226. “Being the Human in Business” with Brian Thompson

Dawn talks with financial planner Brian Thompson of Brian Thompson Financial about founders staying in control of their businesses without fusing their identity to the company. Brian explains that businesses can start “driving the ship” on their own momentum, so leaders should build with intention by clarifying mission, vision, and values—both personally and for the business—and repeatedly testing them in everyday decisions. They discuss what to do when personal values evolve out of alignment with the business, including changing the business or letting it go without viewing it as failure, and how to handle external pressure from family and others. Brian emphasizes focusing on process over results, celebrating progress, using practices like journaling and gratitude, embracing emotional humanity in leadership, and recognizing that AI can’t replace genuine connection. 

In this Episode....

00:49  Who is Brian Thompson, and whom does he serve?

02:06 Founder Identity Shift

03:13 Personal Values Work

04:18 When Values Change

07:02 Handling Outside Opinions

10:47 Revisiting Values Often

12:28 Build Measure Learn

14:16 Process Over Results

17:13 Celebrate the Climb

19:17 Gratitude and Journaling

24:18 Authentic Leadership

26:40 AI and Human Connection

33:02 Evolving Relationships

34:18 Wrap Up and Where to Find 

Brian Thompson’s Information:

Website: https://btfinancial.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianthompsonfinancial/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063574958343#

X: https://x.com/BrianFinancial

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

DAWN KENNEDY: 0:03

Welcome to Business Mastery with Dawn Kennedy, your quick under forty five minute dose of expert insights and strategies to make a positive impact on your business and life. Let's get started. Hello and welcome to this episode of the Business Mastery Podcast. Today we're talking about you, founder, the leader, the founder, the person who is making sure that you're not getting lost yourself in the business that you're growing by. Brian on here, we're going to dive into this incredibly important topic, not losing your identity in such a way that you lose your vision. So thank you so much for joining

Brian Thompson: 0:46

Thanks for having me, Dawn. I'm

DAWN KENNEDY: 0:48

Can you tell everyone who you

Brian Thompson: 0:51

My name is Brian Thompson. I'm the founder and financial planner at Brian Thompson Financial. We help mission driven entrepreneurs help make impactful and profitable businesses.

DAWN KENNEDY: 1:01

I love it. All right. So when you and I were first note here from before is the who is driving the ship?

Brian Thompson: 1:11

Yeah.

DAWN KENNEDY: 1:13

So can we just start there? How do we answer that question? Because I think it's easy to say driving the ship, right? Oh, or I'm the c o o or who is

Brian Thompson: 1:25

So I actually find that a lot of that the business itself is The business has developed its taken on its own momentum of And so we usually try to take a step back and say, well, you are the business owner, you are the person that created this business. So you should build this And that starts with knowing So we always start with mission, What are you trying to What impact do you want to make? What do you envision this thing And what things are steering you to make sure that you can keep focused and that the business doesn't take over itself, but you are still in control and building this business with intention.

DAWN KENNEDY: 2:04

So when you say the business So it starts to get out there. You've got employees. It's sort of running in the most Where we're starting to do the people recognize the company Do you find that sometimes founders are distressed by this realization?

Brian Thompson: 2:25

Yeah, right. It's you create this thing and it becomes your child, your baby. You see it grow, you see it, you And then if it becomes something that is outside of you, it's probably unnerving. And you likely feel a bit your identity, this has been who why you built it, and now it's So I definitely understand the discomfort and the anxiety around it becoming something else. And that's why, again, I'd say like, you get to build whatever you want. You get to build whatever you So making sure that you have the what you want to build. And maybe you do want it to grow Maybe that's your intention. That's okay too, but it has to You have to start with what you're trying to build, and the right direction.

DAWN KENNEDY: 3:12

So we often see mission statements, vision statement, value statements tied to a company. But I think when we were talking those personally as well. Yeah. How do we do that? And I guess the question is, I and we build and we kind of get up and go, well, it's working. It's happening on the website. Right? Why would we change it now? But a big part of what you do is also making sure that people are getting out of it on a personal level, sort of what they're also putting in.

Brian Thompson: 3:45

Yeah, my, my, the whole premise have the impact that you want, life for yourself. Both of those things can be And like you said, we it needs can look back on and say, this These are my, this is my vision. These are my values. And none of it for me personally, but for the business. And those are separate. And I'm a big fan of exercises. So your question was, how do we If you go through exercises, we go through, you start with one them down to thirty and then you Then you narrow them down to And that process of trying to me and how can I test them, is implement them in a way that you and it feels like you're on going all over the place.

DAWN KENNEDY: 4:35

So what happens when your values evolve as a human, and it's no longer aligning exactly with what you thought the business would be, you know, three years ago, five years ago, eight years ago.

Brian Thompson: 4:46

Yeah, that's a very hard point And you have to make a decision, Is it do you let go of the change the business? And I think alignment is key and if you're not aligned, the So if you realize that you're figure out a way to get back in looks like and turn the business you is aligned with what you're or let it go and give it to There's nothing wrong with There's nothing wrong with letting a business become something else that it wants to become. But if that's not your goal, not your vision, it's not going to grow in the way that you want it to.

DAWN KENNEDY: 5:28

Yeah. Let's, let's look at this go of something else, I wonder comfortable saying, we're just other as humans, right? So business mastery and just in a human being. So when you evolve beyond or see people coming to you and doesn't look anything like it. It used to.

Brian Thompson: 5:59

Yeah, I do get that. And I've learned in being a business owners, that you have the unexpected, and being able evolved and knowing that just because something is ending You can have a good experience and then go on to something new. Letting go of something doesn't Letting doing something different doesn't mean that you've you've failed at being a business owner. It just means you've evolved. And we all evolve. We all change. And as long as we're doing the valuable to us, what are we who we want to be? Evolving and doing something to the next level. And being okay with things I think that's just a part of And I say this with prospects just because we're not working us are bad or wrong. It just means we're not a good If we're not a good fit, we We shouldn't waste time trying We should go on to find the

DAWN KENNEDY: 7:01

So let's talk about the external pressure and the perspectives of people who are outside the business. They may be people who are in the business community, but they tend to sometimes look at these types of evolutions as threatening. Or in some ways, there's pressure to maintain the status quo. And I know that family pressure comments because we all get them. So those external factors, those why are you giving that up? It was doing so well. Oh, you're no longer good x, y, this way now? Oh, I remember when you guys And you don't do those anymore. Yeah. Can we talk a little bit about Because it's easy to have a very strong business mindset when you're dealing with business things. Is it as comfortable at the family reunion when you're bringing the dish and you're supposed to sit there and you've got to field some of these legitimate questions from people who have watched you closely over the years, I think that there is a need, of course, to that acceptance as human beings and families. How do we approach that piece, our values no longer align with have been watching us, that's as well, because.

Brian Thompson: 8:25

Super uncomfortable.

DAWN KENNEDY: 8:26

Kids evolving into the business identity, and then realizing while everyone was watching. I know there's going to be a few yeah, they hear it every time I What? How do we deal with that, I Yeah, the thing, because I know leaving isn't always comfortable because it's even though what you want. Maybe it's not what the external

Brian Thompson: 8:56

Yeah, I love this question because I'm a people pleaser by nature. I've grown up making sure that tried to really engage in was liked and make all that is don't want people to leave me. I want to feel valuable. But this question of to Everybody's gonna have an yourself out there. We're on a podcast, we're on People see us and see what we're doing and they will have an opinion. And at some point, I realized And being able to internalize, need to be. It's actually a superpower Other than these thoughts around happened, you've changed. As long as you feel aligned and okay with who you are and what you're doing. And I think this goes back to centered in your values and you opinion about it. That's okay. But these are my values and They're not your values and making sure that you can build are aligned in what you're opinions won't matter as much what you want for you. I mean, obviously there's got to Like you got to build something But my guess is at your core and if your mission is to really has an impact, that you are And so you have to get clear on And it may not be the people that are commenting on how you've changed or what you're doing. And that's okay. People can have their opinion, but as long as you are really anchored in yourself and say, I'm not for everyone and that's okay. I think that helps with all of the other noise around and the questions that you have to answer at the family reunion, because you are centered in who you are.

DAWN KENNEDY: 10:46

So your values exercise. How often do you recommend values, maybe separate and aside are on the website and tweak as earlier, leave as necessary.

Brian Thompson: 11:03

Yeah, it really depends. And I think the real like you start off figuring out what your values are, but I think the real work comes in testing the values and, and all those everyday decisions that we make, making sure that you, the decisions that you make about taking on that new client or selling that new product or putting out an advertisement, those are your opportunities to test your values and see if they've changed. And so you can go back to them. It's not a one and done thing. It's something that you go back to and say, is this decision aligned with the values that I have? And is this decision aligned with my business values and is in line with my personal values, knowing that those are two distinct things. That question comes up all the Are we talking about my business We're talking about both, right? You have to have both. And maybe there maybe there's lot of difference, but you have you have to test them and decision that you make? So you're going to be coming back to them over and over again. And maybe especially if there's I just had clients who had a That changed their mindset they want to work, how much they need to make. So we go back to the foundation. All right, so let's just start Let's start from a clean slate. What are your values now? And being able to start those just recenter and refocus. But again, you're going to be You're going to be testing them So it's never a one and done

DAWN KENNEDY: 12:27

So let's tie this to the made a decision. It's being executed. And then we realize that it it did six months or a year ago. This idea again of values. Can we tie these values and our what's important to us to maybe we're evolving and it maybe alignment, but maybe it is.

Brian Thompson: 12:55

Yeah, there's always going to be So you're never going to know for sure if this is working or not. And I love being a business perspective completely around future, around certainty. Nothing is ever certain. And I used to think, oh, well, think I can be here for ten And like, all of those things And it's the same with the You can get in a business and realize that's not for you. And it doesn't feel right. And that's telling you Those feelings that you're feeling on the inside are telling you something needs to change and you need to do something differently. And so my concept goes back to the lean startup model, build, measure, learn. You want that cycle, you want to build something, test it out and then see what are you learning from this? And what are you feeling from And being able to engage with those feelings and know that again, if you haven't, if you have to change directions or you have to change what you're doing, it doesn't mean you're a failure. It means you just tried something and it didn't work out. That's okay. This is how businesses work and good businesses because you're And if it doesn't feel right, If it doesn't feel aligned, do Try something else. Keep build, measuring, learning business that you want and that

DAWN KENNEDY: 14:14

So let's talk about this through Because when you start, This idea is working. You make your first few sales, you make your first few investments, everything feels really great. And I'm going to challenge this idea that sometimes some of the hardest decisions that are the right ones may not feel as easy as they did when you first started. So I'm gonna say that maybe some of that is as you're maturing as a business owner and you've got the tests and you've got the measure and you're seeing what's working. Maybe we can rely a little bit decision and maybe how we feel Because I think the biggest thing is we start to lose our excitement, right? Like every decision is no longer Oh, we're creating paper towels. That's the right thing to do. It's aligned with what we do But this is just it's not as And I wonder how we rely on maybe, again, we should go back values and things that will

Brian Thompson: 15:27

Yeah, I, it's funny because I that those feelings that go have when you first start your first sale, and then you just take it for granted. And so a lot of what we do, especially when I'm doing my coaching one on one meetings, is we talk about what are your successes? What are your challenges? Making sure that you can really highlight your successes so you can celebrate them and know that this is not just you don't want to just get into it like you don't. I heard you say, we focus on results and I'm like, oh no. Like, I don't want to focus on results. I want to focus on process and make sure that the process I've talked about has been aligned with what you want to do, but you're focusing on what you can control. You can't control an outcome. You can't control a result. But what you can control are making sure that the decisions that you make are in line with the thing that you want to build and the thing that you want to make. So I say focus on those things Focus on process, focus on results be what they are and But if you focus on the results and making sure that you're selling a certain amount of money, when you get to that point, it's going to change, right? And when you accomplish that revenue or the amount of it's going to evolve. So you always be searching and never get, and you'll miss what Building a business is fun and producing, and it's a journey. I know, as cliche as it sounds, It is about the experience of impactful, but can also give you And if you are keep, if you keep going to get it. And you're going to miss the built and why you've built it.

DAWN KENNEDY: 17:12

So we really don't celebrate

Brian Thompson: 17:14

Not enough, not nearly enough. And that's why I say like, it's step away, step out from the Because the analogy that I like to think about is walking up a winding staircase. Everything looks the same same wall until you look down And if you don't take those moments to look down and realize, oh, also, this is why we keep track of success and challenge. So we can look back and say, just needed to get money to, to And then that was gonna. You were gonna be fine. Then you were there now, and you ever thought you would. But now you're wanting even Being able to step back and say, You're doing great. There's still a lot of things to There's still a lot of things to There's always going to be There's always going to be a problem in the business to solve, and that's part of the fun. That's part of the process. And if you don't take a moment you're going to miss it all.

DAWN KENNEDY: 18:10

Yeah, I think that it's so easy you will, that we forget the ten year, the the sixteen year. And then you wake up and you're Maybe it's not that we're not Maybe it's I haven't stopped to me to here and then what they So in your practice, the new things like babies and things that change in milestones, what about just those quiet evolutions? Do you see that people sometimes without these big milestones, or and look only when something gets landed or something? It's interesting because when we the business, about who you are Yeah. What are those reminders that we If we really are the species have this big thing, now it's

Brian Thompson: 19:15

Yeah. I do think we are hard focus on hard moments. Focus on the bad, the negative. And I was a philosophy major in taking me back to my thesis on Right? Why does evil exist? And a lot of people think evil way we learn, right? We only learn from bad things happening because when things, good things are happening, we just get used to like we were talking about, we get used to it. And then all of a sudden we think that this is the norm and we don't take time to really experience that good things are happening. The gratitude. So as I mentioned, I love every night a gratitude journal. I have a gratitude buddy that I text the five things I'm grateful for because I don't want to, and I'm not immune to this, right? I'm also focused on big moments So I'm trying to use these bring myself back, to bring appreciate my successes and things that are going on, they're negative or they feel Those things can you usually Getting yourself in the mindset. Journaling is also a big one for me, making sure that I'm getting everything out of my head so I can be present for moments like this, right? What you're talking about at the very beginning, I love these conversations. I love that I get to do this in I get to talk to people about how businesses grow and what we do and who we are as human beings. Because we're complex beings figuring out how what people do tools in my toolbox because what you, but we can learn from each conversations and make sure that making sure that we're growing feels aligned, that feels like So yes and right. Yes. Those big moments are times that Bad moments can help us change and make the business that we want, but we can't forget those good moments, and we can't forget to hold on to those good moments and be present for those good moments. Because this is the the fun It's going to be all in the

DAWN KENNEDY: 21:21

Let's talk a little bit about think it's a cliche anymore that I'm grateful for the lesson that came across a little snarky, and I apologize. I heard that I read the story in Wow. Um, yeah, but I think that's sort of kind of becomes the cliche a little bit that yeah, you know, we we're supposed to be grateful. We're supposed to be thinking well today before we go to bed. And I wonder if we sort of still true place where it's like we're we're trying to stay aligned, Something happens and it's, oh, And we don't necessarily stop Yeah. So let's talk about this gratitude journal or gratitude practice is the honesty, the deep honesty that has to happen there, I'm assuming, is, is something maybe some of us need to confront.

Brian Thompson: 22:23

Yeah. I think in my practice, better I've gotten at it. So being able to really sit oh, I'm grateful for food. I'm grateful for my bed. I'm grateful for having shelter, Which are things that I'm But the more that I do it, the do it every day? And hearing his gratitudes every day has helped us sort of evolve and change. But you're right, it can get generic, and I think that's where you have to take a step back. If you feel like it's getting online, maybe it's not a I'm always of the mindset. You take what you like and leave All these tools that we talk about that you're doing, try them. They work for you, great. If they don't throw it away, do But this gratitude practice me because I take a step back grateful for today? And testing like we talked about, like how you test values going back and saying, am I actually grateful for this conversation? Right? I'm sure this will go on my Being able to really be genuine We got this thing that we keep going back to alignment, making sure that you know who you are as a human being, that you know who you want to be and how you want to grow and where you want to evolve. If you are centered in that genuine place of I'm grateful these things or this practice This practice doesn't work for And just because it works for me doesn't mean it has to work for you. But knowing that I am who I am and that works for me helps keep you centered and helps keep you really authentic and genuine about what you're doing in the practice.

DAWN KENNEDY: 23:58

So let's separate that from the business, because I do know I'm grateful for all the things I'm grateful for my employees. I'm grateful for the lessons. I'm grateful for the late ruined in a thunderstorm, that But then being grateful as the human, not the founder, CEO, boss person. I'm sure there's some overlap, who you are as a human had to the business itself.

Brian Thompson: 24:35

I this is always a tough your opinion on it. I feel like we're evolving to this place where there is no like, there was a time when you had to be the CEO, you had to be the person that knew everything, that had all the answers that people could come to that was reliable. I think we're shifting into a leader, knowing that you don't have to know everything, that as the most happy, genuine self. I don't have to be grateful for the delivery, because you can be mad about the late delivery because it caused a delay in your service. I think it's this really getting feeling, the feelings that we sure that you're not pushing I don't think having a gratitude can't be mad, you can't be And believe me, for the longest time, people used to think I was a robot because I didn't have any. I didn't have any feelings. And it took me a long time to how to engage with the feelings. It took therapy. It took a lot of practice to really engage with what I'm feeling and being angry, being frustrated. When we first got it, you asked Actually, when I get that right, how am I feeling today? AM I feeling rushed? AM I feeling anxious? AM I feeling rested? AM I feeling content? I try to genuinely say, check in And I think when we can get to a place where we don't need to be the CEO or be the CEO, or be the person that has all the answers, that is just not that's not a human being. We as human are complex, and we have many different types of emotions and have feelings and have ups and downs all in the same day. So if we can genuinely be that people, whether we are the CEO, brand new, the brand new intern, human beings, I think we will we then grow together. We know that everybody has has something to contribute, and business because we're open and we're not role playing. We're actually just growing and

DAWN KENNEDY: 26:38

Do you think some of this rise of automation, AI, those don't want to necessarily talk okay if someone was having a bad to the humanity of interaction.

Brian Thompson: 26:57

Yeah.

DAWN KENNEDY: 26:59

It's interesting that I would a podcast conversation about business when all the internet

Brian Thompson: 27:12

And.

DAWN KENNEDY: 27:13

Be the boss person. Yeah. I want to say, especially past pandemic, everything sort of shifted online for the most part. Yeah. I'm wondering if this is a this an awareness and awakening themselves, where they're things that make us human control and what we can't Perhaps there's not going to be anything to relate to or to be authentic with.

Brian Thompson: 27:46

Yeah. Yeah. I do think there's I don't that's a good question. Is it a pendulum? Right. Are we swinging? Do we ever swing back and forth? I don't know. I'm not sure. But I do know that AI and interactive I use AI all the time. I think it's a helpful tool and it's I still hear the sarcasm in your voice around the gratitude for the things that are going bad, right? That's what AI is. AI is the ever optimist or at optimist thing that everywhere well, and you have to make it And I don't I that's why I think AI will never fully take over because yes, it can figure out sort of what to say and how to say it and maybe how you would react to it, but it's not genuine. It's not a it's not an actual It's a response. Right. And in the end, we are people I truly believe this, that in our lives, what we are striving for is connection with other people. Being able to be ourselves and and accept and love that person. I don't know that Chad is ever And what it takes is being a and saying, yeah, I feel that I know what you're going through all the right answers, but I'm I do wonder what is going to And now there's AI therapists

DAWN KENNEDY: 29:13

Yeah, okay. That's okay. I was unaware, I wasn't really It's just this idea of business ownership had for years been just reduced into this, this less right. Do a do be do C and you'll be And people who didn't do it, who likes using, I don't know, you're not into email marketing. That would be the thing. That's what you're missing. That's what you're doing wrong.

Brian Thompson: 29:43

And yeah.

DAWN KENNEDY: 29:44

Remove that, that human piece of like everybody was given the including the gratitude was a I think that got pushed out for Not in a negative way. I think we do need to have got weaponized in a way where grateful for everything. And right. And the deeper investigation over for sure.

Brian Thompson: 30:13

Completely agree with you.

DAWN KENNEDY: 30:15

Yeah. AI therapist that that I'm curious as to how you I mean, my understanding I'm not understanding is like it's years supervision and licensure and

Brian Thompson: 30:34

Yeah. Yeah. I feel like we're in What stage for a lot of things Like, how does how do we figure law knows when it's wrong, engages with people, how it A therapist is not just supposed to be a cheerleader for you, right? And so what do we do? And in the end, it's reading a lot of materials about therapy and how all the stuff that people are reading in schools, it's reading thousands of articles, right? So it's learning how to do that. And maybe that's why they feel that can actually work. But we are in this really great change our lives. And I still do hold on to the fact that it's never going to be human, no matter how many articles it reads, no how many and no matter how much it evolves in itself, it's never going to be something that can experience at least that we know. And so that's going to be our And I think that goes to the this switch of making sure that you are a full, authentic human being. People can realize that. People can see that people can And we want this connection. And if you're trying to pretend you're trying to follow a cookie cutter method that's not aligned with who you are, you're it's not going to come across as genuine. It's not going to come across as And I've been doing this long no one way to build a business. Yeah, there's some fundamentals that you can do and things that you can try, but in the end, it's build, measure, learn and take what you like and leave the rest. Right. Your business can be very different from mine, but that's okay. And we can still both have a successful, impactful, profitable business. So saying that has to be built thing I don't think is true. You get to figure out what it And as long as you're centered that core thing that we're vision, and values, you will that you want.

DAWN KENNEDY: 32:25

That's amazing. Yeah. It's interesting as we, we in the business. What does that mean? I guess in the the future of an interesting place to be in trying to navigate these things productivity or efficiency, and and saying, well, what worked like to the couple with the baby to work for us now. And I want to say at the core, I think sometimes humans, it's not so much that they've been afraid of evolving. It's the looking around at the place, and they're not going That, I think, is maybe a major not maybe want to look and worked two years ago.

Brian Thompson: 33:25

Yeah, I and this goes back to talked about at the picnic. Right? You're going to your family and Yeah, it's a hard place to be, easy answer for that. You change, you evolve, and sometimes you have to leave relationships. I'm someone who has been That was one of the hardest times in my life because I was with that person for twenty years. But we changed. Things changed. We had to evolve. And yes, there was a lot of lot of sadness, but also it was and I'm glad it did. I'm grateful that it did. I don't know if I'm to that I'm I feel different. I grew from that experience, but people, it's hard. It's not easy. And you will have to grieve and better on the other side. What are you going to learn from Why is this happening for you? Why is this happening for you? What are you going to learn from And like I said before, just mean it was bad. Just because something changes doesn't mean you're a bad person. Or because the relationship you are bad or wrong, just isn't And you have to move on. You have to evolve.

DAWN KENNEDY: 34:35

Yeah, this has been a great I really appreciate and I did degree, I love it.

Speaker 3: 34:42

Can you tell people.

DAWN KENNEDY: 34:43

That to you? I absolutely adore the deeper look at the human in the business, right? And the decisions that are made carry and what the owner has to maybe need a little grace as to figure ourselves out as well I sometimes believe that grace little short supply. Yeah. Um, so I really appreciate this Where can people find you, reach out to you, talk to you, and perhaps have a conversation with you about whether or not their values personally are still aligned with their business values.

Brian Thompson: 35:22

Yeah. Well, my website is b b t That's where you can find the I have a podcast called Mission conversations like this. I have short little snippets of human in a business and making way that is aligned with who you I also active on Instagram at BT financial, on LinkedIn at Bryant Financial. So social media, you can find me I love having conversations like These really inspire me and I So I appreciate you having me

DAWN KENNEDY: 35:56

Amazing. We're gonna put all that down in the show notes so you can find the podcast, you can find all the social media links, you can reach out, have a conversation with Brian. And I'm gonna encourage everybody who's listening today that if you haven't given it a moment's thought, that your values as a human and your values as a business need to be aligned, but can be distinct, and you are a whole human beings separate from what you do for a living or from your founder identity. I would encourage you to take a moment this week and think about that. And if needed, reach out and see support about becoming that So thank you so much for this very important conversation and reminder. I really appreciate your time.

Brian Thompson: 36:47

Thanks for having me, Don.

DAWN KENNEDY: 36:48

All right. We'll talk to you all next time Business Mastery Podcast. Take care. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Business Mastery Podcast. If you want to learn more about me, you can go to Don Kay Kennedy dot com and you can now check us out on YouTube as well as, of course, any of your favorite platforms that host podcasts. Take care.