076: This Pastor Preaches Culture. Why Dave Ramsey (& others) Win with William Vanderbloemen.

Background on William Vanderbloemen:

William Vanderbloemen is the President and Founder at The Vanderbloemen Search Group. William has been able to combine over 15 years of ministry experience as a Senior Pastor with the best practices of Executive Search to provide churches with a unique offering: a deep understanding of local church work with the very best knowledge and practices of professional executive search.

Prior to his founding The Vanderbloemen Search Group, William studied executive search under a mentor with over 25 years of executive search at the highest level. His learning taught him the very best corporate practices, including the search strategies used by the internationally known firm Russell Reynolds. William also has experience as a Manager in Human Resources in a Fortune 200 company, where he focused on integration of corporate culture and succession planning. All of these experiences have come together with his pastoral work to form a unique gift for helping churches and ministries connect with the right key people.

Prior to executive search, William led growth and innovation in churches in North Carolina, Alabama, and Houston. During his time in Alabama, William had the chance to help rebuild and relocate an ailing congregation, and lead them to new levels of growth. At 31, he was elected Senior Pastor for the First Presbyterian Church of Houston, a church of about 5,000 adults and 1,500 children strong. It is Houston’s oldest congregation.

William is regularly invited to speak across the country in both church services and as a resource to churches and conferences on leadership. His book Next: Pastoral Succession That Works on effective pastoral leadership and succession was released through Baker Books in September 2014, and his book Search: The Pastoral Search Committee Handbook was released through B&H Books in June 2016. His latest book is Culture Wins: The Roadmap To An Irresistible Workplace and is released through Savio Republic. William holds degrees from Wake Forest University and Princeton Theological Seminary.

William is an avid social networker. Whether connecting with friends, candidates for searches he is doing, or church members, he loves to network, and he would love to interact with you through Facebook and/or Twitter. William, his wife Adrienne, their seven children, and their poodles Moses and Pearl live in Houston. In his free time, William enjoys running, working out, and caddying for his kids, who are now better golfers than he is.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[1:30] William and his Search Group are starting to get known for their great company culture.
[3:22] “It’s just refreshing when you enjoy the way you do your work and the people you do that work with. It makes good times and bad times better than it would ever be in under the circumstance”
[4:34] Their company culture developed when they went on a company retreat.
[7:13] “The first key to understanding your culture is finding if it’s good or not”
[9:25] William believes that people stay longer in a company with good culture.
[11:54] UberPuppies – A partnership between Uber and ASPCA where a company can enjoy 15 minutes of interaction with puppies.
[12:38] 71% of their workforce is under 35 years old.
[14:55] William started Vanderbloemen Search Group in 2008, a company that initially helped churches to find their Pastors and expanded to helping different companies find their staff.
[15:58] William was a Pastor for 15 years and quit to join a Fortune 200 company.
[21:33] The hardest switch for William during the time he stepped down as Pastor and stepped in the business world was the mindset switch.
[25:50] During William’s first sale, there was a hurricane that could have prevented the transaction.
[27:05] The company make money through charging a retainer and it’s base on the percentage of the 1st year salary.
[29:36] William fear the thought of him outselling what he can actually deliver.
[33:23] He wished that he’d known earlier on that “growth is what’s important, not the rate of growth”
[37:11] “The other thing I would tell the young me is to quit looking for quick answers!”

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance, The Grand Slam by Mark Frost.
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Selfie Light.
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? HubSpot.
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Commitment to Organic Growth.

Key Point from the Interview:

“It’s just refreshing when you enjoy the way you do your work and the people you do that work with. It makes good times and bad times better than it would ever be in under the circumstance”