One A-Player Is Worth Three Good Employees

Starting with the Things Closest to Us

When I chose Intentional Impact as our theme this year, I pictured all the ways we might have a greater impact in the areas that are important to each of us. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that if we don’t start with getting ourselves and our closest relationships right, it’s hard to be as effective in our businesses and the other parts of our lives. So, my message today is about some of the things my family and I have done to try to balance our business and family. For me, that’s Tess and our kids. For you it might be a partner, a close friend, your parents, or a sibling. The point is the same.

Make time for family and relationships

I want to give credit where it’s due. Tess has really helped me show up better for our family. Being honest, it’s easy for me to skip meals, work late hours, and just be in the zone with what I’m trying to accomplish in business. Tess is good to remind me that our kids need us too. For our family, that looks like small, regular stuff. There was a movie a few years back called Yes Day. The premise is that for one day, the parents had to say yes to whatever the kids wanted to do. We saw that movie as a family and thought it was a fun idea. So Tess designated one day a week we call Yes Day. What that looks like for us is that we usually do some kind of activity, go to a park, go to Airborne, see a movie, and sometimes go to Classic Skate. The kids then get to choose where we eat afterwards.

Carve out dedicated time for the person closest to you

For Tess and me, I set a weekly date night. This was actually pretty easy. I love our alone time, and getting away by ourselves so we can have a conversation without constant interruptions from the kids is something I look forward to each week. We almost always go out to dinner and since Tess loves watching movies, that’s a top choice as long as there’s something new to see. It gives us time to connect on our own. And if a weekly date night isn’t your season of life, the same idea works with anyone who matters to you, a close friend, a sibling, or someone in your forum. What counts is protected, uninterrupted time together.

Good health is the basis for everything

The same has been true for our health. About eleven years ago, right after our second child, Tess and I decided we weren’t in the shape we wanted to be. She was working to take off some of the stubborn baby weight, and if I’m honest, I’d put on a little sympathy weight of my own. So we started a little bit of a fitness challenge. We had 90 days to see who could make the most progress. This was exactly what my competitive nature needed to kick start things! Those 90 days came and went, and we’re still at it. Eleven years in, we’ve seen incredible progress, but most of all, by staying fit and healthy, we have more energy to put into the other parts of our lives. We know we just can’t make the impact we want when we’re running on empty.

Here’s something I’ve felt myself: when things are solid at home, we’re able to focus on our business. That’s why I wanted to start the year out here, getting those things right so I can build on a strong foundation.

Here’s to a year of intentional impact.

Rob

The CEO Energy Audit: How to Fix Your Workday Before It Breaks You

EO Blog · Rosanna Berardi, EO Western New York · 6-minute read

The average adult makes about 35,000 decisions a day. As a business owner, multiply that by three. Time management is not your problem; energy is. Berardi’s fix is refreshingly practical: track your energy leaks for one week, kill recurring decisions with rules and templates, protect a Monday power hour, and batch the shallow work. No 5 AM club, no ice baths, just a founder-grade system for showing up with something left in the tank.

Barney Boynton · Go Pave

Barney’s business started his senior year of high school, cleaning houses, and grew by saying yes to whatever came next. The defining yes came in 2004: while pressure-washing for Granite Credit Union, he was asked if he could repair a pothole in the drive-thru. Today Go Pave is a licensed general contractor in seven states with a 36-person team and paving, concrete, and excavation projects from Canada to Mexico. Barney is a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses graduate, voted by his peers to represent Utah as the program’s 2025 National Champion, an Eagle Scout, and a proud husband and dad of three daughters. He came to EO for collaboration, friendship, and mentorship. If you see him at an event, ask him about the pothole.