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Have you ever felt like the whole business rests on your shoulders? Every question lands on your desk. Every decision waits for you. You tell yourself that’s just what leaders do, so you keep grinding, keep answering, keep carrying it all. I’ve been there, and I know how heavy it gets. But what if being the answer person is the exact thing keeping you, and your company, stuck?
In this episode of The Happy Hustle Podcast, I sit down with HR Huntsman, a leadership coach, speaker, author, serial entrepreneur, and the founder of Leader’s Edge. HR has spent about 35 years helping business owners and executive teams build healthier leaders, stronger cultures, and more resilient organizations. He started his first company at 28, a nonprofit that he grew over 22 years into a global organization with more than 200 staff across five countries. They built orphanages, drilled wells, planted gardens, and opened counseling centers. And he did it with no playbook. HR grew up in a tough, dysfunctional home where the main goal was surviving the day. It was his first mentor in the Air Force who told him to make his life useful, not just successful, and that one line changed everything. Today he’s passing on all that hard won wisdom to the next generation of leaders, and his upcoming book, Destination Workplaces, is all about creating companies that top talent never wants to leave. Oh, and he’s a total adrenaline junkie who jumps out of airplanes and just took his five year old grandson backpacking under the stars. No tent. My kind of guy.
Here’s why this one matters. Only a small slice of businesses make it past five years. And on top of that, the Gallup research I’ve been digging into shows about two out of every three employees are disengaged at work. They show up, but they’re mentally gone. That’s a massive cost for founders, and it’s a culture problem we can actually fix. HR has seen under the hood of thousands of businesses, and he shares exactly what it takes to build something that lasts.
The first big lesson is what HR calls the three things that helped him survive as an entrepreneur. Curiosity, tenacity, and proximity. Even at nearly 62, he’s as curious as he’s ever been about people, business, and his own potential. He’s also brutally honest that entrepreneurship will punch you in the gut more times than you can count, and the only way through is getting back up with a bloody nose and trying again. And maybe the smartest thing he ever did was surround himself with people smarter than him. He read every book he could find and straight up asked people to mentor him. Who you hang around matters. A lot.
The second lesson hit me hard. HR used to believe leaders had to know all the answers. So even when he didn’t know, he acted like he did, and it burned him out. He eventually realized great leaders don’t have all the answers. They ask the best questions. He teaches CEOs to multiply themselves, because if you’re not intentionally empowering others, you’re the bottleneck. And he makes a key distinction here. Delegating a task isn’t the same as truly transferring authority so people can own decisions. That shift is what finally helped him scale.
The third takeaway is his ENGINE framework, built from the systems thinking he got from his dad, who was a NASA engineer. HR believes every business runs on six systems, whether you’re a plumber or an attorney. Engineer your foundation by making your vision, mission, and values operational, not just words on a wall. Nurture your team with a clear ideal team player profile, smart hiring, and great onboarding. Generate a real, integrated business strategy. Ignite performance through true accountability. Nail down your processes so everything is documented. Then earn greater profits with clean systems around your numbers. Put it all together and you’ve got a playbook you can take anywhere.
The fourth lesson is about accountability, and it’s where almost every CEO stops HR to ask for more. Most leaders default to carrots and sticks, bonuses on one side and write ups on the other. Both work for a little while, but neither lasts. Drawing on Self Determination Theory from the 1970s, HR created what he calls the MAP to success. Mastery, autonomy, and purpose. People want to get good at things, so how’s your training? People crave a voice, so how much autonomy are you giving them? And people want to be part of something bigger, so are you connecting their work to the mission and to their own dreams? Like HR says, your employees aren’t waking up excited about your vision statement. They’re thinking about their mortgage and their family. Link those things together and performance follows.
The fifth takeaway is his idea of destination workplaces. I asked HR about investing in people who might eventually leave, and he didn’t hold back. Would you rather keep a poorly trained, frustrated employee forever, or develop a high performer who might move on someday? He compares great leaders to college coaches. You recruit top talent knowing you might only have them a few years, but you build a program so strong it keeps attracting champions. That’s exactly the kind of culture I want to build at The Happy Hustle, a place where people do their best work and then go on to chase big dreams of their own.
We also get into money, and HR’s take is refreshing. For him, money is the outcome, not the driver. Get exceptional at your craft, treat people really well, and charge what you’re worth, which he admits took him years to learn after growing up being called trailer trash. We talk about the cold, hard truth that your bank account reflects the value you bring to the marketplace, and why HR finds that freeing. You chose your way here, so you can choose your way forward. Plus, he shares his rapid fire happy hustle hacks, from fasting 22 hours a day and working out on his trails to keep up with his grandsons, to 40 years of marriage built on daily couch time and date nights.
This conversation reminded me that leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about serving the people around you so well that they grow, thrive, and maybe even outgrow you. HR’s billboard message says it best. Pursue significance over success.
If you’re ready to stop being the bottleneck and start building a business people actually want to be part of, this episode is for you.
Go listen to the full conversation with HR Huntsman at https://happyhustle.com/podcast and start building your own destination workplace today.
What does Happy Hustlin' mean to you?
For HR, happy hustlin' means believing work is a noble pursuit and making sure you take care of yourself along the way.
Connect with HR
https://www.facebook.com/YourLeadersEdge/
https://www.instagram.com/hrhuntsman/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hr-huntsman/?isSelfProfile=false
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1uWhFdgs0dI2-KJJxH0noQ
Find HR on this website: https://yourleadersedge.com/
Connect with Cary!
https://www.instagram.com/caryjack/
https://www.facebook.com/SirCaryJack
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cary-jack-kendzior/
https://twitter.com/thehappyhustle
https://www.tiktok.com/@caryjack
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDNsD59tLxv2JfEuSsNMOQ/featured
Get a copy of his new book, https://www.thehappyhustle.com/book
Sign up for The Journey: 10 Days To Become a Happy Hustler Online Course @ https://thehappyhustle.com/thejourney/
Apply to the Montana Mastermind Epic Camping Adventure @ https://thehappyhustle.com/mastermind/
“It’s time to Happy Hustle, a blissfully balanced life you love, full of passion, purpose, and positive impact!”
Episode Sponsors:
Kiln
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