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

With decades of business experience and working with thousands of Founders, CEOs, and Entrepreneurs, I can say that your success comes down to one thing. This one thing is what is holding you back. When you think about what you want, if you don't get this one thing right, you will struggle to create what you desire. That one thing is YOU. It is your doubt. Fears. When you think about it, you are what keeps you from achieving what you want.

One of the most critical aspects of company growth is a common understanding of the values and alignment to company core values. Many companies miss the alignment part of this, and what they need is values in action. My guest today is John Girard, CEO of Cience. His company was ranked #112 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Cience builds B2B pipelines. John's view on values drives his company to new levels of growth.

Every leader is called about to make tough decisions. When you want to grow fast, you must be a courageous leader. The fears that come up don't just go away unless you decide to face those challenges. You learn to push forward despite the fear. Being a courageous leader will give your team more courage too. My guest today is Michael Resnik, CEO of Trifold. His company was ranked #239 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list.

One method of identifying the character traits of great leaders is to look at the visionaries that you admire. For years, I have asked my clients who they admire in the world of business. I call this exercise, “The Hero Analysis.” They often select the greats like Musk and his peers: Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett. The character traits of great leaders drive the behaviors and rituals of success. The key is in the second question I propose to them.

Company growth in times of change requires leaders to have a rock-solid foundation for your culture and leadership. Today, we keep the conversation going on living your values to align the team. Living your values starts with hiring people that have the same attitude to work and life as you. You can teach them skills, but hiring those that are living your values before they arrive at your company will make leading them easier. My guest today is Jeff Kingsley, CEO of IACT Health.

After hundreds of interviews and my research with Founders and CEOs, I know the importance of living your core values when you want to create company growth. I can also say that many leaders believe they are living their core values because they have values printed on the walls at HQ or on their website. Let's talk about living your core values with my guest today, Shawn Lipman, who is the CEO of Feedonomics. His company was ranked #95 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list.

Your time is valuable. But not all the time is the same. To increase your productivity and focus, you want to do your highest value work at a time when you are at your best. I get asked by people "how to increase productivity," and today's behind the scenes is what I tell them. Find the time each day when you feel your best and naturally have focus. This is the time when you don't need extra stimulants to feel energized. I call this time your "hours of genius."

Experts with 40 years of experience are scarce. Today's guest is John Maxwell, New York Times best-selling author many times over. John Maxwell joins us to talk about his latest book: The Leader's Greatest Return. In this book, John Maxwell shares decades of insight on leadership. When I read The Leader's Greatest Return, I was able to connect the dots on my research with fast-growth companies to the heart of leadership.

Have you heard about the OKR methodology? This OKR methodology has taken the world of leadership by storm. My guest today is Ivan Osmak, Co-founder of GTMHub. This company has been in hypergrowth mode because of the demand to bridge the gap between strategy and operational execution. We talk about why OKRs are essential. We look beyond the traditional usage of OKR methodology. Ivan even shares the common mistakes with the OKR Methodology.

One big challenge I see with leaders today is getting stuck in the day-to-day of the business. You tell me that they know they should go from Founder to CEO. You feel the need within the organization to improve your strategic leadership. Yet, you are covered up with day-to-day work. In this episode of behind the scenes, we look at four steps of going from Founder to CEO. You may feel triggered when you hear this episode.

Leadership is not an easy endeavor. Because it involves other people makes it one of the hardest aspects of growing your company. I often get asked for the most crucial skill for a leader. After years of building my own companies and helping others to grow, I feel like empathetic leadership is the most crucial skill. The art of empathetic leadership provides the connection that your people crave as they are working the day-to-day.

You want a team that drives growth and overcomes any challenges the company faces. I get asked all the time about how to create great teams that can navigate the challenges of fast-growth. Inspiring teams to feel ownership of their work and the client experience is essential in today's agile work environments. My guest today is Todd Ehrlich, CEO of BAMFI. His company was ranked #121 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Todd and I discuss how to create great teams.

Leadership has changed. In 2020 and beyond, employees are hungry for connection to their work. They want to feel like what they are doing will improve their skills and increase their value. You must improve employee alignment by listening to your employees to understand them. I struggled with employee alignment as a leader until I discovered that they have goals too. I'm going to share with you a powerful approach called "Shared Goals" to improve employee alignment.

My guest today is Karen Hayward, Managing Partner of Chief Outsiders. His company was ranked #2827 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Karen and I discuss the power of the CEO's voice to share the stories that drive the company forward. Discover the keys to marketing strategies for fast-growth.

Nearly every company I know wants to have customer service excellence. You may look at brands like The Ritz-Carlton or Zappos to model what real customer service excellence is. The truth is it is not technology or even flawless processes. The secret to customer service excellence is putting employees first. My guest today is Matt Margolis, CEO of Stackify. His company was ranked #379 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. We look at what customer service excellence is.