My Event Review: Dave Ramsey's One Day Entreleadership

First and foremost allow me to say that it was amazing and awe inspiring to be in an auditorium with some of the producers that make America great. This week I was in Indianapolis, Indiana in attendance at Dave Ramsey’s 1 day “Entreleadership” seminar. This event brought out small business owners and entrepreneurs, the real job creators of this country. The aura of the event was vastly different from the Total Money Makeover Live Event. Entreleadership was focused, intentional and I could feel that the participants in the room helped create an aura that was all about business. For me it was humbling and inspiring to be in a room with so many of the best and brightest in this country.

Although I myself do not own a formal business, there were a ton of great ideas and concepts to focus on when thinking about and building my personal brand that came from this one day seminar. Speakers at the event included the man, the myth, the legend himself Dave Ramsey along with Jon Acuff and Chris LoCurto.

Now the Entreleadership event in itself has a tough act to follow. The Total Money Makeover Live event provides tangible and real world steps to beat debt and build wealth. You can’t exactly translate that into a new forum to provide precise, “How to” steps in building a great company. But given the audience Entreleadership is targeting, I think the event is absolutely worth it.

At the event I was surrounded by producers, the real deal in people who create jobs and stimulate the economy. If they are Dave Ramsey fans then they know that there is neither get rich quick nor short cuts to anywhere worth going. The concepts presented in the one day seminar lead to a ton of internal dialogue and business assessment, almost like a process of connecting the dots to your own unique situation.

Now make no mistake, while the one day Entreleadership event provides a ton of great content, it is also a pitch to do the six day seminar version. Now while my wife would not personally use Ramsey’s company in the six day consulting environment, her family company did walk away with notes that lead to lots of discussion about direction and unity related to the family business. Ultimately, as I sat in on discussion, I believe that a few hinge moments were achieved. Of course Ramsey can’t spoon feed what business decisions will lead to success, but I feel that the material presented is solid in self-assessing your business and when unpacked with your team leads to reflection and discussion needed to get your business to the next level. I highly recommend it!

Book Review: "Entreleadership" by Dave Ramsey

Dave absolutely knocks the topics in this book right out of the ballpark. Entreleadership is a wonderful piece that touches on: self run businesses, staying motivated, how to deal with people, self-priorities and of course good old fashioned common sense that isn’t so common anymore. Now while on paper I do not own my own business, I like to think that for the duration of my life I am self-employed running Rob Inc., and even from this perspective there is so much to learn and gain from the book.

You definitely do not need formal business training or education to understand the content of this book, but I’ve always thought that formalized training ruins your ability to apply common sense. The intrinsic values and practices that can be implemented in your daily life without question perked me up in my outlook at my career. A big driving point is establishing your own goals, dreams and visions and putting together an action plan to make those things happen. For me this lead to a very uncomfortable but much needed look in the mirror.

Dave spends a good deal of time and indirect mention to being an “employee” versus being a “team member.” Every single example and discreet allusion without question brought to surface that at my places of employment I have been an employee and not a team member. Everything about my professional record shows, reflects and conveys corporation. I mentioned in an earlier post that a goal of mine is to be a valued and motivated team member for a company that I would be pumped up working for day in and day out. Dave Ramsey says J that this happens when a specific set of stars are aligned that creates an unbreakable synergy. A big portion of that is when your personal and the company’s values are in sync.

Am I enthused about the company I work for? Do we share the same values? Is the culture corporate or do they encourage Entreleaders? Would I use the products and services of the company I work for, or better yet, recommend and advise my closest friends and families to use them? These were just a few of the internal thoughts that ran through my mind while reading “Entreleadership.” I should have had these run through my mind decades ago, but like everything else I’ll avoid the pity party and go forward with the new outlook I have. I am already planning where my values are and what types of companies and the products/services they offer will be in sync on some of the most important values to me. See, this is exactly what I love about Ramsey. His ideas are thought provoking and challenge you to take actionable steps that are proven and not theory, to achieve success.