#32 | 3 Ways To Bet On Yourself With Laurie Ruettimann

This week’s Coffee with Kim guest is an HR Rockstar in no uncertain terms. After quitting her corporate job, she’s made it her mission to help others put themselves first and take control of their careers – she even wrote a book about it, read Betting on You here. Today, Laurie Ruettimann teaches us how to apply her four pillars of success – self leadership, wellbeing, continuous learning, and risk taking – to be the change you wish to see in your personal and professional life!

The Truth Behind HR (7:48) 

Last week Antonio Neeves shared that professional development is our own responsibility, not our company’s. Laurie echoed that sentiment, and it reminded me how important self-leadership is. But if we can’t look to Human Resources to help us grow personally and professionally, what are they actually there for? Laurie broke down the answer for us. “HR is meant to help the company be more profitable, use fewer people, make sure workers didn’t sue them.” She explained, around 2001 HR’s messaging shifted and companies implemented more perks at work – having convos around culture and attitude, adding ping pong tables, allowing pets, etc. – but it’s function never changed.

Betting On Yourself In 2021 (10:04) 

Since we know now the ‘the HR cavalry’ will most likely never show up, we have to bet on ourselves to get the life results we desire. That was Laurie’s experience also. Instead of complaining, she took responsibility of her work and life. Taking initiative is her key to betting on yourself in 2021. “Start by reclaiming ownership of your calendar, setting boundaries, and learning something new. We’re in the golden age of learning. There’s no reason you can’t research and learn something new each day to push the needle forward toward your goals.”

Slacker Time (14:32) 

I loved Laurie’s advice to be intentional about learning something new daily. She adds that elevating the personal = improving the professional. Surprisingly, she shared she doesn’t have specific time blocks for learning. Instead, she uses “slack time”. Not to be mistaken for the team managing system, slack time is her daily time block for completing overdue tasks. She’s so committed to her slack time she adds it to her calendar first and works the rest of the week’s schedule around it.

Let’s all take a note from the woman who created not one, but TWO LinkedIn Learning courses, managed a business, and published a book during a pandemic – if Laurie says add slack time to the schedule, you don’t argue.

Boundaries (17:04) 

In the vein of reclaiming our time, I must share I’ve had clients that are like the dog that poops on the rug, “not well trained.” Laurie shared 3 pieces of advice for training others to accept your boundaries:

1. Lead by example – respect other’s boundaries.

2. Teach on the run – explain your reasoning for your boundaries, but don’t apologize for them.

3. Make choices – ask yourself, ‘Do I want to work with a client that will constantly drain me?’

Overall, we should be as concerned about our well-being as we are about saying yes or no to money.

Pro Tip: Laurie advises to only work with people you like, know, trust, and love!

Building Trust Digitally (31:20) 

Finding people to work with that we like, know, trust, and love was difficult before, but the pandemic took it up a few notches. I was curious to know Laurie’s take on building trust digitally. “We should continue giving grace, forgiveness, and compassion, let the minor things go to be sure we get work done,” she says.

Always Be Found Vs Always Be Looking (39:52) 

As we take control of our future and push toward our goals it’s easy to get into a cycle of constantly looking for the next best thing. Laurie’s solution is to remain open to new opportunities.

“Always searching is exhausting and prevents you from enjoying the present,” she says, “put yourself in a position to be found vs constantly searching for the next upgrade.”

Speed Round (49:21) 

• What have you started using lately that you love? Awaken coffee

• What is the best gift you’ve given yourself in the last year? I gave myself a sabbatical to read, watch tv, and relax

• What’s the best book you read during sabbatical? Mindful Money by Jonathan DeYoe

• What account do you follow that you love? Jesse Itzler and Jennifer McClure

• What’s something people would be surprised to know about you? I learned that I am a corporate drinker and I no longer wanted to be alcohol dependent during work, so I’m researching the connection between work and alcohol in our lives.

Homework: Practice reclaiming control of your calendar by cancelling one meeting this week and see what happens.

Next week:

Taylor Foxman is teaching us about branding and marketing in some unique industries. She’s VP of Communications at a leading cannabis company, listed on PR Week’s 40 under 40, and involved with a network pushing to get women in power and keep them there. This one is bound to be fun. Bring all your cannabis, cocktail and mentorship questions and join us.