Business often rewards speed, scale, and efficiency. Companies invest heavily in technology, funnels, and optimization. Yet the leaders who consistently create opportunity, build loyalty, and open unexpected doors tend to share a quieter skill: they know how to build real human connection.

On The Bliss Business Podcast, we sat down with Steve Ramona, a “super connector” and host of the podcast “Doing Business with a Servant’s Heart.” Steve has helped generate hundreds of millions of dollars in partner deals and project impact through intentional introductions, simple acts of service, and a deep belief that people are the most valuable asset in any business.

His story is a powerful reminder that in a world saturated with digital tools, connection is still a competitive advantage you cannot automate.

Connection Is Not Networking

Most people say networking matters. Far fewer practice it in a way that changes anything. As Steve points out, traditional networking often looks like exchanging business cards, collecting LinkedIn connections, and moving on. True connection feels very different.

His approach is simple. When he jumps on a call, his first question is, “How can I help you today.” He is not there to pitch, impress, or extract. He is there to serve. That one question does three things at once:

• It shifts the spotlight away from him and onto the person in front of him.
• It surprises people, because they rarely hear it in business settings.
• It opens the door for a deeper conversation about what they actually need.

Connection, in this frame, is not about quickly qualifying prospects. It is about understanding people well enough that you can create value for them, whether or not they ever become a client.

When you operate this way consistently, you stop being “another contact.” You become the person others think of when they need help, advice, or a trusted introduction. Over time, that is where opportunity and deal flow come from.

Business as a People Asset Game

Steve likes to remind entrepreneurs that they are in the “people asset business.” Financial assets are only valuable if they grow. People are no different. The more high quality relationships you build and nurture, the stronger your business becomes.

He shares story after story of how relationships have compounded in his own life:

• Mentors at his family’s health club who took him under their wing as a teenager, buying him lunch, sharing books, and teaching him basic wealth principles.
• A financial advisor who handed him a simple book, asked him to save ten percent of his income, and indirectly helped him accumulate tens of thousands of dollars by his late twenties.
• Billionaires and highly successful founders who happily offer time and guidance because he took the time to treat them like people, not targets.

What stands out is the direction of the value. He did not ask, “What can they do for me.” He asked, “What can I learn, and how can I share what I learn with others.” He sees himself as a conduit. Wisdom and opportunity flow to him so they can flow through him to dozens or hundreds of others.

When you see people as assets in that sense, you stop keeping score on every interaction. You start building “business marriages,” as he describes them, where trust is built over time through service, honesty, and shared wins, rather than quick transactions.

Simple Practices That Make People Feel Seen

Connection is not mysterious. It is the accumulation of small, intentional behaviors that tell people they matter. Steve’s practices are straightforward and repeatable.

Use names often.
He makes a point of using people’s names at least twice in a short interaction. At the grocery store, in a restaurant, or during a meeting, he intentionally reads name tags and addresses people directly. “Tony, thank you for bagging my groceries. Tony, have a great day.” It seems small, yet he consistently notices their energy shift. People stand up a little straighter. They feel acknowledged.

Ask, then listen.
He runs conversations around a simple pattern he calls ASLA:

• Ask a question.
• Stay quiet.
• Listen intently.
• Ask another question.

That pattern is especially powerful for introverts who may feel intimidated by networking. You do not need to dominate the conversation. You need a few thoughtful questions, the courage to be quiet, and a genuine curiosity about the person in front of you.

Edify people in public.
Steve looks for something positive to acknowledge in every interaction, whether it is someone’s courage, work ethic, generosity, or story. He calls it “edifying.” It is not flattery. It is specific, sincere appreciation. Most of us underestimate how rare and impactful that is.

These practices are not complex. They do require intention. When you make them part of your daily rhythm, you start to notice that people remember you, reach out more often, and are eager to open doors for you because they feel genuinely seen.

Serving Without Attachment

One of the biggest barriers to connection is the need for validation. Many people hesitate to introduce others, share ideas, or give freely because they worry about how it will reflect on them if it does not “work out.”

Steve takes the opposite stance. When he makes an introduction, he focuses on clear edification and then lets go of the outcome. He might record a quick video saying, “Tullio, meet Stephen. Here is why I think you two should know each other.” After that, he steps back. If the connection leads to a partnership, a friendship, or nothing at all, he does not take it personally.

He leans heavily on a Stoic mindset. His responsibility is the quality of the effort, not the result. That posture keeps him from being paralyzed by “what if this is the wrong intro” or “what if they do not like each other.”

Interestingly, the more he serves without attachment, the more the universe seems to respond. He tells the story of taking forty minutes to mentor a man whose father’s chiropractor had referred him. They walked through ideas and next steps. He charged nothing. The next morning, an unexpected five hundred dollar affiliate payment hit his account from a referral he had made months before. There was no direct line between the two events, yet the pattern is consistent in his life. Service out, value back.

When you remove the demand for immediate validation, you free yourself to act from generosity. That shift tends to change what flows back over time.

Love as a Leadership Operating System

In the final part of the conversation, Steve returns to a theme that runs through everything he does: love in business. For him, love is not sentimental language. It is a standard.

Love shows up as:

• Being willing to have hard conversations with respect when performance is not where it needs to be.
• Helping an employee or contractor land somewhere better suited for them instead of clinging to them out of fear.
• Staying grounded and grateful during seasons of momentum, rather than letting ego take over.
• Letting go of relationships that chronically disrespect your time and energy, even while you wish those people well.

Love also keeps him from enabling. There was a time when he kept meeting with people who never implemented any of the advice he offered. It felt generous on the surface, yet it was not actually helping them grow. He eventually realized that real care sometimes means saying no. Servant leadership is not about doing the work for people. It is about equipping them, then holding them capable of taking action.

When love and service become the operating system, connection stops being a tactic. It becomes the natural expression of how you see people and the role you believe business should play in their lives.

Key Takeaways

• Connection is different from networking. It starts with serving the person in front of you, not pitching them, and asking how you can help before you ask for anything in return.
• People are your most important asset. The more you invest in relationships, mentorships, and introductions, the more opportunity compounds across your career.
• Small practices create big trust. Using names, asking thoughtful questions, listening deeply, and edifying others make people feel seen in a way that stands out.
• Serve without attachment. When you give value freely and release the need for instant validation, you create more room for unexpected opportunities and reciprocity.
• Love belongs in business. Holding people to a high standard, making tough calls with respect, and leading with a servant’s heart are not “soft.” They are what make cultures resilient and relationships durable.

Final Thoughts

Connection is not an accident. It is a choice to show up with intention, curiosity, and generosity in a world that often rewards speed over depth.

Steve Ramona’s journey as a super connector is a reminder that the strongest growth often comes from the most human practices: remembering names, asking good questions, making thoughtful introductions, and serving people in ways that outlive a single transaction.

Check out our full conversation with Steve Ramona on The Bliss Business Podcast.

Originally Featured on The Bliss Business Podcast Blog

Business success is often framed in technical terms: operational efficiency, strategy, and subject matter expertise. You could climb into leadership on the strength of your skills, hit your numbers, and call it a good career.

That story is changing.

More and more, the real differentiator is emotional intelligence. When EQ is strong, collaboration improves, conflict becomes more constructive, and people stay engaged even when things get hard. When EQ is weak, trust erodes, communication breaks down, and the best people quietly leave.

On The Bliss Business Podcast, we sat down with Josh Fitzgerald, CEO of Zoomin Groomin and long time franchisee within the Loyalty Brands family. Josh grew from single territory owner to multi unit operator, then moved into the corporate support team before becoming CEO. His view of emotional intelligence is not theoretical. It is shaped by years of working with franchisees, groomers, and pet parents in very human, often emotional moments. For him, EQ is the difference between a brand that people trust and one that fractures from the inside.

Emotional Intelligence Is Guiding Your Emotions

Josh defines emotional intelligence in simple terms: guiding your emotions instead of letting your emotions guide you. That shows up in your tone, the timing of your responses, and the weight you give to how your words land on others.

He describes leaders who can read a room in real time. They notice facial expressions, body language, and the energy in the space. They understand that people do not hear the same words in the same way, and they adjust accordingly.

As a CEO, Josh knows his words carry disproportionate impact. A throwaway comment can feel like a verdict to someone on the receiving end. Emotional intelligence is what keeps him aware of that gap. It is the discipline to slow down, choose language carefully, and speak in a way that protects dignity even when the news is not good.

Responding Instead of Reacting

One of Josh’s core distinctions is between reacting and responding.

Reacting is instinctive. A problem shows up, emotions spike, and words come out before thought. Responding requires a pause. It is the short space between stimulus and reply where you decide who you want to be in the conversation.

Josh is clear that the urge to react never fully disappears, especially on a hard day. Emotional intelligence does not erase that impulse. It helps you manage it. When someone brings bad news, he reminds himself that they are usually the messenger, not the cause. They are already carrying stress.

That small pause changes outcomes. Instead of damaging trust with a sharp reaction, you create space for problem solving. You stay curious. You preserve the relationship. Over time, people learn that they can bring you hard truth without fear, which is the foundation of a healthy culture.

Trust, Culture, and the Customer Experience

Within Loyalty Brands, leadership often talks about three imperatives: happy and successful franchisees, opening locations, and creating fanatical fans. Customers sit at the end of that chain, yet their experience is shaped by everything that happens upstream.

When emotional intelligence is missing at the leadership level, mistrust starts to spread.

• Franchisees feel policed instead of supported.
• Employees feel like they are one mistake away from being shamed.
• Conversations become defensive rather than collaborative.

That breakdown shows up in numbers. Customer ratings dip. Retention slips. Rebooking rates fall. Tips shrink. Leaders sometimes say EQ cannot be measured. Josh believes the data tells a different story.

On the other hand, when leaders correct with respect, hold people accountable from a place of care, and listen fully before judging, trust grows. Franchisees invest more. Staff stay longer. Customers feel the difference in every interaction with the brand, from the first phone call to the moment their pet hops off the grooming truck.

Visible Signs of High Emotional Intelligence

When Josh looks for emotional intelligence in others, he pays attention to a few visible behaviors.

First, thoughtful leaders are not afraid of silence. When asked a hard question, they pause. They are willing to say, “Let me think about that before I answer.” That calm signal of self control builds confidence. People would rather follow someone who thinks for a moment than someone who always has an instant reaction.

Second, he watches how leaders treat the people with the least formal power. It is easy to be charming with board members and key clients. Emotional intelligence shows up in hallway conversations, how you speak to front desk staff, and whether you treat a nervous new employee with the same respect as a top performer.

Third, he notices what happens under pressure. Values are easy to quote when things are going well. They are proven when money, comfort, or speed are at stake. Leaders with true EQ keep their tone, their respect, and their commitment to fairness even when the stakes rise.

Building Systems That Support Emotional Intelligence

Culture does not sustain itself on good intentions. If emotional intelligence matters, it has to be supported by systems and habits.

At Zoomin Groomin, that includes:

• Rhythms of communication. Leaders hold regular check ins and debriefs so people do not only hear from them when something is wrong. Predictable communication makes the environment feel safer.
• Two way conversations. Meetings and one on ones are designed for dialogue, not monologues. Leaders ask questions, listen deeply, and adapt their style to different personalities.
• Clear feedback norms. Constructive feedback happens privately and respectfully. Praise is often shared publicly, so people see that their work is noticed and appreciated.
• Curiosity before blame. When something goes sideways, the first move is to understand what happened, not to hunt for someone to blame. The goal is learning and improvement.

Alongside those structures, Josh leans on personal practices. He reflects on his week, looks for moments where he reacted instead of responded, and decides how he wants to handle similar situations next time. That kind of honest review turns experience into growth.

Purpose, Family, and the Bigger Why

Behind Josh’s focus on EQ is a clear sense of purpose.

On the business side, his mission is to pamper pets and enrich lives. That includes the lives of franchisees, groomers, managers, and support staff. Some of his favorite stories are about team members buying their first homes or creating schedules that let them be more present with their families. Growth is exciting to him because it means more of those stories across more markets.

On the personal side, he thinks about his four children. One day they will look back and decide what kind of man and leader he was. Did he use his role to serve others. Did he practice what he preached about respect and care. Did he stand by his values when it was inconvenient. Keeping that future moment in mind pulls his leadership toward integrity.

Purpose gives emotional intelligence its weight. Self control, patient listening, and thoughtful responses are not just techniques. They are daily expressions of what he wants his life and work to stand for.

Love as a Leadership Standard

When the conversation turns to love in business, Josh connects it to a simple standard he grew up with: treat others the way you want to be treated.

In his view, love in leadership is the commitment to show people unconditional respect, even when performance conversations are difficult. It is the willingness to tell the truth without stripping away dignity. It is the instinct to repair when you miss the mark, rather than defending a poor reaction because of your title.

Love is not sentimental in this context. It is practical. It shapes hiring decisions, service standards, and policies. It influences how you schedule routes so groomers are not exhausted, how you handle a complaint from a worried pet parent, and how you respond when a franchisee is struggling. Emotional intelligence becomes one of the main ways that love is felt day to day.

Key Takeaways

• Emotional intelligence is the ability to guide your emotions instead of letting them guide you. It affects tone, timing, and the impact of your decisions.
• The pause between stimulus and response is where leadership lives. That moment often determines whether you protect or damage trust.
• EQ and business outcomes are linked. Trust inside the system eventually shows up in ratings, retention, rebooking, and revenue.
• Systems and habits keep EQ from being a personality trait. Communication rhythms, feedback norms, and curiosity-based problem solving embed emotional intelligence into daily operations.
• Purpose and love give EQ its power. When your deeper motivation is to enrich lives and treat people with real care, emotional intelligence stops being a tactic and becomes part of who you are.

Final Thoughts

Emotional intelligence in business is not a soft extra. It is a central measure of leadership. Technical skill may put you in a position of authority, yet what you do with your emotions once you are there determines the quality and longevity of your impact.

Josh Fitzgerald’s journey at Zoomin Groomin is a reminder that the leaders people remember are not just the ones who made smart moves. They are the ones who stayed calm in the storm, listened when others were afraid to speak, and consistently chose responses that built trust rather than fear.

Check out our full conversation with Josh Fitzgerald on The Bliss Business Podcast.

Originally Featured on The Bliss Business Podcast Blog

Diversity and inclusion work in organizations sound like a compliance requirement. Get the numbers right, put a statement on the website, and call it progress.

Reality has caught up. Research from firms like McKinsey shows that organizations in the top quartile for diversity are significantly more likely to outperform peers on profitability. Inclusion is not only a moral issue. It is a performance issue that shapes innovation, retention, and long term growth.

But metrics alone do not answer the real question employees are asking:
Do I actually belong here, or am I just filling a slot?

On The Bliss Business Podcast, we sat down with Frederick Abramson, a multidisciplinary problem solver whose career spans science, technology, business, and law. Trained in mathematical biology and genetics, he pioneered early big data approaches in healthcare before moving into law and business advisory work. Today he teaches at Johns Hopkins, advises companies on contracts and intellectual property, and helps leaders align legal strategy with real business goals. His view of inclusivity is grounded in lived experience across academia, government, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

Inclusivity Begins With Belonging, Not Labels

Frederick starts with a simple but often overlooked truth.

Inclusivity is not just about who is in the room. It is about who feels like they belong there.

In his view, most organizations stop at visible diversity. They focus on race, gender, or nationality and assume that if the group looks different, then the culture is inclusive. That is only the starting point.

The real work is behavioral.

• How do people engage each other in daily conversations.
• Whose ideas are genuinely considered in decisions.
• How are honesty, integrity, and collaboration rewarded, not just tolerated.

Frederick often sees leaders treat inclusion like adding a different letter to a room full of Xs and expecting magic. True inclusion comes from how people behave with one another, how much space they give for different perspectives, and whether the culture fosters collaboration instead of quiet judgment and blame.

Listening That Proves People Have Been Heard

Every leader says they listen. Frederick draws a sharp line between hearing and listening.

He quotes the line from “The Sound of Silence” about people “hearing without listening” because it captures what happens in many organizations. Hearing is passive. Listening is active and visible.

Real listening has three parts:

• You pay full attention to what the other person says.
• You reflect it back so they know you understood.
• You invite clarification and next steps together.

Frederick models this in his teaching. In a university classroom, he will ask one student to describe a paper, then ask another student if they agree. The discussion becomes a shared learning dialogue instead of a lecture. Students later report that his course is the one class they still use in life many years later because they felt included in the learning process, not just spoken at.

He brings the same pattern into leadership conversations. When a leader restates what they heard, checks if they got it right, and then asks “Where do we go from here,” it signals something powerful. Inclusion is not just “you speak, I decide.” It is “we understand, then we move forward together.”

Vulnerability, Mistakes, And Psychological Safety

Frederick is clear that vulnerability is not a soft accessory to leadership. It is a core ingredient of inclusive culture.

Leaders in non inclusive environments often default to blame:
“How come you did not remind me.”

Inclusive leaders flip the script:
“I screwed up. I forgot to do it.”

Admitting mistakes does two things at once. It humanizes the leader and lowers the fear level in the room. People see that imperfection is allowed, and that the standard is honesty, not image maintenance. Over time, that honesty builds psychological safety, which is the foundation for true collaboration and learning.

Designing Simple Systems That Create Inclusion

Frederick does not leave inclusion at the level of good intentions. He argues that cultures are built by repeated behaviors, and behaviors are reinforced by systems.

One of his favorite tools is the acronym A R C A R:

• Acknowledge
• Restate
• Clarify
• Affirm
• Resolve

It is a simple relational pattern leaders can use in any conversation.

1. Acknowledge: “I appreciate you asking that question.”
2. Restate: “You are asking what leaders can do this month to be more inclusive.”
3. Clarify: “When you say leaders, do you mean only executives or anyone who steps up.”
4. Affirm: “That is a powerful distinction. Thank you for naming it.”
5. Resolve: “Here is one practical step we can take, and here is how to learn more.”

By using A R C A R, leaders build a repeatable structure for inclusion. People feel seen, understood, and invited into next steps. Over time, this pattern normalizes collaboration and reduces the fear of speaking up.

Neurodiversity, Genetics, And Seeing People Clearly

One of the most compelling parts of the conversation comes from Frederick’s work in genetics and “wellness DNA.”

He shares examples of traits that can influence behavior, such as a gene related to difficulty learning from mistakes or a gene associated with shyness. In one case, a parent brought genetic insight to a teacher and reframed their child’s behavior. The child was not “stupid.” They needed to be shown the right way the first time instead of being expected to learn by trial and error. The moment the teacher understood that, the teaching approach changed, and so did the child’s progress.

Another example involves an executive who discovered she was genetically shy. Once she understood that, she did not try to become a different person. She designed a simple workaround. At events, she stood at the doorway, greeted people by name, and made it easier for others to approach her.

These stories highlight a core principle of inclusivity:

People are not broken. They are different.

Inclusive leaders respect neurodiversity and build environments where different learning styles, temperaments, and strengths can contribute. That means adjusting how we evaluate performance, how we design roles, and how we build teams, instead of assuming everyone should fit one narrow mold.

The Power Of Belief: How Inclusivity Changes Lives

Frederick’s own academic path is a case study in the impact of inclusive belief.

As a teenager, he was pushed out of a college track in high school, told he would never go to college, and struggled academically early on. His undergraduate GPA was low, and by many traditional measures, he should not have been considered for top graduate programs.

Yet faculty members saw something in him that he did not fully see in himself. They watched him make brilliant comments one moment and baffling ones the next, and decided to bet on the brilliance. They wrote recommendations that opened doors to institutions like the University of Rochester and Stanford, and they stayed engaged with his development.

That is inclusivity at work.

It is not lowering the bar. It is looking beyond one metric and asking:

• What potential is hiding inside this person.
• How can we design support, feedback, and opportunity so that potential has a chance to emerge.

The same pattern appears in his sports stories. On a softball team he pitched for, everyone played in every game, even though some players were all stars. A teammate who refused to come off the field because he thought he was “too good” was told not to come back. The culture valued contribution, growth, and mutual respect over ego. That inclusive mindset helped the team win consistently, not because everyone was equal in skill, but because everyone was essential to the whole.

Purpose, Love, And Redefining Success

Underneath Frederick’s work on inclusivity is a deeper purpose. He loves solving problems that genuinely improve people’s lives, especially for those who have been overlooked or written off. His nonprofit work focuses on helping young single mothers discover strengths and traits that can anchor a new story about who they are and what is possible.

He also reframes success in a powerful way.

Success, for him, is “playing your best” regardless of the outcome. He recalls watching figure skater Scott Hamilton earn a gold medal while still being dissatisfied because he knew he had not skated at his highest level. Winning is a moment. Integrity and effort are the real scoreboard.

This view of success is deeply inclusive. It honors people for their growth, their courage, and their contribution, not just their latest metric. It also connects to love in business.

Love shows up as:

• Believing in people enough to tell them the truth.
• Investing time in listening and mentoring.
• Designing roles and systems that help people play at their best.

In teams, that kind of love creates loyalty and resilience. When things get hard, people stay in the game because they know they are seen, valued, and believed in.

Key Takeaways

• Inclusivity Starts With Belonging
  It is not enough to get different people into the room. They must feel that their presence and perspective matter.
• Listening Must Be Visible
  Inclusion is built when leaders restate what they heard, seek clarification, and invite shared next steps.
• Vulnerability Builds Trust
  Admitting mistakes and taking responsibility signals safety. Blame does the opposite.
• Systems Turn Inclusion Into Habit
  Simple tools like A R C A R help leaders practice inclusion in every conversation, not just when they remember.
• Neurodiversity Is A Strategic Advantage
  When leaders understand and respect different ways of thinking and learning, they unlock innovation and potential that would otherwise stay hidden.
• Purpose And Love Anchor Performance
  Focusing on playing your best and caring about people’s growth creates cultures that can innovate, endure, and outperform.

Final Thoughts

Inclusivity is often talked about as a program or a policy. Frederick Abramson reminds us that it is first a way of being. It is how leaders listen, how they respond, how they design systems, and how they choose to see the people in front of them.

When organizations treat belonging as a strategic priority, they do more than avoid risk. They build cultures where diverse minds can collaborate, where neurodiversity is welcomed, and where people can play at their best without fear of being dismissed for their differences.

Check out our full conversation with Frederick Abramson on The Bliss Business Podcast.

Originally Featured on The Bliss Business Podcast Blog

Many leaders are taught that results came from control, speed, and decisiveness. If you hit your numbers, the “how” did not get much airtime. That approach is breaking down.

Today, people want to know if their leaders actually care. Franchise owners want to know if their investment is respected. Employees want to know if someone will notice when they are not okay. In that environment, empathy is no longer a nice idea. It is the difference between a system that technically works and a culture that people actually want to stay in.

On The Bliss Business Podcast, we sat down with Kim Gubera, President and CEO of Pertek, a hydraulic hose repair franchise system that has grown unit count by more than ninety percent since she stepped into the CEO role in 2019. With more than twenty years in franchising, a background in accounting and finance, and deep experience leading in male dominated industries, Kim shared how empathy, clear standards, and follow through can reshape an entire network.

Empathy Is Letting People Know You Care

When Kim talks about empathy, she does not reach for buzzwords. She started by looking up the formal definition, then simplified it into something more actionable. Empathy, to her, is “letting others know that you care.”

That shows up in very specific moments.

• Delivering hard news to a franchisee who has invested years and savings into their business.
• Sitting with an employee who is struggling, and resisting the urge to jump straight into solutions.
• Taking the time to explain not just the “no,” but the “why” behind a decision.

Kim is naturally a problem solver. Her instinct is to move quickly from issue to answer. Empathy has required her to slow down, listen all the way through, and make sure people feel heard before she offers a path forward. That shift is not cosmetic. It changes how decisions land, how much trust they build, and how willing people are to stay engaged when the answer is not what they hoped for.

When Busyness Erodes Trust

One of the biggest threats to empathy is not malice. It is busyness.

As Pertek has grown rapidly, Kim has seen how easy it is for leaders to get swept into deadlines, expansion plans, and operational fires. In that rush, they stop noticing small changes in behavior, the franchisee who suddenly goes quiet, or the employee who used to be engaged and is now just going through the motions.

In franchising, distance magnifies the risk. A franchisor and franchisee might be separated by a thousand miles and months between in person visits. When there is no intentional check in, unspoken frustration hardens into resentment. Issues that could have been resolved through a candid conversation become legal threats.

Kim has seen how dangerous it is when leaders rely solely on contracts and compliance. If the franchise agreement is the first tool you reach for, she says, several other steps have already failed. Empathy, in practice, means refusing to let busyness become an excuse for ignoring early warning signs in relationships.

Listening Tours That Turn Into Culture Change

When Kim moved from CFO to CEO, she stepped into a male dominated industrial business and a system with cultural scars. Some franchisees had never had anyone from the executive team visit their location, despite being in the network for five or more years.

Rather than making assumptions, she went on the road.

She visited every franchisee, often in person, and asked a simple open question: “Tell me your Pertek story.” Then she listened. What she heard was the full spectrum: gratitude, anger, frustration, loyalty, and disappointment. There were tears, raised voices, and long histories of feeling unheard.

That listening tour was more than a gesture. It gave her:

• A clear picture of where trust had been broken.
• Insight into what franchisees valued most from the brand.
• Motivation to rebuild systems that had been too narrow and transactional.

Back at the home office, empathy demanded action. Kim and her team broadened the support they offered, upgraded tools, and began operating as true partners rather than distant rule enforcers. Over time, franchisees did not just hear that leadership cared. They saw it in new resources, better communication, and a shift in tone.

Systems That Keep Empathy From Being Optional

Kim is clear that empathy cannot depend on one leader’s personality. If it does, it disappears the moment that person leaves. To endure, empathy has to be built into systems.

At Pertek, that looks like:

• Clearly articulated values and leadership behaviors that are expected every day, not only during good times.
• Policies that make it unacceptable to hang up on a franchisee, ignore emails, or respond with disrespect, and the same standard applied to how franchisees treat the home office team.
• Regular site visits and check ins that create space for real conversation beyond performance reports.
• Support that does not get cut off when there is tension or even litigation, so long as both sides are genuinely working toward resolution.

Kim talks about “empathy plus delivery.” Listening without changing anything is not enough. Franchisees felt cared for in the room, but they also needed to see new tools, better training, and more robust support show up afterward. That is where trust was rebuilt.

The systems do one more critical thing. They protect empathy under pressure. When something goes wrong, the default is not “Who can we blame?” It is “How do we uphold our values and still solve this problem?” That framing keeps leaders from abandoning empathy the moment things get hard.

Scaling Empathy Across A Franchise Network

As Pertek has approached two hundred franchise locations, Kim has watched empathy move from a leadership trait to a network habit.

Franchisees support each other with labor, equipment, and advice. The company created a “Good Neighbor Award” to recognize owners who go out of their way to help peers through a crisis or a busy season. That peer to peer empathy matters as much as anything coming from headquarters.

Kim describes the system as “Team Pertek,” a shared identity that includes the franchisor, franchisees, and their employees. When empathy is embedded in that identity, it becomes normal for owners to ask, “How can I help my neighbor succeed?”

Scaling empathy also shows up in how the company handles conflict. There have been situations where lawyers were in the room. Instead of writing those relationships off, Kim and her team invested in one on one conversations, multiple visits, and concrete changes. Some of those franchisees are now among their strongest partners. Turning an adversarial relationship into a healthy one is, in her view, one of the clearest signs that empathy and standards are working together.

Leading With Empathy In Male Dominated Spaces

Kim’s journey includes another layer. When she became CEO, she was the first woman to lead a hydraulic company of this kind in the world, stepping into a network of mostly male franchise owners in a traditionally industrial space.

Asked about advice for women entering male dominated industries, she does not start with gender. She starts with identity and capability.

Her approach is to:

• See herself first as a business leader, not only as “the woman in the room.”
• Build credibility through competence, consistency, and results.
• Refuse to compromise on values, even if that means changing environments to find a better fit.

She is also clear that empathy does not mean being perceived as weak. Franchisees know she will enforce brand standards and say no when necessary. The difference is that those “no’s” are delivered with respect, context, and a track record of listening.

For Kim, empathy and strength are not opposites. Empathy is part of what gives her the confidence to lead in rooms where she once wondered whether she would be accepted.

Love, Purpose, And The Legacy Leaders Leave

Late in the conversation, the topic turns to love. It is a word that can feel awkward in business. Kim frames it through the Greek concept of philia, the kind of love that shows up as deep friendship and shared purpose.

Over decades in franchising, she has built relationships that outlast any individual role. Former franchisees still care for her company’s lawns. Former colleagues still call for advice. Current owners know that even after hard conversations, she will show up at their location, sit at their table, and work through the problem with them.

Underneath it all is purpose. Kim describes her personal purpose as helping the people within her influence become the best version of themselves, whether they are franchisees or employees. Growth and financial performance matter, but they are anchored in that deeper commitment. Her faith shapes how she evaluates decisions, especially on the hardest days.

That combination of love, purpose, and empathy leaves a different kind of legacy. It is not just a larger network or stronger numbers. It is a system where people can say, “I was challenged, I was held to a standard, and I was cared for.”

Key Takeaways

• Empathy Is A Daily Signal That You Care
  Empathy is not abstract. It is how you listen, explain decisions, and stay present when delivering hard news.
• Busyness Can Quiet The Voices You Most Need To Hear
  Rapid growth and full calendars make it easy to miss the early signs of disengagement and frustration, especially at a distance.
• Listening Must Lead To Action
  Listening tours, site visits, and open conversations only build trust when they are followed by concrete changes in systems and support.
• Systems Turn Empathy Into A Shared Standard
  Values, leadership behaviors, policies, and rituals are what keep empathy from depending on one leader’s personality.
• Conflict Is A Chance To Practice Empathy, Not Abandon It
  Working through tension, even with lawyers involved, can transform relationships when both sides stay committed to understanding and resolution.
• Purpose And Love Shape The Legacy Of Leadership
  When leaders anchor decisions in a clear purpose and genuine care for people, performance and culture reinforce each other over time.

Final Thoughts

Empathy in leadership is not about being softer. It is about being more honest, more attentive, and more committed to the humans who make a business possible.

Kim Gubera’s story at Pertek shows that you can enforce high standards, grow aggressively, and still lead with empathy, purpose, and love. In a world where contracts and metrics often dominate the conversation, that combination might be the real competitive advantage.

Check out our full conversation with Kim Gubera on The Bliss Business Podcast.

Originally Featured on The Bliss Business Podcast Blog

Most conversations about “balancing profit and social responsibility” stay at the level of slogans. Brands put cause campaigns in their marketing, donated a percentage of proceeds, and hoped it would be enough to signal that they cared.

In reality, customers and employees are paying close attention to whether a company’s daily behavior matches its values. Nowhere is that more visible than in the pet industry, where the stakes are both emotional and practical. Pets are not abstract “consumers.” They are family. People want to know that the brands they choose honor that relationship.

On The Bliss Business Podcast, we sat down with Joe Dent, CEO of Everything Pets, a division of Loyalty Brands, which includes Zoomin Grooming, Salty Dog, Cooper Scoopers, and Hike Doggy. Joe brings more than three decades of experience across pet retail and franchising, from running thousand-store operations to leading focused, service-driven brands. His story is a clear example of what it looks like to build a business that is unapologetically profitable and genuinely purpose driven at the same time.

Profit And Purpose Are Both Non-Negotiable

When Joe talks about balancing profit and social responsibility, he does not treat them as competing priorities. He sees them as two parts of the same promise.

On one side, there is a clear economic engine. Franchise partners need strong unit-level economics, support systems, and growth paths that allow them to build real wealth and independence. On the other side, there is a deep responsibility to animals, pet parents, and local communities.

Leaders often get stuck by overcorrecting in one direction:

• Chasing margin and cost cutting so aggressively that they lose emotional connection with customers
• Or pouring all their energy into community work without building a sustainable business underneath

Joe’s perspective is simple. The healthiest brands do both. They follow proven systems, watch their numbers, and still let passion for pets lead the way. Profit becomes the fuel that allows them to keep serving at a high level year after year.

Designing A Pet Ecosystem, Not Just Individual Brands

Everything Pets is built as what Joe calls a “pet ecosystem.” Each brand solves a real problem for pet parents in a way that adds convenience, care, and community.

• Mobile grooming that comes to the customer’s driveway and reduces stress for anxious or aging pets
• Brick-and-mortar salons that act as a local hub where people can stop in for a treat, a belly rub, or a conversation
• Services like poop-scooping, pet sitting, and dog hiking that keep homes safer and pets healthier while giving busy families peace of mind

The throughline is thoughtful design. These are not random services bolted together. They are pieces of a system that makes it easier to be a good pet parent when life is already full.

Social responsibility is built into the model, not layered on top. Clean yards reduce environmental risk for kids and pets. Regular grooming catches health issues early. Group hikes give dogs exercise and socialization they would not otherwise get. The result is a business that creates value for communities every day, not just during a campaign.

Stories That Redefine Success

One of Joe’s favorite parts of the work happens on ordinary mornings. A bright blue Hike Doggy bus pulls into a neighborhood, and dogs who recognize the color practically sprint to the door. Some sit watching out the window waiting for their turn. The joy is obvious before any revenue is counted.

Another story involves an older dog who can no longer go on hikes because of health challenges. The team still takes time at pickup to sit on the floor, offer affection, and make that dog feel included while they load up the younger sibling for the trail. No one sends a report about that. There is no line item in a dashboard for “fifteen minutes of love on a Tuesday morning.”

Yet those moments quietly redefine what “success” looks like. They build trust, loyalty, and emotional connection that no discount can replicate. They also remind franchise partners why they got into the pet world in the first place. Profit matters, but it is not the only scoreboard.

Systems That Turn Values Into Habits

Good intentions are not enough to sustain social responsibility at scale. Joe is clear that what separates consistent brands from inconsistent ones is systems.

At Everything Pets and across Loyalty Brands, those systems include:

• Clear top ten operating practices for each brand that are known to drive outcomes
• Routine follow-ups with customers after services like hikes, grooming, and lawn treatments to check on the experience
• Structures that allow franchise partners to grow into multi-unit and area roles when they are ready
• A franchisee and groomer-first mentality that treats frontline people as partners, not just labor

There is also a simple principle that runs through all of it: FTS, “follow the system.” In Joe’s experience, the franchisees who thrive long term are the ones who follow the model ninety-seven to ninety-eight percent of the time. There is room for local nuance, but not for casually rewriting what works.

By embedding care into the system itself, Everything Pets keeps social responsibility from becoming a side project that depends on the mood of an individual leader. It becomes the way the business runs.

Scaling Empathy And Purpose Across A Franchise Network

A common concern for leaders is whether empathy and purpose can scale across dozens or hundreds of locations. Joe’s experience suggests that they can, but not by accident.

The foundation is clarity. Everything Pets and Loyalty Brands anchor their work in simple mission statements, including “Have fun improving lives” and “Make pets as happy as they make us.” Those phrases are not copy on a wall. They are active filters for decisions.

From there, scaling purpose requires:

• Choosing franchise partners who are genuinely passionate about the work, not just the numbers
• Creating growth paths that reward long term commitment, not short term extraction
• Encouraging franchisees to build relationships with local rescues and community organizations
• Celebrating stories of impact at conferences, in internal communications, and in everyday conversations

The biggest challenge is not getting people to care. Most pet entrepreneurs already do. The challenge is aligning that care with disciplined operations so that empathy is visible in every customer interaction without sacrificing financial health.

When Love Becomes A Business Strategy

In the pet world, love is not a metaphor. It is the engine.

The explosive growth of the industry over the past few decades is directly tied to how people now see their pets — as family members who deserve safety, joy, and attention. Everything Pets leans into that reality instead of pretending it is purely transactional.

For Joe, love in business shows up in tangible ways:

• Staying close to franchisees and frontline teams and listening to their stories
• Designing services that reduce guilt for busy pet parents and improve quality of life for animals
• Holding high standards for how pets are treated, even when that makes operations more complex
• Helping partners build lives they are proud of, not just units they can sell

Love does not replace discipline. It informs it. It keeps leaders honest about who the work is truly for.

Key Takeaways

• Profit And Purpose Can Strengthen Each Other
  Sustainable growth comes from business models where financial success and community impact are built together, not traded off.
• Design For A Whole Ecosystem, Not One Transaction
  When brands work together to solve real problems for customers, social responsibility becomes part of the daily service, not a side initiative.
• Stories Are Strategic
  Everyday moments of care and delight are not just “nice to have.” They build trust and loyalty that compound over time.
• Systems Make Values Real
  Clear operating models, follow-up routines, and growth structures are what turn empathy and responsibility into consistent habits across locations.
• Love Is A Legitimate Leadership Lens
  In people-centric industries, love is not a soft idea. It is a competitive advantage that attracts the right partners, retains the right customers, and keeps the work meaningful.

Final Thoughts

Balancing profit and social responsibility is no longer a future aspiration. It is the standard customers and employees already expect. The question for leaders is whether they will treat that balance as a marketing angle or as the core design challenge of their business.

Joe Dent’s work with Everything Pets shows that you can build a franchise system that grows, scales, and remains deeply human at the same time. When you follow the system, honor your mission, and keep the well-being of people and animals at the center, profit stops competing with purpose and starts amplifying it.

Check out our full conversation with Joe Dent on The Bliss Business Podcast.

Originally Featured on The Bliss Business Podcast Blog