94 - Let’s Talk Culture with Super Bowl Champion & Chief Culture Officer, Ben Utecht
04/21/22 • 25 min
Let’s Talk Culture with Super Bowl Champion and Chief Culture Officer, Ben Utecht
In this #PoisedforExit episode I had the distinct honor of interviewing Ben Utecht, who’s not only a Super Bowl Champion with the Indianapolis Colts, but also a winner of the Tony Dungy Award for Servant Leadership and now works as Chief Culture Officer for several mid-size firms, including my sponsor, Sunbelt Business Advisors and True North M & A.
After Ben shared how he got his start in professional sports, we talked primarily about how a company’s culture can affect far more than the internal team. Namely, how it can positively or negatively affect the business value as well as its impact on a future acquisition or merger.
Ben is involved in several endeavors, all revolving around the development of company culture. He said that his training with Tony Dungy taught him the value of serving other's needs before your own, which drew him to work in the space. His process starts with determining 3 things within a company’s philosophy:
- What you Believe
- Why you Believe it
- How you Behave
The last is driven by the first two. If an owner isn’t finding the results or productivity they really need and want in their team, it’s probably time to assess company beliefs. And, speaking of assessments, Ben has you covered. He’s part owner of a firm called Behavioral Essentials that produces assessments for companies looking to foster the growth potential in their people and in their culture. Ben said Culture is often an overlooked driver of enterprise value, yet it can greatly impact the success of a merger, acquisition or growth strategy.
One thing Ben said is that sports and business have many parallels. But what really struck me, was how he compared their approach to ‘practice’. In sports, he said it’s 95% practice and 5% performance. In business, it’s 95% performance and 5% practice (as in personal growth, professional development and learning). Wow, that says a lot, doesn’t it?!
You can listen to this awesome interview now.
Find Ben here: https://benutechtspeaks.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/benutecht/Find Julie here.
Thank you to this month's sponsor! Sunbelt Business Advisors
Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor
Let’s Talk Culture with Super Bowl Champion and Chief Culture Officer, Ben Utecht
In this #PoisedforExit episode I had the distinct honor of interviewing Ben Utecht, who’s not only a Super Bowl Champion with the Indianapolis Colts, but also a winner of the Tony Dungy Award for Servant Leadership and now works as Chief Culture Officer for several mid-size firms, including my sponsor, Sunbelt Business Advisors and True North M & A.
After Ben shared how he got his start in professional sports, we talked primarily about how a company’s culture can affect far more than the internal team. Namely, how it can positively or negatively affect the business value as well as its impact on a future acquisition or merger.
Ben is involved in several endeavors, all revolving around the development of company culture. He said that his training with Tony Dungy taught him the value of serving other's needs before your own, which drew him to work in the space. His process starts with determining 3 things within a company’s philosophy:
- What you Believe
- Why you Believe it
- How you Behave
The last is driven by the first two. If an owner isn’t finding the results or productivity they really need and want in their team, it’s probably time to assess company beliefs. And, speaking of assessments, Ben has you covered. He’s part owner of a firm called Behavioral Essentials that produces assessments for companies looking to foster the growth potential in their people and in their culture. Ben said Culture is often an overlooked driver of enterprise value, yet it can greatly impact the success of a merger, acquisition or growth strategy.
One thing Ben said is that sports and business have many parallels. But what really struck me, was how he compared their approach to ‘practice’. In sports, he said it’s 95% practice and 5% performance. In business, it’s 95% performance and 5% practice (as in personal growth, professional development and learning). Wow, that says a lot, doesn’t it?!
You can listen to this awesome interview now.
Find Ben here: https://benutechtspeaks.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/benutecht/Find Julie here.
Thank you to this month's sponsor! Sunbelt Business Advisors
Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor
Previous Episode
93 - Comparing the Deal Market: Today vs a Year Ago
Comparing the Deal Market: Today vs a Year Ago
We had the pleasure of talking with Dave Pederson in this #PoisedforExit episode, who is a partner with Dunlap Seeger Law Firm in Rochester, MN. Dave's background in business finance and law brought him to a place where structuring deals was part of his job when working for a large commercial lender in Chicago. Fast forward to today, he's been practicing in Rochester since 2006, advising on M& A deals, Estate Planning and even Commercial Real Estate. As Dave said, these three areas naturally intersect, and he spends all of his time between them for his business owner clients.
The value of key peoplehas come up in Business Valuation and deal structure this year. How do you know what your team is worth? That's a good question. Employment Agreements have become very important to buyers when the language addresses non-recruitment and protection of company assets, including confidentiality. Due to the fact that workforce shortages are everywhere, Dave said that this tool is one you don't want to overlook.
For 2023 we may be looking at higher interest rates and credit tightening, which will affect liquidity for owners. This may be the reason why we're seeing so much M & A activity right now.
We discussed many other related topics, vital to a successful transition. Listen to the episode now.
Find Dave here.Find Julie here. Thank you to this month's sponsor! Sunbelt Business Advisors
Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor
Next Episode
95 - Why EntreBank?
Today on #PoisedforExit, we caught up with Melissa Johnston, Co-Founder and Chief Credit Officer of EntreBank, a brand new community bank, located in the Twin Cities. When we last interviewed her, EntreBank did not have an official name yet and their founders were working through the approval process with the appropriate governing bodies, which she will tell you was quite grueling. But that was then, and this is now!
EntreBank's focus on privately held companies has an approach that focuses on both internal and external factors. Internally, they have been very diligent about hiring can-do team members who aren't afraid to take on challenging projects and don't get shook up if things take a bad turn; they're wired to figure out a way to make it work and they're motivated to grow the bank and succeed as a team.
Externally, EntreBank focuses on acquiring customers who are looking for a banking relationship; something they can't get with a big bank. Unfortunately, larger banks are not set up to work with small businesses who seek a true banking partner who can help them throughout their business life cycle. Melissa said getting to know the owners and their businesses is key to recognizing opportunities and pitfalls that could swing the business in one direction or the other.
This company will be one to watch and one to consider working with if you are a Twin Cities owned small business looking to align with a bank who is innovative, knowledgeable and has the products and services you need now and will need in the future.
Find Melissa here.
Find Julie here.
Thank you to this month's sponsors! Sunbelt Business Advisors
Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor
If you like this episode you’ll love
AskPat 2.0: A Weekly Coaching Call on Online Business, Blogging, Marketing, and Lifestyle Design
Rich Dad Radio Show: In-Your-Face Advice on Investing, Personal Finance, & Starting a Business
How to Be Awesome at Your Job
Supersonic Hospitality Marketing Podcast Sponsored by NFS Hospitality feat. Mark McC
The Writership Podcast Editing Tips For Fiction Authors
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/poised-for-exit-224842/94-lets-talk-culture-with-super-bowl-champion-and-chief-culture-office-25528842"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to 94 - let’s talk culture with super bowl champion & chief culture officer, ben utecht on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy