Ryan Estis: Human-Centered Leadership, Model-Coach-Care, and Why Growth Is Always Human

[00:00:00] Introduction to Human-Centered Leadership

[00:00:00] Ryan Estis: Leaders are learners. You’re gonna lead other people you gotta stay astute of. But the kind of study you have to do now isn’t just about business acumen. You have to understand psychology, but most importantly, you have to study yourself. 

[00:00:14] Charles Eide: Is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to leadership, knowledge, and development.

[00:00:18] Ryan Estis: We’re in a moment in time that’s requiring 

[00:00:21] Charles Eide: an evolution. Of our 

[00:00:22] Ryan Estis: approach to leadership, traditional leadership was about managing results. Human-centered leadership is about inspiring contribution. Microsoft, their CEO, saute Nadella, he has a very simple human-centered leadership framework. Model. Coach, care leaders have to model.

The right behavior. They have to embody culture and values. Coaching. The leader is a coach, so you’re in this constant cycle of open communication feedback and then care if to invest in people and empower people to become the best versions of themselves. Employees in North America today are more dissatisfied with the work experience than they were at the height of COVID, and it gets worse.

One out of three employees.

What is leadership? Leadership isn’t a job, it’s a responsibility. And it’s, it’s not about us. It’s about, humility, service, contribution, vision, and helping other people become the best they’re capable of being. And I think at its core what it requires is earning followership. So it’s not about title or tenure, it’s about actually.

[00:01:31] What is Leadership?

[00:01:31] Ryan Estis: Having a vision and inspiring confidence in the future that earned the commitment and contribution of others. And, and I, I believe that we’re in a moment in time that’s requiring an evolution of our approach to leadership. Our thesis is that traditional leadership, isn’t as effective or what’s required to drive sustainable growth and competitive advantage into the future?

So our, our philosophies of the future of growth is human and human-centered leadership, is the, is the right and fundamental approach. And at its core it’s, it’s emphasizing people, it’s putting people at the center of everything we do, their ideas, their experiences, you know, their creativity, their perspective.

And so, part of my philosophy is that companies only grow when the people in them do. So that’s, that’s, and that’s, that’s what the book, the new book’s about. And, and that’s what I’ve been spending, spending the last few years thinking about and talking about. So 

[00:02:30] Charles Eide: leadership is a word that’s thrown around a lot.

It is. Right. It from tiny little companies or even solopreneurs all the way up to fortune. 100 leadership is always this big topic of conversation, but you said something I thought was interesting, something about serving those. 

[00:02:50] Leadership as Service

[00:02:50] Ryan Estis: Around you. Yeah. Human-centered leadership evolves out of the original idea of servant leadership, right?

So it is about this idea that leadership really is an act of service. It’s about contribution. Think of it as the evolution from something to prove to something to give. And the focus really is outside of you. It’s on others. So in essence it is an act of service. 

[00:03:17] Charles Eide: How do I know if I am. How do I know if I’m giving or taking, I’m living my life.

I’m leading a team, right? I’m leading a company. But how do I know if I’m getting that part right? 

[00:03:32] Ryan Estis: Well, I think so first of all, I think it’s reciprocal. One, giving actually is the most effective way to actually receive, there’s reciprocity to it. Think of it it’s in harmony. But I think the real.

The real way you can identify that is through the impact that you have on others and, you have to be willing. To see your own truth. So one of our tenets is leadership is an inside out job. So human-centered leaders start with self. So this idea of cultivating self-awareness and humility and a perspective that is grounded in the truth really is the start.

And so I think the core, most people know think the truth is we’re missing that by a wide margin, predominantly in business today. Think about where we are in the world. So recent article in the Wall Street Journal, employees in North America today are more dissatisfied with the work experience than they were at the height of COVID.

[00:04:33] The Current State of Work and Leadership

[00:04:33] Ryan Estis: So, seriously, seriously. And it gets worse. One out of three employees. Consistently report struggling with mental health issues. That’s two people in this room. And so you think about the compounding effect of that, how it inhibits performance in a business, but how it affects the quality of people’s lives.

And, and by the way, managers and leaders aren’t separate from this. 72% of managers self-identify with being consistently exhausted, overwhelmed, and burned out. You know, I’ll share an anecdote, a quick story. I, I was working with a 400 Fortune 100 company recently, a company we’d all know, I won’t name ’em, but part of that project is we, we were, we were working with their North American leadership team and we were conducting interviews, ethnography, studying their culture, doing focus groups.

And we, and we interviewed a group, a group of, mid-level leaders, and one of the questions I asked was, how long is your current pace or approach to work sustainable? Not one of them said more than six months. So, so people can, can you think about sort of the impact on that and the people, people, the relationship they have with work, and if our leaders and managers feel that way, how do you think that cascades through an organization?

Why, why do, why do you think 

[00:05:56] Charles Eide: that is? 

[00:05:57] Ryan Estis: I think. I think the pace of change is unrelenting. I think there’s incredible uncertainty in the world. I think. Leaders and managers are coming into an era where they’re being asked to do more with less, where the, the very nature of their job is evolving. Today it’s about agility and navigating uncertainty and your willingness to pivot and making decisions without complete information.

It’s a lot more entrepreneurial than it’s ever been. And if you’ve been a leader in a manager in a big company like I was, it’s very different today. You know, we, we used to have this mantra, in. In the large organization I work for, follow the formula. You know, with a high degree of reliability and predictability, if you just do this, we can get your P, p, and L, right?

So this is the playbook. Just execute the playbook year after year after year. I mean, you, you, you know, I already see your reaction. That just doesn’t work in two days. How exhausting it, right? And, and so the pace of change. Is accelerating and it’s never gonna be the slow again. So we have to condition.

[00:07:06] The Pace of Change and Leadership Evolution

[00:07:06] Ryan Estis: That’s a scary thought. Yeah, this is the beginning. So we have to condition ourselves to work an entirely new way. And I think it fundamentally requires an evolution of leadership. I think in an organization, in an enterprise, that’s your biggest lever to create change and drive growth. So that middle band, if you think about the enterprise leadership management team, individual contributor, you get that middle.

Band. Right. And aligned and committed and operating on the same page and engaged and they’re inspiring and empowering. Contribution, you can move the needle, and navigate uncertainty and capture opportunity and made change and challenge. And really that’s sort of the energy that I think leaders have to bring to the table 

[00:07:49] Charles Eide: today.

So how do I, how do I do that? How do I look at that middle band and invest in them to help them have. This better way of life and this better cadence in their work and sanity and not mental health issues. 

[00:08:04] Ryan Estis: You said the magic word investment. So through all of this change and uncertainty and challenge leadership, investment is decreasing.

It’s not increasing. And so we have to give our leaders, the tools, the insight, and the awareness. To navigate the next 10 years. So I think development, is critical. I think the other thing is you have to have a standard, a set of competencies or standards, a framework that sort of guides leaders into the work.

A small example, one of the biggest levers on performance a leader can have is one meaningful coaching conversation a week. With every direct report, we call it the weekly vitamin one, 15 minute conversation. It is literally the single biggest thing you can do to drive performance and contribution in a business.

But if you have 16 direct reports pushback, I guess how would I have time to, because I have to do my job. But that is the job. So I think development, but also creating an opportunity for leaders to actually lead and manage and develop and nurture, and inspire and experiment to drive and build the relationships that are required to drive a result.

So the, the, these things aren’t, all of this is teachable and it’s coachable. But, but when I think about my path into leadership, and, and many people, it sort of unfolds this way. I started out as a sales rep. I got good at it. By the third or fourth year in, I was one of the top producing reps in the co company.

I fell in love with sales. I was a strong individual contributor. And what happens in sales organizations? What do they do? Promotion. So you get moved into management and it’s, Hey, now take this region and teach everybody else to do do it how you do it. Two fundamentally different jobs. And literally I had no training.

There was no course, there was no guidance, there was no discussion. It was just teach everybody to do it how you do it, now, this was a number of years ago, and I’m not suggesting that a lot of the companies I work with, they do have leadership development and support, but, but it is, it’s becoming more complex.

[00:10:14] The Complexity of Managing People

[00:10:14] Ryan Estis: Think about what the most complicated part of a business is. I would suggest it’s not technology, it’s the humans. 

[00:10:20] Charles Eide: For sure it’s the humans. Yeah, I mean that’s, I think one of the number one challenges we face at Adcom is just making sure that people do get those conversations and that things are clear.

Mike Peyton was here from EOS and he was talking about how good leaders create clarity and repeat clarity and make more clarity. And I was man, think of how, think of how easy it is to miss doing just that one thing. 

[00:10:46] Ryan Estis: Well, it is missed, so. 50% of employees would report not having clearly defined expectations at work, half what?

Half. Right? And, and so in the absence of clearly defined expectations or the absence of role clarity, how do you expect alignment toward the key priorities or outcomes you desire? You don’t get it. And so I, I love. I love the message on clarity. I talk about clarity too, but I would say communicate clearly, consistently.

There’s a lot of distraction and a lot of noise, and, and so that just sort of, that consistent cadence of clearly defined expectations of alignment towards shared objectives and goals of identifying critical priorities so people can map their work and they understand, what is most critical.

Can align and drive toward that. 

[00:11:39] Charles Eide: Something you mentioned that I thought was really interesting, especially about leadership development is self-awareness and humility. Yeah. Where, where do we fall short on those things and how do we get better at ’em? How do I get better at being more self-aware and how do I have a development process of becoming more, like having more humility, becoming more humble?

[00:12:00] Self-Awareness and Humility in Leadership

[00:12:00] Ryan Estis: Yeah. So I believe that leadership is an inside out. In order to lead others, you have to know yourself, understand yourself, trust yourself, and I think then you’re more prepared to connect. In service of others, but self-awareness is something that’s cultivated through time and introspection and reflection and doing reviews.

I, for 14 years, I’ve always worked with a coach, so I have a sounding board that I can bounce ideas off of who or who when I’m. In a moment of complexity can help me see the truth clearly, or if I’m stuck to get unstuck and make better decisions faster. And so I think at this unrelenting pace of change, I think part of leadership is taking the time, is hitting pause and creating a little white space to think and reflect and do a little bit of introspection.

I was listening to a podcast recently, one of the founders of Netflix said. One of the best pieces he ever got, and he got it from a leadership coach, a coach he was working with. He said, during the week when you’re running a business, you, you’re moving through the cadence of that and it can feel pretty overwhelming.

And you’re, if you’re an entrepreneur, you’re getting pulled in eight directions, you have seven zoom calls, then there’s a crisis. And so, your day can easily get away from you, but on the weekend when things slows down, you get up in the morning, you have a cup of coffee, take an hour. And review the week and review how you navigated the week.

What were the highs and the lows? How did you feel? What really worked? What would you do over now that you’re calm and you have some space and, and start to get in that sort of cadence of just. Reviewing, taking inventory, assessing and sort of knowing yourself and knowing your strengths and weaknesses and when you’re at your best and where maybe you need some support and just really, really get a clear picture of who you are, how you show up.

And I think the key litmus test is how do others perceive you. How do other people experience you? Because that at, at the end of the day, if leadership is about earning followership, if it’s about inspiring contribution, not controlling results, then I then I think having sort of that line of sight and, and I think when you, when you have a place to go to get real candid feedback, I think that engenders you to becoming more humble.

And, and I, I would encourage leaders if, if you’re brave enough, and willing to take a step toward a bit of vulnerability, ask your team those one-on-one conversations. Ask, ask your direct reports. Is there something else that I could do differently to better support your contribu? To better support your growth and get that two-way conversation going.

360 degree feedback is a gift. If people feel safe and they’re empowered to actually give it, honestly, 

[00:15:04] Charles Eide: how do you make them feel they can give it? Honestly, especially if they’re your direct report and they’re thinking about their performance and the upcoming performance review and all of this, you know, this cocktail in their mind of.

I’m not going to be straight with you about that. Like no way am I gonna tell you that. You know, your temper is terrible when you get mad at our quarterly results. 

[00:15:28] Ryan Estis: Yeah. I mean, look, it, I think it comes down to trust and safety, right? So a, a human centered leader would be hungry for that feedback and there wouldn’t be a consequence or retribution, and they would create an environment or a culture.

With those two-way open conversations become standard. It’s normalized and it’s welcomed, and then you could create some discussion around it too. And I, I think those ultimately are high trust, high value relationships where people, people feel safe, seen, heard, understood, and valued for not only their contribution and performance, but for their ideas and their perspective.

[00:16:08] Building Trust and Creating Safe Environments

[00:16:08] Ryan Estis: And, think, think about the nucleus of a team that where you can have those candid two-way conversations. And it’s happening all throughout the team. And those conversations become expected and they’re part of a regular cadence. And performance is stretched and ideas are baited and discussed. And it, and it’s okay to disagree agreeably, and you can attack ideas but not each other.

That’s the kind of team that top performers wanna be on, and that’s the kind of team that navigates uncertainty with alignment more effectively. They get ideas to the market faster. They’re more poised to change, they get closer to their customers. They have a competitive advantage and they attract and retain top talent.

So, you, you, you have to be willing to have those conversations. And authenticity is the driver. You gotta show up as yourself and you gotta be yourself. And I think people respect and appreciate that. Nobody expects a leader to be perfect, but they expect them to be consistently themselves. 

[00:17:06] Charles Eide: Do you think that, when someone has a, a, a negative quality, they’re a leader and they have a negative quality that, they say, well, that’s just how I am.

I, I have a bad temper and just get over it. What, what do you say to somebody who’s who, who, who, who’s aware of their issue clearly, but doesn’t wanna work on it, but Yeah. Or they say, that’s just how I am. I’m just being myself, Ryan, I’m just being myself. 

[00:17:33] Ryan Estis: Yeah. Well, the idea, the idea is, is to show up as the best version of who you are.

So. Know, if I was coaching that leader, I’d say when you pull on the thread of anger, what’s underneath, directly underneath anger is fear. So that that anger is being produced by a thought, by ruminating about the past or, or fear or uncertain to be about a future that’s not gonna be better than it is today.

You’re out of the present moment, you’re in your head and you’re angry about something, but often what’s underneath that sort of anger or fear is insecurity. Insecurity and ego actually are what derails both leader leaders and teams. And so what, what I would say is yes, that that may authentically be you, but that isn’t the I ideal state from which to lead a hypergrowth high performing team and get the outcome that the organization needs or actually that you want.

And so an exercise that I think can help leaders. Because we all, we’re not perfect creatures. We’re all flawed. We all struggle with sort of emotional regulation, insecurities, that’s part of the human condition. But one exercise I like to take leaders and teams through is developing a, a personal leadership vision.

[00:18:54] Creating a Personal Leadership Vision

[00:18:54] Ryan Estis: So when you, when you think about who you are as a leader, the impact you have on others, the contribution you want to make, the legacy that you want to have. Create a vision statement, just your company has a vision statement, but create one for how you lead. And oftentimes in that exercise, those vision statements, they’re aspirational, right?

We write something that would reflect the very best of us on our best day. I know. I, I never lose my temper, ever. That’s exactly right. For the record, I don’t have a bad temper. Yeah, look, that’s something I dealt with early in my career. And to go off on a little tangent here, but. When I was an individual contributor and I was, I first was promoted to my first leadership position, the, the mandate was, okay, just make everybody a top producer you.

I’m well, I’m gonna tell ’em how I do it and they’re gonna do it how I do it. Look at all the ego and insecurity wrapped up in just those statements, right? You, you’re, you’re, you’re gonna get up at 6:00 AM and you’ll work on Saturday and, and you’re gonna get your result. And if you’re not getting it, go harder and.

Horrible. Right? And, and, and so, but, but you can pull on that thread and, and see where it comes from. But being consciously aware of how other people receive that, the impact that it had on them helped me start to evolve into a micromanager, into somebody who was more. A better coach, somebody who is aware of situational leadership, Hey, this person’s trying to do this and they’re motivated this way, and with this person, I’m gonna be a little different.

And ultimately my job was to help them become the best version of themselves. It wasn’t about me anymore. 

[00:20:29] Charles Eide: Right. How did you go from a place where it was all about you to making it not about you, mentally, how do you, how do you shift gears and justify in your mind now it’s not about me. And how do you kill your ego?

[00:20:42] Learning from Failure and Self-Study

[00:20:42] Ryan Estis: Yeah, a failure will do it really quick. So, a year into my first leadership role, my two top producers left. The two new people I hired into the region were on the verge of washing out. My previous territory was underperforming. And I, I literally went from being a top producer to questioning whether I even had a future in the organization anymore.

I, I had to confront. Tell you what, man, I got lucky. I ended up random occurrence. I ended up as I was going through that, downtown at a seminar. It was Peak Performance Network way back in the day. But a speaker by the name of Jim Rohn. Oh, love Jim Rohn.

[00:21:19] Charles Eide: Classic 

[00:21:20] Ryan Estis: legend. Legend, right. And, right up 

[00:21:22] Charles Eide: there with Zig Ziglar.

[00:21:23] Ryan Estis: Yeah, he, he said a couple things. One thing he said was. That I still hold tightly today. He said, leaders are learners. If you’re gonna lead other people, you gotta stay AST student. But the kind of study you have to do now isn’t just about business acumen and technology in the marketplace. He said, you have to understand psychology and human behavior.

And then he, then he dropped the real bomb, which we’re talking about self-awareness, and he said most importantly. You have to study yourself. The best leaders are acutely self-aware. They have, they have line of sight into how their presence impacts everybody else around them. And I had never heard somebody talk about self-awareness that way.

Right? And in that moment I realized, okay, my self-awareness is really low. And it was a moment of confronting myself, so was my emotional regulation. I, I, I get worked up. I, I’m very reactive. I have a, so, okay, then that’s not producing the result I want. That’s not creating the impact I want to have on people.

Now, I didn’t have it at the time, but if I compared my current reality to now, my aspirational vision of who I want to be as a leader, it’s pretty, pretty big gap analysis there. And you gotta start moving toward. Being the being, being a leader in the service of others. 

[00:22:41] Charles Eide: So when you start identifying these shortcomings, you were saying about yourself, 

[00:22:47] Ryan Estis: yeah.

[00:22:48] Charles Eide: And you’re like, I know I need to change these things about myself, and I know that you work with Tony Robbins and this is part of, creating lasting change. How do I create lasting change in those areas of my life or leadership that I know I need to work on, but I just keep falling back into the same.

Habit over and over and over again, and I’m like, I know I need to change this. How do I do that? 

[00:23:15] Creating Lasting Change

[00:23:15] Ryan Estis: Change is hard. So you have to have a change plan. So, so get, get specific not only about what you’re going to change, but how you’re going to change it. So for me, let’s, let’s use me as an example, sort of my emotional regulation.

So input, reaction. What do you mean we lost that sale? Whatever. Whatever the hell it was. And, and, and then, an hour later I could be wow, that was a little aggressive or Right. And, and then the guilt and the shame from the anger. It’s so commonplace with those angry outburst.

Totally. Right. And then you, it feels good in the moment because you’re getting out of your fear and insecurity and then an hour later you recognize the damage Yeah. That you did. You’re

[00:23:58] Charles Eide: what a foolish thing. But I know it’s foolish. So how do you, how do you fix that? 

[00:24:02] Ryan Estis: So the how. You have to have a change plan.

So the next time the input comes up and you feel that coming up, no response. Pause, take, take space. Just pause for five seconds. Give yourself a minute, regulate your emotions, and then instead of reacting emotionally, respond intentionally. That’s a how, that’s an exercise. So if you, that takes a lot of self-discipline.

Well and practice. All of this is a practice leadership. Human-centered leadership is a practice behavior change As a practice, Tony would tell you that we’re gonna, you’re gonna fail, but you’re gonna practice, right? You wanna be a scratch golfer, you’re gonna go to the range and practice. You wanna be a world-class leader, you’re gonna practice.

And so it is. One of the, one of the tenets of human-centered leadership is routines and rituals. In other words, would be practices. Right? What are the things that you’re gonna do to drive behavior change? And for me, self-accountability besides, I was yeah, I was busy. Okay. Overreacted six times this week.

Or maybe five, whatever it was. You’re

[00:25:08] Charles Eide: keeping track. 

[00:25:09] Ryan Estis: Yeah. We’re just, in your mind you could, or I’m just, I’m just, I know I need to change, but I’m not practicing. That’s actually where the change occurs. When you start to overcome your unconscious or habitual behavior, the first step to change or transformation is bringing into the light.

Man. It’s awareness. You need to be con, become consciously aware, not only of the behavior, but if I was coaching someone in this situation, I would ask you, what, what is the, I would ask two questions. What’s the benefit that you’re getting from that? Why do you think you’re doing that? Maybe a little release, maybe it’s power.

Maybe, maybe it quells your fear for a moment. ’cause you feel more in control of the situation. There are re there are reasons. And then the real big question though is what’s the cost? Is that getting you closer toward what you want or you, we already It’s pulling you away. Exactly. We already know. So it’s, it’s, it’s a, it’s actually an exercise in futility.

It’s pulling you further away from the result that you want. So do 

[00:26:08] Charles Eide: you think that that’s limiting our ability to grow our company? Without question. So how do I determine, what, what that means to the cost of the company? I mean, I, I suppose if you said, Hey, you’d be, you’d be double the size if in the last five years you had not been responding this, I’d be oh my gosh.

Right. But, it doesn’t slap you in the face that. It, 

[00:26:28] The Leadership Crisis and Growth Challenges

[00:26:28] Ryan Estis: it, it, it, it, it doesn’t, but, but I think there are mechanisms to get it to, look at, we started talking about, look where engagement is in the United States. Look where retention is in the United States. Look where mental health is at work.

Look where, look where burnout is. All of this. All of this is a leadership crisis and growth is complicated. You know, this, right. It’s, it’s, the world’s shifting pretty quickly. The competitive landscape, customer psychology, market dynamics, technology, disruptors, ai Well, yeah, it, it’s, it’s fundamentally changing categories, right?

And so in a time where we need more discretionary effort, disruptive thinking, emotional commitment and contribution as leaders and managers, we’ve never been getting less. And so there’s a tension. Between those two things. I need to grow the business in this complicated, constantly changing disruptive time, and I need all of my talent onboard, committed, invested, engaged, and contributing.

And we’re getting further. Why are we getting less further? I think it’s a leadership crisis. Yeah. But the way we’re working isn’t working. 

[00:27:35] Charles Eide: PPP. So what has changed the, the leadership itself or. The expectation of it, or people are just weaker and they need more leadership or what? Pe pe, PE 

[00:27:47] Ryan Estis: people aren’t weaker.

What’s changed is there are multiple change drivers, so the market dynamics have changed. Creating more pressure, tension, stress, shorter cycles of disruption, more pressure on employees, more uncertainty. You look at, you mentioned AI and technology, there’s the geopolitical climate, there’s inflation, there’s interest rates, there’s tariffs.

So all of these things create this sort of. Tension and uncertainty. And a lot of those things are out of our sphere of influence or control, but that tension or uncertainty then moves down to leaders and managers who are overwhelmed, stressed, burdened. And actually what we need to consider is there’s a more effective way to do that job.

There’s a more effective way. The reason I talk about human-centered leadership, and I think some of these soft skills, which in my opinion they’ve been mislabeled, empathy isn’t a soft skill. It’s one of the hardest things we can do, but. It’s because it’s the catalyst to drive sustainable growth and performance.

Human-centered teams outperform traditional teams by about 30%. They outperform the s and p by over 200%, and they’re more innovative. They get ideas to the market two times faster, and they’re better places to work. So this is the way to drive performance in a hyperconnected, constantly changing world.

[00:29:05] Charles Eide: Well, when you say human-centered, you’ve used that term a bunch. 

[00:29:09] Ryan Estis: Yeah. 

[00:29:10] Charles Eide: Give that to me in a nutshell. Yeah. What do 

[00:29:12] Ryan Estis: you mean by that? I mean, I mean by recognizing that you’re prioritizing the people and recognizing that performance value is created with and through people. So traditional leadership was about managing results.

[00:29:27] Human-Centered vs Traditional Leadership

[00:29:27] Ryan Estis: Human-centered leadership is about inspiring contribution. 

[00:29:31] Charles Eide: That’s really interesting. Managing results versus inspiring contribution. So how do I do a better job inspiring contribution rather than just me? Obviously the results you need, you need them, right? You don’t have a business without the results.

But you’re saying approach it the other way. 

[00:29:49] Ryan Estis: I wouldn’t be talking this, this. Yeah. I’m, I’m a former revenue leader, so my thesis is this is the approach that drives results. That drives, and there’s data that supports that. Some of those statistics I rattle. 

[00:30:01] Charles Eide: And is this something that you have to work on with individual contributors through management all the way up into leadership?

It’s the whole company, or do you start in a certain place, you said, it always starts with the leader inside out. 

[00:30:12] Ryan Estis: Yeah. I, I think lead, I think this is a leadership conversation, so it’s the people. It’s the, it’s the people in your organization that are managing other people. But I think it does start at the, any initiative in a business, it does start at the top.

So part of it’s modeling the right behavior. Microsoft is, and they’re, they’re CEO saute Nadella. I, he’s an extraordinary leader and it’s an incredible growth story since he became the CEO of the company. But he has a very simple human-centered leadership framework. Model coach care.

[00:30:46] The Model-Coach-Care Framework

[00:30:46] Ryan Estis: Leaders have to model the right behavior. They have to embody the Microsoft culture and values. He talks a lot about a growth mindset. So back to your earlier analogy of, Hey, I just have a temper. This is who I am. It’s a very fixed mindset. So, and a terrible model, and it’s, and it’s a terrible model, and it’s a leader or manager who has a perspective that wouldn’t last in a human-centered company Microsoft.

And so with a, with a growth mindset says, I, I can overcome that limitation or that challenge, because I can learn how to do it. I, I, I’m empowered and I have autonomy to create more for myself, my team, the enterprise. So modeling the right behavior. Coaching. The, the leader is a coach. So you’re in this constant cycle of open communication feedback.

You’re co-creating the right conditions to produce the results. And then care. You have to invest in people and build relationships with people and develop people. And empower people to become the best versions of themselves. What does that look like? Yeah, I think it takes time.

So we talk about it in the book, about one third of your time should be spent with your people. And again, that’s the pushback, you know, because I have to do my job. But it’s, you have to, as you move into leadership and management and further up an organization, it’s less about the doing and more about helping the doing and inspiring that in others.

So, creating the conditions so other people 

[00:32:11] Charles Eide: can perform and 

[00:32:12] Ryan Estis: grow. 

[00:32:13] Charles Eide: So when you’re hiring leadership positions or people who have direct reports, management level positions, you’re really looking for coaching type qualities in those people. 

[00:32:22] Ryan Estis: Absolutely. I mean, look, you have to have some embedded business competency, right?

And so based on the functional area of the business that you’re hiring. But yeah, I would absolutely be evaluating that candidate’s ability to inspire and empower others to become the best they can be. 

[00:32:37] Charles Eide: So if I’m looking at getting a, a new career or moving into a new company, leaving my current company, and I want to be more of a coach.

What are things I can do to develop myself so that I’m ready to go in and lead and coach people to be better? 

[00:32:54] Developing Coaching Skills

[00:32:54] Ryan Estis: Yeah. I mean, there’s a plethora of information now. I would follow other people that lead, so I would listen to podcasts. You know, I was think you want to coach others, hire a coach.

You know, if I’m hiring a coach, my first interview question is, who’s your coach? If you don’t subscribe to your own philosophy, right? I don’t know that we’re gonna be working together, right? So that would probably be step. You wanna learn how to coach, hire a really good coach, and in 90 days you’ll learn how to coach.

I mean, I have coaches and it’s a game changer. Of course, of course you do. It’s it’s a learning accelerant. And that’s one of Tony’s principles too. He’s like, you might get there. We’re just gonna get there, get you there a lot faster. It’s like, I don’t know if you play golf, right? I’m not, a little bit, I’m not that good.

Same. But I like it. So what would you do if you wanted to get good? I’d go play twice a day. Yeah. And, and you really wanted to accelerate the learning and let’s say you wanted to be a scratch golf golfer. What, what, what, and hire a 

[00:33:51] Charles Eide: coach or coaches. And I do it a lot over and over and over. 

[00:33:56] Ryan Estis: Yeah. You, you, you, you repetition, you’d create some awareness, some self-awareness around the mistakes you were making.

You would correct those mistakes. Those are the worst. Alright. Right? Yeah. My elbow’s out here, my grip’s over here, what are you doing? And it shouldn’t be that hard. The ball’s not moving. No one threw at you, man. Right. It’s just sitting there on the ground. I shouldn’t be able to hit it. But, but yeah, that, that’s what you would do.

So, so you would practice, you would hire a coach. You would bring all your flaws into awareness and you would practice improving. It’s no different in this, 

[00:34:27] Charles Eide: something you keep coming back to that I think is really interesting. Aside from the coach and the awareness. Is quiet time and self-reflection.

Mm-hmm. How do I get better at that? Because I’m a leader. I’m go, go, go. I’ve got things we need to get done. Quarterly, rocks, lots going on. How do I get better at number one, making time for it? And I know that’s somewhat of a discipline thing, but also how do I make it effective when I sit down and schedule that white space?

[00:34:53] Making Time for Self-Reflection

[00:34:53] Ryan Estis: Yeah. So I’d say, I’d say what gets scheduled gets done. You, you use the magic word scheduled, so put it on your calendar and if it’s a priority, treat it like one. I, I do that with with exercise because it’s become a priority in my life. I’m guessing you do also. Yeah. Yeah. And so, you want to take care of yourself and be healthy and I get it.

Me too. And so when that’s on my calendar, that’s not negotiable. People just can’t override that and cancel three of those sessions. It doesn’t work that way. Nope. And so, if. When I think about conditioning the best version of who I am, yeah, I gotta condition my body and container and be healthy, but also wanna condition to my mind and spirit.

So that hour, that hour of introspection and self-reflection, potentially journaling or time with my coach to get feedback. I treat that just I do a workout. It’s got the same level of prioritization.

[00:35:48] Charles Eide: Now during that time mm-hmm. You said journaling. What other things can I be doing? Are there ways that I can guide myself through what I should be doing when I’m spending that time?

[00:35:57] Ryan Estis: Yeah, there, there’s a, there’s a variety of, I would say, introspection prompts you could use. We actually have some in the book, so we conclude every chapter with self-reflection questions. I’ll, I’ll give you a, I’ll give you a couple that, that I love. This is one of my favorites is who am I becoming?

And I answer that question honestly. It’s just a, just a journal prompt. Or when you do your weekly reviews, when did I show up as, as the leader I wanna be, what pulled me out of being the leader I wanna be? All you’re doing is grooving in awareness and those things, or. There’s, there’s eight different meditation apps.

See if actually you can kind of calm yourself down. Just get really present and, and, and connect with yourself. Don’t actually try and answer a question or prompt. Just get still and quiet. Try and sort of be empty and see what comes up and build a relationship with yourself. 

[00:36:51] The Power of Presence and White Space

[00:36:51] Charles Eide: I find the best time, the best ideas I get, and I don’t know why, maybe you’re explaining it now, is when I’m in the shower and I have these shower notes on the wall.

But you think about now that you’re saying it that, I think that’s because it’s the only time that there’s nothing else happening or distracting my mind and it can run free. 

[00:37:12] Ryan Estis: I would actually, I, I think you’re exactly right. There’s something that’s really powerful to this, but I would actually say your mind isn’t distracted.

Your mind’s. Very present. You’re getting the shampoo, you don’t have anything else pulling at you. Your phone’s not with you. Nobody’s standing outside your office. So you’re getting really present to Exactly, I guess that Yeah, that’s what I meant. Yeah. And there’s no, there’s, yeah, there’s nothing. Yeah.

There’s nothing out there. And, and, and now, and that white noise of the shower, it’s soothing. It is. So I, I’ll do this exercise occasionally. So you talk about creative thinking, when I’m speaking, I’ll go into an audience. I’ll say, okay, where do your best ideas come from? Right? When you do your best thinking, you have a breakthrough, you, you find the solution to a problem you couldn’t solve.

Where does that happen for you? So the answers are in the shower or in the bathroom, yoga, running, some type of exercise. Yeah. Where you’re fully present, where you’re, where you’re fully present. Here’s a frightening one, driving. Is a, is a consistent answer, you can get in that zone when you’re, be careful on the road where your seatbelt, but, but to guess what’s never reflected in that exercise work, the office never comes up.

No one ever says that. So you don’t do your best thinking in that place, right? You don’t have your, you do your doing in that place. You do your doing in that place. And if our entire life is spent as human doings, how are we gonna become more. You’re not, 

[00:38:39] Charles Eide: I spend about two hours a day in my office watching podcasts and thinking and writing, and I, I, I actually, it’s

[00:38:46] Ryan Estis: feels like time that I need.

I mean, it, that that’s, I think that’s such a, for anyone listening, I think that’s such a similar refrain. Where do you go to learn? Where do you go to think? Where do you go to reflect? Where do you go to learn more about yourself and what gets scheduled gets done? And look, I mean, you’re running a pretty complicated business that’s growing significantly.

If you have two hours a day, and I, I know we always use the excuse this time, I, I was a big one at that. But you can, you could, if something’s a 

[00:39:16] Charles Eide: priority, you can make time. There it is. Well, and you know, what I keep thinking to myself is every time I get in that place where. I don’t have time to do that.

[00:39:24] Hiring to Create Time for Leadership

[00:39:24] Charles Eide: I think to myself, well then I need to hire somebody to take away whatever it is that I’m doing that’s taking me away from the most important thing. And so every time I get to that point where I don’t have time to be doing that, I find someone to hire. And sometimes it drives my leadership team nuts, but one of the best things I’ve ever hired is my assistant because he’s taken all of that stuff.

That keeps me busy, but not productive and he’s taking care of it. 

[00:39:51] Ryan Estis: I think that is, it was beautifully said, I subscribe to the same philosophy. There’s a great book by Dan Martel called Buy Your Time Back. I love Dan Martel. Yeah, he’s fantastic. Yeah. And he’s got a simple formula for calculating the value of your time, and particularly for entrepreneurs.

I think as you move forward on that journey, the idea is. The majority of your work time should be spent on only the things that you can do. If you give more of your highest value contribution, only the things that you can do, the business is gonna grow faster.

So what are the other things that are getting in the way of more of that time? And you move those. So I have an assistant too. Best decision I ever made. 

[00:40:29] Charles Eide: Honestly, he helps me we call him my personal assistant because he takes care of stuff at the ranch too. You know, if cows need a bale of hay, he goes and does it.

You know, having somebody that’s just not a personal, business admin, but somebody that takes care of the things that make you busy that are $10 an hour, 20 an hour job. A hundred percent allows me to think more personal. Desistance was 

[00:40:52] Ryan Estis: a huge unlock for me for time. You know, I travel a lot, so would come home off the road after four or five days, and then there would be a list of things I’d need to do.

Name it, go to the grocery store, go to Target, put gas in my car, pick up a prescription, go to the dry cleaner, 

[00:41:06] Charles Eide: pay the property taxes. So stupid 

[00:41:08] Ryan Estis: stuff. Here I am, that’s six hours of my Saturday. Gone. And so my, my sort of math on this is how can I spend time doing only the things that I could do or only the things that I enjoy?

And the rest of it, if I’m in a position, try and outsource it, delegate it. 

[00:41:26] Charles Eide: Can’t say enough about how scary it is to hire your first person, but once you realize that hiring people is actually the key to growing the company, not just from a headcount and productivity, but getting you as a leader to continue to have that space, 

[00:41:40] Ryan Estis: well, you’re growing yourself.

And so again, companies don’t grow people, do just not surprised. I would’ve, I would’ve bet that you were doing something to grow yourself before I got here today. I mean, know you and I know your company’s doing really well, but that’s what hypergrowth human-centered leaders do. They make it a priority.

They invest in themselves. They become. More in the service of your growing company. You’re hiring more people, you’re creating opportunity, you’re delivering more value to your customers. And you’ve, you, you found the formula to create the time and the space to do that, but you also made it, you, you also prioritized it as a driver of the business and I think it’s 

[00:42:21] Charles Eide: right.

Yeah. It’s been one of those hacks that I realized when I get busy, it’s clearly ’cause I need to hire someone. If I don’t have that two hours a day, I’m I can’t think straight. Yeah. 

[00:42:31] Ryan Estis: Actually, that decision fundamentally changed my life. Yeah. Yeah. Because when, when I get home and it’s Friday night and I’m, I’ve been on the road.

I can relax. Yeah. And look forward to doing things I enjoy versus 19 tasks that I didn’t have time to do. And the things you’re good at and the things I’m good at, and I’m, I’m better in the business. I’m a better version of myself and the company grows faster. 

[00:42:54] Charles Eide: Yeah, I love that. I wanna shift gears and ask you about ai, ’cause you’ve been watching how it impacts companies.

[00:42:59] AI’s Impact on Leadership

[00:42:59] Charles Eide: You’ve been watching how it impacts leadership and, you know, it’s this big thing that’s, you know, it’s the, it’s like the internet, boom. It’s ai, 

[00:43:07] Ryan Estis: but maybe more powerful. 

[00:43:08] Charles Eide: But maybe more powerful. A hundred percent. So when you think about AI and how it’s impacting leadership, I’m sure you’ve seen how it’s great and how it’s horrible.

[00:43:20] Ryan Estis: Yeah, so Harvard Business Review just wrote an article about, they call it work slop, which was the term that they used about how, it, it’s, it’s creating cycle, it’s diminishing productivity in certain areas of business. ’cause it’s creating cycles of rework and work that’s not good enough. And so, so there’s that issue, but very, very specifically to leadership.

I’ll tell you, I think it’s a great leadership and coaching tool. So, for example, in a distributed sales organization, if I think about giving feedback to reps who are in a territory that are on sales calls, so much of selling is done virtually now. Listen, some AI tools, you can really specifically audit the quality of a call and and actually provide very point specific feedback and coaching.

So it’s a pretty powerful accelerant, both for self-development. But also as a leader or a coach to manage people with that kind of precise feedback. We, we record, we’ll record our sales calls, and then we audit our calls, who talked more or less? What were the quality of our questions? Were we effective at listening?

Did did we summarize before we make a recommendation? Did we co-create the solution? Did we actually ask and sequence the next commitment? You, you can really analyze and provide precise feedback to help somebody improve and skill up faster. So I think, aI has in, in incredible learning application and development application if it’s used the right way.

[00:44:42] Charles Eide: Yeah. I mean, it brings me back to when you were talking about self-reflection and gaining greater awareness of yourself. And I keep thinking Yeah, that’s actually a perfect way to do that is you can, you can have AI analyze things. 

[00:44:57] Ryan Estis: Yeah. It’ll analyze you too if you build a relationship with it. Trust me, we have, so on the front of my website we have AI Ryan.

So we’ve loaded this AI chat bot with all of my thought leadership for the last 10 years. And so you can ask questions about business and sales and leadership and ai Ryan, you don’t ask about politics or dating, but you keep it contextually relevant and it literally, what’s wild about it is.

I’m like, wow, that’s a great answer. Did I write that or say that? You know, I think, man, that I, I think I remember writing that it’s, you know, it’s smarter than I am. It knows more about my body of work than I do because of the recall in seconds. Yeah. So it’s a powerful 

[00:45:38] Charles Eide: tool and it can web it all together too.

Find common themes. 

[00:45:41] Ryan Estis: Yeah. It can create models and decks and images and build exercises around it. So the way I think of it is, it’s a great thought partner and there are challenges because everything sort of starts to look and sound the same. And so, part of my thesis is AI is a tool, but the future of growth is human.

And so we all have access to the same tools and technology now, but what gives us distinction and uniqueness and what helps us connect and provides enduring competitive advantage. And I still think the human application of the technology, ultimately 

[00:46:16] Charles Eide: is the accelerant. So that makes me wonder, I’m sure just AI can be great.

AI can also. Create traps as a leader where you’re not being your best because you’re relying on it too much in the wrong ways. 

[00:46:32] The Human Element in an AI World

[00:46:32] Ryan Estis: Yeah. I think part, lead leadership is decisiveness and problem solving, giving people confidence in the future. And I think there is a concern, about over reliance on technology.

To sort of get into this rote automation of information where you don’t have to think through the insight or the application or the impact of the information.

Satya Nadella said this, he’s at the forefront of the AI revolution leading Microsoft. He said in leadership today, EQ Trumps iq. Computers are gonna be able to think faster than you can, but what can’t they do? That’s what’s left. And you 

[00:47:14] Charles Eide: can’t read the facial expressions.

[00:47:15] Ryan Estis: They can’t read the facial expressions. Yes. And maybe they can. But there is athere is a core and frontal human desire to connect, to be seen, to be valued, to be understood deeply by people. By people. Technology isn’t gonna replace that. We’re both in the events industry. Isee The need for events increasing.

I see the value increasing for sure in a hyperconnected hybrid world. The value of getting people together. We just did aan offsite yesterday for eight hours to work on a project in my business and one of our project partners lives in Detroit. Could have done it on Zoom, but now we flew ’em in and we went out to dinner last night.

We were in the room and we were iterating in a way that you can’t, right, you can’t, guessing that’s part of the reason you invited me to your studio. Yeah. And itjust creates a different experience than it would’ve been had we done this on Zoom, we 

[00:48:12] Charles Eide: made a decision at the beginning that none of these will be over Zoom, not a one.

[00:48:17] Ryan Estis: Yeah. 

[00:48:17] Charles Eide: And that’s why your podcast has taken 

[00:48:19] Ryan Estis: off. Because, because it it is, it’s a, it’s a different felt experience. Yeah. We’re social creatures, man. We’re, we’re wired for connection and we’ve never been more lonely. The surgeon general loneliness is now it’s identified as a health E epidemic, right?

Yeah. It’s, andthat little dopamine hit that you get on your phone, that feels good for five seconds. Isn’t a replacement for authentica. It feel, it feels like it for a second. Yeah. But ittakes you further down that spiral and that’s sort of the, there’s a consequence of that. Yeah.

As it relates to our ability to connect, our ability to think independently, our ability to solve problems, our ability. Form thoughts and our ability to feel intrinsically valued and we belong to something, whether that’s a family, a society, a team, a club, a college, and on and on. But those are core, fundamental human needs.

[00:49:11] The Rise of Events and Human Connection

[00:49:11] Charles Eide: Well, and that’s why you’re totally right. The events industry is actually on a rocket ship right now. And it’s interesting because people are so, you said, they’re so connected, but they’re so lonely, and that’s why events are taking off they are is because you absolutely. Have to be with other people 

[00:49:31] Ryan Estis: there.

There’s, yes, I completely agree with that and I see more companies making more room for that type of relationship, nurturing and connection at their events. They are 

[00:49:41] Charles Eide: totally, they are. So 

[00:49:42] Ryan Estis: that’s a big trend, and we’ve 

[00:49:43] Charles Eide: gotten more creative about it through the years for sure. 

[00:49:47] Ryan Estis: The other issue is we’re solving more complex problems.

We talked a little bit about the unreal piece of change. We don’t have all the information. So that sort of iterative approach to problem solving or the opportunity to create alignment when we’re all together and share in that energy in a hybrid world where we’re working predominantly through technology, those events become higher stakes moments.

That, and, that’s being reflected to me by my clients. This is an important kickoff and it’s gotta go. Right? It’s gotta go. Right. This is the one time, this is the first time in two years we’ve all been together. And so, they, they want an outcome of that. Yes. They, they, there are objectives embedded into that versus just checking the box at their next meeting.

It’s different today. It is. And that’s affect, that’s impacted my work and how we approach it. I’m sure it’s impacted yours too. 

[00:50:42] Charles Eide: Well, we’ve seen. Not only companies are increasing the frequency of their events, they’re increasing the quality and scale of their events. The production value is through the roof.

I mean, if you think about it, you go see a great concert, you know, whoever your favorite artist is, these companies are now competing with. The music acts for production value because they want it to not be boring. In comparison to the concert you went to last weekend, 

[00:51:10] Ryan Estis: you wanna create a felt experience.

[00:51:12] Charles Eide: Yeah. You wanna feel it and, and to be surrounded by people you know, or maybe are getting to know and shared experience. There’s nothing like it. There’s 

[00:51:21] Ryan Estis: nothing like it. Yeah, I, this year, it, it’s, it’s been the best events that I’ve seen through my client roster since in the 17 years I’ve been doing this.

And I, I, to your point, I see that trend continuing because it’s 

[00:51:37] Charles Eide: more important. So you just got named one of the top 50 speakers. Is that in the world, in the 

[00:51:43] Ryan Estis: country? It was, it was the, it was Inc. Magazine’s 2025. Top leadership and management experts. So it wasn’t speakers. 

[00:51:53] Charles Eide: Okay. 

[00:51:53] Ryan Estis: My 

[00:51:53] Charles Eide: bad on that. Yeah, that’s okay.

Actually I would say that what it is is far better than just 

[00:51:58] Ryan Estis: top speakers. I thought so too, there, but there were people from industry, sat, sat, Nadella, the CEO from Microsoft. Yep. He was on that list along with some other executives and authors and speakers. So there were some speakers, brene Brown, Simon, what’s it like to be up on that list?

[00:52:12] Recognition and the Book: Prepare for Impact

[00:52:12] Ryan Estis: I mean, come on. That’s cool. It was, it. We took a moment for that because you start a journey like this and, you want to share your ideas and, and make a difference, and you have a perspective that you created and you don’t know if it’s gonna resonate. You know, I think half the time I’m writing for myself the things I need to hear.

Yeah. And maybe it starts to resonate with other people or a perspective that I’ve gained. But in a million years, I, I mean the, some of those people were heroes of mine. Yeah. You know, Brene Brown is a hero. Oh my gosh. Hero of mine. Yes. And so Adam Grant is a hero of mine. And so to be amongst the great, yeah.

Yeah. And EEE comes in, in the alphabet before GNS, so I was, you 

[00:52:55] Charles Eide: know, it was 

[00:52:56] Ryan Estis: alphabetical, I say so good. Yeah. I’m kidding. But, but it was, it, it, it was nice to feel like all of the work we put in was sort of recognized. Yeah. In that way. And I, I have a lot of respect for the other people on that list.

[00:53:09] Charles Eide: It’s funny how it takes 20 years of grinding and hard work to actually make something like that. It does. You don’t start out. And get on a list like that. I mean, you’ve been doing, you’ve been doing this as long as I’ve known you. Yeah. And, and even before that. Yeah. And. To see that hard work be recognized in that way is so, dude, I’m so proud of you.

Thank you, man. 

[00:53:30] Ryan Estis: I, well, I appreciate it. And yeah, a lot of people supported me along the way and I’ve had a lot of great partners and a team and contributors, so certainly not all, all just me. 

[00:53:40] Charles Eide: Okay. So that brings me to ask you about this incredible thing. Thank you. Your book, it’s called Prepare for Impact.

Tell me about your book. 

[00:53:48] Ryan Estis: Yeah, so the, the book was really a labor of love. It was a writing project I did with my brother Chad. Chad and I are super close and he is got an interesting job. He, he runs the business of the Dallas Cowboys. Really? Yeah. So that 

[00:54:03] Charles Eide: sounds like a big job. 

[00:54:04] Ryan Estis: It’s a big job. Yeah.

So, so not, geez. 

[00:54:06] Charles Eide: What kind of mom and dad did you have? Good lord. 

[00:54:10] Ryan Estis: Yeah. So some good cloth you put from right there? Both. Both our parents were school teachers. That is amazing. Yeah. We grew up in this small town outside of Cleveland, so, but I think both decided we wanted to get into business and both, both started in sales and then became leaders and managers.

Screwed it up in the beginning, figured out how to, how to become more self-aware and better at it. And, and we sort of shared our philosophy through that writing, but there’s a narrative to it about our relationship and some of the twists and turns as our careers have unfolded separately, but, but together as brothers.

And it was, it was a project that accelerated through COVID, ’cause I had a bunch of time to do it. And, it was a labor of love, man. We, we had a wonderful journey writing it together. It’s getting really good feedback. We dedicated it to mom and, it’s, come on. Yeah. It’s a business. It’s a business book with a narrative.

[00:54:59] Charles Eide: I mean, you’ve got Jesse, Jesse Itzler on the back here. Yeah. Driving growth and serving others through the principles of human centered leadership. Where can people find this book? Yeah, 

[00:55:09] Ryan Estis: it’s on my website. ryan.com or Amazon too. Amazon. 

[00:55:12] Charles Eide: Hard to not have it on Amazon. Gotta have it on Amazon. How do people find you?

Ryan Estis. estes.com. Best spot. All right. Last question for you. When all of it’s said and done, what do you want to be known for? 

[00:55:27] Legacy and Closing Thoughts

[00:55:27] Ryan Estis: Yeah, I, I, I think that, I left the people who intersected with me or knew me a little bit better. Then I found them, and if I was known for that, that’s a life lived. Well, dude, I have no doubt you’re gonna do that.

You’re already doing that. Thank you, man. Really proud of. Youre, appreciate it. Just and appreciate the relationship and, yeah, you’ve been a good friend and partner and it’s inspiring, man. It’s inspiring to see what you’ve done with this place and this show, and, and, and it was not surprising, but interesting for me to get a little perspective into how you think about it and organize your time and structure your day.

And so how imbued growth is as a person to. Your business and we’re kindred spirits in that way. So thanks for, thanks for the invite, man. Yeah, thanks for coming. Ryan 

[00:56:12] Charles Eide: Estis, It’s been a pleasure. Hey, if you like this episode, make sure you subscribe, share it with somebody you like, and of course, make sure you check out my company EideCom.

We produce conferences and events all over the US and if you know of a conference or an event that’s looking for the best company in the business, check out EideCom.com.