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

Today, I share a story of how I learned the difference in being thankful and being grateful. I go back almost ten years to recall this story that my mentor taught me while I was in coach training. You will also get some extras on the power of being grateful. In this season of Thanksgiving, being grateful is commonplace. However, I believe that being grateful is something we must do regularly.

Creating a learning organization is not just about training. In fact, training is just a tiny slice of the concept of creating a learning organization. Today, we will unpack some of the critical elements of a learning organization. My guest today is Khaled Naim, Co-Founder of Onfleet, an innovative logistics software company. Onfleet was ranked #124 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list.

Do you want your people to be continually improving? Well, you want to create a learning organization that is ingrained in your culture. It starts with hiring people that are confident enough to share their skills and expertise with others. It also takes a committed leadership that appreciates learning in everything you do. My guest today is Mike Gentile, Founder, and CEO of Cisoshare. His company was ranked #88 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Discover how why he wanted a learning organization.

Taking time to look back at how far you have come is essential and often overlooked. Today, I am sharing with you a ritual I have on my birthday to show you the power of reflection. I give you the five areas vital to me as I look at my personal and professional life. Looking at the power of reflection, it gives you clarity and insight into what is going on with your life.

Having a robust culture is not a luxury in today's economy. Record low unemployment and the race for talent increases continuously. This episode is how to create an amazing culture. My guest today is Chase Bowers, Founder of Dropified. His company was ranked #55 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Chase and I talk about the practical principles of how to create an amazing culture. Chase shares the benefits of it too. We document the steps of how to create an amazing culture that you can follow in today's interview.

What would happen if you gave everyone a seat at the table? I know from experience what happens when you don't give your people a seat at the table. My guest today is Pete Maldonado, Founder of Chomps. His company was ranked #22 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. Pete shares the benefits of everyone having a seat at the table. We talk about the fast-growth of Chomps and why it is so essential for everyone to have a seat at the table.

When you set out to achieve a goal, the most common approach is to think of your next steps. It is so common in fact, that people often don't even think about the full equation to bridging the gap from where you are now to the destination. When you are bridging the gap, you want to get clear on your identity. In today's video, I am sharing a simple and powerful step in bridging the gap that you can use to shift your results.

Before you think about hiring a coach for yourself or someone on your team, you want to think about the value of coaching. I hired a coach in the first two years of launching my business, and it was a powerful experience that helped me create a five million dollar business by year three. I would say that the value of coaching is priceless when you decide to transform from the inside out. You have to be ready for new insight and be prepared to be challenged.

To have revenue growth, you have to get good at sales execution. When I say sales execution, it is the art and science of closing the deal. Every company has to figure out the path to predictable sales execution if you want to grow beyond where they are now. My guests today are Chris Cochran and Richard Hoehn, Co-founders of FreightWise. Their company was ranked #2 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. They share with us how they looked at sales in the early days of the company.

I sat down with the CEO of a Fortune 50 company that I admired. This meeting was the first face-to-face interaction. He started with a genuine interest in me and my work. Then I shared my research on the founders and CEOs of fast-growth companies. After hearing the big revelation, he quickly said, "I was wrong." I didn't know what to say. If I was wrong, what would this mean for my business? I leaned in to hear why I was wrong to figure out what I was missing.

You have likely heard that failure should not be avoided. You have heard that failure is part of the process. However, too many companies have a culture that is playing not to fail. This is dangerous in many ways. When you embrace failure throughout your culture, you have people that are innovating and pushing the boundaries of new success. A leader's job is to embrace failure in such a way that the team embraces failure too.

Fast growth requires you to be great in many aspects of the business. One area that has many benefits is retaining employees. Your employees have relationships with your clients. Your employees have the skills and experience that drives the business forward.

In today's fast-paced world, you have to be intentional to reduce stress at work and life. One way to do that is to set boundaries. These boundaries are intentional times that you can let go of the pressures of life. I recommend doing something that turns off the brain. If you want to reduce stress at work and life, you want to set boundaries. Today I share with you how I do it. I have been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 2006. That is 13 years of training.

If you want to have a company that grows fast, you must understand fast-growth leadership. Leaders that I have talked to about their companies, employees, innovation, and even business models have a unique way to think about their growth. One thing they all agree on is that fast-growth leadership is an essential foundation.

You can't do it alone. If you want to create a company with a significant impact, you must build a team that goes beyond only you. You don't need just any team either. The end goal is to get employees to take ownership of their work and the client experience. My guest today is Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4. His company was ranked #92 in the 2018 Inc 5000 list. Stu shares his insights to get employees to take ownership.