The Practical Optimist, Ken Schmitt - Book Launch

This frank, funny and revealing book pulls no punches as Ken details the massive challenges he's faced personally and professionally in his journey to the C-Suite, leading his own company.

In this interview, Ken is sharing some behind-the-scenes impressions with Julia about the book, the writing process, and a lot more. Get a taste of the great insights to the business world & challenges that the book gives.

Julia - First of all, I want to say huge congratulations on your book release and how far you´ve come. I am really excited to read about your experiences, challenges, lows and highs and how you managed all those situations. On the occasion of your soon to come book release I want to get some insights and behind the scenes of the writing process, your inspiration and passion about it.

What inspired you to write the book?

Ken - It's funny, I had been thinking about writing a book for several years. Ever since starting my company in 2007, I have been a very big believer in writing in my journal on a regular basis about life and my business, and I thought it would be nice to eventually write about my experience as an entrepreneur and business owner. My biggest mentor throughout my life is my dad, and I also wanted to write this book as a “Thank You” to him for his support.

Julia - What helped you to create time to write and realize this idea?

Ken - I actually just committed to spending weekends and some evenings working on the book, writing and re-writing the chapters to get them just right; I probably spent about 120-150 hours on it, over 9 months so roughly about 5-7 hours/week (while I miss the writing, it's nice to have that time back).

Julia - You mention “coping” in a world that seems to spiral out of control. How do you cope with all the stress, changes, and challenges you face?

Ken - I wish I had a quick answer! I exercise every day, I walk at the beach twice/week, I am a very big movie fan, my wife and I still have game night once/week (even though our kids are grown and no longer living with us), and I meet with mentors and colleagues and my executive coach on a regular basis.

Julia - Talking about the title of your book and the turning points of life. What were your turning points and how did you recognize them as such?

Ken - As I write about in the book, sometimes you can control life's "Turning Points", like when I decided to rebrand my firm to focus on sales, marketing, operations and executive leadership recruiting instead of accounting/finance, or when I chose to build a team rather than remaining a 1 or 2 person company; other times, you have absolutely no control over the "Turning Points" that life puts in front of you, like hiring a sales person that does not perform, or losing a big client, or sustaining a decrease in business for 3, 4 or 5 months and you have to stop paying yourself while you figure out where the money will come from to keep your company alive. But in each case, both good and bad Turning Points, I was only able to survive because of my colleagues, my friends, my family, and my team.

Julia - What does it take from thinking about taking the risk and changing something to actually doing it as you did it with the rebranding of your business in an unstable environment and with so much to risk?

Ken - Great question! In my experience, it requires 3 things:1) the confirmation that the risk you are taking will solve a real problem for your company, your employees or your customers, 2) the patience to research the "risk" or change enough to give you a very clear idea of the best case scenario and the worst case scenario, and so long as you can survive the worst case scenario, it is probably worth pursuing, and 3) the confidence and drive to try it - if you are convinced it is a good idea that will provide a real benefit, then you have a responsibility as a business owner or leader to try it.

Julia - Do you have some advice for all the people thinking about risking it but missing the last step to actually doing it?

Ken - It can be difficult getting used to taking risks, but you don't have to take a huge risk the first time; consider some smaller risks that don't have such a big potential negative. Then try a bigger risk and even bigger each time. So long as you have done #1 and #2 in question 5, you will lose out on a great opportunity if you only think about it, rather than doing it.

Julia - What were the life-changing challenges that you faced that are stuck in your brain?

Ken - Quitting my job in 1997 without another job secured because I did not want to be working 7 days a week, and not be able to see my son grow up; getting fired from my last recruiting job in 2007, not knowing what I will do next; running my business after my mom unexpectedly died in 2017; finding the strength to ask my wife to go back to work, because we couldn't afford to live on my compensation after I started my company; not being able to pay the salaries of my team when our revenue was very very low in 2015; having our Managing Director leave the company after 6 years.

Julia - Which role does your team play in all those situations, challenges, and decisions?

Ken - Without them, I could not have survived these challenges! I rely on them very heavily to give me advice, to share my ideas and risks, and to help me see any blindspots - their role is incredibly important.

Julia - “Challenging the status quo. Transparency. Diversity. Perseverance and resilience. Staying Connected. Allowing yourself to be human.” – Those are big words in today´s world. What do they mean to you and how does it show in your style of leading a business and a team?

Ken - When I thought about what it is like to be a business owner, a CEO, an entrepreneur, a father, a husband and a son, these "chapters" in my life and in my book tell the story of what is important to me, what matters and where I should be spending my time; it's not about trying to impress a client, or feeding my ego, or building the biggest firm, or getting the most awards, it's about being human and being the best person, boss, father and husband you can possibly be and allowing yourself to make mistakes along the way

Julia - What is THE one key message you want to share with the book?

Ken - The best human beings make the best leaders! Do the right thing for the right reasons, and your business will succeed, and your employees and customers will thrive

Julia - One book leads to the next. What other topics are on your mind you want to dedicate your next book?

Ken - I would really like to write a book with my wife who is a Marriage & Family Therapist. The title that is in my head is "Identity" touching on the importance of understanding who you are, being willing to own your mistakes and problems and then do the work necessary to become a better human - and I hope we are able to write something together in the next 2 years.

Got curious already? Get the book here.