Rogers Talks 2016: Greg Weatherdon

The author of Get More Life Out of Your Business reveals the importance of delegating responsibility – and enjoying some downtime whenever you can.

"Everything I practice in business I learned as a truck driver: be on time, be responsible, shift gears when things go wrong."

Greg Weatherdon knew he’d achieved business nirvana when he went missing in action while on a supply run to Staples for his firm, Marketing Resource Group, one day. Weatherdon ran into an acquaintance, went for coffee and, at 3 o’clock, then blew off the rest of the afternoon. The next day dawned bright and warm, so he went for a short bike ride that somehow stretched into five hours of cycling. Again, at 3 o’clock, he gave the office a miss. On the way into work on the third day, he ran into another friend, stopped to chat and nearly clocked out that day too. But he wasn’t worried.

“The thing is, I could do it,” he says. “My staff wasn’t waiting for all the decisions to be made; I’d delegated everything down to the lowest common denominator, put all the systems in place, and it just [hummed] along.”

Weatherdon’s Ferris Bueller days off came courtesy of valuable lessons learned from his previous enterprises. “We all go into business for all sorts of reasons, financial freedom, et cetera,” he says, “but 18 or 24 months into it, that list is gone and we’re the hardest-working person in the company. We’re working to support the company instead of the other way around. In my first company, for the first eight years, I was working 16 hours a day, seven days a week, but I never seemed to make any money. As owners, my wife and I always seemed to be missing our paycheques while everybody else was getting paid, so I literally walked away.”

And he used these insights when he launched another venture. “I just never wanted to work that hard again,” he says. And when people kept telling him he seemed so calm, so relaxed and had more time on his hands than an entrepreneur had a right to have, he realized he had a message to pass along. In 2013, he wrote Get More Life Out of Your Business and hit the speaker circuit. So what’s the single most important message, the one that will get you that time off and have the company working for you instead of the other way around? “Delegate.”

“I’m not a detailed-oriented guy, but I understood the value of having the processes in place and people who were responsible. It’s amazing how they rose to the occasion. I used to drive tractor-trailers, and I think everything I practice in business I learned as a truck driver: be on time, be responsible, show up, shift gears when things go wrong. Sometimes the load in life is heavier and you need to shift gears. You need to delegate.” And take the day off once in a while, too.

 

 Hear Greg Weatherdon’s keynote at this year’s Rogers Talks event in Ottawa!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016
7:30 a.m – 1:30 p.m.
Canadian Museum of Nature, M. C.
240 McLeod St, Ottawa, ON K2P 2R1

Check All Speak Engagements

The Basics-Getting Them Right
September 26 @ 6:30 pm –8:30 pm

Topic: Get More LIFE Out Of Your Business

Winnipeg May 3rd, 2016

Saskatoon May 4th, 2016

Ottawa May 19, 2016

Halifax June 1, 2016

Ottawa June 21, 2016

 

April 7th, 2016

Keynote: Leadership

 

Wednesday February 24, 2016

Location: Best Western Pembroke Inn & Conference Centre,

1 International Drive, Pembroke ON

Keynote: Word of Mouth- Your Virtual Salesforce

 

 

Keynote: Leadership + Mentoring = Excellence
Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel & Suites
5875 Airport Road
Mississauga, Ontario, L4V 1N1

 

Topic: Would You Buy Your Company?
August 26 – 29, 2015
Caesars Windsor
Windsor, ON

 

Keynote: Get More LIFE Out Of Your Business Workshop

Date: May 8, 2015

Time:  1 PM – 3 PM

Place: Algonquin College

 

Keynote:  No Sales, No Business

Date: April 28, 2015

Time:  9 AM – 10:30 AM

Place: Ma-Te-Way Arena, Renfrew, ON

 

 

 

Keynote:  Doing Better Business Workshop

Date: April 9, 2015

Time:  9 AM – 12 PM

Place: Hilton Garden Inn, 2400 Alert Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 1S1

Telfer Marketing Association

Keynote: The Who, What & Why of Leadership
Date: April 1, 2015
Time:  5 PM
Place: Marriott Downtown, Ottawa

Keynote: The 10 Things I Learned

Date: Feb 9, 2015

Time:  3 PM

Place: AC Hub

Keynote: No Sales, No Business

Date: Nov 22, 2014

Time:  8:15 am to 4:15 pm

 

Place: Ottawa Convention Center, Ottawa, ON

Register here: https://www.picatic.com/event14108353325233041

 

 

Keynote: Get More LIFE Out Of Your Business

Date: Oct 24, 2014

Time:  9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Place: Best Western Pembroke Inn & Conference Ctr- 1 International Dr Pembroke ON

Keynote: No Sales, No Business!

Date: Oct 23, 2014

Time:  8:30 am to 2:00 pm

Place: CJ’s Banquet Hall (803 Chelsea Street, Brockville)

 

Register here: 613-342-8772 X471 or e-mail enterprisecentre@brockville.com

Keynote: No Sales, No Business!

Date: Oct 15, 2014

Time: 12:30 PM-1:30PM

 

Place: 80 Aberdeen Ave, Ottawa, ON K1S 5R5

Price: Free

Register here: http://investottawa.ca/event/no-sales-no-business/

Keynote: The Art of Transition

Date: July 23-26, 2014

Place: Westin Resort and Spa, Whistler BC

 

 

Event: 2014 Conference www.canspep.com

Keynote: Would You Buy Your Company

Date: February 22, 2014

Time: 1:30 PM

Place: Brookstreet Hotel, Kanata Ontario

 

 

Keynote Get More Life Out of Your Business

Date: Feb 5, 2014

Time: 10 AM

Place: 80 Aberdeen Ave, Ottawa, ON K1S 5R5

Price: Free

Register here: Coming Soon

 

 

Topic: Get More Life Out of Your Business

Date: Nov 19, 2013

Time: 9 AM

Place: 80 Aberdeen Ave, Ottawa, ON K1S 5R5

Price: Free

Register here: http://goo.gl/lXqd9C

Topic: Guest Entrepreneur

Date: Nov 4, 2013

 

 

Cornwall Chamber of Commerce

Event: BizFest – Closing Keynote

Topic: Get More Life Out of Your Business

Date: October 23, 2013

Time: 6 PM

Place: Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre, Cornwall, ON

For more information and to register visit: www.bizfest.ca

 

 

Pontiac Chamber of Commerce/ Chambre de Commerce

Event: Small Business Week

Topic: Get More Life Out of Your Business

Date: October 24, 2013

Time: 7:30 AM

Place: Café 349 in Shawville

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