Episode 1455: Interview with Lauren Shippy About her book Seen, Known, & Heard

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining us on episode 1455 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:07] Lauren Shippy: Your talent and your treasures to live out your calling, having the ability to see, know, and hear the direction God wants for us is key. And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the inspired stewardship podcast with my friend, Scott Maderer.

[00:00:20] Coming out of a time when in our world, especially with the election cycle, we had had just a lot of division and that hasn't, that hasn't improved. I would say that's what really got me thinking about this.

[00:00:31] Scott Maderer: Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:00:56] In today's podcast episode, I interview Lauren Shippey. [00:01:00] I asked Lauren what brought her to focus on story as the most important message. I also asked Lauren about her faith journey and how it led her to where she is today. And Lauren also shares with you some about her book Seen, known, and Heard, and how you can focus on your own story to grow your business.

[00:01:18] I've got a new book coming out called Inspired Living, assembling the puzzle of your call by mastering your time, your talent, and your treasures. You can find out more about it and sign up for getting more information over@inspiredstewardship.com. Inspired living. That's InspiredStewardship. com, Inspired Living.

[00:01:41] Lauren Shippey is an entrepreneur with a background in operations, marketing, and strategy, driving results and mapping out a path forward for many organizations. She has worked for multiple startups over the years, assuming the role of COO early in her career. Lauren co founded a family investment office out of Philadelphia [00:02:00] in 2012, which allowed her to be part of building, evaluating, and consulting with startups across multiple sectors.

[00:02:07] Lauren now practices doing what she loves every day, providing strategy to companies of all sizes through StoryWork, her own consulting agency founded in 2016. She's the co founder of The Marketing Engine, which she leads with Gene Roberts and Rachel Addington. Additionally, Lauren loves to share her thought leadership through the Strategy Game podcast, and most recently authored her first book, Seen, Known, and Heard, coming out soon.

[00:02:35] Lauren truly has a passion for identifying the underlying dynamics of people, products, and experiences, and leveraging value chains to create new markets for companies. To her, StoryWork is more than just a provider of marketing, leadership, and strategy services. It's a platform of curated experts that can advise businesses and non profits to drive impact.

[00:02:56] In her local community, Lauren was a part of the Palm Beach [00:03:00] Women's Network leadership team for over five years, helping women ignite, inspire, and impact lives across Palm Beach County. She lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with her husband and two girls.

[00:03:13] Lauren Shippy: Welcome to the show, Lauren! Thanks so much for having me.

[00:03:16] I'm so excited to be here, Scott.

[00:03:17] Scott Maderer: Absolutely. So I talked a lot in the intro about some of the work you do and things that you've done to get there. But at the same time, I always think whenever we're talking about. Our journey or intros, these sorts of things. It's almost like the Instagram photo of our life.

[00:03:38] It's not really showing the whole picture. Especially when it comes to producing a book and those sorts of things. Now having been on that journey myself, it's Oh yeah, there's a lot more to this than I than I could fit in an intro. So would you unpack a little bit more about your journey and what has brought you to want to put this message out into the world?[00:04:00]

[00:04:00] Lauren Shippy: Oh, I love that question. Yeah, because you can look at somebody's CV, right? And see all the things, right? See all the bullet points, or so to speak, accomplishments, but really it's what happens behind the scenes that truly, I believe, shapes us and it's how we Steward that time that we're given behind the scenes to learn those lessons and carry them forward.

[00:04:24] So I do think that it's been quite a process. And this has been years in the making, particularly this message of seeing known and heard and I was on a bike ride 1 day and I. Road to the park and I stood in one of my favorite spots out on the water and I had always wanted to write and I knew that I would at some point, but it seems so far away at that point.

[00:04:50] And I just asked the Lord, I just asked him, what do you want me to write about? And I just heard that whisper of, [00:05:00] I want you to write about what it means to be seen, known, and heard, and that is just not something that I, that was on my radar. It wasn't something I was thinking about. It was a thought that just seemed to come out of nowhere.

[00:05:13] And what I've learned is that. As when I hear thoughts like that, I pay attention to them. And so I wrote it down and about 3 years later, here we are. And after many early mornings of getting up and sometimes only being able to write. two sentences were here. And the message feels like it's complete enough to be in a book, but I know that it's going to be such a process as it comes out into the world.

[00:05:47] And as we work with leaders and teams and all of those things. So it's been quite the journey for me. And I feel like a big part of it also was learning to live in that way of seeing and hearing and [00:06:00] knowing people. It's quite a challenge. And so it's really shaped me a lot personally.

[00:06:07] Scott Maderer: So where were you at in the journey when that idea came to you three years ago? What were you doing? What did you think the message you were putting out was at that point, if that makes sense?

[00:06:24] Lauren Shippy: Yeah, I was so I had founded story work in 2016 and so I was about 5 years into that process of having my own consulting company and really story work started working with leaders and helping them to really understand.

[00:06:42] Who they are, what their lane is like, what their purpose is, and really just walking in that lane and staying in that lane and removing distractions so that they can become clear. And then it really moved into working with companies and organizations in terms of strategy [00:07:00] and marketing. to do essentially the same thing, just apply to the business space.

[00:07:05] And so that's where I was. I was in the process of co founding a, the marketing engine, which is our full service marketing agency at that time as well. And so my mind was really focused on how that applied to business and that business sense. But what was great about this is that it really pulled me back to almost my first love, if you want to call it that, the reason that I started.

[00:07:31] And now looking at where I am, I'm really back to the beginning. It's like I've come full circle and I'm working with leaders to be able to define their stories and make them matter. And to me, that doesn't happen without seeing and hearing and knowing each other, because that's how trust is established and built that's how you can, I call it extract the gold.

[00:07:55] That's how you can see someone's heart. And you can [00:08:00] translate that into their purpose as well. And so that's where I was at that time when I started writing.

[00:08:09] Scott Maderer: So one of the things I like to highlight and we'll return to the book, cause I think there's some important things to dig out there, but before we go there, just about your own journey.

[00:08:19] One of the things I like to highlight is that kind of intersection between our faith journey and our life journey, and then and, Our life journey and our faith journey. Cause I think there's a feedback loop a lot of times for many of us. Yeah. So could you share a little bit about how your faith journey and your life journey have intersected over the years and affected each other?

[00:08:39] Lauren Shippy: I love that question. And I also love the feedback loop. That's so true. And that's what I personally experienced. I think that they have gone hand in hand. And I think that they've. This is interesting. I hadn't thought about this before, but I think when I started really my career, it was like, my work is [00:09:00] over here and my faith is over here, but who I am and my character, right?

[00:09:05] Exists. And as I worked with other startups and building other companies and family investment office work and all those things before I started story work, it was very much kind of parallel. They were moving in parallel. And then when I started story work, they came together. And and they merged.

[00:09:25] And so I think that was when I started to walk in really what I believe is my calling. And so I think that was. It was a really great moment for me because it, I really came alive when I was doing that, when I was using my faith and what I was hearing and what I was learning in my faith, and then I was also translating that into a message That is helping people pull [00:10:00] out their purpose and encourage them to walk in that.

[00:10:03] And that's what I love to do the most. And and so really I would say when I started story work, that's where they came together. And I think now I'm almost in a new era where they're just completely intertwined and it's almost there's no going back at this point. It feels like it's been solidified,

[00:10:23] Scott Maderer: so talking about the book a little bit, why seeing Known and Heard and you referenced it a little bit about how important this is, but unpack that a little bit more. Why why is this book important? Who is it for? What is the fundamental message of the book?

[00:10:43] Lauren Shippy: Yeah, and this is such a this is such a classic thing, right?

[00:10:46] To say this book is for everybody, but it really truly. Anyone can relate to it because we're all people and we all exist on this earth and. I really [00:11:00] believe that the best outcomes and the best things could be created if we were able to see, know, and hear each other and understand one another.

[00:11:07] We don't have to agree. We just have to try to see another person's perspective. And that creates as much peace and unity as possible, right? When possible. And I think that's something that's really needed right now. And so I wrote this. I was starting to write this in 2016, right? So we were coming out of a time when.

[00:11:27] In our world, especially with the election cycle, we had just a lot of division and and that hasn't improved, I would say. And that's what really got me thinking about this and so I think, honestly, it is for. Teams. It is for leaders in the workplace to help them and organize it.

[00:11:48] Nonprofit organizations to see here and know their people to see here and know who they serve. And for everyday people who want to know how to [00:12:00] see, know, and hear each other. But just can't get there because they've got what I call the weeds in the way, like bitterness, stubbornness, pride, like all those things that we all struggle with all the time.

[00:12:10] We unpack that in the book. And that's to me, one of the most important parts, because that's the hard work.

[00:12:16] Scott Maderer: Why do you think we struggle so much to, to you, at the very beginning of that, you said here people, but not necessarily agree with them. And I think that's probably part of the answer to my question, but why do you think we struggle so much with.

[00:12:33] Being able to do that, being able to validate someone's opinion or position or belief system or identity or whatever it is, even if it's one that maybe we're not 100 percent comfortable with or don't agree with 100%.

[00:12:48] Lauren Shippy: Yeah, that's such a good question. I've been thinking a lot about it. I think part of it may come from our own stuff our own weeds in the way, so to speak.

[00:12:59] [00:13:00] Maybe expectations that we put on ourselves, expectations that we put on others of who they should be or what they should be doing. When in reality, I really believe that it's not. That's not ours to judge. It's ours to be there and be who we are. And our influence will will hopefully just shine a light on those around us.

[00:13:25] But I don't know that I believe it's our place to. Really hammer our ideals into other people's minds and so I think that's why it can get so hard because we can just get triggered by things. And when we're triggered by things that are maybe linked to something really hard that we went through, or a difficult relationship dynamic that can bring out.

[00:13:49] The worst in us and so I think we're really think it comes back to the weeds in the way and us taking ownership of our own weeds in the way and processing [00:14:00] them in order that we can offer others some space to just to be where they are at the moment.

[00:14:07] Scott Maderer: I've often thought it's funny because it's we get into that kind of argumentative mode, right?

[00:14:14] And telling other people why they're wrong. When, if you stop and think, it's like, when someone does that to you, has that ever worked?

[00:14:23] Lauren Shippy: But yet somehow we still keep trying to do it. If I just yell louder,

[00:14:29] Scott Maderer: then you'll

[00:14:30] Lauren Shippy: hear me.

[00:14:31] Scott Maderer: You'll understand. And you'll stop whatever you're doing and you'll do what I want. Yep. That's exactly it. And let's face it. Anyone out there who's a parent, Had a teenage child. You've been there. I

[00:14:45] Lauren Shippy: do it all the time.

[00:14:46] I do it with my kids all the time. I'm so guilty of it.

[00:14:51] Scott Maderer: Every parent, of a teenager especially, has done this at least once. Teenager or toddler, because quite frankly there's not all that much difference other than the size. That is the [00:15:00] truth. Teenagers are just bigger, so it's a little harder to put them in timeout.

[00:15:05] You can't pick them up, but when it comes to the work you do with businesses and with nonprofits and with leaders, why do you focus so much on story? Why? Why is that the key to you?

[00:15:21] Lauren Shippy: Oh, that's a great question. So the our original tagline at story work, and it still is the tagline is define your story and make it matter.

[00:15:29] And a lot of marketing gurus, right? And thought leaders talk about story and how important it is. But I really think. think that it's important because it's tied to our identity. So I have a little bit of a different take on it and we call this work identity based strategy. And that is really, like I said, extracting the gold out of the leaders or the companies.

[00:15:53] What is their heart? What is their origin story? Their history? Where do they come from? What's the journey they've been on? What are the [00:16:00] themes that come from that place and then translating that into something that resonates and connects with people. And I think if you're a leader or if you're a brand, that is the most important, authentic marketing.

[00:16:13] If you want to call it that you could do. And I just think that. Where we are as a world and how much noise there is out there digitally, it's so important to do this work because then you stand out. And I think you can even say less, but it'd be more impactful. I almost think that we're going to be going the other way as opposed to.

[00:16:38] Marketing agencies and companies saying, Oh, you got to post three times a day, at least to meet the algorithm requirements and generate your audience growth. And while that may work to some degree and for a short while I really think that people like to see people.

[00:16:57] And when they see people and they can [00:17:00] relate to them and they feel like they know them, then they want to be a part of. what it is they're doing. So it's really that simple. It's just hard to practice sometimes.

[00:17:12] Scott Maderer: Why do you think we struggle so much with leaning into our own story?

[00:17:18] Lauren Shippy: I think vulnerability is required and that's something that we're not all ready to do because, and it's not like you have to put your entire story out there, but it is a part of your story that will resonate with others.

[00:17:36] And. I think I know for me personally, when I first started this work of writing and creating and starting story work, it was hard. It was hard for me to overcome those hurdles of really putting myself out there and who I was and my story and all of those things. And over time, it's just become easier [00:18:00] and it's become learning to ride a bike at first, it's really hard and you're shaky. And then you fall sometimes. And then as you continue on, you get faster and faster. And so now things will just come to me and I will just share them. And I think once you get to that place then you're operating in freedom and people see that and they want to be a part of that.

[00:18:25] And I think that's the key, but it's hard because it takes vulnerability and it also takes personal connection. And I think if we aren't connected to ourselves, even if you're a company, if you're not like really connected to who you are and why you're here and your purpose, then it's going to be really hard to share your story because you might not even really know your own story in a way.

[00:18:51] Scott Maderer: I think. In the corporate world, at least from my experience one of the things that I found is there's often a [00:19:00] disconnect between the messaging of what they say the corporate story or identity is and what it feels like. As an employee working in other words, if you ask the average person in the cube, what the story and the experience is, it doesn't match up with what they say what they say out loud here, employees are family and it's it's functional family.

[00:19:24] Cause I don't feel like I'm in

[00:19:25] Lauren Shippy: a family.

[00:19:27] Scott Maderer: So how do you see for folks in the business world that. Maybe are recognizing that, yeah, there's a disconnect between whether it's the story I'm telling or the story that I I really do believe and want this to be the truth, but we're just not there yet.

[00:19:43] How do leaders begin to address that sort of gap?

[00:19:49] Lauren Shippy: No, that's so good. I think it really it takes a willingness. Obviously that's the 1st step is a willingness to work toward it toward [00:20:00] change and really humility because humility is required to. To own whatever it is that is is creating that gap.

[00:20:11] And then it's just a discovery of okay, what's going on here? This is what people are saying, but this is who we're saying we are to the public and it's not matching up and I think that process of identity based strategy and. The C note and heard workbook process is drawing out what it was designed to be originally and I've been thinking about this a lot.

[00:20:35] Yeah. Where things deviated off of the origin, because the origin story of most things that were created is good is positive. And then somewhere along the way, it gets off track, whether it's for greed, whether it's for own success, own pursuit things like that. And this process really calls that [00:21:00] out.

[00:21:00] And then says, okay, here's your plan to get back to where those things are in alignment. And what rewarding work what a great thing to be able to restore the true intent, original identity of something, even like a company. And then when people see that through the leadership and there's consistency, then they're able to slowly get back on board and trust is built.

[00:21:30] Scott Maderer: And story is one of those things, and this is another one of my pet analogy mental images that I see is cropping up in different ways in the world and story is one of them that I see it to where it's like the Russian nesting dolls in that. There's the story of the leader, but then around that is the story of the company, and then around that is maybe the story of the founder, and then around and then you go to another level, and there's the story of the employee, and then there's the [00:22:00] story of the customer and they're all connected, but they're not all the same either and do you feel, and with the work you do, and in the book is it looking at sort of those different levels of story?

[00:22:13] Is that part of the process? Yes.

[00:22:16] Lauren Shippy: Absolutely. You have to look at all of the layers and account for each of them. And what story are they telling themselves? Because that's the story that they're going to digest versus what is the story, which is the origin story or the vision or the mission of the the company.

[00:22:35] And then, and you've got to identify the gaps in each lane and the restorative work that's needed in each of those layers, right? To move everyone back to the origin story and that can be quite a complex process because there are a lot of layers, but each one is so important.

[00:22:55] Scott Maderer: So I've got a few questions that I like to ask all of my guests, but before I go there, is [00:23:00] there anything else about this work that you do or your book, Seen, Known, and Heard, that.

[00:23:06] You'd like to share with the listener.

[00:23:09] Lauren Shippy: I would just tell you if you're listening to this and you relate to this don't be discouraged if you feel like you're so far from it or that you're not practicing this. I think that I think shame is the biggest preventer of us growing and moving toward restoration.

[00:23:34] And what I would say is that it's never. too late to turn. It's never too late to turn around. And small steps incrementally over time make the biggest impact. So it's just start one thing at a time, just small. And you don't even have to tell anybody that you're doing it. You can reserve that just [00:24:00] for yourself.

[00:24:01] And say, you know what? I'm just going to try to turn here. I'm just going to try to turn around just a little bit and see somebody today and then before it, you might be able to face some of the hardest conflict you've had in your life because you're just taking kind of 1 thing at a time slowly for yourself.

[00:24:21] So that's probably the 1 thing I would do.

[00:24:22] Scott Maderer: So my brand is Inspired Stewardship, and I run things through that lens of stewardship. And yet, like leadership and other words, I've discovered that stewardship is one of those words that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

[00:24:36] So when you hear the word stewardship, what does that word mean to you?

[00:24:41] Lauren Shippy: I love the word stewardship. And I was actually just working with a company That created one of these as their core value, and they're an architecture and construction. And I love how the founder sees it because he said it was there when they had their team meeting and they were rolling out their [00:25:00] new, really, their updated identity, so to speak.

[00:25:03] And he was just talking about the fact that They are creating people's homes, and they're a part of their lives, their family for a couple of years, and they take that so seriously that if that person is not there, because they're not a lot of times on site when it's being built, it's their responsibility to treat that like it's their own home.

[00:25:25] And so stewardship to me is really. Knowing that someone is trusting you I have a leader coming to me, trusting me to help them move back to their purpose. I just don't take that lightly. I take it like it's my own. And so it's such a great responsibility to steward what you've been given well.

[00:25:48] And I think for me, it looks like stewarding people's purposes really. And and moving, helping them move in that direction. [00:26:00]

[00:26:00] Scott Maderer: So this is my favorite question that I get to ask my guests. I imagine for a minute that I invented this magic machine and with this machine, I was able to pluck you from where you are today and transport you into the future, maybe 150, maybe 250 years.

[00:26:17] But through the power of this machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life to see all of the ripples, all of the connections, all of the impacts you've left behind. What impact do you hope you've left on the world? That's such a great question.

[00:26:30] Lauren Shippy: Honestly, I think it's. I think it relates to what we've been talking about and the work that I do, but in my personal relationships, I hope just people knew that they were just truly loved and cared for.

[00:26:47] And that, and then I was able to just encourage them in some small way to move toward back toward who they were really created to be. and move away from all the noise and the [00:27:00] distraction in life.

[00:27:03] Scott Maderer: So what's on the roadmap? What's coming next as you continue on this journey?

[00:27:07] Lauren Shippy: Oh, so many exciting things.

[00:27:09] For starters, the book is coming out probably in August or September. So it's in the final edit process. And so that and the workbook will be coming out the late summer fall. So that will be really great to start working with teams using that framework. And then really. Just more work with companies and brands doing what we've talked about here.

[00:27:35] And 2 more books I have in my mind. And so I'll be, I've already started to write the 2nd one. And just continue to do that. And really, it's just not about writing a book. It's about getting these thoughts out into the world with the hopes that it can truly help people get to where they want to be.

[00:27:57] That's the ultimate goal. [00:28:00]

[00:28:00] Scott Maderer: So you can find out more about Lauren and her work over at storywork. co or co. I'll have links to that in the show notes as well. Lauren, anything else you'd like to share with the listener? I

[00:28:13] Lauren Shippy: think you'll see everything at storywork. co there. My, my personal brand is laurencshippee.

[00:28:21] com and that's where you can download the first chapter of the book. So if you want to check some of that out, but that's linked at storywork. co too. I think that's all you need to know.

[00:28:31] Scott Maderer: Awesome. And I'll put a link to that as well, just so folks can find it there. I appreciate you coming on and thanks so much for sharing today.

[00:28:39] Lauren Shippy: Thank you, Scott. It's been a pleasure.

[00:28:41] Scott Maderer: Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode [00:29:00] please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.

[00:29:05] com slash iTunes rate, all one word, iTunes rate. It'll take you through how to leave a rating and review and how to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast so that you can get every episode as it comes out in your feed. Until next time, invest your time, your talent, and your treasures. Develop your influence, and impact the world.