Growth Think Tank

Al innovation requires Informed risk-taking. Leaders often encourage employees to bring more creative ideas to work. When you have a culture of informed risk-taking, you have people pushing the boundaries of results. Today's behind-the-scenes video is all about employees being courageous and resilient. Discover how you can lead more informed risk-taking across your teams. Get the show notes for Le...

Every company contains a mixture of generations. Leaders often feel frustrated in finding alignment with different thinking from generation Z, Y, X, and to the Baby Boomers in today's workforce. Great leaders know the power of inspiring generational leadership that creates unity. Today's guest is DeLinda Forsythe, CEO and founder at Innovative Commercial Environments (ICE). Inc Magazine has ranked...

Managing down has been the most typical approach to leadership over the last century and beyond. Managing down is based on authority, power, and even fear. Telling your people what to do is one behavior of managing down. Today, we look at managing up. In organizations where people are empowered and take ownership of their work, managing up makes that happen. In this episode, you will get new persp...

We all feel the stressors of work, family, and the unknown. After last year, leading through uncertainty is a given. Leaders must do more with less information. Today's guest is Carey Lohrenz who is a former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy who was the second fully qualified female naval aviator to fly the F-14 Tomcat in the U.S. military. Carey is a professional speaker and author of Fearless Leadersh...

Founders love to get deeply involved in the company. However, there comes a time when you have to take a different approach. Modern leaders like to have hands-off leadership. Today's guest is Peter Ranzino, President at Learning Services. Inc Magazine ranked his company #535 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Learning Sciences, L.L.C. is a Louisiana-based learning and development company specializing in t...

Every leader has to get comfortable with tough conversations. The challenge of these conversations is not the talking. It is the fear and resistance that comes up that stops you from initiating the chat. Today we look at the energy shift in difficult conversations that can remove your resistance. This is a simple mindset transformation. The energy shift in difficult conversations will make it easi...

When you want to evolve as a leader, you have to push beyond the traditional. Leaders often get caught up in the title, authority, and power of leadership. Beyond all that is the selfless leader. This is about how to put others before your own needs. Today's guest is Grant Botma, Founder at Stewardship. Inc Magazine ranked his company #1932 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list and #1918 in 2019. Stewardship...

Business leaders often forget to honestly care about the people that have committed to work together. Creating a culture of caring may sound touchy-feely. The truth is our companies are scaling because of people. Your job as a leader is to care about each person. Today's guest is Chris Grandpre, co-founder at Conserva Irrigation Franchising. Inc Magazine ranked his company #633 on the 2020 Inc 500...

When companies grow fast, they have to overcome many issues. One big challenge in leadership happens at the top of the company. I see these co-founders and CEOs with their COOs. This challenge is not easy to fix because it is not logical. The big challenge in leadership is more about relationships. Leaders at the top of companies usually have different skillsets and even different strengths. Both...

Every company has a challenge in figuring out how to gather or not gather as we get back to the office. One skill you have to master is leading a remote team. Your leadership capacity will be determined by your ability to learn this skill. Today's guest is Matt Mugar , co-founder at Boa Logistics. Inc Magazine ranked his company #4267 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Boa Logistics has made the Inc List...

Founders and CEOs of fast-growth companies have one big idea in common. They know that putting employees first is a driver for revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and profit increases. The standard view is to put customers first, but you must understand the context before you decide what is essential. Today's guest is Steve Pockross, CEO at Verblio. Inc Magazine ranked his company #3293 on the...

Many leaders don't understand the benefits of being transparent. They also don't understand the transparency line. In today's special behind-the-scenes episode, you will discover the importance of being transparent. We look at some examples that will help you to be a better leader. In my experience, leaders that wrestle with transparency also struggle with trusting others. Get the show notes for B...

The right mindset for leadership is a moving target. As you grow, you have to shift how you think. Over the last decade, I have worked with inspiring and successful leaders to help them evolve as leaders. The right mindset is the foundation that allows for new personal growth and company growth. Today's guest is Brett Helgeson, President, CEO and Managing Partner at Adopt Technologies. Inc Magazin...

Every business has a mission, but many of them don't understand the power of a mission. When you create a mission-driven company, you get a multiplier effect. The company mission aligns people to the work will make a massive impact in many areas. Today's guest is Farzan Dehmoubed, CEO at Lotus Sustainables. Inc Magazine ranked his company #144 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Lotus Sustainables is commi...

Everytime you move up on the five phases of growth you have to adopt a new leadership mindset. Your mindset is how you see the world. It is also what you believe to be true. We all have limiting beliefs that seem natural to us. When you develop a new leadership mindset, you are letting go of old patterns of thinking. This is not easy to do because of the correlation of mindset to identity. Join me...

Every founder is proud of their "baby." The role of the founder becomes a massive part of their identity. Often the ego gets in the way of being the leader the company needs. Being an egoless founder may sound odd, but it will help you face difficult growth challenges. Today's guest is Nir Polak, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board at Exabeam. Inc Magazine ranked his company #388 on the 2020, #13...

Courage is more than just a nice to have part of leadership. The courage to execute is essential to the success of your company. All leaders have to connect to the strength that allows them to overcome their fears. Today's guest is Jonathan Miller, CEO at Parsonex Enterprises. Inc Magazine ranked his company #2917 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list and No. 4485 in 2019 Inc 5000 list. Parsonex Enterprises i...

You are likely where you are today because you have executed consistently at a high level. This is how you rise to the ranks of the C-Suite executives. To perform at the level you are expected to, you have to change how you approach work. We look at the details of less doing and more thinking in this behind-the-scenes episode. When you join the c-suite executives, you are expected to think much mo...

The most successful entrepreneurs know execution is essential to growth. Yet your entrepreneurial mindset matters more than you may believe. The way you think and what you believe shape how you perform all the work you do. In this episode, we look at why the entrepreneur mindset matters if you want predictable growth from where you are. Today's guest is Josh Teeple, a partner at Grobstein Teeple....

CEOs are always looking for what unlocks new growth. My hope is that our interviews with successful leaders will give you new ideas. As companies feel pressure to overcome challenges, you have to open to new ideas. Today's guest is Hope Horner, co-founder at Lemonlight. Inc Magazine ranked his company #2639 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Lemonlight is a leader in high quality, affordable video product...

Each of us has two versions that we have to get to known. The easy one is how you see yourself. The hard one is how everyone else sees you. The difference between the two is a gap. You have to close the leadership gap if you want to be a great leader. This is not an easy task. When you close the leadership gap, you increase your self-awareness and improve how others relate to you. Go behind the sc...

Growth requires a team. When it comes to fast growth, every team is comprised of talented people. One essential factor to keeping the team intact is improving employee retention. You will struggle to create growth if you can't keep the people you have. Today's guest is Adam Hergenrother, founder at Hergenrother Realty Group. Inc Magazine ranked his company #442 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Adam beli...

Not many people talk about ego and business. The relationship between ego and leadership determines the health of your company. The real problem happens when our ego gets in the way of you leading your people. Today's guest is Kyle Francis, CEO at Professional Transition Services. Inc Magazine ranked his company #248 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Kyle's company has grown 1790 percent over the last th...

Leading people through challenges and driving growth requires you to do more than get the work done. So let me share with you a powerful leadership strategy that I have used with my clients for years. This one is called the "missing conversation" question. The powerful leadership strategy was born from talking with CEOs about their team taking ownership of their work. When you understand the simpl...

Companies don't scale without the right people on the team. So leaders have to craft a strategy for growth and create a place where culture is everything. Believing culture is everything is a shift that can make a top-tier team. Today's guest is Derek Hansen, CEO at Mynt Systems. Inc Magazine ranked his company #1124 on the 2020 Inc 5000 list. Mynt Systems transforms commercial real estate into al...