In this episode of "The Lazy CEO Podcast," host Jim Schleckser interviews a special guest, the CEO of Glow Tanning Center, who is known for his success in the tanning industry and his viral video that mentioned Schleckser. The CEO shares insights into his business philosophy and the influence he has built. Here's a summary of the key points discussed: 1. Introduction to Glow Tanning Center: Glow Tanning Center is a National Sun Spa franchise with over 75 locations in 13 states. The CEO, who star...
Dec 17, 2023•29 min
The Lazy CEO Podcast features host Jim Schleckser, founder of the CEO Project, discussing crucial topics for leaders, especially CEOs, in a challenging employment market. The focus is on attracting and retaining top talent, often referred to as A players, who can contribute significantly to a company's success. In this episode, Jim interviews Matt Walsh, the CEO and founder of Blue Signal Search, a recruiting firm in Phoenix, Arizona. They delve into the current state of the employment market, a...
Dec 10, 2023•37 min
In this episode of the Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser welcomes a guest from Freedom Travel Systems to discuss strategies for gaining access to lounges, first-class treatment, and VIP travel experiences without breaking the bank. The conversation kicks off with a discussion on the challenges of modern travel, citing changes in airline cost structures, loyalty programs, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eli emphasizes the need for travelers to adapt and find effective ways to enhance...
Dec 03, 2023•33 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses the considerations and preparations entrepreneurs should undertake before selling their businesses. Schleckser emphasizes the importance of viewing the process as a trade of asset classes rather than a simple sale. He highlights key factors to address well in advance, including the quality of the executive team, the protection of key team members through contracts, and the necessity of making oneself less critical to daily op...
Nov 12, 2023•34 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser welcomes Cheryl Lynn Mobley, founder of reCalibrate. Cheryl shares her unique journey that led to the creation of her book, which blends her experiences on a safari with valuable leadership lessons. The conversation revolves around the challenges organizations face today. Cheryl highlights the issue of organizations heading in the wrong direction at a high velocity, often driven by the desire to please everyone. She observes that leade...
Nov 05, 2023•37 min
In this episode of "The Lazy CEO Podcast," host Jim Schleckser welcomes Ryan Dahnert, the CEO of Plymold, a manufacturer of furniture and fixtures for commercial service. Ryan discusses the journey of his company and the challenges he faced as a first-time CEO. Here are the key points discussed in the podcast: 1. Plymold's Business: Plymold manufactures furniture and fixtures primarily for commercial service, focusing on fast-food restaurant chains, travel stops, and more. The company has been i...
Oct 29, 2023•33 min
In this episode of "The Lazy CEO Podcast" hosted by Jim Schleckser, CEO of the CEO Project, the focus is on the sensitive and vital topic of executive compensation and contracts. Jim discusses the intricacies of compensating CEOs and executive teams, touching on critical components such as base salary, bonuses, and long-term compensation. He emphasizes the importance of aligning compensation with market rates and strategic goals. The podcast also explores the concept of felt fair compensation an...
Oct 22, 2023•37 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser, CEO of the CEO project, welcomes Richard Routh, an expert in the field of AI from Tri 7 Services. They discuss the impact of AI on business, regulations, technology, jobs, and more. Richard begins by explaining the concept of AI, dating back to the 1950s, where the goal was to make machines intelligent like humans artificially. He highlights early AI successes, such as chess-playing programs and the development of speech recognition l...
Oct 15, 2023•38 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser interviews Raven Solomon, an expert in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Raven shares her journey into DEI, drawing from her experience managing diverse teams early in her career at PepsiCo. She highlights the importance of understanding generational differences and how leadership approaches can vary based on different age groups. Raven introduces the concept of "lead language," where each generation has a primary wa...
Oct 08, 2023•38 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser interviews JV Crum, the founder of Conscious Millionaire, who is known for bringing elements of Tony Robbins' mental state and mindset teachings into the business world. Crum discusses how he helps entrepreneurs and professionals elevate their performance and achieve a sense of abundance. He describes his own journey, including a phase of achieving financial success but feeling empty, which led him to seek a deeper purpose. Crum introd...
Oct 01, 2023•38 min
In this episode of the Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser welcomes guest Mitch Joel, a luminary in visionary thinking, digital marketing, and professional travel. They discuss Mitch's diverse portfolio of projects, including his startup, Thinkers One, which connects businesses with thought leaders for personalized thought leadership content. They explore the evolving landscape of remote work and its impact on company culture and productivity. Mitch emphasizes the importance of defining the co...
Sep 24, 2023•39 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, hosted by Jim Schleckser, the discussion revolves around the crucial yet often overlooked topic of corporate culture. Jim emphasizes the significance of company culture and its impact on various aspects of business, including mergers and acquisitions. Jim begins by defining culture as "how we do what we do" and explains that it encompasses how organizations think about their work. He highlights that culture plays a vital role in attracting talent, making ...
Sep 10, 2023•34 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses the dynamics of running a business and the choice between being a "king" or being "rich" with his guest Julie. The central question is whether business owners prioritize holding onto control and maintaining their ego-driven leadership style (being a "king"), or if they focus on scaling the business and generating wealth (being "rich"). The conversation revolves around the challenges and decisions faced by founders as their bu...
Sep 03, 2023•37 min
In this episode of the Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser interviews Dave Mitchell, an expert in leadership and founder of Leadership Difference. The conversation revolves around leadership, understanding oneself, understanding others, and creating a positive organizational culture. Here's a summary of the key points discussed: 1. Defining Leadership and Self-awareness: Dave Mitchell emphasizes that leadership is contextual and situational. The ability to inspire diverse groups of people towa...
Aug 27, 2023•37 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses various topics related to leadership, growth, and challenges faced by CEOs. He is joined by his partners, Pam Singleton and Julie Walker, who are experts in advising CEOs and working with executive teams. They engage in a conversation about the obstacles CEOs commonly encounter and strategies to overcome them. The conversation touches on several key points: 1. CEO Succession Planning: Pam emphasizes the importance of CEO succ...
Aug 20, 2023•39 min
On an episode of "The Lazy CEO Podcast," host Jim Schleckser welcomes April Rinne, author of the book "Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change." Rinne is introduced as a globalist and futurist with a diverse background. She discusses her book and its focus on embracing and thriving in a world of continuous and unpredictable change. Rinne explains that change has always been present, but in the modern era, technology has increased our awareness of change, leading to heightened anxiety...
Aug 13, 2023•36 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser welcomes Joey Coleman, Chief Experience Composer of Design Symphony, as his guest. Joey is a renowned speaker and influencer in the areas of customer and employee experience. They discuss Joey's first book, "Never Lose a Customer Again," which emphasizes the importance of paying attention to customers after they become clients. He explains that 20 to 70% of new customers may leave before their 100-day anniversary, highlighting the need...
Aug 06, 2023•44 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser welcomes Rob Volpe, author of the book "Tell Me More About That." The discussion centers around empathy, a crucial trait for great leaders. The podcast explores how empathy is often misunderstood and considered a soft skill that leaders might struggle with. However, Rob highlights that empathy is about connecting with another person's perspective or feelings as they experience them to foster better understanding and relationships. The ...
Jul 30, 2023•38 min
The Lazy CEO Podcast welcomes Jim Schleckser, the host and founder of the CEO Project, and his guest, John Wilson, who runs the CEO Global Network in Toronto. Both have been coaching CEOs for many years and decided to have a candid chat about their experiences. CEO Global Network, like the CEO Project, brings CEOs together in peer groups to learn from each other and help each other succeed. During the conversation, they discuss the top challenges CEOs face. John highlights that the most common i...
Jul 23, 2023•37 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses the process of publishing a book and its potential benefits. He shares his own experience as an author of two bestsellers on Amazon and provides insights into the various publishing models available. Jim emphasizes that publishing a book is a personal achievement and can serve as a calling card for businesses. It establishes credibility and can be used as a tool to attract clients or speaking engagements. While the financial ...
Jul 16, 2023•37 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser, founder of the CEO project, discusses common mistakes made by leaders and managers. With nearly 20 years of experience working with CEOs and running companies himself, Jim has encountered various patterns of errors throughout his career. He emphasizes that although individuals may believe they are making unique mistakes, there are often common pitfalls that many leaders fall into. Jim proceeds to share the top 10 mistakes, along with ...
Jul 02, 2023•35 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses the importance of deal terms in business transactions. He introduces the concept of "your price, my terms," emphasizing that the terms of a deal can outweigh the price in determining its quality. Jim compares two theoretical deals to illustrate this point: a $20 million deal paid over 10 years with potential deductions versus a $16 million cash deal with no backside risk. He highlights the significance of closure risk, timing...
Jun 25, 2023•37 min
In this episode of the Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser interviews Trent Gardner, a member of the CEO Project and part of a family-owned business called GJ Gardner Homes. They discuss the dynamics of family-owned businesses, including succession and emotional issues that are unique to such enterprises. Trent provides insights into the evolution of GJ Gardner Homes, which started as a small operation in 1983 and grew into a franchise business with over 150 franchises operating internationall...
Jun 18, 2023•36 min
In this episode of the Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses the importance of measurement and different measurement methodologies. He introduces KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) as backward-looking measurements that inform how the business has performed in the past. Financial metrics are highlighted as an example of backward-looking measurements that provide a scorecard view of the business's financial performance. Jim explains the concept of the balanced scorecard, which incorporate...
Jun 11, 2023•32 min
In this episode of the Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser, founder of the CEO Project, discusses talent management within organizations. He starts by highlighting the importance of focusing not only on individual talent but also on how the executive team should engage with talent at a broader level. Jim explains the concept of A's, B's, and C's to assess individual performance. A's consistently overperforms, provides innovative ideas, and drives the organization forward. B performs as require...
Jun 04, 2023•32 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses the concept of executive gravitas. He explains executive gravitas is about exuding confidence, trust, and credibility professionally. It goes beyond just the content of what you say and encompasses how you present yourself. Jim highlights the importance of having confidence in oneself and belonging in the role or position. He suggests that poor reference groups often undermine confidence, and one should focus on their accompl...
May 28, 2023•33 min
In this episode of The Lazy CEO podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses organizational design for mid to large-sized companies. He emphasizes that there is no perfect structure and that the key question is what inefficiencies or problems one is willing to tolerate in a particular structure. Reorganizing too frequently can be detrimental to organizational performance, as it disrupts stability and takes time for teams to readjust and perform. Jim suggests using reorganization as an occasional tool ...
May 21, 2023•31 min
These high inflationary complicated environments are a bit unprecedented. There are many people that, in their entire working career, have never seen interest rates over low single digits and never seen more than a couple of points of inflation. And so, 3% raises look pretty good, but that's all changed. It's common for the people we work with to see 5-7% average raises. Some are even a bit higher because they're behind the market because we've got a few people pressing the point in a constraine...
May 13, 2023•35 min
A discussion about the history of wine in Napa, between Jim Schleckser, CEO of The CEO Project and host of The Lazy CEO Podcast, and Mark Gudgel, author and wine expert. Jim: For those of you that know me, and maybe some of you do, some of you don't, but I have an alter ego, and my alter ego is my involvement in wine. Several years ago, I decided to get kind of into wine beyond the drinking part, but the studying part, and, if anybody has ever done this, it's got phenomenal history and agricultu...
May 06, 2023•37 min
Today we're going to talk about stock. As you know that there is common stock and preferred stock, but we are going to dig deep into preferred stock because it is a less understood instrument. It's particularly important for entrepreneurs because this is an investment vehicle used by private equity firms. So if you are ever considering either a partial sale, maybe bring in some cash or cash for growth, or maybe even a total sale. You need to understand the ins and outs of private equity because ...
Apr 30, 2023•32 min
