HealthCorps Gala, AP Convention, Management Meetings

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I recorded the above video ahead of last week’s trip to New York for the 13th Annual HealthCorps Gala. What a phenomenal event! HealthCorps, which is Dr. Oz‘s charitable foundation, does so much to support children’s fitness, nutrition, and mental resilience in schools. It aligns perfectly with what we’re striving for in working to make the USANA Family the Healthiest Family on Earth.

On stage at the 13th Annual HealthCorps Gala in New York on April 16, 2019.

On stage at the 13th Annual HealthCorps Gala in New York on April 16, 2019.

In fact, I’m thrilled that USANA is a corporate partner for the Kids Eat! program here in Utah. The organization works with schools to help ensure kids don’t go hungry. It’s all about the notion of giving vs. getting. We want USANA to be known as a giving organization.

Going back to HealthCorps, I had an opportunity to perform at the April 16 gala with my band. My good friend Collin Raye performed as well, and Dr. Oz even joined us on stage for a few songs. I’m honored to help support the organization.

Then, the following day, we spent a wonderful day with USANA Associates and capped it off with another concert featuring Collin Raye and Dr. Oz. What a fantastic couple days in New York.

Asia Pacific Convention

This week I’m traveling to Singapore for our annual Asia Pacific Convention. I always look forward to the event. The excitement level and the enthusiasm of our Associates in our Asia-Pacific region is off the charts. I always know we’re going to have a lot of fun.

What I look forward to the most is the interaction with my dear friends who are Associates from all over the world. It gives me an opportunity to connect and to be around the people who are really making USANA go.

Management Team Meetings

Three times a year I assemble members of USANA’s management team from all over the world. We meet to talk about strategy and the future of USANA.

For our upcoming planning meeting, which is scheduled for mid-May, we will be trained by folks at Disney. It’s well-known that Disney is an expert when it comes to providing first-class customer experiences. They are going to teach us how they do what they do.

We’re going to take things we learn from Disney and see how we can incorporate certain aspects in creating a positive customer experience at USANA. I’m looking forward to learning from some of the best.

What I’m Reading: A Voice Undefeated

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A Voice Undefeated, by Collin Raye.

Hello everyone. Thank you for following along on my social media and this blog. Thank you, especially, for being part of the What I’m Reading series.

Your response to the books and the comments on these posts has been incredible. I appreciate your engagement and hope you’ll continue to find value in the books I’m reading. Perhaps they’ll impact your life the same way they’ve impacted mine.

For this installment, I want to share with you a book by my friend Collin Raye. It’s called A Voice Undefeated. It’s an inspirational biography of him and his life and the struggles and ups and downs that he’s had.

It also delves into his music career that includes an eye-popping 24 top-10 hits, 16 No. 1 hits, and millions of records sold. Did you know Collin’s a 10-time Vocalist of the Year nominee?

I enjoy learning from people’s experiences and I think we can learn a lot from each other in sharing our experiences.

In my book All the Right Reasons, one of the principles talks about nothing is more important than relationships — The Dorothy Principle. And I think you’ll get that same feeling as you read Collin’s book.

What I’m Reading

For me, I’m usually reading three different types of books.

  • Usually one is a business book that’s helping me with strategy or relationships or thinking about things from a business environment or leadership perspective.
  • Two, I’m usually reading something that is religious that fills my tank with information and knowledge and expands my thinking.
  • The third is usually a non-fiction biographical type book like this one of Collin’s.

I highly recommend it. A Voice Undefeated. I think you’ll enjoy it. He’s been a friend of USANA for more than a decade. He and Dr. Wentz are close. Collin’s been to Sanoviv. He enjoys our products and is an advocate of really trying to help us create the healthiest family on earth.

I think this read will help you as you move along in your journey in life.

The Dorothy Principle: Dr. Oz and the Story of Pearl

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If you watched The Dr. Oz Show episode in which I talked about All the Right Reasons, you heard me tell the story of Dorothy, the namesake for The Dorothy Principle.

Pearl - Dr. Oz - The Dorothy PrincipleHer story taught me the very important principle: Nothing is more important than relationships.

When I shared that story with Dr. Mehmet Oz, he immediately thought of Pearl, a woman he’s worked with most of his career.

Recently, Dr. Oz shared this story with me and he provided me with Pearl’s permission to share it with all of you.

Meet Pearl – the housekeeper of the cardiac floor at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. I’ve known Pearl for most of my career in medicine. Without Pearl, rooms wouldn’t be cleaned in time to house recovering patients who need to leave the ICU. Pearl creates a pristine environment that reduces infection and gives confidence to patients and their families.”

Pearl is a wonderful example of The Dorothy Principle.

Dr. Oz continues:

“Pay attention to the Pearls in your life. Get engaged with others and your challenges will take care of themselves. Judge us by how we treat those around us.”

I invite each of you to live The Dorothy Principle and continue to develop and nurture relationships.

Recent USANA Events & Accolades

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I recently returned from Washington D.C. Members of the USANA management team and I presented to congressional leaders about key issues involving direct sales. It’s an honor to better educate our representatives about USANA and our worldwide team of hard-working Associates.

I also recorded a video in which I talk about some of USANA’s recent events and accolades.

USANA Executive Diamond Summit

The Executive Diamond Summit took place in London. It was a great time. We got to go up in the London Bridge Tower and walk out over the London Bridge, where we had a reception. We went to Kensington Palace and just had a great experience.

USANA Executive Diamond Summit 2019 - Kevin GuestMost importantly, though, we got to interact with some of our top leaders from around the world. Dr. Oz even joined us briefly.

Before we left, I checked off a lifetime bucket list item. You know music is an important part of my life — and the Beatles are one of my all-time favorite bands. Well, I got to go to Abbey Road Studios.

Abbey Road Studios isn’t open to the public and you can’t just go in there. But the company that helped us arrange the Executive Diamond Summit helped us get in to Abbey Road. So I got into Studio 1 where the Beatles did their first live broadcast. All the soundtracks to Star Wars were recorded there. The score for Black Panther (which just won an Oscar) was recorded there.

But for me just to be in those hallowed halls and in those rooms and in the studio was the experience of a lifetime. Many of the songs I grew up listening to and many that have inspired me were recorded right there. And I got to experience it firsthand.

Direct Selling Association: Companies in Focus

Every year the Direct Selling Association holds “Companies in Focus” events. Direct selling companies open their doors to other direct sellers. The goal is to share best practices so that the industry as a whole can raise its practices to even a higher level.

At USANA we’re happy to welcome in and open our doors to some of the direct sellers in the marketplace. It was fun to have them here and have us be able to share with them what we’re doing that helps USANA be a great company.

For instance, we shared with them from a regulatory perspective how we handle product claims. We want our industry as a whole to make correct and proper product claims — and income claims.

We also showed best practices as it relates to how we treat our employees and why USANA’s been named one of the best places to work in all of America for several years. By mere coincidence, Dr. Oz was in the building shooting a video. So we brought him in and introduced him to the other direct sellers, which was a fun moment.

We also recorded a few other videos with Dr. Oz. Stay tuned…

All around, it proved to be a great experience. I like being part of the direct selling community and showcasing USANA as a company that operates with integrity.

ConsumerLab.com Best Brand

ConsumerLab.com Top Rated Direct Selling Brand 2019 - Kevin GuestOne accolade we received really means a lot to me. ConsumerLab.com is an independent lab that does testing on products and they validate the quality of products. They validate label claims and other things like that. For the sixth year, USANA was named the ConsumerLab.com 2019 Top Rated Direct Selling Brand.

I firmly believe we are in the relationship business. This award signifies USANA’s commitment to customer satisfaction, an area in which we work hard to excel.

What an honor it is, especially to have independent consumer groups that are recognizing our quality and our commitment to excellence. That’s one of our core values. You can’t get better than third-party substantiation. Through Consumer Labs we received that.

What Does it Mean to be a Good CEO?

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Kevin GuestI’ve spoken a lot recently about the notion of giving vs. getting. In my role as CEO of USANA Health Sciences, a billion-dollar health and nutrition company, I’m constantly striving to give.

That is, I’m looking for ways to be of service to various stakeholders throughout the company — employees, Associates, investors, and others.

It’s definitely challenging at times to balance so many interests. I have not only a legal requirement to do so, but also a moral and ethical responsibility to care for these different groups.

My job is to serve different stakeholders in a way that brings value to the stake they hold in USANA as a company.

To be an effective CEO, I believe, it starts with that understanding.

3 Traits of an Effective CEO

With that in mind, here are three traits I believe make a good and effective CEO (and traits I aspire to get better at every day). He or she:

  1. Approaches from a position of service. In essence, being a servant leader.
  2. Cares about the stakeholders he or she is serving. Bring value to them above and beyond what would be of value for you personally. In other words, don’t be selfish.
  3. Knows how to listen. And when to listen. Surrounding yourself with people you can trust and taking their advice — even if it’s contrary to your own — is vital.

It obviously takes much more than that to be a day-in, day-out effective CEO. But I believe those three high-level traits are a foundation on which to build.

If you’ve read my book, All the Right Reasons, you know that nothing is more important to me than relationships. Effective CEOs, in my opinion, must be relationship driven. They thrive on seeing others succeed.

Utah Business magazineAs I think about how to give more of myself for the benefit of USANA, I’m honored to be recognized, along with several of my peers, as a 2019 CEO of the Year.

Please take a moment to read this Utah Business magazine article. It includes biographies of individuals who epitomize the above traits.

As the introduction mentions, a CEO is a lot of things. But mostly, they are “someone who inspires others to believe in, and live out, the vision they’re working so hard to create.”

I hope I’m an inspiration to all who are part of USANA, and I look forward to continuing to help you achieve your personal goals.

A Community of Giving: 1 Million Meals

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View the above video on YouTube

At USANA, we have four core values that are our guiding light, our North Star that we point to.

  1. Integrity
  2. Health
  3. Excellence
  4. Community

I want to talk about community and what that value means to me.

We believe in giving at USANA. That’s part of being a member of a community, whether it’s a local community, a community at your company, or a global community — how can we give back?

I want that to be part of who we are at USANA and part of our culture.

A Community of Giving

Kevin Guest - USANA True Health FoundationWhen we talk about community, a large part of that is giving, and that’s why I’m so grateful for the USANA True Health Foundation. You can see in the video above the impact your service and donations have had on countless lives around the world in 2018 alone.

I love the following quote; you’ve likely heard me say it before. It’s often attributed to Winston Churchill.

“We make a living out of what we get but we make a life out of what we give.”

And if we can focus more on giving vs. getting, our lives would be so much more enriched. Even more, USANA will be a better company and it will help us become a stronger and healthier family.

Through the USANA True Health Foundation, we’ve provided tens of millions of meals to hungry children around the world. We continue to expand our reach and our effort.

1 Million Meals

To that end, I’m thankful for your support of All the Right Reasons. Proceeds from the book benefit the USANA True Health Foundation and its mission to feed and nourish hungry children.

Facebook - All the Right Reasons Announcement 3At last year’s USANA International Convention, I set an ambitious goal: 1 million meals in one year (one book sale equals 40 meals). I’m pleased to announce that we’ve already approached 700,000 meals!

We’re well on our way, but we have more to go — more to give.

Thank you for your support. The money is going to an incredible cause. It’s one example of how can we focus on giving vs. getting.

As you know, Dr. Wentz loves the True Health Foundation. I’ve been on many trips with him around the world. We’ve been to orphanages and we’ve personally delivered food to starving children and families.

I’m joining with him hand in hand and with all of you. If we can continue to focus more on giving rather than getting, I truly believe our lives will be so much more enriched.

Here’s where to purchase All the Right Reasons, and here’s how to donate directly to the USANA True Health Foundation.

What I’m Reading: Crucial Conversations

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As I’ve said in the past, one of the questions I get as I travel the world most frequently is: What book are you reading? So in the spirit of that I want to continue to share books I’m reading (you can see last month’s entry here).

Crucial Conversations

What I’m Reading: Crucial Conversations

I’m usually reading three or four books at a time.

  • One is usually a religious book
  • Another is usually a self-help skills book
  • Another one is a management and/or leadership type book

Depending on how I’m feeling I’ll dive in and take notes.

Crucial Conversations

One of the books I want to share with you that I just love is Crucial Conversations.

I’ve read this book more than once and I continue to use it as a resource when I’m managing and running the company. I also use it in many interactions in my personal life.

The gist of the book is this: When stakes are really high and we need to communicate and talk to someone, how can we help manage that for the best possible outcome for all involved?

When we have a crucial conversation with someone, the No. 1 tip from the book is to stay in dialogue and not let your emotions take control of how you’re communicating.

I think controlling our emotions is so important. And that starts before the meeting ever begins or we ever have a conversation. We create a dialogue in our head.

We’re storytellers. We’re master storytellers. And we’ve obviously told ourselves many stories many, many times. Before we go into a conversation we’ve already told ourselves a story: What’s going to happen? What could the outcomes be?

Then emotions start flowing, and that drives how we communicate with each other.

If we can take control of those emotions, take control of how we communicate with each other and do so in a very, very level dialogue-esque way with each other, we will be much more effective in how we communicate.

I recommend you pick up Crucial Conversations. It’s an easy read and filled with great content. I’ve asked all of the management team at USANA to read this book and apply its principles as well.

What I’m Reading: Made to Stick

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I’m often asked what books I’m reading. Currently, I’m reading Made to Stick.

Made to StickThe principle is — what are we doing here at USANA that makes USANA sticky? That makes people want to stay involved and stay connected? Those ideas, how do they blossom and how do they grow? Why do some survive and some don’t? That’s something we wrestle with all the time here at USANA.

You’ve heard me speak about relevance and it’s the same kind of thing — how do we remain relevant in a very, very competitive, busy, noisy workplace and work environment?

I’ve asked our entire management team to read Made to Stick and decide which principles can be applied to their own areas throughout the company.

The notion of stickiness is also important to us as individuals. If you’re an independent business owner. If you’re a father, a wife, husband, brother, whatever it might be. What makes others want to be around you and want to be involved with you and want to have that interaction?

That’s something that is constantly on my mind as I think about the future of USANA:

How can we continually reinvent, be creative, be innovative in such a way that people want to be involved with this great company.

The Ben Franklin Principle

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The end of one year and the start of the next is my time to evaluate and assess what I’ve accomplished and what I’ve yet to accomplish.

I believe a goal not written down is merely a wish. Therefore, I try to be very specific about what I want to accomplish by writing down my goals. I actually add them to my phone using the “Notes” feature so I can refer back to what I want to work on and what I want to accomplish.

Ben FranklinThe first principle in my book, All the Right Reasons, is the Ben Franklin Principle.

Something I love about the story of Ben Franklin, a founding father of the United States, is when he was a teenager, he decided to write down important things that he wanted to pattern his life after. We translate those as values.

He wrote 12 things down, and later, added a 13th — humility. He decided he wanted to pursue a life of perfection by following these 13 very important principles. (Franklin’s 13 virtues can be found on page 8 of All the Right Reasons.)

He kept track of how well he did weekly. He picked one value each week. Franklin tracked in his notebook how well he did in following that virtue or that value. He did that throughout his life.

As he reflected late in life, when he was 79 years old — almost 60 years later — he said he never actually obtained perfection when it came to living his individual value system.

But he felt like he was a much better person because he had attempted to hit those values throughout his life.

Identify Your Core Values

I love the Ben Franklin Principle. Identify your core values. What makes you you? What’s your guiding light, your North Star? Do all you can to be perfect in those values you’ve established for yourself.

Although many of us will never hit it — I know I won’t — it gives me something to work toward. To become better and improve my life.

An Invitation for 2019

That’s an invitation I give all of you as we start 2019. Work toward becoming just a little better, a little kinder, a little happier, and a little better in your relationships with others.

And if you do, I believe you’ll find 2019 to be an awesome year.

This and 11 other timeless principles for living a life in harmony can be found in All The Right Reasons. Book sales benefit the USANA True Health Foundation to help ensure impoverished children and families reach their fullest potential.

Photo: Joseph Duplessis – http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/brush/ben.htm, Public Domain, Link

A Season of Giving

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I love this time of year. As I mention in the above video, I believe it’s a season of giving.

Recently, the USANA management team spent a day shopping and wrapping gifts for children in need. It’s an activity I look forward to each year.

The presents will be delivered to children who, unfortunately, are spending the holidays at Primary Children’s Hospital here in Salt Lake. These kids and their families are facing challenges no one should ever have to experience, let alone during the holidays.

In the grand scheme, our giving of a few presents is a small gesture. But even the smallest acts of kindness have the ability to elicit a smile or brighten someone’s day.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve witnessed so many individuals generously giving of themselves — emotionally, physically, and financially — to help make the season a little brighter for others.

We all have the power to help others, to give back, and to do good in this world. That’s my wish and hope for you this holiday season — I encourage you to take comfort in the spirit of giving.

Happy holidays.

Each month, I send an email to subscribers. Click here to get added to the list. The above is an edited version of the email that went out on Dec. 21, 2018.