Growth Think Tank (fka "Leaders in the Trenches")

When you get to a certain point in your business growth, you will face a series of decisions about letting go of the day-to-day work. Another way to look at growing your company is that you will need to fire yourself. I have operated many businesses past the $5 million marks in revenue. I had to wrestle with letting go of the work that I became good at to keep the growth going. Today's behind the scene video takes a look at firing yourself and letting go of your current work to activate more growth.

Often the easiest and quickest thing to do is to give some your advice. However, there is something called "the advice trap" that keeps people from growing in their role. If they fail to grow, you are limited on the impact a person can make to the growth of the organization. My guest today is the best-selling author, Michael Bungay Stainer. His new book is "The Advice Trap." Tune in today to get tools to avoid the advice trap in your journey as a leader.

Do you want to discover how to drive growth? Leaders that are committed to growth know the importance of company foundational elements like mission, vision, and values. Today, we look at how to drive growth. My guest today is Greg Ott, CEO of Nav. This company was ranked #623 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Nav is a marketplace for loans - matching lenders with borrowers. Greg shares how to drive growth with effective company core values that are part of everyday work.

Sometimes you might feel guilt for needing to re-charge. I believe leaders need to learn to rest, not quit when they are tired. Today, I share with you some reason why you want to learn to rest, not quit. We also look at letting go of the guilt that often comes with resting. Discover why you must learn to rest, not quit. Relaxing is part of the journey.

Growth is more manageable when you a solid foundation that guides the company, the people, and the decisions. One element of that is having a values-driven organization. The company's core values allow people to make decisions and coordinate action for a shared future. When you have a values-driven organization, you have guides for the people to operate with limited oversight. My guest today is Kurt Luidhardt, Co-founder of Prosper Group. His company was ranked #466 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list.

In today's challenging times, you have to go beyond the thinking of winning now. You also can't focus on just the future, either. Your business is likely in the midst of radical change that requires strong leadership and the ability to inspire your people through difficult times. My guest today is the former CEO of Honeywell International, David Cote. David recently wrote, "Winning Now, Winning Later."

Eventually, you wonder how you can stop feeling overwhelmed. I have struggled with his for years in my leadership of a fast-growth company. I discovered that it is better to change how you approach your work and not just keep putting in more hours. In short, stop feeling overwhelmed with this super simple productivity hack. Today, I share with you a story about time-blocking that I was reminded when I did a home project. You may wonder how installing a garden hose holder relates to leadership.

Many people avoid transparent communication. Some think that they are transparent enough. When you value transparent communication, you are open and honest to a fault. You dare to share more than most feel comfortable. Your team begins to trust you because you have transparent communication. My guest today is Saint Hung, CEO of Universal Processing. His company was ranked #500 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list.

Let's start with a fact: servant leadership is more than a buzzword. Servant leadership is more than a leadership strategy. I believe the core of servant leadership is the mindset. Leaders that are willing to put their employees first and serve them takes confidence and courage. My guest today is Dwight Hunt, President, and CEO of B3 Group. We look at the power of servant leadership. Dwight shared how servant leadership has allowed for the growth of B3 Group.

During this challenging time, we have to get used to new ways of operating our companies and living our lives. Leadership now is essential and requires new approaches. You can't do what you have always done. The challenges of working remotely and preparing for work beyond the initial pressure that COVID-19 has caused us to re-think how we engage with our teams. Leadership now is best when you vary how you lead to match the moment and the person.

A big part of your growth is the ability to stay curious. When you think you know it all, you close off new ideas. Your arrogance can get the best of you. Staying curious is what top performs do. Today's guest is Molly Fletcher, who is a female motivational speaker, keynote speaker, and former sports agent. We talk about the power of staying curious. We look at why that is important in leadership and also in negotiation too. Molly shares her insights on staying curious as a way to keep growing as a leader.

Attracting the right people is vital to your success and company growth. Today, we look at how to hire based on core values. The hiring steps are often a trial and error process. My guest today is David Wright, Co-founder of Pattern. His company was ranked #404 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. We look at the foundational elements of how to hire based on core values. Tune-in to our conversation to get the steps he had learned work for their company.

The period of COVID-19 has forced many of us to slow down, even if it is just less travel and no wasted time commuting. When your goal is growing as a leader, you often want to have a quick chat with your team and get to work executing. However, there is a question I often use with my clients that goes like this "Have you seen a benefit in slowing down to speed up?" I get a 100% yes to this. yet so many people focused on growing as a leader don't actually adhere to this mantra.

Every business owner I know is under tremendous pressure right now. For some, it is the pressure to keep up with the new demand for their services and products. For many, it is how to navigate through a crisis. If you are like me, you believe there is an opportunity in times like this. Today we are looking at the benefits of an ownership culture through a crisis. My guests are Brian Brasch and Erik Hopperstad at PRX Performance. Their company was ranked #189 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list.

In a typical work environment, we are challenged to improve collaboration. With today's shelter in place and working from home, the need to improve collaboration is more critical than ever. If you want to improve collaboration, most leaders think about the technology and tools that make it all work. However, the real issue is what you do daily to improve collaboration. My guest today is Joe Blewitt, CEO of Epion Health.