Communication, or lack thereof, is the key to whether a relationship will be successful or not. Whether it be a relationship with your spouse, children, or professionally, it’s important to learn how to effectively communicate with the people in our lives and Eric M. Bailey can help with us with that. Eric is the President of Bailey Strategic Innovation Group, which is one of the fastest-growing human communication firms in the United States. He is also the bestselling author of The Cure for Stupidity: Using Brain Science to Explain Irrational Behavior. But most importantly, he is a Husband and Father. Him and his wife, Jamie have three beautiful children, Jarem (13), Kai (9), and Jasmine (8).
Eric explained that he had a “Forest Gump background,” because his story crosses so many different avenues. He started working at a Zoo part time, popping Kettle Corn, and the owner of the company saw some managerial talent in him and offered him a management position. He also thought he had a knack for explaining things to people and asked him to train the other employees. Their customer service levels began to increase so much, that other companies began coming to them and asking him to train their employees. He took that skill and started bouncing around in different fields. He then got his Master’s degree in Organizational Development and was recruited by a large Change Management firm, where he would consult with business on how to help their employees’ transition through change initiatives. He explained that the job had so many perks, but realized he was traveling so much and was not home for his children like he wanted.
“To get the top-level status at Marriot, you’ve got to stay 75 nights. My wife and I were talking and I said that means in this year, I’ve missed 75 bedtimes.”
He had an epiphany, thinking about how he grew up without his father in the picture for the most part. Not wanting his kids to have that same experience, he started his own company to allow him the flexibility to be there for his kids.
Now, I’m going to do something different today. Eric and I had a great conversation surrounding communication, especially as it pertains to our children and raising them in this country. There were a lot of gems and needed conversations dropped during this interview. So, to prevent this article being 5,000 words, I wanted to drop the recording of our conversation. We did this in two parts, so you will notice different backgrounds.
Before we get to the conversation, I want you to learn a little about Eric’s book. He explained his book started from an idea that we as a society are losing the ability to communicate with each other. He found there are certain predictable things that cause division that are all based in brain science. The book will help you understand the brain science behind human connection and how we can begin to change the way we show up for people. He explained the number one desire of people is to feel understood. So, he poses the question, what happens when people go out in the world with the intentionality to understand people. They will most likely show up differently and then want to take the time to understand you, which could solve so much division; whether it be politics, marriage, or racism.
Also, he had an emotional Dear Father letter, so I will let him say it himself.
Please, check out the Eric’s book, The Cure for Stupidity: Using Brain Science to Explain Irrational Behavior.
To follow Eric, check out:
