The Armstrong Company

Bruce Waller is a relocation executive, keynote speaker, best-selling author and podcast host. As the Vice President of corporate relocation for The Armstrong Company in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Waller helps global HR professionals arrange employee relocation and transportation services. As a volunteer leader, he serves as the Assistant State Director of Texas SHRM, a state council that serves 31 chapters and more than 22,000 members across the state of Texas. Bruce is the author of four books - Find Your Lane, recognized by BookAuthority as the “Top 100 career change” books of all time” and his latest book "Drive With Purpose" is #1 New Release Best Seller. Since 2020, Bruce has interviewed over 200 high-performance leaders on his podcast “Life in the Leadership Lane.” He is a recipient of many distinguished awards like the Stewardship Award, UniGroup’s highest honor in sales leadership, Top 100 Global Mobility “Most Admired Service Providers”, Saul Gresky Relocation Professional of the Year and Texas SHRM Volunteer Leader of the Year

In the age of over a million professions, selecting and maturing in one seems unusual today. Individuals must regularly lean into strategic introspections to question their choices and answer them. Reinventing corporate style, Bruce W. Waller unlocks different doors to resolve these queries through practical introspective approaches in this article. He picks real-life, thought-provoking sources to gear his thinking and inspire ahead.

Music and musings

I was recently driving into work in my “classroom on wheels” this morning, tuned to Jane Atkinson’s “The Wealthy Speaker Podcast”. During the conversation, Jane’s guest Terri Sjodin touched upon “reinventing” yourself. It made me pause and think about the objectives I and others have incorporated to reform as business leaders.

During the podcast, Terri compared this concept to music bands – there are the one-hit-wonders, and the ones that keep producing hit after hit. They are always reinventing themselves. When I think about artists with a lifetime of success, The Eagles, Taylor Swift, Billy Joe and more come to mind.

So, what about you? How have you reinvented yourself in your career?

Switching to walk the right path

In 2004 – I reinvented myself when I made a role change from managing operations to building a career in sales and marketing that has now lasted more than 20 years. Since then, I have been fortunate to have become part of the “elite” group of sales professionals, recognized as a “Presidents Club” member at The Armstrong Company.

Lao Tzu once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. When starting mine, I wanted to enhance customer value. After initiating a newsletter and its longstanding circulation, I pivoted to write a blog called “Move To Inspire.” Today, I continue writing to serve others. "

I also volunteered with many organizations to build my network and learn from others. This has helped me grow as a business leader. I have learned from so many. Meanwhile, writing books is an added value alongside speaking around the U.S. as a keynote speaker.

 

When self-reinventing, you are energized and comfortable with the uncomfortable. This mindset can build careers or brands and inspire others

Improving to inspire

I reinvented myself when the pandemic arrived by moving to a virtual survey platform to help our clients relocate anywhere. I started a podcast called “Life in the Leadership Lane” to stay connected with the HR and Mobility community. It has over 200 episodes to help others learn from these high performers. Today, I am trying to propagate reinvention using videos as well.

When self-reinventing, you are energized and comfortable with the uncomfortable. This mindset can build careers or brands and inspire others.

On these notes, there is a legendary story about a man who invented dynamite. The product was used to clear mountains and build roadways, but also in war, causing massacres. Early on, the inventor was excited to be known as a facilitator of progress. The man’s name is Alfred, initially infamous as “the merchant of death”. Erasing this tag, Alfred decided to reinvent himself to be known for peace by creating “The Nobel Peace Prize” which is one of the most respected honors today.

The ladder of reinvention

Here are a few things to consider:

• Start using video messages to communicate with your customers – both internal and external

• Make it a practice to write personal notes to encourage others

• Start a weekly or monthly email communication or blog to share stories

• Find an association outside the workplace to get involved in as a volunteer

• Schedule time on your calendar to invest more time into building relationships

It does not matter if it is sales, operations, HR, mobility, accounting, finance, payroll, warehousing or answering the phones - you must always find ways to reinvent yourself to produce another hit! When you do, people notice and will keep the momentum going to bring you more purpose and joy in every area of your life.

Stay in pursuit – continue trying new ways to learn, grow and connect to serve others and reinvent YOU!