SE1 E01 Preparing His Team to Take Over the Company in the Future | Joseph Badger

Joseph Badger didn't plan on ending up in insurance. His career wound through economics academia, telecoms marketing, custom home design, HR leadership, and teaching business seminars across the US before a temporary role with Colonial Life became the foundation for Upper Room Solutions. In this episode, Joseph talks to Rick Plaskett about what it actually looks like to build a business with the intention of one day not being needed in it — and why that's harder emotionally than most founders expect.The conversation covers Joseph's leadership philosophy, which centres on self-awareness, the difference between being nice and being kind, and what he calls "leading with a limp" — the idea that acknowledging your own flaws makes you a better leader, not a weaker one. He also shares a story from the night before recording that captures exactly the kind of successor relationship most business owners spend years hoping for.What you'll take away:Why Joseph structures his role around making himself unnecessary — and how that's changed where he spends his timeThe distinction between being nice (doing things so people like you) and being kind (doing the right thing for someone, regardless of whether they want it)How personality profiling tools like DISC aren't just for sales — and why he teaches them as life skillsWhat "leading with a limp" means in practice, and why leaders who haven't worked through their own wounds can cause serious damage to the people around themHis magic wand answer: sales discipline — and why even great hunters on a sales team need structure to stay focusedThe custom-forged sword from Nepal, and what it meant about the successor relationship he's built over yearsConnect with Joseph Badger:Website: upper-room-solutions.comPhone: 440-915-8442LinkedIn: Upper Room Solutions — linkedin.com/company/upper-room-solutionsIf this resonated, give it a like and subscribe — new episodes weekly.I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.– Rick and the Ohio Business Unfiltered podcast teamConnect with Rick Plasket on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-plasket-4b6a157 Visit the ActionCOACH website here: https://rickplasket.actioncoach.comListen to Ohio Business Unfiltered on these podcast platforms: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033jtpIBICapFc5c0uLDjEApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ohio-business-unfiltered/id1896769046Amazon Podcasts:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/70038bf4-21c4-44ef-91a4-5fdca2d11607/ohio-business-unfiltered#OhioBusinessUnfiltered #RickPlasket #ActionCOACH #OhioBusiness #BusinessCoaching #SmallBusinessOwner #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #ScaleYourBusiness #OhioEntrepreneur #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessStrategy #WorkLifeBalance #MindsetMattersOhio Business Unfiltered is the podcast for Ohio business owners who want straight talk on what it actually takes to build a profitable, sustainable company. Each week, Rick Plasket sits down with entrepreneurs, executives, and business leaders from across the state to get into the real conversations — the obstacles they faced, the decisions that changed everything, and what they wish they had known sooner.Rick Plasket is a certified ActionCOACH, West Point graduate, and Army veteran with decades of experience spanning corporate leadership and business coaching. He works with business owners across Columbus and Ohio to help them stop working in their business and start working on it — building systems, developing teams, and reclaiming the freedom they got into business for in the first place. On Ohio Business Unfiltered, Rick brings that same direct, accountability-driven approach to every conversation.