The Power of Positive Disruption: Karen Ellenbecker (Transcript)

Read the full transcript of Karen Ellenbecker’s talk titled “The Power of Positive Disruption” at TEDxUWMilwaukee 2021 conference.

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

KAREN ELLENBECKER: Every single day, we are faced with decisions that can change the course of our lives. Sometimes we make split-second decisions, and other times we have the opportunity to pause and to ask ourselves, what do I really want? How do I want to show up in this world? But often, we are so stuck in the chaos of our daily lives that all we can do is put a band-aid on it and think to ourselves, I’ll suck it up, rather than take the risk to push back or to disrupt.

We learn to ignore our higher self, that voice that says, this just doesn’t feel right. And yet, if you can be open and embrace that discomfort, it will lead you down the path to personal freedom, and it’s the first step to becoming a positive disruptor. A positive disruptor is someone who challenges the status quo. They look for positive alternatives, changing the way we think, behave, and how we do business.

How do we become positive disruptors in our own lives? That is what I would like to share with you today, three examples from my life where I unknowingly was setting the stage to become a positive disruptor in my own career.

Taking the First Risk

I was 35 years old, divorced, a mom with three kids, and desperate to find a job to support my family. I dreaded going to job interviews because I was too ashamed to tell anyone that I had never gone to college.

I landed a job interview with a local brokerage firm, and I convinced the manager to hire me, even though I knew nothing about stocks, and the only investment I’ve ever owned was a $25 war bond from my grandpa. I had just talked my way into a job that I had no idea how I was going to do it. I was scared, but I knew this was a risk that I had to take in order to support my family. Positive disruptors must be willing to disrupt their own lives first, to let go of that fear of, I’m not enough, I don’t have time, or I’m too old, and have the courage to disrupt their own lives for the better.

I had no idea of what I was in for. I was a mom in training with young college graduates, and when we were done working, they went out to party. I went home to parenting duties, and then I studied. I failed my securities test to become a stockbroker the first time, and then I failed it the second time.

I was so embarrassed and discouraged. Three strikes, and I was out. If I didn’t pass that test the third time, there would be no job, and I had no idea of what I would do. It was a moment that I will never forget.

We all have moments like that, where we ask ourselves, why am I doing this? I knew my initial why was to feed my kids, but there was a bigger why pushing me to take this test again. I wanted that securities license so I could let go of the shame that I felt for not going to college. That bigger why gave me the courage to push through my fear and take that test again.

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I learned on Christmas Eve that I had passed my test. I was so relieved to know that that part was finally behind me. Positive disruptors have the courage to disrupt when they know their why is in alignment with who they are and who they strive to be.

Overcoming Challenges

I was now an official stockbroker. I was handed the tools of my trade, a phone and a phone book. We called that dialing for dollars. We all sat in this large area that we called the pit. Our job was to call complete strangers and pitch investment products like stocks and bonds.

The more we sold, the more we made. I was the only woman in that pit, and when men made calls, people listened. When I made calls, they asked, “Are you the secretary?” It was humiliating, and no one, not even any of the other stockbrokers, took me seriously.

My inner voice was nudging me again, telling me to find a better solution. I thought that if I could get in front of people, I could overcome the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. I thought, I’m going to do public seminars. I was excited about my idea, and I went to tell my boss, and he shot me down.

He said, “Who in their right mind would want to work all day and then do seminars at night? They’ll only show up for the cookies.” I didn’t want to be gone from my children all day and at night, so I thought, I’ll take them with me. They were so excited.

They passed out paper and pencils and checked everyone in, and the attendees, they saw me balancing my family and my career, and it caused an immediate connection. Many of those people became my clients and are still clients today. I was surprised to learn that within a year, I was made Broker of the Year. I was just now beginning to understand the power of positive disruption.

Disrupting the Status Quo

I was curious about my competition, so I started listening to financial radio shows, only to discover it was like diving for dollars all over again. Stockbrokers offering one-size-fits-all advice and pushing investment products to their listeners without having any idea whatsoever of what their financial situation was. I knew that this was not the way to build a sustainable business. Teaching seminars had taught me that clients want to be educated.

They want to work with someone that they trusted. I thought to myself, if I ever had a radio show, I would never sell investments on the radio.

I would offer education like I had done in my seminars. You know what they say, be careful of what you ask for.

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An opportunity came up for me to pitch my idea to a local radio station. They loved it. I thought that they were going to pay me, only to find out I had to pay them $40,000. Now I had to convince my boss to sponsor the show.

He said, “You mean you want me to pay for a radio show and you’re not going to sell anything? Do you think I’m crazy?” Well I convinced him to let me do that show for one year. There I was, ready to go on the air and terrified.

I thought to myself, what are you thinking? You don’t have any broadcast experience. Are you even smart enough? Will anyone want to listen?

I had all these notes and none of it helped. After a week, I was feeling sick to my stomach and I thought, if I’m going to do this radio show, it has to be fun. I knew that I had to let go of my fear of not being smart enough or polished enough. I asked myself, why are you doing this radio show?

Is it for me or is it for my listeners? I realized that I was disrupting the status quo again because I believed there was a better way to serve listeners. That desire to serve was my bigger why. I have been hosting the same radio show, Money Sense, for over 30 years without ever selling an investment product on the air and providing education to my listeners.

In my competition, they now listen to me. Disruptive disruptors live by what they trust, not by what they fear. Fear is a great teacher. It gets our attention.

When faced with fear, ask yourself, what am I afraid of? What is holding you back? If you can identify the source, then you can work towards making fear your opportunity for growth.

A Wake-Up Call

I was finally feeling financially secure and good about how I was caring for my clients. That all changed in an instant. I was doing a portfolio review and my client noticed all the transactions and the commissions that were generated in his account. And he turned and he looked at me and he said, “Karen, I know that your kids will go to college, but what about mine?” That comment stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was true that whether a client did well or not, stockbrokers generated a lot of commissions by buying and selling investments. Now every time I made a trade in a client’s account, I heard that voice, I know your kids will go to college, but what about mine? Not only was I out of alignment with my values of integrity and trust and treating others how I wanted to be treated, but the entire financial industry was out of alignment with the values of ethical business practices. That client was my wake-up call.

And when that light went on, there was no turning back. I thought, what if I start my own fee-based financial firm? I had seen it successfully done in the banking industry. It would mean that I would charge my clients a fee to manage their investments rather than charge them a commission every time I bought or sold an investment.

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It would also mean that I would have to start all over again. No clients and no income. I had no idea that I was about to cause the biggest disruption in my life and to turn the entire financial industry upside down. No one, not my family or my friends, could understand why I was willing to disrupt my career and my financial stability.

They thought it was way too risky. My boss said to me, “No one will pay you a fee to manage their money, it’s a crazy idea.” What they didn’t understand was that when you know you are disrupting for the greater good, it doesn’t feel like risk at all. I believed that I could do business ethically and still make a good living.

I started my own fee-based investment firm 25 years ago. Today we have 40 employees and we manage over a billion dollars of clients’ assets. And my daughter Julie, that little girl who passed out pencils, she’s now the president of our company. Back then I pioneered a shift in my industry, but today financial firms all over the world are embracing the fee-based model.

Conclusion

Positive disruptors lead from their values. They lead with a deeper sense of purpose. Every decision they make comes from a higher level of integrity and every action is driven by who they are and what they stand for. Take time to write down your core values.

They will continue to remind you of who you are and who you want to be in this world. We have all caused disruptions in our lives, some for the positive and sometimes not. But for the most part, we disrupt unintentionally, without thought. What if we chose to positively disrupt on purpose?

Now that would be powerful. If we want to be a catalyst for positive change, we must let go of our fear of making a mistake or of being judged and have the courage to disrupt our lives for the better. Imagine this, every time we make a decision in our personal life or our business life, we stop and we ask ourselves, am I leading from my higher self? Am I listening to the needs of others?

Am I serving the greater good? If the answers are yes, then you know it’s a positive disruption. Take the risk to positively disrupt. And together we will make this world a better place to live.