Founder Independence

Shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/setting-clear-expectations   In today's episode, we're diving into a topic that might seem simple but is often overlooked: setting clear expectations for your employees . When was the last time you explicitly communicated what you expect from your team? If you're thinking, "Well, they should already know," then this episode is especially for you. Why Clarity...

Shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/who-should-you-promote Checklist: Who to promote?: https://www.berndgeropp.com/checklist-evaluate-leaders   In today's episode, we're tackling one of the most critical decisions you'll face as a leader or entrepreneur: who to promote into a leadership role . This isn't just about rewarding high performers—it's about shaping the future of your team and of your...

Shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/my-experience-with-ai   Today, I want to share a personal story and my current thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI). A Surprising AI Conversation A couple of weeks ago, I was on a long drive, listening to an audiobook about OKRs—Objectives and Key Results—a popular framework for setting and tracking goals. While the book offered great insights, it felt ov...

Shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/remote-work-experience   Today, I want to dive into a topic that's more relevant than ever: remote work. I'll share my personal experiences leading a fully remote team, explore who remote work is suited for, and discuss why some companies are still hesitant to embrace it. Embracing Remote Work When I started building my team, I made a deliberate decision: we'...

Shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/leadership-in-2025   Welcome back  to 'Leadership Made Easy,    the podcast where we simplify the art of leadership for small and medium-sized businesses. Its been quite a while since our last episode - in fact, over three years. Thank you A big thank-you to all of you who have stayed connected, kept listening to past episodes, and even joined our email list...

Today I talk with Mike Ashie from the YouTube channel: "Leadership with Mike" about tips for first-time managers. Find his YouTube channel Leadership with Mike here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX_oT8liQty9EL7ZJVpz3RA Find the Shownotes here: https://www.berndgeropp.com/tips-for-first-time-managers-with-mike-ashie

When I founded my first company, a high-tech start-up, together with a partner more than 25 years ago, I had a completely wrong idea of ​​managing people. In this post, I'll talk about how I learned to delegate and give you tips on how you can learn it, too. Find the shownotes here: https://www.berndgeropp.com/how-i-learned-to-delegate/ If you'd like to watch the video, check it out here: https://...

A manager always works in a sandwich position. I explain my struggles with it and why I decided to leave the corporate world more than 10 years ago. Shownotes: berndgeropp.com/quit-job Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/QnTTgi1nPSs

One-one-one meetings create trust: Why do you need them? What do you actually talk about and how often should you do one-on-ones? Shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/one-on-one-meetings Video: https://youtu.be/QPsUBZsCFps

When you are new in your manager role, you surely don't want to make any unnecessary mistakes, don't you? You want to become a good manager. To meet the challenges of your new role, I will give you my five best practical tips to become a good leader. You'# find the shownotes here: https://berndgeropp.com/episode030 If you like to watch the highly entertaining YouTube-video-version, click here: htt...

Goal setting with employees is not easy. How can you be successful with it? Here are my 5 most important tips you should know! Find the Shownotes here: berndgeropp.com/set-goals-with-employees  

Today I invited 5 leaders with different backgrounds. I wanted to know from them, what they wish they knew, before becoming successful leaders. You'll find the shownotes wiht all the links to the participants here: https://berndgeropp.com/what-do-you-wish-you-knew

As a leader you should have one-on-one meetings with your direct reports regularly. But how do you introduce one on ones to your direct reports? How does such an one-on-one meeting work? How do you get started and what exactly should you say in such meetings? You'll find the shownotes of this episode here: https://www.berndgeropp.com/one-on-ones/ If you'd like to watch the video, click here: https...

Today we talk about why it needs not just one but two entrepreneurs to build a successful business and why it is essential that these two have dramatically different roles. I talk about this with Mark C. Winters who is the co-author of the book rocket fuel. If you are an entrepreneur or you work for a small business, this interview may be an eye opener for you.  Click here for the shownotes: https...

How can you control the chaos? How you can stay calm and positive with in the storm and how can you engage the hearts and minds of your people in tough times. Shownotes: https://berndgeropp.com/leading-in-times-of-crisis

Do you spend a lot of your time with Emails? Are you suffering from email overload? Help is coming. In this episode I give you my best tips on how to deal with email overload. I'll show you how to cut your time at least in half when working on emails. We will talk how and when you should read your emails, how to write emails efficiently and what you need to do to receive less emails. You'll find t...

As a manager today, it isn't enough to just simply focus on results and the financial bottom line. Today you need also to have good human skills to be successful. You need to learn to delegate, no to be a micro manager and you should create a positive work environment. Therefore, in this episode I show you my 3 best tips for your job satisfaction and job productivity as a manager. The Link for the...

The purpose of a company is not to make a profit or to create jobs but to satisfy the needs of customers. It's always about customer value. Why is that so? That's what I am talking about in this episode. You'll find the shownotes here: https://www.berndgeropp.com/episode022 If you like to watch the highly entertainment YouTube-video-version, click here: https://youtu.be/cNOt4xcrcJU    

Your employees don't contribute, they lack motivation, but they are always looking for better pay? In this podcast episode I'll show you how to fix this. You'll find the shownotes here: https://www.berndgeropp.com/episode021  

Everyone loves to be praised and to be confirmed. Who doesn't like to be praised? With criticism, on the other hand, it's different. If someone explicitly asks for permission to give you feedback, he doesn't just want to praise, he mostly wants to criticize. But criticism questions our self-esteem. It triggers our defense mechanisms, because we believe our reputation is in danger. Actually, we wan...

It is often not easy to stay calm at work. Nevertheless, there are team leaders and managers that amazingly are able to do this. They radiate a sense of calm and composure, even in stressful situations. So, I started to watch them closely and learn. Nowadays, because of that, I can stay much more calm and composed. Does it always work? Well – no! But more and more! I will give you my 5 tips on how...

Today we talk about 3 major mistakes you should avoid when onboarding new employees. You'll find the shownotes of this episode by going to https://berndgeropp.com/episode018 If you want to see the highly entertaining video version of these episode you can check it out on  https://www.youtube.com/c/berndgeropp?sub_confirmation=1 Do you spend a lot of time and money searching for new staff members?...

Here you'll find the shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/episode017 Today I'll give you 6 simple tips you can immediately implement to become a better listener and 3 crucial tips on how to ask questions the right way. Don't use short questions in rapid succession. Don't trigger fear with your questions. Talk about the background of your question. Are you ready to become the leader you've always...

Here you'll find the shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/episode016  Missed deadlines, unkept promises or delayed projects can be a desaster. Here are 10 essential tips for successfully meeting deadlines: Only commit to what you can do. Put it in writing. Identify the purpose. Learn to say "NO". Agree on specific deadlines. Set deadlines for milestones. Keep others informed. Always plan with co...

Here you'll find the shownotes: https://www.berndgeropp.com/episode015  Learn how to recognize and avoid the top 10 of the most common mistakes made by leaders and managers in small companies as well as in the corporate world. We already spoke about the first five of them.  In this episode we talk about the other five mistakes, you need to avoid: Acting unfairly and unjustly! Not standing by your...