We had the good fortune of connecting with Betsy Allen-Manning and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Betsy , can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
When I was 16 my dad handed me my first self-help book called, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. I read it in a day and have been hooked on personal development books ever since! Dale’s book taught me the importance of understanding people and building relationships for business and life success. After that, I became addicted to human behavior and how to build better relationships with others. It’s the foundation of my business and the reason my company exists today. Without the ability to build healthy relationships we cannot lead, provide good service or sell to others effectively. Dale Carnegie eventually inspired me to write my first book called, Win With People- 52 Keys to Connect & Communicate Successfully. Thanks Dale!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I own a consulting firm called, Motiv8u Enterprises, which focuses on helping companies develop stronger leaders, collaborative teams, and a culture of success AND significance. We believe that your company should not only exist to make money, but it should also exist to make an impact on the world. That is our sweet spot, and something we are darn proud of! We partner with companies and associations to help them make their IMPACT: I = Inspire Action. What will your impact looks like and how will you get others on board with your mission…from leaders to team members to customers? M = Movement vs Brand. This is the difference between a regular shoe company and a company like Tom Shoes. One develops profits, the other changes the world. P = People Skills vs Profit Skills. Leaders cannot inspire people to take action if they don’t understand what motivates them and moves them. A = Aligned Culture. We train leaders to develop an MVP culture- Mission, Values, Purpose. Employees should bleed their company’s values, but they have to know what it looks like to do so first. This creates a type of culture that potential employees are attracted to, current staff are loyal to and customers rave about. C = Collaboration. We help teams work better together and help match other businesses that can collaborate to reach the company’s Impact-Culture goals. T = Transform. With impact comes growth, and with growth comes change. If your impact plan doesn’t change anyone’s life then your plan isn’t big enough. We’ve experienced many challenges along our journey, and one of the greatest is the recent CoVID 19 Pandemic. Just when our company has started taking off, with multiple keynotes on the calendar and live trainings booked, CoronaVirus hit and we had to cancel or postpone events. I’m learning that our trials teach us 3 very important things: 1. People are like a bag of tea; you only find out its true aroma once it’s dipped in hot water. Your character will be displayed during a crisis, and who you show up as is how you will be remembered. There are people attacking others for verbalizing their point of view. There are people taking advantage of those in need, and there are people who are stepping up as Impact Leaders and serving where they can. The latter is how I would like to be remembered. 2. You will either view your trials as a victim or victor. The victim says, “Why did this happen TO me?” The victor says, “Why did this happen FOR me?” Whichever mentality you have will determine your current actions and future outcome. 3. You can either bounce ‘back’ or bounce ‘forward’ from a crisis. Bouncing back means you pick up where you left off. No better. No worse. Doesn’t sound so bad right? However, when we interviewed over 25 successful leaders they each had something amazing in common…their ability to bounce forward. They took the trials they experienced and used that to propel them into a better future. When I think about our amazing city, Dallas, Texas, and where we will be after the CoVID crisis, it may take some time, but my hope is that we do better than bounce back. My hope is that we bounce forward to a better city…heck…a better nation too!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When friends come to visit I have a list of fun things to do depending on their personality style. For my astute friends, I would take them to the JFK museum. For my celebrity-focused friends, I would take them to Southfork Ranch to take a walk through the home, ‘Dallas’, the tv show was filmed in. For my adventurous friends, I would take them to Cinnamon Creek Ranch where we would go Axe Throwing and shoot bows and arrows. I would also include an experience at the Grapevine Mills ‘Escape Game’. For restaurants, they would need to taste the best BBQ in Texas from Hard 8, and maybe a trip downtown to the Meddlesome Moth. (Just a few of my favs!)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When I was 19 I worked as a waitress in Albuquerque, NM. I really good at my job, but it wasn’t my dream in life to be a professional waitress. I always dreamt of being a professional singer. Knowing this about me, my boss would encourage me to sing at the restaurant. It wasn’t part of my job, but he understood one very important thing…. the more you invest in someone’s dreams outside the workplace, the more you will get from them within the workplace. Those moments singing at the restaurant prepared me for going on auditions and gave me the confidence to sing in front of strangers. I ended up traveling the world for over 12 years as a lead singer in shows, and I contribute my start to that boss. I’m so glad I found him years later on Facebook so I could thank him for not only pushing me to reach my dreams but also for caring enough to make an impact on my life. He’s what I call…. an Impact Leader.

Website: https://betsyallenmanning.com
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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsyallenmanning/
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