Collaboration and connectivity are key components to having and sustaining a sense of togetherness. Feeling like a family, and not just another business, is something that we at Southwestern Family of Companies are striving to maintain.
Read HereDustin Hillis’ Blog
Highlighting from the new book he co-wrote with Ron Alford, Redefining Possible, Dustin Hillis shares how to break belief barriers that hold us back.
Read Here- February 1, 2021
- CEO Corner
Have you made a list of resolutions, written down goals, and created a personal vision for the new year? Watch this video for 3 lessons that you can take with you into 2021.
Read Here- January 4, 2021
- CEO Corner
Watch this video for Dustin Hillis’ record-breaking interview with Emil Tsvetkov, the new all-time single summer sales record holder with Southwestern Advantage.
Read Here- December 1, 2020
- CEO Corner
Here at Southwestern Family of Companies, we are a team of doers. We set high goals for our businesses and ourselves and put them into action. We are a growth business and culture. For us, it’s what life is about.
Watch this video for the 7 steps to successfully set and achieve high goals.
- November 2, 2020
- CEO Corner
Here at Southwestern Family of Companies, we value all of the companies that make up the fabric of our culture and mission. As part of our strategic plan to elevate other businesses, we have hosted many of our companies’ leaders on our Action Catalyst Podcast.
Read Here- October 1, 2020
- CEO Corner, The Action Catalyst
We all have different vantage points and ways of how we form what we think and what point of view we take, but how can we create our own point of view that’s not rooted in what other people think or feel?
Read Here- September 1, 2020
- CEO Corner
“Those that come after you are going to look at your activity numbers, work schedule, and results to determine what they think is possible. As a leader, you are creating the track to run on for your future team. Your team will do half what you do right and twice what you do wrong.” – Henry Bedford
Read Here- August 3, 2020
- CEO Corner
With everything going on around us, all of a sudden almost overnight, we have had to redefine what’s possible.
Read Here- July 1, 2020
- CEO Corner
In the face of a challenge, creating a plan to navigate that challenge is paramount to success. Southwestern Family of Companies are using the following 8 steps to lead our business…
Read Here- June 1, 2020
- CEO Corner
How will you go into your Brave New World?
Read Here- May 4, 2020
- CEO Corner
How are you doing right now? Are you living in a state of anxiety and fear? Or are you finding yourself to be a source of peace, joy, and confidence for those around you?
Read Here- April 1, 2020
- CEO Corner, COVID-19 Resources
The technique for obtaining referrals is nuanced, but one that anyone can apply and master. When asking for a referral, we break it down into the following steps.
Read Here- March 2, 2020
- CEO Corner
As a leader, problem-solving is integral to your job. Isn’t that exciting? All the problems get to come to you! Congratulations! You landed this position because you know how to solve problems. However, there’s a negative aspect of this skill. If you’re solving all the problems, you’re not equipping your team to become good problem solvers. If you’re solving all their problems, then why would they need to know how to do it themselves? You’re actually creating a bigger, more pervasive problem in your business. Training Your Team to be Problem Solvers Slow Everything Down Usually, when problems come to you, emotions are high. There’s an urgency and the person with the problem is caught up in the hype. They believe that this problem is critical. If you slow down, talk slower, and stay calm, you can then have the person articulate the problem more clearly without all the added emotions. Ask, “Show me.” Take out a piece of paper and start taking notes on what the problem is. Ask questions. Listen. Henry Bedford, my mentor and chairman of the board at Southwestern, has the magic words to any problem. He says, “Show me.” It’s amazing when people are asked […]
Read More- February 25, 2020
- CEO Corner
What is your long term vision for your life? Do you have a vision of being a leader?
Read Here- February 3, 2020
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
There is not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to working with a team. You need to navigate your natural management style and adapt it to the way that people want you to lead them. There are four different natural communication styles. But how can you be a leader who adapts to these four styles? Let me explain the four types and how to best work with each. Fighter Fighters are straight to the point, they don’t waste time, and they make decisions based on what’s in it for them. When you’re talking with a fighter, the most important thing you can do is give them control. You can do this by asking them about the choice of two positives. When asking them to lunch, give them two options—Shoney’s or Cracker Barrel? Thursday or Friday? Noon or 1:00? The worst thing you can do when communicating with a fighter is to tell them what to do. Eradicate giving orders from your leadership style, and a fighter will thrive. Entertainer Entertainers are extroverted, like to build rapport, love to talk and make decisions based on emotions. With entertainers, you want to make it fun when leading them. Get outside the office […]
Read More- January 15, 2020
- CEO Corner
Watch here or read below: Congratulations on continuing to the five steps. You’re a student of the game and one of the few people who really want to know how to improve. Here are five steps of world-class customer experience: 1: Be a Customer A good place to start is to be a customer of the things we sell. Ask yourself if you personally use the products your team is promoting and selling. If not, start there. BE a customer. 2: Watch What the Best Do Pay attention. Read case studies. I look at some of the largest and best companies in the world, such as Zappos, Apple, Tesla, and Google. What are they doing to overdeliver? 3: Get Feedback Talk to your customers. Create a customer review panel. No matter what your position is within the company, create a committee and ask your closest customers to give feedback. What did they like about what you did? What did they not like? How did you overdeliver? How did you underdeliver? 4: Find Ways to Overdeliver How can we overdeliver and exceed our customers’ expectations this year? What are the little things we can do to […]
Read Here- December 31, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
Watch here or read below: 2020 Vision Happy New Year! We wanted to be the first people to welcome you to 2020! I know many of you are reflecting on 2019. Some of you had an awesome year, and some of you are saying, “Thank God 2020 is here!” Welcome to a new year and to unlimited possibilities. You can make 2020 whatever you want it to be. As you’re thinking about 2020, what is your vision? We’ve been reflecting on this at Southwestern Family of Companies. A good number of our 30 businesses had their best years ever. Some companies were re-tooled and re-fitted, so as we’ve thought about 2020 as a family of companies, we’ve come up with two themes for our vision for 2020. Theme #1: Recruiting A great leader is a great recruiter. Regardless of your position, you can be part of the attraction of joining Southwestern Family of Companies to make your job more fun, work with friends, and have the best people in the world partnered with you in our mission to make an impact worldwide. Theme #2: Customer Experience Over the past 160 years, we’ve heard, “Southwestern is the best at recruiting, […]
Read Here- December 31, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that defines you. Finishing strong is a habit. The winners of life all know how to finish strong.
There are three benefits why it should become a habit and focus.
Read Here- December 2, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
As Chief Executive Officer, Dustin Hillis is leading the vision and strategy to make Southwestern Family of Companies the largest and most impactful privately-owned company worldwide by 2048. Under his leadership, the company has grown from 19 to 30 businesses and is well on its way to reaching the aggressive goal of more than 200 businesses in less than 30 years.
Listen Here- November 13, 2019
- CEO Corner, The Action Catalyst
Have you formed the habit of going all in? When you decide to go all in and give everything you’ve got at whatever it is you do, it makes all the difference.
Read Here- November 5, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
When I started my own business within Southwestern, I wanted it to be up and running as quickly as possible. I went into everything with the mindset, “yesterday is soon enough.” I remember being frustrated with Henry Bedford, CEO of Southwestern at the time, because he laughed at my sense of urgency. He calmed me down and so wisely said, “Slow down. Put one foot in front of the other. Time is the X factor.” I was frustrated at the then because I thought we needed everything now. But, time has a way of rounding things out. Recognizing the reality of where we’re at and where we need to be can create a more normalized sense of urgency “Time is the X factor.” —Henry Bedford, Chairman of the Board, Southwestern Creating Time What are we thinking about when we say we don’t have time to do something? Our words matter so much, our perspective matters so much. If we think we don’t have time to accomplish something, to do something, to make something happen, then what are we doing? We are probably wasting time! The more time we focus on how little time we have, then it’s actually playing a […]
Read More- November 1, 2019
- CEO Corner
The question, “Why?” is the most important question that we can ask ourselves and that you can ask yourself. “Why do we do what we do? Why do you do what you do? Why do we even exist?”
Those might be questions that you’ve asked yourself. As we go forward, as we think of our goals and our dreams, the fuel to our dreams is powered by our “why.”
Read Here- October 4, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
Take action now. The law of diminishing intent says the longer you wait knowing that you should take action on something, the less likely you are to do it. There is an art to acting and not thinking. Granted, there is a time and place where thinking is paramount, and strategically thinking (planning your day, putting a game plan together, and setting goals) is something everyone should be doing. The key is to schedule your thinking time during non-production time.
Read Here- September 3, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
Spencer Hays has always said that there are two types of people in this world: those that find an excuse and those that find a way.
Read Here- July 31, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
Last month marked Henry Bedford’s 45-year anniversary of employment at Southwestern Family of Companies. We are all so thankful that, 45 years ago, Henry walked through the doors to sell books with Southwestern Advantage, later helping to mold and build the entire company.
Read Here- July 8, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
There are two major components that go into having the type of confidence that you see in the most successful people around. So many people believe that people are either born with confidence or they are not. However, I believe you can develop confidence. You can learn confidence, and when you’re willing to do the deep work, you are already displaying confidence.
Read More- June 23, 2019
- CEO Corner
Southwestern Family of Companies 3 Core Values are Invest, Inspire, and Impact, with Impact being the most important. At the end of our lives, I don’t think God will care how much money we have in our bank accounts.
Read Here- June 3, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter
April was a month of exciting expansion for Southwestern Family of Companies after successfully launching three companies in three days.
Read Here- May 3, 2019
- CEO Corner, City Saver, Newsletter, Ready Set Fund
The first 9 months of being your CEO have been exhilarating, energizing, and challenging all at the same time. Seventeen years ago when I first decided to be part of Southwestern Family of Companies, one of the things that attracted me to Southwestern Advantage was the challenge. I’m thankful for the challenges because through them I am able to grow.
Read Here- April 4, 2019
- CEO Corner, Newsletter