We’re doing this right. Right?
“We Are Doing This Right. Right?” is your go-to podcast for humor-infused discussions that empower women to lead, succeed, and grow. Join us as we explore the smart side of life, business, and friendship, all while navigating the balancing act of parenting and work life. Get ready to laugh, learn, and find your path to success with a community that's cheering you on every step of the way.
We’re doing this right. Right?
From Intern to CEO: Amanda Medlen’s Journey and Leadership Secrets
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Building the Best Workplace: A Deep Dive with Amanda on Leadership and Culture
In this episode, we explore the intricate balance of leadership and culture within a successful interior design organization with Amanda, a dedicated CEO with over 20 years of experience.
Amanda shares her journey from intern to CEO, the evolution of the company, and the importance of a positive workplace culture.
We dive into their recognition as one of the best places to work, the strategic implementation of feedback systems, and the unique projects they undertake, including commercial interior design and specialized move management.
Additionally, Amanda opens up about her personal experiences with mental health, the importance of genuine connections, and the balancing act of being a working parent.
This episode offers valuable insights for leaders looking to create a thriving work environment, enrich team dynamics, and support mental health in the workplace.
Amanda Medlen is Principal and CEO of IDO Incorporated, and interior design organization dedicated to helping people thrive. Of the company's 32 years of business Amanda has been blessed to have served there for 20 years. As a servant leader, Amanda is often found volunteering, supporting others and making connections throughout her entire network.
FB: @IDOincorporated
IG: @idoincorporated
Referenced books:
Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork Kindle Edition
by Dan Sullivan (Author), Benjamin Hardy (Author)
Rebecca Lyons. It's Rhythms of Renewal. Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose.
00:00 Introduction and Opening Remarks
00:58 Meet Amanda: A Servant Leader's Journey
01:51 Achievements and Company Culture
03:14 Leadership and Succession Planning
05:53 Mental Health and Personal Struggles
09:16 Creating a Supportive Workplace
17:48 Feedback and Continuous Improvement
20:16 Creating Roles Based on Passion
21:07 Leadership and Strengths Utilization
21:56 Assessment Tools for Team Building
23:14 Introduction to IDO Incorporated
23:46 Specialized Design Projects
25:36 Holistic Services and Networking
28:41 Balancing Work and Family Life
29:53 Leadership Lessons and Efficiency
32:14 Teamwork and Support Systems
37:32 Conclusion and Contact Information
you can be the most positive person, but if you're working with a leader who is, you know, even just more reserved, quiet, negative it really affects you and trickles you, whether you know it or not.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Hey guys, we're doing it right, right?
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:We're doing it. We're always doing it right. Maybe a little bit wrong, but that's okay too.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Right ish. well today, my friends, we have And interior design organization dedicated to helping people thrive. Of the 32 years, the company's been in business. Amanda has been blessed to have served them for over 20 years as a servant leader, Amanda is often found volunteering, supporting others and making connections throughout her entire network. Welcome, Amanda.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thanks for the intro calling
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh my gosh. Yes. I'm so glad you're here. So Amanda, like you said, Cheryl is part of our InspireHER indie group and she's I'm very, very thankful to have her in the group. She's such a great leader and contributor and has brought so much to our group. And. So it's been wonderful, but we're so excited to have you here, Amanda. And just to kind of learn, have our audience learn more about you and more about, you know, like what it is to be a CEO of a, you know, small, mid sized business. And one of the things that we were just talking about before we got on was. The IDO has now, for the last two years, been ranked as one of the best places to work in Indianapolis or in Indiana, Amanda?
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:best places to work in
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:In the state. So that's huge.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:you. You.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:and so we would love to just chat with you, Amanda, about leadership, about creating culture, about creating a workplace that is the best place in the state to work, like and just to learn more about you.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah, absolutely. And I can go, I could probably talk to y'all all day, but just help navigate whatever you're curious, interrupt me, whatever. So first is at the stage. I know she gave those prestigious titles, which I'm really not a title person. I don't like all the attention, but you have to do that. Right. So that kind of happened gradually. So like she said 20 years, which seems crazy. I know people scratch their heads. I say I was born there. So IDO was my second of three internships. So I did it between my junior and senior year college. I still did interview outside upon graduation and ultimately accepted the offer, which just turned out to be the best decision I've ever made. Outside of my husband and my kids, of course. But But yeah, no, it's been great. I've worked in any and all parts of the business. I feel like different client campuses. So really got a good foundation of the knowledge of the work and everything that we do. The culture will come into it cause that's a big part of the story as well. But our owner and founder priest, well, founder, Previous owner, Jill Mendoza started the business in 1992 from the basement of her home. Jill planted the seed with myself and my business partner, Lee Boylan. Lee started out as an intern as well. So, like I said, I've been here 20 years, Lee's been here 15. I actually have, I should have brought it so I could grab it, but I actually have a handwritten note from her on Ball State Stationery when she was a student thanking me for coming and speaking to her class.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh my god.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:So
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:wow.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:cool story. Yeah, we actually grew up in the same area. We went to rival high schools, but because of the age, we didn't, we didn't know each other. But Jill planted the seed with Lee and I in 2017, I believe she took us to lunch, kind of gave us the idea of her succession planning and what, what she was thinking. I remember thinking like later, we're like messaging like, Oh my goodness, is this for real? So So we've been gradually working on it since then. So once we kind of put that into place, Jill, you know, the next year work four days a week, three days a week, two days a week. So Leah and I have been leading and managing it for the better part of two years or more.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Okay.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:but it wasn't until this past October did we get through the ownership piece of it. So that is something I really don't desire to go through again anytime soon. I barely passed business law. So trying to understand that language and what's going on, you have to really rely on a lot of other people in their specialties to get through that. But you asked about the best places to work, so that's just a quick background. That, as far as I know, when Jill, our previous owner, was looking into it, the, I don't know how many people you needed to be able to participate, but we were smaller than that threshold.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Okay.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:but last year they brought it down to 15, and we just had 15. This past year we had 16, so we've tried for it the two years we've been eligible, and we've received it both times. As I was telling Colleen earlier both times are great, but it was especially the first year last year that it really just meant so much and I couldn't even begin to explain it here. But it just wasn't always like that. I've seen. positives, negatives, upflow, downflow of culture, leadership, how it influences the team just, I mean, you can be the most positive person, but if you're working with a leader who is, you know, even just more reserved, quiet, negative it really affects you and trickles you, whether you know it or not.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:We did go through a period so it was 2018, 2019 where we did have a lot of turnover. It was kind of when the announcement was brought up about the succession planning and transitioning. Again, I'm not going into details, those don't need to be shared, but it was just a different time and place,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Hmm.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:and just with all the dynamics of what was going on. I even have a story that spins off of that, of a my first battle with mental illness, know, I'm talking like all the handful of medicines, therapists, doctors, counseling. I went through all that. It's nothing that I ever want to go through again,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah. Yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:from it. And I almost feel like it's explaining like a new operating system. Is it perfect? No. I've learned from it and I actually can, you know, dial it up and down or like, I feel like coming and I was like, okay, I need to do this. So I'm a huge advocate for mental health. I know that a lot of people, it's like hard to kind of come out because you feel like isolated and that you're alone. But I found like when I opened up about it, it's a bigger network than you,
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Oh yeah,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:or even
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:definitely. I had postpartum depression with my first pretty severely and have had, I just have been medicated ever since. I also, like you said, there's that checklist of things when I start to feel a little bit down or not myself, which I'm sure everybody listening is like, what? Cheryl, you're so positive. You're always so bubbly. Well,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:gotten that as
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:I can't always be that. That's not realistic and sometimes I'm down and then I have a toolkit, if you will, of items that I know go outside, go for a walk, move your
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah. It's
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:consistently taking your medication like you should what, have you had genuine connection with somebody lately?
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:So
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:a toolkit or a to do list, if you will, of things I know that I can do to pull myself up out of it. Okay. But I want to acknowledge that sometimes that toolkit is not enough and medication may be necessary. So if that's an issue for you, you know, talk to your doctor. It's okay.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:know and everybody like with anything, you know, nursing formula stay at home mom, working mom, you know, medication, no medic. It's, it's up to the individual.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Yes.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:solid answer right or wrong. I myself have found that the little bit of medication and then doing my part as well is the best situation for me. you know, taking it down, even getting off and be like, Oh no, no, no. Like I need that. But then I also like. I have to balance you. It's, it's a book that I'd like to throw out there that I recommend to a lot of people Rebecca Lyons. It's Rhythms of Renewal. So it's called I think it's Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose. So she talks about rest, restore. Connect and create. So I, for instance, I love landscaping. So getting in the earth, working with the the plants. I usually go on walks every morning right now, cause it's nice. I do it with a girlfriend in my neighborhood and we just talk and we do the three and a half miles or whatever of our neighborhood. And it's fantastic. And I can tell days when I don't get up and do that. I don't have as much energy. It just, you know, It helps set the stage. And I also like to do some reading and devotionals as well in the morning. But, but again, it's the genuine connections, having a dinner, you know, I've got a group chat on the phone and we like mom's night out is what we call it. So we, we try to get together for dinner, you know, maybe not every month, but every other month, but we're there as a support group and encouragement. If you have something that you want to share, need help with that those girls are there.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:awesome. Um, I think that. in having had a mental health experience yourself, I'm sure makes you a stronger leader and a more empathetic leader. And you can relate when your employees end up in. Um, I can
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:hmm. And just even the situation that I came in when I was first, like, I didn't know what was going on and how the reactions that maybe I didn't get that I was expecting from others, I didn't get. I'm very, I'm always pretty sensitive in general. I have strong feelers, I call it. Just on people's emotions, reactions, what, what they're thinking or whether that's right or wrong. But yeah, I think it's just taking time, you know, stepping back, even if somebody's just being quiet that day. I feel like I'm a patterns and behaviors type person, so I kind of recognize those things. And it's just, you know, instead of coming in and being like, you know, what, what's wrong with Cheryl today? Well, just be like, you know, maybe ask questions. I think that's the best
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:is just to acknowledge it and you don't have to dig deep. Like I say, Hey, I don't need to know all that's going on, but I can tell you're a little bit off. If you want to talk about it, like, please come to me if you need time to be alone. I respect that as well.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:see why you're getting voted the best place to work if
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah, I
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:on their down day.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah, well, and just, yeah, we have other things. One of the girls decided like hey, we should do something as a team We haven't gotten together in a while. So she suggested it'd be really fun if we did a murder mystery party I'm like, what would you like to take those efforts on? So that actually is what we got going on today
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:So fun.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:afternoon kind of went in place of our team meeting and it's already set up with props I have my character is Avery Lemon that's where all the yellows coming from but we even had some like pregame activities this week where we send messages to the other characters and we play that role and And start some dialogue. So it's pretty fun.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:That is
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:love that you let somebody like somebody had an idea and well, two things. One, you were like, love that for you to take on. So it wasn't something that you had to take on, you know, not another thing that you had to take on, but also to give somebody the autonomy and the leadership and The ability to kind of be a leader in a sense in this, you know, for this meeting or for this activity, I think that that creates such a nice atmosphere for your employees or, or, you know, for the people that work under you or with you, right. I'd love for you to chat with us a little bit about like, you are one of the best places to work in the state. Like, what does that mean for you? And what does that, how does that show up? And, and if you asked your employees, what does that mean to them?
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:I mean, a lot of it, you hear the buzzword about culture. What does that mean? Is it the free snacks in the kitchen and the drinks? No. I mean, that's nice, right? We like free food and, and the occasional lunch brought in, but I think it's just what we've created. And again, I think it's, it's benefited us Lee and I to be in the company for so long. So we've seen different examples of, Various leadership styles techniques, things. Even when we were coming in, like, Oh, I wish that we had this. Or, you know, even when we were just like with young kids coming in I remember Lee and I don't even have a powwow kind of before, like when we were first coming into those leadership meetings, I'd be like, Hey, what time, what's your plan? Like, what time do you have to leave today? She was like, well, I need to cut out like no later than four. So we'd like support each other in those efforts and make sure I'm like, okay, you know, I'm going to try to leave then too. We'll just, you know, Go out together. Because, you know, people wanted to talk or keep the meeting and we're trying it. And so lot of it, I think it's just based on what we desired and what we wanted. And we want to make sure to pass that on to the team as well. You know, not everybody celebrates the same holiday. So, like, for instance, we've instituted, we're going to bring in next year. To extra floating holidays. So, you know, we have the standard ones, but if you celebrate something else, or you want to attack on a day, and maybe, you know, Black Friday, or I don't know, day after. For the July, if it falls on a Wednesday or a Thursday just stuff like that. And, and we also we instituted a couple years ago, we gave everybody eight hours, it doesn't roll over, but it's we call it volunteer time. So it's, it's really just to be used for just that. So whether you speak to your little brother's class about the profession actually, I think next week, we, when we're scheduled to do our women build. It's Habitat for Humanity, but it's all women. So we have quite a bit. We're teaming up with another company in the industry, Business Furniture. and that's, first time we've kind of asked and teamed with them like we did with Turner Construction, I think our first year, but we've kept it as a regular thing. It's important to take a break. Get out and do some other activities, give back to the community. But yeah, we have, we've changed even our meeting cadence. Like, I'm like, just because we always did it this way doesn't mean we have to continue. So we've kind of tweaked that as we
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Yes. Thank you.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Like, and you know, there's even just been little nomenclature things that I don't like. Like, you know, you're talking about employees. I'm like, I don't like saying that. I call them teammates. It's like, this is my teammate. So and so also we used to have, it used to be called like management team. I don't like that. So we changed that to leadership team because we are the ones setting the tone. We want to be one on one intentional with those on our team and lead and direct and influence them in the right way. And then we also have another meeting. It's just a set time every Thursday where we go around and it's just real quick. It can be a real short meeting or it could go on long, but it includes everyone and we kind of go around the table. You know, talk about our kind of our stress load, workload. This is a time to say, what do you need? You need help with this or, Hey, I've got time to offer. You're just really getting the communication going and saying, or, Hey guys, I am done. I'm burnout on this. Like I need to do something else. Can somebody help me get through this? And so we're sharing in that because we, we do have a variety of work we do. And some of it's not as fun as others. So we try to make sure we balance that as well. And you know, if somebody's struggling on like, Hey, I've never experienced this. Well, Hey, come along with me next week. I have this you can kind of shadow.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:What I love that I'm hearing you say, Amanda, is that culture for you also has like, almost like a system and a process and Cheryl and I love a system and a process, right? But like, you've built in a system that allows. For a culture. And I, and I think that that is really cool because I think sometimes when we talk about, you know, culture in a business, it does feel like it's intangible or does feel like you're like, I don't know how to do it. Like maybe we'll just bring in more snacks or more pizza, or maybe we need a ping pong table or whatever it is. Right. But what I'm hearing is you're like, we've actually been very thoughtful about how this process, you know, about this process and put in some really strategic things that allow, like, you know, you put in the road roadmap or the guardrails or whatever for culture. And for what sounds like some fairly open communication about,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh, absolutely. And we, we still, they're getting better. But we do have, we try to have that policy. You know, you always have leaders say my door is always open, but people still don't always feel comfortable doing that. And then I, I know that I tried to, cause I don't do as many like one on ones as I used to on a more regular basis. But what I do like to do on their work anniversary is I like to like have a one on one lunch with them or just check in and we don't always have to talk about work. Like I just, walk down to, uh, it's called Fresco on the canal with one of the younger associates. We both had never been there and we'd been wanting to try it. So we walked down there and I got to know about kind of like her family structure, where she came from, her background. And it was great just to get, you know, just to From the day to day, just get to know someone on a different level give them that opportunity and again, encourage them, say, you know, like, you know, within reason, like I want to hear all the things, like of times we don't know, especially being new in this role, you know, you didn't get an instruction manual on how to run a business.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:right.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:So, you know, like, I want to hear it. Like I'm, I'm human too. I'm not perfect. So what do you like, what do you wish could be better? Give me some feedback. I was like, you know, we can't make all the wishes come true. But within reason we can take that into consideration and make, and make those adjustments. That's something that comes out of the Best Places to Work, too, because we have kind of the anonymous feedback. Some of it's just more demographics and data, but some is more like free form, and we get a lot of information from there, and we don't just get it, and that's it. We get it, we summarize it, we take it to our team meeting and we say, this is what we heard. And they said, this is what we've done already. This is what we put, plan to put into place. You know, this one's going to take a little bit longer, but like, give us some time. We're going to focus on this. So we're like communicating. Cause that's the worst thing. If you get anonymous feedback and you don't do anything with it,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:that can really boil.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Oh yeah.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh,
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:how that'd be infuriating and that's the person that gave the feedback and then they're like, I don't know. I
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:then
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:put the effort in.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:done, nothing's getting
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:I came forward, which can be really hard and scary to do. And then no action being taken.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:ignored. Yep. So if, and I know that there's different systems actually back when, at that time that we don't speak about much, but there was one that came up, there's a lot of online systems that you can do to initiate that, but you just have to make sure someone's dedicated to getting in there, reading it and implementing it
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:talking about it because that was a problem we went through, you know, somebody took the initiative to do it, but then we weren't. it. We weren't using it. So we'd shut that thing down and kind of start over.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Talk to us a little bit about.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:it at all.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Huh?
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:is. I think we hear a lot about like from an employee's viewpoint of like, listen, I provided feedback and now I'm like upset that nobody's doing anything. But talk about from from a leadership position or from a position of a CEO, like when you receive that feedback, what's that like? You know, because that could be more intense,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:gift.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:right? Like what's that like? What's that like?
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:that sounds weird, but it, it is a gift. I mean, yeah, you, everybody wants to hear the good stuff, right? getting that constructive feedback, I mean, that's how you grow and you learn, you know, one way. And then when new people come in, you know, that's even, you still have to kind of adjust. There's so many different personalities and types, and also things to assess that we're learning, you know, as we're growing and moving into positions, we even, you know, had one associate that was talking. I was like, what do you, how do you envision that? Like, how do you see that role? And we try to understand what people like. And try to extract that from them. Cause we can, like, just because these are the job descriptions we have now doesn't mean that we can't add one. So what are you like, Oh, okay, well let's, let's create this position and maybe this committee bring, cause once you can pair people up with what their true passion and their love is, and you put them in there, they're going to do really great and then that's only going to just trickle to the client and so on.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:That reminds me a lot of and I know I've talked about this book a lot but the book Unreasonable Hospitality where he talks about like finding what somebody's good at and then allowing them to do that or creating something for them so that they can thrive or shine or whatever, you know, it's pulling the line cook off the line because really what he's good at is You know, being the beer guy that makes the beer tasting menu or whatever, right? Like, I think there's so much to when you're in leadership and, you know, running a, I mean, 15 people, 16 people is a lot of people to manage, right? Like, to understand and to adjust, like, and we were just talking to somebody about strengths, but like to see what somebody's are and then utilize those strengths. I think that that is. That sounds like, you know, what you guys are doing at IDO. And I just, I'm like, I'm, I just applaud that like as a leader and as a CEO and to wear that hat and to have those letters after your name
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:you always hear about like getting the right people on the right seats on the right bus. There was, I follow a lot with John Gordon. He has like a daily positive and he had a book, the energy bus. And so he describes that as well. You were talking about like, Strengths and utilizing that. There's also another one that I like to utilize. Patrick Lincioni does one called the working genius. So he's got different sections and so you've got six different groups and that's an assessment tool that I do actually utilize. I know there's so many like disc and Myers Briggs and all these things, but, the working genius is more so it spells widgets. So it's wonder invention. Discernment, galvanizing, enablement, and tenacity. So everybody has two geniuses, essentially, and two frustrations. And I've, I've got it pinned up right here. I work, I look at that chart all the time. Because especially being in the creative field, I'm more in the middle. I'm not that blank slate person like the one. So we've got some really high creatives though that like that blank slate and started it. I'm more kind of on the discernment enablement. So bring me, what are your thoughts? What are your ideas on that? And then I kind of listen and say, you know, I like that. Or, Hey, let's add this. So we have the different people in this process. Some people are the tenacity who are just like, Hey, give it to me. I'll run with it. I'll get this thing done and out the door. So it's important, I think, to find your strengths and, and partnering with the right people.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:I love it.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah, absolutely. Well, it sounds like an amazing place to work. Tell us more about what you do, Amanda. Like, what do you guys do at IDO? Like,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh, the actual work.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah, that's the actual work.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:she said. Yep. So IDO Incorporated, so we're an interior design organization dedicated to helping people thrive. There's a whole backstory on, everybody always asks what IDO stands for, we'll save that for another time. But we do commercial interior design, so we specialize more in the higher education. healthcare, life sciences type work. We've done a couple projects recently with government municipal work. So we're working on the correctional facility, which you think like that's not high design, but there's a lot of cycle psychology that goes behind it
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Okay.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:You have a whole array of. Furniture that you have to look at. I mean, you have to like, have all kinds of things like, you know, anti ligature, like you can't like literally hang yourself off a door. The furniture has to be over a certain weight so people can't lift it and throw it. I mean, you think of it, anything. Cause they're trying to get into the infirmary and anyway, it's a,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:That's a
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:nother
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:whole level of design that I don't think
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:my goodness.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:I've ever thought of. Holy crap.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh, I know I've so much. Yes. But yeah, we've done some, some local universities, healthcare, like I said, so we get into the, the design some environmental design as well. Sustainability. If you've ever heard of the lead. Leadership and energy and environmental design. We've done that as well. Well certification, which is more on the hu human side of things. And impact of health and wellness. And then also what's a little bit more unique is the specialized move management. Which that could get into the weeds. I'm sure it's not as exciting as the the design projects. But it is also we, we get into laboratory design. So actually like, Creating something out of nothing of a space or the lab benches, utility requirements get into the details of equipment inventory and making sure everything gets in the right place, moved and set up to eliminate any downtime that the scientists may have for their operations.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Wow.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:that's cool.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:So
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:That's the,
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:it that
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:there is a lot and that's a unique one. Everybody's like, what is, what is the move management? So, and you know, it also goes into smaller things such as offices and people as well. Okay. But it also, it just kind of dovetails into the design and give a little bit more holistic services. And so we offer a lot with within our world of things, even if you get into artwork, branding, graphics, signage, wayfinding, all those kinds of things. we're also big advocates, as you can tell from our communication and collaboration with making those connections outside of our office as well. So we're just the interiors design, but we also really Like our relationships as well with the engineers, architects, you know, you name it, anything that's really connected to the space as a whole our manufacturers relationships with furniture procurement. Specification, all the flooring, all the finishes that you'd see in the space. So, you know, if, with certain things we can do in house, but if we can't we don't like to say, no, we can't do that. We'll say, Hey, you know, you know, let us look into it. We don't have an answer for that right now, but let us tap into our network and see what we can do. So we're all about the connections as well. And especially being a woman on business, being a part of some other networking groups like InspireHER or NABO or we bank great lakes women's business council, you name it. There's an organization for everything these days, but I think it's, it's finding those right ones.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah. And if you name it, Amanda's probably in it or been in it. She is like us. She's a joiner. She's loves to be in a group. She loves to be, to learn, to, to participate, to contribute. And I just think that that is, I'm just in all of that. That's like,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Well, not all of them. You can't do all of them. I know that there's some like I've been asked to, I'm like, you know, no, I can't
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:try to, you know, refer someone there. But yes, I think, you know, I think there's a misconception too. Like the more you're in the better you're off, but you can't, you know, even talking with our kids do youth sports, you've got to pick, you can't
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:both of those because you're not going to make, you're going to make a commitment to something, you need to be able to go to it. Like, you're not just gonna join it and then go to every third one. Like, that's not fair to the team, either.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Yeah, that's one of the I guess pillars of the InspireHER Collective that I really try and drive home is we need a commitment because as a collective, need to collectively show up for each other.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:huge like attendance and input. And those are all huge pillars of what needs to happen to make a successful group.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:and I know people a lot of times will be like, Why didn't you get anything out of it? I'm like, What did you put into it, though?
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Yes.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Right.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:what group, I'm pretty, you know, selective of which one. I think I just saw this one on like social media through Maven space, perhaps. And I was like, that sounds very interesting. It's a lot of things that I was passionate about as well. And that's, that's another key to joining a group. You don't just join a group because it's on your resume or. whatever to show off and take pictures. Oh, this was fun. It's more like just, it's different for everybody. You know, everybody's not going to join the same groups or find the benefit out of the same groups.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:So I think you just mentioned kids sports. Are you, are you a mom? Are you a working mom?
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yes. I've, our oldest is Carson. He's 14. So he's going to be a freshman this fall, which I don't even know how that's possible. And then our daughter Riley, uh, she's going into seventh grade.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:So how, is the juggle of being a CEO and running a business with having the kiddos doing all the sports, doing all
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:again, I think it's part of that learning process. I mean, that was something that kind of played in with the mental health, just trying to do it all. And then realizing you can't, and you got to be strategic. You've got to learn to say no and be okay with it. You've got to be flexible and constantly shuffling something kind of along those lines that I like to kind of articulate or promote to the team as well. I use the example of if somebody comes up to me and says, Hey, are you busy? I don't answer with a yes or no. I say, what do you need?
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:It depends.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:is your What is your need? Because I could be really swamped, but what they have for me might take me like a minute or two, but then, you know, keep them going. Otherwise they could be like spinning, their wheels, but I'm keeping them going just by spending that one minute.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:that's such a great lesson in leadership, right? Because they could somebody could be waiting for you
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:just say yes or no. And that could be holding up so many other things, right? But if you're not approachable, if you're not willing to give that moment in time to somebody to say what you need, you know, I think that that is Yeah,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:is the better phrasing. Yeah.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:how can I help? Or what is it that you need? Or how can I be helpful? Or Or, you know, and I'm sure there's times where people come to you and, and you ask that and you say, well, I can't do that right now, but I can do that another time. Right. But, but, you know, there are so many instances where as a leader, somebody is going to come to you and say, you know, and I need you for this. And you can say yes, and then it's done, right? Like, or you can say no, and then it's done. And otherwise, otherwise, You know, if you're not allowing for that space, you're not allowing for people to be, you know, approach you or you're not approachable. You're really slowing down the efficiency of your business, right? Like there's so much efficiency in that.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yes.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:I love when you were talking about the lab stuff and the movement efficiency and like, because there's so much of that in business too, right? Like that is, is part of that, right? Like, how are you setting up the systems? How are you setting up your business? How are you setting up your communication lines? To allow for efficiencies, you know, like quickly without having to do a lot of things. And if you're, you're leaving your door open, but literally and figuratively, but also setting boundaries for that, I think that that is helpful and that creates efficiencies
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:hmm.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:in your business.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:and I think it's just being intentional with your time too because I don't feel like I mean I my my husband is great too with his job and being able to help especially during this season My parents just moved down a year ago. They used to be 90 minutes away at the house I grew up in now. They're in a condo 10 minutes away
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Hmm.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:So that that goes both ways, too with us helping each other us to them and then to us and just having grandparents nearby is great. My mother in law is also about 30 minutes away. So having that family support is important. I also show working moms to like, you know, how you pin messages on your iPhone. I'm like, this is the, this is the baseball carpool. This is the volleyball group. This is, so it's relying on your networks too. And so it's again, systems and processes, right?
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah. It's setting up those. I mean, we've talked about this, but it's,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:not do it all yourself.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:my gosh, no, you have to have your team, whatever you want to call it, right? You have to have your team. You have to have your crew. You have to have your system. You have to, whatever it is, that's how you function as a working parent, right? Like, because you just physically can't be in more than one place at one time, you
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:My dad owned his own insurance agency and I was the filer. would go in and file, file, file.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:You guys don't know what I did as a child. My parents owned, basically, I worked in a factory. So there were many labor laws broken as a child. But it's, I mean, I think that's part of it also when your parent is either a business owner or a, You know, like a lot an employee that is dedicated to their job or whatever, like as a kid, you become part of that, that becomes a little bit of part of you and you're involved. And when you're, especially in a leadership position or have your own business or an entrepreneur, your family is part of that, right? Like there are, I do not see how those things, how a line can be drawn between those things, because you are a whole person, right? So there's been plenty of times where. My kids have had to come with me to things, or I haven't been able to do things because I'm going to, and my kids have, you know, like, that's just part of the deal, you know?
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:So how involved is your husband in your business? Speaking of family involvement in business,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:No, he has his own separate job.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:okay, yeah. And then you just have to work through each other's schedules. Oh
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:We even I, I feel like just the last couple of days have been a little bit busy with the calendar and we were running through it and we even made a last minute swap, before we went to bed that night of like yesterday evening, we swapped kids basically like, okay, no, that makes more sense that you would go there that way. I don't have to leave my event early. And we're always saying like communicating back and forth. Well, I was already, I had to go to the store for this. So I went ahead and picked up this, this and this and like, okay, great. I'll go to the, you know, grocery later in the evening or, Hey, the dog's been out.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:So funny that you brought that up because the other day I had to, I was texting with my husband, like coordinating. I was like, listen, I've got him. I've got a meeting at three o'clock. I gotta meet a contractor at three o'clock. I need you to leave work so that you can take Vivian to horseback riding, because I usually take her. But I was like, I'm going to be down. I was kind of close to his work where I needed to be, and I'm going to be down there and I need to meet this contractor. So I need your help. And he was like, he's like, do you want me to meet the contractor? Or do you want me to take Vivian to, to horseback riding? No, like that's my job. So that's like my, so I'm going to meet the contractor, but I love that he was like ready to jump in and like help in that way. That was so funny. I was like, I mean, that would be great, but I, but no, like I need to meet the contractor. But thank you for offering. I just need you to take our kid to the lesson.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:I always say like, I just like can't even imagine like single parents, like how they manage all that. Like I'm very blessed. My husband and I have also been together 20 years as well. We met in high school.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Um, so we've been together a long time. So again, that's another team environment and communication. Like, and then some days it's so busy. It's like in the morning, we kind of just run it over. Okay, well I'll see you in bed tonight,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:know, cause split and we only have two,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:so I can't imagine the people that, you know, are in zone defense here with,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Listen, we're in zone defense. Cheryl and I both are running zone, you know, and I was raised by a single mom, and my sister is a single mom, so I am very familiar with what that is. And that is a, that's, that's a team effort there. You know, like there's, and when in those situations, again, we talked about this, like you have to find your team. Right. Like, because you don't have that built in partner, it's, and maybe you don't always have family, you know, but you got to find your team and you find, you find the people. To help you no matter what, but I think that's just. An important key to success and success while parenting. It's like, you just, you need a team. You need a whole group.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Absolutely. Yep. Okay.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:it's still is
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:You're still married, man.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:We're still man to
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Oh yeah. You've set that up.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:45 hours, for 45 hours a week, we're, we're man to man. And then we're zone in the evenings and on the weekends,
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Yeah. But that's part of your team that you've set up. Like I just, you like, that's just part of it, right? Like that is
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:who
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:so who not how, Oh my God. That's the book that we're reading. I just recommended for our, our brokerage to read as a team. That's it. It's such a good book. Oh my God. Everybody needs to listen to that book for so many parts of every, not just business for life too. And parenting.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:how can our listeners find you and work with you if they're interested in an IDO and. What you do.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:so the website simply is IDOincorporated.Com. We are also on most of every social media platform. Main ones, of course, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram are, are the main ones as well.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:I feel like with your you could be doing some Tik TOK dances.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Maybe. Gosh, I'm going to have to have a tutorial on that.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:oh my God.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:your 14 year old could show you.
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Possibly. Possibly. It might be the 12 year old girl though.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Amazing. Yes, yes, yes. Well, thank you so much, Amanda. Thank you so much for coming on here and for sharing with
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:Anytime.
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:being so honest,
amanda-medlen_1_07-26-2024_120658:I'd be
colleen_1_07-26-2024_120658:We really, really appreciate it. And we're, we're so thankful to have you.
cheryl_2_07-26-2024_090658:Love it. Thank you so much, Amanda. We'll see you next time.
