The Power of Purposeful Leadership w/ Stephen Jenkins
Episode Details
Transcript
Career growth often comes down to saying yes before you feel fully ready and letting ownership drive the results. Stephen Jenkins, Author and President of Global Business and Innovation at Videri, breaks down his non-traditional path from a hands-on IT engineer supporting mission-critical operations to an executive helping shape the future of smart spaces and digital canvases. He reveals how taking total accountability, fostering bold organizational creativity, and maintaining a clear perspective on emerging technologies like AI can completely transform a business model. Beyond the boardroom, Stephen reflects on the pivotal personal moments that redefined his view of success, offering grounded wisdom on balancing executive ambitions with authentic faith and family priorities.
Guest Links:
- Stephen’s LinkedIn
- Videri
- Book: It Starts with Him: Faith, Family, Finances and Life Lessons for Every Season
Credits: Host: Lisa Nichols, Executive Producer: Jenny Heal, Marketing Support: Joe Szynkowski & Dylan Price, Podcast Engineer: Portside Media
Stephen Jenkins
So the first thing is that ownership. Right? I'm a big believer in ownership. I think you had to foster ownership as a leader, but you also had to empower ownership throughout your organization. Right? Because things are changing rapidly, but it takes ownership, and empowerment to say, like, I have to see this through. I own this, and there was the results are fully in my control, and I can't make excuses. Right? So you have to be a complete owner. The other thing is we have to foster creativity and collaboration throughout the organization. Right? You don't want people to get complacent, especially today. Like, in today's market, you have to be thinking about how do I differentiate myself? What are the headwinds against me? And then how do I foster creativity and collaboration throughout the organization? Lisa Nichols
It takes something a little more to lead with impact. I'm Lisa Nichols, author of Something Extra, and this podcast was inspired by our daughter, Ally, whose additional chromosome has shaped how I see people in leadership. Each episode features conversations with inspiring leaders from around the world about what truly defines how they lead and serve others. If you enjoyed today's conversation, please consider leaving a five star review. It helps more people discover the show. And if you'd like to go deeper, my book, Something Extra, is available on Amazon and through other major book retailers. Our guest today is Stephen Jenkins, a leader who is helping to steer the future of smart spaces and digital canvases as the president of global business and innovation at Vidiri. He started his journey as a network engineer supporting mission critical operations for the US Army and the automotive industry. He went on to lead over a decade of digital experience and global innovation at Diversified. Today, he's steering the future of smart spaces and digital canvases. Stephen is also the author of It Starts with Him, Faith, Family, Finances, and Life Lessons for Every Season. Well, Stephen Jenkins, welcome to the Something Extra podcast today. I'm so excited to have you on the show. Stephen Jenkins
Thank you so much for having me. I'm really looking forward to it. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. I'm looking forward to it too. We have to give a shout out, right, to our mutual friend, Jim Bechtold. Stephen Jenkins
Absolutely. Jim's Jim's great to connect us, so definitely shout out to Jim for that. Lisa Nichols
Absolutely. Yes. I I can't even tell you how many guests I've had on the Something Extra podcast. Stephen, I was connected to them by Jim Bechtold. So, yeah, he gets the, connector of the year award as far as I'm concerned. So, anyway, thanks, thank you, Jim. But, Stephen, I know you live in Atlanta. I have to ask you something. I saw your LinkedIn profile, and your background LinkedIn picture is of a person, and I'm assuming you're doing some extreme skiing. Stephen Jenkins
So I cannot take credit for that. I do like to ski. I do like to ski, but, that is not me. So, the company that I work for, collaborates a lot with some action sports affiliated companies, and so that's some action shots that come from that. It's across our canvases. I wish it was me. Maybe maybe fifteen years ago, I could have pulled something like that off. Now, I would probably be in a good amount of pain and probably wouldn't be sitting here if I try to do something like that. Lisa Nichols
Right. Yeah. I'm, anymore, I'm scared about what's gonna happen to my body. You know, my body my knees are gonna give out on me or something. But, yeah, I was like, oh my goodness. Is that Stephen? Because, I mean, it's like an extreme, skier. Right? So okay. Well, I just had to get that out of the way. But let's talk a little bit about your career. You had a really incredible career, and I know that, you worked for Diversified, I think, for eleven years, I think. Stephen Jenkins
That's right. Yeah. I spent a good majority of my career there. I mean, I've had a lot of, places that I worked before there that kinda led me up to prepare me for that. But, yeah, eleven years, and and I've been at my current company for just over three years. That's correct. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. So tell me about you know, you talk a lot about, innovation there, leadership, serving clients. But what really did you learn in that eleven years at Diversified? Diversified. What'd you learn during that time that really prepared you for the role that you're in now? And, you know, I know. I listen. I've read your book, Stephen. Not all of it, but I've read portions of your book, and I know, like, you were you were tapped on the shoulder to lead some big acquisitions. And you're like, I don't know, like, you know, finance, but you're like, I'm sure it couldn't be that hard. I'll learn. You know? So I'm sure there's a lot that you learned, but what are some of those key lessons that you think you learned that prepared you for what you're doing today? Stephen Jenkins
I mean, I think it'd be easier to say what I didn't learn, during that period of time. Right?Lisa Nichols
Yeah. Stephen Jenkins
You know, I have I have a pretty I mean, if we even go back a little bit further, I have a pretty interesting, way of how I got to where I am. And so I don't have the fancy MBA that you hear a lot of people talk about this, you know, got a president or see him, in front of their title. Right? So I came, I came up through a very vocational school where I did a two year associate's degree and I was an engineer. And so when I when I joined Diversified, my entire career had been built around IT engineering. I thought that's where my career was going to land and where I was going to go for, and I was gonna be the best engineer possible. God had different plans for me. And so during my time there, there's a lot of events we could talk about. But slowly but surely, I got opportunities to step into new roles that maybe I was not qualified for on paper. But people had a faith in saying that, hey, if I if I give him responsibility, he's gonna figure it out. Right? And so I stepped into operational leadership roles on the operations side. I got opportunity to lead sales teams there, and I'd never been a bad carrier and salesperson, learn talk about finances, learn to run a P and L. Right? And, like, what does it take to learn a P and L? And how how do you do that? How do you budget? So all of those things as I kind of went up through the ranks and bounced around, I got to the opportunity to lead a lot of different business units in that organization, both domestically and globally. And so all those little things became nuggets of information that I learned both from the resources that I had to read, books, etcetera, but also just failures and other stuff. And, like, you you think in your head, like, this is gonna work out this way. And then reality is that book might have said it. But when you get into the trenches, things don't always work out that way. Right? And then you throw COVID right in the middle of that, and, wow, you learn really fasthow to adapt. So it was just a great time great time in my life. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. Well, tell our listeners, because they may not know Diversified or Videri. Can you tell let's just talk about Videri because like I said, you're the president of, the global business and innovation at Videri. Tell us what Videri does. Stephen Jenkins
Yeah. So we are, so we are a manufacturer of both hardware and software. We have a a canvas that's, think of it as a digital screen, like a TV, but it's purpose built to to do digital signage on. Right. And so, we have very large clients who use it for a lot of different ways. Some of it could be used for like menu boarding. So if you ever walk into a restaurant or a concert venue or anything like that and you've seen menu boards that were as digital now instead of just paper or whatever, that that's the technology that we sell. Also, trade marketing and advertisements of media and in-brandand things like that to be able to activate campaigns globally. And so the difference between us and like a normal TV would be, you know, we have a client who has about forty five thousand of these deployed all over the world where they can instantly activate campaigns and things like that anywhere from our cloud software. So it knows the status of devices. Is the screen black? Is it showing content? How do we know that it showed that content? How can we segment our our network in a certain way so that content is playing where we want it to the people that we want it to play to. And it's just really fascinating. Right? And so we sell that all around the world, and it's just been a really, really fun experience. And it's a smaller company. You know, we're talking tens of millions versus where I came from. It at Diversified was one billion dollars company when I was leaving. So that's that's been fun, too, because the rate of change is really, really cool. Lisa Nichols
But the cool thing about it is it's a smaller company, but, Stephen, you're global. Stephen Jenkins
That's right. Lisa Nichols
You're you got clients all over the world, which is really, incredible. And, yeah. So let's talk about this. I know that you just wrote your first book. I think this is your first book. Stephen Jenkins
It is. Lisa Nichols
Right? Stephen Jenkins
It is. Lisa Nichols
It's your first book. It it then it's called It Starts With Him. First of all, it just came out this year. Congratulations. Stephen Jenkins
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Lisa Nichols
I know a little something about what it takes to get the book out the door, and it is no, small feat. So congratulations on that. But it is called It Starts With Him, Faith, Family, Finances, and Life Lessons in Every Season. If someone asks you in one sentence, what does that mean? What does that mean, Stephen? It starts with him. What would you say? Stephen Jenkins
That everything that I've accomplished or done and done well can be contributed one way or another back to my relationship with God and Jesus and where I put my faith in. So something I wanna share with others. Right? Because there's lessons to be learned there. Mhmm. Lisa Nichols
Well and I know that you originally wrote the book, which I think is so cool. I told you I did something similar for our grandson when his nana was passing away, when his great grandmother was passing away. But, you know, you originally wrote the book as a legacy for your son. Right? And, you know, what what prompted you to start writing these lessons down, Stephen? Stephen Jenkins
Well, you know, it's it's quite interesting. So I was, I never aspired to be a writer. I guess never aspired to do a lot of things I end up doing right. And, but I have a seven year old and being a father has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. And I just love every aspect of it. Right. But I've made a lot of mistakes. I've learned a lot of things. I rededicated my life to Christ about ten years ago. And since then, there's been ups and downs and this and that. But there's been a ton of things that has happened. It's just like that was God, right? Like, there was no other explanation. I mean, my career in general. But I started thinking one day, like, I wanna tell my son about marriage and, like, how to biblically manage your finances or how do you deal with hard things in life? Because life is filled with anxiety and sickness and and even death at times. Right? And what does that mean? And how do you have the most important thing is having a relationship with God and believing in Jesus. Like, what does that mean? And so this was the legacy that I think as a father is more important than how to teach him how to throw a baseball. Right? And we love doing that too. Right? We love playing sports, but this is the most important thing. And, so no one wants to think that something's going to happen to you. But there's certain things at seven years old that conversations you just can't have right yet. And so I wanted to write something down. It kind of started as an idea of like penning a letter and that turned into a three hundred page book. Right? But, it was it was this idea of, like, these are the things that I wanna pass down to him that if he could read and take some nuggets away and save himself some of the challenges I had, that when he's of age, it's left for him. Right? Hopefully, I'm there to read it with him and we can talk about it together. But in the event that that's not the course of life, that there's something left behind for him. And, that was the purpose of it. And then through that, it was like, if this could change one person's life, if one person found value in this that helped them in an element or season of their life, then all the work is worth it. Right? And so that that's where my heart was at, and and that's how it began. Lisa Nichols
That's so awesome. Well and then you and I were talking offline. I mean, you you're being asked to go speak to men's groups now, and, you know, you were talking about, a prison ministry, you know, that you're gonna go speak at. So, yeah. I mean, you just never know. It's that active obedience. Right? When you feel prompted, to do it, just do it, and then see what God does with it. You know? But I just I love it. And I know, like, when my mom was passing away, our grandson was only two. And it was just so important to me, and I knew that he would not remember her. You know? He was only two when she passed away. And, Stephen, I was like, I wanted to write down these things so that he could know his great grandmother. And, you know, I just and it was therapeutic for me, I will be honest, you know, during the the years of her sickness or the months of her sickness rather. You know, it was therapeutic for me to get these things written down. But you've already talked about it a little bit, but you said you rededicated your life in twenty sixteen. What happened? Whatwas the precipice for that, Stephen? Stephen Jenkins
So, I think a lot of people have different stories of how they come to certain places in their life. And for me, I was I was raised, very much in a Christian home. I mean, it was the marquee of mother play praying at three o'clock in the morning. Like, you wake up and, like, she was there praying for her kids and her husband and everything, and she was she was there. So so I grew up with that knowledge. Right? And so what I would say is I knew of God. I knew the stories. I knew the teachings. But but knowing of God is different than truly having a intimate relationship and kind of letting that guard down, if you will. It's kind of for me is like I put God on the shelf and said, Hey, you're here When times get really tough, like, alright. Now I'm praying. Right? Like, like, we need a miracle. But other than that, like, I was just like, I don't wanna be bothered by that. I just wanna do my own thing. And then, again, probably, like, eleven years ago, I started going back to church a little bit here and there, and something was different this time. I started saying, okay. I'm gonna start saying yes where I used to just say no. Right? And one day, I was sitting in church, and my wife was on the aisle, which is unusual. Usually, I'm on the aisle, but she was on the aisle. They did a spontaneous baptism. They said, we got a we have the pool ready. We got the this is a big church, like, thousands of people. We got clothes for you, whatever you need. And I'm not a very emotional person, but I was kind of overwhelmed, with the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And I turned and looked at my wife. I said, you gotta move, And I'm go and that's all the warning she got. I woulda if she didn't move, I was going over the chair in front of me. Like, I was going. And, Right. That baptism didn't save me, obviously. It was but it was I mean, the decision was made in my heart, but something was changed. And it I didn't have like the next day everything was perfect. Right. There's been a again, the book came out of the stories that come from that event. Right. But sure, that was that was a beginning change in my life of sanctification, of growing and learning and failing and then growing some more and failing and then growing some more. And so, yeah, it was some people don't have that moment exactly that way. It's it's more subtle. But for me, like, I knew that day that, like, my life was different and it meant something. Lisa Nichols
Oh, beautiful. Well, today and, I mean, maybe as a younger man, you would have defined success one way. How do you define it today? How do you define success? And maybe you would say I mean, maybe it is the same. I don't know. But, I'd love to know how you define success. Stephen Jenkins
This is always a difficult question to answer because I think there's multiple, angles of how you view success in your life. Obviously, like, you know, I I've achieved things in in this life of attaining a title. Like, I wanted to be have a c title, and I've had chief revenue officer and other things and and president and and all that. And I've traveled the world for work. I've seen countries. I've I've I've negotiated deals. I've I've done things that I've strived to do in life. But for me, success is a little different now where, I believe that I don't the family's not here for my job. My job's here for my family. And so Yeah. I wanna look back and say that, yes, I had a job and a successful career and showed my family and provided for my family, but not at the sacrifice for my family. And so I wanna be there and be a good father for my son, be a good husband for my wife. And I want to stand on my faith. And like, if I can do that in a world where my success is not defined by my title or my salary, but the impact that I make because of who I believe in and what I believe in and how Jesus has worked in me, that I show that love to others. And so I don't I don't know what my future holds as far as what success will be defined as. But one thing I always hold true to is I don't want to be laying on my death bed one day and go, man, I wish I didn't work so much, or I wish I was at home more with my family, or I wish I prayed more, or I wish I read my Bible more. I wish I told more people about Jesus. I don't wanna do that. And so success defined to me,is living out those convictions on a daily basis, even if it's contrary sometime to what, society and all may tell you. And you can still be successful in the midst of that. Right? Lisa Nichols
Right. Oh, that's beautiful. I love that. Well, you know, so when your faith became real to you, we're talking, you know, eleven years ago now, what changed first? What changed first? And you may have already answered this, but, Stephen, was it your heart, your marriage, your work, or everything? Stephen Jenkins
Well, so what changed first? I wish I had this, again, this great story of, like, you know, the the addict who's like, one day I was this, the next day I was that. Yeah. Me, it was much more subtle. Right? I think the first thing that changed to me was there was a wall always put up in my life to say, like, I'll give you access to this, but I'm not giving you access, God, to the rest of it. Like like, this you're not taking my phone away. You're not taking this away. You're you're not doing all that. And I started tearing those walls down and said, okay. I'm in. Right? Like, I'm in. Like, let's do this. And I started, like, really reading and understandings the Bible to the point of, like, if it says this, what would happen if I actually thought this was true and did that? Right? And so I started making these changes in my life. And the reality is that sometimes things got worse before they got better in some elements of my life. But those seasons of change, like, my marriage and other things was, like, needed so that I could see through to the other side. And so it taught me, how to deal with adversity, how to deal with challenging times, and how to know that there is somebody who can help you through those times and not depending on myself to be successful, looking to somebody else, looking to God for that success. And I think that's where when I stopped depending on myself and started learning, some of it took some some trials. Right? But start learning that I can't look to what I don't know. I can look to God. And if I do that, even if it's not the way I had it envisioned, it's always gonna work out in the right way in the end. Lisa Nichols
Oh, that's so good. That's so good, Stephen. Because you know what? There is a lot of uncertainty. There are decisions that you have to make that you have no clue. Right? But one of my favorite verses, I think it may be in Proverbs, is he will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on in thee. You know? So, like, if we keep our eyes focused on him and our mind focused on him, he will give us peace, and he will give us direction and guide us. Right? So, yeah, what a what a freedom that is knowing that you're not having to do it all alone. Right? Stephen Jenkins
One hundred percent. And there are countless stories, in my book that talk about it. But in my career, the journey that it took me from being an engineer, to a president of a company and all the things that happened in between that are completely unexplainable. And so it's it's just remarkable how things worked out even during seasons of, like, I'm like, I this is awful. Like, I have no idea what I'm doing if I'm even in the right place. And I just kept praying and trusting, and then another door would open, another opportunity. And then you look back and say, all this prepared me for exactly where I am right now. Lisa Nichols
That's so beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for sharing your story. So, so, Caitlin, your wife, your precious wife has walked through every season with you. You know, this is really funny to me because I read something, that, you know, I guess, when you met her, you were not at all interested in marriage. Stephen Jenkins
Oh, no. Lisa Nichols
You were kind of loving the single life. No com I didn't wanna be committed. Yeah. I guess she captured your heart, Stephen. Stephen Jenkins
She did. And, thankfully, this is a one to one podcast, and she's not over here because she would tell you a lot more stories, I'm sure. But, no. Look. She'swonderful. I mean, she she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I mean, she's the love of my life. I definitely outkick my coverage there. So she she's absolutely amazing, and she keeps thinking around it at all times. But you're right. I mean, I I never grew up with this desire to settle down and get married and have a family. I mean, I love being single and not having a commitment. And, yeah, there was just something different about her, and and we we knew of each other, and we met and talked and, you know, kinda here and there, but I would never kinda committal. And then slowly but surely, I said, I I I can't let this go away. And, I I made my mind up. We actually once we started dating, we dated not very long. And, I asked her to marry me, and the rest is history. Right? And so we've grown together. It's been it's been amazing. And, you know, in a time where I was leading a lot, on things, and now come she's keeping me in line now. So we we are a dynamic pair, and it it's it's great. It's fantastic. Lisa Nichols
I love that. Well, what do you think, Stephen, is one lesson that every husband needs to hear? Stephen Jenkins
Oh, wow. Well, fundamentally Lisa Nichols
Happy wife, happy life?Stephen Jenkins
Happy wife, happy life. Hundred percent. You know, the biggest things that that I've learned, that I think are just critical, right, is, like, to understand that God wired us differently. Right? Like, we are not wired the same, and that goes for man and woman. Right? And so I remember times, and I'm still guilty of it today, but but there would be things that she would say or respond to things that I would say or or not. And I'm like, what what do you mean? Like, this is out of control. Like, what? I don't understand even how you're processing things. And and it took me, like, kind of digging in and understand that, like, we're not wired the same. And things that matter to me and the way that I process things is fundamentally different than you. And so, you know, maybe to me, doing the dishes or folding the clothes or maybe just sitting down and having a conversation about anything. Right. And just talking. Maybe these things to me don't speak a lot. Right. But to her, they mean a lot. And just because I don't understand it doesn't mean that I shouldn't do it and shouldn't show my love in that way. And so, you know, that's the thing. Just like leaving sweet notes around or whatever it is or just speaking truth over her. Like, these are things that she was always trying to tell me. I get that you have a great job. I great, great that you're giving me, you know, a nice life and and glad that you're you're doing this and you're spending time with our son. But I have needs too, and I need those needs met. And the more that I kind of came into balance of saying, if I meet her needs in the way that she needs them in the reciprocal is usually the same thing that things come into balance and she begins to understand your needs and meet your needs. And that that took a while. And one of the biggest things was was priority. So I had to not elevate my son above my wife. Right? Lisa Nichols
And so That's there. That's a good one. Stephen Jenkins
And that there. That was, I poured everything I had into my son. And she's like, well, there's there's still time for me too. And somebody told me eighteen, twenty-fouryears, whatever it is, when your children leave the house, if you have nothing in common and you're still together and they're gone, what is that worth? You know? And so prioritizing my wife both in these things to do, but also in our home of conversation and and everything. So Lisa Nichols
No judgment, Stephen. No judgment. But, really, it's God, spouse, children. Stephen Jenkins
It is. Lisa Nichols
No judgment here because I've been guilty of that as well, putting my children above even my husband. And, that was just not God's design. They and and children, you know, I mean, there were times probably where I made the our children more the center of the universe, and that's not good for them either. I once heard a pastor say the best thing you can do for your children is to love your spouse and for them to see you prioritizing your spouse with date nights and things like that. So no judgment here because, I mean, I've been I've been guilty of the same thing, you know, of, but the priorities are so important. Well, you know what? We've got I've got pages and pages more of things I wanna talk to you about, but we do need to take a quick break, and we'll be right back on the Something Extra podcast with Stephen Jenkins. AD
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Well, welcome back everyone to the Something Extra podcast with Stephen Jenkins. We've been, Stephen's dropped some gold here. So, keep listening because I know that he's gonna have more wisdom to share. But, so, Stephen, I know that you coach youth baseball. What has coaching taught you about leadership? What has coaching taught you about fatherhood? What kind of lessons have you learned from being a coach? Stephen Jenkins
Patience. A lot of patience. Lisa Nichols
A patience. Yeah. Stephen Jenkins
So it's inter it's so like, when when you're working with with people and an executive, right, and and you're you're coaching. Right? Like, that's what you're doing in the workplace. So if if you're not coaching, you're not leading. Right? Like, you have to be building people up. You can't just expect people to know what to do, just because you're in your head. You're like, I want you to go do this task and you understand how you want to do it in the workplace. You're expecting people to read your mind and they don't do it. Well, coaching youth baseball is a lot of the same thing. It's just you're working with seven and eight year olds. Right. And so, you know, really taking the time that like when you say, hey, go to this task or cover this space or do whatever and they don't do it properly or don't understand, it's your job to take a step back to say, well, remember, there's seven and they don't you haven't explained it to them. Let's make sure we break it down so that they can properly understand what they're doing, why they're doing it, and how they should do it. And I think the workplace has been kind of the same thing throughout my career is is transitioning from just giving orders to coaching people and how to do it. But it's it's the why behind the what in the how. Right. And so, like, truly understanding the game that you're playing and that's been the best thing. But then I think having you're always tougher on your children for whatever reason. But, you know, knowing that you can be encouraging and still be disciplining in how to get better without ever tearing a child or another kid on the team down. And so we we foster that in this organization is that we wanna do that. We wanna build kids up. We wanna encourage them, and we want them to love the game that they play. Because if you love the game that you play, you're gonna play that game better, and I think that translates to the workplace as well. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. That's so good. That's so good. Yeah. And just, you know, it's that, encouraging, but encouragement with accountability, I think, is sometimes so hard in leadership. Right? Doesn't mean that you don't still hold people accountable. You know, what do you hope your son says about you someday, Stephen? Stephen Jenkins
So I hope he says that my dad was always there. He taught me to love the Lord. He taught me to work hard and to overcome adversity, and he showed me what it means to be a man. Not the way the world says to be a man and not the way the world says to be a leader, but the way that I can lead through example of living a Christian life. And because, you know, talking about baseball, my son plays travel baseball. And somebody told me one time, and it stuck with me, my kid has a point zero one percent chance of making it to the major leagues, but has a hundred percent chance of standing in front of Jesus one day. I hope my son says the lessons my dad taught me prepared me for the things just to come, rooted me in my faith, and prepared him to pass it on to the next generation. Right? And that's that's the big thing I want him to remember about me, that I I stuck to my guns. Right? Even I won't sacrifice my faith or my convictions for a deal at work, and they know that and how I treat others. And so that's that's what I wanted to remember. Lisa Nichols
Love it. Love it. Well okay. So, Stephen, I wanna kind of circle back to what you're doing, a president of, global business and innovation at Videri. You know, you're in the technology business. We're in the technology business, and the one constant with technology is it's changing, and it's changing at a very rapid pace. But what I would love to hear from you, what do you believe are leadership principles that never change? Stephen Jenkins
So the first thing is that ownership. Right? I'm a big believer in ownership. I think you had to foster ownership as a leader, but you also had to empower ownership throughout your organization. Right? Because things are changing rapidly. You know, technology is like, what is technology today with AI? We can talk about that. Right? But the industrial revolution and all types of of history, like, things have changed. Right? But it takes ownership and empowerment to say, like, I have to see this through. I own this, and there was the results are fully in my control, and I can't make excuses. Right? So you have to be a complete owner. The other thing is we have to foster creativity and collaboration throughout the organization. Right? You don't want people to get complacent, especially today. Like in today's market, you have to be thinking about how do I differentiate myself? What are the headwinds against me? And then how do I foster creativity and collaboration throughout the organization? And and we've done a very good job of that. And part of that is that, you know, innovation can come not only in your mind, but in the minds of those below you. And so if you can foster that environment and and create that, then all of a sudden now there's a lot of minds working to find ways to innovate. It's your job, though, as the leader to decipher those things, to foster that and then figure out which direction you go. I think a lot of leaders can get very ambiguous of paralysis by analysis and trying to make a decision. And a great leader has to be confident in the decision they make. I always say eventually you have to put your foot in the ground and march forward and say, this is the direction we're going. I've heard everything. And that's a very difficult thing to do as a leader. And I think those principles of really leading and driving it forward and having this ability to have people follow you. Right. Because even on a battlefield, people will go and and attack a hill and fight uphill if they believe in their leader and they believe in the mission. Same thing in the workplace. I don't care if it's AI, robots or something that hasn't even been invented yet. The idea is that you're creating a plan. You have to own that plan. You have to foster the troops to get around you, and then you have to be ready to march forward, and they have to be ready to follow you. And I think that doesn't change regardless of what's going on. Lisa Nichols
Oh, that's so good. That's so good. Well, as you said, you know, analysis paralysis. But, you know, I was also thinking, I think one of the hardest things, or at least it has been for me, Stephen, is discernment. And discernment because there's a lot of shiny, bobbly things out there. Right? And not just jumping on the next thing because it's the next thing. Right? Gosh. It's just hard that discernment to know what is the right thing. But as the leader, you've got to make those decisions. And sometimes it's gotta be the right decision, and then, occasionally, you're gonna make the wrong decision. And owning that, right, and saying, oh, this was the direction. This was, you know, my bad. This is not the way that we need to do it. We need to pivot. So but you've already brought it up, AI. So I do I do wanna get your take on AI. What,how are you feeling, and is it impacting Vidiri? How is it impacting you guys? Stephen Jenkins
It is greatly impacting us, in a positive way. Right? I think there there's definitely going to be, challenges of how we're looking at things in the future and what that means. But, look, we I think this goes into innovation and leader and and feeling convicted about something. I saw a big rapid change in AI probably about six months ago where the development of the algorithms and everything just took a leapfrog jump. Right? Like, things you couldn't do, all of a sudden, you could do. Right? I was I have zero coding experience, and I was writing apps. And I was like, hold on. There's there's something to this. Right? And so we had a a team that was kinda very confident in the way that they have developed software, and they're very experienced in that. And this is what they did. And they're like, oh, that AI stuff is not for me. And that so as a leader, I said, look, we're gonna take one month, and we're gonna work completely in AI. We're gonna do AI development. We're gonna use AI cloud. Whatever it is, we're gonna use it. And the worst thing that's gonna happen is we wasted a month. But the best thing that could happen is it could unlock five x, ten x growth in our ability to Mhmm. To do things. Because if if we don't, it's kinda like if you didn't get on the Bitcoin bandwagon early, then all of a sudden, it's a hundred thousand, and you're like, oh, I don't wanna buy one now. But if you had a thousand, you would have bought one. Wow. You're you're sitting pretty good. Right? So so we did that, and all of a sudden, they come back and they're like, we did a one week workshop and we finished everything in two days. And I was like, alright. Well, let's do some incubator. Like, let let's have fun with it. Right? Like, go try some things. Yeah. And we were doing, things that were quoted at six months to to develop. We were developing them in, like, four to six weeks with, like, two people. And so what that means now is, like, okay, what does that do to our business model? So how now features become a commodity. How do we then find new ways of offering value to our clients in a way of which you can rapidly prototype anything tomorrow? And that's just what you could do today. And so, it is greatly impacting us in a very positive way. We're thinking outside the box now on on how we develop, what we develop and what that looks like in the future because there's gonna be a lot of people who are gonna sit complacent. And then a year from now, it's gonna be very difficult to catch up. Right? And I think there's gonna be a big consolidation that's gonna happen, in in this world. And so, you know, we gotta we gotta take mine for that. But at the end of the day, there's certain things AI just still cannot do. And so we're trying to make sure that we're disciplined in those things and that we don't just trust everything that it says. I tell my team that, like, you need to think with your own mind. Right? Like, use AI to help you reason, but AI isn't truth. You still hold truth. Lisa Nichols
Right. Stephen Jenkins
So make sure that you can you know, just because it spits out something and says, oh, this is the financial model and you need to do this, that doesn't it can hallucinate. It can get things wrong. And so it can help you, but it is not truth. You have to be truth. And then the last thing we're doing is that we've given it to a lot of people to, like, develop their own stuff, and that's been great in a lot a lot of stuff. But I had to remind people that it can become addictive. Right? Because you keep chasing this. I can do so much. I can create this new workflow. I could you still gotta get work done. Right? And so, like like, let's let's foster creativity, but you can't get hung up in creating a lot of ways to do things without actually doing things. Right? And so we're we're making sure that we balance those things. Lisa Nichols
Well, let me ask you this because I I've written a little bit on this and have talked a little bit. What are the human leadership qualities that you think are gonna be even more important in this age of AI, Stephen? Because, I mean, those are kind of the things I don't think AI will personally, I don't think they'll ever replace is things like empathy. And so what do you what do you believe are those human leadership qualities that are gonna be even more important? Stephen Jenkins
Well, you said emotion. Right? So empathy is an emotion. And not that you let emotions steer your judgment at times, but emotions are part of what makes a human a human. Right? I can love. Right? I can feel a certain way? I can and from a from a product perspective, I mean, people buy own emotion a lot of times. Right? And, like, people work harder based on emotion, and so morale in organization is driven by emotion. So I think human leadership of both interpreting emotion, but also leveraging emotion with empathy and other things is very important because if it's just black and white, then then you lose a lot. Right? There's a lot in the gray. I think that is one thing that has to be there. The other thing is that, is I think it's easier to explain than it is to, like, put into, like, a one word of a of a thing. But so let's say that you have AI and you're pointing it at at data. Right? Well, it looks at the data and just understands the numbers, the spreadsheets, whatever it is, and it interprets that, and it can do a good job of that. What it can't see is all the outside variables outside of that. Right? And so good leaders don't just look at a point of data. They have to understand all the variables that exist in and around that data set. Right. That could influence that data set. And those are things that I don't believe unless you could find a way to input all those variables into the air that it's ever going to understand completely. Right. And so as a leader, you have to it's a tool. It's nothing more than a tool. It's not a replacement. And so how how do you take this tool and place it into your organization? And then you gotta figure out how how you leverage it. Right? Because it can do a lot, but it can also not do a lot well. And so the biggest challenge, I think, for a lot of leaders is figuring out how do I incorporate and integrate AI successfully into my organization over the next twelve to twenty four months? Because it's not if you're gonna use it because you're using it in your personal life. It's how you're gonna use it, and does it actually create value in the organization. So Lisa Nichols
That's good. That is good. Well, you know, what do you think you know, let let's talk about your book because I know that we're running, we're running short on time here, and I wanna I wanna get into your book a little bit. But your book addresses anxiety, depression, suffering, finances loss. Why is it important, to include those topics, Stephen, and not just all the success stories? Stephen Jenkins
So as I said earlier, I, you know, it might sound weird to say, but a lot of times I thank God for the those hard times in my life. Because when things are going bad, that's when you need a savior. Right? And, like, that's when you need something. And so I couldn't tell you how to be a better husband if I didn't first experience being a bad husband. Right. Because I learned from my mistakes. It took me getting to a point of saying, this is broken. I need to fix it, to look to God, to figure out how to fix it. And I can tell you with utmost confidence today that my marriage is better than it ever was even during the honeymoon period because wetook a biblical approach to it. I myself struggle with anxiety, which I think a lot of people do. And, you know, it's something that plagued me for many years of my life. And I still have moments of anxiousness. Who doesn't? Right. But when I understood that there's a biblical approach of how to deal with that and like even Jesus says, don't worry about tomorrow, for today has its own problems. Right? When you're constantly trying to figure out and manipulate and I'm a control person of, like, I like certainty and things. Right? Lisa Nichols
Sure. Stephen Jenkins
When you're always trying to play out all the variables in your head and control these things, that's what sends you down this rabbit hole of anxiety. But if you can if you know that you have a God and a Lord and savior that you can say, hey. Yes or no. Up or down. Whatever the option is, I fully give this to you, and I trust you for the outcome. Even if it's the one that I didn't desire, I know that in the end, it's going to be okay and you can relinquish that. All of a sudden now you walk in a different light, right? It doesn't change your circumstances immediately. And it doesn't say that I'm going to pull you out of that situation. But if you know you've got somebody walking through there with you, it gives you a peace that without it you don't have. Right. And so, look, I went from not being able to stay away from home, to traveling all over the world by myself. And I did that through my belief system, through also and, look, it's a balance. Right? Like you and I talk about that. You gotta deal with all aspects of it. But I think the challenges in life is where you find yourself and where you find God and where you need him the most. And so I thought it was important to write about the hard things in life. Yeah. Finances, challenges in marriage, anxiety, depression, sickness. Like, why do people get sick and why do some people get healed and some people don't? Like, those are real questions that I think it shouldn't be shot away from. And those are the questions that I think people really want the answer to at times. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. Well, I'm grateful that you addressed those things. I really am because, yeah, life is not all rainbows and unicorns. So we all have difficult things. And so being honest and candid and having a candid conversation about those things, I think, Stephen, helps everybody, really. And it also helps people know, hey. Are you kidding me? That he has struggled with anxiety? No way. You know? It it makes them feel like, okay. I'm going to be okay and I'm not alone here. Right. I think that's the other thing that it does for people. Stephen Jenkins
Absolutely. And and to add to that is that I didn't want to write a book that said this is what you should do. I basically wrote a book that said, this is my story. You can believe it or not, but I'm telling you the truth. This was my situation. This is what I learned. This is how I dealt with it. This was the results. And I'm talking to you purely from examples of of things that happened in my life. And so everything that I wrote on is things is like, look. This is me. Take it or leave it. Right? But I'm giving you the advice of what I learned and what I experienced and the peace that I was able to get and what I would like to offer you as well. And and that's why I wrote it. Right? Because it's personal experiences. Lisa Nichols
So good. So good. Well, I am not going to get through all my questions. I've got one more question, then I wanna talk about something extra. Stephen, if somebody's listening today and they are hearing your it's your testimony of how god has showed up in your life and how he's changed your life and how he's transformed every aspect of your life and how you rely on him. But somebody's listening, and they are feeling like, you know, I've just made way too many mistakes in my life. You know, there's no way that God's gonna be able to use me. What would you say to that person? Stephen Jenkins
I would say, first off, that would be the enemy lying to you. The easiest thing to lie to you is to say you're too far gone. Right? Jesus didn't come. He even said it. Right? He did not come for those that were high and mighty. Those that on the outside appeared to be of the religious elite. He came for the brokenhearted. He came for the lost. He came for the sinners, for the prostitute, for those those that need a saving. You know, a well person doesn't need a doctor. A sick person does. Right. And that's what he said. I think it's a lot that you would tell yourself or the enemy would tell you that you're you're too far gone. In reality is if you look at even the disciples, I describe them as a bunch of knuckleheads. Like, they were right there with Jesus the whole time. And and you you follow their story, and you're like, Peter's a hothead. And if there's a if there's air to be sucked up in a room, he's gonna talk. Right? He's got something to say. And and even at the end, after being there for three years, said, you're going to deny me. And Peter said, No, I'm not. And like within an hour, denying me. Right. And like, they're all running scared. Paul was the one that was literally beating, and he was right there when Stephen got stoned and was on his way to Damascus to throw more Christians in jail and to persecute Christians and to have them killed and have them flogged and beaten.A counter with Jesus changed his entire trajectory and the same zealousness that he was using to persecute, God used to be the greatest disciple, apostle to ever walk the face of the earth, wrote two thirds of the New Testament. And I don't know about you, but I haven't killed a lot of Christians lately. And so, you know, it's it's pretty tough to say that you're worse off than he was. And he was redeemable and not just redeemable, redeemable in a mighty way. Right. And I think that's why God chose those people versus kings and perfect people and religious elite. Like, these were normal, ordinary people who were making real mistakes before and after they encountered Jesus. Right? Right. And so Right. That's what I look at. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. It's so good. So good. Well, this is called something extra, Stephen, and I ask every guest this question. What do you believe is this something extra that every leader needs? Stephen Jenkins
I believe that every leader needs a relationship with their father in heaven through Jesus Christ so that when they're having certainty, doubt, and worry about the market, about employees, about decisions, about AI, about all these things, or am I in the right place? Am I in the right job with the right company? That they can sit down, have some quiet time, pray to the Father, and say, Look, I don't have a clue and I need some guidance here. And that right there alone is how I was able to go from an engineer to a leader of sales to a leader of operations to, you know, managing a global services organization to being a president of a company with my resume, my education, nothing on paper said that I should be able to do it. But I walked one foot in front of the other, and here I am, and he's never let me down. Right? And it's always worked out. And so I think that's just something extra that if everybody had, we'd be a lot better off in their role. Lisa Nichols
Oh, that's so good. Well, Stephen, this has been so good. Thank you so much. I know that your wisdom, your insight, your experience, all the things that we've talked about, family, faith, business, all of those things are gonna help our listeners on their own journey. And so I just appreciate you telling, you know, and sharing your story with us today. Stephen Jenkins
Look. I just appreciate you having me on here. It's been great speaking to you today. I've enjoyed the time, and I think you have a Something Extra podcast for sure. And it's, it's really enjoyable for you and the the whole team. So thank you so much for having me here. Lisa Nichols
Thank you so much. Have a great rest of the day. Stephen Jenkins
You too.Announcer
Something extra with Lisa Nichols is a Technology Partners production. Copyright Technology Partners Inc, twenty nineteen. To learn more about this week's guest, check out the show notes at tpi dot co slash podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, consider leaving us a review. Thank you for listening to Something Extra. 
