What’s the most important element of any successful business?

You might initially think it’s the company’s products, its market share, its sales team, its profits, or something else. All those are significant elements. But at the top of the list is…relationships. No matter your industry, you won’t find success without building the right relationships. 

But how do you actually do that? Our guest this week is the expert who can teach us.

Patrick Galvin is the Co-founder and Chief Galvanizer of The Galvanizing Group, a learning and development company in Portland, Oregon, founded in 2001 with a focus on helping people build better personal and professional relationships. He’s also an accomplished speaker and author of two business parables, “The Connector’s Way” and “The Trusted Way.” 

Tune into the full conversation for more about the power of relationship-building (and what many business owners get wrong about it), how to move past analysis paralysis, when to know whether to pivot your business, and a lot more.

 

Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Learn: 

 

• More about the genesis of Patrick’s company, his coaching program, and his books, along with why relationship-building is so much more important than advertising or marketing
• How Patrick knew it was time to make a pivot from traditional public relations — and what he did instead
• What Patrick wished he would have known at the onset of his business, and why he thinks many people and companies “put the cart before the horse” when it comes to growing their business
• The benefit — and and downside — of being an eternally curious business owner
• When to say yes and when to say no when you’re trying to grow a business
• Why many business owners struggle with analysis paralysis and how to get yourself out of that trap
• Why Patrick says being an entrepreneur is like being a jazz musician
• What a giant flop of a marketing campaign in the furniture industry taught Patrick — and how it inspired his first book
• How Patrick’s books helped reposition him as a speaker
• How Patrick measures success in his business — and why it’s important to discount the outliers
• Why it’s important for Patrick to start each of his mornings with gratitude
• Why swimming has become one of Patrick’s top regular habits, plus how he evolved into a regular meditator
• The differences between relationship building and networking, and why common sense is sometimes missing from both

 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 

• • • The Galvanizing Group website
    • Patrickgalvin.com
    • Patrick Galvin on LinkedIn
    • “The Connector’s Way: A Story About Building Business One Relationship at a Time” by Patrick Galvin
    • “The Trusted Way: A Story About Building a Life and Business of Character” by Patrick Galvin
    • “The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea” by Bob Burg and John David Mann
    • Buy a copy of “Lost at CEO: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Strategy” by Carl J. Cox 
    • 40 Strategy
    • Contact 40 Strategy
    • Carl J. Cox on LinkedIn