Hire Truckers Podcast

00:00 - 00:08
GInger Craddock: Welcome to the Hire Truckers Podcast, the show for fleet executives, HR leaders, and recruiting professionals. I'm your host, Ginger Craddock.

00:09 - 00:26
Aaron Craddock: And I'm your host, Aaron Craddock. Each week, we share actual insights, market trends, and premium strategies to help you grow and thrive. Welcome to the Hire Truckers Podcast. I'm your host, Aaron Kradoch. So today, I just wanted to hop in here and talk a little bit about vision requiring attention.

00:27 - 00:47
Aaron Craddock: So this last week, we got together with my team in Austin, Texas. And so we had everyone on the team fly in and many of their spouses. We had one of our advisors come in and we spent some great time together. And it was a magical time together. And so we met at the Driscoll.

00:47 - 01:24
Aaron Craddock: So that's a historic hotel, a lot of really cool history if you wanna look it up, built back by a cattle baron a long time ago. And anyway, it's just a super inspiring space. And I wanted to bring the team there and just them be in a space that they're inspired and encouraged and enable them to set some intentions and have a little bit of vision. And so while we were there, of the exercises we did on day two when we got together was we took some time and we went over our company Vivid Vision. And so what that is, is it's based on Cameron Harold's book, The Vivid Vision.

01:24 - 01:50
Aaron Craddock: And we wrote that, we wrote our initial one like six years ago. And this one was our most recent iteration and it's a three page vision talking about every detail of where the business is. You set that three years out. And so everything from culture to how we serve our clients and who we work with, three pages of detail. And so one of the things that I hadn't read the vision in six months or so.

01:50 - 02:29
Aaron Craddock: And so as we all sat there around the table reading it, as we were together as a team, I was just struck by us having that meeting and the way it was set up was actually in the vision. Like word for word. Like I had forgotten that I'd put in there that we would do an event once a year where spouses were included, where it's kind of like a reset time to envision and that we would be around good, true and beautiful, like inspiring places. And so like literally we got to the end of that and several people kind of chuckled like, hey, this is actually in the vision. As a team, it was a cool moment thinking about what's transpired the last few years.

02:29 - 02:50
Aaron Craddock: And just being together in Austin in person as our team is all over the country. And we realized we were sitting inside the vision. I thought a lot about vision and intention. Coming out of that meeting and even there just encouraging the team to set intention and set vision for their own lives. And vision requires margin, environment, and intention.

02:50 - 03:25
Aaron Craddock: And so what I did with the schedule while we were there is we only met for three hours a day. And so most of the time was free. Day one was with the spouses and then day two, when we met just our team, our core team and an advisor. And having that space and I encourage the team to do some creative exercises like with colored pencils and a sketch pad, and just really be creative and think outside the box towards what they want out of their lives personally and professionally. And so the funny thing is, so we were at the Driscoll.

03:25 - 03:55
Aaron Craddock: So I booked this back in October for our team to get together and have been doing stuff, planning it when we get there. And so picture the Driscoll is this historic hotel. Like I knew they were doing renovations, but I didn't know the extent. So I had walked in there two weeks earlier and the lobby was still open, the grand columns and marble and historic paintings. And we walk in and all of that is walled off.

03:55 - 04:15
Aaron Craddock: And there's construction going on just banging. And when we're checking interception, was like, hey, how long have these walls been up? Because I was picturing our team being able to sit and do these exercises in the lobby and be inspired. So all the artwork that was inspiring was down. There were walls up blocking most of the columns.

04:16 - 04:38
Aaron Craddock: They had already blocked off some other historic areas of the hotel. Anyway, was kind of funny. And I think and the analogy I gave when we met with the team, was like, guys now we don't have a spot. Not as many spots to sit and be inspired. But I was like, that's much like building a company in that you have all these aspirations and you think it'll look a certain way.

04:38 - 04:55
Aaron Craddock: And then there are all these challenges. And so I thought it was just a good metaphor for the journey of building companies. Lots of ups and downs, but it's still beautiful underneath. Our team, they all had a great mindset. So that's my insight around vision requiring margin, environment and intention.

04:55 - 05:13
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05:14 - 05:43
GInger Craddock: Even in a tough market, our client see improved performance month over month by optimizing smarter and making every hiring dollar work harder. For honest insight, sharper targeting and results that you can trust, visit truckingclicks.com or call (512) 982-0816. Hire Truckers by Trucking Clicks. Clarity, Courage, Results.

05:43 - 06:04
Aaron Craddock: What changed for me? A clear vision requires more than I realized. Like in terms of just the work you have to put into it. I think it was five or six years ago when I read Cameron Herold's book, The Vivid Vision. I'd had a few friends that had written out their vision for their companies or their lives.

06:04 - 06:36
Aaron Craddock: And they'd seen a lot of it come true. And these were crazy big visions to build amazing companies or design their life and lifestyle a certain way. And then over the three years, they saw a lot of that come to reality. And so I set goals and then I 10x those goals and the vision just to think outside the box and stretch myself. And so the biggest thing with that is clarity as you set your vision, like creates momentum.

06:37 - 07:03
Aaron Craddock: And then that direction that you have boosts your motivation. And so have to, in order to have the motivation to improve your recruiting department or if you're the head of a transportation company to really drive cultural change and things like that. You have to know where you're going. You don't just stumble there. None of it happens by accident.

07:03 - 07:35
Aaron Craddock: So where I'd gotten that wrong, just again, like going further back. Aaron ten years ago, I mean, was about a 100 pounds overweight, miserable, unhealthy. I was having some success at work, but just so many areas. I was just kind of going through the motions and didn't really have a vision of where I wanted to go without that urgency and intention. I just ended up miserable, overweight, and didn't have the motivation to keep performing at my highest level.

07:35 - 07:57
Aaron Craddock: And so certain years I was hitting it on all cylinders and doing a great job. Then other years, yeah, just time was still passing but I wasn't growing. Time moves forward whether you're intentional or not. And so just remember that we all have the same amount of time. Are you gonna be intentional with it or not?

07:58 - 08:30
Aaron Craddock: I've avoided clarity in my life because of the fear of falling short. And what I've learned over the years is as I've done the hard work and set that clarity and set that vision, whether it's in my health, whether it's in my relationship with my wife, our kids, our boys, I'm gonna fall short. Like I'm not gonna hit all the goals perfectly. If I'm setting them high and dreaming big and trying to live with intention. But as I'm failing and missing some of those objectives, I'm learning.

08:30 - 08:57
Aaron Craddock: And so I was hesitant, like when I look back on it and honestly, still struggle with it now, setting my intention, my word for the year, this year. And yeah, so it's something I'm still working out. And there's some sort of resistance at times towards putting pen to paper, setting those goals, getting clear. I think the biggest thing, because then I have to be accountable to that. And what if I fall short?

08:57 - 09:17
Aaron Craddock: Because I really, I wanna crush every goal perfectly, flawlessly, but that just, it doesn't happen. And it's really the growth in who you become from setting the intentions and setting the goals. Like that's what it's all about. I wanna be a different person next year than I am today and keep growing. Avoiding vision doesn't protect you.

09:17 - 09:58
Aaron Craddock: You're not even gonna notice the opportunities to grow or that could be like who you wanna be or how you wanna show up or what you wanna build. You're not gonna notice those if you don't have clear vision, clear intention. So if you look back at our vision from six or so years ago, five or six years ago when we did our first one, so much of that is reality today. In terms of who we have on the team, who our clients are, how our client success team operates, how we show up in the market, like how we're viewed in the market, what type of clients we wanna partner with. And yeah, it's just amazing.

09:58 - 10:49
Aaron Craddock: Like we, you know, have fun at work and and do it like with people we enjoy working with. Like that was one of my principles and like anything from like like how we show up, how we conduct ourselves in meetings, we What our offices are like, where our offices are, how we're set up like that. That was all designed and it's all a reality now based on literally just creating a vision and putting it on paper and then executing towards that. So not every goal, like every year we hit annual goals, like whether it be a growth goal or I hit, I set personal goals and family goals and team goals. And sometimes we crush them in some areas and sometimes we miss them.

10:49 - 11:23
Aaron Craddock: The cool thing is when you look back, so we look back on our goals and intentions and words like as a team from year two of the company, three of the company, year four of the company, year five of the company. Like when you look back on that, like sometimes we hit, like let's say the growth goal, like we hit it two years later, six months later, or sometimes we crush it. And and then same thing like with health goals, I may not have hit them in year one, like I didn't lose 100 pounds immediately. Like it was over five years. And so I set different goals, failed forward.

11:23 - 11:48
Aaron Craddock: But again, forward. But I've just found doing these exercises and doing the hard work, putting pen to paper, being creative. I've usually hit it later, but they still happen. It might be the next year, but I mean, years can go by really fast. It says in scripture, like in the Bible that our life is like a vapor, like here today, gone the next.

11:49 - 12:31
Aaron Craddock: And so I think, yeah, we just need to live with intention and vision requires intention. And so my life is better because I'm becoming the person capable of carrying the vision. So, again, my life is better because I'm becoming the person capable of carrying the vision and so, when we set, when I set even my first vivid vision for Crowdock Holdings, Trucking Clicks, Hire Truckers before before Trucking Clicks and Hire Truckers existed. And and they were birthed out of the vision. And when I set that I knew that the Aaron that was writing that couldn't do that.

12:31 - 12:56
Aaron Craddock: Like in terms of would that Aaron be able to get the right clients? Would that Aaron be able to get the right talent on board that we would need? Because we need the best of the best in the industry. Like the best developers, the best client success people, the best people managing accounts, the best developers, engineers. Like we need the best to build our vision, to be the best that we can be.

12:59 - 13:20
Aaron Craddock: And so I knew that Aaron had to become a different person, like for people to want to come within that vision and be a part of it. And so that's what keeps me coming back. That's what keeps me growing is even the Aaron today isn't the air in that I need to be. Like I I need new emotional intelligence skills. I need new leadership skills.

13:20 - 14:10
Aaron Craddock: I need to continue to grow just in health and how I show up in my habits and intentions and disciplines. And But that, yeah, that's just so powerful and encouraging. And so is it worth the hard work of setting intentions, like whether it's for your department, your team, your family, your health, your business, if you're a business owner, is it worth the work of putting the pen to paper and knowing, facing your fears of what you might, where you might fall short. And even being like, I don't even know how we would possibly achieve this. Like, are you willing to set a vision and intention without knowing how you get there?

14:10 - 14:45
Aaron Craddock: Because that's where the real growth happens. And so I would just encourage all of you to just set goals and intentions and words that are just outside of what you think you can do. More than anything, start with where you wanna be. And so the cost of no clarity. So the cost of not doing what I'm I'm proposing that you do today and what we just do with our team is missed opportunities, lost momentum, no new disciplines.

14:46 - 15:29
Aaron Craddock: And the pain of not doing what you know you could do or not being who you know you could be. Or maybe there's a chance you can try that thing or grow in that way. Is it it just becomes great and so, the cost, one of the other costs of no clarity is that the pain becomes greater than your goals. And so, like, if you don't have a ton of clarity and a why behind why you're doing what you do and why you're showing up the way you're showing up. Life is just hard.

15:29 - 15:52
Aaron Craddock: And so sometimes the pain in whatever area you're trying to grow on becomes greater purely because you don't have a why and you don't have a vision of where you want to go. And so that's why a lot of times we might set a New Year's resolution. They don't have a big enough why behind the goal. And they haven't thought about it and envision where they want to go. And then they just quit.

15:52 - 16:10
Aaron Craddock: You don't have to wait till a new year to set this like to do these things. And so even though we're the February, you don't have to wait till next year to set some more intentions. And practical application. And so how can you be like, okay Aaron, all this sounds great. Vision, write three pages.

16:10 - 16:26
Aaron Craddock: That sounds kind of complex. Okay, well, I'm gonna propose today, and we'll keep building on this is start simple. I've done like a word of intention in church. I've done a word of intention, different groups. And so that's something Lauren and I've done for a long time.

16:26 - 16:41
Aaron Craddock: And we started last year doing this with our company. But just pick one word for this season. It could be this quarter, could be this month, could be this year. And and just pick a word. And then and then so to do that.

16:42 - 17:14
Aaron Craddock: What what I what what's worked best for me is just taking fifteen minutes in an inspiring space and just writing down like so just some area that gives you energy. You can sit by the lake. I like to sit by water or I like to be in a big inspiring space like with good, true and beautiful things. Old architecture is cool. Just some history because all that history or the even buildings that are beautiful, like were built with a vision.

17:14 - 17:28
Aaron Craddock: Like it didn't just arbitrarily happen. And so that helps me just brainstorm words. And so then just write down just whatever stream of consciousness, whatever comes to you. Just set a timer and just write. Even if you think it's ridiculous.

17:30 - 17:43
Aaron Craddock: I was trying to think of some ridiculous examples, but there's no ridiculous example. Just write those words down, okay? Get to the end of fifteen minutes. And what I do is I pray and reflect. I'm like, Hey God, what do you want my year to be?

17:43 - 18:10
Aaron Craddock: And again, not everyone's gonna have the same faith that I do. Whatever your intention is, just take time to reflect, brainstorm, ideate, take the time, Come up with your list. Jot down all the words. Then reflect, pray about it, just circle words. If you have to circle three and you can't choose between three, if you can't just pick one immediately, like if one doesn't just jump out and hit you, circle three and then you can come back to an hour.

18:10 - 18:29
Aaron Craddock: But you should within a reasonable period of time, usually within the first twenty minutes come up with a word. But max, you could set just within a day. And then that's your word. And again, if you feel it feels overwhelming to have a word for a whole year. Because for some people that can feel just super overwhelming.

18:30 - 18:48
Aaron Craddock: Just set it for a week, a month, a quarter. Just go ahead set it. I like doing mine for a year. And then two sentences defining what that means to you. And so quick example.

18:48 - 19:23
Aaron Craddock: So my word for this year in 2026 is scale. And so what that looks like to me is mostly like in the business context is I need to meet with the right clients, potential clients, existing clients, the right mentors, the right talent, the right partnerships, the right acquisition targets to get where we wanna go. Based on our vision, like I have to be in front of the right clients, the right mentors, the right talent, the right strategic partnerships, the right acquisitions. That's how we're gonna get there. And so that's where I need to be spending the majority of my time.

19:23 - 19:57
Aaron Craddock: Like meeting with our team, meeting with our clients and asking them where they wanna go, what their vision is, do the same stuff and then helping them get there. Meeting with mentors, people that have been through the growth journey in business or they're ahead of me and one area I'm wanting to grow. Talent, just who are future people that might wanna be a part of our vision. And that their vision can fit within that or be adjacent to that. Just meeting with different people that are future potential talent.

19:58 - 20:19
Aaron Craddock: And lastly, future partnerships and acquisitions. Scale. My word is scale and what scale looks like to me this year is meeting with the right clients, mentors, talent, partnerships, acquisition targets. So spending a lot of my time there. And knowing I can't do it all on my own or even with our current team, we're going to have to scale.

20:20 - 20:58
Aaron Craddock: And so with that, on that point, I'm the one of the things with the vision is the team that we have today. Just they're amazing and they embody the values that we have towards continuous improvement and thinking like a scientist. And like some core premises we have like doing things that go give her way. And being a servant and focusing on others and really listening to our clients. Like our team just embodies that and just they execute so well.

21:00 - 21:26
Aaron Craddock: And so that's a cool thing that's a result of the vision. Then what I'm talking about with scale is just who, as we continue to grow the business, like who else are we gonna have that fits that? So just like I was thinking before we brought on our current team. Who are the people we're gonna add to the current team going forward? And then Yeah, and so I just encourage you again to go over those steps again, like the exercise.

21:27 - 21:40
Aaron Craddock: Write down a bunch of words, stream of consciousness, fifteen minutes. Don't judge it. Write down anything that comes to you. And then pick one word, let's say for a year. And then define what that means to you.

21:40 - 22:14
Aaron Craddock: Like it's gonna be very different. Like sometimes it And again, this isn't at all purely a lot of times my word and my focus has been more on the family side or the health side or something other than the business that just happens to be business this year. And I'm sure scale will show up in other areas of my life as well, because I'm looking for it. And so time is passing either way, live by the design not by default. And so a lot of you may finish this podcast and not even do this.

22:14 - 22:33
Aaron Craddock: And then not even have a word, even have an intention. I wanna encourage you again with this. Time is passing either way, live by design, not by default. Then you get momentum. And then as that momentum builds, then you have more vision on where you wanna go.

22:33 - 22:45
Aaron Craddock: And then you pause, and then it starts over again. So you pause, that's what we did a little bit. That's why I created margin. When our team got together, we paused. And then that created more intentions.

22:47 - 23:01
Aaron Craddock: That and we set intentions for the business, like I cast vision for that. And then that creates focus. Then you see the opportunities and capitalize on them again. Then you have momentum. Then you have vision.

23:01 - 23:17
Aaron Craddock: Then you pause. So I encourage you guys, if you already have a word, that's great. Go ahead and send me your word. And then similarly, like if you create a word based on this. Yeah, just reach out through either hiretruckers.com, CrowdOut Holdings or send me a message on LinkedIn.

23:18 - 23:37
Aaron Craddock: And just share your word with me. Because we don't scale this year if we don't partner like with other people in achieving their vision. Just like I do with my team, I wanna partner with them like anybody working with our team and our clients towards their vision. Also wanna partner with you, our audience. I just appreciate your time today.

23:37 - 23:48
Aaron Craddock: And remember, time is passing either way. Live by design, not by default. Thanks. Again, that was Erin Craddock with the Hire Truckers Podcast. Have a great week.

23:48 - 23:56
GInger Craddock: Thank you for listening to the Hire Truckers Podcast, the show for fleet executives, HR leaders, and recruiting professionals. I'm your host, Ginger Craddock.

23:57 - 24:09
Aaron Craddock: And I'm your host, Erin Kratoff. Each week, we share insights, trends, and strategies to help you grow and thrive. If you found value today, please share the show and leave a review. Until next time, keep building top performing teams.