Ep 258 Using Kolbe To Create Your Dream Team & Perform Your Best with Sue Frech

Have you ever thought about your "natural" work style - you know when you are in flow and feeling super productive? Often times, we fight against the "shoulds" of how we are supposed to be as a boss or entrepreneur. And then if you want to hire a team - whoa - this adds so much complexity to your business and it's so tempting to hire for ease (no conflict) instead of hiring for strengths that offset your weaknesses. 

In this episode, Sue Frech shares how entrepreneurs can use Kolbe to stop fighting their nature, maximize their own productivity, and build high-performing teams by strategically matching people's conative strengths to the right roles. Discover how understanding your team's instinctive approach to getting things done can boost performance, reduce conflict, and help everyone work more naturally and have more fun!

If you would like to join us for the call with Sue Frech, I am opening it up to everyone on the FBS email list for $70. This includes the Kolbe Assessment and the call with Sue on 11/20/25 at 11am MT to go deeper into using the Kolbe. You can purchase here.

Get in touch with Sue Frech https://www.linkedin.com/in/suefrech/ or email her at sue@summitshore.io

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Transcript

Sari  0:00  
Welcome to your Food Business Success. This podcast is for early stage entrepreneurs in the packaged food industry ready to finally turn that delicious idea into reality. I'm your host Sari Kimbel. I have guided hundreds of food brand founders to success as an industry expert and business coach, and it's got to be fun. In this podcast, I share with you mindset tools to become a true entrepreneur and run your business like a boss, interviews with industry experts to help you understand the business you are actually in and food founder journey so you can learn what worked and didn't work and not feel so alone in your own journey. Now let's jump in!

Sari  0:50  
All right. Welcome back to the Food Business Success Podcast. I'm so happy you're here with me today. We have a guest today. It's been a little while since I've had a guest on, and I'm really excited to welcome Sue Frech. Sue is a Kolbe certified consultant, and recently, I'm in a women's group with Sue, and we were talking about the Kolbe, and she came in and did a presentation. And I have a lot of I have some experience, I should say, with Kolbe through strategic coach when I did that. So when Sue was talking about Kolbe, I was like, we got to do this for Fuel, and I'd love to introduce my audience to you and to what Kolbe is. So with all that said, I want to welcome Sue, so welcome. Thanks for being here.

Sue  1:41  
Thank you so much, Sari. I'm so excited. 

Sari  1:43  
Yeah, and we're going to have a fun, casual conversation about Kolbe. And it's so funny, because you guys will learn what this means here in a minute. But she and I are both very high quick starts, and so I did not prepare her at all. And I was like, we're just going to have a conversation. You ready to jump in? She's like, yeah, let's do it.

Sue  2:05  
That's my quick start.

Sari  2:07  
Yeah, other people I know, I could not get away with that

Sue  2:15  
Exactly. It's fun knowing people's Kolbe. It is fun guessing, but sometimes we're wrong, but most of the times, we can guess what someone's Kolbe strengths are. It's fun. 

Sari  2:28  
And so Sue, why don't you introduce yourself a little bit, maybe even a little bit beyond just the Kolbe certification, because I love it that you have experience in CPG as well, and you are part of this world. You're not just some outsider who's like, I know Kolbe but I don't know this industry, so give us a little bit of your background before we get started. 

Sue  2:53  
Sure, thanks Sari. So I will say early in my career, I started at craft and GSK, so started early in CPG realized that large corporations were not for me and decided I wanted to be part of the startup world. I ended up taking a couple of different roles, supporting founders or CEOs that were suppliers or vendors for CPG companies, so everything from operations, equipment to event marketing, sampling company, sampling programs, until I ended up starting my own business. And I started a marketing technology company. We built online communities for brands, consumer brands. And so what does that mean? Ratings and Reviews, loyalty and rewards, a place for brands to sample, targeted sampling in exchange for reviews and recommendations and testimonials. And I had the privilege over my career of working with about a 300 CPG brands, some really early stage startups, things like Hello Oral Healthcare that ended up transacting for hundreds of millions of dollars to companies like Colgate. And so it was really fun to help build and scale these brands, and I was fortunate enough to use lots of different tools along the way at my organization, not necessarily with those companies, but at my company, and Kolbe was one of them that really helped me amongst team health and productivity and really understanding why people think I'm crazy. And I can say, no, it's my Kolbe, and I get to lean back. It's like, that's my nature. I can't help it. I'm sorry, love it or take it or the love it or leave it.

Sari  4:22  
Yeah, absolutely, I love that. I forgotten you had all those roles and yeah. So you've been in and around CPG a long time, which is amazing. So you know the space. So even better, even more credibility there. So you also are an EOS implementer, which on another podcast, we could talk all about EOS, but Kolbe is definitely part of the EOS, and then it's also part of strategic coach with Dan Sullivan and so, and that's where I was introduced to it, and I'm sure people are finally like, okay, what the heck is this Kolbe thing? Sue, is Kolbe just another personality test? Tell us a little bit about Kolbe. 

Sue  5:12  
So what I love about Kolbe is it's actually not a personality test, and it measures someone's innate nature and their strengths, and believe it or not, it never changes over time. So it's super fun to take these different assessments. So you've got Myers Briggs, you've got Disc Enneagram, and those really measure one part of the brain, which is your feeling part of your brain, and that is the ability to measure your motivations, your preferences, but they call that that effective part of the brain, that's, you know, your attitude, and that can change over time. Then you have your left side of your brain. So that's your right side of brain, your left side of brain, that's your skills. Those are things you've learned over time, your knowledge, your experience, think, your IQ. That's the Sat test,Wonderlic, ACT test. So it's really measuring your your education and your experience. What Kolbe is is your executive brain, and that's your conative, like ice cream cone, although it's spelled K, O, L, B, E, but it's your conative. It's your doing. It's your striving instincts. And so when you are taking action, when you're working towards something, that is your Kolbe coming into play. So again, you've got your cognitive, your left side of brain, your affective, your right side, and you have your conative, which is your executive brain, you're doing, and that's what Kolbe measures. And again, it really, it never changes over time. And so people are like, how can that be? You know, when I'm 10 years old or 20 years old, and my age today, I've obviously changed and grown, but because it's measuring your natural instincts, that's why it doesn't change.

Sari  6:47  
Yeah, amazing. I mean, I had never heard of, and I'm kind of like, I've done DISC, I've done, you know, Enneagram, I've done all those, and I never heard of the word conative. I'm kind of a, you know, a geek around this kind of stuff, personal development and so. But it made so much sense when I read about it and got more into Kolbe. And it kind of makes sense, because I would imagine, you know, we'll talk about what this whole Quick Start thing is. But you can kind of imagine, like, I can only think of myself as a kid, and I know that I just, like, jumped into things, right? I was like,yeah, let's make a cake and, like, I would just get in there. You know, who cares about the direction versus we can also imagine a child being very who's very like, let me get all the information before I start and like, be really thoughtful around it, right? So, yeah, I think we can all that makes sense, that wouldn't change over time.

Sue  7:53  
Yeah, there's four action modes they talk about, so that's what you're referencing. The first is the fact finder, and that's how you gather and share information. So you can imagine the person that is really high on this continuum, because they measure it on a scale of 1 to 10, and there's no right or wrong answer. I'll just say that, and the scale of 1 to 10. But if you're on the lower end, you're a one through three, you're going to simplify information. If you're on the higher end, a 7 through 10, you're going to be really specific. You like gathering the facts and the information, oftentimes, and not always, your nature will bring you towards wanting to collect research or more data and more knowledge around a certain topic before you go and make the decision. So you think about the baking the cake. You have the person that grabs the box and is looking at it, or grabs the recipes, reading every single detail, and then you have someone that might be a lower Fact Finder that's like, just tell me the three main steps. I'm good to go. You know, I don't want all that information. This often happens in storytelling. So if you have an employee that comes in and you're a really high Fact Finder, and let's say they're a low Fact Finder, and they're like, help me sell my bomb. This is what happened today. And they tell you one little piece of it, and you're a high fact find, you're like, I need more information. You start to question them and question them again and question them again, because you need that information before you make a decision. And oftentimes it comes into when you're actually working on something. The second is follow through. That's how you organize and design things. That's how you deal with processes. So on the lower end, you tend to your natures that you tend to adapt. You might start lots of different projects. On the higher end of that follow through. You're going to systematize. You like processes. You enjoy working on something from beginning to the end. And so that might be someone that's an accountant or an attorney, someone that's reading contracts, working in finance, they'll put their heads down and they'll work on it straight through. Other people that are lower in the follow through their nature is that they're going to start lots of different projects. I always say when I go to pack my suitcase, I travel all the time. I'll go pack a little bit then I'll go make dinner. I'll come back and pack I'll do a little bit work. I'll check some emails. I come back and my husband says, why can't you just pack your suitcase? Because all these things pop in my head and I want to go do them. And so that's my follow through, my nature coming in play, that I don't have to sit and just pack the suitcase. Other people who have a higher follow through, someone like him, they might sit down and just pack the suitcase and then go move on to the next thing. You can imagine, how that shows up in work as well. Your Quick Start, which you and I are very high, quick starts, that's where you deal with risk and uncertainty, your ability to take risk, your ability to innovate and brainstorm and really that desire to deal with that uncertainty and that change. So if you're a low growth quick starter, you're going to stabilize. You're going to make sure that you stick with the status quo. You're going to actually question things and say, okay, are we sure that we need to actually make all of these changes, or can we keep it the way it is? And then the other end of a quick start, you like to innovate. You like to take risks. You'll try different things. And so your nature will be that you're going to come in and you're going to brainstorm things. So someone that's a lower Quick Start is going to sit back and maybe analyze some of it. And the higher quick starts, going to jump in and start telling you all these great ideas that you can do. Lot of visionaries and visionaries, visionary CEOs and visionary founders, they're higher on that Quick Start level. And then you have people that might be their COO or their CFO, the one that's going to stabilize, and lot of executive ministry, executive assistants are going to be lower on that Quick Start. That's great to balance out people like me and you that are bouncing around lots of different ideas, and they're going to keep us a little grounded. And the last one is your implementer. They used to call it builder, but this is how you deal with space and tangibles versus intangibles. So on that lower end, that one to three versus the 7 to 10, on the lower end, you can close your eyes and you can visualize it. This is so great when we think about people that are in the CPG industry, and they're innovating different ideas, and they're talking about their own food. There might be someone that says, yeah, I can actually picture that. There's other people like, like, you know what? Let me get in that test kitchen. Let me make the product first, let me try it and taste it and see what it looks like. And then the other people are going to just close their eyes and visualize it. So it's great to have people that want to demonstrate, they care about quality of things that like to get in there with their hands, and the people that want Legos, versus someone that says, no, I'm going to close my eyes and I can actually just picture what this looks like. I don't need a demonstration of it. I don't need to test it and play with it. So those are the four: Fact Finder, follow through, Quick Start, and implementer. And that's sort of the different modes and how you behave and how you show up to projects and work depends on where you sit on those continuums.

Sari  12:26  
Yeah, amazing. Thank you for that. And I love what you said, that there's no wrong answer. And I just have to say, you know, I think that society, the way we are educated, our school system, a lot of things, we are kind of trying to train everybody to be these certain traits, right, that you should get all the information that you know you need to be good at follow through. I think follow through is probably the number one thing that there's some shame there for me, and I think that there's a lot of shame for people who like to bounce around, right and start different things, but then there's that shame of, like, well, I never finish anything. Or, you know, I'm not like, I have all these great ideas, and nothing gets over the finish line. And I love like, when you take your Kolbe assessment, it says you got a perfect score, Sari.

Sue  13:23  
Everybody gets a perfect score because it's perfect for you, and you complete the shame. Think about when we were young, right? Sit down on a desk, read this, do this work, and don't get up. Only raise your hands before you actually can ask a question, right? There are lots of school systems that use Kolbe, and they will allow children to wear, literally, a badge that says what their Kolbe strengths are, so a teacher can understand how that child has to learn. So people that are quick starts, they use the spoken word, people that are high fact finders, they use the written word. And so it's really good to understand that someone that's a high Fact Finder may not want to stand in front of a classroom and do that presentation, but gosh, give them all the research, let them build that presentation and then throw that quick start right up in front of the classroom to present it. And it's not that you shouldn't push people outside of their comfort zone, right? We all need to learn how to do certain things, and that's part of the Kolbe. You say, well, my Kolbe is exactly like somebody else's, but we're different people. That's your obviously, the cognitive and your aspect of coming into play and what you've learned as well.

Sari  14:32  
Yeah, but I love these tools that give us, I think, at least for me, like break me, break free of those societal shaming and that, like, wait, I'm not supposed to just fit in this box. And if I don't fit in this box of like, what you know, society says is the perfection when you're working at a job that's like, especially as an entrepreneur, right? That it gives me the freedom, and it breaks that shame cycle. I'm like, wait, these are my strengths, right? And understanding that I have these amazing strengths, and there are some things that I'm going to not be as good at, and that it's a good thing that there's so many different kinds of people, that we can actually balance each other out. And that's like, not everybody's going to be the big visionary and the quick start, and that's a good thing. Jumping off the cliff we all thought that was a good idea. 

Sue  15:41  
Yes. And so many times people would say, gosh, so you procrastinate. And what I found out when I became certified and did all this work in Kolbe is that actually being a high quick start, I work really well under a deadline, right? So I do really well the night before something is due, or two nights before something is due, even a very large project or presentation, I'm actually not procrastinating. That's my best work. That's where my brain, like goes on. When there's chaos. I jump in. That can cause someone so much stress. So those high quick starts, if they don't understand the people on their team, the people working with them that might have an opposite Kolbe, you need to give them time to process. But think about that, that high follow through is this someone that's going to come up with all the processes, I'm going to come in, or you're going to come in, we're going to simplify it, right? We don't need processes that are 1000 steps that someone's going to not be able to follow in certain scenarios, but other scenarios. But my goodness, you know you're going to fly a plane, you better have those 1000 process and steps in place, but you don't want me flying the plane, right? So it's really good to understand. And I love Kolbe for hiring. That's the other piece. Is that you can actually create a Kolbe, and that's where the hiring manager, the leadership team, is going to create and take an assessment, saying, this is the type of Kolbe that we want for this role. And then they go out and give the Kolbe to a bunch of candidates, and they'll match it up, and Kolbe will rate them through an A, through an F, to say, this is the person that's most likely going to line in that role. And sometimes you want the opposite, like for you and I saying, hey, it's really good to have someone that's like, hey, let's slow down and question something once in a while that's really great. We'll start a lot of things, and then we'll delegate it. So it is nice having someone that's the opposite, but it's great for hiring when you can use the Kolbe A, plus the Kolbe the C, which is what's used for hiring.

Sari  17:32  
So I'd love to talk about Kolbe how I like if I'm a solo preneur, you know, it's my business, I'm the only one really running it. Why would it be good for me to know my Kolbe just when I'm just starting and I'm solopreneur?

Sue  17:51  
So there's things we talk about working in your flow, and we talk about when you're being most productive. And there's lots of different scenarios where you're sitting down as a solopreneur, and you're saying, gosh, that day was great. That day flew for me. And then there's other days you're like, oh, this is dreading I can't stand this. And so depending on your Kolbe for me, example, when I started my business, the only person in the company, you know, I have to do all of my bookkeeping, and I have to do all the AR and AP and the collections, and I've got to do the financials and I'm looking at these things and they're draining me. So when I think about who's the first person I'm going to hire, right? Whether it's a consultant, a partner, an employee, I'm going to try and find someone that matches for those particular tasks, that align with their Kolbe, that are part of their strengths, so it doesn't drain me, right? So that in my days tend to fly, and I feel really, really productive. So yes, as a solopreneur, you're like, well, I'm the only ones who have to do everything, but it is super helpful to understand how you're operating. The biggest thing is in sales. What I say is, when you know who is sitting across from you. I was speaking with a group of women today, 25 women, and we had a bunch of brokers in the room, and we had some realtors. And I think about, you know, the homeowner sitting there, if you know that the husband is a high Fact Finder, and the wife is a quick start, right? You want to make sure is that realtor, is that broker? You're giving the fact the high Fact Finder lots of information, right? You're giving them lots of details. If you think about in retail, you've got that buyer sitting across from you, and they are really high Fact Finder. And you're a quick start, you have to make sure you recognize you give them time to process. If you throw your quick start nature at them, it's going to feel rushed. It's going to feel pressured. On the other end, if you're talking about that homeowner and the the wife is a quick starter, you're talking about that buyer sitting across from you, and they're that quick start, or they're the implementer. They're saying, I need a sample. I just I can't picture what that product is. Can I taste it? Can I try it? You know, or that high quick starts like, got it. Got it. Don't write them that five page email. Don't send them all that extra information. Pick up the phone and call them. What did you think of my presentation? Do you think you're going to test this product? What do you think about how many stories are you going to put this in? So there's that opportunity to really think about who's sitting across from you as that solopreneur, because you don't have a lot of time to waste, right? And so you want to make sure that you're serving them information and helping them make decisions in the way that's most natural to them, and that's really what Kolbe also does. Which I love that part, I love guessing, and I'm not always right about that. 

Sari  20:22  
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Because even when I talk with people about joining Food Business Success, there's some people that are like, I have a 10 minute conversation with they're like, oh, yeah, I'm sold, let's go. What do I and I'm like, well, we still have time left up. Like, no, I'm good. I'm like, okay, great. And then there's some people that, you know, they need a lot of information, and this and that, and, you know, and that's okay. So it's like, really, it helps, yeah, it reminds, such a good reminder that we're not all the same, right? And that even, and reminding that, even though, like, I'm a quick start remembering that not everybody is, and other people are going to need more information and all of that. And there are times when I might want more information as well. I think the other thing that comes to mind is, just like when you know what you're really good at, your strengths are, and then you know where there are some weaknesses, then you can, even, as a solopreneur, kind of help offset that. So even, like, with my membership, with Fuel, like, if you know you're a high quick start, then come and, like, double check your work. Be like, am I seeing this, right? You know, let me get a pulse check on this, because you don't have somebody in your world that's like, hey, have we thought through XYZ? 

Sue  21:42  
Exactly. Balancing your room, your people with opposite Kolbe is huge strength. So when people are thinking about building their team for the first time, right, they may do their Kolbe and they may say, I want people that have opposite strengths in certain areas, particularly when you're brainstorming and you're innovating, if you know that you're a low quick start, and you you don't come in with all the ideas. You're the one that's going to bring it to life. You may bring in a friend or a colleague or a past colleague. That is a quick start. They can help give you 1000 ideas, and then you're the one that's going to see it all the way through. So it's super helpful when you're building that first team to bring someone in that's the opposite of you and compliments you. It can be frustrating, too. Also, on the other end, that person moves so slow, why can't they make a decision? Why are they researching that again and again? Because they're Kolbe says they need time to process things.

Sari  22:32  
Well, it's actually super helpful, even in your personal life, I know you, you talked about your husband, my ex husband was a very high Fact Finder as well, which is hilarious. And he would study, I know you have a car story as well, but he would study Consumer Reports like, dig in to car. You know? He loved that. And just like pouring over data and taking just endless amounts of time to make a decision on buying a car. And I would be very much like, you just like, does it have this, this and this? Okay. 

Sue  23:10  
You know, buying a car, you go in, you think, okay, what kind of car? What brand of car? That's all of your values, right? That's your preferences, and that's really on the on the affective side. And then you say, okay, now I'm going to go and buy a car, I'm going in. I'm maybe test driving. It maybe not, but I'm usually out of there within two to three hours. But I will tell you when I'm driving out of the lot, I'm already thinking about the next car I'm buying. And so my husband, it's total opposites, like lots of details, like your lots of research information and deciding over two years, the type of car that he wants to buy, and then he likes to keep his car for 10-20 years. And I want to buy a new car every, every two years. So if he didn't know that about each other, you know, we've been married 26 years, if you didn't know that, it would be frustrating. He would say, gosh, can you just stay with one car? Now he's like, oh, that's her Kolbe. I'm going to let her run with that one, because it's not going to actually hurt anybody here, and I'm going to let her run with that one. But in other cases, I need someone to slow me down, because I could make a lot of mistakes if I don't have someone that sort of question some of the decisions that I make. 

Sari  24:13  
So the other piece of this that we've kind of been talking about loosely, but I want to talk about, is when you start building a team, and April is, many people know April. She's our Fuel Community Manager, and she and I have been working together for, I think, a year and a half, where I brought her in officially to help with my programs, and we've been working pretty well together, but we did the Kolbe with you. And sat down and compared and talked about, you know, where we were the same, but then where we were different. And so I'd love to talk about, yeah, how do we use the Kolbe. We've talked about a little bit already, but we can bring in examples of April and I as well. Yeah, just like, as you're building out that first hire, that next person on your team, how using  Kolbe as an entrepreneur can be really helpful.

Sue  25:10  
Yeah, it's so important. I have a similar story. You know, when I had an executive assistant for the very first time I hired and I just like, fell in love with her. And then after months, she was in tears, and I couldn't figure out why she couldn't finish all these projects I was giving her, what I was realizing is she has a very opposite, Kolbe. Her Kolbe is actually similar to April's. Is that I wasn't giving her enough information. She also had a really high follow through, so she would want to finish a project from beginning to end. I was brainstorming. She thought I was making decisions on things, and so she would start the project and go to the end, and I was like, oh, what did you do that for? I didn't even know we were working on that. So once we did our Kolbe, you do an A to A, comparison a Colby A to A, and it actually matches, and it tells you where there might be some friction, but it actually gives you questions to ask each other. For example, saying, did I give you enough information to start this project? Or say, what's the worst thing that can happen if you were to start this project? And for her to say, do we really need to start this? Do you want to slow down and you want me to bring you several options? Because that's her strength, is to research and bring options. So once we had done our A to A and for you and for you and for April, and really understanding that I'm throwing lots of ideas and not giving enough information, she's starting a lot of those projects she wasn't able to prioritize, because I would throw 1000 things her way. So we would step back every day and actually prioritize what she was working on. So then she could be autonomous. Instead of me giving her 1000 things in that day, I would slow down and say, no, this is the most important. Even though I gave you 10 other things. Please work on this one first or start this one. Don't finish it. Let me see how far you get. And it's really great to know and understand that that made her more productive. Today, she says, and she's running, you know, a business. She's a co founder in a business today, and we both say it's because of the Kolbe that she's at where she is, because she would not have stayed in this job with me and really been my right and left hand and learned all the ways to start a company and all the operations that were involved that she had access to, had we not done our Colby, because she would have been burnt out and would have quit because she was in tears every single day.

Sari  27:26  
Yeah, yeah, that priority thing has really helped. We've already used it a couple times. There was like, basically, I would just do the same, right? I throw a bunch of things April's way, but I wouldn't prioritize. And she likes to start projects from the beginning and work all the way to the end. And I'm like you, I can bounce around, and I'm like, oh, come back here. And I'm actually built that way, like that is that's part of my design, and that's just part of who I am. And so there's, there was a couple of things that came up that I was able to say, high priority. Can you this? Can you make this the thing that you work on? And then it was so interesting, because it actually, like, shifted over the weekend. And then I was like, actually no low priority. And but in the past, I would have done something, I know, I would not have handled it that way, and then she would have been frustrated, or she would have started something, or she would have felt like I was just coming in and like, you know, I was interrupting her process. So it definitely that piece has helped. And then I need to remember. That's the one where you said, did I give you enough, do you have enough information to start this project?

Sue  28:47  
Start this project. I think conversations too. People that tend to be higher fact finders, their nature is to tell longer stories. So I have lots of friends that are fact finders. My sister's a high Fact Finder. And I really appreciate when they tell me the end of the story before they start, which sounds crazy, right? So they'll tell me the story about somebody at work, and they're going on and on and like, did that person quit? Is that person getting promoted? Did they start a project? So if they say, oh, I have this person in my job, and they that I work with, and they're actually leaving and going somewhere else, here's what happened. Then they go through it, I actually pay attention more. I know that sounds so crazy, but it's become one of those things that I say to them, do you mind just telling me the point of the story first? It sounds so good. They know now that I actually will pay attention more if I know the direction where that story is going. And they love to give me all the details, I will listen more if I again I understand the end of it before, before we even start.

Sari  29:42  
Yeah, that makes so, like, I'm there. I'm right there with you. We're very similar our Kolbe so, because then the whole time I'm like, well, what I'm in my brain. I'm like, theorizing, and so I'm not paying attention, because I'm trying to figure it out. Yeah, exactly. So maybe, do you have an example of, like, maybe the opposite, because you and I are very similar. But have you worked with an entrepreneur who was maybe, like, a low fact, or one of, you know, opposite of us. 

Sue  
I tend to, so for EOS, because Kolbe is brought into, you know, the entrepreneur operating system. We're an in Blender quite often. And I tend to see oftentimes co founders, or the CEO and the CEO, or the CEO, CEO and CFO opposites. And sometimes there's that friction there, right there. Particularly, I have groups of people that they're co founders and so they're at the same level. You know, you can see where it can happen if you've got an executive in their assistant or their admin their right hand. But when you have people that are equals and they are super frustrated that someone shows up late to meetings, or they will work on a big presentation, like they're working on an acquisition, and they literally sent the deck over 10 minutes before they're going into this meeting. And the person that's a really high Fact Finder, a high follow through and a low quick start, is so frustrated, like, how on earth ? How rude, you're late to the meeting and that you sent me something 10 minutes before, knowing that this fact finder needs to process the information and needs time overnight to go through it. So we go through and we do their Kolbe A to A's and really help them understand where you need to be accommodating, right? Because we can all learn. And even though our Kolbe's are one way, we can't use it as an excuse, but we can learn. So if we're going into this meeting, we're about to acquire a company, and we're interviewing them that you want to make sure that person that needs the time and the information to process it, that you're not leaving it to last minute, you're not showing up late to meetings, you're not changing the meeting time 10 times. That's super frustrating to them. That will cause so much stress that that person will be frustrated, angry, tears sometimes, yelling at each other, and so really being able to know that the person that's causing that friction and that stress is going to have to accommodate. The Kolbe that I love, which is rare, is the person that sits in that middle, those four fives and six right across the board. My daughter, she's in college now, but she's fives across the board. They're really good at bridging the opposites. Okay, so you've got someone that's a high Fact Finder, someone's a low Fact Finder, they're going to be that glue, that Accommodator. They're going to be the ones to summarize, well, this is what I heard. This is what they said. They may be quiet in that meeting. So it can be when you know you've got someone at the opposite you're about to go into this big meeting or presentation that you might want to bring in what they call the facilitator, because they like to facilitate in their accommodate, to come and bring them in, because they can actually reduce a lot of the friction that's happening in that meeting. So you think about you're going into a huge negotiation, right? And the person you're negotiating is the total opposite of you. It might be worth you bringing in that facilitator to help with that negotiation as an example. 

Sari  
Yeah, yeah, that's so good. I hadn't thought. And we do have quite a few people who are either, like, they're co founders, but they're married, so that's extra. 

Sue  
Yes, that is so extra.

Sari  
So Kolbe, I would highly recommend, right? Because it makes a lot of sense. I and then I see just general co founders, you know, I'll sometimes work with two partners in the business, and, yeah, there is that tension, if you don't, I mean, knowledge is power, right? When you know, then you can bridge, and you can be like, whoa. It's not that everybody in the world is how I am, right? It's like seeing, oh, this is the strength, and how to have both, and how do we bridge to each other? And, yeah, how do I how do we make sure everybody's needs for safety and to provide their best creativity?

Sue  
Yeah, 10 situations, big projects. They do have Kolbe for couples. They've Kolbe for kids. I've given it to all of my children. It does help, you know, knowing my son, he was nine years old when we gave him the Kolbe, and knowing that he's a really low follow through, but a high implementer, he takes apart everything. There's four bikes in our garage right now that are in pieces. He loves to tinker, right? But he's a low follow through, so he starts and then he walks away. So that's where you have to teach and train like, you can't start that until you clean up this mess and you put those pieces away and so that, but understanding it, I'm not going to shove it down his throat like, oh my god, you can't start all these things, allowing him to be himself. But then again, that's the teaching and the coaching along the way, saying that I know you're this way, so you're going to have to work really hard at x, y and z.

Sari  
So it's getting rid of the shame part, where we would usually shame somebody for doing that, right?

Sue  
Or yell at them, like, why are you doing this? Why do you start all these projects? Why can't you just sit down and finish everything? And it to your point, it's the shame versus really empowering them, because that is their nature. And Kathy Kolbe says, when you're free to be yourself. So that's when you take the Kolbe assessment. That's the thing to think about. But when you're free to be yourself, your true nature does come out.

Sari  
Yeah. Well, as we wrap up, I know you just got back, speaking of Kathy Kolbe, you just got back from, I don't know what they call it Kolbe Con?

Sue  
It was such a celebration of her life. It's 50 year anniversary of Kolbe, and she just passed this year, and her son and her, I believe it's her stepdaughter, but they're running the business now. And to see how she has impacted so many people, she told this incredible story. A woman came on the stage, they've been doing Kolbe for many, many years, and he was a radio announcer, and he actually had surgery, and they removed his voice box, and he was a really high follow through. And he was also a high Fact Finder. So being able to know that that someone that can no longer speak, that she was able to understand that he likes his day a certain way, where she was a low follow through high quick start, and they've been married. Oh my God, I want to say this couple was married 50 years, 60 years, and for her to sit on stage and say how Kolbe helped them through this really challenging situation, it was just such an incredible experience. But we learned a ton, and I highly recommend people taking the Kolbe just, you know, understanding more and learning more about it. But Kolbe Con was just, it was a great experience,

Sari  
Amazing. That's so cool. If I could just get all the certifications and all the, I would.

Sue  
My husband calls it, my iguana farm. You're like, what is that? Because I have a million ideas of things I'm going to do and start. So he's like, I'm like, you know, we should start this company, and we should open this franchise, and we should run this business. He's like, is this an iguana farm? I'm like, it's an iguana farm. I'm going to stop.

Sari  
Well, we are so excited that you are coming into our Fuel membership as our VIP guest for November. We always like to do November where we just do some learning and not like anything super intense, because I know everybody's busy with the Holidays, so we're excited. People are taking their Kolbe assessment and going through and answering those questions, and then you're coming in and going to show us the slides a little bit more and get into it with people so they can really understand their Kolbe. So we're really excited for that, but if people are listening who aren't in Fuel and would love to learn more, and you know, take the Kolbe with themselves, for themselves, or their team, or even maybe their spouse and family. How do people get in touch with you, Sue? 

Sue  
Yeah, sure. So you can find me on LinkedIn. It's Sue Frech, F, R, E, C, H, or you can email me at sue@summitsure.io, and so either way, I can send you a link to the Kolbe assessment. If you do it through a consultant, then I can send you a lot of information. We can hop on a quick call. You can certainly go to kolbe.com and take the assessment yourself, but then I won't have access to it. So you have those options. You will get the download the Kolbe and it's so great. Kathy Kolbe has done lots of recordings. You can listen to her explain, that's your high Fact Finder. I've not listened to those videos, but you can listen to her explain your Kolbe and all the different strengths and what that means for you.

Sari  
Amazing. Yeah, it is a phenomenal tool. And like said, I've done DISC, I've done Myers, Briggs and all that stuff in office situations, working situations, and I have definitely found Kolbe to be one of the to be way more useful, both just in how I like, seeing how I operate in my own business, and then as I've brought in people working with them. I also did it with my Winter Market Manager, so I understood her better as well. And it's really, really helpful. It just reduces so much of the resentment and friction, yeah, the friction. And then I think then you can amplify the strengths, right, that each of you, all of you, bring to the table, which is what you want, and a great culture,

Sue  
Yep, I love that. I love that. So I'm super excited to work with the team and with all the folks that are members of Fuel and excited to get to know them more.

Sari  
Yeah, amazing. All right. Well, thank you sue. I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. 

Sue  
Thanks. Thanks for listening, everybody. Thanks Sari, appreciate it.

Sari  
Thank you so much to Sue for coming on the podcast and sharing her incredible knowledge about Kolbe. I highly recommend this assessment, and you can go and follow up with Sue or you can go to kolbe.com and take the assessment there. But as an entrepreneur, it is so important to know thyself first, so that you can buffer against the things and plan for the things of where you're maybe not as strong, and then lean into your strengths, and then, of course, as you start to hire, the Kolbe is an incredible tool. So I hope you really enjoyed today's podcast. And until next time, have an amazing week. 

Sari  
The smartest thing you can do as an entrepreneur is to invest in a who to help you with the how to speed up your journey and help you skip the line when you are ready for more support and accountability to finally get this thing done, you can work with me in two ways. Get me all to yourself with one on one business coaching, or join Food Business Success, which includes membership inside Fuel, our community of food business founders that includes monthly live group coaching calls and so much more. It's one of my favorite places to hang out, and I would love to see you there. Go to foodbizsuccess.com to start your journey towards your own food business success.