean is the Chief Marketing Officer for Synclab Media and Host of C-Suite Network TV‘s The DEAN’s List. He’s hailed as an ‘Outstanding Thought Leader on Building Priceless Business Relationships’ by Sales and Marketing Executives International as well as an ‘Outstanding Speaker’ by the International Association of Speakers Bureaus.

His new book, How to Achieve Big PHAT Goals outlines a goal creating, crafting process for any type of goal. Free from complicated processes, it’s more of a call to action, along with the tools of how to get it done like a pro. Dean’s legacy is one of a thinker-through. He has focused on being open and creatively helpful which shows in his books, his music and even his children. Dean, and his wife Lena of over 25 years and their two strong and wonderfully bright daughters Sophia and Ella live in Plano. Texas. Dean Lindsey are you ready to help us get over the hump? 

Dean Lindsay:    Absolutely. Thanks for having me on the show. 

Jim Rembach:   I’m glad you’re here. I’ve give our listeners a little bit about you but can you tells us your current passion is so that we can get to know you even better?

Dean Lindsay:    Current passion? Wow! The current passion is that music hardly enough we’re really doing that. I’ve got a three song EP on Spotify, beyond that people would have checked out. I’m going to have a CD this year—that’s one big passion. And then on the business front, the new book, ‘How to Achieve Big PHat Goals’ and have it continue the role, it has been a fun ride.  

Jim Rembach:   I have the opportunity to look through the book and when I first got it I was at a pause because when I compared it to the other books that are on my shelf I was like, ummm this is interesting enough itself. And when I started going through the book, I really became intrigue and engaged by it. There’s a couple of things that really stood out, and I’m sure you’re used to talking about them but when you think about goals, a lot of people heard about smart goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound, some people have added the ER to it and talked about evaluate and reviewed, but what’s so different about PHAT goals? 

Dean Lindsay:    Well, for one thing I dig smart goals and smarter goals even sounds cooler than that I’m not even against that at all.  I guess the one thing that I think people haven’t given enough respect to is—smart goals are even a plan on how to achieve goals. Goal achievement isn’t the most challenging part of it is it’s a goal, a commitment staying committed to a goal. That’s really what this book is, it’s a goal effect I call it the goal conviction book. Because it’s conviction that leads to commitment that leads to the action then you can have a smarter goals. That’s actually cool but you’re not going to measure something that you’re not committed to achieving and commitment has to come first because that goal is a great companion to a big goal or smart goal or any other system that you met, goal conviction can help you stay smart, stay on it. 

Jim Rembach:   When we listen to you talk it totally makes sense when you start putting other things together meaning that, hey, when January comes around all the gym membership just go wild and in February they’re napping years and so the benefit of the gym is that they collect  11 months of this—they never use. 

Dean Lindsay:    Speaking where the gym was, someone might forget where the gym was, they know where the gym is they didn’t forget that they didn’t forget they want to be skinny. You don’t forget the goal you forget why the goal. You remember the goal that’s the reason I’m not so excited about setting goal or putting them around. You need to remind yourself of why? That’s what big PHAT is all about, that’s P-H-A-T –Pretty Hot and Tempting—that’s what the book is about. It’s about how to make your goals the prettiest, hottest and most tempting of all the options. That’s one of the big challenges and problem we have in United States of America, we have too many good options you can’t really do one thing we have too many other choices we can rationalize and say, hey, it’s a good use of time too.  You know Netflix, been watching something, there’s tons of good things to do with our time you can’t do and have it all. We’re going to be influenced and persuaded by something why not influenced and persuaded ourselves. 

Jim Rembach:   That’s a great point. When you look at what executives are struggling with these days and in another episode said something about it’s not mission and vision anymore it’s about movement and that execution is a big problem.

Dean Lindsay:    That’s good, I like that, movement that’s exactly right. I’m all for plans but plans are not going to get somewhere you’re not committed to going. And if you have enough commitment you don’t necessarily have to have—you guys keep going it’s movement back to it. Most times we check the change of plan a hundred times anyway. Just move go, let’s see check it out. But you’re not going to do that without conviction and commitment and nobody will tell you that. Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, number one is be proactive. This had been around, it’s not like it’s a new material, that’s Covey’s number one, be proactive. Why are we proactive? Because we’re not committed, that’s my point.

Jim Rembach:   And it is. So the biggest problem that executives talk about is the execution and talking about all these goals that many organizations set. Less than one percent of them are getting moved to pond so which other ones are actually getting the movement it’s probably the ones that are fat. 

Dean Lindsay:    Yes, it’s exactly right. Then there’s no base on the perceived consequences we get on—we go deeper on the book in that regard about how to necessarily make your goals PHAT which is really in my vernacular that everybody as progress to do those actions. Are they even for you that you got to view this progress and that change? I’ll dig in to that in the book, we have the six P’s sof progress and the way we from a psychological standpoint decide what we’re going to do that’s really what’s this book could have been called—the psychology of how to make decisions—but I don’t think that’s cool of a title it’s more of a textbook.

Jim Rembach:   That’s very true and this is definitely not a textbook. Your six P’s of progress—you talk about peace of mind, pleasure, profit, prestige, pain avoidance and power. But you have six rules of crafting big PHAT goals, to me I think are really powerful.

Dean Lindsay:    Yeah, thanks. The first one, I don’t know if we can go to all of them but I will share that there’s—the one that I’m trying to remember I can pretty much guess what I would say the rule is everybody had said that your goals had to be written down. And I totally agree you need to have them written down. Unfortunately, it’s how we write them down, we’re writing them down in a useful way. I’m talking about crafting a goal both crafting your goal in a verb sense but also in a noun sense did it actually writing it in such a way that it propels you towards that achievement. Our brain are trippy, our brains are complicated and they say we use between 7 and 12 percent of our brains and it’s cool. Our brain wants one thing and that is to be right. Our brains wants to be right. So whatever we continually, continually say to ourselves our brains are going to encourage us to take steps to make that true. So we need to craft a goal as if it is a copy of, I don’t put the word will do it in a claiming of what it knew reality is don’t use the word not don’t go negative don’t remind yourself a past mistakes stuff like that. It’s how we craft so that it becomes a, I don’t want to say an affirmation because that term get kind of plop around but it is self-taught, it’s how we communicate to ourselves internally. Everybody participates in self-taught everybody listening, do you participate in self-taught. Some people would say, yes and some people would say, do I or don’t I? Because we all participate in self-taught. 

Jim Rembach:   When we start talking about this I started thinking about Napoleon Hill and** really kind of brought a lot of this to the forefront of our mind in regards to visualizing which is one of the thing that you had in rule number one. 

Dean Lindsay:    Absolutely. 

Jim Rembach:   Write them but also visualize them.

Dean Lindsay:    Right, right. When I say visualize I almost mean like feel them, feel the success, feel the progress, feel the 6 P’s that you will feel when you accomplish it. When I say visualize it really means emotionally visualize not just kind of seeing it.

Jim Rembach:   And going back to the whole progress thing, if I’m thinking about an organization and where a lot of people I think make the mistake is, okay, I’m a leader and I want to vision something and I want people to get on board. The part that they really do fail in is part of your rule number two which is the whole progress piece. 

Dean Lindsay:    Yeah. Everybody’s there for themselves and that’s totally cool that’s not bad I think that’s what a paycheck is that’s what I mean by that they’re there for themselves they’re there for their career development. But what they believe is—there’s a lot of other reasons ** be there they get personal satisfaction of doing a good job or that they’re doing their career, something they’re passionate about, we go back to the 60s they’re there to try to get the 60s. What’s important as a leader is to get to know our people so well enough to be able to help them see the organization’s goals help them get closer to their personal goals. An organization is only as strong as it’s individual’s personal goals and that individuals belief that they can move closer to their personal goals by reaching team goal.

Jim Rembach:   So now you have a lot of people that are on your team. When you start talking about you and your organization how do you guys go about creating that personal connection with that person who that are kind of distance from you?

Dean Lindsay:    You got to be available, you got to be open, you got to listen, you got to be interested in people’s lives, I don’t say they’ve got a good memory, you got to take notes and study up on your team and why are they there. Sales manager should love it when a sales rep wants to buy a boat. If I was that person’s sales manager I’ll be bringing him magazines or books, this is the book we’re going to get. Hey, you sell a car I’ll take you today I’ll go get my car and we’ll go over to look at some book, I spend an hour looking at books. Get them revved up get them connected to why it’s been (11:56 inaudible) remind people about sales quota that is not a motivator. Tell them what they’re going to do with the money that—the sales quota equals some number, it equals some number in the sense of the sales they’re some kind of commission remind them the money that you were trying to help them make—this organization would like to help you make a $100, 000 a quarter, that’s what our goal is we’re trying to help you make a $100, 000 and here’s how we’re going to help you do it. 

Jim Rembach:   So it sounds like to me—as you’re talking I started thinking that went right back to the Six P’s, is that me as a leader I have to be able to find out because all of these six p’s are going to have the same equal strength and magnitude. 

Dean Lindsay:    Exactly, well said, sir, it’s a unique blend that changes minute by minute within ourselves or at least you know—I am not hungry now I’m hungry, I didn’t have anything now I have a headache, I wasn’t trying to avoid pain now I have to try to avoid pain, everything’s in play. 

Jim Rembach:    Okay, so for me when I start thinking about my career and where I am now, and I’ll be 50 in a couple of weeks, is that—

Dean Lindsay:    Me too, what’s your birthday?

Jim Rembach:   February 2, 1968

Dean Lindsay:    Hey, man you were born two days before me. 

Jim Rembach:   I feel older. 

Dean Lindsay:    Yeah, your two days you’re two days older

Jim Rembach:   I started thinking about these six Ps of peace of mind, pleasure, profit, prestige, pain, avoidance, power and that at different stages within my life, no kids, single, no kids it’s kind of waxed and waned and all these things and it’s kind of like, what’s important to me right now and as a leader I’m reflecting back on having to supervise a couple of hundred people and while there was a couple tears within us, just trying to think about that, when were we the most effective is when we really boil it down, did a good job of identifying these things in our people.

Dean Lindsay:    Yeah, yeah and that’s real teamwork. It’s interesting they talk about together everyone achieves more and I’ve heard that forever and ever but most time I’ve ever heard of people are always talking about the first three letters they’re together focus on them together or that everyone together again, achieve we want to achieve. But the real point there is more and everybody’s more as unique everybody’s more as unique. And so that’s what you have to help them see that by being on a team they’re going to get closer to their more. Hey, I just made that up. 

Jim Rembach:   You’re the first here on the Fast Leader show. 

Dean Lindsay:    Exactly. All right

Jim Rembach:   I know going through the book and hearing about your background everything that you’re driven by a lot of passionate things and one of the things that drives us on the Fast Leader show are quotes. Is there a quote or two that can share that you like? 

Dean Lindsay:    One that I put in the book that really started to resonate with me really saw leaving and now and me discussing the book and doing workshops on the book and I probably could have dug a little bit more into it in the book is a quote about Pat Benatar. Pat Benatar says. With the power of conviction there is no sacrifice. With the power of conviction there is no sacrifice. And what that basically means to me, I really love it, if we can develop the power of conviction, we develop we work on developing strong conviction then all the other options of things we could do with our time or sacrifices we’re not sacrificing for what we know to be the greater activity. Those are just other good choices that now we aren’t focusing on because we know we’re on for something even better with the power of conviction. Where do you get the power of conviction? Again it’s a developing thing, I believe that How to Achieve Big PHAT Goals book is and I guess start process that we’re talking about today is really trying to think and think and think through think through your goal and your goals achievement so that you can get—weigh that goal down in your mind to such a degree that you have the power of conviction.

Jim Rembach:   You had mentioned another quote that kind of stood out to you as well and I really want to hear because some of the quotes that you’ve had in the book are just absolutely fantastic.

Dean Lindsay:    All right here we go. Dr. Victor Frankel the gentleman who wrote Man’s Search for Meaning, amazing book. What man actually needs is not a tension less state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him 

Jim Rembach:   Dr. Frankel being a Holocaust survivor, I can only imagine what he had to withhold within himself in order to survive that.

Dean Lindsay:    Oh man, yeah, he had already come up with the concept of logo therapy prior to going in there that’s what he’s talking about, logo therapy meaning therapy—I went to a lot of his—he’s passed away but I did I have the opportunity to be in relationships with him and I had very close relationships with him. Logo therapy—he came up with it prior to going to a concentration camp. In fact, he’s considered to be the third father of Viennese psychiatry, we’ve got Freud and Adler and then Franco. When Franco was little I used to write letters to Freud, he was a big fan and he’s in to this stuff. He said some other stuff that we now take kind of is just like PHAT here and you realize that wasn’t the way we thought about humans. He’s the one who said you can’t control what happens to you but you can control your reaction.

Jim Rembach:   Thanks for sharing. I know when you started thinking about everything from the championship and struggles and business and struggles and coaching and theater and all of the things that you’ve gone through there’s humps that you’ve had to get over that really helped define and get you where you are today. Is there a time where you’ve gotten over the hump that you can share with us?

Dean Lindsay:    Well sure. You know, I guess it is interesting and I do I do own now my entire bio. There was a time when I didn’t make the correlation with people that I had a performance background and oddly enough it made sense at that time because I had a client who had retained my services first from sales training programs, she was at the first one It was a great turnout got feedback sheets everything was great and over the lunch period before I got on the plane I shared that I had an acting background and I had been in Twister and Walker Texas Ranger and all that stuff. And we had a scheduled meeting on the phone she just talk about the next one and the guy got on the phone and said, I heard you are an actor, well, yeah, I had that background 15 years ago I was also a bartender and a lifeguard and he said, we thought we were getting a sales trainer not an actor. He declined the other two programs just because he thought for some reason that was something negative about the craft of acting, the best actors are so in tune with the human condition. Anyway, it just a trippy thing, so yeah, I had reason to be—but I don’t do that now it was not positive also because then I was kind of holding back the things that I can offer.  That was probably a turning point for me and can’t get over that. 

Jim Rembach:   Thanks for sharing that. That’s a really interesting point that you bring up and even going back and now reflecting up on the book—all of those things really were our drivers you’re looking at your six P’s the why you do that for that given time those things fit.

Dean Lindsay:    Yeah, yeah. It makes perfect sense to me I’m really jazzed about everything and now I am coming full circle. I have had a TV show that I host and so I’m using those skills now whereas before I was just trying to go one dimensional and that’s there reason I’m talking about the music, I’m letting my light shine.

Jim Rembach:   And we’re glad you’re doing that. You got the music you got the business you got the book you got a lot of things going on but if you were to look at one thing that was a goal, what would it be? 

Dean Lindsay:    I want to sing one of my songs on Saturday Night Live wearing a B costume.

Jim Rembach:   And the Fast Leader Legion wishes you the very best. Now before we move on let’s get a quick word from our sponsor.

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Alright, here we go Fast Leader Legion it’s time for the Hump Day Hoedown. Okay, Dean the Hump Day Hoedown is a part of our show where you give us good insights fast. So I’m going to ask you several questions and your job is to give us robust yet rapid responses that are going to help us move onward and upward faster. Dean Lindsay, are you ready to hoedown? 

Jim Rembach:   I hope, I think so, yes sir. 

Dean Lindsay:    I’m sure you are.

Jim Rembach:   Okay, so what do you think is holding you back from being an even better leader today?

Dean Lindsay:    Patience. 

Jim Rembach:    What is the best leadership advice you have ever received?

Dean Lindsay:    Breathe. 

Jim Rembach:   What is one of your secrets that you believe contributes to your success?

Dean Lindsay:    Breathing. Let me define breathing, deep long, slow breaths in and out. 

Jim Rembach:   What do you feel is one of your best tools that helps you lead in business or life? Deep breathing?

Dean Lindsay:    Yeah, really, and humor–empathetic humor. I try to be creatively helpful. 

Jim Rembach:   What would be one book that you’d recommend to our listeners, and it can be from any genre, now of course we’re going to put a link to, How to Achieve Big Phat goals, on your show notes page as well. 

Dean Lindsay:    Well thank you for that. It would be, Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. 

Jim Rembach:  Okay, Fast Leader legion you can find links to that and other bonus information from today’s show by going to www.fastleader.net/deanlindsey. Okay, Dean, this is my last hump day hoedown question: Imagine you were given the opportunity go back to the age of 25 and you’ve been given the opportunity to take the knowledge and skills that you have now back with you. But you can’t take everything back you can only choose one. So what skill or piece of knowledge would you take back with you and why?

Dean Lindsay:    Nutrition. Because I’m just now making the right choices and they’re just good choices but I just didn’t know. I’d be about 35 lbs. lighter and I’d still be able to fit in size 32 whereas now I’m just so excited if I can ever get into a 34, anyway. So yeah, nutrition got tear this temple, I would have made a commitment to egg whites and eggs much earlier. 

Jim Rembach:   Dean, it was an honor to spend time with you today. Can you please share with the Fast Leader legion how they can connect with you?

Dean Lindsay:    www.deanlindsey.com or you can email me and that would be dean@deanlindsey.com. And I’ve got to be living all over, I’ve got the whole LinkedIn and the Facebook and all that, just look up Dean Lindsey. Thank you, thank you for having me on the show. 

Jim Rembach:   Dean Lindsey, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom the Fast Leader legion honors you and thanks you for helping us get over the hump. Woot! Woot!

Thank you for joining me on the Fast Leader show today. For recaps, links from every show, special offers and access to download and subscribe, if you haven’t already, head on over the fastleader.net so we can help you move onward and upward faster. 

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