181. Ditching Business-As-Usual with Racheal Cook
Impacting Work Culture
Business and work culture are always changing. But from the Great Resignation to increased visibility for people calling out the systems that never worked for everybody, there is increased awareness of how work culture impacts our lives.
With more and more people pursuing entrepreneurship, whether they’re following their passion or because running their own business is the only way to juggle work and life, there are more opportunities for each of us to impact how we do work.
To create the change we want to witness, and cultures that are more inclusive, more supportive, and more adaptable, we have to learn to reconsider our normal in work and in life.
Racheal Cook joins Erica to discuss the impact on her business of reconsidering her normal and getting explicit about her values.
Listen on your favorite podcast player or keep reading to learn:
How reconsidering your normal supports your business in being proactive, not reactive
How a society-wide shift toward self-employment and entrepreneurship creates opportunities to dramatically reshape work culture
How integrating her values into her business created more ease for Racheal and her team
Why we need to stop relentlessly scaling up and putting celebrity entrepreneurs on pedestals
Uncomplicating Businesses
As an award-winning business strategist, host of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, founder of The CEO Collective, and best-selling author, Racheal Cook is on a mission to end entrepreneurial poverty for women. Over the last 12 years she has helped thousands of female entrepreneurs design predictably profitable businesses without the hustle and burnout that doing #allthethings inevitably accomplishes.
Racheal is a sought after speaker on entrepreneurship, marketing, and productivity and has been featured by the US Chamber of Commerce, Forbes Coaching Council, Female Entrepreneur Association, and more. Her real passion, though, is supporting savvy, soulful women as they implement the strategy, systems, and support to uncomplicate their business so they can work less and live more.
There Is No New Normal
On the Pause on the Play® podcast, Racheal Cook (she/her) says that when she thinks about reconsidering her normal, she immediately asks herself the question, “What is normal anymore?”
She says in the past, it was often easy for people to go about their lives without deeply considering what they wanted or what mattered to them, but in the last couple of years, “everybody’s had to reconsider their normal.”
And while some people are seeking to return to the world as they knew it, and resisting the pace of change, “on a macro level, socially, politically, environmentally, there’s all these huge things that are just shifting so quickly. [And] on a personal level, I think we’ve all had to reconsider what we want our normal to look like. We get to choose what it looks like now.”
Erica adds, “There is just the huge ‘normal’ on a life level that got snatched out [from under us], and [pausing] long enough to really consider that is something that I don’t think that we always do.”
As an example, she says that people in her life who are seeking to buy a home are being given data in real estate apps about the drought risk of properties they’ve viewed. “And that type of awareness just really brings up the fact that there’s very little that we’ve taken for, quote unquote, normal at this point that we can continue to still do in that way.”
Racheal agrees and says the only other option is to bury your head in the sand, and that a lot of people are doing that, unfortunately.
But she says business owners have to remain aware of what is happening in the world at large and in their communities. “If we just wait to sit back and see what happens, chances are it’s happening too fast, you won’t have time to respond, you will always be reactive instead of proactive.”
Erica says that reviewing just her own work history, it’s clear that almost nothing about being in the workforce is the same as when she started working. And when people remain stuck in their thinking and attitudes, “it doesn’t work for you, and it doesn’t work for your clients and the people that you’re trying to support…You age out because you’re not willing to grow or evolve.”
Being Grounded In Your Values Helps You Evolve
Erica says she thinks part of what contributes to people being resistant to change and evolution is not being clear on what matters to them and why. If you know what your values are, even as you evolve, you have constants that you can come back to and rely on to guide you.
As an example of a business that has refused to evolve and reconsider their normal, Racheal cites the recent documentary about Victoria’s Secret and how the company has gone from being a massively successful trend setter, to struggling to stay afloat as there have been significant pushes for inclusivity of size, race, disability, etc in the fashion industry, increasing awareness of body positivity and body neutrality.
“This is where you start to see the downfall of brands who, did they do real values work? Because it seems like, from the entire documentary I watched, that people kept telling the CEO what the problems were and everything was just built on his personal values, not on the values of a standalone brand.”
In her own business, Racheal says that work she has done with Erica and India on solidifying her values, “has allowed me to see how I can respond thoughtfully to things that are changing in the world, instead of waiting until there’s blowback and controversy about something going on. When you have such a solid foundation in your values, you’re always reconsidering your normal because the world is changing so incredibly fast.”
Erica adds that not only are those changes happening quickly, there is also increasing visibility of people for whom the old ways never worked, though there is still a long way to go.
Racheal says that leadership culture is also shifting away from the strict hierarchical structures of the past. Now, “leaders are not succeeding when they are trying to do old school ‘power over everybody.’ They’re succeeding when they are sharing power with their teams, sharing power with their communities.”
She also cites a recent statistic that estimates that by 2030, 50% of Americans will be self-employed.
“Which means that’s a huge shift from people being in a structure which was very ‘power over,’ right? This is why we’re having this Great Resignation…We are seeing that there is going to be this trend of people saying, you know what, I’m tired of the ‘power over,’ I want to do my own thing. They’re gonna have to step out and learn how to co-create with the communities they wanna serve.”
Erica predicts that such a significant shift toward self-employment will not only create huge ripple effects in the bureaucracy around things like borrowing money or owning property, but it will also be a test of how we value the “American Dream” and business ownership.
“In a lot of ways, it’s actually showing people that they don’t value you doing that, because then if everyone works for themselves, well, who does the work? At least that’s the lie that’s told about it.”
Racheal says that the nature of work is going to continue to change and evolve, and “there’s a lot of systemic problems that we’ve been facing, especially in this country, that I think this shift is going to force change in those systemic issues.”
She gives health insurance as an example. Where health insurance in the United States is typically tied to working for someone else, if 50% of the working population is self-employed, those old systems won’t work and how we access health care will have to change.
“And so I think when we start going into reconsider your normal, it’s embracing the idea that there kind of is no normal anymore. We have to evaluate and look forward into where the world is going on a regular basis so that we can adapt and adjust and plan for that, instead of being caught unaware.”
Creating Better Business Culture
Racheal says that right now she is witnessing a “breaking point between people who are just focused on what matters to them as a solo individual, and then shifting into a higher level of values and creating a culture and leadership.”
She says the messaging around entrepreneurship used to be about pursuing your passions and your dreams, but as the economy has grown increasingly unstable, people are starting businesses out of necessity. “It’s, I can’t do what they’re asking me to do and juggle all these other situations that are out of my control right now.
This has been particularly true, Racheal says, for caregivers of young children in the U.S. as before and after school programs that working parents–especially working moms–relied on in order to work traditional office hours have been lost. Those parents are now starting businesses because it’s the only way that they can juggle childcare and earning an income.
Those businesses start based on the value of people taking care of themselves and their family. But when they get established and are able to get out of survival mode, Racheal says they may realize that there is an opportunity to create change.
“What I see is women who own businesses are the leaders of corporate culture, business culture, because they’re creating the businesses they wish they had when they had to leave.”
She continues, “This is how we’re going to change the world. It’s not just starting a business because we have to…it’s also saying, and how can we create company cultures now? How can we create something new that does it better? Not just better than what we had, but different than what we had?”
Erica agrees that many women have started businesses because they simply couldn’t work for someone else, and because of that, may not have initially put as much thought and intention into the kind of company culture they created.
But there is still an opportunity to revisit that and say, “this is no longer just about a dream job, this is me creating a legacy. This is me creating an entity that I can also use to support others.”
Because the weight of childcare does typically fall on women, she says we have to consider “someone who identifies as a woman, someone that is responsible for child rearing, and how it is that that changes the job. How it is that they need additional pieces of equity put in place.”
Racheal adds that while childcare is a factor that many people can relate to, extending equity for women in the workplace also applies to issues like productivity and the expectation of a 40-hour work week. Women make up the majority of people with chronic health issues stemming from autoimmune diseases that limit their ability to work those hours.
“There are so many talented, brilliant people who just don’t have the physical capacity. So how do we accommodate for that?”
Honoring the true capacity of team members represents a major shift from the dominant culture of piling people with work and consolidating roles as people leave, with no additional support or compensation.
Erica points out that caregiving roles also extend beyond children, to elders and other family or community members, and to ourselves when we get sick, mentally and physically.
Racheal says that one of the things she values most about the conversations in The CEO Collective is the way that members support each other in saying no to things and holding boundaries in order to create space for their own lives.
“We talk so much about real rest versus fake rest because there are the things that are holding so many people back. We are so entrenched in the old school mindset of all that matters is the bottom line. And that matters, but not at the expense of our humanity.”
She says we have to consider the whole human, in our team members, in our clients, and in the other businesses we work with.
“If we are not looking at them as a whole human and not just some cog to plug into our business machine, then we’re really missing out.”
Going from Implicit to Explicit
Racheal says that working with Erica and India really helped her fully integrate her values into every part of her company.
She says that when you’re growing a business at a rapid pace, especially bringing in new team members, that integration too often becomes the last step, but going through the Implicit to Explicit process, “we could look at every single step of our business, every area of our business and ask ourselves, how are we doing this? How are we keeping it simple? How are we embracing ownership when something happens? And it makes it so much easier for my team to be on the same page with me.”
Those explicit values now provide a foundation for additional growth, because they create a connection at every point of the business. And she says it eases stress for her as the owner, because everyone knows how to handle situations with the company’s values and culture in mind.
“They can make those decisions on my behalf without having to get me engaged or involved, and that’s an exciting place to be…That’s how I know my values are working, and that they understand them, that they’re truly integrated into the business and the brand, is that other people are reflecting them back to me.”
Erica says that because of her position as one of the mentors in The CEO Collective, she’s been able to witness the ripple effect of Racheal’s work on her values in how she works with her team and her clients, in a way that she doesn’t always get to.
Racheal says that as her leadership has evolved, the kinds of clients she attracts has also shifted, and values have become a major part of the conversations she has with them.
“There is a tipping point in your business when you go from it just being about you and your primary needs, to suddenly you realize, oh, I’ve got a team here. I’ve got a lot of people I’m helping.”
She says she’s excited to be a part of those conversations and changing work culture, and to be at a stage in her business where she is talking about values.
“It’s getting me really fired up to help people see how they can take [their values]...and have something that becomes the foundation for all your marketing processes and your sales and how you hire and how you make decisions and how you work with your clients. That’s where you are building a culture and building something that can stand on its own.”
Do the Things That Don’t Scale
Racheal says there are a lot of norms in business that she would like to witness people reconsider, but one prevalent narrative she would like to disrupt is that you must scale your business.
She says that the push to automate as much as possible, to do massive launches, and sell thousands of seats in courses is wearing people out. People are tired of being one of anonymous thousands in a course that they paid a lot of money for, and that is starting to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction.
“People are tired of being treated like all that matters is how much money they make. They’re seeing the celebrity entrepreneurs…showcasing the amazing life they have, but it just starts to feel like a big money grab.”
Instead, Racheal says to do the things that don’t scale. Get to know the people in your community and connect with them, whether it’s in DMs or on a Zoom call.
She recently ran, “The Fired Up and Focused Challenge, and I commented on every single post. Did it take me time to do? Absolutely. But I want people to know that when they come into our business and to The CEO Collective, that they’re not just a number…They are a person to us, and we truly do care.”
And she says people are surprised, more often than not, when she comments on posts or follows members of her programs on social media, or signs up for their newsletters.
“I’m watching because I’m here to help you grow. How can I do that if I know nothing about you? We need to bring the humanity back to business and prioritize relationships, not just dollar signs.”
Erica says she is glad to witness a more human, personalized approach coming back, even though it takes more time and effort, because relationships are “where business is really done.”
Racheal adds that, in her opinion, celebrity entrepreneurs that have struggled with bad press and controversy, are people who “have gotten so far away removed from their clients, that they are out of touch with what matters. And this is where reconsider your normal is so powerful, because they don’t consider it anymore.”
Because they’re so far removed from their clients and not paying attention to how the world is shifting, they get caught in crisis mode when something happens in the world that they don’t know how to handle or how to respond to.
“We don’t wanna be building businesses that way. It can’t be the ‘power over’ anymore. It needs to be everybody getting the hell off their pedestals and sitting side by side with the people you’re helping.”
Take Time to Define Success
If people want to take action toward reconsidering their normal, Racheal does encourage them to sign up for Implicit to Explicit because of the real impact it has made on her company.
And she also suggests taking some time to evaluate your definition of success. It’s something she’s discussed on her podcast, and she says we don’t consider it enough.
If, “the only yardstick for success is how much money you make, then on your deathbed one day you will discover that is not it, because you ain’t taking that with you. There’s gotta be other things that provide the meaning and fulfillment beyond just how much money you make.”
And she says if you’re not clear on what success means beyond how much money you make, you are going to have a harder time defining your values because you won’t know what matters other than what’s in your bank account.
Erica agrees, and suggests listening the episode of Pause on the Play® where Community members share their definitions of success.
Questioning how you define success is, “a huge part of understanding, yeah, these values are here, but what does that mean? What do they do? What’s the outcome? Why does this even make a difference? What do I want? What do I love? What do I enjoy?”
Ready to Dive Deeper?
Providing space for people to Reconsider Their Normal is one of the reasons we started The Pause on the Play® Community.
Having a place, and community support, to be able to reevaluate and decide what feels like the best next choice for you, for where you want to go, the kind of impact you want to create, and the legacy you want to leave behind is what The Community is made for.
Community members get access to conversations, Q&As with Erica and India, office hours, workshops, and our entire library of evergreen resources and replays.
Learn more at pauseontheplay.com/community