Randy Hain, Serviam Partners, on A Different Take, Curiosity, Assumptions, Mission Statements, and Moving from Surviving to Thriving (North Fulton Business Radio By Invitation, Episode 957)
In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio By Invitation, host John Ray welcomes executive coach and author Randy Hain, founder and president of Serviam Partners, for a live recorded conversation before an invited audience at the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. The occasion is the release of Randy’s 13th book, A Different Take: Thoughtful Insights to Help You Thrive at Work and in Life, and the episode marks the debut of the By Invitation format.
Randy and John work through several of the book’s themes. On curiosity, Randy describes it as the direct antidote to assumption, explaining that assumptions close the aperture on what we can learn about another person while questions open it. He makes this concrete with a story from his own life: watching people mentally sideline his son Alex, who has autism, based on unfounded assumptions reinforced for Randy every day why that habit is so costly. They also explore “the thief of comparison,” where Randy’s argument is that gratitude, including for difficulties, is the practical counter. One of the more memorable moments in the conversation is Randy’s account of a COO client who walked into their second coaching meeting carrying a two-page mission statement. His own mission statement is two words: “serve others.”
The conversation also covers creating margin, being fully present versus multitasking, time management as partnership rather than battle, and three virtues Randy returns to repeatedly: gratitude, generosity, and contentment. He introduces the Italian phrase voglio bene (“I want your good”) as a frame for thinking about generosity beyond material gifts. The episode closes with the Thrive 26 Project: Randy’s challenge, tied to the book’s 26 topics, to move from surviving to thriving and then to invest in the thriving of someone else.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. This episode of North Fulton Business Radio By Invitation was recorded live at the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. The show is produced by John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
Randy’s approach to fighting assumptions is grounded in a personal story: watching others limit his son Alex, who has autism, based on false assumptions became a daily reminder that making assumptions about people closes off what we can learn from them and that questions are always the better path.- “The thief of comparison” describes the habit of measuring our lives against what others appear to have. Randy’s antidote is gratitude, including for challenges, which he frames as learning opportunities rather than losses.
- Simplicity in a mission statement is a virtue, not a shortcut. A coaching session with a COO who arrived with a two-page document became the origin of Randy’s own mission statement: two words, “serve others,” which he says drives everything he does.
- Creating margin, intentionally cutting non-essential commitments to build breathing room in the calendar, is both a personal health practice and the precondition for being available when someone else genuinely needs your time.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:19 John Ray introduces North Fulton Business Radio By Invitation and the live audience format
01:52 Randy Hain on his background, Serviam Partners, and the Leadership Foundry
03:25 Why A Different Take: looking at old problems through a new lens
04:29 The book’s early popularity with leaders, mentors, and teams
05:49 Curiosity as a superpower and Randy’s approach to questions
07:16 How assumptions close the aperture and why questions open it
09:22 Randy’s son Alex and the personal cost of making assumptions
10:24 The thief of comparison and gratitude as the antidote
12:28 Adding value to relationships: advice from Randy’s father
14:16 Time always wins: partner with time instead of battling it
16:17 Mission statements: the COO client story and “serve others”
20:11 Using A Different Take as a catalyst for mentoring conversations
22:28 Three virtues: gratitude, generosity, and contentment
25:32 Voglio bene (“I want your good”) as a broader frame for generosity
26:31 Being fully present versus the myth of multitasking
28:28 Creating margin: cutting 20% to make space for what matters
31:39 The Thrive 26 Project: moving from surviving to thriving
Randy Hain, Founder and President, Serviam Partners
Randy Hain is the founder and president of Serviam Partners and the co-founder of the Leadership Foundry.
With a successful 30-plus-year career in senior leadership roles, corporate talent, and executive search, Randy is a sought-after executive coach for senior leaders at some of the best-known companies in the U.S. and globally who are seeking candid and expert guidance on how to overcome obstacles to their success or develop new leadership skills.
Randy is also an expert at onboarding senior executives, as well as coaching senior leadership teams to improve trust, alignment, collaboration, and candid communication. His deep expertise as a former senior executive and his years as a proven and successful executive coach for leaders around the world are true areas of differentiation for him and Serviam Partners.
Randy is a husband, father, and active community leader and serves on the boards of the causes he cares about most. He is particularly passionate about elevating autism awareness and investing in the next generation of leaders.
Randy has earned a reputation as a creative business partner and a generous thought leader through his books, articles, and speaking engagements. Randy is the award-winning author of 13 books, including his newest, A Different Take: Thoughtful Insights to Help You Thrive at Work and in Life.
Serviam Partners
Serviam Partners is an Atlanta-based executive coaching and leadership consulting firm founded by Randy Hain in 2012. The firm works with senior leaders and high-potential leaders at companies across the United States, offering executive coaching, senior leader onboarding, and leadership team development. Its approach is grounded in candor, authenticity, and a practical focus on identifying and removing the obstacles that hold leaders back. The firm’s name is Latin for “I will serve,” a phrase that reflects both its founder’s philosophy and its orientation toward the leaders it works with.
Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio
Renasant Bank has humble roots, having started in 1904 as a $100,000 bank located in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown into one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, boasting over $26 billion in assets and more than 280 offices offering banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from the commitment of each banker to invest in the communities they serve, which in turn helps them better understand the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, their banking professionals understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
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Beyond Computer Solutions supports North Fulton Business Radio
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About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
Approaching 1,000 episodes and having featured over 1,400 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show invites a diverse range of business, non-profit, and community leaders to share their significant contributions to their respective markets, communities, and professions. There is no discrimination based on company size, and there is never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates businesses by sharing positive stories that traditional media ignore. Some media lean left. Some media lean right. We lean business.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. John and the team at North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, produce the show, which is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
The studio is located at 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
You can find the entire archive of shows by following this link. The show is accessible on all major podcast apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the author of the five-star-rated book The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices, praised by readers for its practical insights on raising confidence, value, and prices.
