CEO BrainFood

01:44 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Susan Drumm who speaks to the origin story of her organization Meritage Leadership Development09:20 – 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 system29:30 – 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardSusan’s LinkedInMeritage Website

00:55 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Albert Erisman03:23 – 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 Objectives20:09 – 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 doing40:15 – Where listeners can follow Al41:04 – 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardAl’s LinkedInTheology of Work WebsiteEthix WebsiteBOOKS MENTIONEDAl’s Book – The ServiceMaster Story

01:01 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Jack Stack04:21 – Jack’s origin story and the goal of The Great Game of Business14:25 – The importance of forward-thinking forecasting20:29 – The secret sauce of The Great Game of Business27:50 – The importance of the critical number34:14 – Jack speaks to a story in his latest book, Change The Game38:03 – The importance of creating jobs39:59 – Michael and Jack discuss the value of culture45:13 – Jack provides some final observations and takeaways on business49:34 – Jack talks about the state of the economy53:57 – Michael thanks Jack for joining the show and for the great work that he’s doing54:23 – Where listeners can follow Jack56:08 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team ScorecardTWEETABLE 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardJack’s LinkedInJack’s WebsiteBOOKS MENTIONEDJack’s Books – The Great Game of Business & Change The GameGet In The Game

00:54 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Mark Green03:55 –Coaching for Results vs. Coaching for Growth07:04 – Michael promotes Mark’s book, Activators10:29 – Mark speaks to hidden growth killers17:56 – Universal quantifiers20:35 – Mark talks about three different types of fear26:08 – Mark lays out the five symptoms of fear32:45 – Mark tells the story about his Grandpa Ben and the importance of changing your neighborhood37:55 – The value Mark places on purposefulness and the link between purpose and strategy46:13 – Mark speaks to his personal purpose and the process it took to figure it out50:50 – Michael encourages the audience to pick up a copy of his book, Activators51:59 – Mark talks about some projects he’s currently working on, including a new book53:06 – Where listeners can follow Mark54:00 – Michael thanks Mark for joining the show54:24 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team ScorecardTWEETABLE 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardMark’s LinkedInMark’s WebsiteLink to Harvard Business Review Article on PurposeBOOKS MENTIONEDMark’s Book WebsiteStart with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

00:58 – Michael introduces today’s guests, Rich Armstrong and Steve Baker01:41 – Michael promotes Rich and Steve’s latest book, Get In The Game03:41 – The origin story of The Great Game of Business08:48 – How Jack Stack began the process of teaching the language of business to his team12:08 – Steve addresses the concept of open-book management15:31 – Jack’s philosophy of lifetime hiring18:16 – Building a dominant workforce20:49 – How to engage employees to become better business thinkers24:24 – How scorecarding works27:39 – Benefits of a company getting into The Great Game31:58 – Key principles and elements of The Great Game of Business38:52 – The concept of a self-funded bonus44:02 – The importance of a healthy culture51:03 – Why Michael loves to highlight The Great Game of Business52:06 – Michael thanks Rich and Steve for joining the show and praises the work they’ve done52:17 – Michael encourages the audience to visit The Great Game of Business website53:08 – Michael promotes the upcoming Great Game of Business Conference54:01 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team ScorecardTWEETABLE 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardRich’s LinkedInSteve’s LinkedInThe Great Game of Business WebsiteBOOKS MENTIONEDThe Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a CompanyGet In The GameChange The Game

01:01 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Paul Adams02:17 – Paul talks about his upcoming book, Your Business Your Wealth03:55 – Michael speaks to his experience working with CEOs who take a salary that is lower than the market rate09:15 – Two common mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to valuing their business11:49 – The danger of not thinking about an exit strategy16:45 – Michael talks about the ever-expanding role of today’s CEO18:27 – Paul speaks to interviews he’s done with various financial publications20:50 – Paul poses an interesting thought experiment to determine financial independence24:40 – How Sound Financial Group identifies and works with their ideal client28:41 – The architect example34:13 – Paul speaks to the purpose of his podcast entitled, Your Business, Your Wealth37:35 – Paul provides a special offer to listeners of CEO Brain Food38:04 – Michael thanks Paul for joining the show and praises the work he’s done40:54 – Michael encourages the audience to visit Paul’s website41:30 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team ScorecardTWEETABLE 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardSound Financial Group’s Website for a Financial Inquiry Call - Info@sfgwa.com (Inquiry in the subject)Sound Financial Group on FacebookSound Financial Group on LinkedInPaul’s LinkedInPaul’s WebsiteBOOKS MENTIONEDSound Financial Advice (Paul’s Book) – Sound Financial Advice: How to Recapture the Money you are Losing and Add it to Your Family's Wealth

00:58 – Michael introduces today’s topic, making purpose central to strategy02:00 – 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 today11:14 – 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardStrategy + Business Article featuring Jean-Dominique SenardTEDx Video on Entrepreneurship featuring Mark LerusteEntrepreneur Magazine Article featuring Salim IsmailBOOKS MENTIONEDExponential 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

00:53 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Daniel Marcos02:47 – Why everything starts and ends with the CEO05:10 – Daniel speaks to why the strength of the founder usually becomes the weakness of the company07:12 – Level Five Leaders09:39 – The Southwest Airlines example10:56 – Daniel’s entrepreneurial journey16:50 – The importance of coaching20:45 – Daniel speaks to his fundraising prowess25:39 – Keeping up with the speed of scaling as a CEO30:01 – The decision to leave his company, travel, and go back to school32:13 – Daniel opens up about his mortgage company that failed in 200835:21 – Building the Growth Institute37:44 – The value of learning through reading39:14 – The importance of self-care40:41 – Stages of growth45:39 – Understanding that business plans change46:04 – The second growth stage: sales48:47 – The third growth stage: scaling and infrastructure51:13 – The fourth growth stage: dominating your industry52:03 – Differentiating between being an employee and owner of a company54:56 – Michael and Daniel discuss core values59:20 – Michael encourages the audience to visit Daniel’s website59:50 – Daniel talks about his Master of Business Dynamics Program1:02:37 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food1:02:52 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team ScorecardTWEETABLE 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardDaniel’s LinkedInDaniel’s WebsiteBOOKS MENTIONEDGood to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don'tMastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm

00:58 – Michael recaps the last few episodes of CEO Brain Food01:29 – Introducing today’s topic: Three Execution Disciplines 03:25 – The strategy horizon05:09 – 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 Food21:05 – 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardKPI Library

01:09 – Introducing today’s topic: Driving Growth with KPIs01:33 – 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 Food33:38 – 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardJim Collins' WebsiteFour Characteristics of a Strong Critical Number 

01:02 – Introducing today’s topic: Do You Know Your Critical Number?02:17 – Michael speaks to his own experience working with his CFO on his critical number03:48 – The Mariano Rivera example05:30 – The value of historical data07:30 – Identifying the critical number10:02 – Engaging your team to achieve your critical number11:17 – The Great Game of Business13:05 – Other strategies for engaging your people14:00 – The importance of educating your people on the business17:50 – Michael leaves the audience with a quote from Jack Stack18:42 – Michael poses a self-inquiry questions to the listeners19:17 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food19:46 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team ScorecardTWEETABLE 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe Functional Team ScorecardJim Collins' WebsiteFour Characteristics of a Strong Critical NumberBOOKS MENTIONEDGet In The Game: How To Create Rapid Financial Results And Lasting Cultural ChangeThe Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company

01:56 – Introducing today’s topic: Creating a Living Culture with Authentic Leadership 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 Food27:58 – 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 LINKSMichael’s LinkedInMichael’s WebsiteThe REMARKable TriangleThe Functional Team ScorecardJim Collins' WebsiteBOOKS MENTIONED:Organizational Culture and LeadershipBuilt to Last

01:10 – Welcoming back today’s guest, Blaine Millet 04:08 – Blaine poses an intriguing question about customers 05:24 – Results companies can expect by adopting a strategy of customer obsession 06:36 – Building long tail differentiation 08:02 – The Disneyland example 09:52 – The Ace Hardware example 11:05 – Michael dives deeper into the Disneyland example 11:53 – How a company can start the journey to customer obsession 13:30 – The ‘REMARK’able Triangle explained 16:22 – Component One: Trust 19:59 – Customer Anxiety explained 22:19 – Component Two: Customer Experience 24:04 – Component Three: Consistently helping your audience 26:23 – Blaine reiterates his belief that companies should stop marketing 28:17 – Finding your core customers 31:13 – Blaine’s favorite strategy for acquiring the right customers 36:10 – Blaine leaves the audience with one final piece of advice 38:57 – Where listeners can follow Blaine 39:54 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 40:13 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard 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

01:02 – Introducing today’s guest, Blaine Millet 02:45 – Focusing on customers 06:42 – The importance of differentiation 11:18 – The Holy Grail of customer obsession 14:29 – Why Blaine advocates for organizations to stop marketing 17:45 – Strategies to get customers to talk about your organization with others 19:48 – How customer obsession ties into the culture of a company 21:19 – The Zappos example 25:23 – Blaine provides some advice on building the right culture 29:15 – The Florida Ritz-Carlton Story 34:10 – Michael teases Part Two of his interview with Blaine Millet 35:10 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard 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

00:57 – Introducing today’s topic, building a culture of trust 04:36 – The importance of trust 05:28 – The three pillars of an organization 07:19 – The five key points of culture 07:32 – One: Find and Defend Your Cores 09:38 – Two: Build Authentic Relationships 13:27 – Three: Lead Transparently 16:14 – Four: Develop a System of Feedback 18:12 – The Rule of One Percent 19:37 – Five: Be Present 21:36 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 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

01:01 – Introducing today’s topic, Multiplier or Diminisher (Leadership Styles) 01:58 – Michael recalls his experiences working with both multiplier and diminisher kind of leaders 06:09 – A Diminisher Leader Mindset 07:09 – A Multiplier Leader Mindset 09:10 – Closing the gap between “where we are” and “where we want to go” 12:47 – Diminisher leaders create anxiety 15:01 – Multipliers are “debate makers” not “decision makers” 15:43 – Five distinguished characteristics of a Multiplier 16:05 – A Multiplier Leader is a talent magnet 17:02 – A Multiplier Leader is a liberator 18:34 – A Multiplier Leader is a challenger 19:57 – A Multiplier Leader is a debate maker 20:47 – A Multiplier Leader is an investor 25:04 – The impact of shifting to a Multiplier Leadership style 27:23 – Michael leaves the audience with a question to consider 27:48 – The topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 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)

00:51 – Introducing today’s topic, “The 3HAG Way” planning system 01:13 – Background of Shannon Susko 03:01 – How 3HAG System bridges the gap between 1-year goal and BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) System 05:38 – An anecdote from General Dwight Eisenhower 08:18 – The significance of aligning your team to the core values of the organization to effectively build enterprise value 10:51 – Mapping out your internal and external environments 14:14 – How Market Attribution Framework is used to generate the core of your 3-Year Strategy 16:43 – Articulating exceptional strategies to fill in the gap 17:21 – Plotting concrete milestone steps to achieve the differentiators 19:20 – Assessing your current human resources versus the requirements you need to meet to accomplish the 3-Year Goal Strategy 21:29 – The Cash Conversion Cycle 22:53 – Michael leaves the audience with a quote 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

01:01 – Introducing today’s topic, coaching 01:41 – The preconceived notions about coaching 02:46 – The importance Michael places on reading 06:13 – Why everyone needs a coach 07:12 – Attributes of a great coach 09:15 – The golf example 09:51 – A compelling argument for having a coach 10:58 – How Michael views potential client needs 12:17 – Bill Campbell: The Trillion Dollar Coach 15:57 – The importance of having courage as a leader 18:47 – The communication rhythm within an organization 20:31 – Roles and responsibilities of a great coach 21:08 – Michael leaves the audience with a simple question to consider about coaching 21:21 – Michael recalls a recent client call he participated in 22:39 – The three-year swim lane plan 24:36 – Why everyone needs a coach 25:09 – The three areas of leadership: power, influence, and authority 25:43 – Considerations to make before hiring a coach 26:07 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 26:33 – Harry encourages the audience to share this podcast with others 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

01:12 – Introducing today’s topic, How Do You Scale Leadership 03:43 – Michael recalls a leader he met early in his career 08:18 – The value Michael places on humility 09:55 – Michael speaks to a recent article he read from Harvard Business Review 11:00 – The Simon Sinek Video 13:47 – Leadership is a choice 14:23 – What makes a great leader 15:04 – Defining leadership through alignment, execution, and renewal 15:55 – Leading through behaviors 18:42 – Michael provides steps for scaling leadership 18:49 – Step One: Perform a talent assessment 20:25 – Step Two: Present a clearly articulated perspective of strategy 21:12 – Step Three: Identifying who needs to be involved and actively engaged in the leadership program 21:38 – Step Four: Ensure all systems that are in place support the change effort you’re looking to make 21:57 – The Great Game of Business 23:06 – Michael leaves the audience with some questions to reflect on 23:34 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 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

01:00 – Introducing today’s topic, Leading High Performance Cohesive Teams 03:50 – How the size of the team impacts its cohesive state 05:31 – Michael speaks to a leadership retreat he recently attended 06:26 – The importance of being present 09:40 – John Maxwell’s Five Levels of Leadership 10:46 – Hiring the right people 11:33 – Turning the hockey match into the ballet 13:42 – How a CEO can develop a highly functional and cohesive team 16:18 – Tools for developing emotional intelligence 18:05 – The cultural norm of interruption 19:19 – Six key points for leading high performing cohesive teams 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

00:56 – Introducing today’s topic, Business Acceleration by Design 04:30 – Attribution Framework 05:35 – Acceleration and the Flywheel 07:04 – How Vanguard utilized the Flywheel 09:29 – Intel and Moore’s Law 11:47 – The medical device industry 13:09 – How cash is a vehicle for business growth 14:53 – Amazon’s cash conversion cycle 15:54 – The four components of the cash conversion cycle 19:35 – Exponential Organizations 21:16 – How thinking big can lead to creating a legacy 22:38 – Eleven attributes of an EXO company 28:06 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 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)

00:49 – Introducing today’s topic, Do You Have the Right Talent 01:26 – Why this is such an important topic in the early stages of a company’s growth 02:16 – The People Equation 02:55 – Developing the skillset necessary to identify the correct talent 04:39 – Growing and scaling a business 06:10 – Challenges growing companies face when looking to add talent 08:49 – Top Grading 09:56 – How Zappos’ culture became a magnet for new employees 10:47 – Why some companies fall asleep at the wheel when it comes to hiring talent 15:24 – The six core competencies of hiring a team 17:35 – The importance of responsibility 19:18 – Consistency 20:34 – The power of saying ‘No’ 22:26 – Why the right people do not require micro-management 24:57 – Mirror Maturity 26:17 – Developing a set of core values 30:08 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 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

01:06 – Introducing today’s topic, Authentic Leadership 02:29 – The need to reinforce the value of leadership 05:04 – The role trust plays in effective leadership 06:08 – How leadership can be taught 07:46 – Michael defines Authentic Leadership 08:31 – Modern examples of authentic leaders 10:20 – Michael identifies Bill George as a model of authentic leadership 11:54 – Understanding your core values 13:39 – Tony Hsieh and Zappos 14:33 – Additional resources for leaders looking to improve their skills 16:18 – The importance of body language 16:59 – Cleaning out any unethical behavior 18:14 – Removing perks 20:14 – Leading and living the core values and the purpose of the company 20:47 – Being authentic 23:39 – Finding your purpose 24:57 – Learning to follow your passion 25:59 – The value of having a mentor who can teach you 27:35 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 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

01:05 – Introducing today’s topic, Competitive Advantage 04:09 – How to differentiate from competitors 06:03 – Identifying your core customer 08:43 – The Southwest Airlines example 11:06 – Attribution Framework Analysis 14:59 – Why companies struggle to implement this framework 17:39 – A common mistake many mid-market companies make 18:20 – The importance of the emotional experience 21:00 – Questions companies can consider as they begin the process of identifying their core competency 22:28 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food 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!

00:51 – Introducing the host of CEO Brain Food, Michael Langhout 01:18 – The inspiration for this week’s topic, the War for Talent 03:00 – How unemployment has changed over the past few decades 04:02 – The importance of anticipating disruption 06:25 – How the demographic change has affected the ways in which companies hire 07:52 – Adapt or die 08:41 – Culture 10:06 – Companies Michael admires for their culture 11:57 – Talent Assessments 13:37 – The specific methodology Michael uses for talent assessment 16:12 – The biggest surprises companies encounter when Topgrading 20:11 – The importance of viewing workers as learners 22:14 – Harry introduces a new segment: Three Resources 22:44 – The Article Resource 23:42 – The Video Resource 26:04 – The Book Resource 28:30 – Michael leaves the audience with some food for thought 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

New episodes and full show notes available at https://www.langhoutinternational.com/podcast