How Leaders Lead with David Novak

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Geoff Yang, the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Redpoint Ventures, to learn even more about how to assess people for the skills and traits your team needs. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Today’s guest is my friend Geoff Yang, the founding partner and managing director of Redpoint Ventures. He’s a legendary venture capitalist who’s backed companies like Stripe, Netflix, Sonos, and DraftKings … just to name a few. I gotta say, Geoff really knows how to spot what ideas are gonna catch on. And in this conversation, we go into detail about what he looks for in a new idea and the big trends he’s excited about. But Geoff doesn’t just assess the ideas. He assesses the people behind them. He has to decide whether an entrepreneur has what it takes to turn that idea into a thriving company. So he’s become an expert at knowing exactly what traits great entrepreneurs have. And he’s gotten really good at assessing whether or not someone has them. That’s a skill EVERY leader needs because the consequences of making a poor assessment of talent and character can be pretty darn painful. But Geoff is proof positive that amazing things happen when we get it right. So if you want to know how to assess people, then you will love this conversation with my good friend, and soon to be yours, Geoff Yang. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Brian Cornell, the Chairman and CEO of Target, to learn even more about how to manage your energy for peak performance as a leader. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

As a leader, you face long days, tough decisions, and constant pressure. And you want to navigate it all with courage and creativity and all the other great qualities we talk about here on the podcast. But to do ALL that, day in and day out, you need one thing: energy! And lots of it. Without it, you just won’t have the strength and stamina it takes to inspire others. If you want to become a great leader, you have to know how to manage your mental and physical energy. Fortunately, today’s guest is the perfect person to help you learn how. I’m talking with Brian Cornell, who has served as the Chairman and CEO of Target for the last eight years. I gotta tell ya, he is so upbeat and positive. He is ALWAYS dialed in. And it’s that unrelenting energy that has helped him lead Target as they’ve navigated massive retail challenges and come out even stronger. He’s going to inspire you with his energy – and he’s also going to tell you exactly what changed 15 years ago when he started to manage it differently. So here is my conversation with my good friend, and soon to be yours, Brian Cornell. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Stan Druckenmiller, the #1 investor in the world. Listen in to hear even more about how to see the future differently and make more strategic investments in business, philanthropy, and life. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Welcome to How Leaders Lead where every week, you get to listen in while I interview some of the VERY best leaders in the world. I break down the key learnings so that by the end of the episode, you’ll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader. That’s what this podcast is all about! Today’s guest is Stanley Druckenmiller, the #1 investor in the world. I know, that’s a big claim! But get this: during his 30 years managing money for investors, he had an average annual return of 31%. And he NEVER had a down year. So if you’re even a little interested in finance, you’re going to learn a lot from Stan – including some really practical investment advice and his take on the future of our economy. But more importantly, there’s a huge leadership lesson to learn. Stan isn’t afraid to envision the future differently than other people. He can see trends and patterns others can’t – and then he has the courage to act on them. That’s a skill EVERY leader needs to develop. Seeing the future differently allows us to spot opportunities and prepare for what’s coming. If we just go with the flow of what’s current, we’ll always just be a part of the trend, not ahead of it. You’re about to see for yourself how great leaders aren’t afraid to see the future differently. So here is my conversation with my good friend, and soon to be yours, Stanley Druckenmiller. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Mark Erwin, the President and CEO of Bardstown Bourbon. Listen in to hear even more about how to achieve high performing success by equipping your team properly. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

If you want a high performing company, you need to build a high performing team. And we all want to get the most from our teams, but what do they need from us as leaders in order to succeed? Fortunately for us, I’m talking with Mark Erwin today. Now, this is a guy who has spent decades building and leading strong teams. He’s currently the President and CEO of Bardstown Bourbon, where he and his team are doing incredible things to stand out in a really crowded category. And he spent 25 years serving the Army, where he led the super elite Delta Force on countless top-secret missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact … I’m just gonna go ahead and say it … if you live in America, you’re safer today because of the way Mark Erwin built and commanded his teams. And as we mark the anniversary of 9/11 this week, I sure as heck am grateful for it. Some really incredible things are possible when we as leaders build strong teams – and Mark says that starts by equipping them properly. If you’re ready to see how that’s done, keep listening, because here is my conversation with my good friend, and soon to be yours, Mark Erwin. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL. Listen in to hear even more about why it's important to fight complacency when your organization is doing well. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Well I couldn’t be more excited, because the new NFL season kicks off this week! Yeah, that’s right … football is back, baby! And it’s the perfect time to sit down and talk with my friend Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the National Football League. He is starting his sixteenth year as NFL Commissioner, and if you follow the news at all, you know Roger has had to make some tough decisions and deal with his fair share of challenges. And of COURSE we’re gonna dig into that during this conversation because there’s a lot we can learn about how he leads. But on the other hand, he’s the chief executive of the most popular pro sports league in the U.S. That kind of success comes with its OWN challenges. What does great leadership look like when your product is so dang popular? How do you fight against the complacency that often comes when you’re succeeding? Keep listening so you can learn exactly how to keep pushing the status quo, no matter what level of success you’ve achieved. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Kelly Coffey, CEO of City National Bank. Listen in to hear even more about why it's important to embrace feedback and create new channels for getting it. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Ask any decent leader if it’s important to get feedback, and you’ll get the same answer. Of COURSE it is. We have to listen to what our teams and customers are saying if we want to improve our businesses. But getting good feedback is harder than it sounds. You can’t just put a comment box in the break room and call it a day! If you truly want to embrace feedback, you need a plan to get it and a genuine desire to listen to it. And nobody embraces feedback better than today’s guest, Kelly Coffey. She’s the CEO of City National Bank, where she oversees 5,000 associates in 70 offices, PLUS over 56 billion dollars in assets. And she’s building something really special because she is SO open to her team’s ideas, and her team knows exactly how to share those ideas with her. You’re about to learn so much about how great leaders embrace feedback. You’ll also discover: How to get more feedback and collaboration from your team A critical reminder for ALL leaders, no matter how fast-paced your world is One practical idea to boost your confidence and quell those internal doubts A key insight for anyone who works in a job where you need to be highly responsive Advice for women who work in a male-dominated industries Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Cyrus Freidheim, Management Consultant and Former CEO of Chiquita and Chicago Sun-Times. Listen in to hear even more about why it's important to get an outside perspective. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Today’s guest is Cyrus Freidheim, the former CEO of both Chiquita and the Chicago Sun-Times and an absolutely legendary management consultant. Consultants often get a bad rap for over-charging and under-delivering. (And let’s be honest – sometimes, they deserve it!) But the RIGHT consultant delivers something that’s vital for your business: an outside perspective. It’s often the only way you can diagnose and fix your blind spots. And if you don’t, those blind spots will come back to haunt you! In this conversation, Cyrus will show you how to use that outside perspective to grow your businesses. As a consultant, he’s turned around countless organizations. He’s served on dozens of boards, and of course, he’s faced his own leadership challenges as CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times. He really has seen it all, and there is so much we can learn from him about the power of an outside perspective. You’ll also learn: The first question you need to ask if you want to turn a business around What to do when you face a major disagreement you just can’t resolve Two vital ingredients in a successful consultant-leader relationship Why having (and becoming) a mentor is crucial to your success Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Jesse Cole, the owner of the Savannah Bananas. Listen in to hear even more about why it's important to get people's attention. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

You can have the very best product, service, or cause in the world, but in order for it to really succeed, you need to be able to get people’s eyes and ears on it. You need their attention. But it’s harder than ever to get it. Fortunately for us, this episode features Jesse Cole, the Owner of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. He is an absolute genius at getting attention. And even better, he knows how to turn it into lasting loyalty. The Bananas are not your everyday baseball team! They are out to make baseball fun – they’re putting pitchers on stilts and lighting bats on fire and doing all kinds of wacky stuff. And it’s working. They sell out every game … they have over 2 million followers on TikTok … and they’re attracting serious attention from MLB teams who want to know how they do it. Jesse is gonna help you apply his strategies, so your organization can get the attention it really deserves. You’ll also learn: What to say to your team when big ideas don’t work One strategy you can use this week to inject fresh ideas into your organization Why it’s okay to be misunderstood (and how to cope when it’s hard) How to shift your focus from getting customers to getting fans Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Marisa Thalberg, the chief brand and marketing officer of Lowe's. Listen in to hear even more about why it's important to embrace big changes with curiosity. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

There’s that old saying that the only constant is change. Isn’t that the truth? And it’s especially true for leaders. We’ve always got to be scanning the horizon for the next disruption or big idea. Some leaders see those shifts coming and feel threatened. But great leaders know how to embrace those big changes with curiosity – and they’re the ones who find the new opportunities that big changes always bring. This conversation is going to help you become that kind of leader. Our guest is Marisa Thalberg, the Chief Brand and Marketing Officer of Lowe's – and an absolute legend in the marketing world. She was out ahead of digital and social at Estee Lauder. Her keen instincts at Taco Bell redefined the brand at a crucial time. And now, she’s at Lowe’s, looking ahead to how data and loyalty are once again changing the game. If you want to learn how to leverage big changes for your business, this is the conversation for you. We’re going to see exactly how great leaders embrace big changes with curiosity. You’ll also learn: The trick to connecting dots that others might miss in order to differentiate a brand How to lead a creative process – and the #1 thing to avoid when you start Practical ways you can maximize sponsorships Three things every business leader should know about working moms Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Guy Raz, the host and creator of two wildly popular podcasts "How I Built This" and "Wisdom from the Top." Listen in to hear even more about why it's important to act in the service of others. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Guy is a remarkable leader who not only has the most soothing voice you’ll ever hear, but the motivation behind all that he does is something we can all learn from and be inspired by. And it’s this: he wants to serve his listeners and add value to their lives. I’ll tell ya’ ... I can’t think of a better quality of leadership than that—doing all that you do in service of others. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Bill Harrison, the former Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Listen in to hear even more about why it's important to prepare the next leader. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Have you ever worked for somebody who’s taken you under their wing and believed in you enough to pave the way for you to take his or her job? Let me tell you, throughout my career, I’ve had the great fortune of this happening to me multiple times. But here’s the sad thing, I don’t think this is all too common of a story. Too many leaders have a “you work for me” mentality and the last thing they want is for you to take their job. So they actually hold you back. So what do we do about this? Well, we can learn to be the kind of leader who can identify top talent and do whatever is required to help them succeed in their careers, so that they’re prepared to take your job or another another job like it. On this week’s episode, you’re going to learn how to do this from one of the all-time greats. Bill Harrison is an example to follow in how he prepared the next leader of JPMorganChase (Jamie Dimon). Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Dawn Sweeney, former President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. Listen in to hear even more about why speaking up when something can be better is a quality of great leaders. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Today’s guest is Dawn Sweeney, the former President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association. Steve Jobs used to say of Apple: “Excellence is the price of admission.” What he meant by that was that excellence was standard operating procedure. It’s what was expected. In an environment like this, colleagues push each other to make things better. They push the boundary of what’s possible, and if someone feels like a project or an idea can be better, they speak up! Dawn Sweeney, and the great leaders I know, do this very same thing. They speak up when something can be better. They don’t accept the status quo, but instead have the courage to push for making everything the best it can be. This, my friends, is what it looks like to strive for excellence. And doing things with excellence is the mark of a great company. If you haven't already, sign up for my weekly leadership development plan and get the tips you need to get prepare for a busy week straight in your inbox on Sunday evenings. Go to https://howleaderslead.com/plan and sign up today. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our featured guest. On this episode, we're talking about our interview with Rob Manfred, Commissioner of MLB. Listen in to hear even more about how finding common ground is a quality of every great leader. If you want a simple plan to improve as a leader, you can get one here for free — https://howleaderslead.com/plan

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you have to make a tough call and you know that no matter what you choose, someone won’t be happy? What are you supposed to do in those moments? Well, Rob Manfred is no stranger to this dilemma. Each and every day, he has to manage relationships with the 30 team owners, the players, the fans, and the union. What you’ll hear in this conversion is how Rob finds common ground to keep moving forward. Finding common ground is not always easy, but it’s a skill that I’ve found in so many of the leaders I respect. Baseball fan or not, I know there’s a lot for you to learn about leadership from today’s conversation. If you haven't already, sign up for my weekly leadership development plan and get the tips you need to get prepare for a busy week straight in your inbox on Sunday evenings. Go to https://howleaderslead.com/plan and sign up today. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Welcome back to 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our guests. This week, we're talking about Jason Kelly, Cofounder and CEO of Ginkgo BioWorks. Today my co-host Koula Callahan asks me about learning from companies in other industries, communicating vision to get employee buy-in, and explaining the complexities of Yum! Brands with clear and compelling stories. If you haven't already, sign up for my weekly leadership development plan and get the tips you need to get prepare for a busy week straight in your inbox on Sunday evenings. Go to https://howleaderslead.com/plan and sign up today.

Today’s guest is Jason Kelly, the cofounder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, the largest designer of synthetic DNA in the world. Think back to the last time someone asked you what you did for a living. For as simple of a question this is, it can actually be really hard to answer. The reason is, in the back of your mind you might be thinking “where do I even start?!” Running a business is complex! But until you learn to simplify all of the complexity and learn to talk about what you do in a simple way, you’ll be limiting the kind of impact you could be making as a leader. And this is something that Jason Kelly has mastered. I mean, tell me a more complex business to have to explain than a synthetic biology platform company. And yet, Jason has learned to simplify the complex. I’m no bioengineering buff but when I hear Jason talk about Ginkgo and what’s possible with the technology they’re pioneering and scaling, he has me leaning in! So whether you’re leading a billion-dollar brand or a small business, how you communicate as a leader matters. The great leaders I know have learned to simplify the complex. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today is the first edition of 3 More Questions, an episode series where we continue the conversation that we started last week with our guests. This week, we're talking about Ken Langone, Cofounder of The Home Depot. To co-host the show, I’m bringing in someone from my team so we can dive deeper into my conversation with Ken and learn a little more about leadership. Koula Callahan leads our content and marketing, and today she gets to turn the tables and ask ME three questions based on last week's episode. Let's get started! If you haven't already, sign up for my weekly leadership development plan and get the tips you need to get prepare for a busy week straight in your inbox on Sunday evenings. Go to https://howleaderslead.com/plan/ and sign up today.

Today's guest is really special. He’s a person I love with all my heart and who's been a mentor of mine for several years. He's Ken Langone, the Cofounder of The Home Depot and Chairman of NYU Langone Health. Now, here's a guy who's had more success than you could ever imagine in almost every way you could think about it. He's the most popular guest host of Squawk Box. He’s sought out on every major issue by the media. He's even been featured on 60 Minutes for his breakthrough thinking at NYU Langone Health. He's an incredible business leader and a renowned philanthropist. And one thing will be absolutely clear when you listen to this conversation. The reason why he's had so much success is his deep down belief in the power of people. There's no doubt Ken believes that you have to recognize people, recognize talent, believe in them and show up for the people you have the privilege to lead. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Carol Loomis, Former Senior Editor-at-large at Fortune magazine. There’s so much I admire about how Carol has navigated her career. She’s blazed her own trail and done things no women had ever done before in the journalism field, which has paved the way for women in other industries too. Not only did she create what is known today as the Fortune 500 list, she was an advisor, editor, and friend to Warren Buffet, who she’d talk to almost daily for decades. She even wrote a book about him called “Tap Dancing to Work.” But what stands out to me about how Carol leads is that she’s taken one step at a time. She pushed through barriers and made a name for herself by doing excellent work until she retired from Fortune after working there for 60 years. There’s a lot to learn about her tenacity and drive, and her one step at a time approach. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

There's so much to admire about Jon Rahm. He's obviously super talented, absolutely the real deal, and an extraordinary competitor. But I think you'll be surprised to learn that one of his most distinguishing characteristics is his love for the history of the game. Not only does it help him to appreciate those who’ve come before him, but he uses what he’s learned to give him a competitive edge and help him in the heat of battle. Knowing your history can be your advantage too. Because here's the thing: the best leaders I know use history to learn from and inspire them about what’s possible. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Bill Acquavella, one of the most renowned art dealers in the world and Head of Acquavella Galleries. In the art business, reputation is everything. Bill has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art and his customers, people like Mick Jagger and Steve Wynn and Henry Ford II, have absolute trust in what they’re buying from him. They’re confident spending money with Bill like they do because of the confidence they have in him. So the question for us is: how do we build up our reputations as leaders where people will trust us in the big moments? Well, this is an episode chock full of stories from some of Bill’s biggest deals. We can learn to build up trust by hearing how he’s built up his. It’s true for Bill and it’s true for leaders … reputation is everything. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Juliet Funt, the CEO of the Juliet Funt group where she’s a tough-love advisor to Fortune 500 companies like Google, Costco, Nike, and Spotify. She’s also an author and we’re going to be talking about her book A Minute to Think throughout the conversation. Now when was the last time you had a minute to think? Because if you’re like a lot of leaders, your calendar is jam packed and when you’re not in meetings, you can hardly keep up with constant emails and a task list that seems to have no end. So what are we supposed to do about the kind of work where we need to stop and think before we respond? Or when we need to strategize about a crisis that’s imminent? There just doesn’t seem to be time! And it’s costing us in more ways than we even realize. Juliet is about to teach us how we can get rid of the busyness in our lives so that we can show up as better leaders. There are so many practical takeaways in this episode and I can’t wait for you to listen in. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Ryan Serhant, star of Bravo’s television series Million Dollar Listing: New York and Sell it Like Serhant. He also runs a wildly successful real estate firm. We all know that a leader casts a shadow in their organization, meaning the people in the company mirror what they see in their leader. The truth is, some leaders aren’t fully committed. While they may be clocking in everyday, their teams can see them going through the motions, and so what they get in return is a disengaged team that’s mirroring their lack of commitment. But then there are leaders like Ryan who go ALL IN! They are the leaders who are excited to go to work, and their excitement and energy spill over to their teams, and as a result, they have engaged teams who bring their best each and every day. My guess is that you probably want to be a leader—and have a team—more like Ryan. How can you make that happen? Well, what you’re about to learn from Ryan Serhant is what it looks like to go all in and the impact that approach will have on the team you lead. And boy, does Ryan have some crazy stories! I’ll let him tell the full version, but there was a time he flew to Europe in an attempt to close an $8 million deal for an apartment in New York. Talk about going all in! Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Paul Varga, the former Chairman and CEO of Brown-Forman, the largest distilling company in the world with brands like Jack Daniels and Woodford Reserve. They have a saying at Brown-Forman, “Build Forever.” The company started in 1890, and the way Paul sees it, it was his responsibility to steward two key parts of the business. He wanted to continue to build their iconic brands, but he also made it a top priority to build their people up as well. Because what a tragedy it would be if the brands grew and their people didn’t grow with it! What you’re about to hear is why Paul cared so deeply about developing his people and ultimately, how that drove success in their business. The great leaders I know build forever, stewarding both their brands and their people. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today's guest is Molly Fletcher, who CNN hailed as the female Jerry Maguire, for her work negotiating over $500 million in contracts as a sports agent. If I were to ask you what you do for a living, my guess is you likely wouldn't respond with “I'm a negotiator.” But when you think about it, you're in negotiations multiple times a day: as you collaborate with your team about a project deadline, as your leadership team debates what the company should focus on, and even something as simple as which restaurant you should go to for a client meeting. You constantly have to work through a variety of priorities to settle on a satisfactory decision. The great leaders I know understand that they are constantly negotiating and have learned to navigate these situations extremely well. And you're about to learn negotiation from someone who has done a lot of it. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today's guest is Patrick Spence, the CEO of Sonos. So many tech companies that build consumer products are set up in a way where they make their products obsolete every time they launch a new product. The idea is that the minute the new device is available, their customers will abandon the old product and buy the newest model. But what's interesting is that Sonos has a very different strategy. They set out to build their products to last. They want their customers to have their products for a long, long time. It's a unique approach in their industry. But there's something about it, that core principle that ties in well with the mark of a great leader. You see, the great leaders, I know, they build the last, they make decisions to keep the brand strong beyond just the present moment. They develop leaders in their organization. So there's always a pipeline of strong talent when new opportunities arise. They treat their customers with dignity and respect, which breeds long term brand loyalty. I could go on and on and what you're about to hear from Patrick Spence, and how he leads Sonos as their CEO, is that he's leading with this build the last approach in all aspects of the business. I can't wait for you to listen in. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today's guest is Terry McGurk, the Chairman of the Atlanta Braves. In 2016, right after the Braves went 68-93 (a pretty rough season), Terry told me that it would take five years to turn the franchise around. Well guess what? He had a turnaround plan that worked. And in 2021, the Braves won the World Series, which is exactly what he predicted. In this episode, you'll hear him talk about how they did this. But the lesson for us here as leaders is that Terry had extreme clarity about where he and the organization needed to go. Many leaders don't have a clear vision for their teams. Instead, they get caught in a vicious cycle of responding to emails and attending meetings without doing the necessary work to pause and zoom out and get clear about where the company needs to go. The goal of the leader is to take their team to victory. And we can't do that if we haven't first identified exactly where we need to go. You're about to hear how a great leader like Terry McGuirk had a clear view of success and how he assembled a team around him to execute that vision. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Larry Bossidy … the former chairman and CEO of Honeywell International and author of the book Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. Have you ever put together a business strategy that didn’t work? Or perhaps the plans to execute that strategy weren’t effective and ultimately, you failed? Building a strategy is one thing and executing it successfully is another. But Larry knows what it takes to get things done and in this conversation, you’re going to hear how he leverages three things, just three things to make big things happen: people, strategy, and operations. It was the process and discipline he put around those parts of the business that made his teams successful and it’s what you can focus on as a leader if you too want to be successful. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Elane Stock, the CEO of ServiceMaster Brands. There’s an adage I’m sure you’ve heard: the only way to gain control is to give up control. If you’ve ever run a business or led a team, you know how true this statement is. I’m sure you also know how hard it can be to give up control. But if we want our companies to grow, we have to learn to trust our partners and team members and allow them to do their part to build the business. What you’re going to hear in this episode is how Elane has learned to give up control while running a franchise system where her company owns the brands and the franchisees own their independent businesses. Whether you’re struggling to give up control running a large business with franchisees or running a small business, there’s a lot here for you on today’s episode. And here’s what I want you to learn today: the great leaders I know have learned to give up control. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is James Gorman, the Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley. In Australia, there’s something known as the Tall Poppy Syndrome. In a field of poppies, there are always one or two that stand out from the rest and it disrupts the beauty of the field. And so for that reason, they’ll snip off those poppies … they trim them down so they don’t stand out amongst the others. What’s interesting is that as a culture, Australians do this with one another. If someone starts to succeed and think too highly of themselves, they help to keep each other grounded. And it’s important for all of us, as leaders, to know who keeps us grounded. Humility is vital if we want our success to be sustainable. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Jim Nantz, an Emmy Award winning sports commentator, and in my opinion, the top sports commentator in the world! He’s the voice of the NFL on CBS, the NCAA’s March Madness, and golf—in particular, the Masters. As you well know, Jim is an incredible storyteller and communicator. He is able to pull stories and statistics seemingly from nowhere that really capture the moment. What you may not realize is just how much work he puts in to prepare for every broadcast. Regardless of how much time you spend in front of a camera, showing up prepared is a quality of great leaders. And I’ll tell you, Jim is an exceptional leader who’s at the top of his game. I think you’re going to learn a lot from Jim and be inspired by how he does his work. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today, we're going to talk about a book that I coauthored with my friend Jason Goldsmith, a sports performance coach for world class athletes. The book is available now wherever you buy books, and is titled Take Charge of You: How Self-Coaching Can Transform Your Life and Career. Now, what makes this book different is you can obviously read this book from front to back, and I know you'll enjoy the stories that Jason and I tell. But the big differentiator is that we have great exercises and tools that you can use in this book to help you coach yourself to reach your full potential in your life and career. This is a book you can not only read, it's a book you can use again and again to take yourself to new heights. Now, you know, I usually do these podcasts myself and ask all the questions, but I thought it'd be a lot of fun to let you hear from both Jason and I and have someone else interview us. So I asked my friend Donna Barton Brothers to sit in and guide our conversation. Donna is a former jockey and world renowned broadcaster for NBC. She's the one you see at the Kentucky Derby interviewing the winner on horseback (while riding backwards). So we're off to the races! Let's not wait any longer. Here's a very fun conversation with two of my good friends, Donna Barton Brothers and Jason Goldsmith. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

In this BONUS episode of How Leaders Lead, David shares the introduction to his new book, Take Charge of You: How Self-Coaching can Transform your Life and Career. Find out how to take the methods and metrics of coaching into your own hands and find the success you want in life.

This week’s guest is Dr. Tom House, a world-renowned expert in the biomechanics of throwing who's coached elite athletes like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Nolan Ryan, and Greg Maddux. He's been called a quarterback whisperer and a pitching guru, but if you ask him, he prefers to simply be called “coach.” Tom is the preeminent pioneer who brought science into the coaching equation. For decades, Tom has used elite athletes to create models that others can replicate. For example, if you're a little league pitcher or high school quarterback, Tom has developed technology that will compare your mechanics and timing to Nolan Ryan or Tom Brady. Now just think about the coaching that provides young up-and-coming athletes! The leadership lesson for us here is that we should do the same in business. We should look to those who’ve come before us that have been wildly successful and mirror our approach to what they do to build healthy, high-performing businesses. The great leaders learn from the best and then apply those learnings to be even more successful themselves. You're going to learn: How to learn from the best and democratize that information How to make a habit of continuous improvement How to embrace failure as a more valuable learning experience than success What Tom learned when he slowed down Sandy Kofax’s pitch, and how that information transformed coaching How to turn broken players into top-performers Why preparation is more valuable than talent How Tom Brady became one of the fastest quarterbacks in NFL history How Drew Brees went from a busted, career-ending shoulder injury back to top-performance The story behind Disney’s movie Million Dollar Arm How to bring out the best in your team members PLUS, Tom’s advice the parents of student athlete (hint: the struggle is worth it). Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today's guest is Stephanie Stuckey, the CEO of Stuckey’s. This company started in 1937 by Stephanie's grandfather who opened a single store in eastern Georgia. It was one of the country's first roadside retail shops. At its peak in the 1970s, Stuckey’s had grown to 368 stores in 40 states, along pretty much every major interstate. From humble beginnings to a roadside empire. But then, things turned for the worst due to external threats and internal weaknesses. When Stephanie took over the business in 2019, she was faced with challenges in every aspect of the business. How do you reimagine a brand and get the train back on the track? Well, you can't live in the past. You can't be thinking about how it used to be. You have to think about how it has to be TODAY. So she went to work thinking about new possibilities, new ways to make money, and new ways to satisfy customers. The result? A company that was losing money is now profitable again and the brand legacy has been restored. So whether you're leading a turnaround like Stephanie is or simply need to reimagine the way you get things done in your company or with your team, there's a lot you can learn from this week’s episode, like: How to revive a brand How to generate new revenue streams The benefits of an entrepreneurial mindset How to build rapport with customers and partners How to cultivate employee involvement PLUS, how a has-been company is making a comeback in 21st century style. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today’s guest is Shantanu Narayen, the Chairman and CEO of Adobe. It’s the leader’s job to communicate the vision of the company in a way that ignites the hearts and minds of the people they lead and plant the flag of a big idea. Our teams don’t show up simply for the paycheck. They want something bigger to be a part of, a compelling vision to get behind that infuses all kinds of meaning and passion into their day to day. Since 2018, Adobe’s valuation has tripled and is now at 300 billion dollars. That type of growth is possible because of the work Shantanu has done to lead his team toward a compelling vision. Adobe is a team of innovators and they’re chasing a vision they believe in, one their team is pursuing together, and with passion. There’s a lot we can learn from Shantanu and how he’s igniting the hearts and minds of the people he leads. In this episode, you’ll learn: How a software engineer becomes a CEO, and what roads and flags have to do with it How to prioritize long-term innovation AND short-term execution How to disrupt your own company in order to stay ahead of competitors Why having data AND a narrative matters in an Adobe performance review Why this year’s stock price is not a good indicator of current performance PLUS, Why your vision may not yet be aspirational ENOUGH Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Today's guest is Larry Senn, who's actually the father of corporate culture, and the Chairman and Senn Delaney. Larry and his business partner were hired by Sam Walton in the early days of Walmart. And it was there that Larry began to understand the intangible part of an organization that really makes a difference. Today, we call this company culture, which is simply defined as the way people behave and the way they work together. Believe it or not, Larry published the world's first research on corporate culture, and has spent his entire career helping organizations be at their best, when you think about it, helping others be at their best. That is what being a great leader, and a great coach is all about. And I'll tell you, Larry has made quite an impact in my life as my coach over the years. In this episode, you’re going to learn: How Larry built a flower business and bought a Jaguar K 120 sports car at age 18 How Larry learned that he was in the wrong career after college, and what he did to make a change What Larry learned as a consultant for Sam Walton before Walmart went big How to build exercises that inspire employees to embrace change What jigsaw puzzles reveal about teamwork How to build actionable work values and principles Why it’s hard to get company cultures to change How to develop the mindset of a leader The best and worst things leaders can do for (and to) their companies PLUS How to thrive at work and home without making compromises

Today's guest is Brittany Fuisz, the Founder and CEO of Malibu Mylk. Building something from scratch is not easy. In fact, the majority of businesses that launched don't make it past five years. So what is it that allows some companies to thrive while others fail? Whoever leads the business in the mindset they approach their work with is a key ingredient in the success of a company. And in my conversation with Brittany, you're about to see a unique mindset on full display as she tells a story of launching Malibu Mylk. Brittany has what I call a startup mindset, and what I mean by that is incredible passion to make something big happen and truly change the world. They're not willing for someone to tell them what to do. They think outside the box, they give themselves the permission to charge forward and they attack every unknown and challenge with optimism. In this episode you’ll learn: What’s going on in the milk category How to build a brand from scratch as an outsider How a celebrity’s advice sent Brittany down an unexpected career path How Brittany scaled the success of her blender to something that could be mass-produced How to respond to setbacks in quality What it really takes to be ready for a meeting with Whole Foods How the Malibu Mylk subscription model works The formula for a great culture How to embrace pushback that improves the brand PLUS, Brittany shares a promo code for getting your own batch of Malibu Mylk! Get your first order of Malibu Mylk 20% off when you use the promo code LEAD20 at checkout. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.