Growth Think Tank

When you are the bottleneck to growth, you have created processes and systems that make you the final say to completion of work in the business. The founders of fast-growth companies often face this after months -- sometimes years -- of struggling with being the bottleneck to growth. It comes with frustration as you want others to support the company to grow more, but you have not empowered them. To make the shift, you to have to transform your identity from Founder to the identity of the CEO. In today's behind the scenes, you will get a closer look at being the bottleneck to growth so that you can determine if this is part of your problems. Get the show notes for Behind The Scenes: Are you the Bottleneck to Growth? Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/SoloEpisode473 #BottlenecktoGrowth #Leadership #GHepisode473 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Can you even imagine what it takes to grow your company by 10x this year? Well, you will be blown away when I tell you the private company with the highest level of revenue in the last three years grew at 36,680 percent. The one driving force for their growth is an ownership culture. This means they have created a company where the employees feel a sense of ownership in everything they do. My guest today is David Freedman, Co-Founder of Freestar. Freestar was ranked #1 in the 2019 Inc 5000 list. We talked about the importance of the company's core values and how vital the ownership culture is to their business. Discover how you can create an ownership culture to drive growth for your company. Get the show notes for 36,680% Growth with an Ownership Culture with David Freedman at Freestar Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank featuring David Freedman with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/DavidFreedman #OwnershipCulture #CelebratingFailure #GHepisode472 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

The process to empower employees is often misunderstood. Empowerment takes trust and courage. It also requires that you be the kind of leader that wants others to make decisions. Empowering employees happens to be one of the core principles of having a culture of ownership. My guest today is Jared Hecht, Founder of Fundera. His company was ranked #69 in the 2018 Inc 5000 list and operates a marketplace for small business funding. Get the show notes for How to Empower Employees for Fast Growth with Jared Hecht at Fundera Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank featuring Jared Hecht with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/JaredHecht #EmpowerEmployees #MissionDrivenCompanies #GHepisode471 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Do you want to continue growing your business as fast as you have been growing? If you could see where I am standing right now, you would see a symbol of growth, the Inc 5000 letters at the Inc Conference in Phoenix, AZ. I work with dozens of companies that have been recognized by Inc for their fast-growth and want to continue growing. Primarily, I see their founders and CEOs are driven, confident, and committed. Today, I give you this video about the double edge sword of when you want to continue growing. Hint: There is a new devil at each new level. Discover the three characteristics of leaders that want to continue growing. Get the show notes for Continuing Growth: For Every New Level There is a New Devil Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/SoloEpisode470 #ContinuingGrowth #Leadership #GHepisode470 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Creating a mission-driven company is much more than giving money away. Mission-driven has become a buzzword in today's business. The ones that do it right have seen benefits that go beyond philanthropy. Creating a mission-driven company will help you gain customers and even align employees in a way that drives the business forward. Today's guest is Zachary Quinn, Co-founder of Love Your Melon. Zachary shares with me how the company became mission-driven and the cycle of mission-driven. He shares how you can look at mission-driven strategies. Get the show notes for Creating a Mission-Driven Company with Zachary Quinn at Love Your Melon Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank featuring Zachary Quinn with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/ZacharyQuinn # LoveYourMelon #CreatingaMisisonDrivenCompany #GHepisode469 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Are you a high-performing leader, and you love to learn? I am attending the Inc5000 Conference in Phoenix this week. I stumbled upon three colleges clustered together and was reminded of my college years. I didn't always love the process of learning. When you are forced to learn things that you don't have much interest in to get good grades, it is hard to stay focused on learning. After college, I discovered a love for learning. I got to learn what I wanted, and it increased my value too. Today, I am going to share this video that has a special tip for high-performing leaders. I work with high-performing leaders that often are founders and CEOs on the Inc 5000 list. These high-performers love to learn. I would bet you have people on your team that love to learn too. Do you take the time to support their learning? This is an opportunity that you might be missing. Imagine being a part of their love for learning. If you want high-performers, cultivate their learning by taking time to listen to what they want to learn about. Don't make excuses about the distractions that often get in the way of giving time to your team of potential high-performers. Get the show notes for Wake Up Leaders: High-Performers Love to Learn Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/SolowithGene #High-performerslovetolearn #SoloEpisodewithGene #GHepisode468 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts

Every leader I know is charged with finding team alignment so that the company grows in a collaborative way. The process of finding team alignment takes intentional thought and robust strategies. My guests today are Blake Harris and Charlie Matter, Co-Founders of Case Energy Partners. Their company was ranked #78 in the 2018 Inc 5000 list. We talk about how they approach finding team alignment. We discuss why it is so essential for the growth of the company. Blake and Charlie share their journey with you so that you can achieve the alignment you seek. Join us for today's conversation, all about finding team alignment.

Shifting from fear of failure to lead the team to higher levels of success takes time. The fear of failure is a common fear among entrepreneurial leaders. It comes from doing something big and scary. It often drives you to work hard and encourage your team to work hard too. However, there is another more evolved way to lead. When you profoundly connect to your mission and vision, you begin to see the opportunity in a way that pulls you forward. This allows you to lead your people with confidence, and you don't have that fear of failure. My guest today is Brock Berry, Founder, and CEO of Adcellerant. His company was ranked #83 in the 2018 Inc 5000 list. Brock shares stories about how his fear of failure drove him in the early days of starting the business. Now he has more confidence in his vision. He also has more confidence in himself. He doesn't lean on the fear of failure now. Brock can see the opportunity with more clarity. Brocks shares his journey of shifting from fear of failure. Get the show notes for Shifting Beyond the Fear of Failure Leadership Style with Brock Berry at Adcellerant Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Brock Berry with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/BrockBerry # FearofFailureLeadershipStyle #BrockBerry #GHepisode466 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Discover why transparency matters in modern culture. One big reason is that transparency breeds trust. When you are open to transparency in your business, you signal to your people that they are part of the process. My guest today is John Laramie, CEO of ProjectX. His company was ranked #65 in the 2018 Inc 5000 list. John shares why transparency matters. He gives you ways to be transparent so that it drives growth. We talk about how to leverage transparency to make your people feel and act like owners within the company. When you value transparency, your people will often be more truthful with you, which allows you to see the real truth. Get the show notes for Why Transparency Matters and How to Leverage it with John Laramie at ProjectX Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring John Laramie with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/JohnLaramie #WhyTransparencyMatters #JohnLaramie #GHepisode465 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Employee retention is one of the biggest and most expensive problems that companies have. If you have an employee leave before you are ready for them to leave, you know the cost of replacing that person is going to be expensive. Employee retention for some roles can be higher than 50 percent in a 12 month period. My special guest today is Amanda Hammett. Amanda is my wife, and she is amazingly smart in understanding the future of work. Amanda is the host of Next Generation Rockstars podcast, where she talks with millennials and their leaders to see what is working to create rockstars in today's ever-changing workforce. In this special episode, we look at employee retention in a fun way. We analyze the five types of workers that are hurting your bottom line. Amanda and I share specific types of people that will cause a turnover. We talk about why employee retention matters. Get the show notes for The 5 Types of Workers Hurting Your Employee Retention Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring my wife @AmandaHammett with me your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/AmandaAndGene #EmployeeRetention #NextGen #AmandaHammett #GHepisode464 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Invest in your employees if you want to create a strong team. Investing in their skills to do their work is a big part of creating a culture that drives the business forward. You might be tempted to reduce these investments in favor of a healthy bottom line. My guest today is Noah Curran, Founder, and CEO of MonkMedia. This company is #67 on the 2018 Inc 5000 list. Noah shares why he invests so much in onboarding his employees. The time and money he spends will blow you away. Noah gives you more great reasons why you mush invest in your employees. Get the show notes for Why It Matters To Invest In Your Employees with Noah Curran at Monkedia Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Noah Curran with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/NoahCurran #Culture #InvestInYourEmployees #DeepQuestions #GHepisode463 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Culture is often thought of as intangible. I do believe you can measure culture with attributes that make up how we work and communicate together. I interviewed John Mazur, CEO at Homesnap. His company was #43 on the 2018 Inc 5000 list. John shares with me how to measure culture and why it matters. Discover the key factors to measure culture for your company. Get the show notes for How do you Measure Culture with John Mazur at Homesnap Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring John Mazur with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/JohnMazur #IMeasureCulture #Mondays #CompanyCoreValues #GHepisode462 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

When you lead a company that has an amazing employee experience, you get more than just happy people. The employee experience shapes how they think about their work, their co-workers, and leaders. Creating an amazing employee experience drives company growth too. Today's guest is Dan Foley, Founder, and CEO of Curate Partners. This company was ranked #20 in the 2018 Inc 5000 List. Dan shares the reasons why creating an amazing employee experience matters. He also gives you a way to improve your employee experience. Get the show notes for Creating an Amazing Employee Experience with Dan Foley at Curate Partners Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Dan Foley with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/GTTDanFoley #AmazingEmployeeExperience #FocusOn Character #GHepisode461 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes! Get the show notes for Creating an Amazing Employee Experience with Dan Foley at Curate Partners Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Dan Foley with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/GTTDanFoley #AmazingEmployeeExperience #FocusOn Character #GHepisode461 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Companies that want to grow understand the need for investing in employees. Leaders of these companies make the hard decision to put money and time into skills training that lift their employees to a new level. One mistake that is common, not investing beyond just new skills. Gordon Vanscoy is today's guest. He is the CEO of Panther Speciality Pharmacy, #31 on the 2018 Inc 5000 list. Gordon shares why investing in employees is necessary. He also gives reasons why it is more than just new skills. Investing in employees is required if you want predictable growth in the long run. Get the show notes for Being Customer Centric By Investing in Employees with Gordon Vanscoy at PantherX Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Andrew Paradise with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/GordonVanscoy #InvestinginEmployees #EmployeeFirst #FindingTheFit #GHepisode460 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Creating an agile culture gives you speed and results. Agile is the norm in development teams. They have proven the value of small incremental growth that evolves the technology quickly. Some companies are embracing an agile culture across the whole company to improve growth. Think that each team has a new project that is the prime focus every two weeks. They learn to complete projects instead of just ongoing work. Our guest today is Andrew Paradise, Co-Founder of Skillz. Skillz was the #1 fastest growing company in 2017's Inc 5000 list. Their revenue growth of 50,059 percent in three years proves they understand growth. Andrew shares how his teams think about their work in the agile framework. Create a team that moves fast and makes work happen with an agile culture. Get the show notes for Agile Culture Improves Growth with Andrew Paradise at Skillz Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Mark Ellis with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/AndrewParadise #AgileCulture #ImprovesGrowth #GHepisode459 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Maintaining a culture with a remote team requires intention. The culture of an organization is the cornerstone of how work gets done. It is easier when the people show up to the same building and gather face-to-face to maintain culture as the company grows. As companies have embraced virtual workers, the idea of maintaining a culture with a remote team has become more critical. Today's guest is Jeff Kupietzy, CEO of PowerInbox, who shares how they have to see a culture with their remote team. PowerInbox ranked on the Inc 500 list at #30 in 2019. Jeff gives you insights on how to lead a culture when the team is virtual.

Discover the rules of making a partnership work from two fast-growth c-founders. Partnerships can be hard. Most tend to end in frustration and turmoil. Partnerships are much harder when you don't have a framework for making the partnership work. Today's guests are Sam Khorramian and Oliver Graff. These two co-founders started Big Block Realty with the right frameworks to guide their growth. Big Block Realty ranked on the Inc. 500 list between 2016 and 2018, ranked 26th, 31st, and 33rd, respectively. Sam and Oliver walk us through how they approached making a partnership work. Listening today will give you some very tactical steps to improve your business and make your co-founders align together for the journey.

The journey of increasing team confidence requires that you lead by example. This means your confidence level has to rise higher than your team. The energy that you have when your confidence level is high will give you a chance to increasing team confidence. My guest today is Mark Ellis, co-founder of Liftoff. Liftoff was #8 on the 2017 Inc 500 List. Mark gives the critical principles of getting a team firing on all cylinders. Increasing team confidence will provide you with a team that shares their ideas and executes at a higher level. Your team will also navigate failures with more resilience. Join me for increasing team confidence in today's episode. Get the show notes for Increasing Team Confidence with Mark Ellis at Liftoff Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Mark Ellis with your host @GeneHammett #TeamConfidence #Courage #GHepisode456 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

People first leadership is rare. Putting your team before your clients are tough. After hundreds of interviews with fast-growth leaders, I see that most of these leaders know the value of their people. They are willing to invest in their people and create an employee experience that drives a customer-centered workforce. People first leadership is a way to ensure that your people know you care about them and raises their loyalty to the company. Our guest is Jeff Knauss, co-founder of Digital Hyve. Digital Hyve was #52 on the 2018 Inc 500 list. Jeff gives insight into hiring the right people. He provides details on how to create people-first leadership. This episode will challenge you as a leader that has been taught customer first. Tune in to find out the benefits of people-first leadership. Get the show notes for People First Leadership Drives Growth with Jeff Knauss at Digital Hyve Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Jeff Knauss with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/GTTJeffKnauss #PeopleFirst #GrowYourself #GHepisode455 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Vulnerability is often seen as a weakness. When it comes to leadership vulnerability, it is a strength. Those that dare to have leadership vulnerability will say I don't know the answer. They will share from their heart. My guest today is Thomas Donohue, founder of Level Agency. Level Agency ranked #190 on the 2014 Inc List. Thomas shared his challenges with leadership vulnerability during the interview. Being a great leader requires that you build trust. Trust requires authenticity. Join us today as we explore leadership vulnerability. Get the show notes for Being Vulnerable Triggers Growth with Thomas Donohue at Level Agency Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Thomas Donohue with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/ThomasDonohoe #Weakness #Vulnerability #GHepisode454 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Getting your employees to want to do the work is very different than just getting them to do the work. You may think it is semantics, but getting your employees to want to do the work has tremendous power. Leadership is a journey of getting your employees to see their highest potential and live their best lives. I find that employees that want to do the work when they feel that that work will align with their personal goals. They also want to create value for the organization that gets them recognized. Today's interview is with Justin Bakes, co-founder of Forward Financing. This company was #404 out of 5000 in the 2018 Inc List. They grew 1,238 percent in the previous three years. Justin shares the steps in getting your employees to want to do the work. We talk about the mistakes in this endeavor. I hope that as a leader, you can understand the power of getting employees to think for themselves. Get the show notes for Getting Employees to Want to Do the Work with Justin Bakes at Forward Financing Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Justin Bakes with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/JustinBakes #WantToDoTheWork #Employees #HIghestPotential #GHepisode453 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

One of the most important jobs for you as a leader is getting employees to think for themselves. You want them to see the challenges of the organization internally and externally. You want them to think for themselves instead of following the playbook. The reason is that the steps in the playbook are likely to change. When they think for themselves, you will see their work proactively and innovatively. Today's interview is with Mark Gallagher, Founder, and CEO of GForce Solutions. This company was #8 out of 5,000 in the 2018 Inc List. They grew 16,427 percent in the previous three years. We talk about getting employees to think for themselves. Discover the critical steps in this interview when you want your employees to think for themselves. Get the show notes for Getting Employees to Think for Themselves with Mark Gallagher at GForce Life Sciences Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Mark Gallagher with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/MarkGallagher #Getting EmployeesThink #FeelingSchizophrenic #FailFast #GHepisode452 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Employees with an entrepreneurial spirit have the capability to be more resilient, resourceful, and innovative. Those with the entrepreneurial spirit have the ability to create new areas for growth. This interview is with Kyle Goguen, founder of Pawstruck. This company was #87 out of 5,000 on the 2018 Inc List. They grew at 3,891 percent in the previous three years. Kyle gives us the real reason why he encourages the entrepreneurial spirit within his company. I love this interview because it gives you practical steps in getting employees to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit. Get the show notes for Inspiring the Entrepreneurial Spirit at work with Kyle Goguen at Pawstruck Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Kyle Goguen with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/KyleGoguen #Entrepreneurial Employees #GHepisode450 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Developing entrepreneurial employees may scare you. This is more than just embracing intrapreneurs. Entrepreneurial employees have the ability to create massive value for the organization. Today's guest is Sean Elan, President of Affordable Luxury Group. This company was #55 out of 5,000 on the 2018 Inc List. They had a growth rate of 4,797 percent in the previous three years. Sean and I talk about getting employees to shift to being proactive. Entrepreneurial employees are also able to contribute more to the bottom line and product innovation. Join us to discuss the power of entrepreneurial employees. Get the show notes for Growth with Entrepreneurial Employees with Sean at Affordable Luxury Group Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Sean Elan with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/SeanElan #Entrepreneurial Employees #GHepisode450 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

I remember exactly where I was when I heard the term "operationalize your values." A speaker asked the audience of more than a thousand if they had done the work beyond creating values. The process of operationalizing your values will take the company values from a project to a way of living the values. Today I am talking to Zach Smith, CEO of Funded Today about the steps to operationalize your values. We will talk about why it matters and what you can do to avoid mistakes in your journey to operationalize your values. Get the show notes for Operationalize Your Values to Grow Fast with Zach Smith at Funded Today Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Zach Smith with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/GTTZachSmith #OperationalizeYourValues #Leadership #GHepisode449 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Most leaders don't think about how to make work fun. A few evolved leaders do think about adding fun into the work environment. Today's interview is with Adham Yusupov, founder of Ecology Mir Group. Adham gives the reasons behind making work fun especially important when you have such a critical mission. When you make work fun, you give your team a way to connect to more than just the work. They relate to each other on a deeper level. Discover new ideas about how you can make work fun. Get the show notes for How to Make Work Fun with Adham Yusupov at Ecology Mir Group Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Adham Yusupov with your host @GeneHammett http://bit.ly/AdhamYusupov #MakeWorkFun #Leadership #GHepisode448 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Companies want better communication. They really want to improve collaboration amongst their team members. You hire smart people so they can create amazing results. When they collaborate, you see terrific contributions and buy-in. Today's guest is Brad Griffith, co-founder with GameTime.co. Brad shares with me a specific strategy that aligns his team together and improves collaboration. Tune-in to the interview so that you can improve collaboration within your culture. Get the show notes for Improve Collaboration on Your Team with Brad Griffith at Gametime Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Brad Griffith with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/447 #ImproveCollaboration #Leadership #GHepisode447 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

In the start-up world, there is a famous saying, "move fast and break things" that comes from the speed of action and their comfort with failure. This is the same mantra that Mark Zuckerberg used to align the Facebook team to the early days of growing to more than 1 billion users and beyond. Today, I am talking to Shay Berman, President of Digital Resource. Shay shared with me why move fast and break things is something that has impacted their growth. We look at the courage that it takes and the reasons behand moving fast. Discover how your company can create a culture of "move fast and break things." Get the show notes for Failure is the Way to Grow Together Shay Berman at Digital Resource Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Shay Berman with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/446 #MoveFastandBreakThings #Leadership #GHepisode446 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Every leader thinks about how to improve the process of communicating with your team. The word and the tone of our communication have so much to do with how we interact together. Teams that communicate well will outperform those that don't. Today I am talking Nir Polak, the CEO of Exabeam. Exabeam was #12 on the Inc 5000 list in 2018. They had a 14,032% growth rate in the three years prior. Exabeam develops security intelligence products to help companies of all sizes protect their information. Communicating with your team must be a big part of any leader's role. Discover how you can improve the process of communicating with your team in this interview Nir. Get the show notes for Communicating with your team during rapid growth with Nir Polak at Exabeam Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Nir Polak with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/445 #CommunicatingwithyourTeam #Leadership #GHepisode445 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Having a nimble culture is a requirement when you want to have a fast-growing company. A nimble culture is one where people move fast, break things, and challenge the old way. Being nimble becomes a way of doing everything. Fast decision and quick pivots are natural. Today I am talking to Jan Bednar, Founder, and CEO of ShipMonk. ShipMonk has exploded in growth to reach 29th out of 5000 on the 2018 Inc list. Jan shares with me how to internalize the core elements of a nimble culture. Discover the mistakes that you have to embrace the journey of a nimble culture. Get the show notes for The Importance of a Nimble Culture with Jan Bednar at Ship​M​onk Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Jan Bednar with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/444 #NimbleCulture #Leadership #GHepisode444 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

When you have a fast-growth culture, you have a team that will move with agility and one that embraces change. Culture is often claimed to be important to company stability. It is critical to company growth. Today, I talk with Kevin Lustig, CEO of Scientist.com to discuss the power of a fast-growth culture. Kevin shares details about leadership and team that will help you develop your fast-growth culture.

Discover how to hire the best employees with one of the fastest-growing companies in the 2018 Inc Magazine List. Founder and CEO, Ben Wright, shares how Velocity Global grew so fast. He decided only to hire 10s. He wanted a culture of the best employees. Get the details on how to hire the best employees in this interview with Ben. He shares the five steps and why he does not start with looking at the employee's resume. Get the show notes for How to Hire the Best Employees with Ben Wright at Velocity Global Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank Featuring Ben Wright with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/442 #HowtoHiretheBestEmployees #Leadership #GHepisode442 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Growth Think Tank is the new name. Welcome to the podcast. For five years this show has been called, Leaders in the Trenches. The change to Growth Think Tank is to represent significant changes happening. Tune in to this episode to see what is different and what is the same. Growth Think Tank is here to help you grow your company and grow as a leader. Get the show notes for New and Improved - New Name is Growth Think Tank Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Growth Think Tank with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/441 #GrowthThinkTank #Leadership #GHepisode441 #GTTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Flexible working arrangements are the new craze. Employees want to work from home or coffee shops on their time. Employers want to embrace flexibility and yet get the work done too. Beyond flexible working, arrangements are the notion of working less than 40 hours in a week. I found Natalie Nagele, co-founder of Wildbit. They are a digital agency that has embraced the idea of a standard 32 hours work week. We talk about flexible working arrangements and how they came to fit the work into four days of work. Discover the keys to flexible working arrangements in this interview with Natalie. Get the show notes for Beyond Flexible Working Arrangements- The Power of a 32-Hour Work Week with Natalie Nagele Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Natalie Nagele with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/440 #Flexibleworkingarrangements #Leadership #GHepisode440 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Mental barriers for leaders can stop even the strongest most committed. We all have mental barriers or if you prefer psychological obstacles. We can do the work to go beyond them, or we can let those mental barriers prevent us. I sought out someone that has pushed past many mental barriers and who has helped millions do the same. Today we have the founder of Spartan, Joe De Sena. Spartan is the world's largest obstacle race and endurance brand. Each year more than a million people participate in 200 races filled with obstacles to challenge you physically and mentally. Joe shares with me his secrets to understanding mental barriers and how you can push yourself beyond them. Tune in today to go beyond your mental barriers. Get the show notes for Pushing Beyond Your Mental Barriers for Leaders with Joe De Sena, Founder of Spartan, the Obstacles Races Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Joe De Sena with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/439 #Mentalbarriersforleaders #Leadership #GHepisode439 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Creative ideas are necessary for companies that are evolving quickly and innovating in their market. Creative ideas don't come from just the good ideas. You have to have bad ideas too. I talked with Zvi Band, co-founder of Contactually, the CRM that provides unique features to enhance relationships. Zvi shared with me how bad ideas become creative ideas. He shared that some of those bad ideas are his. He wants his team to feel safe to contribute to the creative ideas of the company strategy. Discover how creative ideas are created and nurtured in today's interview. Get the show notes for Bad ideas Lead to Creative Ideas with Zvi Band with Contactually Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Zvi Band with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/438 #CreativeIdeas #Leadership #GHepisode438 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Discover how to create team alignment that improves your company growth. One critical factor for a leader is to create team alignment so that each person is going in the same direction. Most companies find it easy to alignment when they are small (less than five employees) and tend to struggle in creating team alignment as the team grows. Our guest today is Diedre Paknad, co-founder of WorkBoard. Diedre's company creates software to help an organization with their OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). Discover how to create team alignment in this interview with Diedre. Get the show notes for How to Create Team Alignment with Diedre Paknad Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Diedre Paknad with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/437 #HowtoCreateTeamAlignment #Leadership #GHepisode437 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Improving your leadership skills is required in today's professional world. The pace of change drives us to think of new ways to activate people. Improving your leadership skills will make you more valuable to your company. Joel Beasley is the founder of Leader Bits, a company that creates bite-sized training that aims to improve your leadership skills. The company mainly focuses on technical employees that want to move into a leadership role. Discover new insights on how to improve your leadership skills. Get the show notes for Improving Your Leadership Skills When They are Technical Experts With Joel Beasley Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Joel Beasley with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/436 #ImprovingYourLeadershipSkills #Leadership #GHepisode436 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Leading a turnaround will challenge even the best leaders. The momentum is going the wrong way, and there is never just one thing off. In my decades of leadership, leading a turnaround for a company is hard. Today I'm talking with Steve Lucas, former CEO of Marketo. Adobe acquired Marketo in late 2018. Steve is now SVP, Business Development, Digital Experience at Adobe. Steve led the turnaround of Marketo when retention was soaring, and the people had lost the desire to contribute meaningful work to company growth. Steve gives you new ways to think about leadership. Discover the keys to leading a turnaround in this interview.

Developing a content strategy is often overlooked. Either we become reactive and create content when we feel like it. Or we fail to create content that aligns with our goals and leads people through the customer journey. I generate a ton of content. Over the years, I have discovered the power of developing a content strategy. Today's guest is Michael Brenner, who is an expert in content strategy for B2B companies. Tune-in to today's interview where Michael shares his wisdom on developing a content strategy. Get the show notes for Developing a Content Strategy with Michael Brenner Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Michael Brenner with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/434 #DevelopingaContentStrategy #Leadership #GHepisode434 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Better 1 on 1 meetings with your direct reports starts with a better understanding of the person that you are talking too. If you understand what they want to accomplish, the progress they have made lately, and the challenges they are facing, your 1 on 1 meetings with each employee will improve. There are many ways to tune in to them before the meeting. Today's guest is David Hassell, CEO of 15five.com. Their software enables you to tune-in to what is going on with your people and creates powerful ways to lead them. David shares some research the company has collected that will improve your 1 on 1 meetings. Get the show notes for How to Have Better One-on-One Meetings with David Hassell Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring David Hassell with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/433 #1on1Meetings #Leadership #GHepisode433 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Operationalizing Your Values is a process that takes understanding and application of values to the deepest levels in the company. When you operationalize your values, you create a way for the people to live and work according to the values of the company. Operationalizing your value is often skipped. Most of the time it is overlooked. Entrepreneurial leaders are often optimistic. They are so optimistic that they believe once the values are created, that everyone will change the way they behave at work. Our guest today is Brandon Hull. He is VP of Strategy and Sales, Pacific Digital Group. We talk about why operationalizing your values is so important and to do it in today's workplace. Get the show notes for Operationalizing Your Values with Brandon Hull Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Brandon Hull with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/432 #OperationalizingYourValues #Leadership #GHepisode432 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Leading a rebrand is a challenge no matter what the business. But when you have a brand with a legacy in their market the biggest challenge is aligning people inside and outside the company to this new change. Our guest today is David Marine, Chief Marketing Officer for Coldwell Banker. David shares his strategies so you can learn from the process. where he positively influences consumers and the brand's global network on a mass scale from his management of world-class, award-winning advertising campaigns to elevating Coldwell Banker's digital footprint each year with his creativity in regard to content and video creation which has garnered well over 100 million video views. Get the show notes for Leading a Rebrand with Coldwell Banker Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring @david_marine with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/431 #LeadingArebrand #Leadership #GHepisode431 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Buy-in for a shared vision of the company is a powerful force for growth. A shared vision is one with the alignment of direction. It like the crew boat that has all the crew members rowing together in rhythm. Today's guest is Steve Wiggins, Founder, and Chairman of Remedy. Steve has over 30 years of experience in launching and managing companies in multiple sectors of healthcare, including healthcare services, health insurance, specialty pharmaceuticals, medical technology, and healthcare information technology. We talk about what is Buy-in and why it matters. We talk about the critical elements of a shared vision so that you can align your team. Get the show notes for Creating Buy-In for Your Shared Vision with Steve Wiggins Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Steve Wiggins with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/430 #SharedVision #Leadership #GHepisode430 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Learning to lead in today's world is critical. We must let go of attempts to control our people if we want them to think for themselves. There is no micro-management in today's fast pace of change for companies that are growing fast. Today's guest is Ron Williams, author of Learning to Lead. Ron is the former chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Aetna Inc., a diversified benefits company. We talk about the importance of learning to lead in today's growth. You will discover the essentials in learning to lead. Get the show notes for Learning to Lead by Leading Yourself First with Ron Williams Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Ron Williams with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/429 #LearningtoLead #Leadership #GHepisode429 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Your superpower holds the key to massive growth and increased ease in your business growth journey. What is your superpower? In my initial years of growing my company and my team, I had no idea about this concept of superpowers. I discovered over the years that it is best to let people work form their strengths. Tuning into your superpower will give you a road map to success. Knowing how to determine the superpower of others will make you a better leader too. Today, I share with you a simple framework that you can use to help you find your superpower and those of the people that work with you. When you take the time to map out the superpowers, you will be able to grow faster. Discover what is your superpower. Use your superpower to help your team grow too. Get the show notes for What is your Superpower and Making Others the Hero of Their Story Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/428 #WhatisYourSuperpower #Leadership #GHepisode428 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

We all have inflection points in our businesses and the journey of leadership. The question is how will you meet those opportunities for growth. The inflection points of growth as a leader sometimes require you to bite your tongue. This is important if you want to get the highest value from your employees. Today, I share with you insights from Gary Georke, CEO of Clarity Voice. He talks about his inflections points in the full interview. Get the show notes for The Inflection Points of Growth as a Leader with Gary Goerke Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Gary Goerke with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/427 #RInflectionPointsofGrowth #Leadership #GHepisode427 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Retaining rockstars at your company will help you create a team that can innovate and navigates change. I talk to many leaders that stress about retaining rockstars. It starts with a strong mission and includes the ability to recruit rockstars. Today, I share with you the truth about retaining rockstars that I learned from my interviews with the Inc 500 leaders. They are proud of the revenue growth that put them in the Inc 500, but these leaders are more proud of their retention numbers. They have nearly zero turnover rate. Get the show notes for Recruiting and Retaining Rockstars Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/426 #RetainingRockstars #Leadership #GHepisode426 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

The cost of retention is massive for companies that have employees leaving before you are ready for them to go. To calculate the cost of retention you want to make sure you include the direct and indirect costs. My guest today is Stephen King, CEO of Growth Force. Growth Force is an outsourced accounting company that has done extensive research on the cost of retention. We talk about how you can calculate it for yourself and what you can do about it to make sure it is not an issue for you. Discover your cost of retention in today's interview. Get the show notes for How to Calculate the Cost of Retention with Stephen King Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring @skingGForce with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/425 #CostofRetention #Leadership #GHepisode425 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Being a better leader requires you to have a variety of leadership traits. The leadership traits of an evolved leader must be continuously put on the forefront of your priorities. In my early days as a leader, I struggled to connect with my team and get them to think for themselves. I didn't have a solid understanding of the leadership traits that matter. Today, I am sharing with you the four leadership traits that employees want the most. These traits will improve your influence and increase the profitability of your team. Get the show notes for Your Team Wants These 4 Leadership Traits Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett https://www.genehammett.com/424 #LeadershipTraits #Leadership #GHepisode424 #LITTepisodes #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!