Leverage

In this week's episode we're talking about team productivity and how to win back time in your business using the right tools. Nick interviews Joshua Zerkel, the head of Global Engagement Marketing at Asana.  Joshua has dedicated his professional life to helping individuals and businesses use technology to enhance workflow, communication, and information and time management—all with the goal of becoming more productive, effective, and spending time on what's important to them. He leads Asana's network of productivity-oriented customers and community partners to create meaningful relationships that extend beyond the walls of Asana HQ. Nick and Joshua are both passionate about helping teams collaborate more efficiently. At Leverage, we help our clients with operating more efficiently and setting companies up with the best tools for their business needs. Our preferred tool for work management is Asana because you can literally manage all work across an entire organization in Asana. 

Jenny Blake is an author, podcaster, and keynote speaker who loves helping business owners move from friction to flow through smarter systems, powered by Delightfully Tiny Teams. Her third book, Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, launches March 22, 2022. Jenny's previous book, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One, won the Axiom award for best business book in the careers category in 2016. Licensing clients for her Pivot Programs include Google and CHANEL. Jenny hosts two podcasts with over one million downloads combined: Free Time for Heart-Based Business Owners, and Pivot with Jenny Blake to help others navigate change. After working at a Silicon Valley startup, then at Google for five years in coaching and career development, Jenny moved to New York City in 2011 to launch her own business. She loves yoga and buys too many books. Learn more and take the Free Time quiz at ItsFreeTime.com.

Justin Donald is a master of low-risk cash flow investing whose strategies and principles for investing to earn passive income have helped thousands of people "create wealth without creating a job." In the span of 21 months, and before his 37th birthday, Justin's investments drove enough passive income for both he and his wife Jennifer to leave their jobs. Following his simple investment system and 10 Commandments of Lifestyle Investing, Justin negotiated deals with over 100 companies, multiplied his net worth to over eight figures, and maintained a family-centric lifestyle in less than 2 years.   In this episode, Nick and Justin talk about Justin's principles and strategies for investing to earn passive income. As a former high frequency trader, Nick has some thoughts on this! But while Nick created algorithms behind a computer screen, Justin sees investing very differently. To Justin, it's not just an opportunity to put more money in the bank, it's an opportunity to impact the bigger picture of someone's life.

Ted Blosser is the CEO of Workramp, a training platform that helps empower employees to reach their full potential at work. He's on the podcast this week to tell his story of how he went from selling software to founding his own company and disrupting the entire enterprise training platform industry. In this episode, Nick and Ted discuss life as an entrepreneur and how Ted came up with the idea for Workramp. Ted explains his viewpoints on frameworks in business, how to communicate effectively in a remote environment, and which tools are actually worth implementing in your business. He also provides tips on how to improve company culture and how to retain excellent employees by teaching them new skills and putting an emphasis on learning within your organization.

Biohackers rejoice! Matt Gallant is on the Leverage Podcast today to discuss how he's been optimizing his mind, body, and those of his clients since 2004 with everything from supplements to sleep technologies and digestive enzymes. If you're interested in learning some new techniques to improve your sleep, feel better, optimize your brain and live longer, Matt is your guy. In this episode, Nick and Matt discuss Matt's story from bodybuilding to working with pro athletes to starting his own supplement company. While Matt started out focusing on optimizing his physical body, he later discovered the benefits of optimizing his mind, and how the two go hand-in-hand. Over the years, he's tested hundreds of technologies, methodologies, and techniques for body and mind optimization—many of which you'll hear him explain in this episode. Listen in for tips on better sleep, supercharging your brain, beating jet lag, and a few key supplements everyone should be taking.

Dave Woodward is a world-class marketing expert, the CEO of Clickfunnels, and a stage 4 brain cancer survivor. Earlier this year, Dave was told he had a month to live—yet he's on the podcast today, cancer-free and on his way to a full recovery. Thanks to his neverending optimism, world-class doctors, and a strict health regimen Dave was able to beat cancer in just three months and get back to running one of the most successful funnel builders in the world. In this episode, Nick and Dave discuss Dave's history with cancer—from diagnosis to becoming cancer free—and how it has affected his outlook on life. Dave explains some of the health tricks he used to help his body overcome cancer and how they can also help people in their everyday lives. Nick and Dave then get into business talk, discussing some of the new features coming to Clickfunnels, what is and isn't working in digital marketing right now, and how to build meaningful relationships with your customers through the right communication channels.

We're going back into the archives to one of our most popular episodes of all time, Chris Voss! Chris is the author of the best-selling book Never Split the Difference, a book that covers some of the highly-effective negotiation tactics and strategies Chris learned during his 24 years as an FBI hostage negotiator and lead international kidnapping negotiator. If you've never heard this episode, you do not want to miss it—and if you have, you'll probably want to listen to it again! As lead hostage negotiator for the FBI, when an American citizen was kidnapped in any part of the world, it was his responsibility to create a strategy to get them out—and then go after the bad guys. In this episode, you'll hear some of his best stories from his days in the FBI and learn how he used simple questions, techniques, and mindset tricks to navigate the tense and dangerous waters of international hostage situations. But Chris also explains how the same tactics he used to get people out of life-threatening situations can be used in business and everyday life—to help you get what you want without compromising.

Elliot Roe is a hypnotherapist and mindset optimization coach who has worked with everyone from Olympic medalists to Hollywood actors, CEOs and Wall Street traders—and today, he joins Nick on the podcast to discuss how he makes it all happen. After getting his start working with professional poker players, he has helped his clients generate hundreds of millions of dollars by shifting their mindsets, correcting negative behaviors, eliminating fears, and breaking through mental roadblocks. In this episode, Nick and Elliot discuss some of the commonalities that Elliot has seen with entrepreneurs, CEOs, and athletes that hold many of them back. The reality is that many of these people know what they should be doing, but there is something preventing them from actually doing it. (Sound familiar?) Elliot goes on to share a few of his best tips to help people in these situations as well as some fascinating stories and insights from the 10,000+ hypnotherapy sessions he has done over the years with successful entrepreneurs, celebrities, and athletes.

Psychiatrist, executive coach, podcast host and 9-time bestselling author Dr. Mark Goulston is back on the podcast for part 2 of his conversation with Nick! If you haven't listened to part 1, be sure to go back and check it out here. Today, Nick and Mark continue their conversation around what it means to be a productive and successful business leader, going deeper on what they talked about in part one as well as introducing a number of new topics. In this episode, Nick and Mark discuss why people like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are not just leaders, but visionaries—and how they got that way. Mark also provides a simple framework for how managers can develop great working relationships with their employees while also navigating tough conversations with them. But it's not all relegated to business owners and managers! Mark also dishes out some amazing advice for employees to have the best possible performance review with their boss while at the same time uncovering the next steps to advancing their career. And, to top it all off, Mark tells us why he believes "self-discipline" is a terrible concept. Listen to the episode to find out why.

Psychiatrist, executive coach, podcast host and 9-time bestselling author Dr. Mark Goulston shares advice for navigating the challenging interpersonal & intrapersonal situations to which every single human can relate. His signature strategies--like surgical empathy and assertive vulnerability--provide an invaluable road map to becoming a better leader, listener and communicator in everyday life. In addition to being a former UCLA professor of psychiatry and FBI/police hostage negotiation trainer, Dr. Mark Goulston hosts the "My Wakeup Call" podcast, he's a keynote speaker, and he is the author or co/author of nine books, including "Just Listen," which has been translated into 28 languages and became the top book on listening in the world. Mark is also a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches executive coach and a Founding Member of the Newsweek Expert Forum. Using a process he coined and developed called “Surgical Empathy”, Mark works with clients to help them break free from counterproductive habits and behaviors while integrating new productive alternatives that enable them to fulfill their potential. Dr. Mark Goulston has hundreds of small techniques that entrepreneurs and business leaders can use to have more productive interactions, get positive results out of the people around them, and build a better culture, both at home and at work. Most recently, Dr. Goulston partnered with Jason Reid on a series called "Own the Mental Health of Your Child," that they are presenting globally through YPO and EO. Check out the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/91

Named the Top Startup Coach in the World at the Thinkers50/Marshall Goldsmith Global Coaches Awards in London, Alisa Cohn has been coaching startup founders to grow into world-class CEOs for nearly 20 years. Her new book, “From Start-up to Grown-Up”, shares Alisa's knowledge & experience from working with executives at companies like Etsy, Venmo, and DraftKings & coaching them to become the influential leaders they are today. Check out the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/90

Organizational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Hardy is on the podcast this week to discuss his upcoming book, The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success, that he's co-authored with Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach and world's #1 entrepreneurial coach. In The Gap and The Gain, Ben and Dan explain why most entrepreneurs and highly ambitious people are unhappy—and how to solve it. Check out the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/89  

Richard Craib is on the podcast this week to discuss how he and his company are building the last hedge fund—Numerai. Richard has found that virtually all hedge funds today are continuously duplicating research and strategies. This lack of originality leads to less than stellar performance, and makes it difficult for new funds with original ideas to emerge. Numerai is built to solve this problem, as it's the first hedge fund to source original stock market signals, built from any data set from anyone in the world with zero barriers.    Richard Craib is the Founder and CEO of Numerai, based in San Francisco. Craib graduated Cornell University with a BA in Mathematics in 2012 with a focus in abstract algebra. He has also taken classes at UC Berkeley, Stanford and the University of Cape Town. Before starting Numerai, Craib was a quant at an asset management firm with $15 billion in assets under management in Cape Town, South Africa, where he built a global equity long-only fund powered by machine learning.   Check out the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/88

Jody Williamson is on the podcast this week to discuss the art and psychology of sales. He is on a mission to help high-level salespeople separate themselves from the sleazy "used car salesman" stereotype by listening more, talking less, and helping their prospects discover the sale for themselves. With over 25 years of experience and having worked with companies of all sizes and across all industries, Jody has discovered that the traditional sales model simply doesn't work—and he's here to explain the new one that does. Jody Williamson is a best-selling author of "The Contrarian Salesperson," sales and management thought leader, keynote speaker and leader for sales training and consulting engagements. His key areas of focus are sales leadership, strategy and client satisfaction. Jody and his team at Sandler Training - Chicago & Northbrook are dedicated to working with business owners, principals, sales managers, salespeople, non-selling professionals, and customer service professionals to give them the behaviors, attitudes and techniques to reach their full potential. Check out the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/87  

Dr. Ed Hoffman is on the podcast this week to discuss how teams and organizations can improve their performance through knowledge, process, and project management. As the former Chief Knowledge Officer for NASA, Ed understands the importance of storing and organizing knowledge for organizations—and he's here to show us all how to improve it in our own companies. Listen in to learn how you can implement some of the same techniques NASA uses to complete projects and send people into outer space. Dr. Ed Hoffman is the former Chief Knowledge Officer for NASA, CEO of Knowledge Strategies, Senior Advisor to the Project Management Institute, and Senior Lecturer at Columbia University's Information and Knowledge Strategy Program. Prior to his role as Chief Knowledge Officer, he was the founding director of the NASA Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership. During his time in this role, the Academy was the top-rated project management academy in the world. Check out the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/86

This week on the podcast, Nick is chatting with Kary Oberbrunner, the author of Unhackable and founder of Igniting Souls Publishing Agency. Just like Nick, Kary is obsessed with helping people become more productive—the only difference is that Kary takes a slightly different approach, by making people unhackable. If you've ever been set up to be productive only to find that you didn't get nearly as much done as you were hoping, it's not your fault. Your mind and body have been hacked! (And Kary can help.) Kary Oberbrunner, CEO of Igniting Souls, is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals and organizations clarify who they are, why they're here, and where they're going so they can become souls on fire, experience unhackability, and share their message with the world. As a child and young adult, Kary overcame a paralyzing speech disorder and an addiction to self-injury. In the past twenty years, he's ignited over one million people with his content. He lives in Ohio with his wife, Kelly, and three children. Check out the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/85

This week, Nick sits down with Amir Salihefendić of Doist to discuss his companies, Todoist and Twist. Todoist is one of the most popular digital to-do list apps on the market today, and Twist is an internal communication tool similar to Slack and Microsoft Teams. After building one of the most successful to-do list tools in history, it's no surprise that Amir has a lot of thoughts around productivity—and he shares them in this episode! Nick and Amir discuss the role of tools in business and life, how to create a system for productivity that works for you, and the future of Todoist.   Amir Salihefendić is the Founder and CEO of Doist, which houses Todoist—a digital to-do list app—and Twist—an asynchronous communication tool. Born in Bosnia, he grew up in Denmark, started his business in Chile and now lives in Barcelona with his family. Doist is completely remote, with colleagues spread across 30 countries. View the full show notes at: https://www.getleverage.com/podcast/84

Have you ever wanted to work with the likes of Sir Elton John, Elon Musk, take a submarine down to the Titanic or perhaps close museums in Florence for a private dinner party, and then have Andre Bocelli serenade while you eat your pasta? Steve Sims has done all that for his clients and more—and he's on this episode of the Leverage Podcast to chat with Nick about his life and the lessons he's learned along the way. Steve Sims is an entrepreneur, speaker, author who is known by many as "The Real Life Wizard of Oz." A former bricklayer and bouncer-turned-entrepreneur, he uses a unique mindset and blend of skills to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences for his billionaire clients. He is the author of Bluefishing: The Art of Making Things Happen; founder of Sim Distillery, a high-level coaching program for entrepreneurs looking to make their way into influential circles; and founder of Speakeasy, a reverse-engineered mastermind group where event speakers are chosen based on the questions attendees want answered. View the full show notes at: https://www.getleverage.com/podcast/83

Did you know that property values in black neighborhoods are about 23% less than those in white neighborhoods for no other reason than race? Well, it's true—and Andre Perry is on The Leverage Podcast to talk about it. Andre is an expert on race and has been researching the disparities between white- and black-majority cities for years. His findings all point to the same thing: Assets in black-majority neighborhoods are significantly undervalued. Andre Perry is a senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, a scholar-in-residence at American University, columnist for the Hechinger Report, and author of the book Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities. A nationally known and respected commentator on race, structural inequality, and education, Perry is a regular contributor to MSNBC and has been published by The New York Times, The Nation, The Washington Post, TheRoot.com and CNN.com. His research focuses on race and structural inequality, education, and economic inclusion. View the full show notes at: https://www.getleverage.com/podcast/82

In this episode, Nick sits down with David Henzel to talk about what it's like to manage a portfolio of businesses. At the time of recording this episode, David is running five companies and has started or invested in many others. These companies truly run the gamut, from a content delivery provider to a group coaching platform and even a company that helps people manage their happiness and achieve goals. Needless to say, David knows a few things about how to run, grow, and exit a company—and he's here to share that wisdom with us.   You can view the full show notes at: https://www.getleverage.com/podcast/81   David Henzel's mission is to help individuals and organizations reach their full potential. He has been bootstrapping businesses in the SaaS and ecommerce spaces for over 20 years and has had multiple exits, most notably MaxCDN (now Stackpath). He is currently the CEO of upcoach, a platform specifically built for group coaching and has a portfolio of startups including LTVplus (Modern Business Process Outsourcing), TaskDrive (Sales Development), Shortlist.io (SEO Agency), 50saas (Laravel app Marketplace), and his passion project, Managing Happiness (Peak Performance Group Coaching).

Richard Rossi has truly seen it all. From working in the U.S. senate to building multiple businesses to mentoring tens of thousands of high school students and building the #1 mastermind group for biohacking in the world… He's got some amazing stories to tell, and this week he's sharing them with us on the Leverage Podcast. In this unique episode, Nick dives deep into Richard's fascinating story to glean lessons, insights, and tips from his decades of experience. You can view the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/80. Richard Rossi currently serves as President and Executive Director of The National Leadership Academies, and is a co-founder of two of the world’s largest and most prestigious enrichment programs for high-achieving students. Over 26 years, 640,000 students from over 118 countries have attended Richard's academic programs focusing on leadership and career development. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Pinnacle Care, a prominent private health advisory company, and is the Founder of The Da Vinci 50, a mastermind devoted to increasing longevity through biohacking.

In this powerful episode, Nick sits down with David Meltzer to talk about his mission to empower over 1 billion people to be happy. (To be specific, his definition of happiness is to "make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun.") As a massively successful entrepreneur, David has a lot of knowledge to share on not only how to build a business, but how to pitch it and how to build your ideal lifestyle as an entrepreneur. Listen in for countless nuggets of wisdom—from David's 5 tools for being in gratitude to stories from his days on Elevator Pitch and the 2 routines every entrepreneur needs to have for success. You can view the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/79. David Meltzer is a highly successful serial entrepreneur, consultant, Top 100 Business Coach, speaker, and author. He's the co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing, host of "The Playbook" podcast, executive producer and host of Elevator Pitch, and three-time international best-selling author. David has been recognized by Variety Magazine as their Sports Humanitarian of the Year and awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He currently spends his time producing free educational resources to achieve his mission of empowering over 1 billion people to be happy.

In one of our most unique, fascinating and powerful episodes to date, Nick and Lee Brower sit down to talk with Daryl Davis. Daryl is a musician who has spent his life playing music around the world. But what he does in his spare time will surprise you. As an African-American man, he spends his free time talking to and befriending members of the Ku Klux Klan. His goal is not to convert them, but to simply have a conversation. Through these conversations, amazing things happen… Listen in to hear Daryl tell stories of these conversations and learn how we can have open, honest and impactful discussions with the people around us—even if they are opposed to our views. You can view the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/78. Daryl Davis is an R&B and blues musician, activist, author, speaker, and the subject of the documentary, Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America. He is on a mission to improve race relations by engaging and even befriending members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), with the goal of changing their perspective on race. Through simple conversations, he has convinced dozens of Klansmen to leave and denounce the KKK—and he isn't stopping anytime soon.

The future of work is changing and remote work is on the rise. But how will these changes affect the economy and the workforce as a whole? Nicholas Bloom is on the podcast this week to discuss exactly that. As an economics professor, researcher and future of work expert, he's uniquely equipped to discuss how the changes we're seeing in the workplace from COVID-19 will impact our economy. Nick and Nick discuss the larger implications of the future of work, how entrepreneurs and startups will fare as the pandemic continues, and what remote work is going to look like post-pandemic. You can view the full show notes at getleverage.com/podcast/77. Nicholas Bloom is the Eberle Professor in the Department of Economics at Stanford University, a Courtesy Professor at Stanford Business School and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and a co-Director of the Productivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research focuses on the measurement and impact of uncertainty on investment, employment, and growth. He also works on the measurement of management practices and productivity, and previously worked at the Mckinsey & Company consulting firm.

Do you have trouble letting go of things in your business? Most entrepreneurs do. Delegation is harder than it might seem—it's a skill that needs to be learned, and it's necessary for any entrepreneur looking to scale their business. In this episode, Nick sits down with Emily Morgan of Delegate Solutions to discuss the art of delegation and what they're doing to help entrepreneurs improve their delegating skills while also getting more off their plate. If you're looking to delegate more things in your business so you can focus on utilizing your unique ability, be sure to listen in. You can view the full show notes at getleverage.com/podcast/76. Emily Morgan is the Founder and CEO of Delegate Solutions, a premium-level virtual assistant company that helps entrepreneurs create a strategic delegation plan for meeting their goals. Emily speaks nationally on the topics of delegation, automation, remote workforces, and flexwork culture. She's been featured in Forbes as a Top 50 Remote Employer, highlighted in the New York Times, and named as the Philly Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Person of the Year.

Michael Devellano is on the Leverage Podcast this week to discuss how entrepreneurs can use simple tools in creative ways to automate and grow their businesses. From CRMs to email marketing and funnel tools, Nick and Michael educate listeners on how to think about what their business requires and then find the right tech solutions to solve their problems. This is a powerful episode for anyone looking to better understand the operational and marketing tools available to them and which ones make sense for their specific business needs. You can view the full show notes at getleverage.com/podcast/75. Michael Devellano is an author, Salesforce consultant, custom app developer, and expert on technology related to marketing, traffic, and conversion. He is the Founder and CEO of Cloud Advisory LLC, a consulting firm that helps businesses and entrepreneurs set up, customize, and strategically use Salesforce. He is also the author of Automate and Grow: A Blueprint for Startups, Small and Medium Businesses to Automate Marketing, Sales, and Customer Support, and the host of the Automate and Grow Podcast.

The one and only Jay Abraham is back on the Leverage Podcast this week! Jay has devoted his life to helping companies of all sizes go BEYOND exponential, and in this episode, he covers some of the tactics and strategies he's used to do just that. From his 224 referral systems to the 9 drivers of exponential growth to his force multiplier concept, Jay hits on dozens of simple yet ingenious tactics that you can implement to drive exponential growth in your business today. You can view the full show notes at https://getleverage.com/podcast/74 Jay Abraham is the world's highest-paid marketing consultant, having generated over $21 billion in revenue for the companies he's worked with. He has spent his entire career solving complex problems and fixing underperforming businesses in more than 1,000 industries worldwide. Jay has an uncanny ability to increase business income by looking at situations from different paradigms and uncovering hidden assets, overlooked opportunities, underperforming activities, and undervalued possibilities unseen by his clients. He is a mentor to many of the world's top business minds, such as Daymond John and Tony Robbins.

What does the future of work hold? Will AI and robots take over? Is on-demand labor the future? These are all questions that Jeff Wald has been researching for years, and today he's on the Leverage Podcast to discuss his findings with Nick. Jeff shows us how we can use data and trends from the past to predict what the future of work will look like and how we can best prepare. For entrepreneurs, this knowledge will help you allocate resources in the right places and get set up for the 4th Industrial Revolution, or as Jeff calls it, the 1st Service Revolution. You can view the full show notes at http://getleverage.com/podcast. Jeff Wald is the Founder of WorkMarket, a Freelance Management System that enables companies to organize, manage, and pay their extended workforce. He is an expert on labor and the future of work, and the author of The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations. Jeff is also a speaker, Angel investor, startup advisor, and graduate of Harvard Business School and Cornell University.

Keith Ferrazzi is back on the Leverage Podcast! In this episode, Keith covers the 8 Areas of Recontracting a High-Performing Team and methods for improving team culture, leading effectively, and creating an open and transparent workplace. Nick and Keith discuss how many executive teams aren't working nearly as effectively as they could be, and it's often because no one is comfortable saying what needs to be said. You can view the full show notes at http://getleverage.com/podcast/72. Keith Ferrazzi is the Founder and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, a research and consulting firm that specializes in transforming the performance, capability, and engagement of the people in organizations who produce business results. He is the New York Times #1 Bestselling Author of Never Eat Alone, in addition to Who's Got Your Back and his most recent book, Leading Without Authority.

Whether you need to hire remote employees for your business or find your next freelance gig, our guest today can help. Sara Sutton is the CEO of FlexJobs, one of the world's largest remote job websites. In today's episode, Nick and Sara discuss how to promote culture as a fully-remote company, why the COVID crisis is an opportunity to rethink many of our core systems, and some tips and tricks for remote hiring from the perspective of both the employer and employee. You can view the full show notes at http://getleverage.com/podcast/71. Sara Sutton is an entrepreneur with a passion for helping people find jobs that make their lives better. She is the Founder and CEO of FlexJobs, a pioneering job service that helps people find flexible work options to fit their modern-day lives, and she recently launched Remote.co as a resource for organizations and workers to learn and share remote work best practices. She was named as a Young Global Leader in 2014 by the World Economic Forum and also served on the community's Advisory Group.

When's the last time you took a look at your hiring system? Maren Kate Donovan is on the podcast this week to discuss hiring—specifically, how to create a system that allows you to discover and automatically sort through applicants to find highly-qualified candidates for your business. Nick and Maren discuss why most companies have outdated hiring systems, why hiring processes are like sales funnels, and the differences between hiring in-person and remote employees. This episode was recorded on April 8, 2020. You can view the full show notes at getleverage.com/podcast/70. Maren is a serial entrepreneur and expert on hiring remote teams. She's the founder of AVRA Talent, a recruiting agency, and Inde.co, a new hiring platform for remote workers. Maren is also the Ex-CEO and Founder of Zirtual, one of the largest virtual assistant companies in the world. Having hired thousands of remote workers and scanned through tens of thousands of applicants, Maren knows what it takes to build a successful hiring system for modern companies.

Marvin Liao is an Angel Investor, Keynote Speaker, and Ex-Partner of 500 Startups, one of the world's largest business accelerators. In this episode (recorded in April), Nick and Marvin discuss life as an investor during COVID, their predictions on how startups will be affected during and after the pandemic, and some tips on how to prepare for future recessions. Check out the full show notes at getleverage.com/podcast/69.

Vinay Patankar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Process Street, a process and workflow management tool. In this episode, Nick and Vinay discuss Process Street’s recent Series A completion and their new partnership with Atlassian and Salesforce. You’ll learn the difference between static and dynamic knowledge and how to document your company processes easily and effectively.  Read the full show notes at getleverage.com/podcast/68

Kevin Harrington and Mark Timm join Nick to discuss their new book, "Mentor to Millions." Putting all of his effort into his businesses, Mark realized that he had ignored his family life for decades. Mentor to Millions chronicles how Mark pivoted to a life where work and family can co-exist together. Mark and Kevin discuss the biggest lessons they’ve learned: combining the best of business, family, and personal life. Gain access to the full show notes at getleverage.com/podcast/67

Yael Eisenstat joins Nick to discuss how social media is affecting democracy and what it could mean for the upcoming elections.  As a former CIA Officer and National Security Advisor at the White House, Yael tackles the intersection of ethics, tech, and democracy with her years of experience working with governments, tech companies, and investors. She was the former head of elections integrity operations for political advertising at Facebook, and now works at Betaworks, a startup studio and seed-stage venture capital company in New York. RESOURCES: yaeleisenstat.com betaworks Yael’s TEDtalk

Dan and Nick reveal how to succeed during these scary times. Dan discusses his “Scary Times Success Manual," including the ten strategies that will allow you to stay focused on opportunities for growth and progress. Dan Sullivan is the Founder and President of Strategic Coach, the #1 coaching organization for entrepreneurs. Dan has been helping entrepreneurs reach their full potential in both their business and personal lives for over 30 years. Listen in to hear how Dan and Nick are helping their clients not only survive, but thrive during 2020. RESOURCES: The "Scary Times" Success Manual Strategic Coach

Jay and Nick will reveal why it's a great time to hire and reestablish roles and responsibilities within your company. They’ll also explain why it’s so critical to capture and document the processes and knowledge of your employees—especially now, when people are at home and at risk of getting sick. Jay and Nick strategize the different ways businesses will have to shift their perspective and paradigms to stay ahead, and the value of moving towards a more results-based model.  Listen in as they navigate this new reality, and learn the top tips for businesses that have suddenly made the switch to a remote model. RESOURCES: Listen to Jay’s podcast: The Ultimate Entrepreneur Abraham.com

Dr. Ben Hardy is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author of Willpower Doesn’t Work and Personality Isn’t Permanent. He was the #1 writer on Medium.com between 2015 to 2018, writing about the myth that personality is innate and unchangeable.  In this episode, Nick and Ben discuss strategies for becoming the person you want to be and how to shift your identity narrative from past-based to future-based. HIGHLIGHTS: What drove Ben to write his new book, Personality Isn’t Permanent. How Ben received his PhD in Organizational Psychology and how it has affected his life and writing. The science-backed strategies for becoming the person you want to be.  RESOURCES: Personality Isn’t Permanent - Book on Amazon Willpower Doesn't Work - Book on Amazon Dr. Ben Hardy’s Website: https://benjaminhardy.com/ Dr. Ben Hardy’s Medium: https://medium.com/@benjaminhardy

Jim Dew is the founder of Dew Wealth Management and author of “Beyond a Million: The Entrepreneur’s Playbook for Expanding Wealth, Freedom and Time.”  In this episode, Nick & Jim discuss the financial implications of COVID-19 and how to make use of what the US Government is offering, along with tips on how to get the most out of your wealth. HIGHLIGHTS: How to make the most of the CARES Act. What to do with your wealth in the COVID-19 Crisis. What the financial recovery may look like. RESOURCES: Dew Wealth Management Jim’s Book: Beyond a Million Making Remote Work Actually Work Facebook Group

Gino Wickman is the founder of EOS Worldwide and author of ‘Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business,’ a book that is aimed to help the younger generation answer the question ‘is this the right fit for me?’ In the episode, Nick & Gino will discuss how to gain traction by using the Entrepreneurial Operating System. Covering how they’ve already implemented strategies such as a remote workforce and how it has increased their productivity and ability to work during the COVID-19 crisis.

Mark C. Winters is the co-author of the bestselling book, Rocket Fuel, with EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) founder Gino Wickman. Mark’s aim is to help entrepreneurs expand their freedom. In this episode, you’ll hear Mark and Nick discuss how they have both integrated EOS in their lives and companies. You’ll learn the difference between being an integrator and a visionary and how to implement tools and processes to increase you and your companies productivity.  HIGHLIGHTS:  The Entrepreneurial Operating System and how to implement it in your life. Making the most of being an integrator or a visionary. The key tools and processes that will increase your productivity.  RESOURCES:  https://www.markcwinters.com/  Rocket Fuel Book Rocket Fuel Facebook Group Making Remote Work Actually Work Facebook Group The Leverage Podcast is produced by Leverage, an outsourcing and productivity platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Our in-house, collaborative team of over 300 specialized freelancers can help you complete your next project!  Need help with marketing, web design, social media, PR, copywriting, bookkeeping, audio production, or something else entirely? Get in touch -- we’ll connect you with a freelancer (or a team of freelancers) who have the right expertise for the job. Visit getleverage.com to get started.  Host: Nick Sonnenberg - Follow on INC - LinkedIn  Rate and subscribe to our show on iTunes

Keith Ferrazzi is the Founder and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, a research and consulting firm that specializes in transforming the performance, capability, and engagement of the people in organizations who produce business results. On this week’s episode, you’ll hear a portion of the webinar that Nick held with Keith on the “Making Remote Work Actually Work” Facebook Group. As companies everywhere have been forced to work remotely, we’re sharing the best practices of remote work, which Leverage has been living, breathing and promoting for over five years now. HIGHLIGHTS: The technology and tools that enable remote collaboration to increase productivity and improve processes across your team. Integrating communication and project management tools; how to use them and how they differ. How team productivity is usually lost in the office but can be optimized in a remote team. RESOURCES: Ferrazzi Greenlight Keith’s website Making Remote Work Actually Work - FB Group The Leverage Podcast is produced by Leverage, an outsourcing and productivity platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Our in-house, collaborative team of over 300 specialized freelancers can help you complete your next project!  Need help with marketing, web design, social media, PR, copywriting, bookkeeping, audio production, or something else entirely? Get in touch -- we’ll connect you with a freelancer (or a team of freelancers) who have the right expertise for the job. Visit getleverage.com to get started. Host: Nick Sonnenberg - Follow onINC - LinkedIn  Rate and subscribe to our show oniTunes

Chris Voss is the author of the best-selling book Never Split the Difference. An extremely popular book about the tactics and strategies on how to negotiate effectively. Chris spent 24 years as a FBI hostage negotiator and the lead international kidnapping negotiator. On this week’s episode, you’ll learn the tactics and strategies on how to negotiate effectively, how to take a quantum leap into emotional intelligence and negotiation and what 24 years as a FBI hostage negotiator has taught Chris and how you can implement his experience into your own life and business. HIGHLIGHTS: The tactics and strategies on how to negotiate effectively. Why ‘Never Split the Difference’ is a quantum leap into emotional intelligence and negotiation. Chris’ 24 years as a FBI hostage negotiator and the lead international kidnapping negotiator. How artificial intelligence will impact the art of negotiation. QUOTES: “We took a quantum leap into emotional intelligence and making it work in negotiation and there's nothing like it out there.” – Chris Voss “The reason why we added human beings on earth was because you need a supercomputer adaptable in the moment.” – Chris Voss “Being an FBI agent, being a hostage negotiator was an opportunity to go after the bullies, and I don't like bullies.” RESOURCES: Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss The Black Swan Group Chris Voss’ Masterclass The Leverage Podcast is produced by Leverage, an outsourcing and productivity platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Our in-house, collaborative team of over 300 specialized freelancers can help you complete your next project!  Need help with marketing, web design, social media, PR, copywriting, bookkeeping, audio production, or something else entirely? Get in touch -- we’ll connect you with a freelancer (or a team of freelancers) who have the right expertise for the job. Visit getleverage.com to get started. Host: Nick Sonnenberg - Follow on INC - LinkedIn  Rate and subscribe to our show on iTunes

Jay Abraham and Linda Kreitzman discuss the current situation of COVID-19 & the potential Economic Crisis on today’s episode of the Leverage Podcast. Jay Abraham, who has been on the podcast many times, is an icon in the marketing and business strategy space. Jay is a brilliant thinker and sees things that most don't see. In this conversation, we find out what he's seeing and what other people aren't seeing in this current situation. Linda Kreitzman is the Assistant Dean of Berkeley's Business School. She is the Programme Director & Executive Director of the Masters in the Financial Engineering Programme. Linda has a PhD in Economics, in this conversation we hear Linda's perspective on what's happening and the impact it will have.

In todays episode, Nick sits down with friend, mentor, and advisor Jay Abraham; asking more untraditional questions that Jay usually doesn't get asked. Learn how Jay developed his amazing vocabulary, insights on how to spend your time, and much more.

If you’re interested in Project Management tools, in the process of trying to figure out what PM tools are right for you and your team, this episode is meant for you. Nick sits down with the global head of community for Asana, Joshua Zerkel.

Dr. Jeff Gladden is a leader on disease prevention and human longevity. On this episode, Jeff and I discuss how the Apex program is paving a new path outside of conventional healthcare, Jeff’s view on health trends, and the steps you can take right now to improve your health in 2020.

Shannon Waller is an expert on entrepreneurial teams. She’s a sought-after speaker, presenter, and longtime coach at Strategic Coach®. On this episode, Shannon walks us through the particular tools and concepts that have kept entrepreneurs coming back to Strategic Coach® for the past two decades. Nick and Shannon discuss the idea of taking a “free day,” the massive benefits of strategically taking that time, and how to implement it. Also, they dive into the Kolbe Index to discuss why anyone, especially teams, should do it and how it can optimize your team dynamic.

As an Olympic hurdler, Sarah knows what it’s like to meet obstacles along the path to achieving huge results. Not only is she now training for Tokyo 2020 but she’s founded the Believe Initiative which helps young children build personal belief by using passion as the fuel to solve problems.  In this episode, Sarah tells us about her journey to the Olympics, her experience on the Amazing Race, and how anyone can build belief and resilience even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Get a peek into Howard’s time as President at one of the most famous hedge funds in the world, Renaissance Capital.    Also, learn how he became the very first investor for Uber and what Howard thinks are the next big opportunities in the bioinformatics space, which has become the primary focus of his later stage investment group, B Capital.

Feeling distracted? This episode can help.    Nir Eyal is a world expert at understanding distraction. He’s the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book Hooked and has just released a new book called Indistractable, a guide that specifically covers how to regain control of your attention and life.   In this episode, Nick and Nir talk how technology, company culture, and behavior is all fighting for our attention. Nir’s insights not only will give you the awareness of why your so distracted but steps on how you can make your attention more focused and controlled.   Episode Highlights:   Why distraction at work is a symptom of sick company culture and how to fix it.   What really drives human behavior and why “time management is pain management.”   The real reason why kids overuse tech and how to teach them to focus in an increasingly distracting world.    Resources   Get Nir’s new book Indistractable    The Leverage Podcast is produced by Leverage. Leverage is an outsourcing and productivity platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners. We offer an in-house, collaborative team of over 300 specialized freelancers who are ready to help you complete your next project! Whether it’s your marketing, web design, social media, ebook, or something else entirely, we have someone with the right experience for the job. Visit getleverage.com to get started.   Host: Nick Sonnenberg - Follow on INC - LinkedIn Rate & review our show on iTunes