09:20 – Michael and Susan reflect on the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic 

12:47 – Building resilience in the face of adversity, stress and anxiety 

25:33 – The importance of effective delegation and the OURS system

29:30 – Susan speaks to the many assessment tools that she utilizes in her work with leaders 

33:37 – Michael and Susan speak to their unique experiences as growth and leadership coaches 

38:34 – Where listeners can follow Susan 

40:00 – Michael thanks Susan for joining the show and where listeners can find his Functional Team Scorecard 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“I would say it’s more critical than ever that leaders spend time engaging with their team in this [remote] format because people feel isolated.” (10:11)

“What I was curious about is what makes some leaders able to handle stressful situations more gracefully while others just get their buttons pushed and become reactive or lash out. And, is it innate? Can it be learned and, if so, how?” (15:58)

“I recently heard a statistic that the average life expectancy for a police officer after they retire is ten years. Think about that. Because of the wear and tear from such high stress situations that they’ve had to deal with, the toll that’s taken on their bodies without the ability to build the resilience, can really make a difference.” (23:15)

“The way you think drives your actions.” (26:50)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Susan’s LinkedIn

Meritage Website

03:23 – Al talks about why he started Ethix Magazine & The Theology of Work Project 

06:25 – Why purpose, meaning and focus outweigh the importance of profits 

09:21 – Al talks about his book, The ServiceMaster Story, and the Four Objectives

20:09 – The concept of ‘Shingles on the Roof’ 

22:42 – The importance of leaders understanding the value of service workers 

27:37 – Al explains that leaders aren’t perfect 

29:11 – The importance of training 

32:34 – Diversity of culture and religion 

35:44 – Al speaks to how his company dealt with exponential growth through acquisitions while honoring the four objectives 

38:08 – Michael thanks Al for joining the show and for the great work that he’s doing

40:15 – Where listeners can follow Al

41:04 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“I think the whole idea of purpose, meaning and focus is the central idea and then profit is the means by which you do that.” (08:31)

“What happens to a company that has a focus on its employees, its purpose, and its meaning? And what happens when that shifts and becomes about profit?” (11:12)

“He wrote that, ‘ServiceMaster had cracked the code by the way the service industry is perceived because they alone were able to instill purpose, meaning and value into the work of a service worker. It changed the way they saw their work and, therefore, it changed the results for the customer.’” (25:07)

“If you build a system that will only works for perfect leaders, it will fail because there are no perfect leaders.” (28:15)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Al’s LinkedIn

Theology of Work Website

Ethix Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

Al’s Book – The ServiceMaster Story

04:21 – Jack’s origin story and the goal of The Great Game of Business

14:25 – The importance of forward-thinking forecasting

20:29 – The secret sauce of The Great Game of Business

27:50 – The importance of the critical number

34:14 – Jack speaks to a story in his latest book, Change The Game

38:03 – The importance of creating jobs

39:59 – Michael and Jack discuss the value of culture

45:13 – Jack provides some final observations and takeaways on business

49:34 – Jack talks about the state of the economy

53:57 – Michael thanks Jack for joining the show and for the great work that he’s doing

54:23 – Where listeners can follow Jack

56:08 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“I began to realize there’s two ways of leading a company. One is by a product and service and then one is these people look at the company from a totally different set of metrics. I’m trying to make a precision flywheel and they’re trying to make a precision balance sheet.” (07:26)

“If you’re not creating new businesses in your companies right now, your survival’s gonna be very very small in the future.” (21:38)

“If you can forecast, you can actually control the world.” (24:40)

“You need sales. There’s no question you need sales, ok? But sales without margins is just more work.” (33:04)

“Selling EBITDA is like selling a house with only one bathroom.” (39:34)

“When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance.” (45:47)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Jack’s LinkedIn

Jack’s Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

Jack’s Books – The Great Game of Business & Change The Game

Get In The Game

03:55 –Coaching for Results vs. Coaching for Growth

07:04 – Michael promotes Mark’s book, Activators

10:29 – Mark speaks to hidden growth killers

17:56 – Universal quantifiers

20:35 – Mark talks about three different types of fear

26:08 – Mark lays out the five symptoms of fear

32:45 – Mark tells the story about his Grandpa Ben and the importance of changing your neighborhood

37:55 – The value Mark places on purposefulness and the link between purpose and strategy

46:13 – Mark speaks to his personal purpose and the process it took to figure it out

50:50 – Michael encourages the audience to pick up a copy of his book, Activators

51:59 – Mark talks about some projects he’s currently working on, including a new book

53:06 – Where listeners can follow Mark

54:00 – Michael thanks Mark for joining the show

54:24 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“When the hidden growth killers are operating and you’re not aware of them, you’re actually not really at choice, right? You’re surrendering choice to operate on your habits, your beliefs, your motivators.” (16:18)

“If you have fear that’s affecting you, there’s no way that you can feel like a great CEO when you know that you’re not addressing the behaviors that actually weaken your business.” (24:02) 

“We use logic to justify our thinking. So, we’re typically blind to our fears.” (29:16)

“Often what I’ve observed is we maintain status quo networks, comfort zone networks… And, the truth of the matter is, in many cases, you’ve become among the most expensive houses in all of your neighborhoods. And then you wonder why you’re not growing as fast as you want to grow.” (34:47)

“Purposefulness is a chronically under-utilized resource, often at great expense.” (39:30)

“My purpose is to unlock human potential.” (46:16)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Mark’s LinkedIn

Mark’s Website

Link to Harvard Business Review Article on Purpose

BOOKS MENTIONED

Mark’s Book Website

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

01:41 – Michael promotes Rich and Steve’s latest book, Get In The Game
03:41 – The origin story of The Great Game of Business

08:48 – How Jack Stack began the process of teaching the language of business to his team

12:08 – Steve addresses the concept of open-book management

15:31 – Jack’s philosophy of lifetime hiring

18:16 – Building a dominant workforce

20:49 – How to engage employees to become better business thinkers

24:24 – How scorecarding works

27:39 – Benefits of a company getting into The Great Game

31:58 – Key principles and elements of The Great Game of Business

38:52 – The concept of a self-funded bonus

44:02 – The importance of a healthy culture

51:03 – Why Michael loves to highlight The Great Game of Business

52:06 – Michael thanks Rich and Steve for joining the show and praises the work they’ve done

52:17 – Michael encourages the audience to visit The Great Game of Business website

53:08 – Michael promotes the upcoming Great Game of Business Conference

54:01 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“It [The Great Game of Business] was all about productivity. It was about quality. It was about building a solid product, but not necessarily building a company.” (06:38) (Rich)

“The dominant companies in the next ten years will be those who are dominant with their workforce.” (18:25) (Steve)

“People want to be in the know, and they want to know what they can do to contribute.” (22:55) (Rich)

“If you would have invested a thousand dollars, if you were brave enough to invest a thousand dollars back in 1983, that thousand dollar investment is worth close to eight million dollars in value today.” (29:06) (Rich)

“Business is like a game. To play any game, you gotta know what the goal is. That’s the critical number. And then you have to know what game you’re in so you gotta know and teach the rules. You’ve got to follow the action and keep score.” (34:46) (Rich)

“Let the slackers and the dead weight go work for your competitors.” (46:30) (Steve)

“The company is the product. And, if that’s the case, if the company is indeed the product, building a great company, you will have the best quality, the best service, the best of everything. And that’s a great place to work if you ask me.” (50:03) (Steve)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Rich’s LinkedIn

Steve’s LinkedIn

The Great Game of Business Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company

Get In The Game

Change The Game

02:17 – Paul talks about his upcoming book, Your Business Your Wealth

03:55 – Michael speaks to his experience working with CEOs who take a salary that is lower than the market rate

09:15 – Two common mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to valuing their business

11:49 – The danger of not thinking about an exit strategy

16:45 – Michael talks about the ever-expanding role of today’s CEO

18:27 – Paul speaks to interviews he’s done with various financial publications

20:50 – Paul poses an interesting thought experiment to determine financial independence

24:40 – How Sound Financial Group identifies and works with their ideal client

28:41 – The architect example

34:13 – Paul speaks to the purpose of his podcast entitled, Your Business, Your Wealth

37:35 – Paul provides a special offer to listeners of CEO Brain Food

38:04 – Michael thanks Paul for joining the show and praises the work he’s done

40:54 – Michael encourages the audience to visit Paul’s website

41:30 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“All too often, business owners spend most of their time focused on just growing their business. And the more successful their business is, they assume it’s just gonna work out on their personal balance sheet.” (03:43)

“It’s not a competition between what assets you can buy outside your business and how good the return is inside your business. Everybody will agree, the best rate of return you have is in your business just right up until it’s not. And, when it’s not is when you need to be in a position to have financial independence.” (20:01)

“You cannot have financial independence, you cannot retire on the business balance sheet. You have to transmit money from the business’ balance sheet to your personal balance sheet by more than the sale.” (22:07)

“When we make a client an offer, we charge a fee like an architecture does. We build the design. We help you build the blueprints based upon the future that you want. And then, you have the blueprints. You can go implement that yourself.” (28:41)

“Because what we [Sound Financial Group] want to be able to do is have people that are wildly satisfied with us. And what we don’t wanna do is charge a fee to anybody that we didn’t provide significant value in return.” (34:00)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Sound Financial Group’s Website for a Financial Inquiry Call - Info@sfgwa.com (Inquiry in the subject)

Sound Financial Group on Facebook

Sound Financial Group on LinkedIn

Paul’s LinkedIn

Paul’s Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

Sound Financial Advice (Paul’s Book) – Sound Financial Advice: How to Recapture the Money you are Losing and Add it to Your Family's Wealth

02:00 – Michael recalls working for an absent manager whose purpose and values were misaligned 

04:07 – Why making money should not be the sole purpose of an organization 

05:46 – How the CEO of Michelin incorporated purpose into strategy 

07:40 – The rise of entrepreneurship 

10:03 – The pursuit of purpose crisis that our society is facing today

11:14 – Risks we face when we do not have a purpose 

11:45 – Identifying your quest 

12:58 – Attributes of exponential organizations 

14:41 – The Massive Transformational Purpose (MTP) 

15:31 – Examples of great MTPs 

16:06 – The Disney Example 

16:56 – What makes Massive Transformational Purposes so powerful and impactful 

18:30 – The benefits of capitalism 

19:13 – Michael recalls his past interest in starting a medical technology company 

21:10 – How Michael found his own purpose 

21:55 – Michael leaves the audience with a self-inquiry question to consider 

22:08 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“In recent years, purpose has become something that we’re all focused on. But once it’s discovered and articulated, oftentimes it gets relegated to the periphery of the business.” (01:35) 

“The idea that making money as a primary goal or purpose, in and of itself, is good and worth pursuing has proven to be man’s downfall since biblical times.” (04:07)  

“Purpose is no longer just the foundation stone or integral part of the DNA of your company. Today, purpose is becoming central to strategy.” (05:35)  

“Today, the facts are, seventy-five new businesses start every hour, unbelievably. And eight out of ten of them fail in the first eighteen months.” (08:15)  

“Many aspiring entrepreneurs are leaving the so called ‘security’ of their jobs – and I say that in quotes – in favor of working for themselves in pursuit of a dream. People are attracted to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur because of a deeper yearning for a sense of purpose.” (10:08)  

“The truth is we all have a desire for purpose. It’s that thirst for a mission, a yearning for a quest, and then to fulfill it. Having a sense of purpose gives us a better chance at having a longer life than almost anything else.” (11:27)  

“A Massive Transformative Purpose…is bigger than a mission statement. It’s why you do what you do, why you get up in the morning, and why your organization exists. It’s a higher aspirational purpose and it’s about thinking big.” (14:42)  

“‘Delivering Happiness’ as a purpose for Disney at the central of strategy in that company has allowed that company to branch out from cartoons and animations all the way through to theme parks, animated movies, film, and many other divisions and revenue streams.” (16:10)  

“The MTP acts as a guiding compass when decisions get made. It actually helps to lower transaction costs. And, this is critical to culture and I have to really emphasize this, it depoliticizes the organization.” (18:14)  

“I would quote Sir Richard [Branson] by saying that, ‘When the dreams don’t scare you, then your dreams are too small.’” (21:45)  

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Strategy + Business Article featuring Jean-Dominique Senard

TEDx Video on Entrepreneurship featuring Mark Leruste

Entrepreneur Magazine Article featuring Salim Ismail

BOOKS MENTIONED

Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it)

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

02:47 – Why everything starts and ends with the CEO

05:10 – Daniel speaks to why the strength of the founder usually becomes the weakness of the company

07:12 – Level Five Leaders

09:39 – The Southwest Airlines example

10:56 – Daniel’s entrepreneurial journey

16:50 – The importance of coaching

20:45 – Daniel speaks to his fundraising prowess

25:39 – Keeping up with the speed of scaling as a CEO

30:01 – The decision to leave his company, travel, and go back to school

32:13 – Daniel opens up about his mortgage company that failed in 2008

35:21 – Building the Growth Institute

37:44 – The value of learning through reading

39:14 – The importance of self-care

40:41 – Stages of growth

45:39 – Understanding that business plans change

46:04 – The second growth stage: sales

48:47 – The third growth stage: scaling and infrastructure

51:13 – The fourth growth stage: dominating your industry

52:03 – Differentiating between being an employee and owner of a company

54:56 – Michael and Daniel discuss core values

59:20 – Michael encourages the audience to visit Daniel’s website

59:50 – Daniel talks about his Master of Business Dynamics Program

1:02:37 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food

1:02:52 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“Usually what I’ve found is the strength of the founder becomes the weakness of the company.” (05:16)

“We as coaches need coaches. We cannot coach ourselves.” (19:46)

“So whenever you’re doing something you want to do, something that is a challenge, you do it well. When you see it as a problem, then you’re gonna do it well.” (31:16)

“And, by the way, the more I learn and the more exercise I do in the morning, the better day I have after.” (39:01)

“People believe they can do a business plan and they’re going to execute the business plan exactly as they thought. No way.” (45:39)

“So that’s when you begin scaling, after sixteen to twenty employees. And you have to build and invest in infrastructure. And then you have to align and simplify the operation.” (50:12)

“The only way to bypass this growth is really throwing a lot of money to fix mistakes and problems.” (57:30)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Daniel’s LinkedIn

Daniel’s Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm

01:29 – Introducing today’s topic: Three Execution Disciplines 

03:25 – The strategy horizon

05:09 – Discipline One: Priorities 

06:51 – Discipline Two: Data Metrics 

10:25 – Creating a mini game to identify the critical number 

11:19 – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 

13:28 – Discipline Three: Communication Rhythms 

15:59 – The value of operating as a team 

16:54 – Line item ownership 

18:32 – The weekly huddle 

20:46 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food

21:05 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“I like to think of strategy in a three-year planning horizon. Thirty-six months, twelve quarters, three years. That’s your strategy horizon.” (03:25)  

“So, if we have an aspirational differentiator out there – something that we’re not doing today that we need to be doing in the future to be different than our competition – then it follows that we need to be working on elements of that differentiator today in the current year.” (05:39)  

“Your activities in the organization should all be focused on improving or driving one primary objective in the current period that is critical to the ongoing success of the organization.” (06:38) 

“People support what they help create.” (09:07)  

“The right KPI is a number that directly influences that critical number and is gonna help predict the outcome.” (11:24)  

“It’s important to understand that the daily meeting is not a problem-solving session. Instead, it provides an opportunity each day at a specific time for the team to communicate with each other on specific topics.” (14:53)  

“With empathetic listening, we’re building trust on the team which is a very very powerful concept.” (16:18)  

“Make no mistake about it. The CEO is the metronome that will help you achieve your objectives and make your goals and help you scale your company.” (20:06)  

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

KPI Library

🎙️🎙️🎙️
Podcast production by FullCast

01:33 – Reinforcing the importance of tracking your critical number 

02:28 – Defining the critical number 

07:12 – Michael invites listeners to take a moment to reflect on their critical number 

07:44 – The factors that influence and drive positive action towards your critical number 

11:24 – The importance of financial literacy 

13:21 – The Weekly Huddle 

15:18 – Sharing the profits 

17:54 – The importance of execution 

20:13 – Developing KPIs 

20:58 – Michael articulates the difference between accountability and responsibility 

23:36 – The value in forecasting critical numbers in advance 

25:02 – Michael provides examples of leading indicator concepts 

26:25 – KPIs, priorities, forecasting and measuring 

29:38 – The Five Scoreboards 

32:13 – The importance of setting goals that will make organizations stronger 

33:27 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food

33:38 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“The critical number provides a focus on what’s most important. And, in fact, it’s the determining factor critical to the company’s success.” (03:35)  

“The driver is a number that directly influences the critical number.” (10:55)  

“You want your people to be engaged in forecasting the number. You want them to really own that number.” (12:05)  

“You want to be sharing with the employees the profit that they help you create, but only after a threshold level of profit is made.” (15:18)  

“The critical number is what you want to achieve. The drivers are how it’s going to be achieved.” (17:17)  

“When we’re developing the KPIs, first we want to identify the problem to be solved or we want to identify an opportunity that we’re going to leverage.” (20:13)  

“Accountability cannot be delegated, but responsibility can.” (20:54)  

“What gets measured gets done.” (30:16)  

“The critical number provides us a learning opportunity that becomes part of our everyday process of running the business. Everyone in the company should know the critical number.” (33:08)  

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Jim Collins' Website

Four Characteristics of a Strong Critical Number 

🎙️🎙️🎙️
Podcast production by FullCast

02:17 – Michael speaks to his own experience working with his CFO on his critical number

03:48 – The Mariano Rivera example

05:30 – The value of historical data

07:30 – Identifying the critical number

10:02 – Engaging your team to achieve your critical number

11:17 – The Great Game of Business

13:05 – Other strategies for engaging your people

14:00 – The importance of educating your people on the business

17:50 – Michael leaves the audience with a quote from Jack Stack

18:42 – Michael poses a self-inquiry questions to the listeners

19:17 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food

19:46 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“We have numbers available to us at a moment’s notice, the tip of our fingers. Numbers are everywhere, and leaders use them in tracking progress and making important decisions.” (03:37)

“With so much information, we tend to lose focus and it just is all foggy and it runs together.” (06:44)

“I like to think of the critical number as the one number that represents the important variable we have to get right in order for our organization to succeed.” (07:40)

“A great way to engage your people is to connect the data that you’ve got to a benefit such as a bonus, or some type of reward, or even equity in the form of stock and stock options.” (13:05)

“At ‘Great Game,’ the critical number is defined as an operational or financial number that represents a weakness or vulnerability that, if not addressed and corrected, will negatively impact the overall performance and long term security of the business.” (17:19)

“People support what they help create.” (17:57)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Jim Collins' Website

Four Characteristics of a Strong Critical Number

BOOKS MENTIONED

Get In The Game: How To Create Rapid Financial Results And Lasting Cultural Change

The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company

🎙️🎙️🎙️
Podcast production by FullCast

02:10 – Defining what we mean by ‘culture’ 

05:35 – The Theranos Example 

07:12 – Culture as a differentiator 

08:12 – Understanding your core values 

10:19 – The Zappos Example 

12:22 – Why leadership is key to culture 

14:19 – Authentic leadership defined 

16:17 – The importance of building trust 

18:08 – The Operations vs. Sales Example 

19:24 – Taking a financial hit in order to retain the integrity of core values 

20:30 – Characteristics of an authentic leader 

21:34 – Finding your purpose 

22:34 – The Disney Example 

24:56 – Michael reiterates the importance of differentiating yourself through authentic leadership 

27:29 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food

27:58 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“To me, culture is your combination of your core values, your purpose, and the direction your company is taking.” (02:23)  

“When you have a great culture, it can be a differentiator in the market.” (04:23)  

“Be thinking about culture as a way to be different, a way to differentiate yourself.” (07:12)  

“Leadership creates culture. So, if you’re the CEO, your job is to articulate why your company exists, what it stands for, what it believes in, and what it values and especially where it’s headed.” (12:22)  

“To build trust you need to be vulnerable. You need to be able to say, ‘Gee, I don’t know the answer to that question. Let’s do some research and figure this out.’” (16:17)  

“The authentic leader is gonna show what they do and how they do it by consistently demonstrating with their own behaviors – their words and actions – their commitment to the core values and the core purpose of the company.” (20:30)  

“By choosing true authenticity, your team is going to have more confidence in you.” (26:46)  

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The REMARKable Triangle

The Functional Team Scorecard

Jim Collins' Website

BOOKS MENTIONED:

Organizational Culture and Leadership

Built to Last

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“The one thing I like companies to think about is to ask yourself, ‘What are the pain points in your business that you wanna solve?’” (06:02)

“Well it’s [Disneyland] the happiest place on Earth because, when you go there, they treat you so incredibly well. They obsess over every guest that show up at Disneyland.” (09:30)

“There is no one, and I mean no one, on the planet that will ever advocate for you or be your marketing agent if they don’t trust you.” (16:32)

“For all the ‘Attaboys’ you earn, you need about a hundred ‘Attaboys’ cause every one ‘Ah shit’ wiped out all hundred ‘Attaboys.’” (19:11)

“Not all money is good money.” (29:34)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The REMARKable Triangle

The Functional Team Scorecard

Jim Collins' Website

Blaine’s LinkedIn

Blaine’s Website

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“That’s the magic of customer obsession. If you’re so over the top obsessed with your customers, your customers are so over the top happy with you that they’re more than happy and actually will go out of their way to be an advocate for you.” (12:44)

“Stop marketing. Your customers are dying to do it for you.” (14:49)

“Customer obsession is synonymous with culture.” (20:56)

“Why don’t we go out and look at ‘How would this impact our customer positively, negatively or no change at all?’ And let’s bring that back and discuss it before we make a decision.” (28:42)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

The Functional Team Scorecard

Jim Collins' Website

Blaine’s LinkedIn

Blaine’s Website

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“I like to think of an organization with three pillars. It’s like a three-legged stool. You have strategy, you have structure and you have culture.” (05:38)

“Culture is descending. It starts at the top and must be promoted and literally kept alive by the leader and the leadership team.” (06:53)

“How you define and defends your cores will often determine your ability to grow and scale your business.” (08:08)

“The deeper that your relationship is with those that you’re leading, the more effective you’ll be in leading them.” (10:55)

“Leadership and trust go hand in hand. They’re very interrelated and both are about relationship.” (13:31)

“There’s not a greater impact that you can have on an organization or a company than when you hire someone, or evaluate someone’s performance, or coach them.” (15:50)

“The Rule of One Percent recognizes that at least one percent of what the person is saying is probably true.” (18:19)

“We know that trust takes a lifetime to build and can be destroyed in a moment. That is so true. The culture of trust in a company needs to be proactively established by leadership and consistently applied day-to-day in personal behaviors and actions.” (20:25)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

Jim Collins' Website

BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Organizational Culture and Leadership

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“A Diminisher is a leader or manager whose view of intelligence is based on elitism and scarcity.” (06:12)

“A Multiplier assumes that there are smart people everywhere who will figure out problems and become even smarter in the process.”(07:09)

“Multipliers are the talent magnet, the liberator, the challenger, the debate maker and the investor.” (15:53)

“A liberator creates space for people to step up and also feels safe to fail.” (17:54)

“How smart you are is defined by how clearly you can see the intellect of others.” - John Brandon, Director of Int’l Sales at Apple Inc. (18:22)

“The challengers are going to be pushing their teams beyond their own knowledge and beyond the knowledge of the organization.” (19:25)

“Multipliers give other people the investment and ownership they need to produce results independent of the leader. It’s not servant leadership but it’s open leadership.” (24:14)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

BOOK'S MENTIONED

Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great)

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“You get out what you put in.” (02:09)

“In preparing for battle, I’ve always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower (05:30)

“Preparation is everything but when the plan is put to the test we must be prepared for variances that are out of our control.” (07:41)

“If we’re clear about our foundations, then we can be more effectively able to withstand events and adjust the variables that threaten our efforts to build enterprise value.” (08:52)

“Strategy is about being different” (16:21)

“When there is no vision the people will perish”. Proverbs 29:18 (22:59)

RESOURCE LINKS

Shannon Susko

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

BOOK'S MENTIONED

Built to Last by Jim Collins

5 Dysfunctions of a team by Patrick Lenconi

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“Warren Buffet reads three hours a day. Bill Gates reads a book every two weeks. Mark Zuckerberg the same thing.” (03:35)

“As leaders, we cannot operate in a vacuum. What I’ve really come to discover is that we can’t do this ourselves. Everyone needs a coach.” (06:05)

“I had an old boss one time that was very fond of saying, ‘Hey, we need to step on the shoes without messing up the shine.’” (06:39)

“For any important endeavor, learning from the people who have found the recipe for success can take you to a higher performance level faster than any other known effort.” (09:05)

“This was probably Bill Campbell’s primary differentiator: getting people to work together, breaking down silos. He always advised his coaches that they need great people in the world of product creation.” (15:00)

“Consensus dumbs down the ideas and does not get you to the best option when you’re considering a series of options. What you want is deep debate, healthy debate, constructive criticism and healthy arguing.” (15:25)

“A coach helps to spot the gaps in performance, identifies behaviors that increase or reduce entropy within the organization.” (17:32)

“One of the favorite quotes that I have of Bill Campbell’s is ‘You may have a title of manager, but your people are gonna decide if you’re their leader’” (20:58)

“It’s very important to realize that you don’t have all the answers and be willing to accept that a coach can take you to a higher level.” (24:50)

“If you’re able to influence others, and you look over your shoulder and you find that people are following you, then you might consider yourself a leader at that point.” (25:35)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

Jim Collins' Website

The Future of Leadership Development Article

BOOK'S MENTIONED

Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“What got ya here won’t get ya there.” (01:31)

“It’s not the leader’s job to be friends, but it’s the leader’s job to understand the comings and goings of his or her people that are reporting to them and to lead them.” (06:37)

“It starts at the top. Poor leadership creates a very toxic culture. The good news is great leaders can have a positive influence on outcomes, especially in a shifting strategic environment.” (08:57)

“Leadership is a choice, not a rank.” (13:47)

“Behavioral accountability precedes results.” (16:03)

“Most companies do not articulate their strategy and do not teach their strategy to their people. Their strategy is something that is held in the minds and hearts of the CEO and leadership team. And even then it can be confusing.” (20:44)

“Leadership is like swimming. You cannot learn it from books. Ultimately, you must get in the water.” (23:00)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

Jim Collins' Website

The Future of Leadership Development Article

Circle of Safety Simon Sinek Video

BOOK'S MENTIONED

Leadership at Scale: Better leadership, better results

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

Who

The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“There’s power, there’s influence, and there’s authority. Those are the three things that you have as a leader.” (09:15)

“It’s people, product and processes. Those are the three ‘P’s.” (11:16)

“Our job as leaders is to articulate the vision so that it is crystal clear, make sure that everybody in the company understands the core values and the purpose of the company – the vision of it, where are we headed – and continually reinforce that through time with everybody.” (12:49)

“Conflict is nothing more than the pursuit of truth if you have a trusting relationship.” (20:58)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

Jim Collins Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“The definition of strategy is a unique and valuable position that’s been established that’s different from the competitors.” (04:02)

“Once we grasp how to create Flywheel momentum in our particular circumstance and apply that understanding with creativity and discipline, we get the power of strategic compounding.” (06:37)

“Cash is absolutely the fuel for growth, a primary one. And, we know that growth really drains cash.” (13:20)

“To achieve exponential growth, you must first think really big.” (20:18)

“If your ‘why’ doesn’t give you goosebumps, then you probably have some more work to do on it.” (23:14)

“The fastest growing and best EXOs leverage data and algorithms to scale in ways that are possible today that weren’t possible even five years ago.” (24:43)

“Uber is the largest taxi company in the world and they don’t have any taxis. Airbnb is the largest hotel chain in the world and they don’t own any properties.” (25:07)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

Jim Collins Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance

Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great

The Metronome Effect: The Journey To Predictable Profit

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't

Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it)

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“If you can think broadly about skills versus passion and alignment, those two things are critical in determining whether or not a person is going to be successful in the position or in the company.” (03:17)

“The more people that you have on your team that believe in what you’re doing and have passion about it, the more successful you’re gonna be.” (06:01)

“It’s often proven that the A performers, the best people that are highly productive and very much aligned with what you’re doing, they have a network and they like to hang around other A performers.” (09:37)

“If you begin with ‘who’ rather than ‘what’ you can adapt more readily to the ever-changing marketplace. If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of motivating and managing people largely goes away. With the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction. You still won’t have a great company.” (14:09)

“If you feel the need to be tightly managed then maybe you’re the wrong choice for the company or the job.” (23:11)

“Nothing great ever happens unless it is fueled by passion and passionate people.” (24:50)

“I would just, in summary, say develop you’re core values first and build a set of core values for your company.” (26:17)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

Jim Collins Website

Knowledge at Wharton Video Series

BOOKS MENTIONED

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“I look back in history and it seems like there’s a frequency. Like, every eight or ten years some major group of companies at the top level have a struggle in this area.” (03:15)

“Trust, as they say, takes a lifetime to build and a minute to destroy.” (05:43)

“I think that leadership can be taught. I think it can be modeled. I think it can be mentored. I think it can be broken down into some very basic parts.” (07:28)

“That’s why I say authentic leadership I think is the one type of leader that is gonna get followed.” (07:46)

“Your body language is everything. And that’s true whether you’re running a five person company or a fifty-thousand person company.” (16:37)

“There’s nothing worse than an executive that has their door closed all day long.” (19:51)

“To me, culture is defined by core values, purpose, and your vision of the company.” (20:24)

“It’s very important to find your purpose in life and your purpose for being in the company. If you don’t know what that is, you’re going to be wandering through life.” (23:48)

“Seek a new name, a higher level than you are in life, and go introduce yourself to that person and ask them to mentor you. That means you have to humble yourself a bit and put your ego aside, because yes you do have room to grow.” (26:22)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

Knowledge at Wharton Video Series

BOOKS MENTIONED

Discover Your True North

Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“He defines strategy as the creation of a unique and valuable position involving a different set of activities from your competitors.” (04:37)

“Understanding your core competencies and understanding who it is that you really want to do business with and what it is you’re delivering to them, your uncommon offering, allows you to invest in those strengths and leverage them, which are differentiators.” (08:05)

“What you’re looking for are those attributes that are not well represented by any competitor. Those are the opportunity areas for you to move in and differentiate and be unique.” (13:06)

“This is like turning a ship, a big ocean liner out in the ocean. You can’t turn it on a dime, right? It takes a couple of miles to really change course and it takes a lot of effort.” (15:37)

“Start thinking about your transactions as satisfying an emotional experience.” (18:20)

“When you have something that’s uncommon and unique in the marketplace, you’re really the king of the mountain. I mean you can control your destiny a lot better.” (20:43)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance

The Inside Advantage: The Strategy that Unlocks the Hidden Growth in Your Business

3HAG WAY: The Strategic Execution System that ensures your strategy is not a Wild-Ass-Guess!

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“The economy is robust. The economy is growing rapidly. And, in fact, to match the growth of the economy, if your company is going to be growing, you’re going to be needing to add a lot of people over the next twelve to eighteen months.” (03:24)

“You want your culture to be your brand. In other words, you’d want it to be like a magnet attracting talent from the marketplace for prospective employees.” (08:56)

“It’s the quality of the product that you’re dealing with here. And, you want the best, the very highest quality that you possibly can get for the money that you’re paying.” (19:41)

“Our target is to have one of these podcasts on a topic that is of interest at least a couple of times a month, if not more frequently. I look forward to talking about these topics. They’re exciting, they’re important and they’re very helpful to companies that are trying to grow.” (28:06)

RESOURCE LINKS

Michael’s LinkedIn

Michael’s Website

BOOKS MENTIONED

The Zappos Culture Book –

The War For Talent Article

Topgrading (How To Hire, Coach and Keep A Players)

VIDEO: Jack Stack