Discovering Your Compass Within with Robert Glazer

Summary

Mick Unplugged — “Discovering Your Compass Within with Robert Glazer”

Date: October 16, 2025
Host: Mick Hunt
Guest: Robert Glazer

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Episode Overview

In this transformative episode of "Mick Unplugged," host Mick Hunt sits down with leadership author and culture expert Robert Glazer to explore the deep significance of "core values"—both for individuals and organizations. The discussion delves into what it means to move beyond generic concepts of purpose, uncover one’s intrinsic “Because," and operationalize values in daily leadership. Glazer shares wisdom from his upcoming parable-driven book, The Compass Within, and breaks down actionable frameworks for discovering, living, and leading with authentic values. Listeners gain practical advice on building personal and organizational cultures that truly align with values, prevent burnout, and foster fulfillment.

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Key Topics & Insights

Defining and Living Core Values

[03:11] Robert Glazer:

• “Core values are the non-negotiable principles that guide your behaviors and decisions. For an individual, they’re intrinsic, not aspirational… for companies, it’s about behaviors that you reward. Sometimes those match what's on the wall. Most times they don't.”
• True core values are operationalized: they're lived out, talked about, rewarded, and incorporated into everything from hiring to recognition, not just printed as buzzwords.
• Example: Enron’s listed values (“integrity,” "respect") contrasted with their true operational culture—glorifying aggressive, unchecked ambition.

[05:53] Robert Glazer:

• To transform vague words (like “integrity, trust, teamwork”) into actionable values, identify the specific behaviors you actually reward and admire.
• Values should be "action-oriented," recognizable in daily work, and constantly reinforced from the top down.

Memorable Moment:
Robert’s story about a hospital system revamping their values—with new interview questions, core value shoutouts, and performance reviews based on actual behaviors—not paper values.

• “This is, to me, someone who’s actually taking it seriously. Look, we're gonna live by these, and these are gonna be the things that people are judged by.” [07:54]

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The "Because Statement" vs. Mission & Vision

[11:07] Mick Hunt:

• “I’m not a believer in mission and vision statements. I’m a believer in because statements.”
• Traditional mission/vision statements tend to become bland, forgotten marketing fluff. The "Because" is the honest, motivating core driver.

[14:41] Robert Glazer:

• Most companies can’t even recall their own mission or vision, confusing the two or treating them as static.
• “If you can’t recall it and if someone’s not using that day-to-day, it doesn’t have a lot of teeth.”
• He echoes that the true organizational driver should be the direct, intrinsic "because" that answers why people show up each day.

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Core Values & Burnout: The Modern Leadership Challenge

[16:11] Robert Glazer:

• Burnout stems from misalignment—not working in accordance with your values, not necessarily from the amount of work.
• High achievers often chase destinations for fulfillment, only to set ever-higher, hollow goals if the journey itself holds no meaning.
• “I think burnout comes from when you’re doing stuff that really doesn’t align with your value… Focus on the climb, not the destination.”

Memorable Quote [17:34]:

• “As much as I love this book, it is like the hardest most exhausting thing I’ve ever done… but I’m willing to push through because I believe in the topic.”

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Unpacking Elevate and The Compass Within

Background

• Elevate: Focuses on building personal capacity across four dimensions (spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional).
• Elevate Your Team: Applies the same framework to organizational leadership.

[19:53] Robert Glazer on Writing Elevate:

• The original book idea was rejected; an agent urged him to “find the story behind the stories” in his Friday Forward newsletter.
• The resulting insight: All meaningful growth is rooted in building long-term, holistic capacity—not superficial achievements.

[22:30] Transition to The Compass Within:

• Glazer noticed demand for concrete methodology to discover personal core values.
• Developed a practical framework, tested it with teams, then transformed it into a course and ultimately a parable-driven book.
• “I tell the story of literally being in Barnes and Nobles and my book called On Values… and everyone walking right by it. I was like, it’s going to be boring to read as a non-fiction book.” [23:26]
• Inspired by his daughter to write a book in a parable format for broader appeal.

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Making Values Tangible: Parables from The Compass Within

[27:59] Robert Glazer:

• The protagonist (Jamie) navigates career changes, community choices, and personal relationships—all testing his alignment with core values.
• Mentor guides through discovery process; readers see themselves reflected in Jamie’s struggles and decisions.
• “When your core values are crossed, it’s kind of like the electric fence… The goal is not to get electrocuted, it’s to know your fence, to stay in this lane.” [29:15]
• Importance of articulating, not just feeling, your values: makes wise decision-making possible in work and life.

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Why Leaders Should Care

[30:52] Robert Glazer:

• “You are going to lead from your core values, whether you realize it or not… They’re either driving the car or you are.”
• Employees seek alignment: Half consider leaving if company values don’t match theirs.
• Data shows value-aligned organizations have higher engagement, trust, and happiness among staff.
• True leadership means living your values—transparency, accountability, building cultures that hold up under scrutiny.

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Daily Practices & Tactical Takeaways

How Many Core Values is Too Many?

• Glazer recommends 3-4 values—enough to remember, reinforce, and actually live.
• “If you need a card, you’re already losing. The best companies—you hear those values all the time.” [08:50]
• Acronyms and long lists dilute meaning and are harder to embed in culture.

Practical Framework for Focus

• *“What are the three things I can do today by noon that are the most important things?”
• Align daily actions with quarterly and yearly goals: “It’s like dominoes—knocking over 270 things a quarter toward your goals.”* [33:00]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Values as More than Words:
  “The behaviors you reward are ultimately the core values and the culture.” –Glazer [03:41]
• On Personal Authenticity:
  “I am not for everyone. Other people aren’t. But we get to all decide which types of folks we connect with and share value with.” –Glazer [36:50]
• On Hustle Culture:
  “Hustle without strategy is just burnout.” –Hunt [15:42]
• On Book Impact:
  “You’re not just writing from thought… you genuinely changed me as a leader, me as a community leader, because I can put the principles you talk in action.” –Hunt [18:22]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Core Values: What They Really Mean – [03:11]
• Transforming Generic Values into Action – [05:53]
• Why Acronyms and Too Many Values Fail – [08:50]
• Mission/Vision vs. Because – [11:07]/[14:41]
• Burnout and Value Alignment – [16:11]
• The Story Behind Elevate & The Compass Within – [19:53]/[22:30]
• Parable Examples from The Compass Within – [27:59]
• Leaders: Living and Leading with Values – [30:52]
• Daily Focus Practice – [33:00]
• Rapid Fire – Personal Reflections – [34:42]

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Notable Rapid Fire Responses

• Book that Changed His Life:
  “Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)” on cognitive dissonance. [34:47]
• Morning Routine:
  Sits outside, journals, notes top three priorities—before touching devices or emails. [35:20]
• Dream Podcast Guest:
  Tim Ferriss. [36:17]
• One Word Team Uses to Describe Him:
  “Frenetic. But hopefully authentic.” [36:50]

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Where To Find More from Robert Glazer

• Buy The Compass Within & Get the Course: compass-within.com (submit your order for free access to the companion course) [37:56]
• Friday Forward newsletter, podcast & more: robertglazer.com

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Final Words

Mick closes the episode with a reminder:
“Remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.” [38:42]

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Summary Takeaways

• Core values should be lived, not just listed.
• Anchoring yourself (or your organization) to authentic, actionable values is the antidote to burnout and confusion.
• Discover your individual “Because”—the deep core purpose guiding your daily actions—for greater fulfillment and effectiveness.
• Leaders who operationalize value-based frameworks build stronger, happier, and more productive cultures.
• Robert Glazer’s frameworks (as shared in his books and the new parable, The Compass Within) provide a step-by-step process for living and leading with clarity, conviction, and impact.

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Transcript

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[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Integrity, Honesty. Teamwork. Trustworthiness.

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Did I just figure out your business's core values?

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

In this episode, I'm sitting down with the world renowned Robert Glazier and we're going to go through how you should actually be defining the core values not only for your business, but for you personally. We're going to take a stroll into his upcoming book and we are going to unleash the things that you as a leader can and should be doing so that your team is following the right path for you. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my good friend, Mr. Robert Blazer. Robert, how are you doing today, brother?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Thank you, Mick. I heard all sorts of new things about myself there. I didn't realize, so I, I like that.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

No, it is all true. It is all true, man. You know, you are someone who I've admired from afar. We've gotten to really know each other personally lately, and I can't thank you enough for just who you are because you've actually pushed me to be a better leader for my team and a better leader for my community. So, bro, I just wanted to say thank you face to face, eye to eye.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Honestly, that, that, that means a lot coming from you and given what you do. So, so I, I, I appreciate that. Maybe we can talk about how to bring that magic to everyone who's listening.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Oh, let's do that. And I want to start with just that, like, what is, what's your purpose, your mission behind why you do what you do and the lives that you touch and the companies that you change. And I call it your because that thing that's deeper than your why. What's your purpose? What's your mission, Robert? What's your because, brother?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Yeah, so I look at my time. I spent 99% of my time trying to find better ways and share it. And I really, it ties to value. I've identified a few years ago that what sort of lights me up the most is sharing ideas that help people and organizations grow.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

I love it. I love it so much. And now let's shake the room a little bit. Let's shake the viewers and listeners you're the guy I go to, especially when I talk about all things culture. And we can't talk culture without talking about core values. I'm pausing because companies are getting it wrong.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Right.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Their core values are just words that are on a wall and they usually stay on a wall. Talk to us about what core values truly mean. And one, how can companies really tie into developing real core values, not just words on a wall? Yeah.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

So I think you and I share a similar viewpoint. And when I was going to write a book on core values and the reason why I ended up doing the parable is I just felt like a lot of people would tune when they hear it because we see the same companies and the same wall art. And I didn't believe in any of this stuff years ago. And then I saw some truly extraordinary companies and cultures and you know, their core values didn't sound like respect and integrity and team. And they weren't just on the wall. They were completely operationalized in the business. They were what the leaders talk about. They were what they rewarded. And I realized that, yeah, it really is the ultimate sort of foundation of culture. But, but if I had to guess, I'd say I see it in like 1 or 2% of companies. So it's not, it's not surprising. So I, I, I mean I, I have a personal definition of personal core values and I'll, I'll kind of switch it back. I think core core values are the non negotiable principles that guide your behaviors and decisions. So in an organization they need to guide your employees behaviors and decisions for, for an individual, I think they're intrinsic, not aspirational. They reflect who you are, not who you wish you were. In fact, when you figure them out, you kind of look back and you see I've always been that way. They're consistent across all aspects of life and work relationship, personal decisions. And they're clarifying. They help you make better choices about who to spend time with, what work to do, where to live. You know, we talk about kind of the big three in the book. So that's for individuals, for companies, every company. And I think you and I share this. They have core values. They just may not be the things on the wall. I, we're training a puppy, right? And we have, you know, good girl and bad girl and sort of that's what happens. It's the behaviors that you reward are ultimately the core values and the culture. And so sometimes those match what's on the wall. Most times they don't, but they kind of Exist. Because if you start asking people, all right, what's the type of behavior around here that gets rewarded or doesn't, you'll very quickly get answered. And that's why it was pretty funny when Enron was going out of business. Pretty much, you know, they had integrity and respect and those things when really the core value was probably like act, don't ask and you know, be incredibly aggressive. You know, that's actually what got you a bonus or got you a promotion at Enron.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

So for the viewer listener right now that's like, oh, Robert, that makes a ton of sense. I'm looking at my wall right now and I see integrity and trust and, and teamwork. How do they take integrity, trust and teamwork and turn those into actionable core values?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

So when we, when I've done sort of consulting work with organizations on this, we end up talking to their employees and we ask them a lot of behavioral based questions to try to understand what are the behaviors that you value most in your peers. And then we look at the core values and we say, which one of these rings true to you and which one doesn't? And we're trying to solve the, the say do gap. So there's some stuff that the company's saying that it's not doing. But then it's interesting, employees can always identify a couple things that like they really love or they value in their peers or that's kind of a prize behavior that that's not being said. And so we can align those things and we can kind of update the values and we can move away from one word and we can run them through the rubric of it's gotta be action oriented and decision and, and it's gotta be something you would say to someone. You're doing a good job at this and you're not. But, but at the end of the day, if, if leadership isn't bought into that and doesn't hold that accountable from the top, you know, it's really not going to matter. My, my favorite email I got this year was from a hospital system that we had worked with to refine their, their core values. And someone who came into that from a different group that I had helped him before and it was funny because we have these values and know they always love their acronyms and, and I, I won't, I won't tip off here, but there was a guy, he really wanted heart as one of them. And I'm like, can you tell me one of the things under heart? Can you remember what it is or Tell me how it's, you know, rewarded. So we spent a lot of time looking at, you know, particularly in a teaching hospital, you know, and, and it was those like, elevate yourself with others. Like, that was like a core thing that needed to be in a teaching hospital that they wanted to. Dude. So my favorite email I got was, I said, how's it going? You know, it's been four months since we did this whole thing. And you rolled it out and they said, look, it's going great. Here's what's going on. We just instituted behavioral based quest interview questions that align to our core values. We actually have this newsletter, we're doing core value shout outs. We got the HR team to incorporate these core values into the performance reviews and the conversations. We have the first Core value Awards know, coming up next quarter. And so this is, to me, someone who's actually taking it seriously. Look, we're gonna, we're gonna live by these and these are gonna be the things that people are, are, are judged by.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

I love that man. That, that truly does make it actionable, right? If we're going to have awards, if it's a part of performance review, it's a part of everyday dialogue, then that truly is who you are. I've always wanted to ask you this question and I'm going to ask it for the audience, but I'm asking it for a couple of my friends in particular. How many core values slash pillars are too many? Because like you, I think we like these acronyms, right? Like happiness. Well, to me that's far too many core values or pillars that you need to have, right?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Well, you'll see some corporations, I remember a fancy hotel chain years ago and they were kind of an exemplar for their values. And the guy pulled out the card and, and you know, there was a thing and it was service and he read the thing. I'm like, if you need a card, you're kind of already losing. Like in our company, everyone knew, own it, embrace relationships and excel and improve. If you were there for more than 30 days, because they would, you heard it all the time. Um, and, and look, I have. So we had three in our company. I have five. Personally, I think three to four is that sweet spot. But even my personal values, right, Find a better way and share it. Health and vitality, self reliance, respectful authenticity and long term orientation. I like, I remember them and it's important to remember them because when someone brings something in front of me, that's my, that's my litmus test. So I, I like three to four. I'm sure you've seen in business, like goals and stuff, there's something magical about three. But four. Four's Four's not a bad sweet spot.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, I'm a four guy. Right. Like to me, four makes sense with what I do. But I don't do any more than four. I tell again, I'm not going to mention one of my really good friends names. But he's all about having 10 to 15 so that it can spell a word.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

And I'm like, dude company or personal company. Yeah. Like at that point you've, you've, you, you've lost the. Honestly, anytime you hear an acronym with a core value ask, see if people can get more than one of the thing things in the underlying. They always remember the acronym. I was in this hospital and I won't again, I won't give it away. They had the badge with the acronym on it that they all wore every day with them on the back. And when I asked people to tell me what they were in the meeting, I couldn't get anyone who could recite them all off because it was on the badge. But no one ever mentioned them. Or if it was on your performance review yesterday, if someone had a shout out for you or a nominee, you're going to know what it is. Right? I mean, that's the difference.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Yeah. And another one of the things that. And just so everybody listening and watching understand Robert and I are here to help you today. We're going to, we're going to break some old truth and redefine.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

We'll get into the one words too. Yeah, that'll be right. Right.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Robert, you know this about me. I'm not a believer in mission and vision statements. I'm a believer in because statements.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Yeah.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Because I feel like again, if you and your team and your clients don't understand your mission and vision, then you really just had a marketing company come do something that sounds cool. Like, our vision is to be the number one trusted fill in the blank in our space. Our mission is to fulfill our community with fill in the blank. Everybody sees that, everybody hears that, but no one really understands it. That works well with you. That works for you. My personal feelings though, Robert, I'd love to get your take on the traditional mission and vision statement.

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[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Well, first of all, if you ask companies, most people get them backwards. They think the visions, I mean in theory, the, the one's supposed to be kind of a ten year view and one's supposed to be kind of a three year view. Like one would last forever. I similarly like the, the, the why, which is a version of the because like what we looked around our team like, okay, screw all the, like why do we get up every day? And we were like, because we think we can make things better.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Right.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

We think we can make our clients, businesses better and the community better, our employees better and, and just, you know, a much more direct thing. I, I don't, I don't hate like most things. I don't hate them if they're actually well done. But again, they're usually marketing that people never see again. And if you can't recall it and if someone can't, if you're not using that day to day, then it doesn't have a lot of teeth. So the problem is, as we talk about this is the majority of the examples are the performative ones, not the people actually doing it. Well.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Another thing I, I love about you because we share some similar thoughts here and I want, I want the audience to hear the thoughts from Robert Glazier himself. I believe that we've become addicted to hustle and the hustle culture. And I have this saying, hustle without strategy is just burnout. Yeah. How do you help people balance high performance from burnout?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Yeah, I have very similar views on this to you. I think this is where the notion of personal core values and look, they are distinct but related to company core values. Companies have things that they value. The book I wrote is about understanding your personal value. So you can see which of these situations to attach or to detach. And I think burnout comes from when you're doing stuff that really doesn't align with your value. It's not the amount of time because there's stuff that you and I could do that we would do it for eight hours and for free and we're in a zone and it feels great and it's energizing and that's usually kind of value aligned. I think the other thing that high achievers really struggle with is just making everything about a destination. And then unfortunately the destination doesn't provide the view that one thought would make up for all the journey. And instead of sitting and contemplating on that, what do high achievers then do? They think, oh, I just have to pick a new Destination that's higher and that will make it all worth it. And I kind of think, like, the anecdote to that is to focus on what are you doing. Focus on the climb, like, not the destination and doing the climb. It doesn't mean that it's easy. But think about, know just, just what work and what thing that you could do that would feel really good. That doesn't mean it's fun every day. You and I are both launching books.

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[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

As much as I love this book, it is like the hardest, most exhausting thing I've ever done. So, but, but, but I'm willing to push through because I, you know, I, I, I believe, I, I believe in the topic. So, yeah, I, I think that's where a lot of people, they're getting kind of bullied into a, a climb or a summit. That, that doesn't, isn't something that they really want to be doing.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Agree completely. And you just opened the door for me to talk about you. You're my friend, so this is a little hard. In a good way.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Yeah.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

You are also one of the best authors that I know.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

You got to read more books than you know.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

I read a lot. I read a lot. I read a lot. And here's why. Because every book that you've written from Elevate to elevate your team, and I'll list them all in the show, notes and descriptions with links. Because if you're a leader, you need these books. If you're a manager, you need these books. If you're an entrepreneur, you need these books. If you're a significant other, if you're a parent, if you're a community leader, you need these books. But what I appreciate is that you give clear roadmaps. You're not just writing from thought. You're, you're literally writing as if you are helping the person that's on the other side of that book. And so I wanted to give you kudos for that because you have genuinely, I said it in the opener, you've genuinely changed me as a leader, me as a community leader, because I can put the principles of the things that you talk in action or the things that you write in action. I want to start with Elevate before we go to the new one. So we've got Elevate.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

There's an, there is an interesting line of how that leads to this. So that's, that, that's, that's interesting.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Yeah. So elevate and then elevate your team. Walk me through or walk the Listeners and viewers through why you decided to write the book Elevate, obviously, because there has to be a purpose to do it. You just don't wake up and say, yeah, I'm going to write a book.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Because, you know, I tend to be pretty direct. I wrote the book Elevate because the book I wanted to write got rejected by everyone. Which, which is, which is actually a learning. So, so I had this Friday Forward newsletter, which you mentioned before, and I had, you know, all these people who love these stories, and I was like, I'm going to write a synopsis. I'm going to take the 52 back stories once a week, and I'm going to write, I'm going to pull them out. I'm going to create a book. And so I pitched it to a lot of agents, and everyone's like, look, publishers don't like compilation books. And then one agent said to me, look, I love your writing. I love these stories. Publishers don't like compilation books. However, I think there's, like, something deeper in here. Like, what is the. What is the story behind the stories? I would encourage you to think that. And so I. I spent 18 months kind of writing and going through it and being, okay, I've been writing these stories, They've been resonating. Why am I doing it? What is it? And that whole search, soul searching, came up with, this is about building capacity. And if I look at all of these stories, they fall across one of these four dimensions of building capacity. Spiritual, intellectual, physical, and emotional. And that became the framework for the book. And then rather than going and grabbing the individual stories, I actually did publish that book later on. But I went and took the thematic things and organized it around that principle. So Elevate was how to build your personal capacity. Because I think a lot of growth these days is kind of steroid artificial growth. We grow from growing from within, not because we're dragged into a growth situation. And how do you. How do you start with the. The spiritual piece, which is again, your values and what you're good at? And that led me to the problem of everyone saying, hey, I, this, I. I'm with you on this core values thing, and how do I. How do I do it? And I'm like, well, don't have an easy thing to send you. Intellectual capacity, which is how you learn, plan, execute, get better physical capacity, which is your mental and physical wellness, and emotional, which is how you relate to people and the locus of control and all the things kind of outside of you. So in Elevate, it was about how you apply it to yourself and then in elevate your team. It was the same framework. But how do you apply this as a leader in an organization? How do you build a team that builds capacity?

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Okay. And you said, and now that I understand the purpose behind it, the compass within ties it together for me. Right. So, new book.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

The thing I got asked the most about Elevate was like, I, I, I'm in on your. I need to understand my values. And at that point, I had just figured it out for myself. Yeah. And I was starting to train our team on it and I had built a program and I was like, look, I don't, I can send you some resources, but they're not good. I spent three months going all through them. I, I, I'm teaching it to my team, but I don't, I, I, it's not super easy. I don't have a quick fix because it just wasn't out there for me. And so I went and kind of built it. And so what happened was eventually I turned it into a core, that curriculum, into a course, because I was like, this is really working. We're using it in leadership training. People are figuring out what they value. They're getting comfortable leading from that authentically. I love the outcome this is getting. I'll turn into a course. I shared it with a lot of people. Thousands of people have taken that course. They've sent me notes from all around the world, like, I've quit my job. I did that, like, awesome stuff. And I was like, I need to get this to more people because too many people won't jump into a course. And I was like, I want to write a book. But I had this vision, Mick. Like, I tell a story of literally being in Barnes and Nobles and my book called On Values on the Shelf and everyone walking by it and no one wanting to pick it up, being like, I'm going to pick a book on values. I just was like, it's going to be. I have this framework. I really believe it's different. It's going to be boring to read as a non fiction book. And things happen in life, like getting rejected from the Friday Forward book. And my daughter was joking me one day. I pushed my kids a lot to do things outside of her comfort zone. She's like, you're Mr. Nonfiction. You read nonfiction, you write nonfiction, you should write a fiction book. That would be hard for you. And I was also finishing one of Patrick Lencioni's books, who I Love. And I was like, huh? I was like, I actually think this would work well if I could show it in a parable format. And I have no idea how to do that, but I'm willing to give it a try. And that's basically how the book was born.

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[Mick (Podcast Host)]

And speaking of Patrick Lencioni, he gave you a great endorsement on the Compass with right. Saying that, you know, I'm going to read it so that I don't mess it up because it's Patrick, but it's a timeless parable that illuminates the power of living and leading in alignment with your core values. That's powerful. When Patrick Lencioni says that about your book, like when you, when you saw. Or when he reached out or when you reached out and, and he wanted to, to do an endorsement for you, how did that make you feel, man?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Well, look, both Bob Berg, who wrote the Goal Giver, who I know Patrick, I kind of sent them drafts and I was like, I felt a little like a finger painter sending something to Picasso. I was like, so what do you guys think of this? And they were both like, we really like it. And I asked Pat about the title. He's like, I'm very good at titles. He's like the compass with it. He and some options. So I, and, and it gave me the confidence, I think. And, and I had to convince a publisher that, you know, I could. They don't love parables. But what's so interesting to me, Jamie is the protagonist in this story and you, you, you watch him go through struggling with what I call the big three his community, his vocation, and, you know, his partner. And the people who've read the book, in the early book, they all say to me, like, oh, I saw him. I had like. They just see themselves in James. They remember that conversation with their boss, that thing in their town. He just kind of serves as a mirror. And I think, you know, as I have discussions with people like you about this, it proves that, like, because people start with, and they might have started listening to this episode, they're like, ah, core values. This is so abstract and whatever. And then we get down into like the nitty gritty of what does it look like and actionable in these decisions. And they see it in the book and they're like, oh, I, I buy this. Like, this is, this is different. So I look, we'll find out in a few weeks. But I think it's working. It seems to be resonating. I've gotten some really personal notes from people, you know, where I think it just reflected something in their own life for them.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Yeah, I dig it. Let's give the audience, the viewers and listeners just a couple of parables that, that you have in here as it relates to those values.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Yeah, you mean a couple of the stories, you know, from it. Yeah. So. So, so Jimmy is a young up and coming 20 year old. He's engaged. And his boss, who he loves, leaves his, his leaves his work, which, which gives him some opportunity, but also exposes him to the company and the culture in a way that he hasn't before. And so he's, he has this opportunity, but he also has some things that feel a little bit off at the same time. He and his wife are, his fiance are sort of getting married. They're trying to figure out where to live. They moved to this young up and coming town that they thought would be perfect, but there's some fissures in the culture of the town they identify. And he's, he's really kind of struggling with, with all these things and it won't give away too much, but he, he connects with a mentor basically. And the framework that I had built all these years on how to discover your core values, and that framework is given to you in the last chapter of the book. But you watch the mentor and Jamie go through it live and sort of how that comes out and the stories and, and look, my experience having done this work now with thousands of people is like, we, you know, you and I have talked about this a little bit. I've had some like, emotional conversations with podcast hosts as part of this, where they're, they're deep stuff. It's, it's usually some childhood thing where we are running, you know, away from something that was a little painful for us or we are trying to double down on something that was really important for us. And for a lot of people, it's a little bit like, you know, when your core values are crossed, it's kind of like the electric fence. But, but the goal is to not get electrocuted. To know that you're the electric fence. It's to know that like I, I got to stay away from that fence and I got to kind of stay in this lane. I think most of us, we know our values by feel, but if we could articulate them, if we could say like I am a person that needs to find a better way and share it, then I will be much smarter about not taking a job where it's clear that I'm going to have to do the same thing every day and know that, you know, I'm going to be miserable or you know, that I'm going to, I'm going to, I have a core value that's self reliance and I'm going to marry someone who has a trust fund and their family is going to tell us how we are going to live our. Like that to me is like I'm, I talk about anti core values and we can play with this Mick, that when you say the opposite, like I can see it visceral. Like I get uncomfortable when I say that because it goes so against my sort of values of kind of self reliance. I would never want to be dependent on someone and have them telling me what I could do and what I couldn't do.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

I love that, dude. I love that. For the viewer, listener that is a leader. What are they going to get out of the compass with?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Yeah. So here's the thing. I think a lot of people think this concept is abstract, but let's say whether you're a leader of a team or even a CEO. Let me, let me kind of talk about what's each one. As a leader of a team, you are going to lead from your core values, whether you realize it or not. Having done this work with thousands of people over 10 years, they're either driving the car or these things are driving for them. And it's a huge difference in how they show up as a leader. But, but some interesting stats. So almost half the employees in the US and the UK say they're considering leaving their company because it doesn't exemplify Their personal values. So that's pretty interesting. It's really important to them to connect their values to the thing, to their work. Gallup said that employees who perceive a strong alignment between their values and their organization are 56% more engaged. And another study found that leaders who talk about their core values and live by them, that's a big and. Or it's probably the opposite. Are trusted by three times more. And people who live in. In congruence with their values are about 35% happier, which is equivalent to some drugs. So if you want people on your team who are more connected to your company who feel more confident in their decision, because really. And what the book is about, the big three, it's really about decision. We all have to make a lot of decisions, right? And I don't, I don't know that they're. Most of them are empirically like stealing or not stealing. They're not right or wrong. There are things that we have to decide on whether we're going to live with them or not and how we feel with them a day later, a week later, or a year later. And those people were able to identify their values and make decisions with them. I just, I think the outcomes for them and their organizations are a lot better.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Robert, I could sit here and talk to you all day, know that, right?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

I got a few hours. So if.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

If you had to give just one framework or daily practice to someone trying to lead better every day.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

So to me, it's a lot about focus. I like to kind of commit to. First of all, I think if you can understand your values, it all builds from this. That's the spiritual capacity foundation. I like the simple kind of commit to three every morning. What are the three things I can do today by noon that are the most important things that I can do? And I'm a big alignment guy. So if those three things tie to my quarterly goals and I do that for 90 days, you know, then I've knocked off 270. It's like dominoes. I've knocked over 270 things towards my quarterly goal. That domino falls, then the second domino fall, quarter domino falls, and then I should hit my. My annual goal. So I. A lot of people talk about how they don't have enough time. I think that's just a huge lie. There's so many people that I could look at and say they want. I want to write a book. I was like, you could have had the first draft of your book if the 10 minutes you spent commenting on people's Food on Facebook. Every day was spent towards words. I can do the math for you. Like, so it's those small. The people who seem to get more done apply, like the domino straight. Like they apply the time in the same direction towards those things. Every day, that 10 minutes in one direction starts knocking over the dominoes versus 10 minutes in a million different ways. Then you're like, I don't even know where all the time went at the end of the week or the end of the quarter.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Absolutely. Robert, I know you've been gracious with your time. I know how busy you are. I got to get you out of here with my quick five, my top five, rapid fire.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

All right, Ready? I'm ready.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

All right. What's one book that's changed your life?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Mistakes were Made, but not by me, which is the definitive book. First of all, great title on cognitive dissonance. And I have to say, after really understanding cognitive dissonance, particularly in decision making, I just see it everywhere. And. And the authors do an amazing job of how do we stop ourselves from making mistakes? Because our ego is. Is super powerful. So I love that book and I love. I love the title. It's very catchy.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Okay, what's your favorite morning routine?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

I like to go. We redid our backyard a couple years ago, and on Perfect Day, I would sit outside there. I'd have my journal. I'd kind of have some moments of quiet. I'd figure out the top three before I opened anything electronic or connected myself to the outside world in any way. I think just starting your day on offense is.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Is.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Is a huge difference than rolling out of bed and getting emails and looking at the news about all the horrible things that happen in the world overnight.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Yep. I totally agree. Totally agree. So you're out in the backyard. What's the beverage you're having out in the backyard?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Coffee. Love coffee. I just enjoy drinking coffee. So I'll have like two cups of regular and then like three cups of decaf.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

I already knew that answer. You have an amazing podcast as well. Who's a dream podcast guest for you?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Ooh. You know, I loved Tim Ferriss early on and watching his evolution and so I would, having listened to so many of his long form podcasts early on and just some really formative stuff, that would be a treat for me to be able to be on the opposite side of that chair and ask him some questions.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Okay. All right, I'm gonna get you out of here on this one. You lead an amazing team. What's one word? Your team would use to describe you in your style.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Probably frenetic. If they had to say I, I, I hope they would say, like authentic, right? I, I, okay, I am very flawed. There's some things I don't do well. There's some things I do well, but I don't ever kind of pretend to be anything that, that I'm not or I, I, I just, I think if life would be so much easier if what we were thinking is what we were saying and what we were doing. Understanding that, like it's not for everyone. Right? I, I'm not for everyone. Other people aren't like that. We get to all decide which types of folks we connect with and share value with. So, yeah, it would probably be frenetic, but maybe I hope it would be authentic.

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[Mick (Podcast Host)]

No, I dig it, man. I dig it. Again, brother, thank you so much for your time today. The Compass within is available now. Make sure you're ordering it. I don't care if it's Amazon, Barnes and Noble books, a million definitely go to your local bookstore if you can and support them. That's a great way to support authors is buying at your local bookstores, Robert. Where can people find and follow you?

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Yeah. And Mick, thank you for sharing that. And look, that course I told you about that we've been selling, we're just giving it away if you buy the hardcover this week. [e-mail] on the page, you just put in the order number, order from wherever you want, give us the order number, we'll send you the course. I'm trying to have a million people figure this out. So they can go to Compass Dash within or they can go to Robert Glaser. That's where Friday Forward is and that's where podcast is and all that stuff is right there. So. And I'd love to hear from everyone.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

We will make sure we have links to everything in the show, notes and descriptions. Robert, love you, man. I appreciate your time. I appreciate what you do and mean to me personally. So just thank you for being the authentic, frenetic person that you are.

[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

Thank you, Mac.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

All right. For all the viewers and listeners, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. You've been plugged into MC Unplugged. Don't just listen.

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Take action, rate and subscribe.

[Mick (Podcast Host)]

Follow me on social and get the full [e-mail]. keep building, keep leading and most importantly, keep dominating.

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[Robert Glazer (Author and Guest)]

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