Guest: Lloyd Brown, the Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Smart Chemical Services, which has been named an Inc 5,000 Fastest Growing Company for three years in a row. Lloyd is also the author of a new book, Refined by Failure. Overview: Failure hurts. But according to Lloyd Brown -- who was fired from a company he co-founded -- if a CEO is humble enough to admit mistakes, hold himself accountable, and work on improving blind spots, failure can also grant wisdom that you can use to make BIG happen ...
Jun 29, 2021•30 min
Guest: Matt Shearer, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Matt is a highly motivated business leader and brand management executive with over 23 years of experience building teams and driving results on a global scale. Matt spent over 20 years at Under Armour and played a major role in the early stages of brand and business development, with significant focus on elevating the brand on an international level. Matt is also a member of YPO and a former professional lacrosse player. Episode in a T...
Jun 01, 2021•31 min
To find the right leaders for your team, you have to separate the true high performers from the pretenders who’ve been bobbing along in the high tide at other stellar companies. And to fill a key chair in your leadership team, you’ll also need to find candidates whose motivations and management styles fit with your company’s most pressing needs. On today’s show, Gordon Forsythe discusses how to vet and hire talent who will succeed within your culture and execute the tasks that will make BIG happ...
May 18, 2021•41 min
It's easy for CEOs to get so caught up in taking care of their businesses that we neglect an even more important responsibility: taking care of ourselves. Poor diet and exercise habits get compounded by no sleep and an excess of stress until one day you look in the mirror and can't recognize the person looking back at you. If you're not that lucky, you might not realize that go go go is no way to run a business until you're waking up in a hospital bed. Luis Vargas was 60 pounds overweight and ru...
May 11, 2021•31 min
Guest: Megan Couch, the Chief Experience Officer at Integrity Staffing Solutions. Overview: The millions of jobs lost to the COVID-19 pandemic have created a problem that many companies weren't anticipating: as the world begins reopening, the absolute best displaced workers have lots of options. Your total value proposition has to encompass culture, leadership opportunities, hybrid work models, and, yes, a competitive comp structure if you want to attract top talent.
May 04, 2021•42 min
For the first time in history, a company's workforce could span four generations. Aligning a diverse group of employees with such a wide range of life experiences could be especially challenging if you're also trying to keep your WFH teams connected with in-person staff and salespeople. But in any business challenge there's also opportunity. If you can connect tried-and-true values with a new, more connected worldview, your employees will continually learn from each other, gain new skills and pe...
Apr 20, 2021•33 min
All CEOs have to grow into their roles. But for Kerry Siggins, becoming a leader has been a lifelong process of learning how to maximize her strengths while overcoming weaknesses that nearly killed her. On today's show, Kerry discusses how she conquered her struggles with substance abuse and started to make BIG happen in her life and work.
Apr 06, 2021•48 min
Effective annual planning may be the single biggest differentiator between companies that stay small and those that get BIG. But the very best CEOs understand that the building up to your planning session and maintaining your exit velocity afterwards are just as critical to growth. On today's show, Greg Fricks explains how his company implemented the annual planning process, the lessons they learned, and how this ongoing process has set them up for continued success.
Mar 22, 2021•27 min
Guest: Rafael Paniagua, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Rafael is an experienced global leader and a longtime YPO member who is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Prior to becoming a coach, Rafael was a CEO and President in the power, automation, and manufacturing industries, where he led ABB Brazil for seven years. He also led several global businesses as Group Vice President, managing more than 5,000 employees, 14 factories, and operating in more than 30 countries. Episode in a...
Mar 09, 2021•33 min
Many entrepreneurs and C-suite executives think they're ready to take the BIG job as CEO. But until you've sat in that chair and felt the weight of an entire company -- and the well-being of all its employees -- resting on your shoulders, it's hard to appreciate the level of responsibility you're taking on or anticipate how you as a leader will react to that responsibility. On today's show, Douglas DeBoer shares five things every first-time CEO should be prepared to do to set up their company, t...
Feb 23, 2021•26 min
We've talked a lot in the past year about how moments of disruption can provide entrepreneurs with a BIG opportunity to start a new business. And in this current environment, nimble startups and aggressive existing companies can identify and fulfill customer needs that their larger competitors might be overlooking. That is, as long as the CEO has a clearly defined plan and enough resilience to tackle whatever unforeseen problems are around the corner. On today's show, CEO Coaching International'...
Feb 09, 2021•37 min
Accelerating your company's growth rate involves much more than just improving the sales skills of your team. It takes a combination of truly listening to and understanding what your clients need and positioning your people, services, and products as the ideal, one-stop solution. On today's show, John Giegerich shares five ways that businesses that have a solid foundation in place can take that next step and empower their sales force to deepen client relationships and generate BIG sales....
Jan 26, 2021•42 min
One of the toughest parts of being a CEO is all the distractions. Everybody wants a piece of your time. So how do the best CEOs manage to perform at their peak without getting burned out? How do you develop this personal and work mastery? On today's show, Bruce Bowser shares the key steps entrepreneurs and CEOs can take to take back their time and develop personal and work mastery.
Jan 19, 2021•23 min
For every Zoom call or Slack message that quickly becomes part of your daily workflow, there's a CRM system that doesn't quite integrate right, a customer service platform that misfires, or an inventory management system that's too cumbersome. Separating tech that could improve your business from so-called "upgrades" that will only cause more problems is going to be key to completing and refining your digital pivot. On today's show, Mike Klaus shares a five-step process for defining, planning, e...
Jan 12, 2021•34 min
Guest: Rob Posner, CEO of NewDay USA, a leading mortgage company serving America’s veterans, service members, and their families. Episode in a Tweet: This mortgage company's in-house "university" trains top talent to deliver pandemic-proof customer service. Quick Background: A generation ago, why were aspiring communication pros desperate to work at CBS? Why was Ogilvy top of the list for young advertisers? Why did IBM and Hewlett-Packard hoard top talent in the tech and sales sectors? These com...
Dec 29, 2020•29 min
Guest: Rekha Skantharaja, the CEO of Tangram Insurance Services and a member of YPO. Episode in a Tweet: Strong leaders draw on their feelings and experiences to "arrive ready" when faced with adversity. Quick Background: As the calendar flips over to 2021, COVID-19 vaccines are starting to roll out across the U.S. It's looking more and more likely that life and business might start to feel normal again by the second half of next year. So ... What's next? Even if we are able to put the pandemic ...
Dec 16, 2020•39 min
Guest: Geoff Goldwater, a founding member of Odell Studner, which is a fast-growing risk management and consulting company. Geoff is also an entrepreneur coaching client of CEO Coaching International. Episode in a Tweet: Will a crisis break your business or open up a new path towards BIG? Quick Background: The scale of Covid-19’s disruption to global life and business is unprecedented. But if you think back ten years, the experts were saying the same thing about the Great Recession. Go back anot...
Nov 17, 2020•38 min
Growing your own company is challenging. Growing someone ELSE's company challenges CEOs to apply their skill sets in very different ways. Instead of building your own culture, you're inheriting the founder's. Instead of seeing your own vision of BIG, you have to make sure you and the founder see eye-to-eye. And while, at your own company, you might have struggled to hold yourself accountable, as a hired gun you won't be CEO for very long if you're not meeting the founder's expectations and maint...
Nov 03, 2020•39 min
If you're in IT or supply chain management, you might have made a relatively smooth transition to WFH. High-touch businesses that depend on face-to-face client service and close-knit culture are having a tougher time adjusting to the pandemic environment. Keeping your team and customers safe while also safeguarding what's special about your company should be a priority item on your annual planning agenda. On today's show, Kevin Hamilton discusses the five key adjustments his high-touch company m...
Oct 20, 2020•38 min
CEOs who kept their foot on the gas during the pandemic are seeing a lot of distressed but valuable assets in their rear-view mirrors. There are bountiful opportunities to snag top talent that's tired of waiting for their current employers to turn a corner. And companies that haven't regained their footing might make attractive acquisition targets. But buying a company isn't as simple as writing a check. In a business environment that's still very unsettled, you need to make sure an acquisition ...
Oct 06, 2020•49 min
Guest: Ryan Iwamoto, Co-Founder & President of 24 Hour Home Care, which has been on the Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing companies for eight consecutive years. Ryan is also an entrepreneur coaching client at CEO Coaching International. Episode in a Tweet: These four tips will help your business to stop merely surviving and start thriving again. Quick Background: Andy Grove, the former Chairman and CEO of Intel, famously said, "Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survi...
Sep 15, 2020•34 min
Guest: Jamil Nizam is the CEO of Waldom Electronics and Chris Lauret is the COO. Jamil is also an entrepreneur coaching client at CEO Coaching International. Episode in a Tweet: A first-class onboarding process will make a BIG first impression on your new team member. Quick Background: Most companies have it backward. They celebrate when someone leaves the company instead of when they join. On today's show, Jamil Nizam explains how his first-class onboarding process eased new COO Chris Lauret in...
Sep 01, 2020•34 min
When he started out in the restaurant business, Chris Gannon's goal was to open one great restaurant at a time. His mix of incredible flavors, first-class hospitality, and high nutritional value was such a success that in only four years Bolay expanded to 15 locations. And then Covid-19 hit. With indoor dining suddenly off the menu, Chris and his team had to make a major pivot that would allow them to sustain the business through the pandemic while also laying the groundwork for a successful fut...
Aug 18, 2020•33 min
Guest: Fiona Kesby, the CEO of Go-VA, which is a company that provides outsourcing services to firms around the world. She’s also an entrepreneur coaching client at CEO Coaching International. Episode in a Tweet: Strong culture and a commitment to BIG values can keep your business growing through the pandemic. Quick Background: CEOs have discovered that the culture they created before Covid-19 is playing a BIG role in how well their companies are moving through the pandemic environment. Rearrang...
Aug 04, 2020•37 min
Guest: Kurt Wilkin, the Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist of HireBetter, a company that "harnesses the power of talent to solve business challenges." Kurt is also an active member and officer of YPO. Episode in a Tweet: Covid-19 disruption has created a richer than usual talent pool. Take advantage and upgrade your team where you need it the most. Quick Background: At the beginning of the year, CEOs were exploring every available option to find top talent during a very tight labor market. The work...
Jul 21, 2020•32 min
Guest: CEO Coaching International’s Stephen Bebis. Stephen held a variety of senior merchandising roles at Home Depot before being named the VP General Merchandise Manager for the Mid-South Division. He also founded Aikenhead's Improvement Warehouse and built it to $1 billion in sales before selling it to Home Depot. After the acquisition, Stephen served as President and CEO of Home Depot Canada and chairman of the Aikenhead/Home Depot Partnership Board. Stephen also founded Golf Town, built it ...
Jul 07, 2020•35 min
We all want our customers to be happy. But what happens when they’re not? No matter how delighted your customers are when your products and services deliver as advertised, at some point, a shipment will get buried in a blizzard, software will crash, a green employee will say the wrong thing at the worst time … or a global pandemic will disrupt your supply chain. According to customer service expert Matt Dixon, how your company addresses those bumps in the road is far more critical to generating ...
Jun 23, 2020•53 min
If you really want to grow your business fast, you need to build a team that will disagree with you. Does that sound counter-intuitive? Well, it worked for Abraham Lincoln. Our greatest president famously assembled a “team of rivals” in his cabinet because he wanted to work with smart people who would challenge – and improve – his thinking. So what does your “cabinet” look like? Is your C-suite full of Yes Men and Yes Women? Have you created an atmosphere where your best people are afraid to cha...
Jun 09, 2020•31 min
If you want your company to stay successful, then maintaining a meaningful growth rate needs to be one of your BIG annual goals. But as we’ve seen recently at companies like WeWork and Uber, chasing growth for the sake of growth just pumps your business full of hot air. Once the hype bubble bursts you could find yourself overvalued, understaffed, and bleeding cash. On today’s show, CEO Coaching International’s Tracy Tolbert lays out a more practical managed growth strategy that will get your com...
Mar 10, 2020•38 min
Vision. Cash. People. Relationships. Learning. Only the CEO can tackle those key responsibilities. If those five things aren’t the focus of your day, then you’re wasting your time and hurting your company. Like cutting the ad budget when you have to reduce costs, CEOs often push learning to the back burner in favor of higher-profile things like casting a vision or visiting top clients. And while vision and meeting clients are critical, so too is taking the time to learn and stay on top of the la...
Feb 25, 2020•33 min
