Non-Competes, Good or Bad?

"Non-competes are critical to building a great company. By using legal muscle and fear of retribution, employees are less likely to leave your company even when things change and the job is no longer a good fit for their needs."

This was the unsolicited advice Jeff received from many in the energy industry when he launched an advisory firm years ago and announced 

𝗡𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗡-𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗦
𝗡𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗡-𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗦

The treat-them-like-cogs-in-a-machine approach to strategy and “leadership” fueled Jeff's passion for creating a culture that promoted personal development, human flourishing, and freedom.

𝗜𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱
 
The advisory firm Jeff created is one of the leading energy advisory firms in the nation and the success and growth of the organization continue to this day after Jeff's successful exit at the end of 2022.

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲. 
𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼. 
 - - 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯

Ready to Write Your Obituary? 

Are you interested in an exercise that will take your team to the next level? Are you rising through your own career and wondering, "What's the purpose of it all?"

Then take the challenge and write your own obituary. 

No need to follow the standard rules that appear in the fine print of the newspaper - go deeper. 

What makes the final cut? What are you focused on when you reflect on the life you left behind? Do you list accolades and accomplishments or are you highlighting the relationships you formed and the way you made people feel?

Perhaps you aren't currently living a life that is congruent with the aspirational obituary that you wrote. What do you need to change now in order to be on the right course?  If today was your last, would others know your priorities by the way that you lived?

This is not an easy exercise, but it is an important one. 

Negative Talk About Family,

Innocent or Harmful?

(by Jeff Schiefelbein) 

Working late and traveling are both easier than being home with a house full of young kids.

That is a true statement. But there is no place I’d rather be than with my family.

I travel for work and stay late at the office occasionally because of my love for my family, not to escape from them.

When given the chance to join other men in lamenting about the beatdown of raising kids or the lack of peace and quiet when returning home from work, I refuse to participate. Instead, I counter with bold statements about my priorities (God before wife, wife before kids, kids before the rest) and explain that I will never speak ill of them.

For years I have watched how seemingly harmless comments about a man’s wife and kids eventually become their go-to description of home life and start to negatively influence their thoughts and behaviors.

We don’t have to slide down that slippery slope.

They say, “You must be glad to get away from the house with young kids around.”

You reply, “Make no mistake about it, my family brings me great joy, and I love coming home to them no matter the circumstance.”

Change your words, change your world.