Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Kati Peterman and Michael A Forman
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable Connections, the podcast where relationships fuel leadership, trust creates opportunity, and great conversations lead to extraordinary results. I'm your host, Michael Forman. Today's episode is all about one of the toughest challenges every CEO faces.
How do you spend your time? How do you know when it's time to hire the leaders who will take your business to the next level? We'll explore what great... I'm sorry. We'll explore why great leadership isn't about doing more, it's about building the right team, making courageous decisions, and creating a culture where people thrive.
Boy, that was a mouthful. I barely got through it. I would like to invite t- to the, my podcast today Katie Peterman, and she's is an expert in the fractional business. So I'd like to introduce Katie. And Katie, would you mind giving us a little bit of a a CliffsNotes version of how you got where you are today?
Yeah, absolutely. My background is in educational seminar sales. So I started out in a sales position. I had a really amazing leader and manager that was heavy operational focused and, that I saw that shut a lot of people down. But my brain switched over, and I saw it as an opportunity to keep my sales team safe, and a way to provide, you know, more opportunity for the future, and a way to win.
I like playbooks. I like systems. I fell in love with systems through that process and because of his leadership, and that has led me in the operational space. And, when I had the first, I'd say, three companies that I ran as a COO, I noticed that the perception of what a COO is responsible for, and how many companies do not hire a COO when it's absolutely needed.
So I was very passionate about changing that model, and changing the way that people view fractional executives and are able to have top-tier talent in their companies so that way they're able to get, their dream, their mission, things really systematized and functional That sounds great.
It sounds like you're very passionate about what you do. I am. I found something that clicks. I think that operations isn't something that clicks for just a lot of people, right? It's, operations are not sexy per se, but to me, it's how my brain works, and I see it as an opportunity that with clear systems, you're able to support people.
And I'm a natural supporter. I love supporting people. I love supporting their dreams, their missions, what they were intended to do and bring to the world, and I wanna make sure that everyone has a way to do that and maintain it over time. That sounds great. That sounds great. Okay. So many CEOs believe their most valuable asset is their strategy.
Do you believe it's actually the quality of the people they surround themselves with? And if so, why? I do believe to an extent that it is about the people that you surround yourself with. I think that's really important, right? Top-tier talent A players, people who have similar missions and values.
So I think initial buy-in culture, things like that are very important. Strategy, though, I don't see a lot of visionaries, owners, founders who necessarily strategy is their highest return, right? Just because you're an owner and a founder doesn't necessarily mean that you are a CEO. There's a big difference in that, and I think that a lot of people have to say, "Okay, what seat am I truly in?
Am, am I a CEO, or am I an owner/founder?" A CEO is responsible for execution, and so if you're a relationship builder and you're someone out there, brainstorming 500 new ideas a day, you're really good at relationship building, but maybe you're not the best at execution, you have to say, "Okay, am I truly a CEO?"
And then as a true CEO is good at strategy, and they should hold that responsibility, strategy for execution, right? And then having the right people in place, having those A players that match with the company's core values and vision, that's extremely important. Absolutely. Steve Jobs comes to mind because when he was building his team, he knew where he was weak.
He knew the areas that he didn't excel, and what he did was he hired people who excelled wherever he was weak. So he surrounded himself by greatness, and that's why he succeeded so well. But it just... As you were speaking, he came to mind and that's what I thought of. And that is...
That's exactly what you should be thinking, because a lot of people owners, founders, they had a very specific mission, a dream, a purpose on why they started the company, the product, the service that they have. And so a lot of people, I don't think that it's ego. I know that a lot of people say, "Oh, it's their ego.
They're all in. They're a control freak. They're harnessing it." I think it's protection and fear and safety that people are truly after. When we step into those shoes, maybe it's coming across as ego, right? But when we step into their shoes of like this is their dream, their mission, their purpose, they have gotten themself to a point of A to B.
They have gotten themselves that far. They've put all the work and the effort in, and they're trying to do everything that they can do to protect themselves, right? To keep that dream and that mission going. And so a lot of the times they'll think I did it this way and I did such a good job, I need to go hire another version of myself."
And what they actually need to do is they need to go what Steve Jobs did, and you need to go hire the people that are amazing at what you're not good at, and they love doing the things that you hate, right? So the follow-up, the admin the funnel building- Yeah ... whatever that is. But they need to go be responsible for the things that you don't enjoy Absolutely.
Absolutely. I've been a business owner last 40 years. I've owned pizzerias, restaurants, Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I've done all the, the stores, and I found out that I liked certain parts of being the owner, being the boss, but I didn't like so many others, and I hired people to fill those positions so I could do the things that I truly loved, and that's why I've always stayed in business.
Yeah ... okay. So- It's important to experience that joy, I think a lot of people get on the hamster wheel, right? And they almost create their own 9:00 to 5:00 handcuffs because- they're like this just needs to be done, and it... I have to do it, and it's all on me." And so then they start doing things that they don't enjoy.
And when you go back to experiencing the things that you enjoy, and it makes you happy and gives you fulfillment, and it creates more motivation, your business actually excels. Yeah. I loved working for myself. I'm doing that now, but I feel... I work half a day. 12 hours a day is half a day, right?
'Cause I work no less than 12 hours a day. So that goes with owning. Okay. So you teach CEOs how to spend their time wisely. If you looked at a leader's calendar, what would it reveal about their priorities, values, and ultimately their leadership? Yeah. I think that you can look at someone's calendar and it will tell you everything that you need to know.
When I see a calendar that's very full and booked back to back that lets me know that they have a lot of guilt having downtime, and there's something that we need to look at and something that we need to look into of why is it that they maximize themselves and almost create this, forced urgency?
What is it that they have fear around? What is it that they're trying to maximize and how they're operating? If I look at someone who maybe really doesn't have too much on their calendar and it's very sporadic, that tells me that they don't know what their priorities are, right? And they don't know where they should be spending their time.
If I see someone who books a lot of relational things, but then they're feeling stressed and feeling drained there's always a story that goes into someone's calendar. And a lot of the times we just give it a free-for-all, right? We let our team and our assistants and we let people just book things and throw things on there.
We haven't really evaluated when should we be making financial decisions? At what time of day do we have the best clarity where we should be making financial decisions, signing contracts, making large decisions? At what time of the day or midpoint during the week should we be focused on relationship building?
When should you have deep dive time for project-based or, thoughts and collaboration and creativity? A lot of people are not thinking that far, and they're just throwing it on and saying, "Okay I have this, it has to be this way. I have to have the 40 hours a week." People get trapped in this everyone who's successful wakes up at 5:00 AM, so I have to join the 5:00 AM club."
Versus actually looking at the data of, their nervous system, their circadian rhythm, when they function best, how they make decisions, and how those decisions have had outcomes. You really have to take the time to do some pattern recognition on yourself. And if you haven't done that, then you need someone who can help you identify pattern recognition on when you operate the best and when you have the best outcomes.
Very good. Very good. I didn't know I can do all that by looking at a calendar, but it's okay. Hiring executives isn't just about filling roles, it's about shaping culture. What character traits do you think do you look... I'm sorry. What character traits do you look for that don't always show up on a resume?
One thing that I look for and I ask for with true leadership, and I think that this is a great example, is I will test the waters a little bit and I will say, "Hey, we're thinking about building about X department, right? And we're probably going to need to bring in five to seven new people for this department.
Who do you know in your network that you think would be an immediate great hire or someone that you could bring on board?" And what I'm looking for is, do they start brainstorming? Do they know people? Are they well-connected? A true leader that has created a great culture that people trust is someone that people will follow.
And I've hired some really great executives who are task doers, and I've hired some really great executives who maybe they increase revenue, but they burn people out a little bit. Some of the best leaders that I've ever hired they're like, "Hey, I have someone who would come over tomorrow.
Hey, I have someone that we can plug into this." They have trusted people in all sorts of positions and companies who they can plug and play, and they have a reliable, network. I think that is a tell-all for how great of a leader they are. Okay. Okay. I'll go with that. When is the right time for a CEO to stop being the smartest person in the room and intentionally hire people who challenge their thinking?
Again, it goes back to looking at what you enjoy and what you don't, and what you're good at and maybe what you're not. And then you can decide the type of commitment that you want to make. So do you want to hire an A player that's just going to come in and do it, and you don't have to guide them, develop them?
You say, "Hey, they might do it different than me, but I'm gonna let them run wild." Or do you wanna hire someone that maybe they're a little bit more open-minded, they don't have 10 to 15 years of specific experience, but they have proven results over here, and you're willing to teach them and invest in them and give them a little bit of your time to get them where you want to be?
What type of feedback and responsibility are you looking for? I think that's really important when you're bringing someone in to say, "Okay, you're gonna be a trusted source." How open-minded are you really to someone giving you a different perspective, and I think that starts with us.
The more clear that we can be and the more open that we are with where we are at in that process, the better experience you'll have when you're bringing that person in. Okay. Okay. I'll go with that. As AI and automation reshape business, what leadership qualities simply can't be delegated to technology?
I think that when it comes to people, right? I think that when we are having, Everyone has life cycles, and everyone has, things going on. And I know it's a saying like, "Hey, leave it at the door. Clock in. Be professional. Separate personal and professional." And I agree with those things to some extent.
But life happens, and life is very real, and some of your best employees and your long-term tenure employees, they're going to have, life experiences, whether that is a loss in the family, whether that is a financial crisis, whether it's health, whatever it is. I think that human element of leadership is being able to identify and notice okay, Frank over here, he's a little off.
Production is down. Numbers are down. He's very quiet. He's not being collaborative. And saying, "Hey," instead of just looking at the data and being like, "This is off. You're in the red. We didn't hit the target." That person, not AI, has to identify, "Hey, I need to go connect and value connection with Frank to get him back on track."
And that is a leadership skill that only a human will be able to do. Yeah. What you just described, which I talk about often when I travel, is the difference between leadership, of being a leader, and a boss, okay? There is such a huge difference between those two. And I always say you don't want any bosses who work for you.
You don't want that. You want leaders. You want leaders training leaders. And you, in order to do that, you need to give that person a little bit of responsibility and a little bit of power of saying yes or no. But you don't want to have somebody come out, bark orders, turn around, and walk away And so that's really what you're talking about.
Okay. Yeah. So have you ever seen one executive hire complete- one executive hire completely change the trajectory of a company? And what made that person transformational beyond their technical skills? Yes, absolutely. I think that I have seen with a lot of service-based companies, so let's say dentistry HVAC, plumbing, more service-based businesses, right?
They are always so focused on someone having industry specific experience, and they're looking for someone, and that's just their vetting. "I want someone who's been in, in the dental space for 10 years. I want someone who's been in HVAC for 20 years," right? Some of the best hires that I've seen is someone who has a fresh set of eyes who is very good, w- as a leader and very good at operations and systems and can analyze any company and just get in there and find different gaps.
And they're coming in and they're challenging perspectives, and they're learning, and they don't know. So what's great is they don't have any old habits, right? They have no old habits for that business. They're just really coming in with a fresh perspective. And I have seen, revenue added. I've seen the whole sales process change.
I've seen just a completely refresh in the culture which is great because they're not saying, "Hey, this is the way we've always done it. This is the norm. This is the industry standard." They're coming in and completely revamping and revitalizing the perspective Now I'm thinking of when I had a hiring process, and they, have to go through the first interview and the second interview.
I was always the third. And if they passed the first two, 99% of the cha- time, they're gonna get the job. But they had to go through... And my questions were more emotional. My questions were more humanistic. My... They weren't, about the job. It was about everything else. And so as long as you can put all that together, and there's something to be said for the new person, as you said, with a fresh set of eyes, but they don't carry the experience that may be needed for that position, so you have to balance the two.
So the strongest leaders often seem to have the strongest networks. Is that because they know more people or because they've earned more trust over time? I definitely think that they've earned more trust, over time. I think that creating that network, it just takes time, and people have to have a reason to stay with you and to follow you and to stay connected with you.
And so you have an opportunity to create a large following but they have to recognize you for something. And so I definitely think trust is a huge part of that. Yeah. Trust, trust is always a factor in any position. And any way you look at things, there has to be a trust factor. And in networking, there's a mantra.
There's, if they know you, if they like you, if they trust you, they'll do business with you. And everybody knows you, you're nice. Everybody likes you. You're a nice person. You're pretty. Everything is going well, right? But the trust factor, that's the main factor. If they trust you, they'll do business with you.
Would you go and buy something from somebody if you didn't trust them? No. You wouldn't. That, that goes without saying. But okay, so let's bring this podcast full circle. And 20 years from now, what will distinguish the CEOs who built enduring organizations from those who simply built profitable ones?
Profit comes and goes. Profit is dependent on so many things outside of our control. When we build systems, those are things that are within our control, and you have an opportunity to control the customer experience, the customer journey, how you respond to each customer. And I think that there's a lot of opportunity in just doing what you do at a better, higher level, right?
And just focusing on what you can control. That, that is systems. And so the people who have systems in place, they're not dependent on everything else that is outside of their control, right? And I think that's who will be here, is the people who have systems in place. Absolutely. Katie, it just, it sounds like you know what you're doing, you're passionate about your doing, but most of all, you're very knowledgeable.
If somebody wanted to get hold of you, either to be mentored by you, to buy services, or just to say hello, how would they get hold of you? Personally, I love outreach on LinkedIn. So just on LinkedIn, it's just Katie Peterman. There's no E on my name, just K-A-T-I Peterman. You can connect with me, let me know what you're looking for, and then you're more than welcome to sced- schedule a complimentary discovery call on our website, so www.yourfrx.com, so that's yourfrx, your fractional executive, .com.
We have complimentary discovery calls. We're happy to give advice, make connections, put you in a better place, right? Boy Scout rules, that's what we believe in. And happy to connect with anyone. We we have an amazing team. We love what we do, and yes, extremely extremely passionate about providing systems and safety and support for people.
That's great. The biggest takeaway? Great companies aren't built by CEOs who try to do everything. They're built by leaders who invest in the right people at the right time. Leadership is measured not by how much you accomplish yourself, but by how many others empow- how many others you empower to succeed.
If you enjoyed today's episode, like, follow, and subscribe to Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections, and share it with a leader, entrepreneur, or business owner who could benefit from this conversation. If you're looking for a keynote speaker or executive communication coach to help your organization strengthen leadership, improve communication, and build relationships that drive results, visit MichaelAForman.com.
So until next time, remember, the strongest networks aren't built on titles. They're built on trust, character, and the leaders who bring out the best in others. We'll see you in the next episode. Katie, again, thank you so much. You're a fantastic podhos- pod- guest guest on my podcast. Thank you so much, Michael.
I appreciate the space, and I appreciate having the opportunity to learn from someone like yourself as well. It's always good to have strong mentors to look up to in the space, and with your, expertise and background it's greatly appreciated. Great. Thank you, and I'll talk to you soon.
That's a wrap, folks. A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such incredible insights today. And of course, a big shout-out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. If you're interested in my digital courses, being coached, or having me come and talk to your company, just go to MichaelAForman.com and fill out the request form.
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. It's about being present. So take what you've learned today, get out there, and make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website, michaelaforman.com/podcast
Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
Digital Courses
#BusinessNetworking #CorporateSuccess #Leadership #CommunicationSkills #ProfitGrowth #ExecutiveCoaching#Conference #EventSpeakers #ConferenceSpeaker #MarketingConference #NonprofitConference #BusinessEvent#Networking #Conferenses#Profit #Sales #Communication#Podcast #networkingevents #businessowners #businessideas #businessinnovation #growyourbusiness #professionaldevelopment #businessconnections #networkmarketing #EventProfs #PublicSpeaking #SpeakerTips #ConferenceSpeaker #EventMarketing #ProfessionalSpeaker #MemorableExperiences #EventStrategy #SpeakingEngagements #BeUnforgettable #SpeakerLife #EventSuccess#NetworkingUnleashed #BusinessCommunication #PublicSpeaker #ProfessionalDevelopment #StrategicNetworking #MichaelAForman #SpeakToConnect #AwardWinner #LeadershipThroughConnection
Comments