Blue-Collar Leadership® w/ Mack Story

Shownotes(0:42) Intro(3:26) What are you reading?(6:30) How Mack got started with blue-collar leadership(10:26) Blue-collar reception to Mack’s content(18:42) Mack’s passion for writing(20:56) How Stephen Covey changed Mack’s life(24:25) The importance of character(28:50) Advice for developing character(35:16) The difference in deciding and doing(41:28) What leadership means to Mack(44:03) Wrap upQuotes“My passion is the frontline entry-level workforce, but how do I engage those people is by helping the leaders engage, and everybody wins that way.” (10:55)“My mission is not to make a lot of dollars, it’s to make a lot of difference.  But what I’ve learned is if you make a lot of difference, you’ll make plenty of dollars.” (13:13) “Ultimately, it starts with the top leader of an organization. Their values determine what’s accepted, what’s rejected, who stays, who goes, who we are.  And that’s what I teach.  I mean, if the top leader doesn’t want to take responsibility for what’s going on, they’re not really leading, they’re managing.” (28:05)LinksShawn BlackMack Story Mack Story Website Blue Collar LeadershipFree Sample  Book Recommendationshttps://www.amazon.com/SPEED-TRUST-Thing-Changes-Everything/dp/1416549005https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/0743269519https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Leadership-Proven-Maximize-Potential/dp/1599953633BlogOne major misconception regarding leadership is that it only belongs to high-level employees and white-collar workers. This simply is not true, and Mack Story is on a mission to prove it. Mack has authored 13 books, and he focuses on blue-collar leadership.  Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change inspired Mack to make some deliberate changes in his life. The book’s concepts motivated Mack to share them with his friends and coworkers, eventually leading him to become a consultant and leadership coach. Mack taught the principles he learned from Stephen Covey, as well as many other leadership authors. His goal was to share his knowledge with blue-collar, frontline workers.In his experience as a frontline, entry-level worker, his bosses and managers did not share leadership tactics and ideas with their employees. To Mack, this was an atrocity, and he was setting out to change the situation.  After a short-time on what Mack calls the $20,000 lecture circuit, Mack decided to shift to a unique business model. Rather than asking businesses to pay a nonsensically large fee for him to speak to its employees, Mack created an offer that is much more approachable and flexible. If a group is willing to buy 200 copies of Mack’s books, he will cover his travel expenses to speak to a room full of people for up to two hours. He does not care if that room is made up of 10 people or 500 people, and companies have the option to pool together and split the costs. While this model is not as profitable as his previous one, profits are not Mack’s priority. “My mission is not to make a lot of dollars, it’s to make a lot of difference. But what I’ve learned is if you make a lot of difference, you’ll make plenty of dollars.” (13:13) While his passion is teaching leadership principles to frontline workers, Mack recognizes that he will primarily speak to management and high-level employees. Because of this, Mack emphasizes the importance of passing these concepts down. His 200 book business model assists with this. If Mack can implant the right ideas into managers’ heads, he can affect frontline workers’ lives, whether he speaks directly to them or not. “My passion is the frontline entry-level workforce, but how do I engage those people is by helping the leaders engage, and everybody wins that way.” (10:55)As far as Mack’s teachings, he emphasizes that building good character is central to being a good leader. He also accentuates the difference between deciding to do something and taking action. This is the difference between someone who makes things happen and someone that hopes things will happen. A good leader is someone with good character who takes action to make a change in their life and others.  “Ultimately, it starts with the top leader of an organization. Their values determine what’s accepted, what’s rejected, who stays, who goes, who we are. And that’s what I teach. I mean, if the top leader doesn’t want to take responsibility for what’s going on, they’re not really leading, they’re managing.” (28:05)