05/29/2026
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤…
and still need to ask a hard question:
“Who is holding the rock right now?”
That line stood out from Steve Adams’ conversation with Jim Batten.
Jim has carried real responsibility in business, banking, board service, and family life. In the conversation, Steve introduces his background with QCR Holdings, Guaranty Bank, H2D2 LLC, International Dehydrated Foods, and O’Reilly Automotive.
But what made this conversation so valuable was not just the résumé.
It was the honesty.
Jim talked about faith.
Family.
Work.
Church.
Long seasons.
Heavy responsibility.
And what it takes to stay grounded when life does not fit neatly into a “balanced” schedule.
Here are a few lessons that stayed with me:
𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭.
When Steve asked Jim about his family, Jim said family is number one after his faith.
He talked about his wife, Lorna, their 40 years of marriage, their five children, their grandchildren, and the blessing of seeing his children serving God.
That was one of the clearest statements in the whole conversation:
For Jim, his kids serving the Lord is the number one measure of success.
Not a title.
Not a company.
Not a financial milestone.
Family serving the Lord.
That kind of clarity changes how you carry success.
𝟐. 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥.
Jim did not pretend work was always easy to manage.
When he was at O’Reilly, he described seasons where the work was challenging, the hours were long, and he and Lorna had to operate as a team.
Sometimes she would bring the boys to the office with pizza so he could see them before they went to bed.
Other times, he would come home, spend time with them, and then stay up working after they went to sleep.
That is not the glossy version of leadership.
That is real life.
Jim said he had “only so big of a pie,” so he collapsed the slice of personal time. He quit playing golf and other things like that.
Work.
Family.
Church.
That was the rhythm.
𝟑. 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭.
One of the strongest parts of the conversation came when Steve asked how Jim stayed on track spiritually through all those years.
Jim said something important:
The perfect work-life balance is not really sustainable as a flat line.
There are seasons where you are borrowing.
Sometimes the company needs time.
Sometimes a deal or acquisition requires more.
Sometimes work gets upside down for a while.
But that cannot become the permanent pattern.
Because as Jim said, you cannot leave your family holding the rock of everything you are supposed to be carrying.
They may be able to hold your part for a while.
But if you never come back and pick it up again, that is when things break.
𝟒. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.
Jim shared a simple practice from his drive home.
There was a specific place on his route, about 10 minutes from his house, where he would try to turn off work mode.
That physical spot helped him switch gears before walking into the house.
Steve called it a demarcation point.
A place to flip the switch.
A place to get into prayer.
A place to be ready to show up at home and be home.
Simple?
Yes.
But for anyone who has ever carried work stress through the front door, it lands.
𝟓. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.
Jim talked about staying faithful to church, family time, and the Word.
He stayed involved in church.
He was on the worship team.
He was in a small group.
He served on the church board.
Steve pointed out that staying involved can become a kind of forcing function.
Because when everything gets busy, the first things we cut are often the very things helping us stay grounded.
This conversation was such a helpful reminder:
Faith and work are not separate compartments.
Family is not an interruption to success.
And leadership is not just about what you carry in public.
It is also about what you return to carry at home.
So here’s the question:
𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?
And is it time to come back and pick up what is yours to carry?
𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘕𝘓𝘠 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 EP 98 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥.
