0091: Why Culture Is Everything with Best Selling Author, Speaker, Host of The Think Big Act Small Podcast, & CEO of The Physio Company Tristan White

Intro [0:00]

EA Interviews Episode 91. Inspiration, transformation, success stories, and the Imperfect Action Round seven days a week. Join Mario Fachini for today’s Expert Authority Effect Interview. 

Mario Fachini [0:09]

Would you like your team to always be energized? How would you like to boost company morale? How would you like to delight every single client that you get? You’re in for a treat today because I have none other than the host of the Think Big, Act Small podcast, author of Culture Is Everything, CEO of the Physio Company. And he’s going to be sharing with you about this and more right after we thank our sponsor. I’m excited to bring to you Mr. Tristan White. 

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Mario Fachini [0:56]

Here is ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Tristan White. Tristan, how are you doing today? 

Tristan White [1:02]

Mario, I’m fantastic. Glad to be here on your show. 

Mario Fachini [1:05]

I am excited for you to share with the audience. I’ve been looking at what you’re doing and it’s phenomenal. So let me just ask what inspired all of it? How did you get started? 

Tristan White [1:15]

Mario, the important part of my backstory is that I’m a physical therapist by profession. And I started out a small physical therapy business more than 15 years ago. And it was just me for a start. And then I started growing a team. And started growing a team it was completely by default. I really didn’t know what I was doing as a business owner or a team leader. And I somehow created this is little business but it was a big mess. And I didn’t know how to lead a team or communicate clearly. I went looking for a solution, Mario, of how I could be a better leader and get unstuck from this big mess that I thought that I was completely stuck in. And I discovered this idea of building a business based upon a strong team culture. And how by building a strong team culture, I could better lead my team create more space in my life and empower my team members to do the very best work that they could. And, Mario, it was from that point of being stuck and becoming a practitioner of building a strong cultured that I then embraced this idea that I can see so many businesses and business owners could be better places to work. And people could enjoy their work more if there are stronger cultures in so many more businesses and teams around the country and around the world. And it was that idea that I’ve got this belief now, Mario, the world needs more great places to work. And I reckon if I can learn, apply, and share that message, then the world can have more great places to work. 

Mario Fachini [2:43]

Absolutely. I agree. Because I’ve worked at places in the past long before I started my company and they weren’t all great places to work. And then I noticed a lot of the places I went to that I just patron and frequented, they were winning awards. I was like, “Why am I drawn to them? But why are the employees drawn to them?” So why do you think that is? 

Tristan White [3:06]

Well, Mario, it’s interesting you say that. Because you can almost feel it. It’s almost like a magnetic pole to a team that’s got a strong culture for the right people and the right clients are attracted to the right businesses by the same token. And this is actually by design sometimes. The wrong people aren’t aligned with that culture are almost repelled from working in that team. And I think that’s a wonderful thing because you attract the right people. And the reason in my experience that teams with strong cultures are so helpful, is because they’ve got the right team members who are aligned to some really basic fundamental things like a core purpose as to why does this business exist. What on earth are we here for? Who do we serve? What do we do? And then secondly, what are the behaviors or the values that we’ll live around here? And I think you’ll find in businesses with a strong culture, Mario, you’ve got these people that are aligned to the same direction. They’re almost living a similar set of values. And they’re almost speaking a similar language. And that’s the palpable sort of stuff that’s really exciting and attract – it’s very attractive for the for the right people. Does that make some sense to you, Mario? 

Mario Fachini [4:19]

It does. And I want to ask you when you’re working with these companies, which type of companies are you looking for? Who are you working with? 

Tristan White [4:26]

Yeah. So Mario, my sweet spot, if you will, is owners and leaders of businesses who’ve got between 15 and 150 team members. They’re sort of what we call the scale ups. They’re beyond the startup stage, but they’re growing up in the size of their business. And by working with these owners and business leaders, I can help them get the fundamentals of a strong culture in place, whatever stage of growth they’re up to, but ideally in the early stage, and that can really supercharge the growth by getting that fundamental culture in place with us. 

Mario Fachini [5:02]

So I want to know a little bit more on how you’re doing it. And I’m curious, what is one of the first things you do to help these companies? Because you talked on the end result. Obviously, you know how to make it work and get it going for them. But how do you break them free of “we need to do it this way” to “hey, you’re going to have an awesome company and change your entire culture.” 

Tristan White [5:23]

Yeah. So one of the most important things we do, Mario – and this is counterintuitive to what many people think of a strong culture. And that is we build a system. We build a system around the culture in the business. And that is people think that systems for quality control of a sales and you can’t necessarily have a repeatable system that helps to align a strong culture. And I completely disagree. I think that the right culture with the right system, create freedom within boundaries, tough environment. And that is that we’re all free to be ourselves and the team members can be themselves that within a set of boundaries, if you will, or guiding principles that they know what is the right thing you’re doing and the wrong thing you’re doing. And I think we all perform better when we understand that. So the system is the critical bit of the Culture Is Everything approach. And what do I have to do is I have to help people understand the culture is a long term investment. And it takes time and energy and conviction to build a strong culture. But by committing to that process and putting the system in place, then the time and space they’ll create in their life and in their team member’s life to do the very best work of their lives. It will absolutely be worth it. But it’s not a quick fix. That’s for sure. 

Mario Fachini [6:46]

What expectations do you set when someone is working with you? How long should they expect to see, “Hey, it’s going to take three months to change six months, nine months, a year, two years.” What is the general – what are you finding can do within? 

Tristan White [7:01]

Yeah. So of course there’s some quick fixes, Mario. I work with clients and we can make some quick changes which can really help them get a bit of a nudge along, if you will, or feel like it’s a really good investment. But I really think that in my experience, it takes at least three months to work with a client, for them to, firstly, understand the Culture Is Everything approach. And do some work as a leader behind the scenes, if you will, some preparation. And then there’s the work with their team to start communicating and changing the behaviors and changing the way that they do in their team. And then beyond three months, I really do think that in a team of more than 50 people, it does take up to a year to get from that implementation stage to embedding it and having this repeatable system of rhythms that people will start to love. But change takes time. And change has a bit of resistance in putting some of these things in place. So it’s so important, we’re patient but persistent at the same time in really bringing a great place to work a lot. 

Mario Fachini [8:07]

Well, that sounds like a lot of fun. And quicker than I thought. I thought you were going to say it took at least a year to two. But yeah, three to six months you can be making changes. But you’re saying it’s also the long term. You know, those are the quick changes. 

Tristan White [8:22]

Yeah. Entirely, Mario. And from experience, and that is that I still lead that physiotherapy business or physical therapy business that I mentioned earlier on. And we’ve been growing that team from just myself many years ago. We’ve now got about 150 team members. And this rhythm of the Culture Is Everything. The system continues to have along in the background, if you will. But every year the rhythm and the and the engagement continues to grow as we, I guess, turn up the volume on the Culture Is Everything system in our business. And that’s what many other business owners can expect over time if they apply the approach. 

Mario Fachini [9:05]

Excellent. So let’s talk about decision making. Because you said something that caught my attention. And the last that you were saying, having the culture to know what’s right and wrong. How do you define what’s right and wrong in the new culture versus the old one? 

Tristan White [9:17]

Yeah. So really important point, Mario. And so important point, a culture by default is when there really is no approach to culture. And we find leaders, business owners, and even team members, pretty much firefighting and being reactive all day, every day. It’s an exhausting place to be in a team with a culture by default. And whether you like it or not, your team’s got a culture by default. A culture by design is where you actually intentionally put things in place for people to understand what it is we do around here. And that’s when you create the space that I think is so very important. And, Mario, an example of a decision making tool or guide is a core purpose. Or Simon Sinek – if you follow Simon Sinek – he would call a why or why an organization exists? And, for example, the physical therapy business that I lead exists to help seniors and this older people to stay mobile, safe, and happy. And that’s our core focus is physical therapy for older people. And therefore, that’s one of the ways that we make decisions as to what is the right things for us to be doing our business because everything has to lead back to helping more seniors to stay mobile, safe, and happy. And so that’s one of the ways we make decisions by referring to our core purpose. Similarly, I think it’s really important that an organization has between three and five core values or guiding principles. And quite simply the way we do things around here. And if you get stuck, or there’s a challenge, referring back to one of the three to five core values is, again, the way that we can make decisions which are aligned with that culture, move us forward, and at the same time, give team members confidence that they are doing what is expected of them. 

Mario Fachini [11:03]

Excellent. So with all the companies you’ve helped over the years change the culture, who would you say is the biggest transformation you’ve been able to give? 

Tristan White [11:13]

Look, Mario, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some really – some large organizations here in Australia, especially. And some large organizations that I think I’m blessed to work with. By the same token, I think some of the best results that I’ve had that I enjoy are the small organizations. Because by contributing to the foundations of their strong culture, and then enabling them to scale up in a way which attracts the right people and enables the business owners and the senior leaders to have the space to grow that business is really important. So I think there’s a there’s a small number of accounting businesses that I’ve worked with here in Australia. But I think my favorite, Mario, and I choose a favorite because that’s a challenge in itself. But I have worked with a few primary schools, a few schools to help them to establish their culture of teachers and also the culture for teachers to leave their classrooms. And I just think that if I can help to build the culture of an education institution, which can help to guide kids to better education, then I think that’s the most powerful thing that I can probably do. 

Mario Fachini [12:22]

That is fantastic to hear. And I love that you are enjoying the smaller companies as much as the bigger ones. Because the big companies are cool. I’ve worked with them too. But at the same token, it’s fun to get down with a local business or regional business. And it’s a bigger difference for them. When you take them from where they’re at to a different point, it’s a bigger impact versus the shares went up and the shares went up and the stockholders are happy by 13% more. It’s just a stat to them. 

Tristan White [12:55]

Yeah. And Mario, I’m with you. And we’ve got a very small team that I worked with earlier this year. About a 12 person business that were just getting moving. But the opportunities for them to scale to a 20 person, to a 50 person, a hundred person business and it’s multiple 100% growth. And I think is really exciting around that. 

Mario Fachini [13:15]

That is exciting. So you know what else I find exciting is the show you were telling me about. How has your podcast changed your business? 

Tristan White [13:24]

Yeah. So Mario, the Think Big, Act Small podcast is the name of the show. It’s part of the Culture Is Everything community. And so I’ve got a community of people who subscribe to an email newsletter and listen to the Think Big, Act Small podcast that both come out weekly, newsletter on the weekend and podcast during the week. And the podcast has been exceptional. Not only for my ability to spend time really diving deep into the ideas and teaching or sharing or exploring ideas in an audio way. But just by having these AirPods or earbuds in and having a really close relationship with my listeners and the people in my community is so powerful. And I just love the text messages, the emails, the social media comments that the people listening in. Their learning and then they’re asking questions, its a powerful way that’s really helped to grow the message that I love to share. 

Mario Fachini [14:27]

Where can people find that? 

Tristan White [14:29]

The place to find me on the web is TristanWhite.com.au. Don’t forget the AU. I’m down here in Australia. So TristanWhite.com.au is the home on the web. And of course the Think Big, Act Small podcast, you can find it on iTunes, you find it on Spotify, and all the usual places. 

Mario Fachini [14:50]

Excellent. So tell me about Culture Is Everything. Why did you want to write a book and not just work with people one-on-one? 

Tristan White [15:00]

Culture Is Everything Is the book that I wrote and released, Mario. And the reason I released it was twofold. One, to document. Document the great work that we put in place at the Physio Co., the physical therapy business and the system that have been created. And then to celebrate that work and celebrate the wonderful people that I work with at the Physio Co. And secondly, to share the idea. It’s quite simply about sharing the idea of how a system or a strong culture can be built around a system. And the more people that know about that, apply it – grab it and apply it in a way that works for them. So that the system clearly has got a structure. But I’m not here to say exactly how it should be run. People will tailor it to their own language, their own industry, their own business. And so those are two reasons, to really share the idea with the world and to celebrate the work we’ve been doing in our physical therapy business. 

Mario Fachini [15:58]

What’s the most creative You’ve seen someone do to tailor it to their business? 

Tristan White [16:03]

Yeah. That’s a good question. I think the Culture Is Everything book explains this Culture Is Everything system that I speak about. There’s four parts to the Culture Is Everything system. It’s discover the core, which is about the foundation’s; document the future, which is about the vision; execute relentlessly, which is the important part of making sure that it’s a consistent system that happens over and over. And lastly, there’s a really critical part, and that’s show more love. And make sure we’re showing the love to our team members, our clients, our entire community. And I think that’s where the real creativity comes in, is in the in the show more love part to it. I think it’s so important as team leaders and organizations to recognize the good times in people’s lives, especially team members. So people do wonderful things. They graduate from college. They get married. They buy a house. They go on a long vacation. All those things are wonderful. But what about the tough times we know people have in their life? The ups and downs. We have some crappy times when things just don’t go to plan. I think that’s the real opportunity to show more love to team members to let them know you’re there for them. And whether it’s simply a bunch of flowers that shows up unexpectedly on a doorstep or something much more personal and connecting, that they’re the type of things that I think are really exciting and a great way to show more love to your team members. 

Mario Fachini [00:17:28]

Why do you think people have gotten away from it over the years? Because I wasn’t around in the 1920s. I’ll be around for the 2020s. But I hear stories of the 1920s, the 30s, 40s, 50s. Let’s just say 50 to 100 years ago to make it easy. Businesses, it seemed like, they really cared about who they were working with. They bend over backwards to entertain the clients, do all this. And I’ve noticed a lot of companies nowadays are more transactional, unfortunately. Where do you think the breakdown occurred? And what’s perpetrating it over the years on the basis of your step four, show more love? Why do you think people miss that? 

Tristan White [18:07]

Yeah. So Mario, I’m with you in the fact that old is new again. There’s no question about that, that old fashioned values and old fashioned connection with people and care for people is definitely back. I’m so pleased because I think that is absolutely what we all should have been doing forever. But I think for some reason, Mario, I don’t know the answer. But we all got so focused on ourselves. I think the world became very much focused on what we can do and which become very self-centered. And I think there’s a wonderful – I think it’s an African proverb – that said, “To go far you have to go with others.” You have to go with a group of people. Unless you connect with people by showing love – to connect with people, you actually have to give of yourself and you have to be caring towards other people, not only when you feel like it, but every single day and every single connection. And it’s part of the core value set at the Physio Co. is we have positive first impressions. And I think it’s so important that people realize that positive first impressions are only the first time that you ever meet someone. It’s the first impression you have when you speak to them that day or that hour or that month. And if you greet someone beautifully in the morning, but then you walk past them in the office or in the street later on, then that [inaudible [00:19:34] good first impression. And I think we have to be self-aware enough to realize that the way we communicate, the way we present ourselves, is super important every moment of the time when you’re interacting with other people. 

Mario Fachini [19:46]

I agree 100%. What do you think is one thing everyone could do to improve on that area of their life? 

Tristan White [19:53]

I think it is normal, Mario. Pretty simple sort of concept. If you want the easiest thing that I reckon we can do, smile more. Look at other people. Look in their eyes, not in a creepy way just in a caring way that says, “Hey, I see you. I know you’re a wonderful person over there. And I just wanted to acknowledge and say hello, smile, acknowledge you, and keep doing what you’re doing.” Do that with your face. Do that with your eyes. And just connect more with human beings without as – I reach for something over here, Mario – without spending our lives staring at cell phones. I think there’s such an opportunity to connect personally to other people. 

Mario Fachini [20:37]

I love it. I absolutely love it. It’s about – 

Tristan White [20:40]

And it’s so simple, Mario. 

Mario Fachini [20:44]

I thought you were – there’s a couple things I thought you were going to say. But you’re right, just the simple smile. But so many people do that. They’ll be nice in the morning and then the afternoon act like you don’t exist. Or they’re nice one day. It’s like you have to eat every day and take a shower. It doesn’t last forever. What makes you think this will? I was nice to you ten years ago, shouldn’t that still last? No. All right. So you have been sharing some great information and I’m excited for the second half. We’re going to thank our sponsor and come back for the Imperfect Action Round. 

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Mario Fachini [21:34]

And we are back with the Imperfect Action Round. Tristan, are you ready to take imperfect action? First question, what is the fastest path to the cash? 

Tristan White [21:45]

To the cash? Gosh. The fastest path to the cash? The fastest path to the cash is to realize that building a culture can absolutely create that long term sustainable business. But people have to have consistency to be able to get themselves to that long term path. So consistency is my answer to long term success. 

Mario Fachini [22:08]

I love the answer. Most people know they need to do it. But that’s like a gym membership also, right?

Tristan White [22:16]

Absolutely. 

Mario Fachini [22:18]

Let’s expand on that. How can we incentivize people? Because joking aside, everyone knows they need to be more consistent. They know how to do stuff. But how can we incentivize them to go, “You know what? It’s really worth it even if it’s uncomfortable upfront.” How can we make it easier and more incentivized for them? 

Tristan White [22:39]

I think the answer to that, Mario, is the more – just like going to the gym. It’s a good example. The more you go to the gym, the stronger your body becomes and you feel like you can – you are a stronger person, you can get more done. We have to do the same with our self-awareness. And we have to the same with our ability to connect with other people. The more we practice, the better we get at it. And the better we get at it, the better our life becomes. And then again, I know that seems like a big idea. But the act small thing is, notice when you might be thinking, “You know what? I’ll just avoid that contact with someone else or avoid that. I’ll just look at my cell phone rather than actually connecting with someone.” Notice that, go easy on yourself, don’t beat yourself up. But actively choose to connect with another person in a consistent, authentic way. And if you can notice yourself doing what is the easy thing and then actively choose what you know is right, that’s when I think we can we can start to take an action,  Mario. 

Mario Fachini [23:41]

That is a real good answer. Thank you for that. The second question is, what is the biggest problem you see your prospects making and the fastest way they can fix it? 

Tristan White [23:52]

The biggest problem that I see people doing in terms of building a strong culture is having great aspirations to build a strong culture but never getting to it. And the only reason that they ever get to spending time in a culture is reactively when stuff goes wrong or when morale is down, people think, “You know what? Let’s have one of these culture days where we down tools and we all go ten-pin bowling or we go to the movies or we do something like that.” And it’s amazingly reactive. And it doesn’t have any of the long term benefits of putting a strong culture in place. So reactively firefighting to culture as opposed to taking the time to plan it, investing over a long period of time is clearly the biggest challenge that I see. 

Mario Fachini [24:38]

I love that. Number three, what is the best way to maximize customer lifetime value? 

Tristan White [24:47]

The best way to maximize customer lifetime value is one of the very first part of the Culture Is Everything system and that is core purpose. What are we here for as a team? If as a team, we can decide exactly what we’re here to serve and we can commit to that over a long period of time, we can identify the needs and wants of that team –  sorry – of our clients. And we can continue to serve and get better and better at serving that client over a period of time. We are so valuable to them that they’ll just keep coming back and keep coming back to be a long term part of your business. 

Mario Fachini [25:22]

Very good. What is a book you would suggest everyone read? 

Tristan White [25:29]

I’m clearly biased to people. I focus to leaders, Mario. So there’s a little book, it’s an oldie but a goodie that I think is so important. It usually called The One Minute Manager. It’s been updated. It’s now called The New One Minute Manager. Amazing creativity in the in the title. But it’s a powerful little book. It take less than an hour to read. And really powerful way to self-reflect and become a better communicator when working with other people. 

Mario Fachini [25:57]

Excellent. Well, I have absolutely enjoyed what you’ve shared. Where can everyone find you again? I know you mentioned TristanWhite.com. 

Tristan White [26:06]

Yeah. TristanWhite.com.  Don’t forget dot AU, Mario. I am down here in the in Australia. 

Mario Fachini [26:12]

I will make sure that’s on the show notes. 

Tristan White [26:15]

That’s fine. TristanWhite.com.au is the place to find me on the web. And the Think Big, Act Small podcast on, I think, I did say iTunes before, Mario. I should correct myself. It’s clearly Apple Podcasts. I think we get in trouble by saying the wrong thing. But yeah, that’s where to find me. 

Mario Fachini [26:34]

And as far as the book, where’s the best place, your website or Amazon? Dot Au. 

Tristan White [26:40]

Amazon is the best place. Yeah. You can download a free chapter from the TristanWhite.com.au site. But Amazon is the best place to get the book. And there is one little tool, one little download that might be of interest to people. It’s called the Culture Is Everything Checklist. It’s a list of the all the items in the Culture Is Everything system. There are 19 steps. And you can download the 19 step checklist as a starting point just on your own team, your own culture, and check where you’re at. Maybe you’ve already nailed a lot of it. Or maybe there’s a few opportunities to improve. TristanWhite.com.au/ checklist is where you can find that one. 

Mario Fachini [27:21]

That sounds like a great resource. I’ll make sure all the links are proper in the show notes on your page. Thank you so much for sharing with us. I’ve had the absolute pleasure. 

Tristan White [27:30]

You’re welcome Mario. Thanks for having me on. 

Mario Fachini [27:32]

All right. Expert Authority World, we got another great episode. I’ll see you on tomorrow’s. Have a great day. And God bless. 

SPONSOR Business Book Checklist [27:39]

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www.EAInterviews.com [27:54]

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