The Business of Overcoming Fear

In work and daily life, fear can halt business and personal progress. Derek DeGeest, President of DeGeest Steel Works & LestaUSA, and Jim Rieffenberger, Business Leader Coach, speaker, and author from Renue, talked about ways to address the fears that can hold businesses back.

Rieffenberger, a lifelong friend and mentor to DeGeest, recently became a consultant for DeGeest Steel Works & LestaUSA to transition the leadership team and the rest of the shop as the company grows.

“Jim came to me about this topic of fear,” DeGeest said. “With everything going on right now with the global pandemic, Rieffenberger developed a program and asked if he could talk with our shop. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all deal with fear. We all have adversity and struggles in our lives. To bring it all together and find a way to cope with them, we thought it was a valuable insight for our company.”

“The funny thing about fear,” Rieffenberger said, “(Is) you can’t work on it unless you’re in it.”

And that recognition of present fear is critical.

“We want to make sure we’re talking about how we can cope and deal with fear and understand what’s happening and how we’re reacting, so we can get on the same page and work together to deal with the fear positively,” DeGeest said.

One of Rieffenberger’s tips for overcoming fear is exercise. But it is not just physical exercise Rieffenberger suggests for dealing with the stressful situations in life.

He recommends that people exercise their minds, both mentally and spiritually. Listening to podcasts, reading books and opening the mind to other ways of seeing a problem are things Rieffenberger suggests can provide fear-reducing benefits. Prayer is also a method Rieffenberger uses to calm himself.

Be sure to subscribe to Manufacturing a Stronger Standard for the latest podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

The Tech-Enabled Hospital of the Future: Implications for Care Delivery
The Tech-Enabled Hospital of the Future: Implications for Care Delivery
March 12, 2026

Gone are the days when a hospital was simply a place where patients received care. Today’s hospitals are rapidly evolving into highly connected ecosystems powered by advanced technology, networked devices, and real-time data. The modern hospital is no longer confined to physical walls—it’s a dynamic digital environment where data flows seamlessly, AI supports clinical decisions,…

Read More
career
Stop Chasing Titles, Build a Career That Matters: A CAO’s Advice on Long-Term Success
March 11, 2026

Career advice in finance and accounting often centers around promotions, titles, and compensation. But in an era where professionals frequently change jobs every few years—the average American worker now stays in a role for less than four years—industries are facing growing talent shortages and reevaluating what long-term career success looks like. The question many…

Read More
Career success
A CEO’s Blueprint for Career Success: Leading with Love to Drive Performance and Culture
March 10, 2026

Leadership right now feels heavier than it did just a few years ago. Teams are stretched, expectations are high, and many employees are quietly disengaged. In fact, Gallup’s 2025 U.S. data shows that only about 31% of employees are actively engaged at work, leaving the majority feeling disconnected or indifferent. For CEOs and senior…

Read More
employer-sponsored apprenticeships
The Degree That Pays You Back: How Employer-Sponsored Apprenticeships Are Rewriting Higher Ed
March 9, 2026

Higher education is under pressure. Over the past few years, public confidence in the value of a four-year degree has declined significantly, with fewer Americans expressing a strong belief that traditional higher education delivers a worthwhile return on investment. At the same time, employers consistently report that graduates lack job-ready skills—particularly the “durable skills”…

Read More