Welcome to Business Innovators Magazine…Please introduce yourself and a brief thumbnail sketch of your background.
SC: Hello, my name is Scott Couchenour, the past 25+ years I’ve served as Chief Operations Officer of a multi-million dollar national general contracting company. Most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of that same company.
After closing that business, I turned my attention to the mission of coaching and consulting with leaders on the topic of burnout.
Married for over 30 years, my wife and I raised two children who are both getting married in 2016.
BI: What would you say is the area in business that you are most passionate about and why?
SC: Because of technology, information is plentiful and accessible like never before. At the same time, leaders continue to wrestle with the various issues in their personal and professional life. My passion is to bridge the gap between all that information and the leader’s walk. My work is best described by saying I deal with the “now what?” of leadership.
You just finished a good book on leadership, now what?
You just got back from a tremendous conference, now what?
You’re back from vacation, now what?
BI: How are you different than your competitors?
SC: Primarily, my experience combined with my training sets me apart. After two decades of working in all aspects of the behind the scenes business operations, my primary role as Chief Executive Officer, and youngest son was to navigate the close of our 44-year-old family business.
Regulating the anxiety of the team, charting a course for the least amount of disruption for our clients, and ending a legacy with respect and dignity taught me a tremendous depth of understanding of leadership – something you will never get from a book or leadership course.
BI: Please tell me about any recent business accomplishments that you are most proud of and why?
SC: I am currently helping a CEO get a handle on their processes and inside of fewer than two months, we’ve already identified significant areas of cost savings and reduction of stress among his employees.
BI: What Leadership qualities in Leaders do you most admire and why?
SC: There is one quality that stands head and shoulders above another: Teachability.
I’ve seen it present in some of the best leaders. I’ve seen it absent in people who merely call themselves leaders. I’m not talking about a false humility. Great leaders can be teachable and confident at the same time. It’s the teachable leader who remains humble enough to see blind spots others point out.
Other than that one quality, I admire a leader who has a long-range perspective. One who is concerned with leaving a legacy rather than a quick personal success. Leaders with this viewpoint weigh carefully the use of time given to them. They make the most of every waking hour.
BI: What has been a key element of your success? *
Failure.
Failure melts all the nonessential to distil what is truly important. As Greg McKeown writes in his book, Essentialism, “We can never underestimate the unimportance of practically everything.” Failure has helped me shape a healthy skepticism without diminishing my belief in the future.
This is valuable in working with clients. I can help provide a perspective that keeps them from flaming out in despair or rising to the clouds of over-optimism.
BI: What are some of the business projects that you are currently working on that you are excited about and why?
SC: I’m about to launch a new version of my membership levels that will provide an even greater value to my members while keeping it affordable and just the right amount of assistance without going overboard.
High-capacity entrepreneurs have a message to get out. Unfortunately, after the “big event” or seminar or speech, they have little time to keep those clients on a path of growth. I am building an online learning platform to help these entrepreneurs and leaders maintain their tribes efficiently and effectively. This involves converting their unique content into the curriculum.
I’m currently working on a process remodel with a company which will result in a very efficiently running machine.
BI: What are 1 or 2 things you would like to say to a prospective client who stumbles across this interview?
SC: You are more than what you do. In all the accomplishments of leading your organization, don’t neglect the most important aspects of life: marriage, kids, fitness, spiritual depth, and rest. Speaking of rest, I encourage you to consider this life mantra: “We don’t rest from our work, we work from our rest.” When you adopt this view, rest becomes an investment you make time for rather than an afterthought that merely gets your leftovers.
Think of your life from the perspective of legacy. After all, when you’re gone, it’s over. You no longer have any direct influence on the world. All you’ll have is what you leave behind.
BI: To wrap this up, what are you most excited about in the upcoming months in your business?
SC: I’m especially excited about interacting with more and more dynamic leaders and entrepreneurs. They make the world go around and with what I’m doing through Serving Strong Enterprises, I believe I can help them fill a gap that will broaden their influence for years to come.
