Since founding Global Reach holdings, Linden Millwood has strategically positioned thousands of individuals and fantastic brands to become more purposeful and human-centered. The serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker, pastor, and consultant has shared his transformative solutions with global leaders in finance, energy, aerospace, nonprofit, and healthcare in the US, South America, Africa, and the United Kingdom.
The proud veteran who served honorably with distinction in the United States Marine Corps is people centered, or as his doing reflects, he is Human First. The Human First principle (THFP)™ is Linden’s life approach in business and relationships – embracing, empowering, and celebrating people’s intrinsic human value for who they are, rather than what they can achieve and have accomplished.
Where did the idea for Global Reach come from?
My idea of Global Reach was inspired by Bill Gates many years ago during an interview in the early days of Microsoft. He had the idea of creating a company, not so much based on the product he built, but the vision of positioning many families to become very wealthy while delivering a great product to the masses. So, the concept of Global Reach comes from that idea of building a company where people are the central focus of it, not the product or services that we offer, but the people who will be impacted either through employment or using our product or service to generate wealth for their own families. The name Global Reach is precisely our mission, to become a global company to benefit families around the world.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
It is very rare for an entrepreneurial company to hear the term “a typical day” because there are few typical days in an entrepreneurial environment – It’s pretty much very dynamic. Everyone from senior leaders to employees are encouraged to embrace a very nimble and flexible mindset. When you take the idea of a business in an entrepreneurial environment, add the family dynamic to it with all the other responsibilities, the results are everything but typical.
So, how do I remain productive? The priority is to distinguish between what is urgent and what is essential. I keep my to-do list as lean as possible focusing on one to two things that must be done that day and work those things to completion, deferring everything else for another time.
How do you bring ideas to life?
That is a great question. When it comes to bringing an idea to life, I consider the idea life itself. So, when you have an idea, to me, that means it exists. The majority of the effort of bringing an idea to life is thinking. Most of my time is spent thinking. 80% to 90% of my time is thinking, not just thinking about an idea, but thinking thoroughly about that idea. After that, I move into implementation, then identify how do I execute that idea. But again, the prevailing effort is to think, which is my key strategy – I put a lot of thinking into thinking.
Once the thought process has been evaluated, I move into implementing those ideas. One of the critical things I do is to ensure that I remain flexible in how I execute those ideas. I believe in the concept of centralized thinking and planning, bringing all the ideas of my team into a central place. However, when it comes to executing those ideas, I believe in decentralization – everyone gets to execute their respective ideas in their way, utilizing their creativity, skillset, and expertise. Ultimately, the thinking centralized, execution decentralized.
What’s one trend that excites you?
AI – Artificial Intelligence and the ramifications, good or bad, that it may have on society, humanity, economics, technology, religion, and theology. I am really excited about what Artificial Intelligence holds for the present and the future.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Touching on my point earlier – thinking. I come from a business background, but I am also heavily influenced by philosophical ideas. The Bible, one of the ancient books we know, says that “as a man thinks, so he is.” The essence of all of us is first to be thinkers. Everything begins with a thought; there is nothing that happens without a thought. A great habit is to be a very thoughtful person in whatever I am doing irrespective of the task at hand, be it great or small.
What matters is that I put thought into whatever I am doing, even the things that I am not doing require thought. An adage I embrace and encourage is that it is better to measure twice and cut once. Careful thinking and planning may be helpful in minimizing the need for do overs.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Whatever you are going to do, start now! It is arrogant to believe that providence will give you an opportunity tomorrow to do what you can today. Start now! Start now!
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
I believe that all people have an innate and embedded good nature, or the nature to be and do good – everyone, inclusive of all, exclusive of none. The question now becomes of that good nature, what is it that we express? Perhaps there should be a distinction made between what we do and who we are. From my philosophical perspective, if we believe in a good Creator, it is plausible that at our essence, we are good.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
The application of patience and participation. When developing our services, it is important to take the time to plan and execute then be patient on the effort to produce the desired return on investments. At Global Reach Holdings we want to empower all our teams to participate in the vision of what we are doing. Also, to own those ideas and make them theirs without possessing it. We equip them with the tools to express it in their unique way.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
One strategy is to remain committed to the company’s vision, plan, and operations objectives. On the financial end of things, always maintain cash reserves for the unexpected, be it an opportunity or crisis. A key growth strategy is product/service development and channel partnerships.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
A professional failure that I made many years ago was with my first consulting firm. The company had the opportunity to acquire a contract with another company in Asia. I permitted myself to allow someone else to dictate the terms of our agreement which should have been solely my decision. Consequently, we lost everything on that deal, and the company folded. It taught me to be confident in my decision making, irrespective of the mistake(s) which may come with it. I overcame that failure after watching an interview with Donald Trump in the mid-1990s where he talked about losing ownership of a building in New York City. He expressed that when he makes a deal, and the deal goes south, he goes north and not look back.
The moral is: Learn from the mistakes of the past and do your best not to repeat them.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
The design of a telescoping and retractable high-ceiling, multi-purpose fan cleaning and light-cleaning system. This is a powered system.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I bought a few specialty non-fragrance bath soaps – very refreshing and invigorating and a part of my intentional self-care initiative.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
I owe this to my business partner, who introduced me to Vcita, a great CRM platform. It is a great tool for a service-management organization because it is simple to use, scalable and affordable. As a small business owner, it helps us simplify and perform our client-facing, back office, and accounting operations.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It is a great read because it teaches you how to become aware and connect the little dots in life that lead you along your life path. Whether personal or professional, it’s vital to practice self-honesty with your internal world and the outside environment.
What is your favorite quote?
I have a few favorites, but the one that stands out in my mind is by William Shakespeare – “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.’’
Key Learnings:
- 1Linden integrates his life’s mission of The Human First Principle™ to embrace, empower, and celebrate people for who they are, not what they can achieve and have accomplished.
- Be intentional about what you think and do – put a lot of thinking into thinking and planning.
- Do not be afraid of making mistakes or experiencing failures along your path to significance and personal success. .
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.