For Clients Only

If we are going to be people of our word, we need to learn to say no. Today we'll explore some times and methods of using that NO muscle.

In professional services we say we are in the "client service business." But too many folks have interpreted that to mean we should always keep the clients happy. Today I talk about the distinction of pleasing versus serving. Instead,

Sometimes you need something from a client, or collegue, when they need to want to help you. In today's episode we talk through how to prepare for, and execute that conversation.

Today's episode is an exercise. You'll need 5 minutes of quiet with a pencil and a piece of paper to do it. Get that now, then dig in to find a new awareness of how to have more days where you are showing up as your best self. 

Today I pick up a topic I talked about previously, The Rollercoaster. The extreme ups and downs that owners and CEOs experience. I'm amplifying my prior comments based on a post by Ben Horowitz (https://a16z.com/the-struggle/) and another by Arzhang Kamarei (https://www.kamareiadvisory.com/post/ldr-trauma) If you are experiencing the kinds of conditions described in this episode, give me a call. T...

The way we are being in our business development conversations can make all the difference in your results. Today we talk about how to lead the conversation with your actions, and demeanor, to get better results.

There's a distinction between being present, where we're grounded and working from a place of non-judgment and performing where we're outside of ourselves, and evaluating how we're being perceived. Today I try to define that distinction. 

This is the audio of a presentation I gave at David Baker's MYOB conference in October 2024. In it I talk about 3 big fears that inhibit growth in your agency. Enjoy.

For clients thinking of selling their business someday, I'm sharing some of the things I learned over 10 years buying and selling business.

Mindfulness practices (like meditation) are hard to get started with. Today I give you 5 mindful practices that don't involve sitting on a pillow!

If you've led your agency for any length of time, you've experienced some ups and downs. So, knowing that there will be some low points, even extreme low points, how do we make it more likely that we can face those challenges and persevere? We need resilience.  In this episode I've got 6 ways we can build our resilience as a leader. 

Are you losing motivation for your business? Is it just not as engaging as it was in the past. Here's one lens to use that could change that.

If you are looking to land some new clients quickly here are 4 ways you can approach folks who already know and like you. By adding value to them you position yourself as someone they might want to hire!

I'm no Nostradamus, but I've made some assumptions for my own planning for 2024 and I'm sharing those here. 

What would happen if everyone on your team was a solid leader? What problems would go away? What opportunities would be available?

This week I'm adding onto my definition of leadership from the last episode by talking about one aspect of Jim Collin's concept of "Level 5 Leaders."

Today I'm articulating my model of what leadership is, and where it fails.

I've been trying to be more aware of  how I'm thinking about a problem to see if I can't find the best tool for the job at hand.  Today I talk about some experiments I've tried and thoughts about how you can improve your thinking. 

When you are doing something new, like growing your creative firm, you are going to enter into some periods of uncertainty. There might be places where nothing seems like it's working, and the situation is growing desperate.  Listening to an interview about how two Navy Seal Team operators deal with uncertainty inspired some insights for how we can create agency in times of uncertainty.  You can h...

I don't know about you, but I'm not very productive when in that "overwhelmed" state. Sometimes, when I have 100 things to do, I stare at the list and get none done.  It turns out that when you ask your brain to do 100 things at once, it doesn't want to do any at all! Today, I talk about 3 roots of overwhelm and how to chop each one down so that you can forever stay free of overwhelm. 

If I told you that you could make a few simple changes that would massively improve the thinking environment and creativity of you and your team, is that something you'd want to learn more about? In today's podcast, I've got three ideas to do just that. 

When we have expectations of our team, we're frequently disappointed. When a project fails, we often attribute that failure to the team "not living up to expectations.  But I see it as a failure in leadership.  If we gain agreement from our team about the parameters of the assignment and create a plan for completing that assignment with them, we are much more likely to find success.  Today, we'll...

I've watched partnerships form, dissolve, and founders offer "equity" to employees and partners throughout my career. Most of those deals ended poorly! Today I will explain why that is and offer Phantom Stock as an alternative.  For more about phantom stock: https://www.nceo.org/articles/phantom-stock-appreciation-rights-sars

As I look at how I evaluate the difference I'm making in the world I realize that it's shifted significantly throughout my career.  I'm curious, do you see similar shifts? Have you found better ways to accomplish your ambitions? 

Some issues come up in your agency, and you have a discussion, make a decision, and never have to talk about it again.  But with other issues, the discussion keeps going around and around. Or you make a decision, but folks are always finding ways to make exceptions.  That's a sign that we've found a tension to manage instead of a problem to solve.