Inside Strategic Coach: Connecting Entrepreneurs With What Really Matters

When you’re the buyer of your own experiences, your whole life simplifies. It’s a mindset that puts you in charge instead of the world. Join Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller for their discussion about intentional entrepreneurship, and discover why being the buyer is always more valuable than being the seller.

You became an entrepreneur because you knew you had something great to offer the world. But convincing other people it’s great isn’t always easy. It might seem counterintuitive, but if you want to ensure the continued growth of your business, you’ve got to think like a coach, not a salesperson.

Every time Dan Sullivan meets someone new, he considers himself “Number 21”—acknowledging that there are at least 20 other more important relationships in the person’s life. This is a mindset he cultivates to ensure he’s useful and valuable to every person he encounters. In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, discover how making a lasting, meaningful impression is the way to leverage your relationships and opportunities.

If you feel more anxious than excited for new tech developments, you’re not alone. It can often seem like products become yesterday’s news before they’re even out of the packaging. Fortunately, we’ve got a failsafe solution for staying ahead of the technology curve: being grateful.

We all know that as we age, it becomes harder and harder to maintain our top physical health—so how do you get around that? Join Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan for a discussion about the habit Dan believes is most important for staying creative and physically energetic regardless of your age.

You might think the biggest threat to your career is a bad idea or failed venture, but it’s actually something much closer to home. In this episode, you’ll learn why entrepreneurial boredom is a greater threat, not only to your business, but to your health, happiness, and overall well-being.

We all think differently, but so few of us take the time to experience and consciously observe how we, personally, think. Discover why taking ownership over how your brain operates is both freeing and increasingly valuable to other people. In the words of Dan Sullivan, “Play to win with the cards you have, not the cards you wish you had.”

One of the biggest frustrations for team members is not knowing what’s expected of them. But with this tool, you can take the guesswork out of job performance and build a team of confident, happy people willing to manage themselves (rather than relying on you for constant direction).

At age seventy, Dan Sullivan made a public commitment to write 100 books over 25 years — that’s one every quarter. Four years and 15 books later, he’s right on target, with a dream team of talented individuals all working together to make it happen. And the books just keep getting better. So if you’ve ever wondered how to transform a great idea into great content, or just how far teamwork can take you, this episode is for you. Listen now to hear how Dan goes from idea to published book … in just 30 hours.

Dan Sullivan doesn’t believe in being a disruptive business. That’s because being a disruptor means taking the easy route. It’s choosing profit over people, and that’s no way to stay ahead in the marketplace, or in people’s minds. Being a transformative business, on the other hand, takes real effort and vision, both of which get rewarded by happy, loyal customers. So, which would you prefer?

Collaboration is the key to a successful business. It’s also the only way to free yourself from falling into the most common entrepreneurial traps: working too hard, resting too little, and wasting energy on draining tasks. But if you do only those things you’re good at and enjoy, then team up with other people doing the same, you all grow together. The best part is, this model works no matter how you multiply it. This means that if collaboration within your business can lead to 10x growth, collaboration with another business can do even more—100x more, in fact. Because when you combine capabilities, everyone wins.

When you chose to become an entrepreneur, you accepted that you’d need to pull up your bootstraps and get down to work. If you didn’t do it, no one else would. But eventually, this mindset that worked so well in the beginning starts to hold you back.

In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews a game-changing entrepreneur, Nick Cosentino, who has a very different vision for and approach to the financial services industry. Listen in as Nick explains his "Ideal Business Model" that has enabled him to multiply his growth by amplifying his client experience, constantly innovating, and adapting and adjusting to an uncertain and ever-changing industry landscape.

Your clients want to feel special, and they’ll remember the people and organizations that make it happen. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller reveal how to create a first-class experience for your clients every step of the way, from your first phone call to your last meeting — without ever having to tell them you’re doing it.

Your next biggest “aha moment” or great idea might come from somewhere you least expect it. In this episode, we hear from two successful entrepreneurs with a specialty in dentistry, Nikki Green and Chris Phelps. They open up about their greatest struggles, failures, and successes, share how much they’ve grown as entrepreneurs and in their practice, and talk about how they plan to revolutionize not only their own business, but the very field of dentistry.

The secret to selling might just be in the types of questions you’re asking. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can be of the most value to your prospects and clients by asking the right questions that lead to conversation.

How committed are you to the growth of your ideas? Could they be the next big thing? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss what needs to happen to really make your ideas thrive: persistence, recognition of value and uniqueness, overcoming opposition, and a commitment to the difference they'll make in the marketplace.

While the majority of entrepreneurs have freed themselves up from what they don’t like doing, many still haven’t progressed to the next step. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to gain the freedom to do what you love and have a bigger future.

A lot of entrepreneurs have big ideas and grand ambitions that ultimately run them into a wall. The wall is that they don't actually have the capability in their organization to carry out their vision. In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews Less Doing creator, Ari Meisel, who has built a remarkable productivity system to help entrepreneurs (and everyone) manage and hack every aspect of their business and personal lives so they can be freed up to live more by doing less.

Entrepreneurs are always thinking, but have you been taking the time to think about your thinking? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how doing so can lead to making better decisions and having a bigger future.

When entrepreneurs make it their goal to grow 10x, the first thing to do is realize the limits of their own capabilities and see a future outside of what they can do personally. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss how teamwork is crucial for 10x growth and how a teamwork mindset can change the whole game for entrepreneurs and their businesses.

Often when entrepreneurs have an exciting new idea, they get bogged down with procrastination because they’re asking the wrong question. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how asking “Who?” instead of “How?” will set you off and running toward achieving your goal.

Game Changers represent the highest level of entrepreneurism. They're the Industry Transformers™ who are leading their businesses, disrupting their marketplaces, and changing the world. But this often isn't where they begin. In this episode, Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan discuss the growth path of game-changing entrepreneurs, along with the requirements, support networks, and mindsets needed each step of the way.

Capitalism will always be a contentious issue, but it’s capability that sparked capitalism’s creation. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how all growth comes from human capability.

Your next biggest "aha moment" or great idea might come from somewhere you least expect it. In this episode, we hear from two successful business owners with a specialty in financial services, Ali Nasser and Tish Gray. They open up about their journey to success, their hurdles, their failures, their biggest wins, what they're doing to revolutionize their businesses, and their big projections for the future.

Many entrepreneurs feel like they should be working all the time, but that philosophy doesn’t always work. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how taking time off can actually benefit you, your company, and your team members.

People often live as if a payoff is going to come in the future, but what if you already have what you’re seeking and don’t realize it yet? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about expanding your happiness rather than pursuing it.

Can money actually buy happiness? Yes, if it’s used in a particular way. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how entrepreneurs will be happiest if they use their money to buy back their time from activities they don’t like doing.

It can be tempting for entrepreneurs to compete with other businesses in the marketplace, but it's not always the most fruitful approach. In this episode, Dan and Shannon explain that by focusing on what has set you and your business apart, your uniqueness will shine and you'll stand out from the crowd. Instead of focusing on competition, you can then use collaborative relationships to grow.

Strategic Coach specializes in turning entrepreneurs into game changers. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss the jumps Strategic Coach has made over the years and how they’ve led to breakthrough concepts and tools that help other entrepreneurs to take jumps in their own businesses.

It takes a certain type of person to run a business, but it takes a different set of skills and mindsets altogether to be a game changer in the marketplace. In this episode, Dan Sullivan is joined by Gino Wickman and Mike Paton from Entrepreneurial Operating System who discuss how they grew their company by helping other businesses reduce frustrations, regain their passion, and achieve their vision.

If we can’t be good at everything, why do we spend so much time focusing on our weaknesses? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss why entrepreneurs should spend their time focused only on activities they’re good at and love to do, and how to eliminate the rest.

Don't work harder—work smarter. In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews his long-time client John Fickewirth, a financial advisor from California. After almost 20 years in The Strategic Coach® Program, John explains the impact the Program has had on him, his path to 10x growth, and the strategies he's employed to dramatically change his life and business, increasing his focus and fun at work while decreasing the time he spends in the office.

Intelligence, smarts, and IQ are only part of the success formula for entrepreneurs. Learn the difference between mind and brain, and how to use them both.

Every business will experience its ups and downs. And as a business owner, if the money just isn’t coming in like it used to, or you want it to, it’s easy to feel like you’re losing the game. In this episode, Dan and Shannon counter those “losing” feelings with a better way of dealing with positive and negative experiences: winning or learning.

While all entrepreneurs are valuable, not all are created equal in the eyes of Dan Sullivan. In this episode, Dan discusses what sets entrepreneurs apart from one another and what characterizes those who are transforming their industries, altering the marketplace, and changing the game.

Highly-charged emotional reactions are normal. Especially when you’re dealing with unexpected wins and big upsets. It’s what you learn from those experiences, however, that can have the biggest impact on your future success. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares some personal life experiences that he transformed into big breakthroughs as well as a process you can use to take the good and bad from every situation and learn from it.

Are you entrepreneurial or entitled? We all have a choice when it comes to our outlook. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how unhappiness can come from having the wrong attitude.

Maintaining relationships is an important part of doing business, but managing the complexity and expectations of multiple relationships can be challenging and time-consuming. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why it makes strategic sense to devote more of your time to certain clients.

Entrepreneurs can become comfortable in their current position, but they should always be growing. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to determine how well you’re really doing and how to position your company to get bigger every year.

What if you could increase your freedom of time and your resources to focus on your big goals? In this episode, Dan Sullivan talks with the founders of Leverage, a company helping entrepreneurs save time and avoid unwanted work.

Too many of an entrepreneur’s ideas never lead to action. What’s the solution? Grab a pen and paper. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can clarify your thinking and turn a thought into an achievement by writing it down.

Efficiency isn’t enough. A business’s bottom line will suffer if the customer experience isn’t both impressive and consistent. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the importance of not letting “backstage” activities peek through to customer experience.

Entrepreneurs can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the obstacles between them and their vision for the future. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to think through a difficult situation and why they view opposition as an exciting and important part of the process.

As an entrepreneur’s business grows, they often find themselves dangerously stuck doing activities they dislike and find irritating. But as the owner of the company, you’ll be most successful when you realize you don’t need to be involved in the things you don’t like — it’s a waste of your time and energy and negatively impacts your progress and success. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss how zeroing in on what you love and the activities that most fascinate and motivate you will propel your business forward and make your days more rewarding and enjoyable.

Would you rather hire a robot or a uniquely talented team member? In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains why he surrounds himself with one-of-a-kind team members, and why he’d never replace them, even if he could.

Even the most successful entrepreneurs can leave situations feeling disappointed by the outcome. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to be clear and intentional about what you want in order to prepare for the unpredictable and achieve the best possible result.

Even if you know that you need an entrepreneurial coach, hiring one can be a difficult task. In episode #9, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the differences and benefits of one-on-one vs. group coaching and share insights on how to make the right decision for you.

Procrastination is a common source of guilt for many entrepreneurs. But the truth is that everybody does it — and sometimes for good reasons. In episode #8, find out how entrepreneurs can use procrastination as a strategic tool to turn anxiety about what they haven't done into clarity about what to do next.

It can be lonely at the top, even for entrepreneurs. They started their career path because they felt differently about work, freedom, and success than most others. But in removing themselves from the business "norm," they can easily feel isolated and alienated, and find it difficult to talk to people that don’t share their experience. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the benefits for entrepreneurs of engaging and collaborating with a community of like-minded business owners.