The Fast Leader Show | Strategy Execution & Systems Design

Charles Vogl served in the US Peace Corps in Northern Zambia. In a place very foreign to him than what he knew in Southern California. Charles lived in a mud hut with a grass roof and a mud floor. And he learned a cherished lesson of how the bravery of others can change people’s lives.

Al Hopper was getting beat physically and mentally. His entire team was down in the dirt. That’s when Al learned about the power and magic of words. When you need to rally the troops and things are going the way you don’t want them to, what do you do?

Nate Regier made a significant leadership blunder. Until he made a bigger one. Nate published a story about a client and didn’t get permission from the CEO. He also wrote the story in a manner which came across arrogant and self-serving. Listen to how Nate is STILL working to get over this hump.

Michael Beck was the executive director of a 500-person law firm. But his operating philosophy of listening to people’s concerns and eliciting their input was not matched by the attorney’s in the firm. After butting heads with the micro-managing and dictatorship, Michael decided he could make a greater impact in a different way.

John Lee Dumas was all ready to push publish on his podcast and then all of a sudden fear took over. He pushed back his launch one week, then two, then four, then five. Finally his mentor intervened and he published his podcast and all was well in the world. But fear lurked in other places that John soon found.

Steve Mariotti went out for a jog and was mugged by a bunch of young men with knives. Experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, Steve was taught to change the sentences in his mind. As part of his ongoing therapy he became a teacher and he found out that he enjoyed helping people achieve their life through entrepreneurship.

Michael Teoh was working on growing his business and he was getting results. Michael kept pressing forward thinking he could motivate his staff to meet client demands. But his staff pushed back. That’s when Michael learned a valuable lesson.

Roberta O’Keith found a fellow co-worker on the floor, non-responsive and barely breathing. As the person responsible for handling employee complaints about work, she knew stress finally took her down. That was Roberta’s wake up call.

Paul Larsen was promoted into a manager role. He wasn’t up for it so the authority went to Paul’s head. After a short period of time, Paul found himself all alone. One Thursday night, all of Paul’s direct reports went out to celebrate a birthday and he wasn’t invited. That’s when Paul realized he needed to make some changes to get over the hump.

Steve Goldstein was thrilled to escape the cold of Chicago in February for a speaking engagement in Miami. As an executive at Sears, Steve loved to visit the stores on trips. But this time Steve thought he was hallucinating when he saw snow blowers in Miami. Listen to how this experience led to Steve moving onward and upward.

Kristy Powers was 16 years old and had to move away from home. As an honors student Kristy was determined to finish school. Needing to support herself, Kristy was able to find a source of income and food. Listen to how she was able to get over this adult sized hump at such a young age.

Mark Nathan built his young career as an actor and being in the film world. As he entered into the entrepreneur world it was difficult for him to let the film work go. That’s when Mark found a new perspective that helped him to move onward and upward.

Winnie Brignac Hart and Lorrie Brignac Lee lost 75 percent of their business in a weekend. Being based in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hit, overnight they became a crisis communication firm. Immediately they learned what it meant to truly help people in a different way. Through this experience they were able to align what was important to them and move onward and upward faster.

Wade Fransson was a junior in High School and spent ten months living in a tent through the Alaskan winter. Having to endure the cold winter by using a portable stove served to be too much for Wade when the stove blew up in his face. Listen to Wade tell his story of surviving and making a greater impact.

Doug Woodard was new to his company when he had to terminate a long tenured employee. Doug faced a lot of fear in letting her go and facing the team. While wanting to take ownership of the decision Doug was not able to be transparent with the details. Listen to Doug’s story of how he was able to get over the hump.

Jocelyn Davis got a splash of cold water in her face. Being an executive at a consulting firm she was easily published by Harvard Business Press. But when she tried to get her next book published after departing from her firm she learn a sobering lesson. Listen to Jocelyn tell the story of her journey of getting over the hump.

Roy Atkinson grew up as a privileged kid. Then Roy found himself needing to work his way through high school and college while his mother tended to her ailing mother and Roy’s father. Roy had to get over several humps to move onward and upward. But one of Roy’s most valuable lessons came later.

Ann Parker was in her twenties and had become a shrunken version of herself. She lost confidence in herself and lost her identity. Her world and her future came crashing down and that’s when she reached inside and climbed out. Listen to Ann tell her story of finding new strength.

Bob Tiede had an Executive Vice President volunteer to fund raise for the organization he worked for. After two years he resigned. Shortly after that Bob learned the reason he resigned. It was because Bob was a benevolent teller. Listen to Bob’s story of how he learned a new way to move onward and upward faster.

Brian Sullivan worked for an organization that would bring together an executive committee to make decisions on business they wanted to pursue. Because of all of their political agendas, the system wasn’t serving the company or customers very well. That’s when Brian pioneered a more customer-centric approach to sales that helped them to win better deals and avoid pursuing the bad deals.

Mike Wittenstein had not acted since his junior high school play. But he decided to take an acting class and it helped him to grow his business. Listen to Mike tell his story of how he discovered a way to improve the customer experience by using the fine art of acting in a whole new way.

Megan Constantino decided to go on national television to share one of the most un-cool, un-sexy things you could think about. Being completely driven by God, she and her husband Frank decided to go on the Steve Harvey to share their struggles with infertility and it made all the difference for them. Listen to Megan’s story of courage and getting over several humps.

Bill Dann was working for a native Alaskan run organization. The Board of Directors put a lot of pressure on Bill to replace himself with an Alaskan native, since it was the purpose of the organization. Bill hired a young leader and unfortunately he was put into a situation that he was not prepared for. He got creamed. Bill has never forgiven himself for that. Listen to Bill talk about the lesson...

Paul Maskill was doing all of the busy admin work in his business. Paul was working 60-80 hours per week but was not leading his business. He was failing to take his business to the next level. That’s when Paul made a decision that ultimately led him to become the leader that generated the business growth that led him to an even bigger business opportunity.

Curtis Kopf has a point of view on what he wants to do and he just wants to go do it. But when Curtis encounters someone with differing opinions he has had to learn how to prevent himself from dismissing them and pushing them out of the way. Listen to Curtis as he shares how he gets over this hump.