Ep 154 - Pause, Pivot and Hustle with Dr. Bill Sodeman

In this episode of Keep Hustling, host Aaron Gordon sits down with Dr. Bill Sodeman, a business coach in Toledo who spent more than thirty years inside dotcoms, nonprofits, and universities before building a business of his own. Aaron opens by reading a line from Bill's bio, an unwavering commitment to excellence, and asking where it comes from. The answer goes back to graduate school in the eighties and nineties and W. Edwards Deming's work on continuous improvement, the ideas Detroit passed on and Toyota and Honda built an era on. Aaron then catches something in how Bill talks about slowing down. Bill never says stop, he says pause, and Aaron names why that matters: a stop means you quit, while a pause still leaves room for a pivot. Bill makes the case for five or ten minutes of Lego as a real reset, explains why vacation is when he gets most creative, and tells the story of the art student who found better ways to be creative in business school than in the studio. He also has a question he puts to his students. Forget what could go wrong, what happens when everything goes right? Get To Know Dr. Bill Sodeman Bill earned a Ph.D. in Strategic Management and Information Systems from the University of Georgia. He holds an MBA from Rollins College, and a BA in Studio Art from the College of William and Mary. He has served in a number of leadership roles during his 30 plus year career in dotcoms, non-profits, and higher education. His roles included Chief Information Officer, Chief Learning Officer, and Faculty President. As a management and information systems professor, and as a published author, he has examined topics such as the use of artificial intelligence and big data in human resources management; corporate innovation; ESG investing; and stadium naming rights agreements. In early 2025, Bill established a Focal Point Business Coaching franchise in the Toledo area, in pursuit of his lifelong goal of building his own business. As a consultant and Focal Point Certified Business Coach, Bill advises and supports business owners and executives to achieve results they otherwise could not achieve on their own. His areas of expertise include leadership development, strategic planning and implementation, continuous improvement, emotional intelligence, coaching, mentoring, corporate training, and stakeholder management. Bill works with pro bono clients at non-profit organizations, and is a board member for the International Veterinary Organization. He works out daily, and has competed in many running events, including an ultramarathon and several marathons. He likes to travel around the world, and continues to pursue his interests in urban architecture and photography. His motto is "Ite Inflammate Omnia." Website - https://billsodeman.focalpointcoachin... Coaching Profile - https://focalpointcoachingohio.com/co... LinkedIn -   / billsodeman   Show Overview 00:00 Meet Dr. Bill Sodeman 01:05 Where continuous improvement came from, Deming and Toyota 02:02 Why everyone says it and almost nobody does it 03:17 What losing your leverage looks like 03:52 Thriving in a world that will not slow down 04:21 Time blocking, journaling, and the Pomodoro timer 05:08 Why Bill says pause and never says stop 05:44 The AI device Aaron wants in his shower 06:08 Aaron on why a pause still allows a pivot 07:24 The case for five or ten minutes of Lego 09:05 If I retire, I expire 09:45 Aaron's client and the idea born on a honeymoon 11:32 The art student who got more creative in business school 13:10 A childhood on the move and twelve years in Honolulu 13:39 A dot com in Texas, a nonprofit in Massachusetts, teaching in three more states 14:09 Building a network from scratch in Ohio 16:35 Stay positive, and the cynic who flipped the script 17:31 Forget what could go wrong, what happens when everything goes right 18:32 The lottery question and why nobody prepares to win 20:41 Bill's closing quote, Winston Churchill 20:57 Keep hustling