Learn The Four Keys To Building An Authentic, Value Driven Business
As the former owner of an entertainment company, Jeff Koziatek’s value as a human being was tied directly to his business. A self-proclaimed workaholic, Koziatek took one vacation in 16 years and was constantly moving from one project to the next. Because his identity was tied to the business, every employee mistake seemed like a personal attack against him.
“Needless to say, I didn’t always handle employees very well,” Koziatek admits.
As a kid, Koziatek said he picked up the idea that he didn’t have any value by myself, only for what he accomplished. “If I performed well in sports or school, people looked at me,” he said. “If I didn’t, I saw a lot of the backs of peoples’ heads. That desire to be seen and valued drove me to do a lot of different things in business and wear a bunch of hats. The problem was it was never enough. I couldn’t stop working. If I stopped working, then the source of my value would be shut off and I would be less of a person. Stopping the work was never an option. I had to be a workaholic all the time.”
Koziatek was stressed to his limits. After suffering through a painful bout of stress-induced shingles, he knew something had to change.
It wasn’t until he began to see he had value outside of work that led him to take a break and a breath. “I started to see my employees and customers differently,” he said. “Not as objects I needed to manipulate to get something done or obstacles I just had to deal with.”
Said Koziatek, “I don’t want people to miss out on experiences or opportunities in their lives because their value is tied to their work or the success of their companies. It is never going to be enough. You won’t be present with what is going on in life because you are constantly thinking about the next deal, next project, the next client and you’ll miss what is happening right before you.”
Now, a nationally recognized life coach, author and speaker and owner of Core Authenticity, he travels around the world sharing his experiences and ideas to audiences all over the country. His goal is to help audiences realize their value does not come from their work. “I want people to experience more peace, more joy, more freedom, more productivity and not miss their moments,” he said.
Koziatek will be the keynote presenter at the Top 100 People To Know in St. Louis Luncheon on April 23. SBM spoke with Koziatek about his upcoming presentation.
Tell me what you’ll speak about at the Expo on April 23?
I am going to talk about intrinsic value. As entrepreneurs and leaders in our industry and within our businesses, it’s really easy to tie our personal worth and identity into what we do. Now, for most people, what we do is who we are. What I want to talk about is how we have intrinsic value outside of that. When we stand on that, it allows us to be more present, with customers and employees so we can actually listen to what is going on and respond appropriately, versus defending ourselves and our products.
How do we make sure we are not falling into that trap?
I think it comes down to daily reminders. It is easy to pick up what the culture is saying, “You’re only worth your productivity,” “Are you a CEO of a company?” If so, we’ll rate you above someone who is not a CEO. You have value. “You’re not in the C-Suite?” Then you are seen as less. All of these messages build and build and start to shift our focus to what we do. Remember: You are not the art, you are the artist. The art comes from you, it is not who you are. We need a constant reminder, almost daily, of who we are as human beings. We all need to stand on the foundation of our core values. From that, comes our business.
The luncheon honoring the Top 100 People To Know is Tuesday, April 23 (11am-1pm) at the St. Charles Convention Center. Tickets are $55 each (tables of 10 are $550). Tickets can be purchased online at https://store.sbmon.com or via phone at 314.569.0076.
Submitted 5 years 241 days ago