Have you been so occupied with reaching the finish line that you’ve forgotten about your legacy? Many staffing leaders get so caught up in the daily grind of growing profits that they forget to enjoy the journey. There’s a great value to building a legacy around your work instead of focusing solely on your future yacht and retirement. A living example of this is Joe Mulling, CEO of The Mullings Group, who recently described how he’s building a business model and brand that goes beyond his own personal success, stating:
“I could not imagine having more fun in my life than what I’ve been doing for the last 30 years.”
Does this statement make you envious of Joe? Well, you too can create a career and business that brings you long-lasting happiness and satisfaction – as well as benefits thousands of others. Besides enjoying your work, Joe draws on some fundamental concepts that you can apply to your own business. If you’re feeling stunted and uninspired to build your legacy, take note of the strategies below:
Think bigger and expand your reach.
In our conversation with Joe, he filled us in on three new multimedia endeavors of this firm:
- TMG Pulse (a news aggregator in the medical device industry);
- TrueFuture (a docu-series);
- and a CEO future leaders platform.
As Joe explains, “We are now taking building careers and companies to a new level using multimedia and the ability to reach out by providing tremendous content. The portal, the gateway, it’s all the information in the industry that we’re specialists in.” You’re likely wondering what this means for you and how to apply this concept in your own business or company. Well, you may be surprised to learn this model would work in many types of industries – the key is to identify ways to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing communications landscape. Like Joe puts it, “If you’re in the search business today and plan on being around for a long time and you’re not adding more value than the search itself, you’re going to have a real challenge.”
Take advantage of opportunities to connect.
Being open-minded to all opportunities that come your way is instrumental in creating a legacy that not only impacts you but the entire trajectory of your company. To illustrate this idea, Joe shed light on an opportunity he was given by the top robotic company in the world to have his company featured. This same company offered to connect Joe to all the companies in the med-tech industry that are starting to buy its robots. This became an invaluable opportunity for Joe not only to have his company featured but more impressively, to connect directly with potential clients and customers and secure future business. The takeaway here? While not every opportunity at face value will appear to generate new business, it can often lead to bigger and better projects and initiatives for your company down the line.
Finish Line or a Line on Your Tombstone
Make the commitment. Have you made a firm commitment to growing your business and creating a legacy beyond yourself? When asked if there’s a finish line to the end of working, Joe responded, “Yeah, I don’t even think about it, because the second you put a flag in the ground as a finish line, is the second that you stopped being creative and you fixate and start making decisions on a near term goal.” While you don’t have to plan on working nonstop your entire life, earning a legacy requires a strong focus on putting money back into your business and maintaining a sense of structure in your work-life. Joe says the easiest way to think about this is to treat yourself like a trained athlete with the food you take in, your sleep schedule, and overall regime. This level of commitment is what sets apart legacy-building professionals from the ones who are only striving to hit the finish line and clock out when they’ve had enough. Rather than focusing on work-life balance, Joe’s advice is to make a schedule that works best for you and your priorities. Having a personal and professional routine, you can stick to is often the key to consistently building a business that avoids stagnation.
As you can see, it is possible to build a sustainable company that isn’t purely based on profit growth but innovation and long-term prosperity. When it comes to the so-called “finish line,” here’s what Joe says about his own legacy goals:
“Rather than a finish line, how about maybe a line on the tombstone? There was talent acquisition before The Mullings Group, and then there was talent acquisition after The Mullings Group. And maybe that would be the closest thing to my finish line.”
Building a Strong Legacy?
At TrackerRMS we know the value of legacy, quality and making the right connections. That’s why our applicant tracking software is so successful. By tightly integrating your recruitment, sales, onboarding and analytics into a seamless experience, you can bring a new level of expertise to your profession. Contact us today to learn more.
