Paper Napkin Wisdom · Leadership & Entrepreneurship Insights for Founders and Executives

In this week's Leading Behind the Scenes, Marlou Hermsen makes the case (without laughing) that those who wish for a better world should seek to, "CHANGE the world without being a smug twat." If the statement makes you smile, and does not offend, it means you're probably on the right track, because, as Marlou further explains, smugness, besides being a deterrent to team collaboration, is also a cr...

This is the time of year when so many of us start to take stock of the year that passed and the one that's coming. It's that time that we start to think about what could be for the year ahead. There have been studies done that show that most people only accomplish a small fraction of their goals from year to year. Yet there are others that do much much more. There's a simple way that you can make...

  If you're a long term Paper Napkin Wisdom listener, you may remember Christina Harbridge's last visit EPISODE 47, when we had a lively discussion about shifting focus towards things that are enjoyable. If you're just tuning in, Christina has a very interesting background. She has co-authored software, built a company that hit national revenue success, practiced acrobatic swing dancing, been a NA...

In a society where people expect things to materialize instantly, many would be entrepreneurs expect the same, as it relates to success. However, in today's podcast, founder of RYSE Media, Jay Jackson discusses how his view of entrepreneurship has evolved over the years and provides tips for the next generation of entrepreneurs. "Some people dream of success, some people wake up and work hard at i...

Too often we get stuck. Caught. Stopped dead in our tracks. Usually we end up blaming ourselves for something we did or got wrong in the past. Or because we "wish" we were doing something else right now. Remember one thing: You are frekkin' unstoppable … Remind yourself ever day, all the time. And take epic action … Move forward, you can do it. In fact, you're the only one who can. Take Action is...

As entrepreneurs, it's often tough to take time to smell the flowers. Learning how to juggle endless to-do lists, a budding business and loved ones can be difficult for even the most seasoned entrepreneur. However, in this week's podcast, Trackmaven's CEO Allen Gannett explains why he is making it a point to take time to be appreciative. The 25 year old helms the fifty person B2B software company...

With recent public events on my mind, I've been paying a little more attention (and asking questions) of my female teammates, colleagues, and other entrepreneurs, leaders and difference makers and have been stunned to hear their stories of having to "work harder" to be heard than their male colleagues. I'm not saying this is everyone's story – in fact I've been mostly oblivious to the issue in the...

Abby Robinson is Atlas Corps' Chief Development and Engagement Officer. Atlas Corps' mission is to "address critical social issues by developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and promoting innovation through an overseas fellowship of skilled nonprofit professionals." She leads behind the scenes and works one step behind the entrepreneur, but is always in step.  Although "make it big" might...

Who among us doesn't want better results? So often we look at the bottom line and continuously set better goals and watch for the outcomes that we want to see. Whether it's improving the bottom line, better customer service, client retention or other outcome based metric – we want to improve them. Rarely, however, do we look to the process that created the outcomes and structure time and energy to...

It's a tale as old as time -  a regular human discovers their calling and springs to action. Our hero/heroin usually meets up with a mentor or a group of allies and they face a villain as a collaborative force. Joey Womack, CEO of Atlanta based Amplify 4 Good, thinks that entrepreneurs often follow a similar path. His organization uses a combination of out-of-the-box thinking, rapid problem-solvin...

Everyone is talking about the greatest PREDICTOR of success is how much "grit" or resilience someone has. How willing are they to slog through the rough stuff before reaching for the prize. Some call this delayed gratification, though I don't think they are the same thing. The secret source of resilience is within you … it lies with passion, love, and faith. Feeling passionately for what you're do...

Is there a formulaic way to build a great startup? Today's guest, Maxim Wheatley thinks so. Maxim comes from a very diverse background - he is an award-winning product leader and innovator, with proven success operating at the intersection of business development, innovation, and product strategy. Additionally, he is the co-founder of LifeFuels, a company that aims to leverage artificial intellige...

So many times our teams look to us to articulate clearly the future vision of the company or the project. It's up to us to detail it for them. We have to show them where we're going, what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, even what it tastes like and sounds like. How do we do that if we've never been there – it's a future state after all. It's a future vision that requires us...

We're just a few days away from 2017! If you're like most business owners, you're looking for ways to evolve your marketing strategy next year. If so, this podcast is my New Year's gift to you. Former Paper Napkin Wisdom guest Joe Calloway recommended today's guest, and I'm so glad he did. Jane Atkinson has over 25 years of experience securing top-tier speaking gigs for Fortune 500 C-Level executi...

Bottom line … when we are under pressure and stress (or distress) our pulse quickens. We need to distribute vital energy to various parts of our bodies quicker in these situations. Our companies are no different. We need to speed up our communication rhythm in these situations and there is no doubt that there is value to having a regular heartbeat – a regular structure to daily, weekly, monthly co...

Business success, especially entrepreneurial success, is about finding the right fit for your work, while also finding a harmony with everything else that affects your work. Business success is like relationship success. Sure, it would be wonderful to find the perfect match, but sometimes it's even better to learn how to make an imperfect match fit. Communication and understanding allow unlike peo...

Resilience is not an accident. It doesn't arrive at the moment of need by default. The reality is that resilience is there when we need it when we plan for it. Part of this is, of course, planning for it by having a great Playbook, aligned with your Path, and articulated with predictable communication structures to your Key Players. Without planning there's no chance that you'll have resilience wh...

Over the years, Paper Napkin Wisdom guests have described ways for entrepreneurs to structure their business and life in a way that gears them for success. While some topics have been complex, today's podcast gets us back to the basic. Serial entrepreneur Bill Dallas explains his guiding principles in business and life for the past three decades. "Pairing means with meaning is the only way to live...

If you're a Rebel, Rule-Breaker and Renegade this is for you … If you're the kind of person that likes to follow along with all the rules (especially from other people) and loves doing JUST what their told this won't make sense. As an entrepreneur we like to color outside the lines … even our lines. STOP IT! It's the most challenging thing to do … but in this week's episode I share why we need to...

Just in time for Christmas, there's cold weather in the upcoming forecast here in Ottawa. So it's fitting that today's podcast discusses ways to raise the temperature on company culture. If you're a long-time Paper Napkin Wisdom fan, you're familiar with Motivational Speaker and Leadership Consultant Jason Barger. In today's chat, we focused on how companies can collaboratively create and maintain...

Each week I'€™ll post a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, just talking about how to apply the Paper Napkin Wisdom 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success in an everyday kind of way. As I was speaking to a group of entrepreneurs about execution this week, we discussed the value of changing our Perspective as leaders to not think that we were out front, but rather out back of our...

The world loves leaders. We write books and television shows about them and promote leadership as one of the defining qualities of a successful person. However, today's guest Bill Treasurer, has a somewhat unorthodox take on what great leadership should really look like. After spending the last two decades as an author and leadership development coach for Fortune 500 brands, he has concluded that...

Each week I'll post a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, just talking about how to apply the Paper Napkin Wisdom 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success in an everyday kind of way. This week I visited a group of entrepreneurs for a workshop on Execution. On the way back, I had huge challenges getting back home for the weekend. Apparently there was some sort of computer error, whi...

Many entrepreneurs, both budding and seasoned, can sometimes find themselves in a standstill due to lack of action. But how can entrepreneurs make "action" their default? If you've been following our show, you'll know that a motto of mine is "make it bad, then make it better." Today's podcast guest, John Henry explains why the motto "default to action" has become one of his guiding principles. "Yo...

Each week I'll post a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, just talking about how to apply the Paper Napkin Wisdom 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success in an everyday kind of way. Had a fun, wine-filled conversation this week with someone about unlikely sources of cinematic inspiration. I've almost always gone back to this handful of movies when I feel like my belief in myself i...