Misfit Entrepreneur September 2024 - 423: The Dream Machine: Unleashing Team Potential and Business Success with Dane Espegard

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Dave Lukas Chats with Dane Espegard

423: The Dream Machine: Unleashing Team Potential and Business Success with Dane Espegard

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Dane Espegard. This conversation today holds a special place for me as Dane is division leader for Vector Marketing. Some of you may know Vector or even worked for them as they are the company behind Cutco knives. I have talked about this before, but I initially cut my teeth in selling and paid for my college selling Cutco. Everyone that works for them is a contractor building their own business, whether a salesperson, district, division manager and so on. To get to running a division means you are one of the best at developing people, especially young people. And over 2 decades, Dane has built a division that has sold over $51 million in cutlery! A $50+ million-dollar business selling knives primarily through high schoolers and young adults. If you can do that, you are doing something right. So, you can understand why I’ve invited Dane on the show to share his secrets for building a great business and organization.

It's great timing too as he has released the book, The Dream Machine: A Leader's Guide to Creating Teams of High Performers Who Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes.

https://daneespegard.com/

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Show Notes

Dane started with Cutco and Vector Marketing right after high school, balancing the job with his college studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. During breaks, he worked for Cutco, gradually taking on more leadership roles, which provided him with valuable hands-on experience in sales and management. Although he earned an economics degree, he realized that his real education came from working at Cutco. After college, seeing the success of a few older peers who made a career with Vector, he decided to give it a shot, despite some initial hesitation from his parents, who thought it was just a student job. However, Dane viewed it as an opportunity to essentially start a business with minimal investment. His passion for building teams and working with motivated individuals fueled his success, and over the years, he advanced through the ranks. He eventually took on the responsibility of running multiple states and now oversees a seven-state region, where he's been thriving for over a decade.

What is the 'Dreams Culture' and how did you build it?

Direct sales is known for high turnover, and Dane wanted to crack the code on retention by creating an inspiring work environment.
In 2013, he was inspired by a talk from Matthew Kelly about hiring someone to manage people’s dreams, but since that wasn't feasible, he decided to build a "Dreams Culture" himself.
Dane and his team began creating personal dream lists, documenting their aspirations, which ranged from small goals (e.g., doing 10 pushups) to larger ambitions (e.g., traveling to a new destination).
The focus shifted to using work as a vehicle to achieve life dreams, leading to better retention and performance in his team.

What’s the process for creating a dream list?

Dane leads a brainstorming process called "dreamstorming," where participants consider different areas of life, such as health, relationships, and adventure.
He provides a master list of 1,200 potential dreams to help jog ideas and guide the creation of individual lists.
The process involves dedicating time to explore what truly excites people, and employees are encouraged to select a few dreams to pursue in the next 3-6 months.

How do you ensure people follow through on their dreams?

Dane stresses that pursuing dreams is voluntary; employees are invited to share their dream lists with him so he can support them in achieving their goals.
He personalized his team’s gifts based on their dream lists, helping them accomplish dreams by purchasing unique items they wanted.
He also developed a tool called the "Dreams Vault," a platform where employees can upload their dreams, set timelines, and track progress, allowing leaders to support and nudge them toward their goals.

How do you balance individual dreams with business objectives?

Dane believes in an abundance mindset: if employees achieve their personal dreams, they are more motivated to perform at work.
Open conversations about potential conflicts between dreams and work responsibilities help find solutions that allow employees to pursue their aspirations while meeting company goals.
Transparency and understanding that every team member is "temporary" fosters loyalty and encourages continuous development.

Is there a correlation between dreams accomplished and performance?

Yes, the highest performers on his team are also the ones who accomplish the most dreams.
Dane’s top employee has over 1,400 dreams on his list and completes 50-80 dreams annually, reinforcing that people who pursue their dreams live more fulfilling, motivated lives, which translates into higher performance at work.

What did COVID do to your business, and how did you adapt?

COVID forced Vector Marketing to innovate, shifting from primarily in-person kitchen demonstrations to virtual sales appointments.
This pivot led to unexpected benefits, including more availability of potential customers who were home cooking and a large pool of recruits (college students) who couldn’t find other work.
The business saw positive growth during the pandemic and continues to incorporate virtual sales in its model.

Best Quote

Make space in your life to reflect on what you truly want.

Make space in your life to reflect on what you truly want. Be intentional about your direction to avoid being carried along by societal expectations.

Don’t play it safe—take risks, even if failure is likely, because failure is the best teacher.

Identify and fully embrace your core values, even if they seem simple. For Dane, "fun" is a core value, and aligning his life with it enhances his success and well-being.

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