A Conversation with: Julie Markee
This episode features a conversation with Julie Markee, Certified EOS Implementer and the Founder of Key Process Innovations, where she helps business owners and entrepreneurs transform their businesses using the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Julie helps business owners and entrepreneurs transform their businesses using the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Julie is a lifelong entrepreneur who started her first business at the age of 12. She holds a US Patent for her invention of the kpi-dry™ dryness measurement system. She is the author of Coop’d Up Thoughts, a monthly newsletter sharing her trials of becoming an aspiring chicken mama and how these learnings can be applied to running a better business.
Julie’s Contact Information: julie@keyprocessinnovations.com| 360-975-8110 | www.keyprocessinnovations.com
“Because when we allow our employees to live, to do the work that they love - imagine the impact it has on their families. And it just cascades through because it’s positive for everyone. So, I go back to the EOS life; it’s doing what you love with people that you love, making a huge difference, being appropriately compensated, and then having time for other passions. And so, hiring for good is really about allowing all of you, the owners, the executive team, and all the employees to do what they absolutely love, and it is a win-win all the way around. And it creates a better society for everybody.”
Transcript:
Suzanne Hanifin: Well, hi there! This is Suzanne Hanifin with Acumen Executive Search, and I am with my good friend Julie Markee. Julie is an EOS Implementer today, but like most leaders, has taken a winding path to get to where she is. She started out as a chemical engineer, worked in the industry for some 20 years before deciding to go into executive coaching. And then right after the pandemic, Julie started her own business of EOS. And so really, before we jump in—because I’m not sure if everyone knows what EOS is—tell us a little bit about EOS.
Julie Markee: Thank you, Suzanne! It's great to be here. I absolutely love listening to your podcast, so thanks for letting me be a part of it as well. EOS is a set of practical, real-world tools that help business owners, leadership teams get context, so they can get more of the right things done day in and day out to make progress toward that company they know they’re capable of becoming.
Suzanne Hanifin: So, going from business coaching to really an EOS implementer—what’s the nuances? What’s the difference between the two?
Julie Markee: I’m gonna back up just a little bit. I have a degree in chemical engineering, and some people say I’m a "recovering engineer." I’m not sure because I still definitely think like an engineer! But as a chemical engineer, you have two tracks: one of them is to become a process engineer. So, I started my career as a process engineer in manufacturing, looking at all the issues—from making potato chips, to metal casting, to turning cranberries into cranberry sauce. Whatever it was. I’d look at the process and figure what’s the fastest way to get there and what are the obstacles keeping us from achieving what we want in the process. That’s how I’m hard wired. And what I found out early in my career was, I used to say, "Let’s just fix this process part, the equipment part, because that’s a lot easier than the people side." So let’s just leave the people over here and we’ll just deal with the easy part. So what I realized was you can’t get the process part without helping the people part. So I just realized in my heart I realized I needed to move towards more of the coaching/helping people who are hindering whatever process it is that they’re trying, they’re in the midst of, to help them move this process through. I don’t know if that makes sense.
Suzanne Hanifin: That makes perfect sense, and you’re speaking my language. I always break it down to people, process, system. And I look at people first! Because without them, you can’t change the process or the systems.
Julie Markee: Yeah I was a little slow to that party but I did finally show up. The people, that’s the challenge. And so when I started my consulting company over 12 years ago, I started out consulting on process improvement, helping to improve productivity and profitability. That’s what my business was. But what I just kept finding out over and over again was that I didn’t have the right people to support those processes. And so it was kind of a natural progression for me to kind of start to move from the technical side over to the people side. And I tell my clients I love process; it makes me happy. I’m always trying to find the fastest way to do just about anything. But at my core, I value people and I’m inherently driven to helping them reach their full potential. So the consulting piece, I mean the coaching piece was just a natural progression for me. But what I found out when I learned about EOS was, oh wait a minute, this is the thing that they need. Because in EOS, we’re helping them get vision, traction, and healthy. So vision, so everyone’s crystal clear on where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. Traction is kind of executing on that vision day in and day out. And healthy is transforming the leadership team into a cohesive group of people that actually like working together. And you need all three of those in order to really become the company that you want to become.
Suzanne Hanifin: Again Julie, that’s amazing. You are speaking my love language right there. So let’s talk about your journey, because nobody’s career is in a bubble. We all are affected by great managers, great mentors…what formative leadership experiences have you had that really shaped who you are today?
Julie Markee: When I worked at my last manufacturing job before I went into sales, I had actually a gentleman, that…he was an ironworker, he was one of the union workers, saw something in me. He was an exceptional individual and he really helped me navigate some of those challenges when I first became a manager. Not anybody you would expect…you never know where your mentors are going to come from. You have no idea. But he helped me so much…working with challenging people. He used to tease me “If you don’t make a decision right now, I’m going cut one of those legs off that stool and I’m going to make you make a decision. So, you need to do something,” And so he was pushing me. Even to this day, I still hear him in the back of my head sometimes when I’m stuck and I don’t know what to do. I can hear him say, “I’m going to cut the stool off…cut the leg off. Do something.” So I had him and I had him, when I got into sales, I had just still a mentor of mine…he said to me…I was trying to figure out some technical stuff, some technical sales and he says, “Julie, I don’t know anything about that technical stuff. I don’t know nothing about that. But what I do know is people.” And I remember thinking I want that. I want that. I want to understand people that way and it just clicks something in my head. And since that day, I’ve worked to understand people, to understand the nuances, how they think, how to work with them, how to get the most out of them and it’s just, I mean to this day, I still, I am so appreciative of those two men who cared for me. I didn’t go out searching for them. They just picked me and helped me become who I am today.
Suzanne Hanifin: Isn’t that wonderful? And I love what you said. You don’t know where your mentors are coming from and will come from. And it’s being open to those opportunities when they show up and for you then to show up. That’s wonderful. I’m going to remember that. So, make a decision or that stool leg’s getting cut off.
Julie Markee: Cut the leg off and you’re gonna go! So do something before you fall.
Suzanne Hanfin: Well while we're talking about values you know I do think most, all not most, all leaders bring this core sense of values to their uh you know their job that's how they show up. What type of values do you feel are super important for you that you show up with?
Julie Markee: So when I'm working very often side by side with the business owner, with the CEO, with the president, and a lot of them, they're lonely, right? We're at the top Suzanne. You know that. You own your own
company and we're at the top and there's not a lot of people to walk alongside us and so so I feel like that's part of my job is to walk alongside these business owners and tell them when they ask what I'm seeing and they don't get that honesty and so one thing is I am completely..my clients will say Julie, your direct communication is just something that we just so value. We always know where you stand. So first off I'm not going to give them any fluff and but I'm also going to praise them on where they're doing really really well. So I'm not always just on here, it's just times we need to stop and celebrate their wins because sometimes they forget. They're like, oh we, on the next thing. I'm like nope let's stop I want to work, walk with you. I want to celebrate what you've done. I want to celebrate with your leadership team and then I am also highly empathetic, probably, maybe maybe too much. So but I love my clients. I love on them. I cry with them. I laugh with them. I just I want them to know that I'm on a journey with them to become their best and I'm not here for anything…yes I get paid to do what I do but I'm really here because I genuinely care about them. And so those are the things that I show up…um that's how I show up with them. And I hope that's what they're feeling because if they're not, I'm falling short somewhere.
Suzanne Hanfin: No, I I love this and you work with so many different-sized organizations and different structures but can you share with us kind of that ideal client of yours? Who do you really excel with and why is this your ideal?
Julie Markee: Well…so EOS has a “target market” for EOS run for companies that are going to be successful; that's what EOS was designed for. So 10 to 250 employees, entrepreneurial, growth-oriented, open-minded, willing to be vulnerable with the people around them, respectful and more afraid of the status quo than change. So that is your ideal target market for EOS. But for me even before I started doing EOS and I was doing consulting work and ultimately coaching work, I would sit down and I would say to the owner, the CEO, I'm like okay, three things have to happen. So number one is that they have to value their employees. Because if they don't value their employees, it's never going to work because I can't work with owners, businesses, Executives who don't care. If they don't care about their employees, that's a deal breaker for me. The second is they have to be willing to change. They can't just complain about things. They have to be willing to do something different. And the third thing I always used to say; again to the business owner is you need to recognize that you're probably part of the problem. Not all of the problem but part of it and sometime when I can hear that humility, that's why I'm like, oh, we're good, we got this, we can work together, and I can help you get through this. So those are kind of those things that I like to talk to the business owners about one-on-one of hey, here's how I know that you and I are going to do well together. So those are my three.
Suzanne Hanfin: You know it's funny. At Acumen, we also have three, being a small boutique. And number one is do they value their employees. And I tell you, you can tell within 30 seconds of speaking with a CEO, president, founder, if it's lip service or if they really mean it. Yeah, and it's wonderful to work with those organizations and I agree with you, I think humility is such an underrated value that we, you know, that we have in our culture. You know…so I agree it's amazing. So, having these core values change, you know, humility, care, caring, and entrepreneurship. A lot of those kind of conflict with each other because sometimes if you're entrepreneurial, you're so driven to the end goal that you cannot have that same heart that you would, you know, that a different perspective brings. How do you balance that?
Julie Markee: With my clients?
Suzanne Hanfin: Yeah with your clients.
Julie Markee: No, it's interesting you say that Suzanne because when we started this, I was thinking my personal experience is that almost every single one of my clients cares about their employees. If I'm talking to a founder, they love their employees and they have this idea of this culture that they want to create, that they've created with their business. And so, when they're transitioning out or letting go of the reins, they really want to keep their hand on that finger of the culture and make sure that nothing changes there.
I would say that the bigger challenge for a lot of my clients, those founder visionary types, is that they're not good at holding people accountable. They love them so much that they just want to love on them, and they're lacking that accountability that they really need. So they usually need a number two to come in and help instill that discipline and accountability. They just don't want to have those hard conversations, and they don't want to let people down and it’s really hard for them. For me, what I’ve seen is the challenge of getting someone there that actually can drive the accountability and help them get what they want from their company. Because they're missing that accountability and the progress towards the company they want to achieve.
Suzanne Hanfin: Absolutely. Well, we know that this podcast is called Hiring for Good. So, Julie, to you, what does hiring for good mean to you?
Julie Markee: Well, it makes me feel good because I do believe that there’s two sides to this. I think first off, we want to get the right people in the right seats—it's an EOS term—people that demonstrate your core values, that fit your culture like a glove, but they're also doing work that they absolutely love doing. And they come to work excited. I used to tell people, "people who want the job are getting a speeding ticket on the way to work Monday morning they’re so excited to go to work." That's what we want. And imagine, hiring for good, to me, is giving that for both sides, for the company and for the employee—because when we allow our employees to do the work that they love, imagine the impact it has on their families, and it just cascades through because it's positive for everyone. I go back to the EOS life: it’s doing what you love with people that you love, making a huge difference, appropriately compensated, and then time for other passions. And so hiring for good is really about allowing all your, the owners, the executive team, and all the employees to do what they absolutely love. It's a win-win all the way around, and it creates a better society for everybody.
Suzanne Hanfin: Amen to that! Absolutely. I tell you. I said I was going to stop there and not ask you any more questions, but I've got more questions for you, Julie. So, how do you work with, you think you've got this alignment between your values and the founder or CEO. And what happens when there isn't that alignment? How do you handle that? Because again, it whether it’s an employee, employer, consultant…it’s the same type of relationship and what advice would you give someone?
Julie Markee: It's funny, just today, somebody asked me, "How do you fire a client?" I have to do a lot of soul searching inside and understand kind of what that disconnect is and understand if I’m bringing some of that. We always say when I’m working with my clients, we’re on a journey, and I have to meet them wherever they’re at. Sometimes, a lot of my clients they’re in this fear, they’re just living in fear, and I say, "I’m going to put you on a journey from fear to freedom," but it takes a lot of courage to move away, maybe make those hard decisions about who they should get rid of that doesn’t really want that seat. They’re not great at it. They’re not living their core values and I can’t force them to do that. And so for me, I’m not rushing around like “you’re not going to let this person go, I’m out of here”. That’s not what I’m here to do. First off, I’m not here to tell you how to run your business. You know how to do that better than I do. So, I’m really working with understanding what’s behind that. What’s holding you back from making these decisions that you know that you need to make. I told one client. He’s like “I got to lay somebody off.” I said "It’s going to hurt for 36 hours." He goes, "Only 36?" I said I promise. He sends me a text and he goes "Okay, I let this person go," and I’m like "Alright I’ll talk to you in 36 hours." Thirty-six hours later, "I wish I hadn’t waited so long."
I’m not saying we should get rid of employees just to get rid of them, but I feel like sometimes the values fit is that we’re projecting on them where we think they should be versus where they actually are. I just want to help them move through this process. But if I get to a point where they’re just not valuing their employees, and that’s probably the biggest one is a pretty intense conversation about what my expectations are. And if we can’t come to an agreement, that’s ok. They can find another EOS implementer. It just doesn’t have to be me. But I will walk alongside them and help them through the parts they're most afraid of, if they want me to.
Suzanne Hanfin: I truly understand why you are such a valuable asset to those leaders. Well, Julie, thank you so much for being part of this. I appreciate you and I appreciate what you do. I need to share that I’ve worked with Julie side by side, and I’ve seen what you can achieve, and it’s pretty amazing. So, reach out to Julie; all her contact information is on this podcast. Thank you. Thank you very much!
Julie Markee: Thank you, Suzanne. I appreciate it, and I appreciate all the work you’re doing supporting those executives.