From Success to Significance: Bill Dallas on Means and Meaning

Jul 31, 2018

5 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

Bill Dallas is a serial entrepreneur who sold his first business in 1994. He had more money and more things than he had ever dreamed of. He went on to sell that business two or three more times and start a bunch of others. And then a question whispered to him. There's more to this. His pastor, Dick Thompson, drew him a cross. The horizontal line is means, the how of life. Earning money, building skills, doing the tasks you have to do. The vertical line is meaning, the why. You need both for a full life. Bill's message for founders is to merge the two lines as early as possible. In his words, we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Inspired by Paper Napkin Wisdom Episode 158 with Bill Dallas.

What is the difference between means and meaning?

Means is everything you do to keep life together. Bill described it to his kids as washing the dishes, doing the laundry, changing the oil, going to the bank. In business it is the money, the relationships, the networks, the skills and the problems you solve. It is the roof over your head, food to eat, gas in the tank and a little left over.

Meaning goes beyond how you make a living. It expresses what you deeply believe. Bill had once drawn his own chart with success on one axis and significance on the other. His pastor took him a step further. Bill is a Christian, and the cross showed him that the two lines meet.

He builds meaning out of his past, his affections, his loyalties, his talents, the things and people he loves, and the values he is willing to sacrifice for. He also points out that what is meaningful for one person has no value to somebody else. Don't borrow someone else's meaning.

Why merge the two lines early in your career

I wanted to check something with Bill. It sounded like he was saying meaning comes out through the means. Your purpose is expressed in the tasks, not held somewhere separate from them. He agreed.

Bill admitted he forgot this in his own first stage. He was rushing around getting means. Later, the cross focused him on things that could make a difference and also sat in his sweet spot. He would never have started Oaks Christian School, the thing he is most proud of, if he had not been thinking this way.

For founders still struggling to make ends meet, Bill's advice is that you're on the right track. You may need a different vehicle to get where you want to go. Focus more on things you love to do. He knew nothing about lending when he started, then fell in love with housing and dedicated his life to it. There is nothing worse than going to a job you hate every day just to pay the bills. Bill finds that doing what you love adds years to your life and takes you to the next level, which is significance.

The three stages of a successful life

Bill had one job before he went out on his own. He was director of training for a real estate developer in Ohio named Fred Clark. Fred told him you go through three stages in life. First you compete with yourself. Then you compete with other people. Third, you help others. You cannot be truly successful until your focus is on other people.

Bill thought he was already in the third stage. He wasn't. He was still competitive. Today Bill sees merging means and meaning as part of that path.

He also credits his family. The number one thing in his life, he said, is his relationship with his wife and his kids. Balancing it has been tough, and it made him more successful. Being a good dad and a good husband adds to the cross. I noticed in our conversation how often he came back to being real and being intentional. You can't fake that part.

What every new hire should read first

When people join one of Bill's businesses, they expect a policy manual. He hands them All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten instead. Share everything. Play fair. Say please and thank you. Clean up your mess. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Live a balanced life.

He asks people to remember the dreams they chased on their bike as a kid, then compare them to the job they are considering as adults. It's not even close. He still wants to drive to work with that same excitement every day, and he says he does. That feeling on the bike is the one that comes from merging means with meaning.

Four roles that make a great entrepreneur

Bill believes great entrepreneurs can be trained. When people ask what it takes, he gives them four things.

Act like an immigrant. Have a little chip on your shoulder. Remember where you came from, be humble, work hard, and know someone else is knocking at the door every day. If you're entitled, it doesn't work.

Act like an artisan. Great painters and sculptors leave their mark. Leave your mark on everything and everybody you touch.

Act like a waitress. A great waitress gives a little extra, because her income depends on your experience. Bill calls her the pinnacle of self-employment.

Act like a coach. Coaching is mentoring. It is knowing you no longer do it yourself. Other people do it with you and for you. Great leadership is knowing the difference between being on the sidelines and being a player in the game.

His summary is simple. "I don't want to be rich. I want a rich life."

How to apply this in your business this week

Draw the cross. Put your means on the horizontal line and your meaning on the vertical line.

List the tasks that fill most of your week. Next to each, write what it means to you, or note that it means nothing.
When you look at what is urgent and what is important, pick the work that brings the two lines closer. If a task moves neither, consider dropping it.
Ask which of Fred Clark's three stages you are really in. Be honest about it.
Pick one of Bill's four roles you play least. Immigrant, artisan, waitress or coach. Practice it on purpose this week.
Find one person on your team to coach rather than do the work for.

Bill's grandmother used to say life is very simple, but not easy. Merging means and meaning works the same way.