S1E11: Delegation Is Required for Growth | Shawn Torres & Jimmy Burns

When Shawn Torres and Jimmy Burns started junior high, they thought being classmates would be the extent of their acquaintance. Little did they know that they would become college roommates, fraternity brothers, entrepreneurs, business partners, neighbors, and best friends.

Shawn is the CEO and Visionary of In-Telecom, a full-service technology company, and Jimmy is the COO and Integrator™. Shawn and Jimmy have grown a thriving business using their complementary skills, open communication, and friendship.

Key Takeaways: 

• If you want your business to grow, get comfortable with delegating tasks.
• Pay yourself a real salary.
• Train employees to do higher-level jobs.
• If your business is straining your marriage, that’s a sign that you need to make a change at work.

Some Questions Asked: 

• How did Shawn and Jimmy go from starting an Anytime Fitness franchise to launching a telecommunications company?
• What has been the biggest challenge that Shawn and Jimmy have faced since implementing EOS®?
• How do Shawn and Jimmy avoid falling out as friends when they don’t see eye to eye at work?
• What has enabled Shawn to become comfortable with delegating tasks to Jimmy?

Delegating Tasks Helps Your Integrator Thrive

During their senior year of high school, Shawn and Jimmy decided to rent an apartment together, which turned into getting jobs at the same car wash, which turned into joining the same college fraternity. Years later, after starting a couple of companies, they went all in on selling phone systems for businesses.

They achieved success quickly and realized almost as fast that they needed reinforcements. While hiring a certified IT technician and a strategy officer were great decisions, Shawn and Jimmy still wore too many hats.

The duo was introduced to EOS, and they began applying the processes and role responsibilities. Shawn and Jimmy have noticed steady quarterly improvement in their company workflow and communication skills – but the road has not been without its challenges.

“The biggest struggle that I dealt with as business partners – [Jimmy] is my best friend, he’s pretty much my brother – is delegating things to him.” – Shawn [34:34]

Shawn shares that he sometimes feels guilty adding more to Jimmy’s plate. However, he realizes that because of their complementary skills, what seems hard to him is not necessarily hard for Jimmy.

Jimmy agrees. He says that when a Visionary thinks they can and have to do everything, that is a sign that they need to increase their trust in their Integrator.

“If you’re not banging your head against the wall [because of all the growth and change you see daily], then I don’t think you’re truly in an Integrator seat. I don’t think your Visionary is pushing you hard enough.” – Jimmy [47:28]

Jimmy encourages those in the Integrator role to ask their Visionary to be more transparent if they aren’t yet at that stage. 

“The cleaner we can keep the vision for the Visionary, the better off the company will be.” – Jimmy [48:26]

If you’re interested in learning more about how EOS can help you delegate, you won’t want to miss this episode of Rocket Fuel™.

Learn More:

• Shawn Torres | LinkedIn
• Jimmy Burns | LinkedIn
• In-Telecom