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

Are you a victim of squirrel syndrome? Based on some fairly unscientific research, about 2 in 3 entrepreneurs are burdened by this affliction. The biggest symptoms include being attracted by every "shiny" thing that comes along, coupled with the inability to say no. But is this hurting your business? Joe Calloway, author, consultant and Executive in Residence at Belmont University's Center for Ent...

Nothing quite compares to the beauty of a Rembrandt. While many of us have only gazed at the priceless artwork behind the glass, imagine having one of his paintings in your attic. Think for a minute about the wasted value of having such a beautiful piece covered up and hidden in your attic. Long time Paper Napkin Wisdom fans may remember speaker and author Andrew Sherman's Paper Napkin Wisdom when...

So many people who talk about living an abundant lifestyle. It's a big subject, particularly when you're not feeling abundant. When you are at the top of the cycle, having big wins, everything fills our buckets. But at the bottom of the cycle, where there are no wins and things don't happen, we don't feel abundant. When we're at bottom of the cycle, we must realize that abundance and the path to a...

The business math equation S (sales) – E (expenses) = P (profit) has been widely accepted for years. However, entrepreneur and author Mike Michalowicz doesn't quite see it that way. "83% of small businesses in the US are surviving check to check, some of whom follow this model. From a behavioral perspective, what happens last matters least," Mike says, "Take your profit first and you will reverse...

In an age where everyone can pick up their smartphones and become an instant "expert" on any topic, how can entrepreneurs market their knowledge to their consumers? Millennial money expert and author of The Broke and the Beautiful Life , Stefanie O'Connell thinks it has a lot to do with packaging. No, she isn't referring to big bows or pretty wrapping paper. She poses that while information isn't...

The African Proverb, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together", speaks on the value of having support from your tribe. In this podcast, Bill Dost – entrepreneur and friend to the show – discusses why family is so important and how he began to incorporate them into his entrepreneurial journey. His napkin wisdom which reads, "Give me my family and I can do anything", ste...

Over the past decade or so, the phrase "company culture" has become embedded in our vocabularies and used as an HR tool to attract the best and the brightest. It's indisputable that today's employees want to love the companies they work for.  But let's go beyond the buzzwords and get to the heart of what company culture really means and why it's important. Tristan White, described by Smart Company...

We see it all of the time – entrepreneurs posting photos from their latest vacation or a conference they're headlining or another notable event. However, people rarely talk about the guts behind the glory and what it took them to get there. Misty Lown has a different approach. Written on one of the nicest napkins we've seen on the show, Misty Lown explains her philosophy behind why rock bottom is...

Twenty years ago, Steve Sims was bored. "I was automatically depressed before I left the house. I realized that there was no fun, no passion, no excitement. There was nothing beyond getting a paycheck. Eventually I said, f*** no," he remembers. The East London construction worker and motorcycle enthusiast talked his way into getting a bank job, which transferred him to Hong Kong in 1994. "I came o...

Welcome to Episode 1 of The Entrepreneur Family, a new channel focused on how entire families share in the entrepreneurial journey and how it impacts not just the entrepreneur but their loved ones as well.  Entrepreneurship requires that a risk-taking individual embark upon a journey: to launch their own business, using their own innovative ideas, in order to eventually earn a viable profit. Entre...

We've all seen it before: the big houses, the flashy cars and the stories of how entrepreneurs made their millions, spread across the glossy pages of magazines. While this may look like success, Dave Mammano thinks there's a little more to it than that. Founder of NextStepU, an organization that helps teenagers plan their future, he explains how to live a more fulfilled life and reclaim hours in y...

What would you do if there were no rules or set path to achieving success? In this podcast, Matt Ward explains his philosophy behind his theory that there are no rules. "In life and business, there are set patterns," he explains,"but at the end of the day, you can do what you want to do." And he would know -- Matt started out as an engineer but now runs an ecommerce company."I was always the strai...

The concept of working a 9-5 position isn't ancient. You may not realize it, but it's actually only a few generations old. While people in the 1500s certainly had trades and appointed positions, the work force looked very different prior to the Industrial Revolution."The concept of going to a big dark building was so foreign [500] years ago. [But] in the last five to ten years, there has been a sh...

What happens when you create a venn diagram that combines discovering your passion with providing unique value and figuring out where your audience is listening? In this podcast, Rand Fishkin, founder and CEO of Moz, believes that is how you find your sweet spot.   As with most entrepreneurs, Fishkin knows a little bit about how failure can eventually inspire success. After dropping out of college...

Is there a formula for success? This week's Paper Napkin Wisdom guest, Geoff Smart - CEO of lead consulting firm ghSMART - proposes just that . Dr. Smart, the best selling author of Who: The A Method for Hiring and the newly released Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success, holds a PhD in Psychology and has spent the last twenty years collecting and synthesizing data from over 3000 leader...

Two years ago Rob Simons challenged me to by flipping around the Paper Napkin Wisdom podcast and turning me into the subject and he'd play the interviewer. To launch season 4, he came back to turn the tables once more by interviewing me in today's podcast. I've been thinking a lot since the release of my book, "Your Five Step Plan For Life and Business Success". As business owners and entrepreneur...

Shep Hyken  is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, a grass roots entrepreneur, and a speaker. He's a busy guy but he's focused in a way that makes him effective and efficient. He's already been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Speakers Association, an incredible feat considering he's still amazing crowds around the world on the subject of consistently...

Sean Costello is an entrepreneurial leader who values the right balance of culture and execution. He has founded multiple companies on the principles of patience and curiosity, and works hard to maintain a supportive atmosphere for his clines and employees. This has lead Sean to his contribution to Paper Napkin Wisdom: People all around you want to help, they just don't yet know how. In Sean's exp...

For more than two decades, Alex Charfen has been creating and testing business philosophies specifically geared towards entrepreneurs. Alex has been an entrepreneur himself during this period, and has developed the Entrepreneurial Personality Type to help business owners grow their business and themselves. He has contributed to numerous major media outlets and brings his core philosophy to Paper N...

John Spence went from being kicked out of college with a D average to becoming CEO of an international Rockefeller foundation and reporting directly to Winthrop P. Rockefeller III just a few years later. This turn around wasn't an accident, it was something John did by maintaining a focus on innovation, personal growth, and a thirst for learning. As an entrepreneur, he has worn many hats, but has...

Jason Womack is an educator, author, entrepreneur, and CEO, among other things. He is an avid practitioner of his own philosophies on work/life balance, productivity, and forward progress, and with Master's degrees in Education and Psychology, is well-educated in the way we think. These facets of Jason's life and work have inspired his contribution to Paper Napkin Wisdom, which is a simple straigh...

Jeff Hoffman's  career has provided him with many hats to wear: successful entrepreneur, proven CEO, worldwide motivational speaker, Hollywood film producer, and a producer of a Grammy winning jazz album. Jeff has had various roles in companies large and small, along with being the founder of multiple startups. Along the path of this career, Jeff one day noticed a sign that said "You may be succes...

Dave Rendall is an entrepreneur who has worn many hats during his professional career, which started when he was very young. All told, he has delivered newspapers, been a stock boy, lawn boy, caddie, painter, janitor, tutor, resident assistant, job coach, supervisor, nonprofit manager, and senior executive. Just to spice things up, he also has experience as a leadership professor, stand-up comedia...

Kris Kaplan is a firm believer that if you're not having fun at what you do, you shouldn't be doing it. After a long career on the road as a rep, Kris decided it was time to create an organization of people who shared the same values as him and were wholly focused on a singular vision. He is now a coach to entrepreneurs, business leaders, and other high-performing individuals, providing them with...

  Hybrid thinking has defined Matt Curry's career as an entrepreneur. His professional career started out changing tires and eventually working his way into a management role, but his entrepreneurial career flourished after he launched his first auto shop in 1997 and ultimately grew it into one of the largest auto repair chains in the Washington, DC metro area. Having embraced the evolution of the...