David Horsager: Welcome to the trusted leader show it’s David Horsager our guest this week. He’s been a friend for a long time. We work together. He is CEO of premier speakers and we, you know,

David Horsager: He’s a whole lot more than that. You’re going to get to get to know them a little bit. He’s a father of four. I’m the father, for we both done

David Horsager: We were talking about this. We both done working Kenya and we have a heart for some things happening Dominican Republic. My, my.

David Horsager: wife and daughter were there, you are doing some neat things there.

David Horsager: You’re a track athlete. I try to be a triathlete

David Horsager: In fact,

David Horsager: He, he was a national champion ship qualifier. He is, you know, in the business journal and 2014 2015 he was the this kind of noted what was that the 40 under 40 so great guy. But what I like about my friend Brian Lord is he’s what we say in the business, the same onstage and offstage so

Brian Lord: Brian welcome.

Brian Lord: Hey, well thanks, David. Thanks for having me on. I really appreciate. I’m excited to be on

David Horsager: Well, there’s a few things about you. And there’s a whole lot more. We could get to, but

David Horsager: Give us a couple things, two or three things, who is Brian Laura and we’ll get into it.

Brian Lord: Uh, you know that’s that’s a tough question to answer it. Just because you you kind of are who you are. Your whole life. I mean, I’ve always been interested in learning and getting to know people.

Brian Lord: And being around people that aren’t like myself. And so, you know, why go these different student things and I always try to hang out with people that were the least like me in certain ways, and I’m from Indiana, so I’m like, trying to avoid the farm kids and

David Horsager: Today, because you’re stuck with one

Brian Lord: So, so, you know, we’ve got this family farm. That’s like 160 years old up in Indiana is just growing corn, since you know before the Civil War, but

Brian Lord: But I think I’ve always just like learning and and being in the industry. I’m in the speaker’s bureau industry.

Brian Lord: And before that, the entertainment industry, you know, able to meet all kinds of different incredible people. And for me, you know, sometimes

Brian Lord: making phone calls and emails. Isn’t that exciting. But getting to know all the people stories, not just the amazing speakers, but also you know clients and

Brian Lord: You know, I was talking to somebody today and her father’s like this famous archaeologists in the in the Mediterranean, and I’m like, oh, that’s really cool you know and and just the interesting people you you run into all over the place. So I always love learning

Brian Lord: And so whatever I’m doing, whether it’s this where there’s that. And I think that’s to you. Whenever you meet somebody you realize that they know more than you about something.

Brian Lord: And I love to learn. And so you just be humble and and realize the best way to be smart just realize you don’t know everything.

David Horsager: Everyone has a story right every everybody has a story and we all have

David Horsager: We certainly all have something to learn

David Horsager: Who is someone you’ve learned the most from

Brian Lord: You know, I think my mom I when I was growing up, you know, my parents got divorced my dad. It did end up coming back into the picture about 10 years later, but my mom is somebody that never ever ever gave up.

Brian Lord: So you’ve got, you know, single mom for kids, three of them with health problems. The others baby and just that really, really difficult time and never giving up never complaining

Brian Lord: You know, my wife jokes around that. I don’t like to play in which I don’t know it’s true I i’m sure I complain, sometimes, but it’s it’s definitely not a normal thing to complain. So like this year.

Brian Lord: I have, you know, it’s been, you know, or this past year 2020 has just been a crazy year but it’s, there’s still so much to be grateful for and be thankful for realizing difficult things go on and I think I got that from my mom just

Brian Lord: You know, working midnight sleeping three hours or three or four hours a day for

Brian Lord: You know 15 years and still having a smile and still, you know, showing showing that kind of thing. So even with all the amazing people I’ve met over the years, I’d still have to say my mom has got to be up there.

David Horsager: And you’ve met some amazing ones and back when you’re with William Morris, of course, to and now with what you’re doing today, but you know I had a challenge, one time you this just made me think of it.

David Horsager: A mentor of mine challenge to me one time, this was maybe 20 years ago but it changed me forever. He said, David, I want you to do something for

David Horsager: 90 days, not one complaint.

David Horsager: Never no complaints no complaint, you can say complain about anything for 90 days.

David Horsager: I think I wrote about that might have been in my first book or something. But it was it was, you know, that was powerful. It’s like not not saying one complaint.

David Horsager: Interesting Lee I was this kind of ties. I’m jumping around here, but yesterday I think it was listen to a podcast about how

David Horsager: are few things more powerful than believing in someone but especially believing them when they can’t don’t believe in themselves and seems like your mom carried certainly some of that with so you know on this theme of learning that

David Horsager: We brought up and we just go with it here, but it all.

David Horsager: It all becomes about being a trusted leader, but this certainly is. What do you learn in these days, you know, we just came through this pandemic over the last year and all these things are changing what what what what are your key learnings, what are you learning right now.

Brian Lord: I mean, I think for me, a lot of it is is storytelling. You know, I think you always have to do something else besides your actual work. And so I’ve been writing a lot and learning a whole lot about

Brian Lord: Storytelling and what what that makes up, but it also what makes things true to people.

Brian Lord: So, you know, telling a story. You can tell true stories too. So I’m not talking purely about fiction but learning about what makes things resonate where they’ve come from in history.

Brian Lord: You know, like you look at if you’ve ever heard of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is like the first adventure story ever that most people

Brian Lord: Have been able to find, you know, it’s not that far from James Bond. So it’s or even Star Wars. So those different things with a hero meets a mentor gets the these different things to complete their quest.

Brian Lord: And and overcome impossible odds. You know those things resonate over and over again. And so how do those things, inspire you. How do they inspire others.

Brian Lord: You know, I’ve, I love inspiration from business standpoint, but also with kids. And for me, a lot of that was reading and so

Brian Lord: You know, just encouraging kids to read and to grow as well. I think are so important. So, I mean, that’s kind of what I’ve been really learning right now, but then also just

Brian Lord: Just those little things of just showing up every day and even if everything’s kind of falling around around you.

Brian Lord: Know that there’s been a story people have come through worse than this, and regardless of what happens you have always got to have hope. And, you know, make the best of that one individual day

David Horsager: Love it. My wife, you know, as I, you know, spoke, I don’t know, around 100 times a year for a couple decades now when we started, now we have four kids like you have four kids. So thinking about our kids too and trying to instill learnings, a big deal. But I remember

David Horsager: Back when we started, it was just her and I, we, you know, now she doesn’t travel with me all the time, but back then I would be backstage. You know, I’m younger than the whole audience in my 20s scared to death to go out there, you know, and she would have this thing she said every time.

David Horsager: Thousand people out there, whatever it was behind the curtain. David just love them. They can tell when you love them.

David Horsager: And that whole thing of when you care about them. I remember now.

David Horsager: Times I’ve gone in the boardroom of she’s known unknown I’ve gone to the compound it bang vanguard. I got to meet with the board of directors that all these things, grabbing the guy that sets the

David Horsager: The, the dollar amount on mutual fund that if he’s off by a penny. It can be millions of dollars. And he’s like, I’m going in there and she texts me right as I’m going to compound and, you know, Massachusetts, or I’m sitting next to President of a country in

David Horsager: East Africa. And, you know, there’s the president. There’s machine guns all around. And as I’m going and she’ll text me or whatever.

David Horsager: They never forget the research just love them. They can tell when you love them.

David Horsager: And yep

David Horsager: Certainly true with

David Horsager: Showing up every day and knowing. Everybody has a story and seeing their story and loving them, even if they’re different and we could certainly use a little more of that today, it seems like

David Horsager: So you’re what a you know you’re leading an organization that had to pivot a lap up somewhat over the last year or so. But what are some things as a leader, you’re learning

Brian Lord: I think it’s, it’s that it’s really good to have great people around you.

Brian Lord: It’s not just not just when things are good, but also when they’re tough.

Brian Lord: And part of your role as a leader is to still have that hope I remember we were having, you know, these meetings and

Brian Lord: Of course, our you know a whole lot of our income is based on people traveling and getting together, big groups which has not been the recipe for success in 2020 for the most part.

Brian Lord: And we just said to say, you know, how can we

Brian Lord: help our clients, how can we do that.

Brian Lord: And and just getting it refocused on what we can do. So there’s so often so many things are focused on what you can’t do what you don’t have. What can we do, okay, we don’t have this big chunk of what we’ve always done

Brian Lord: How can we make this most of this little chunk that we’ve done. What advantages do we have and are, you know, the folks, we haven’t it stepped up and advanced stepped up accounting stepped up.

Brian Lord: You know i i don’t know if i had the least amount to do with it. But I certainly didn’t have the most and it’s just because so many people that are talented at what they do.

Brian Lord: Really refocused and, you know, whether it’s, you know, Sean Hanks here who’s who. Who’s done so much or sharing in accounting are all are all these other people. We couldn’t even name.

Brian Lord: That have, you know, stepped up and there’s this late night that you didn’t see or they made the decision to keep pushing you when they were a little tired or we all took a break. You know those different things that

Brian Lord: Helps be successful. And it really difficult time and you can choose to

Brian Lord: Focus on what you don’t have. And what you can’t do or you can choose to focus on what you do have what you can do.

Brian Lord: And that’s just really simple choice and really simple decision. And I think people just like you were talking about. There’s all this research. Everything else but really it’s just kind of who you are and how you’re made up and choosing to do what you’re able to do

David Horsager: So get into those little things, I think, you know, you talk about you gotta hire the right people and but but let’s think about this. What habits. Do you see those great people, you’re thinking about, you know,

David Horsager: They had to persevere. They had a pivot whatever last year, but they probably had things that they just do like what makes up the great people. I mean,

David Horsager: Once the only might say it’s it’s hungry and smart and you know that you might say, well, what are the what are the habits or what do you notice when you said that person has what we need here at premier they’re doing the little things we need to do every day. What are those things.

What’s that look

Brian Lord: I think it’s, I think it wanted showing up. It was kind of funny, I was talking about cousin who works in

Brian Lord: I won’t say what company but but we’re trying to get together and she goes, yeah, I can leave for up to two hours without everybody quitting working

Brian Lord: So like, that’s her thing. Like, I can’t imagine like I don’t if I’m not here. I don’t worry about people not doing their job.

Brian Lord: And I think that people have that responsibility. I know there’s always jokes about it a lot of times our IT department is are the first people here.

Brian Lord: And, you know, and that’s the, you know, you hear people say oh yeah it guys rolled in at 10am I’m like really they do that, and it’s just kind of the reality of different places, compared to here, but I think there’s just that standard

Brian Lord: And that I think also too, and you’ve pointed this out before that leaders really set the tone. If the leaders are really entitled or lazy or, you know, those sorts of things.

Brian Lord: It’s not going to happen.

Brian Lord: And I think for a lot of people here you you do your job and it’s not about the title I know my mom kind of got on me because I

Brian Lord: got promoted to President and I forgot for almost two years to update it on LinkedIn and then she’s like, how could you not tell me right when they

Brian Lord: Go because my mom is one of those like she’s a nurse, so she put like a button of every sports team or on if there was like a premier President button. She would have put it on and wanted around to

Brian Lord: To to do bedside visits with people and everything else. And it just didn’t, you know, and other people here like I have to find like I know what they do. I don’t actually know what their title is and so

Brian Lord: And I was like, one guy here, like you, you’re talking about you talk to the person off camera. So I talked to Eric woody off camera here and I’m still, I think he’s

Brian Lord: Marketing Manager director marketing something he just does all everything he does, he does extremely well.

Brian Lord: And it doesn’t really matter what his title is. But I think learning is a big thing like everybody’s trying to push and get more stuff and

Brian Lord: Doing masterclass and you know just even if it’s a little stuff outside of things, you know, you’re

Brian Lord: Like a lot of us are into storytelling and so you take those classes on storytelling, even though I’m you know an agent basically like I’m sales guy.

Brian Lord: For talent and he’s running camera or working sound, but he’s really interested in storytelling. What goes into that too. And so it just having a lot of people that are interested in smart and growing and hardworking and they show up.

David Horsager: You know, I want to get to. I want to get too personal. In a moment, because I think

David Horsager: There’s some habits there from you. Certainly as a triathlete and everything else but

David Horsager: What about sales, you started as a sales guy, you’re a sales driven organization. You gotta get you gotta sell and it’s not something that’s just this automatic. I mean, you gotta sell the next event. You gotta sell the next person gonna sell and

David Horsager: What, what makes great. What made you great at sales. What makes some of your top sales team. Great.

Brian Lord: Yeah, I mean for me. I think one of the the joke joke things is not quite a joke but

Brian Lord: My I got asked us 10 or 15 years ago and I said it’s because my mom is a nurse and my dad’s a truck driver.

Brian Lord: And and so where that came from. Is that my dad used to get hired before you had, you know, the internet was that big and everything else. He’d get hired by these different

Brian Lord: Trucking book companies because he could remember what was off what exit which gas stations which restaurants. You could just and he would just tell you, you just go down in interstate and tell you what was off each exit.

Brian Lord: He just kind of had this crazy memory. They knew the mile marker everything, you know, all those sorts of things. So we just kind of had this memory for facts and I don’t have his but I’m still pretty good for human

Brian Lord: And then my mom is somebody who just finally retired after 40 some years as a bedside nurse shoes, but she had this amazing ability to

Brian Lord: Project trust one of your things and calm at people’s most frantic times and with event planners. It’s whatever one of the top 10 most stressful jobs in america and

Brian Lord: For whatever reason, I think that combination of being able to be trustworthy project calm and know, to some extent, what I’m talking about.

Brian Lord: Has Really Helped me whether it was, you know, being an agent assistant at William Morris booking bands or

Brian Lord: You know booking speakers here is that generally I do kind of know what I’m talking about. And also just wanting to put the client first, like if somebody’s not a good fit. I’ll tell them

Brian Lord: For me, I really, really want to be able to go to sleep at night. And so one of the things I’ve always done. Ever since I started, even when I was like, struggling to make rent and everything else.

Brian Lord: Was to work hard, like, I don’t have any money, but be honest, like I have all of it and I don’t meet any

Brian Lord: And that way you can make those decisions like if this didn’t make me any money at all. What would I do if I was desperately, you know, and so you know that’s that’s one of those things I think is just so important that

Brian Lord: Those clients will come back to me like, you know what I found out what you told me it was actually true. And a lot of people that they talk to. It’s not true. There are a lot of great

Brian Lord: agents that different bureaus and everything else. So it’s not saying anything bad about them. They do run across people that

Brian Lord: Don’t treat them that way so they know even if I know they go to somebody else, they may come back to me in the future, just because they they kind of know what they’re getting.

David Horsager: Hungry and honest. I love that that

David Horsager: That can be a talk.

You can

David Horsager: You can go to be hungry and honest right there you

David Horsager: Hungry and honest as a new way of doing sales.

Brian Lord: And I think

David Horsager: I think there’s something for us in this in this world that a project com you know it doesn’t mean be blind.

David Horsager: But when you talk about projecting calm. Like, I think.

David Horsager: They want to be able to trust this this leader, that is that is able to be calm enough to make good decisions. It doesn’t mean they don’t

David Horsager: You know, can confront the facts or whatever. So tell me about a time you know you’ve been around a lot of people tell me about some of the greats. I know you know you’d Robin Williams. I remember you told me a story. One time, about a

David Horsager: An agreement with him. But what what’s something that with some of these maybe there’s a story about working with somebody great that surprised you for the good or that you know like

David Horsager: What you learn what made a difference.

You know,

Brian Lord: Well, I mean, that with a Robin Williams one and I kind of got it. It’s funny, though, is those things that happen with that. So the quick version. The Robin Williams story is that I was close to booking in front of at one time and

Brian Lord: And his office and over the writer and it said that that whenever he does an event, you need to be employing people who are homeless for the duration of that. That’s the in a nutshell. And so

Brian Lord: And I just thought that was amazing. So you know you and I both done stuff with a lot of nonprofits and everything else and and I used to run sort of a nonprofit that help nonprofits do the business part well and

Brian Lord: And so I always like things that kind of mix business and helping people in need. And so we

Brian Lord: So I just thought that was great. I wrote an article and it kind of blew up and then people like do you have the writer and like, well that was like I don’t have the facts as I had from. I mean, what factors do you have from 12 years ago you know so

Brian Lord: Or however long ago. It was so it’s it’s one of those things is very true very popular, but also I don’t have it. So it’s funny to have your own Snopes entry, but

Brian Lord: Well, it was like, you can’t prove or disprove this. I’m like, well, I wish I had it. I didn’t think about keeping all my faxes from early 2000 but but just having those things, you know,

Brian Lord: I love it when speakers, kinda like you have the things you do with Kenya, like I have a heart for a lot of international things and so like Susan Urschel, I love it. She’s a Nevers climber and she has

Brian Lord: Worked with a foundation that helps girls in the nearby communities there in in every area to be able to go to school, so I love that or

Brian Lord: You know, different speakers that have a certain passion. Maybe they’re musician on the side and they help kids.

Brian Lord: Get their instruments. I mean just realizing what you do is, is bigger. So, I mean, we get paid from the corporate side of things, but what what we do in this industry is give people hope it’s given them a plan. It’s

Brian Lord: It’s making people better and I think you should never forget that I was talking to somebody earlier this year.

Brian Lord: doing an interview and that’s that’s the big thing is just never forget that. What you do is teaching people how to improve their lives whether it’s just

Brian Lord: Getting better at sales or leadership or whatever you want them to be better.

Brian Lord: After having heard you than they were before. And for us, you know, we’re kind of back behind the scenes helping set that up. But if you’re an agent, you realize that that you’re important

Brian Lord: That you’re, you’re not the face of it, but you’re there you’re there helping that person.

Brian Lord: Help others. And that was kind of the idea behind the nonprofit is that we’re behind the scenes helping nonprofit leaders who go and help other people

Brian Lord: And that’s still important, and it’s it’s humbling. It’s not as famous as not as glitzy but it’s really important.

Brian Lord: I think that’s what all of us in this industry have to realize is that we need to get our message out. So whether it’s virtual whether it’s in person, whether it’s in writing, whether it’s over, audio, whether it’s over video

Brian Lord: That’s at the end of the day, like people listening this hopefully they are better at something they’re more inspired to do something better than they were before they started listening to it.

David Horsager: Well, to this point. We all love to make a difference part at least many of us are in it for this there is people that are in it, just for the money or just entertained, whatever.

David Horsager: But you and I were in this. We love to make an impact. But when you see speakers. I mean, there’s, there’s a

David Horsager: reasonable argument that hey, you go speak for an hour. You’re not making the impact with that. And there’s some, there’s some reasonableness to that. But when you see people that took that hour or 60 minutes or 90 minutes 45 minutes 90 minutes 30

Brian Lord: Minutes.

David Horsager: And they actually made an impact. They that was like that was something what was there. Well, you know,

David Horsager: Maybe there’s a specific speaker, you’re thinking of, or maybe it’s a story of maybe it’s just what did they do, what did they have those that really took those minutes and added value to them and made an impact.

Brian Lord: Um, MAN, THAT IS TOUGH TO THAT IS TOUGH TO YOUR really put me on the spot here.

Brian Lord: I mean I think just, I mean, I mean, you can look at somebody like Jim Morris, I mean his story. He was the Disney’s The rookie

Brian Lord: And of course, there’s a dramatic story of him going out and playing baseball. But there’s also the story of him coming from this abusive childhood and

Brian Lord: You know, Bob goth. I know you and I are both Bob golf fans, but he says that you’re either a

Brian Lord: A reflection or reaction to your parents. And so, you either intentionally or going out there to be just like your parents or to be just the opposite of them, and we all have that choice and so

Brian Lord: You know Jim Morris. He’s like, I’m going to be there for all these kids because my dad wasn’t there for me.

Brian Lord: And so, you know, he never goes to Major Leagues if he doesn’t have this bet with his kids, but they trusted him that he would follow through with this bet that if he

Brian Lord: If they want the sectional he would try out for the majors, even though he was this you know 37 or whatever year old guy.

Brian Lord: And in just those speakers that they make that difference and Rick Rigsby is another one who

Brian Lord: You know, talks about lessons from a third grade dropout. You know that story, you know, Andy Andrews is another he, you know, you know, Andy.

Brian Lord: And I really like his just with it you know he lost both of his parents. I was an orphan, but both the same story of finding sort of your future through reading, you know, I was a book addict.

Brian Lord: My grandma paid me. She said, I’ll pay you $2 for every Newbery Award winning book and classic that you read. So I’m like a second grader.

Brian Lord: Kind of understanding Tale of Two Cities eating it, you know, reading, reading the book while eating wheaties in the morning and because I could save up and buy an Atari and then Atari is weren’t. Cool. By the time because I kept spending all my money on on

Brian Lord: On baseball cards and candy and stuff like that. And so by end up reading hundreds of books and I so when I heard Andy story of

Brian Lord: You know, he was homeless living under a pier, but he could still go to the library and he had this mentor who came along and

Brian Lord: Made him read 300 books of the greatest people who ever lived, you know, all these autobiographies and it really changed him and that that always resonated resonated with me.

Brian Lord: Because, you know, doesn’t matter how rich or poor, you are, you’re able to get access to books and get those ideas and realize that you’re not too far off from those other people

Brian Lord: Even though they were great at some point, at some point they weren’t and there’s that journey in between. And you can get that through reading and through learning

David Horsager: I love it. Well, I think, you know, it’s interesting.

David Horsager: We have this special opportunity to make an impact. But, you know,

David Horsager: I think what I like about that story compared to some is it’s not the person necessarily that climb Mount Everest. That’s the most inspiring because I’m not going to do that.

David Horsager: The most inspiring speaker is one that gives me an idea. I can use tomorrow morning.

David Horsager: And then like Andy if he inspires people to read more, or to shift somehow to shift thinking in a way that they can do something tomorrow morning about it. I mean, I also think of just

David Horsager: In our company. We just because of my passion for impact we changed everything away from just speaking speaking is Big deal. It’s a lead but we hear good Minnesota term for you right ice ice. So outside of the research we do at the

David Horsager: Institute that i is this inspires shift of

David Horsager: Thinking and then the the sea and the acronym is clarify and measure in our case, we measure trust because if we can measure it, we can close the gap right and the he is equip and we have a process for ongoing

David Horsager: But I, I, I was always thinking, well, man. I just I just spoke at that they loved it. We signed a bunch of books and all that. But how can we help them.

David Horsager: Go from here to here. And that’s actually that motivation is why we change the business. However, I am also in full agreement that you can be changed by someone in a moment in a story.

David Horsager: Even better if we can give a follow up or something. But basically, because I’ve been changed one thought one inspiration and I think usually though it’s it’s one when I think

David Horsager: I could do something with that, not necessarily the celebrity, for me at least as much unless I resonate with how they did it and like, like you said, well, didn’t have parents or whatever it was that resonated with that that awesome

David Horsager: Yeah, so let’s get to you, uh, you know, we’re talking about trust the leaders and they tend to have some habits that we can

David Horsager: Replicate and I think of you, what what habits do you have that have helped you lead premier lead your family lead on stage and

onstage and offstage

David Horsager: Favorite habits or routines.

Brian Lord: Well, I mean, I think one of it. I mean, like, I’m one of the leaders at premier so realizing that that there are others here and you can’t. You have to have those different leaders, whether and a lot. Most of its through action.

Brian Lord: Some of its through talk, but most of its through action, I think, realizing that is a big thing that

Brian Lord: You know, you get in trouble because I know people say you say we too much. Well, that’s because I really don’t like I realized that I might be a person that’s out in front, a little bit more like I don’t mind being on camera.

Brian Lord: I don’t mind, you know, doing a lot of those sort of front forward things

Brian Lord: But I’m not here without everybody else. I mean, it’s kind of like the, you know, you got a fighter pilot. But you’ve got 30 people on the crew or 100 people on the crew.

Brian Lord: Getting them up there and not to mention the people who built the plane and and working on the guidance and everything else.

Brian Lord: So even if you are the face or one of the faces you aren’t the person that is is making everything go, you’re just part of it.

Brian Lord: I think, you know, constantly learning. So, I mean, I try to work in learning every chance I can get

Brian Lord: You know, whether it’s learning languages, going back and forth. So it’s kind of funny I randomly spoke German with somebody like the only two sentences. I knew the other day.

Brian Lord: And that was, that was kind of a fun thing to build a relationship and

Brian Lord: And then masterclass I think you have to be a learner to continue learning things outside your field inside your field outside your field for us, it’s easy to just because if I’m reviewing speakers. I’m usually learning something.

Brian Lord: You know, staying in shape being healthy, you know, I’ve, you know, for me, it’s no longer like an issue like I went back and so the last time I missed a day working out was March 15 so I haven’t

Brian Lord: So usually I get in, you know, probably 360 days a year of either running or biking or swimming, something like that. Let’s do that.

David Horsager: Okay, you’re busy. You got your running

David Horsager: You know your president Premier, you’re, you’re, you know, got four kids.

Brian Lord: Trying to be a good dad husband friend.

David Horsager: What, what’s your routine for getting the workout in. Or, you know, even in the morning. What’s your routine.

Brian Lord: Sure. Well, kind of my personal free time that I get to choose what to do with is generally between about five and 6:30am

Brian Lord: So I will usually wake up today was a little bit earlier that for something and then I finally talked myself back and forth about it finally got out of bed at five, one of those things like am I going to go back sleeping on that when you

David Horsager: Die and

David Horsager: When you go to bed to sleep.

Brian Lord: Whenever my wife finishes watches the watching the show. So he actually bought some sort of show. So I think last night was probably 10 so 10 to four.

Brian Lord: Sometimes it’s 11 to five. One time I think I slept and slept into seven but now it’s really a habit to not to not sleep that late. My wife is a California girl. So she’s on Pacific time and I’m definitely not. So we have different sleep habits. So usually, that’s when I get in

Brian Lord: A workout that usually 30 to 45 minutes I i’ve done marathons, but I haven’t. I didn’t do any of the past, you know, 2020, it was a different year so

Brian Lord: So, so

David Horsager: All right. Going to athletic. I gotta hear this more about sleep. So are you saying normal is six hours of sleep or seven hours of sleep or went, you’re going to bed around

David Horsager: 10 and you’re getting up at four or five

Brian Lord: It has been a little crazy. So about it’s almost four years ago now, we adopted newborn twins. And so we I got had very regular sleep. So for a while I was getting that two hours of sleep a night. And then I started

Brian Lord: It’s just sleep as a little crazy for me, but I can tell if it is bad. So if it’s affecting me that I try to figure out a way to take a nap.

Brian Lord: But usually. It’s usually I wake up and if I know I’m not going back to sleep. I start doing stuff. So my rule is if I’m up for 30 minutes I have to actually get up. So if I wake up I give myself 30 minutes. Go back to sleep.

Brian Lord: But I don’t know the last time I really set an alarm unless I had to be someplace which hasn’t been that much recently. So I’d probably say six hours might be the case, but it’s if I can’t go back to sleep. I get something done.

David Horsager: So you get up at five, then what

Brian Lord: Then you know either 3045 minutes on the bike in the basement. So that’s where I get to catch up on all my movies and, you know, watch the whole MC you series or

Brian Lord: Or a record. I still have recordings of the Tour de France from this summer. So I watched that this morning where I’m kind of going back through the tour.

Brian Lord: And so it’s easier to bike when you’re watching people bike and I’m into the sport. So I actually like it like I can’t understand how people watch golf.

Brian Lord: But I can understand how people watch cycling and I can see how that would be the reverse, and then I’ll usually, you know, like one of my hobbies is writing and so

Brian Lord: You know, all right. Some and then get up and go, if it’s a day while I’m working from home. I’ll usually get the twins up from my wife. So just getting them out of

Brian Lord: Their what they slept in and into what they are going to be running around in that day and making them eggs or something like that. And my wife takes over. And if not, I’m at work. So Monday’s a work at work day and then

Brian Lord: Goes from there. So that’s how I get it in for me. I actually kind of my brain is very sludgy if I don’t exercise. First thing, and then also

Brian Lord: I have a lot less energy if I if I don’t work out. So for me it’s it my day is much worse if I don’t work out.

Brian Lord: And it’s really just a habit. Now, I mean, I can’t even, like, why did I not work out on March 15

Brian Lord: But it was kind of funny because my brothers. Like that’s really high on the grit scale because you know everybody’s into like the Angela Duckworth gritty and like, I don’t know, I just do it. It’s not a like I don’t have to make myself get up and work out. I just do it. Yeah.

David Horsager: Is there any, anything to this point. Any tips that you’ve you’ve learned now as a as a parent that making you a great dad or great husband or or routines that are

David Horsager: Like I always do this or or even with your marriage like

Brian Lord: You know,

David Horsager: This is something that’s really been valuable for us.

Brian Lord: When I was in college. It’s really funny. So, usually in your college all the talks about don’t drink. Don’t do drugs don’t have said don’t do all don’t all this don’t stuff.

Brian Lord: And so we had this couple in and they were doing a talk and they were really old, they were like 28 or 30 or something and

Brian Lord: And so we’re expecting that kind of talk. And this was it like I think university or something, some kind of meeting right there and we

Brian Lord: And so the woman started saying don’t put bricks up in your marriage and like none of us are married. Like, why are you. Why are you telling us this

Brian Lord: Don’t put bricks in your marriage is still, it should say so there’s just one bad thing here and you just put it down. So one bad thing. You still see across everything

Brian Lord: And then, but what happens, you start putting you start putting these bricks all together and they start building up a wall.

Brian Lord: And then, and she’s like, excuse so passionate about this and their time was up. And so the husband’s like okay let’s go and always reminded me like Empire Strikes Back when they’re pulling lady and she’s like, It’s a trap. It’s a trap. And then

Brian Lord: Please don’t put up bricks. Don’t put it breaks. Don’t put up bricks.

Brian Lord: And it just, it just stuck with me forever like don’t put up bricks and so

Brian Lord: So, my wife is amazing. She’s much too good for me I’m like an Indiana farm boy who, you know, married this smart, beautiful Southern California girl sign in, where my head every day but

Brian Lord: But the thing is, is like, don’t put it breaks, like

Brian Lord: Because you can start adding up all the little things that went wrong even a perfect person like my wife will maybe do some stuff and I do some stuff.

Brian Lord: And so my reaction to that is, if I am starting to get mad about something.

Brian Lord: I will take it out by cleaning. So I know that my my physical reaction is to be mad and do something mean but I’ve trained myself to do something nice. So my wife her love language is cleaning. I don’t know where. Which of the five that is

Brian Lord: But that is service coming downstairs, because I yesterday, so I wake up before she does.

Brian Lord: Every day of our marriage, I think. And so if I come down. I just go say I’ll do five minutes of clean five minutes of plane. And so I will switch that crankiness

Brian Lord: To five minutes of clean and even if it’s just getting one area in the kitchen, clean, she will be that much less upset. The next day, instead of me putting up bricks. Like, I’m just going to do something is going to make her mad.

Brian Lord: And our kids see that you know we’ve got four kids and they watched so much like I’ve, I’ve observed so much. Now, especially the second time. So we’ve got a 10 year gap between our oldest and the two youngest

Brian Lord: Of how they really, really pick up on what you do. So I’m hoping that they pick up on that of, you know, doing those little things like mentally. I’m a little ticked off but but physically. I’m going to take that and do something loving for my wife.

David Horsager: Even though I don’t feel. I love it.

Brian Lord: And so that’s been a huge thing for us. And my wife’s much too good for me so

David Horsager: The thing I like about this that ties it all together like

David Horsager: Hey, you heard a story you started talking about story.

David Horsager: Uterus. It was so powerful, so sticky so

David Horsager: Actionable that you acted on it and start putting up bricks and that’s you know as communicators and learners and trainers and developers. There’s a lot more. I’d like to say about all this and

David Horsager: I’d love to get into just learning and how we create learnings from the stage, how we

Brian Lord: Created

David Horsager: In companies. How we get clients. Maybe we’ll, we’ll come back to it. We’re going to get to a lightning round in a moment, but I gotta run over and jump to my producer can do you have any great question here for Mr. Lord

David Horsager: So, uh, Brian, I was, I was just curious since you are over. I mean, you’re leading a lot of people and you said that you have a really great team.

David Horsager: But how do you really deal with

David Horsager: When there’s conflict when maybe someone’s

David Horsager: Not doing what they’re supposed to do. Or maybe you’re not you’re not seeing eye to eye. And there’s some kind of

David Horsager: Friction between you two.

David Horsager: How do you deal with that.

Brian Lord: I think it’s just understanding that other people aren’t like you. So for me, my reaction like one of my favorite stories is

Brian Lord: From Winston Churchill in that when they’re in like the bunkers during the 1939 40 raids nazis are bombing London and everything else. And he’s down there.

Brian Lord: In the bunkers and he’s almost kind of excited like he’s, he’s like, and like you don’t want somebody who doesn’t want to be in a position

Brian Lord: Of difficulty and for me sometimes, like with difficult situations like I

Brian Lord: Nobody wants what happened this year. But for me, I’m excited as an opportunity to do something difficult. Like, how do you wake up every day when things are kind of credit and

Brian Lord: You know, and when you’re put in situations where things seem impossible. I just always think there’s a way out of it. There’s a way to succeed.

Brian Lord: And for me, I was there parts. This year I was kind of excited, like, We’ll figure this out. We’re going to get this done. We’re going to be amazing. We’re going to inspire people. We’re going to do these different things and I

Brian Lord: I’d be almost kind of excited when more bad news came in, which are. That sounds weird. It sounds stupid.

Brian Lord: But I always thought about that with Winston Churchill, is that you want that person who is excited figuring out a way how to save your country when you’re getting bombed by overwhelming odds of the Nazis, you know,

Brian Lord: And so we’ve had these server somewhat overwhelming odds, but for me I have to realize that other people aren’t wired that way.

Brian Lord: It’s going to take. So for me, from that time period that was maybe like a day where I was kind of uncertain and and then by March, whatever 18th. I was ready to go and other people it takes a longer time to process difficult things. And so it’s figuring out how to

Brian Lord: How to motivate them or talk to them when things when they don’t make that switch that quickly.

Brian Lord: And maybe there’s some things like I maybe I was trying to rush too far forward.

Brian Lord: But understanding that different people have different ways of coping and they, it may take them a longer time to get around. But once they do, they will be amazing.

Brian Lord: And so it’s having faith and people that even though they have a different personality type or different mentality.

Brian Lord: That they can still come through and to not give up faith and then to encourage and say okay well you don’t feel like doing this right now, but can you do this, what can’t. What does work for you right now.

Brian Lord: How can you do it and I’m much more everybody has their different things. So for me, I’m much better one on one talking or one, you know, one to two

Brian Lord: And there’s some people that live like having 10 or 12 people around, and that’s their thing, or there’s some people like talking on stage. So for me, it’s either stage or one person or two people. I’m not a good

Brian Lord: I’m not as good with the, you know, let’s discuss this out. This thing I’m much more will have this big discussion here. But the really big stuff I’ll do one on one on one or one on two

David Horsager: Have you had to lay some on off ever

Brian Lord: We did as a company with so so we’ve kept

David Horsager: It open because we since we don’t have much time left, and I have to keep

David Horsager: To it like when you have to have that tough conversation like they’re not a fit, they’re great people. They’re great fit somewhere in the world. What, what do you do in that kind of a tension.

Brian Lord: I think it is just realizing that there’s going to be something better out there. I mean, there’s legal stuff you can say you can’t say

Brian Lord: But I think if it’s none of that stuff applies. It is really just figuring out that this

Brian Lord: Isn’t the right fit. And maybe there’s something else out there that that you’re the perfect person for something else. I mean, I, if I would have stayed at William Morris, I would not have been here.

Brian Lord: And you know we’ve had. Those are the things I didn’t get laid off mine was more like there’s nowhere else for you to go right now. And my boss, there actually helped me get the job here.

Brian Lord: But it was just realizing that there’s certain things that people is its season for different things. And sometimes it’s here. Sometimes it somewhere else. Sure.

David Horsager: And there’s a lot more, you could, you know, conflict. The other way of dealing with the Boston maybe isn’t leaving right or whatever, there’s

David Horsager: Appreciate that, though. Okay, we’re getting a lightning round we got to bring this together, even though we got we have so much more we could ask you about

David Horsager: One favorite book or resource.

Brian Lord: I really like Lord of the Rings. One of my favorite books.

David Horsager: All right, a best advice you’ve ever been given or just a favorite quote or piece of advice.

Brian Lord: Let people think before they talk

David Horsager: And which I’m not doing with you in the lightning round.

Brian Lord: Here we go.

David Horsager: Which is a good quote for this right here.

David Horsager: Love it. Yes.

David Horsager: Well, one, one thing left to do what’s on the bucket list that you’re

David Horsager: You really hope down the road.

Brian Lord: I’d like to get a PhD in history at some point.

David Horsager: Love it. And I love your writing. By the way, I think there’s a lot of people in our world that don’t know how well you right

Brian Lord: Or what you write.

David Horsager: And I like the part of it is the history, the type of history to true stories so

David Horsager: That’s awesome.

David Horsager: Thanks. They there’s, you know, there’s been so much here project the calm. Hey, hungry and honest.

David Horsager: Us story, the discipline of getting up and and actually having creating a habit, where you work off the anger, or at least turn to something else. I’ve got all kinds of notes. I hope you do as well. Where can we find more about Brian

David Horsager: Lord and Premier and what you’re about, and what you’re doing.

Brian Lord: Sure. So my personal Twitter is premier within a PR E m, er, E. Brian, you can find me on Twitter. Their premier speakers.com and then also I host the beyond speaking podcasts and so I know you’ve been a guest night before, and so a lot of interviews there as well.

David Horsager: Great interviews and you’re a great interviewer.

David Horsager: And also to be a to be a part of the, the great stable that you are booking and fun and

David Horsager: Sharing with around the world.

Brian Lord: On the platforms for

David Horsager: Sure, so

David Horsager: This is the trusted leader show this is your last question. Who’s the leader you trust and why

Brian Lord: Ah, man. Are you telling you, like, historically, or are you talking about you. I’m trying to

Brian Lord: You know, one of my all time favorite leaders was john adams who doesn’t get as much credit as that group. He was

Brian Lord: One of the things I like doing is seeing people’s potential and he is the greatest HR manager and human

Brian Lord: In American history. I would say because he picked George Washington to lead the troops when they’re trying to figure out who should take overall command. He picked

Brian Lord: Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence, and he even had the opportunity to write it himself, and he pass it off to Thomas Jefferson. And so I think

Brian Lord: Somebody who is really good at picking out what people do best and putting him in that in that situation. To do so is a really great

Brian Lord: Really great trait. And one of those that a lot of people don’t know about. So I’ll go with him for this one. There were a lot of great ones out there, but all

David Horsager: Your art.

David Horsager: That’s a good one. JOHN ADAMS, no one has said that yet.

David Horsager: On this show, you go

David Horsager: Yahtzee. You eat.

David Horsager: Yes, I love it. Have you read the 5000 year gap or 5000 year

Brian Lord: No really, by

David Horsager: It’s, I don’t know, but it’s very fascinating on just this this beginning of the country, how freedom was formed, how

David Horsager: How the final 5000 year leap how really that declaration of independence that

David Horsager: Constitution gave

David Horsager: The world. The 5000 year leap.

David Horsager: Forward.

David Horsager: In many ways, and so not there aren’t plenty of challenges to talk about, but

David Horsager: Yeah, there we go. So Brian, this has been fun. And I could just, I could talk to you all day but I

David Horsager: appreciate you spending time with us and the leaders listening today and

Brian Lord: I just want to say thank you. Hey. Well, David. Thanks so much for having me on. This has been a lot of fun.

David Horsager: Appreciate it. So you can find everything about Brian at the show notes trusted leaders show.com trusted leader show.com it’s been the trusted leader show. Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you next time, stay trusted