How would you rate yourself in these four emotional intelligence areas: social awareness, social skills, self-awareness, and self-management? Jim Conn said he lacked two of the four skills. The consequences have been significant for him, as you will hear. An honest assessment provides an opening for Jim to have some new insights into himself during our conversation about business acumen and situations that test his emotional intelligence.

 “Self-inquiry helps us recover from habits while reflection helps us recover from thoughtlessness,” writes Deepak Chopra, M.D. (Total Meditation, 2020). Jim reflects on what was underneath his self-proclaimed cockiness and identified what caused him to mess up and burn a bridge in a significant relationship. I felt it was one of those tender moments in the conversation when I would have given Jim a hug.

You will learn the meaning of a helpful acronym to investigating your feelings, R.U.L.E.R. We start this conversation where we left off; Jim Conn was forging a comeback over ten years joining Mark Johnson at Rice Lake Weighing Systems, Inc. in Rice Lake, WI.

• As Vice President of Sales and Distribution, Jim helped build the business from an $8M business to $40M in annual sales with 300 employees and eight salespeople.
• Jim was the company pilot. In 1985, Jim raised over $500,000 to fly both polls in 11 days with a fellow pilot out of Nigeria. The PolarFlite from the North Pole to the South Pole earned them 16-certified world records.
• While Jim generated the money, Anita raised their three children: Laurie, Brian, and Jackie. The strain of imbalance takes its toll on the family.
• Tension grew after the PolarFlite trip with Mark to the breaking point. What broke Jim’s spirit?

After Jim resigns, he works with a Venture Capital firm and with partners buys into BW Integrated Systems, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of end-of-line packaging equipment and robotic automation solutions and the execution of integrated packaging systems. The attributes Jim says for its success boiled down to people, products, and performance.

Jim’s longtime friend and mentor, Dick Harper, a clinical psychologist, comes into his life again. They work together to implement an open-book management system that attributed to a more empowered workforce. Jim explains how they educated employees on how money was generated in the company and how they used a rating system to reinforce their cultural values. While Jim was there, the revenues went from $7M to $13M with 60 employees. Things did not end well at the end of those five years. Jim forges ahead with his optimism and resiliency. DOWNLOAD