The Double Win

I often say that hiring a business coach in 2002 was the single best professional decision I ever made. Except for a brief, six-month hiatus, I have had a business coach ever since. In this episode, I make the case for why every business person needs one. If you have already decided to renew your BusinessAccelerator membership, this will explain why that was a smart decision. If you haven’t yet decided, this will (hopefully) convince you why you should.

In this episode, I answer four questions:

■ What happens when “holding space” doesn’t resolve the conflict (Kyle Coolbroth)?

■ How do you get motivated to set a new goal when you find yourself in a post-goal-achievement funk (Steve Anderson)? 

■ How do you structure your one-on-one meetings with direct reports (Nicholas Miller)? 

■ And, what is your strategy for deciding to pursue more public speaking (Wayne Stiles)?

If there’s one skill that will skyrocket your success regardless of your profession, it’s public speaking. So why don’t most of us develop this ability? In a word, FEAR. In this episode, I share one simple hack that will obliterate your fear of public speaking.

Conflict is inevitable. But often, we unwittingly escalate it. In this episode, I share a concept called “holding space for others.” It’s a technique for diffusing or de-escalating conflict and gives you the best chance of resolving it. I share a five-part framework for doing this, using the acronym S.P.A.C.E.

Meeting your customers’ expectations is not enough—not if you want to really grow your business and leave the competition in the dust. Instead, you have to learn how to exceed their expectations and create wow experiences. In this episode, I share my five-part process. It's simple and something you can start using this week with your team.

If we're not careful, work can take over our lives. When that happens, we put at risk our health and our most important relationships. In this episode, I talk about three reasons we struggle to stop working and exactly how we can overcome them.

Sometimes, we think we have to commit to "massive action" to achieve our goals. In my experience, that often leads to procrastination. Instead, I recommend that we focus on a small behavior that, if done consistently, will lead us to a big result. 

Many leaders don’t read as much as they should, because they have a misguided idea about the purpose of reading. This idea holds them back. There are four better reasons to read, one that I outline with the acronym SAID. Once you understand these, your reading will take off—and so will your leadership!

Our culture is obsessed with youth and youthfulness. We go to extraordinary measures to mask our age and appear younger than we are. But that is a recipe for discontent and dissatisfaction. In this episode I talk about why your view of aging matters.

The kinds of rapid innovations that enable you to scale start with clear thinking. However, the more successful you become, the less time you have to spend time thinking. In order to grow quarter after quarter, year after year, you have to make time for what I call frequent, focused, intentional thinking—or FFIT for short. In this episode I share how I’m doing it.

Leaders often jump to how they are going to achieve their vision, before they are even sure what they what to accomplish. When they do this, they sabotage their future. In this episode, I explain why it’s so important not to let this happen and then share seven steps for focusing on the what. I also share an opportunity for you to get a free, advance copy of the manuscript for my new book, The Vision-Driven Leader.

Nothing is more important to success than your mindset. One of the most important mindsets you can develop is one of experimentation. In this episode I talk about four reasons why this is true, three situations where an experimental mindset is useful, and then three steps for getting started. You’re going to find this framework invaluable whenever you need to sell yourself or others on some change you want to make.

In this inaugural episode, I provide an overview of the concept behind the show. Specifically, I explain the Double Win, where you are winning at work and succeeding at life, and why it's important to pursue both. I explain why the Hustle Fallacy and the Ambition Brake are a false dichotomy. You don’t have to choose. You can both win at work and succeed at life.