CYLS 176: CEO Talks - Hire Slow, Fire Fast with Eric Fondren

2020-07-21

Episode Summary If you want to increase effective communication and leadership in your business, don’t miss this episode of the Create Your Life Series. Eric and Kevin discuss their commitment to creating a company culture that reflects the values of their organization and how they incorporate the Hire Slow, Fire Fast method to achieve that goal. They break down their core concepts of hiring employees, conflict resolution, and how to release the anchor of commitment when you need to take the final step and fire an employee. Kevin Y. Brown

Episode Summary

If you want to increase effective communication and leadership in your business, don’t miss this episode of the Create Your Life Series. Eric and Kevin discuss their commitment to creating a company culture that reflects the values of their organization and how they incorporate the Hire Slow, Fire Fast method to achieve that goal. They break down their core concepts of hiring employees, conflict resolution, and how to release the anchor of commitment when you need to take the final step and fire an employee.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin Y. Brown is a National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Center For Public Trust (CPT) “Being A Difference” award recipient, international speaker, entrepreneur, and author. The former MTV Networks host and NYC fashion marketer has created an international following as a speaker on personal excellence, effective communication, and leadership. Kevin has been featured by Black Enterprise magazine as a “Modern Man of Distinction” and highlighted in various publications for his self-help speaking work and helping students graduate college debt-free. Recognized for his commitment to empowering foster care youth and as a foster care system alumnus, he has also delivered the keynote address at the International Foster Care Organizations Conference in Sydney, Australia, and Osaka, Japan. Kevin is currently the creator/host of Sirius XM’s “Create Your Life” series, a fellow in the New York Chapter of the Startup Leadership Program, and an active member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Eric Fondren

Eric Fondren is a mixed bag of skills that includes both hard and soft skills. After obtaining his computer science degree from Morehouse College, Eric spent 3 years on Wall Street learning why it's difficult for large companies to innovate. While working full-time, Eric also went on to obtain his Master's degree in professional counseling.

After his stint on Wall Street, Eric tried his hand with a number of ventures including web design, relationship coaching among other things. All of this experience showed him his true path, which was to build a technology company.

Today, as CEO of ITELLIO (originally branded as FreeATM) Eric has built a large scale ad network that aggregates 9,000 digital screens into a central buying platform.

Insights From the Episode

How to hire employees to create a respectful culture within your organization that fosters success.
Strategies for defining who will be a good fit to join your organization.
Benefits of having a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), paying attention to the details of your business, and knowing your personnel.
How to deal with clients that have a company culture that clashes with your company’s culture.
Benefits of taking responsibility as a leader and the impact it makes on your culture.
Strategies for effective communication especially through digital methods such as email and text.
The secret for dealing with conflict communication; the positivity sandwich.

Quotes From the Show

“Creating a culture is probably the most important thing you can do to set up success for your business long-term.” – Eric Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #176
“Being organized starts from the top. You have to understand your personnel.” – Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #176
“You don’t want to have to spend time teaching somebody the skills necessary to do the job. That’s an important piece.” – Eric Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #176
“You’re hiring somebody to do the job; you’re not hiring someone to learn the job. That’s an internship.” – Eric Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #176
“People value different things. People have different priorities, different motivations.” – Eric Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #176
On communicating with employees: “I had to be mindful of the way that I was communicating as the leader in this situation as well.” – Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #176
“Conflict resolution is a huge part of culture. If people are scared to resolve conflict both internally and externally, it’s going to stop your business almost immediately.” – Eric Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #176
“You have to know what the goal is beyond this conversation or the goal of the conversation.” – Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #176