When an honest remark from a team member about feeling undervalued struck a chord, it spurred not only a corporate reawakening but a deeply personal one for us, your hosts Dustin Hoag and RJ Campbell. Our latest episode is a heartfelt examination of the transformative power of appreciation, where we reveal how this simple yet profound notion reshaped our approach to leadership and enriched our family lives. We share intimate stories from our own experiences and the Balance Business Dad community, emphasizing the significant, often overlooked, everyday contributions of those around us. From the distinction between treating individuals as customers or clients to the tender 'thank yous' we owe our partners and kids, we delve into the artful expression of gratitude that strengthens bonds and fosters a culture of recognition.
The conversation then takes a celebratory turn as we acknowledge the growth and global reach of our podcast, fueled by the very essence of appreciation that we advocate. We discuss the motivational power that appreciation holds, not only for us as hosts but for the listeners and community members who tune in from across the world. By sharing moving anecdotes of unexpected international listenership, we underscore the joy of being valued and the compelling urge to reciprocate such sentiments. So join us as we discuss the importance of 'Dading Up' to show appreciation and revel in the community we've built together, where the expression of gratitude isn't just a momentary gesture but a cornerstone of meaningful connections.
You can join over 350 other Dads like you by joining The Balanced Business Dad's Facebook group here: dadupgroup.com
Check out our website at: thebalancedbusinessdad.com
Socials:
RJ on Facebook at facebook.com/arjay3rd
RJ on Instagram at instagram.com/rjcampbell3rd
Dustin on Facebook at facebook.com/dustin.charles.718689
Dustin on Instagram at instagram.com/dustin_hoog
When an honest remark from a team member about feeling undervalued struck a chord, it spurred not only a corporate reawakening but a deeply personal one for us, your hosts Dustin Hoag and RJ Campbell. Our latest episode is a heartfelt examination of the transformative power of appreciation, where we reveal how this simple yet profound notion reshaped our approach to leadership and enriched our family lives. We share intimate stories from our own experiences and the Balance Business Dad community, emphasizing the significant, often overlooked, everyday contributions of those around us. From the distinction between treating individuals as customers or clients to the tender 'thank yous' we owe our partners and kids, we delve into the artful expression of gratitude that strengthens bonds and fosters a culture of recognition.
The conversation then takes a celebratory turn as we acknowledge the growth and global reach of our podcast, fueled by the very essence of appreciation that we advocate. We discuss the motivational power that appreciation holds, not only for us as hosts but for the listeners and community members who tune in from across the world. By sharing moving anecdotes of unexpected international listenership, we underscore the joy of being valued and the compelling urge to reciprocate such sentiments. So join us as we discuss the importance of 'Dading Up' to show appreciation and revel in the community we've built together, where the expression of gratitude isn't just a momentary gesture but a cornerstone of meaningful connections.
You can join over 350 other Dads like you by joining The Balanced Business Dad's Facebook group here: dadupgroup.com
Check out our website at: thebalancedbusinessdad.com
Socials:
RJ on Facebook at facebook.com/arjay3rd
RJ on Instagram at instagram.com/rjcampbell3rd
Dustin on Facebook at facebook.com/dustin.charles.718689
Dustin on Instagram at instagram.com/dustin_hoog
Dads, do you want a thriving business that doesn't control you, a passionate marriage and kids that adore you? Do you want to grow deeper in your faith, be healthier both physically and mentally, build more meaningful relationships with your friends? Welcome to the Balance Business Dad podcast, where, in each episode, we dive into balancing and optimizing the six pillars of life Faith, health, marriage, fatherhood, brotherhood and business. And here are your hosts, pioneers of the Balance Business Dad movement Dustin Hoag and RJ Campbell hey what is going on, guys.
Coach Dustin:Welcome to another episode of Balance Business. Dad, I'm your host, coach Dustin, with me is always the seasoned, the distinguished Mr RJ Campbell. What's up, you're waiting for a different answer. I didn't mean to ask you a question.
RJ Campbell:We just sat there in silence staring at each other lovingly going I don't know where this is going. Nurgs, what's up, I don't know. We're going to talk about appreciation. Appreciation, it's a good one. That is not something that I think we as a group of people focus on enough. I don't think so, and I don't think we realize how much people want to be appreciated. We should, because I know I want to be appreciated.
Coach Dustin:Yeah, which is an interesting concept. I mean. I'm going to tell you why we just came out. This came out at one of our businesses and one of the employees called us out Right, not showing them enough appreciation. And I'm going to say it's because I've never needed a feel appreciated at work. Now I've been self-employed for a really long time, so I think that might be the difference. And I did my last corporate job my boss was really good at that and, yeah, it did make me feel good, but I never really thought of it. And this one called us out that we don't show it enough. So it's like man, where else in life are we not showing up how we should?
RJ Campbell:Yeah, that's a good one, because we thought we were. You do little things where you think you are, but you realize that's not coming through, and that did open that conversation. It was like, okay, so that's with an employee. What about your spouse? What about your kids? What about your customers guys? Yeah, that, think about that as a business owner, would you? If your customers were asked, would they respond that they feel appreciated for what they give us and, by the way, they're giving it to us?
RJ Campbell:It's a form of money for us trading a good, would they say they feel appreciated Probably should be the very first thing they would say yes to. We all said we want great customer service and that's where that probably feeds into. Man, I know I'm jumping all over the place or jumping way ahead, but I think that's, boy, you would want, if you really think about it, the answer to being appreciated.
Coach Dustin:Other places businesses even think about appreciation. So as a real estate agent, we thought about that a lot. I mean it was called appreciating marketing or appreciated marketing. You know where we would send gifts. We do pop buys. You know we'd make sure they got a pie for Thanksgiving, whatever it is. So I'm part of that to show appreciation as a client. But I've never got that Well, besides the main three, my mortgage lender, an insurance agent or a real estate agent like is the guy that does your tires ever, that never sent me cookies, and it's interesting is that because they see you as a customer, not a client.
RJ Campbell:I think there's a very big difference there, and I grew up I grew up?
Voiceover:No, I haven't.
RJ Campbell:I spent my career with clients, not customers. Exactly this, and we go back and forth. You know this would be one of our businesses is a sign company and sometimes people refer to them as customers. I still call them clients, but I grew up in a client world, coming out of marketing and advertising agencies, so everybody was a client. We never used the word customer and you thought of them as a client, which meant in our head long term. You know kind of like a spouse and kids. You know long term they wanted one and done.
Coach Dustin:Wouldn't we consider our customers now clients? Well, we just need to stop this and go talk to our employees now, because everybody's a client now. Everybody is a client. Interesting Was not expecting this to go this way.
RJ Campbell:Yeah.
Coach Dustin:I don't know if we even started a podcast, Just kind of talk, guys, this is something to think about. So what we discovered, what we researched, what we put our heads together, is all right. How do we show appreciation? And either. I think there's three categories, like our judges said, but our spouse is one do you show the appreciation for, not the when you know they give you a birthday present or a surprise or they do something. But what about every day? You know I don't show it enough, and this is a fault of mine, but I don't show appreciation enough of what my wife does in the morning to make sure that all of us survive the day.
RJ Campbell:He's talking about his kids and himself.
Coach Dustin:100%, I am yeah, 100% I am now. I lived alone for a long time. I always joke I'm like I could survive, but when she's helping us survive, we're actually thriving and and that's a big difference. So that is something. Not personally, I need to show my my wife more appreciation.
RJ Campbell:Yes, I would agree. Yeah, I think there's so much of this that we could do. It could make this our life's passion. Yeah, to be more appreciative of so many things. Now, my wife's big on not to person like. She mentions it a lot. Like you know, we'll watch a movie and I'll have somebody on it that has a disability of some kind or there's a death in a family or whatever, and that's her she'll mention boy. These are the ones that remind me of how lucky we are and how I should appreciate how much we do have. That's that. So that comes up, but not just with each other.
Coach Dustin:And you know it's interesting because I feel that a lot, man, I'm so appreciative I have heat, or is it's more of a gratitude, grateful state, yes, but I think you take that Gratitude one step further and you feel it, when it's appreciated, like I'm thankful for this. But, man, I appreciate that so much since your country song you're dying to get to take it. We're gonna say that you know is that later in the script?
RJ Campbell:Yeah, I want to say, because we script these podcasts, as you could tell. Yeah, okay, yeah, I would agree. Those things are easy to appreciate. It's the things that we take for granted.
Coach Dustin:Yeah, and so I mean this is kind of going nowhere where we planned it to. But Dan Luix, who we've had on the podcast, does his own, and I think it was Sam or a guest of his Did that appreciation Journal to his spouse, wasn't it him?
RJ Campbell:I think it was dance. This is how we know we are big-time podcasters. Yes, that we've done enough episodes that we don't remember them anymore or we just have bad memories. I'm old, so that's part of it. But yeah, that is definitely part of it.
Coach Dustin:They did is or he did is every day wrote something he appreciated From his wife how she looked at day. Oh, she could clean the dishes, whatever it was, every day and at the end of the year gives her that journal gave it to us a Christmas gift.
RJ Campbell:That is purposeful appreciation, it is, and I don't. If I remember correctly, I don't think he started it with the intent to give it to her. Yeah, I think, so I think it was at the end he decided to give that as a gift. I said she values it more than anything she's ever received. And they were simple, appreciate, they were truly just. He wasn't making it up. Wow, I appreciate that dinner she made tonight so good. Yeah, just things like that, yeah, that we just don't consciously do enough of all right.
Coach Dustin:so we made a list of how to Be purposeful about your appreciation. I think so much of Our faults as men Would stop if we were just more purposeful. Boy, that's a big task, right. Just more purposeful, right? So we're going to talk about the top seven ways to show appreciation, and what's cool about is each one of these ways works for your employees, your spouse or your children, obviously in different ways, but the topic itself and your customers and your customers forget our clients.
Coach Dustin:Yes, clients, they're not customers anymore, they're clients. I love that, all right. So number one we're going to start about personalized recognition. So we've had this before and it's interesting because this is something that does not motivate me or I even feel appreciation if I got a plaque from work, right, but employees acknowledge the specific achievements or efforts during a team meeting, highlighting their contributions. I mean, that's huge, a lot of people need that, a lot of people want that. That's something that, even if that employee says, oh, I don't care about that, let's still do it, still show the appreciation. I think that's real important.
RJ Campbell:So funny that Dustin says he doesn't give a crap about that. Yet Words of affirmation or receiving love, like which Wasn't that work? Yeah, that's the difference.
Coach Dustin:So the horny plaque, I think that's what didn't get it. So the gift part of that isn't the words of affirmation. Were, but they didn't care about the plaque.
RJ Campbell:Yeah, yeah, employee of the day would get once given out every day.
Coach Dustin:Custom clients the sin personalized thank you notes. I would have challenged the dads right now that are in business that have clients how many handwritten note cards are you sending a year?
RJ Campbell:Because people love it. They do because you don't receive that anymore. Not at all. It's definitely something that we are going to instill in some of our businesses. Yeah, I have a good friend, joseph Clevenger great guy, by the way owns his own business and he is absolutely religious about this. Yeah, so he's got a conversation with one of his clients. He sends them a note afterwards. Not in. His notes are not branded, this is not coming from his company, just has his return address on it. It's just a simple note card on the inside and it will recap or something to follow up that conversation. A little bit more personal than business, it's fantastic.
Coach Dustin:Yeah, you know another company that does that here. Local is Self-Employment Superstore, so Andy Frisella put a name. Drop him, maybe he starts listening. Most people know Andy Frisella from his podcast, but he has a supplement store, local to St Louis, and you walk in there and you can talk. You can be in a conversation for 10 minutes or 35 minutes with one of their reps and you will have a handwritten card in the mail every single time.
RJ Campbell:That's the reason they ask who you are and what your address Correct yeah. They send you a note every time you're there. They're handwritten, yeah.
Coach Dustin:Handwritten. Yeah, it's fantastic. Yeah, so we can do the employees, the clients, the spouses I think we talked about this earlier but express gratitude for specific actions or qualities that you appreciate. You know it's, what is it? I can't think of the word I'm looking for, but when you reward good behavior and I don't want to say that in the way of a spouse, but I think you do need to let your spouses know and recognize the little things that they're doing for you, how much you appreciate it. There is a country song about fried chicken and would you marry me if something?
RJ Campbell:Yeah, if you could do it all over again. Or know if something happened to her.
Coach Dustin:Yeah what would you do if I had never come a long way? Yeah, that's it, yeah.
RJ Campbell:I play a lot more golf. Yeah, I'd work on my car. I still have that cover band I need more for a country song, can't I? I don't know.
Coach Dustin:Nobody makes the fried chicken like you?
RJ Campbell:Yeah, my golf same socks and I get sick when I fish.
Coach Dustin:So kids? This is the one that I don't know, and you can talk more about this. My kids are obviously young, so I do reward the good behavior, but I don't know if I've ever said out loud I appreciate or feel appreciative around it and reward that. Now, you know I'll be like hey, thank you for you know you guys being good today. Well, it's busy or something like that, and yeah, I'm appreciate of it, but am I really showing the appreciation there? It's almost like a rewarding good behavior versus the bad behavior. It is.
RJ Campbell:But am I really appreciative? Yeah, it's the appreciation part, though. Not just how you did good today. Glad you got an A on that test. Yeah, but using how do you fit that word appreciation in there? Yeah, I really appreciate your effort on this. Yeah.
Coach Dustin:So the personal recognition know that. Flexible and inclusive rewards this is the number two. We might not go through over these, but we'll definitely post them. You know rewards for employees is great. Clients is the same. You know you can do discounts, frequent flyer discounts there's so many things you can do there. There's a local dumpster company or no. There's a local surf pro company who has a top vendor of the year. Now it's they're all fun and games because it's all the same vendor every year because it's his dumpster vendor. But he actually has a banner put at his, at his warehouse vendor of the year is his dumpster company and I thought that's just so fun. Because it's fun, it's light, but it never changes. Nobody else is supplying them that much, so maybe they could step up, right. Yeah, so different things like that you can do with the rewards client of the month if they come in a lot for parking spaces. I had no idea how big parking spaces were to people, people appreciate a parking space.
Coach Dustin:You will see that go.
Coach Dustin:Yeah, yeah, I like about those at church, exactly, kids the same way. Obviously, reward them good, good behavior, meaningful gifts this is another one. I mean, he's just kind of going down the same thing. But what we can see here is, if we are purposeful about appreciation, there's a lot of easy ways to show it, and I think that's what this episode is all about. Right, we don't have to dive down. Why do appreciate? I think we know. Why do we appreciate people? I think we know how to, because everybody's going to show it differently. What I think, what I wanted to get across, the energy you can take this way is I wanted to get across that we have to be purposeful about it. We have to, we have to, we have to make the effort and to show that it's not a canned effort.
RJ Campbell:That's where you get into the ones like this on your meaningful gifts, personalized, even if it's not a gift. The gift it could be verbal, but it has to be personally. I mean you truly are showing them appreciation. You can't have I'm joking the employee of the day and it just rolls through a seven day cycle. Oh, it's Monday, I guess Tom's going to be employee of the day again. You let that's kind of a BS thing and people will see it through it quickly. It's definitely a good thing. It's meaningful, it's personalized to them and you know when you are said and this is funny because when your wife says that they appreciate the things that you do because you believe that you're supposed to do it, then that feel good. Oh yeah, one of the ones that comes to mind is when we travel.
Coach Dustin:Jenna has no idea where we are. She'll get off the wrong floor of the elevator every single time because she doesn't have to worry, because I'm there, and she'll say how much she appreciates that. When you really think about it, it's like man that really feels good. Yeah, Right. So yeah, what do you got an appreciation.
RJ Campbell:We need to do it. Yeah, yeah, it's. Uh, I do like it. You don't realize sometimes where you are appreciated, what you were just saying and how good that makes you feel. Yeah, when it becomes obvious. We joked about the one that took me 35 years to figure out how much my wife appreciated it when I emptied the dishwasher in the morning. I'm not slow on the uptake, so then now it's just well. Now it's become something I feel like I have to do, which I don't all the time, but you, I, knowing how much she appreciates it, makes me feel so much more that I'm appreciated doing it. So it's kind of weird. It's coming back and forth both ways. She appreciates me doing, I appreciate that she appreciates me doing it.
Coach Dustin:That's weird. And well, no, that actually brings a good point. Did your wife know how much it meant to her? Or she just felt a different way when it was done? But did she really know? Man, I really appreciate this.
RJ Campbell:Yeah, I think she did. Yeah, by the way, she brought it up. She's like, wow, thank you so much for emptying the dishwasher. That's so nice and I don't have to worry about that when I get up or I go to work, that I have to get that dishwasher emptied. I mean it's like, wow, that was a love language. Of course, action services for hers. But she know that, did she know that for 35 years? I don't know, it's not something she held against me in any way. She just did it in the morning and I think it was a surprise and then didn't realize how much she appreciated it.
Coach Dustin:Yeah, you don't realize how much you appreciate it. And then, if you know your spouse appreciates something of you, you're going to show up more, you're going to do it Again because they're rewarding the good behavior and that reward might be hey, thank you. Yeah, it's interesting this. I think this appreciation going purposeful goes a lot deeper than what we're letting on here.
RJ Campbell:Yeah, I agree. Now we just found it's bi-directional. Yeah, that you you as the person giving the appreciation is now receiving you. Now you know how much they appreciate it. Yeah, it makes you more appreciative of actually doing it. God that's. But it's hard to say.
Coach Dustin:But it's to say but imagine the life where everybody's just appreciating everything. Yeah, imagine the household, imagine the mood in the house. Everyone is just appreciating everything because what the other person is doing is purposeful, right. One of my favorite lines is life by design. Really design all of it, design the appreciation, design the mood set, design the intention at home, and I think you can go a long way.
RJ Campbell:Yeah, Didn't say this one going that way. Not at all. We didn't get through seven points of these but, like Dustin said, we will post. He'll put this out there at the Balance Business Dad Facebook page so you can see what the other points are. Yeah.
Coach Dustin:But go out and be purposefully appreciative today.
RJ Campbell:And I know we started with this, but man guys, think about this with your customers.
Coach Dustin:Yeah.
RJ Campbell:Clients. That's what brings them back. Do they feel appreciated? And I'm going to say that is a very low percentage because we have not been purposefully showing our appreciation for what they do. They give us money to do whatever we do To live our life. That's a big deal.
Coach Dustin:And think about that. They don't even know that they're not being appreciative. They don't, or they would leave If they know oh, this guy doesn't appreciate me, I'm going somewhere else. But I don't believe they know what it feels like to be appreciated.
RJ Campbell:I don't either.
Coach Dustin:It's so rare that it happens, and when they do is when you go from a client to a raving fan, which that's what we want.
RJ Campbell:Yeah, absolutely. Wow, pretty cool. Wow, that's short, 18 minutes.
Coach Dustin:And you know what Guys we appreciate you, we do. You know we're getting this message out there and this goes for you can join us on the Facebook group, which is over 400 guys now right now at the Balance Business Dad or dadupgroupcom. But the reality of it is we do appreciate you and what I would like you to do to show your appreciation to other people is go share this. Let's get this message out, because imagine the world if everyone was showing appreciation.
RJ Campbell:And he is right. So we go through, which you probably shouldn't. You know our stats every week as you can see how many of how many guys are out there downloading and listening to this podcast, which is really cool to see, and it is. You feel so much appreciation, especially when you start looking around other states. We just think it's everybody that lives within six miles of us, other states and other countries. That's the one where it comes like holy cow. Look at this. We had two downloads from Mexico and one from Asia and one from Europe. This is nuts and it is. It's such a feeling of appreciation that people are taking their time out to listen to us two idiots talk about this stuff, but it makes us show up more.
Coach Dustin:Yes, yeah, when you're appreciated, you show up. So imagine the person you're appreciating. They're going to show up as well. Right, guys, this is what we have. It totally went exact opposite of where we went. But guys remember to dad up, because the people in your life we love you the most Deserve it.
RJ Campbell:That's what we have. That is what we have. Are we done? I think so.