S1E16: Know Thyself; Know Thy Business Partner | Tracy Call & Toni Dandrea

Tracy Call, founder and CEO, and Toni Dandrea, partner and CMO, of Media Bridge Advertising have worn many hats throughout their years working together. 

From what began as an employer-employee relationship, they’ve grown into a Visionary/Integrator™ Duo, and ultimately, a business partnership with the strengths of a solid marriage.  

In this episode, they share how operating on EOS® and hiring a third party to help them work on the foundation of their relationship transformed their company’s journey into a love story.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Hiring a business coach was essential to Tracy and Toni developing a solid and effective partnership..  
• Bringing in a third party to work with them both individually and together facilitated answering essential questions before they formed a partnership.
• Having a process in place to work through potential conflict creates a safety net for addressing challenges. 

SOME QUESTIONS ASKED:

• How did Tracy and Toni create an accelerator to aggressively answer questions of whether their partnership would work and get their V/I Duo™ off to a stronger start?
• What were some of the tough issues Tracy and Toni had to work through before becoming partners?
• What are the four steps Tracy and Toni use to navigate conflict?

Letting Go and Going Deep to Achieve Great Gains with EOS

Toni recalls that as Media Bridge grew and hired more employees, it became apparent they needed more consistency. When Tracy noticed that one of their clients who ran on EOS had remarkably efficient meetings, she hired their Certified EOS Implementer®. Toni was immediately sold on the process.

“We have a lot in common in the way we think and lead but we’re also polar opposites in a lot other ways. And I don’t think we understood how to leverage each other’s super powers and not tell ourselves stories about what the other person was thinking or feeling or doing.” – Tracy [6:10]

One of the challenges Tracy and Toni faced as a V/I Duo, was making assumptions about what the other wanted to see happen. Enter their combination business coach/therapist, Finnian Kelly, a leader in the field of intentionality.  

Finnian guided Tracy and Toni as they faced difficult topics they had been avoiding, enabling them to discern whether or not they could be effective business partners.

He coached Tracy and Toni through a process that helped them fast-forward into business partners who understood each other at a depth usually only achieved after many years together. The methods they established to deal with potential conflict formed a safety net, making it easier to tackle sensitive subjects that could have derailed them.  

“Tracy has taught me this as well: you never just want to bomb something on someone. You want to bring them along on your journey and your noodling.  And so, I try to bring her along and she tries to bring me along so we can be more productive and not be like, ‘Where is this coming from?’” – Toni [23:52] 

This fascinating glimpse at the unique methods Tracy and Toni employed to become more intentional in their business and dealings with each other reads very much like a romance.  

Be inspired by Tracy and Toni as they recount their EOS love story and encourage listeners to take their own business relationships to the next level in this enlightening episode of Rocket Fuel™. 

Learn More:

• Media Bridge Advertising
• Tracy’s LinkedIn profile
• Toni’s LinkedIn profile