Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher

Does dignity in the workplace really matter? Plenty of companies seem to get by without upholding dignity, but with over 40 years of experience and $60 million in annual sales, today’s return podcast guest knows there is a better way. Ari Weinzweig is the co-founder of Zingermans Delicatessen. Ari, alongside his co-founder, Paul Saginaw, started Zingerman’s in 1982 as a restaurant and specialty food retail space. Now the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has 23 partners, employs over 750 people, and generates over $60 million in annual sales from ten separate businesses. In countries and companies alike where dignity is the norm, progress can happen. Companies that are run by tyrants limit growth and eliminate progress. Dignity has been central to the success of Andy’s 42-year business partnership with Paul Sagen. Together they built and expanded a community business that has provided people with a place to connect. Ari reflects on his vision and approach to successful business scaling. Ten years in, he and his partner realized they had reached a threshold of success without a clear vision of where to go next. A vision is a win-win future and an action plan to make it happen. And integral to the success of the vision is the upheld dignity for everyone involved. Ari highlights the six elements of dignity that he has challenged himself to work with every day. From honoring humanity to acting authentically without acting out, dignity is at the core of success in the modern workplace. Interview Links: Ari Weinzweig Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

In this episode, Bill explores the crucial concept of process accountability as a key driver for company growth and efficiency. Focusing on the interplay between team engagement, performance, and the seamless integration of various business processes, Bill sheds light on the importance of defining and managing core processes distinct from functional responsibilities within a company. He emphasizes that processes like the transition from lead to customer experience involve multiple departments and, without clear accountability, can lead to missed opportunities and inefficiencies. Bill delves into the idea that while functions such as sales, marketing, and operations have clear leaders, cross-functional processes often lack a defined ownership, leading to potential issues in the handoff between departments. By identifying core processes and establishing metrics and ownership, companies can mitigate risks and improve overall performance. Bill encourages listeners to map out their business processes, identify where functional handoffs occur, and appoint process owners to ensure smooth operations and enhance the customer journey from lead generation to payment collection. Throughout the episode, Bill provides actionable advice on how to identify, map, and measure core business processes, stressing the importance of accountability and leadership in process management. He suggests that this strategic focus on process accountability is essential for businesses aiming to scale effectively and maintain high levels of operational excellence.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

In this insightful episode, Bill dives into the critical importance of fostering a culture of learning and development within businesses to fuel growth and ensure talent retention. Bill emphasizes the necessity for every team member to contribute effectively and how investing in employee development significantly enhances job satisfaction and loyalty. He shares practical advice for companies, especially those operating with limited resources, on how to cultivate a continuous learning environment that benefits both employees and the organization. Bill outlines actionable strategies for integrating learning into the company's fabric, highlighting innovative and budget-friendly approaches such as "lunch and learn" sessions and leveraging tools like Trainual for efficient learning management. He stresses the positive outcomes of becoming a learning organization, including improved employee performance, increased value, and stronger retention rates. Tune in as Bill unpacks the steps businesses of any size can take to build a dynamic and supportive learning culture, ultimately driving their success and scalability.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Are you working at a job, or are you working at building a business that will be worth enough to sell someday? Michael E. Gerber is the author of the NY Times mega-bestseller for two consecutive decades, The E-Myth Revisited, and nine other worldwide best-selling E-Myth books. For over 40 years, Michael has been impacting the lives of small business owners as one of the world's most renowned small business thought leaders. With 34 books in his name, Michael is a rockstar author who describes his success with The E-Myth Revisited a complete accident. He knew how to sell encyclopedias, and he quickly learned how to sell systems for any company. The true product of a business is the business itself, and therein lies the secret of success. Instead of trying to reinvent everything all the time, the basics of business are the same across the board. Companies succeed when they have their basics covered. Michael shares the success of McDonald’s, what he calls the most successful small business in the world. It’s not the culture of a company that creates the success, it’s the approach to developing people in a way that they know the story, the vision, and the values of a company and can deliver it to customers over and over again. In business, practice absolutely makes perfect. The experience of practicing creates a ritual, and that ritual leads to mastery. When companies can master their offerings in a way that can be delivered flawlessly to their customers, they will find success. Interview Links: Michael E. Gerber Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by unsuccessful attempts to grow your business, you may be too focused on the systems. Growth happens when the focus shifts to addressing the systems, not the symptoms, of your company. Today’s guest is Dave Newell, CEO of Evolve Leadership Consulting. Dave works with small business leaders to implement the Five Facets of Business — a small business operating system — to optimize processes and foster team alignment around culture, strategy, operations, story, and finances. When systems and behaviors are aligned, the magic can start to happen. In the early days of Dave’s work, he quickly realized that every business is a series of systems that not only have to interact with each other, but they have a major impact on each other. Dave highlights a $750,000 company that had the goal of scaling up to $20 million. Their operations were a nightmare, the CEO had unrealistic goals, and the team was uninspired and stressed out. The systems — not the symptoms — were the root problem that was holding this company back. By creating simplified, scalable structures, the company was able to create manageable systems that more effectively supported its target market and its core business. Business is a complex web. Every decision impacts other decisions, and it takes a good hard look at what really matters most to figure out the next steps. Too often business owners hyperfocus on the one angle that makes them look good, but everyone around you can see your business success, or failure, from every angle. Ignore the symptoms, and the problems will only get worse. Address the symptoms, and real growth can finally start to happen. Interview Links: Dave Newell Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

There is power in meaning, especially in your marketing, and it may be the ticket to achieving the growth that you are seeking. Pete Steege is the CEO of B2B Clarity. With over 30 years of marketing experience with a wide range of B2B technology and manufacturing businesses, Pete helps companies manage and scale their businesses by using meaning in their marketing to scale their businesses. In the early days of his career, Pete realized that marketing focused on sharing intellectual information while entirely missing the why behind the message. Marketing is supposed to be about relationships, and relationships are built on meaning. Companies grow when clients can clearly see why you can help them reach their goals. Pete shares the factors that create meaning behind these relationships, including authenticity. Tell the truth about why you are here in a transparent and authentic way. Focus on the work that you care about rather than trying to meet the needs of a too-broad spectrum of clients. The trust that you grow with your key clients is the most powerful element to your success. When you lean into, and then highlight, what you care about most, the growth will occur naturally. Interview Links: Pete Steege Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

A great tool for reinforcing your strategy over time and embedding it in your company’s culture is the manifesto. An effective manifesto can be read daily, or at least weekly, shared with your team like a manifestation, and provides the opportunity to reflect on its relevance today. When reflected on often, a manifesto encourages people to apply its truths to their day-to-day actions and goals. There is a simple formula for developing your manifesto. First, identify the purpose. What is the “why” of the work you are doing? Next, consider your values and brand promises. Then, turn to your BHAG to round out your manifesto. Bill’s manifesto is clear and gives him purpose in the work he does each day. Over time, your manifesto will become deeply ingrained in the decisions that you make and pull everyone on your team toward the company’s core strategy. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

There are plenty of ways to grow your business, but until you’ve worked out your strategy, it can be really hard to scale. One strategy makes funding growth much easier — franchising. Joining the show today is Lance Graulich. Known as the “King of Franchising,” Lance is the CEO of ION Franchising, an industry-leading franchise consulting and development group that represents over 800 franchise brands and business opportunities in every imaginable category. He’s also the host of the Eye on Franchising Podcast. Lance has helped over 1,000 people go from “Wannabe” Entrepreneurs to Franchise owners with his work and has helped Franchises such as TGI Fridays grow to over $225 million in revenue. Franchises, and optimized businesses in general, aren’t about the business, they’re about the people. Successful leaders look for the people who know how to get the job done and build a great business up from there. From the bald guy who owns hair salons to the garage door franchisee who just exited for $98 million, franchises provide a perfect opportunity to develop an empire without having any specialized knowledge of the business. Lance has insights into avoiding failure as well. In any franchise selection process, there are people to meet and questions to ask to determine whether it’s the right fit for you. He also covers scaling tactics, innovation strategies, and the power of choosing a franchise over the slow, organic growth of the traditional stand-alone company. Interview Links: Lance Graulich Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Sometimes the littlest things are the hardest things. Many people really struggle with their one-phrase strategy. The one-phrase strategy distills everything your business offers down to your competitive, profitable advantage over everyone else. The way you do business, your customer advantage, or the way you deliver goods or services all could become your one-phrase strategy. It’s generally operational, and it gives you a great competitive profit advantage. After you’ve figured out your brand promises, your core customer, and your differentiating activities, you need to look for the thing in all of that that can become your one-phrase strategy. When you find it, you’ve got the key to being profitable and competitive over time. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Every company wants to grow faster, but what is the point of scaling up if you can’t retain the employees and customers you’ve already got? You have to deliver exceptional customer experience so that the growth you’re working on actually matters. Ali Cudby is the Founder and CEO of Alignmint Growth Strategies, which delivers consulting and training so you and your team know what to do to prevent customer churn before it starts. Ali knows customer experience is not a department — it’s cross-functional. She is the author of the #1 best-selling book on customer retention, Keep Your Customers. Straight out of business school, Ali was staffed on a project with the call center at the New York Times. She saw firsthand that the company was not engaging with its call center employees in a way that aligned with its global brand. She quickly learned that the way you engage with your team has a huge impact on the way that they engage with your customers, and that means the customer experience really matters. The action steps to creating a culture that targets the customer experiences are simple. Make employees feel valued. Pay them an attractive wage. Give them swag or company merchandise so they feel like they are part of the team. Consider your customers. Do you give as much love to your existing customers as you do to your brand-new customers? Do you provide a higher tier of customer support to your higher-tier customers? Do you spend as much time maintaining long-term relationships as you do onboarding new customers? Ali’s experiences — from bra fitting to lingerie consulting to the work that she does now with Alignmint — all underscore the same message. When you focus on the customer experience, you are fostering long-term loyalty and the potential for the kind of scaling up that lasts. Interview Links: Ali Cudby Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Profit per X is a strategic KPI that indicates the potential of the unit of measure that is most constrained in your business. As an independent coach, Bill’s most constrained thing is the number of days that he can work or profit per day. A laundry delivery service may deal with profit per truck or profit per stop. When you identify and optimize the number of profit per your X, it may be per customer, per product, per transaction, or per job, but whatever it may be, if you can optimize it, you can make a meaningful difference in your growth. Consider the pros and cons of optimizing your per X, and then focus on the one that will lead to the greatest growth. Strategic decisions about how you lead, grow, and scale will come more easily as a result. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Nothing significant happens when you’re working alone. If you want to do anything big, you’re going to need a powerhouse team. Return podcast guest Mike Michalowicz founded and sold two multi-million dollar businesses by his 35th birthday. He is the bestselling author of Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Clockwork, and Fix This Next. He has built two additional multimillion-dollar companies and has become one of the world’s most popular speakers on small business topics. His new book is All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams. The vision you may have for your business is not necessarily the same vision for the entirety of your team. Leaders often work in their own self-interest, but powerful leaders work to help their team realize their dreams as well. As you as a leader prioritize their vision, they will begin to prioritize the vision of the company. What do your people want? Why should they perform to the best of their ability? Effective leaders prioritize recognition, create traditions in the workplace, and foster a workplace culture that celebrates the dreams and accomplishments of every team member. Mike wants leaders to treat people as human beings rather than human resources. He highlights the transformation that the right captain was able to inspire on the worst-performing ship in the Navy. It takes a team to be successful, and that team needs 100% commitment from every single member. When the team is all in, the success is unstoppable. Interview Links: Mike Michalowicz Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Your X-factor is the thing that gives you an advantage in your marketplace. It is your secret sauce to being better and standing out from your competition. It’s the key to growing faster than anyone else. It’s not easy to figure out your X-factor, and when you do, you have to keep it a secret that you can use for as long as you can because it doesn’t last forever. A truly great X-factor will expire as it is figured out by other people. You can figure out your X-factor by determining if your obstacle to growth is more about supply or demand. Identify the key barriers to meeting those supply or demand needs, and then figure out which one you are going to solve in a unique, innovative, or sexy way. That is your X-factor. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Safety is at the core of the culture of every business. Sometimes it’s in direct ways, sometimes in indirect ways, but safety is always at the core of the work people do. Apolonia Rockwell is the Founder and CEO of True Safety Services, a company that specializes in on-site safety consulting and in helping employers with Safety/CDL Training local to Colorado, as well as nationwide. With a front-row seat to the dangers and harsh realities of hazards in the workplace in her childhood, adult Apolonia was fascinated and relieved to learn about federally mandated safety requirements. She now works to bridge the gap between a company’s safety director and the employees they work to protect. As a strong female in a male-dominated field, Apolonia has taken an effective approach to getting employee buy-in, connecting with the unspoken leaders, and using curiosity to invoke respect. Safety is often disregarded or minimized, but effective safety practices always start with leadership. Effective cultural change can only happen when leaders exhibit the behavior they want to see in their team. Apolonia shares a variety of incidents, insights, and experiences she has had over the years, and the ultimate safety that leaders in every field need to focus on — the mental and emotional health of their employees. Interview Links: Apolonia Rockwell Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

If you asked people to pick three or four words to describe you and your business, what would they say? Would your customers and partners recognize your clear identity, or would they stumble? The words that you want to own in the future are the words that you invest in over time, starting now. Bill wants to be known as The Scaling Coach, and he has focused years and hours of effort on making that a reality. The key to identifying the words that you want to own is by talking to other people about their perception of you. Try Googling your business and asking your peers. Invest in the marketing that will secure your identity in the way you want to be known. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for you to own those words. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

How can you get out of your business so that it can actually grow and thrive? Chances are, you’ve had days when you wished you could fire yourself. In reality, when it’s time to exit, you need to be the first person out the door. Jeff Russell is a best-selling author, renowned speaker, and accomplished entrepreneur. As the founder of many successful businesses and author of his latest book, Fire Yourself First, Jeff is an expert in helping business owners break free from the daily grind. Get ready for an insightful conversation as we delve into his proven strategies for achieving business success and living a life well-balanced. Once Jeff decided he wanted to work just 10 days a month, he focused on finding a way to build up his businesses so that they could run without him. By hiring and training people who could run the business without him there, he essentially built an ATM for himself. His book underscores a four-step program that transforms an overbooked life into a 10-day-a-month work program. Wise business owners use the knowledge they have to create a business they care about while avoiding enslavement for the rest of their lives. By creating a bigger picture than simply where you are today, you can begin to craft the life that will offer you greater freedom in the future. Discovering your why, the purpose of your life, is the key to creating the life you want. Ask yourself what you are proud of, what you find deeply satisfying, and what your contributions are to the world around you. When you build up a business that helps solve problems, and then remove yourself from that business, you’ve created a business that is worth more than it would be if you were there running it day after day. Don’t be selfish, fire yourself for the sake of your business. Interview Links: Jeff Russell Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

What is your guarantee? When you put your money where your mouth is, you lock in your brand promise. A guarantee can also serve as a catalytic mechanism that keeps your team focused on the right things and rewards the right behavior. Whether it’s a money-back guarantee or rewards for improvement, your strong guarantee serves as a bounty for the promise you have made. Make it big and make it strong to make it effective. Bill’s guarantee is that if you are unhappy with his team’s work at any point you can apply a credit on your next invoice and leave the program that you’re in. A guarantee is a powerful tool that lets people know that you are serious about their satisfaction. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

How many of your strategy problems could be solved if only you knew what your customers have to say about your business? Mark Allen Roberts is the CEO and Founder at OTB Solutions, a Certified Scaling Up Coach, and a data-driven sales growth expert with over 37 years of experience in helping manufacturing CEOs and business leaders strategically drive explosive growth in revenue, profits, and shareholder value. Once Mark tasted the satisfaction of finding and solving customer problems — and turning a 10 million dollar business into a 300 million dollar sale as a result — he was hooked. As a scaling coach, he has helped myriad companies solve their problems by doing one simple thing. Too many salespeople focus on their generic sales pitch when really, they need to be asking better questions and figuring out how to solve their customers’ problems. Talking to the customer about brand promise generalities is not enough. Effective problem solvers identify the needs that their customers have and then highlight those solutions in ways that are credible to their target audience. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, or how hard this work may sound. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to actually talk to your customers, uncover their needs with effective questions, and find solutions to those needs, you will find the success that is waiting right in front of you. Interview Links: OTB Solutions Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

What are your differentiating activities? Differentiating activities are the operation-side things that you do differently than anyone else. They also help you achieve your brand promises over time. How are you able to deliver different results and, ultimately, a superior value to your customers? Start by identifying your brand promises, then look at the unique ways that you are operating. What is unique about your products and services, your operations, your team, and about the way you execute your promises? Think across strategy, across marketing, and the economic engine of your business. What is different about you? Next, consider your key competitors and what they have to offer that is different from you. Then identify up to seven key unique things about your operations that you can emphasize and invest in. For Bill, a podcast, online learning, and a focus on scale set him apart from his competitors. The internal, operational ways that you fulfill brand promises will create a unique, valuable company that is not like everyone else. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Alex Sanfilippo is an entrepreneur, SaaS Founder, and Podcast Host. He is the CEO of PodPros, a software company specifically focused on independent podcast hosts and their guests to elevate their voices through podcasting and be heard. In his 15 years in the aerospace industry, Alex worked his way from taking out the trash up to the C-Suite. When he was told to stop the above-and-beyond initiative, he realized it was time for a major change. After an initial struggle, Alex identified a better equation for entrepreneurship and he was on his way to real success. Alex’s equation is simple. Find an area of passion, get into the community of that area of passion, find a problem that they are struggling with, and then offer the fastest possible solution to that problem. When you focus on that problem, and your ability to solve it, you differentiate yourself in a way that allows you to stand out. Potential customers will tell you what their pain points are, and when they are, and your job is to solve it. When you do, and they put their money where their pain is, you’ve got a standout business that is going to make things happen. Interview Links: PodPros Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Brand promises are what your customers can expect from you. It’s what sets you apart from the competition. You want to have three key brand promises that make your offerings clear. Your first brand promise should be your basic, core offering. The second brand promise should be a differentiator and highlight what makes you better than the other options. And for Bill, the third brand promise is all about fun. That may not be a fit for everyone, but it is perfect for the customers that Bill wants to do business with. Once you have figured out your core customer, ask them what they consider different or better about you. Their answers will help you hone in on and avoid holding onto your anti-brand promises. Doing so can set you apart as a differentiated, profitable business. If you’re having a hard time identifying your brand promises, write down what you know and ask AI to help you distill your offerings down to just a few keywords that will highlight what your brand promises are. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Nothing easy is ever handed out for free, but the challenge of working for what you want most is always worth the reward. After playing for the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Denver Broncos, Chris Gronkowski ventured out to build a product with the aim to alleviate the challenges athletes experience with the standard protein shakers. Owner and inventor of the Ice Shaker, Chris has joined the Scaling Up podcast to share the highs and lows of his business growth. One of five brothers, Chris was raised in a business-minded family. Always racing each other and always challenging each other to see who was faster and stronger, Chris learned how to compete — and win — at an early age. From his first paper route job, through college, and all the way to the NFL football field, Chris learned the lessons of hard work that he has used to build a successful business. Time with the NFL doesn’t last forever, but Chris was able to carry over his passion for sports and fitness from the field into his business Ice Shaker. His big break in business came after being highlighted on ABC’s Shark Tank, where millions of viewers saw the product, investors including Mark Cuban were brought in, and their success skyrocketed. On the flip side, Chris admits that the first three years of building his business kept him awake every night. Learning how to delegate and actually allow others to take over aspects of a business was a huge aspect of his eventual success. From sponsors and investors to what it was really like to compete on Shark Tank and QVC, Chris shares his insights into what it takes to build a successful business. Interview Links: Ice Shaker Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Do you know who your core customer is? The core customer is the buyer that you want to focus on. Your core customer loves working with you, would heartily recommend you, and willingly pays your full price. Your core customer is the top 20% of your clientele. Consider the essential qualities of your core customer and take time to learn more about what makes them who they are. The more qualitative factors you have about them, the more you will understand what you need to do to more effectively engage with them. For Bill, the core customer is highly motivated, open to growth, and a good personality fit. Give your core customer a distinct name to set them apart from your average client. By identifying just two or three clear characteristics of your core customer, you will be able to increase your effectiveness and engagement all around. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

In this week’s episode, Scaling Up has lined up eight fan-favorite episodes from 2023. In case you’ve missed any of these classics, we have compiled a quick recap of each of the episodes and the guests below. Thank you for listening to the Scaling Up show! How can you get the most for your company and maximize the value of your company? The value of your business comes from how well the business can run without you. Nick Arellano is an award-winning M&A veteran who helps business owners get the most money from the sale of their companies. This conversation is filled with key moves that company owners need to consider when strategizing their sale, negotiation considerations, and what owners can realistically expect from the sale. Empathy is a leadership skill and an essential cultural practice that matters more today than ever before. Rob Volpe is an astute observer of life and a master storyteller who brings empathy and compassion to the human experience. As CEO of Ignite 360, he leads a team of insights, strategy, and creative professionals serving the world’s leading brands across a range of industries. He is the author of the Silver Benjamin Franklin award-winning book, Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. You don’t have to look very far to see that there is an empathy crisis in our world today. Rob’s focus is on the how-to of empathy. Once you see that there is a problem what can you actually do about it? The United States is losing over 100,000 people and experiencing over half a trillion dollars of economic impact each year due to opioids, including fentanyl. That’s more than a 737 crash per day. This public health and national security issue is a supply-and-demand problem that, unlike previous epidemics, our nation is failing to resolve. Guest Admiral Winnefeld graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and served for 37 years in the United States Navy. He flew the F-14 Tomcat and served as an instructor at TopGun and as senior aide-de-camp to General Colin L. Powell. What can we learn from sports about making the right calls? Sally Jenkins has been a Washington Post columnist and feature writer for nearly 30 years. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2019 and the winner of the Associated Press Red Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sports Journalism in 2021. For sports fans, business leaders, and anyone who wants to elevate their game — whatever that game may be — Sally joined the podcast to share what it takes for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results. Real connections win out over canned messages every single time, but how can you amplify your brand narrative through organic content that makes those meaningful connections? Morgan Ingram is the founder behind Ascencion Media Productions (AMP). He’s a sales educator and content creator and has been named one of the Top 50 Sales Leaders to Follow by LinkedIn, a Top 25 Sales Development Thought Leader by Inside Sales, and a Four-time LinkedIn Top Sales Voice. Technology has enabled people to be lazy at scale, which can have a massive negative impact on your potential audience. Just as professional pilots, doctors, and golfers regularly return to the fundamentals, it is just as essential in the business world to continually return to the basics of the performance platform. This episode of the Scaling Up Podcast features Verne Harnish, a world-leading expert, speaker, author, and entrepreneur in the field of business growth. Together they offer insights into Altman’s Maxims, Jobs’s doers vs. dreamers, the power of asking, daily routines, remote work, and much more. A sales playbook is designed to help deliver the kind of results you are aiming for. Morné Smit has spent his life elevating respect for sales and marketing professionals in dozens of companies across 28-plus industries on three continents. Developing from a salesperson to leading sales teams in six different industries, including spearheading a 10X growth outcome over five years in a mid-market property company, Morné gained invaluable insight, knowledge, and experience over two decades that brought him to found Emerse in 2017. As second in command, COOs are often in place for a reason or a season, but rarely for the lifetime of a company. Cameron Herold is the mastermind behind hundreds of companies’ exponential growth and has earned his reputation as the business growth guru. He has built a dynamic consultancy with clients that include a monarchy and a Big 4 wireless company. Cameron discusses his new book The Second in Command. How can bad language enhance the way you connect with others? There is power in language. As a leader, the way you articulate your company’s value and vision matters. There is power in using language intentionally and connecting with others with the words you use. Professor Valerie Fridland is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nevada, Reno. The goal of her

Great leaders inspire other people. There are a number of ways to inspire, but if all of your excitement and passion about your business only lives in your head, it’s not really doing much good at all. You want to light other people up about what your business can do and where it is heading. Inspiring conversations start with sharing your purpose, your BHAG, your vivid vision, and the solutions you have to the problems that you see in the world. Talk about the moment that you committed to getting involved in the business and how you have been transformed as a result. When you can share your vision with others, you will be better at hiring and retaining team members. You will be a better partner, a better salesperson, a better fundraiser, and eventually better at selling your company. Map out your vision, share emotions out loud, and improve your storytelling skills. You don’t have to be perfect at it, but you do want to develop your inspiring storytelling skills so that you become the leader that people truly want to hear from. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Everyone likes to say they come from a place of abundance, but who really means it? And what happens when people are vulnerable enough to ask for their needs? Today Bill is joined by Curt Bear, founder of LoCo Think Tank, a small-business peer advisory group founded in 2014 in Northern Colorado to help business owners be more confident leaders and grow their businesses faster through perspective, accountability, and support. From small business banker to mobile food trailer owner, LoCo Think Tank was born out of Curt’s desire to facilitate peer advisory at an affordable price point. His group asks tough questions, addresses blind spots, and makes a positive impact on their community. There are givers and takers around the world, in every business, and every community. Sharing your abundance is something that some people are wired for, and volunteering can have just as much meaning as consulting or working for pay. Curt’s group includes a dozen high-achieving small business veterans who are in a place of abundance and want to share what they have been given. Asking for your needs is an essential step to success. Surrounding yourself with a support group or think tank that can help you identify your priorities will help you get what you need, even when you don’t recognize it yourself. Curt highlights his own experience with wanting to operate a food truck while also recognizing via his mentors that he was not going to achieve the success he wanted in life by continuing down that path. Identify the appropriate people that you can share your needs with, and you just may find the solutions that you didn’t think of yourself. Interview Links: Curt Bear Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Once you’ve established the purpose of your work and identified your BHAG, you need to create a vivid vision of your near future. Where do you want to be in 3‒5 years? What do your company, your team, your customers, and your product look like? Set aside some time when you can be uninterrupted, calm down, and look at the vision of your future. What does the business you are working so hard to build look like? What does your day look like when you’ve reached that 3‒5-year mark? Write down what will be said about your future company. Write your vision and identify specifics that will help you create this vivid vision of your future. Creating a rich picture in your mind is a powerful tool that walks you through your future success and motivates you to take the necessary steps to craft the business you are dreaming of. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

In honor of Veteran’s Day, Bill has gathered an elite group of military veterans, including Jason Simas, Dustin Zroka, and Betsy Feaster, for a conversation about hiring veterans and why they make excellent team members and business owners. From Air Force investigation to Exxon executive, Betsy Feaster now works as the CEO of Dog Training Elite. Her military experience trained her in problem-solving, work ethic, and teamwork, and gave her a great understanding of what is required to get a mission accomplished. Retired Master Sergeant U.S. Air Force Jason Simas had over 20 years of service in culinary arts, acquisitions, and negotiations, all of which led him to become an oyster bar franchise owner. His military experience trained him in effective communication with leaders, taking orders at times, and at other times pushing back for better results. Dustin Zroka is the current CEO of TruBlue Home Service Ally. He also served for four years of active duty in the Navy, did a two-year stint in the Army National Guard, and returned to the Navy Reserves in 2015. As a franchise operator, Dustin’s military experience has underscored his resiliency, and the majority of his technicians are veterans. In the military, you make the best of whom you’re given to work with, whether it’s senior leadership who talk down to everyone under them or those who treat others with civility regardless of rank. In civilian life, veterans have the opportunity to choose who they work with as well as the work they are willing to do. These veterans share the lessons they have learned and advice for their younger selves, including taking risks, navigating budgeting differences, flexibility in taking on new adventures, and recognizing and fulfilling your duty in whatever task you are faced with. Interview Links: Betsy Feaster Jason Simas Dustin Zroka Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

A BHAG — a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal — can play to your strengths. It’s not meant to be reasonable in any way; instead, it’s designed to inspire you to transform into something interesting. A BHAG also isn’t meant to be a financial goal. No one really cares that you want to be a billion-dollar company. But you can accomplish a compelling BHAG if you can translate that financial goal into something that is aligned with purpose. Take your financial goal, figure out what your impact will be on the world, and create a goal that pumps up your ego and ignites your passion. Once Bill set — and started talking about — his BHAG goal of reaching 5 million leaders before retirement, he found opportunities through podcasting, public speaking, and engagements beyond what he ever could have originally imagined. Ten years later he is actually on track to reach his BHAG and is proof that pushing yourself far outside of your comfort zone is the key to reaching even your most outrageous goals and turning your dreams into reality. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Contrary to popular belief, the American dream, as well as the classic statement wristwatch, are not a thing of the past. Today’s guest shares an incredible story of bringing both to life while legally battling an industry supergiant along the way. R.T. Custer is a Colorado-based entrepreneur, speaker, and co-founder of Vortic Watch Company. He helps founders create a life of freedom through community, connection, and mentorship and is on a continual journey toward the American dream. Today he shares his "David vs. Goliath" story as he took on Swatch. Watches are not currently made in the United States, but after learning that millions of pocket watches were created in the U.S. between 1850 and 1950, R.T. designed a way to create a 100% American wristwatch by upcycling an antique American-made pocket watch. The idea was crowdfunded and appeared to be a viable business model until Swatch served Vortic with cease and desist papers and a threat of copyright infringement. A six-year legal battle ultimately resulted in victory, and R.T. learned a lot along the way about what it means to take on an industry giant and stand firm in what you believe in. The law is rarely as cut and dry as most of us assume it to be, and corporate bullying combined with navigating an unprecedented refurbishing business led to a landmark case that eventually won in court. This proved that the American-made dream is still alive and that fighting for something new and different just may be the key to finding the success you’ve been dreaming of. Interview Links: R.T. Custer Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

The purpose of your company is the why or the what. There is something that you care deeply about that is motivating you to keep working toward your goal. At that motivational center you’ll find decision and action arise in the brain. What are you proud of? That is where you will find the why of your work. Consider a person that matters a great deal to you – what you would tell them about the work that you do? That is the why behind your efforts. Too many people get stuck on getting their purpose just ‘right’ but, trust me, just good enough is a perfect place to get started. Don’t let perfectionism stop you from getting started in the first place. Just start working with a draft and let it evolve naturally as you continue along your path toward success. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Good sales pitches aren’t about what you have to offer. An effective sales pitch is all about what you have to offer that the other guys don’t have. When you can identify that selling point, you’re headed in the right direction to close the deal. April Dunford is an executive consultant, speaker, and author who helps technology companies make complicated products easy for customers to understand and love. She is a globally recognized expert in positioning and market strategy and has launched 16 products to market across her 25-year career as VP of marketing at a series of successful high-growth startups. April advises leadership, sales, and marketing teams through training, workshops, and keynote talks. April offers invaluable insights from her latest book Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win. She goes deep into the art of effective pitching and selling and shares the specific framework she has used to successfully pitch products at companies like Google, IBM, Postman, and Epic Games. Nobody likes buying insurance. Shopping for B-to-B software is nobody’s favorite pastime. And when it came time for April to buy a new toilet, she learned just how painful buying can be. Sorting through features is overwhelming, and the sheer number of decisions that have to be made around making one single purchase can be enough to make anyone give up and head in the opposite direction. 40 to 60% of B-to-B tech purchase processes end in no decision. When buyers are overwhelmed by their options and feel that they don’t have access to the information they need to make an informed decision, the easy answer is to prolong the decision altogether and not buy anything. Overwhelmed buyers need a guide — not a pushy salesperson — to help them identify the most critical elements of their purchase and make a decision. Customers don’t really care about the features themselves, they care about what those features are going to do for their business. There is always an alternative to solving a problem, and customers need to clearly see that their best option is to buy from you. The question you are trying to answer isn’t “why pick us,” it’s “why pick us over the other guys.” Identifying the key differentiators and highlighting that value to others is a critical first step to closing the sale. Interview Links: April Dunford Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

When we become a master of something, it naturally flows through us. We feel powerful and effective. Flow state happens in peak moments of mastery, and these two are greatly interconnected. The beginning of mastery is to give up the idea of ever finishing. Bill is still deeply at work in the areas of his life that he is mastering. When we say we are done with something, we want to put it behind us. Instead, consider what it means to never be done learning more about the things you want to master. Leaders who are engaged and mastering leadership and applying those skills to all areas of their life will find themselves regularly in flow state, and that is a powerful place for a great leader to be. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Everything is a negotiation. From the boardroom to the lunchroom, finding common ground is critical to getting what you want. Keld Jensen has more than 30 years of experience in international management, negotiation, and communication from his post as managing director of a listed Scandinavian company. He is the founder and former CEO of Centre for Negotiation, a consulting and training organization that has worked with private industry and governmental bodies in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. Keld is also the author of the book, Negotiation Essentials: The Tools You Need to Find Common Ground and Walk Away a Winner, detailing common business interactions that you didn’t know were negotiations–and, how to approach them. You might think that only CEOs are great at negotiations, but Keld will tell you that is wrong. Every single person has to navigate 8‒10,000 negotiations a year, and it’s not only in contracts. It's just as much about where to go for lunch as it is about how to move to the next step in striking a deal. Keld shares a variety of experiences that he has had with negotiations. Too many people think that negotiations mean confrontation or conflict or that there can only be one winner. By changing your perception of what negotiation is all about, you can consider the possibilities of what everyone can gain from negotiation. From pausing negotiations for a client who is dealing with cancer to the success of those who uphold the Golden Rule, Keld highlights the ways that effective negotiations can be the secret weapon that leads to success. Interview Links: Keld Jensen Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

If you insist on hanging onto your business for too long, you are keeping it weak. If you insist on hanging onto your team too tightly, you are keeping them weak. Too many leaders hire helpers and then micromanage them, or stay at their jobs for too long each day and week. They don’t vacation often enough and they don’t retire soon enough. Great leaders pass the baton firmly to their team. It’s a powerful function of leaders who create groups of leaders that they can trust. Give people opportunities to make mistakes before you are completely gone. This creates powerful leaders who appreciate what you have done for them and builds not just one good thing in your business, but a lasting organization of a great team and a legacy and culture of leadership that is unstoppable. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.

Your slides aren’t working in your favor. The key to selling is the stories that you tell, and your pitch needs stories that engage people so that you can connect in ways that close the deals. Nir Zavaro is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker. He regularly tours the world, on a mission to help as many people as possible become better storytellers. Using his experience, storytelling fundamentals, and methods, he brings a fresh perspective on how to implement these into businesses, working with founders and CEOs in over 30 countries. Every person on the planet has a unique story to tell. Too many people lean on slides as a crutch to get through a presentation, but slides should be the bonus, not the basis of your pitch. YOU are the presentation and you need to connect with the audience and tell your stories — with or without slides. How can you determine if a pitch or a session was a success if you aren’t able to recognize the emotions and feelings of those that you are interacting with? Storytelling isn’t the soft skill that so many say it is, it is an essential skill that needs to be continually practiced and honed. Niv and Bill share a variety of situations that can create connection by tapping into the emotional aspect of storytelling, from skiing to handling crises in the emergency room and understanding the language of different cultures. The stories you tell have the power to draw people in and connect with them in a way that a slideshow never will. Interview Links: Nir Zavaro Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Do you know how to do the kind of planning that makes a real difference? Most of us spend more time working on the less important things that happen in between planning and then push off the planning that really matters for a future day that never comes. This results in sloppy actions and random results. Bill recommends scheduling out annual, quarterly, weekly, and even daily planning. Every scheduled planning event matters. Get consistent with your planning, and then let everything else fill in between. The plan itself doesn’t matter as much as the act of regularly planning. When you get the rhythm right, you’ll be a great leader who is able to run things with ease. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

The playbook for navigating the transition from manager to leader has only become more difficult in recent years. Today’s guest understands the challenges leaders face and what it takes to be an effective leader in today’s workplace. Adam Bryant is the senior managing director of The ExCo Group, a leadership development and executive mentoring firm. He is a respected and noted expert on executive leadership who has interviewed more than 1,000 leaders for the “Corner Office” series he created at The New York Times and for his four current leadership series on LinkedIn — with CEOs, CHROs, board directors, and prominent Black leaders. After years of interviewing CEOs about their business strategies, Adam pivoted toward what he found to be a much more interesting topic — how leaders get to where they are. The key distinctions between managers and leaders are highlighted in Adam’s new book, The Leap to Leader. Adam encourages anyone who is considering making the leap to write down three questions — what is the difference between management and leadership, do you really want to lead, and who are you as a leader? The answers to each of these questions will help identify your strengths and potential as an effective leader. There are three key currencies of effective leadership. Insights, storytelling, and framework are the languages that leaders speak to connect with and inspire their teams. Leaders are the chief storytellers who provide a sense of alignment and shared narrative for the team. If your team can quote you or copy what you are always saying, you’re doing your job right. Quiet quitting, return to office, and the great resignation have posed incredible new challenges for leaders. The human element of leadership requires leading from the front unless you are told to lead from the back. The contradictory advice that comes to leaders abounds, and Adam’s advice is to remain cautious and simplify — but not oversimplify — the challenges of leadership. Interview Links: Adam Bryant Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

How do you react when you hear “no”? People usually view no as a setback, take it personally, and get triggered or angry. But if you can learn to be loose and playful with every no you hear, you will find that you aren’t so deeply affected by it. When you approach no with curiosity, you might find that you can turn it into a “yes” in the future. Great leaders know how to be playful with a no. Whether they’re trying to hire someone, supply something, or pitch an idea, leaning into possibilities with curiosity and playfulness can get the answer they’re looking for. If not now or with this situation, then in the right situation and in the very near future. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

How can you learn to stay calm and deal with a VUCA — volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous — world? Perspective is the number one tactic, and today’s guest is a special operator and leader who has the developmental skills and methodologies that can assist anyone in dealing with a VUCA world. Mark Divine is a former Navy SEAL Commander, best-selling author, and leadership expert. After a 20-year career in the Navy SEALs, he was tasked with creating a leadership program for the SEALs, which later extended to corporate, sports, and academic settings. Mark Divine is the author of five best-selling books, hosts a top-rated podcast, Mark Divine’s Unbeatable Mind, and has founded five successful companies. He believes in unlocking 20X performance through the right training and tools. From terrorist attacks and global wars to the COVID-19 pandemic and technological advances, the capacity for great violence to happen quickly is prevalent in today’s VUCA world. The need to remain adaptable, flexible, and controlled under such stress is critical to survival. Mark and Bill both share experiences of trauma from their lives and the lessons they have learned as a result. Having the tools needed to navigate the trauma of life is what sets a leader apart in moments of crisis. However, teams are not always looking for a calm and composed leader. Acknowledging apparent chaos can be the best first step in building trust and respect. Everyone on a SEAL team is a leader, so egos get checked at the door. Each team member is prepared to step up when they are called on to lead. There is no hiding in an elite culture environment, there is only the expectation that you’re going to bring your “A” game every single day. Those who learn the techniques to do so are earning the respect and trust of their team, controlling their mind and emotions, and preparing for whatever chaos the VUCA world might throw their way. Interview Links: Mark Divine Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

A brief summary of this episodeMentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Too many companies struggle to scale because they are stuck reinventing things that just don’t need to be reinvented. The companies that succeed are the ones that focus on and refine systems in a disciplined way that makes them better than they have ever been before. JC Hite is the visionary Founder and CEO of Hite Digital, the fastest-growing digital agency in the U.S. With a deep-rooted passion for empowering small businesses, JC is dedicated to driving their growth through the realm of digital marketing. There are times when building any business is just really difficult. Within six months of launching Hite Digital in Nicaragua, the company found itself in the middle of a civil war. As they have scaled, they have had to learn how to survive physically, financially, and mentally during the harder seasons of growth. JC highlights some of the hurdles Hite Digital has faced, including political insecurity, addressing limited education in Nicaragua, the pandemic, and the recession. They have fine-tuned hiring the right fit for their agency, the range of services they provide, and the key to a successful franchising model. This conversation is filled with insights into the lessons learned from JC’s mistakes, his luckiest breaks, and what happens when entrepreneurs and business builders are willing to position themselves in the right places and focus on the right things at the right time. Interview Links: The Hites Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

When people are really upset, there is a simple way to turn things around and bring them back into the game. Deeper listening is the key to understanding what is going on behind the complaint. The complaint itself is rarely the problem. More often it’s the personal value that they care deeply about that has been attacked or triggered. When a leader can identify the value that is behind the upset, they can diffuse the situation. Call the value out and give it a name to create a reset that then allows the upset person to get back into the game. This approach can make a powerful, immediate change that, often, people can’t even see or articulate themselves. But great leaders know how to highlight the values that mean so much and turn a complaint into an empowering conversation. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

No matter how successful you are, at some point, you may encounter a career setback. Instead of being devastated, you can turn that setback into a growth experience. Doug Lennick, co-author of DON’T WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO FIX IT, is the founding CEO of think2perform, a high-performance leadership development firm serving small and large organizations in a variety of industries. He has been in leadership roles for nearly 40 years and is widely recognized as an expert in the science of human behavior. Obstacles happen to all of us, but the person who actually makes it to where they want to go doesn’t consider obstacles “in the way” but “on the way.” The winners are the people who know how to handle whatever comes their way. The premium isn’t on knowing what will happen — because no one does — the premium is knowing how to deal with whatever happens and then not waiting for someone else to do something about it. Doug shares his early career setback of being cut out of a publishing company, and the successes he experienced as a result. He shares the three value buckets that encompass people around the world, the top three values of people around the world, and the importance of reflecting on those values before making significant decisions. Whether the setbacks you face are political, global, personal, or professional, there is immense value in turning those challenges into growth experiences. Interview Links: Doug Lennick Don’t Wait for Someone Else to Fix It: 8 Essentials to Enhance Your Leadership Impact at Work, Home, and Anywhere Else That Needs You, by Doug Lennick and Chuck Wachendorfer, with Kathy Jordan, PhD Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts. Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

Great leaders tend to be optimistic and positive, but that can come at a very real cost. When you don’t think about or listen to what could go wrong, you’re setting yourself up for guaranteed failure. There is value in giving a voice to the negative possibilities. Bill once made a $2 million mistake by not considering what could go wrong. He quickly learned to balance his naturally positive approach with realistic and even negative possibilities. A great leader knows the value of empowering the voices on their team to play devil’s advocate once in a while. No plan survives contact with the enemy, or, as Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Business has a way of punching us in the face on a regular basis. If you want your team and your business to be more successful, don’t shy away from conversations about the biggest things that could go wrong, and what you are going to do about it. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

When you can determine what your clients, donors, or sponsors want, you can persuade them to help you get what you need. Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE is Growth Owl, LLC’s Founder and CEO. She possesses over 22 years of expertise in revenue generation management, corporate sponsorship support, corporate cause marketing, fundraising, corporate social responsibility, nonprofit consulting, executive sales management, training, and marketing strategy roles earning her a reputation for establishing pathways quickly to exceeding revenue/fundraising goals, building high-performance teams, developing relationships quickly, and outpacing expectations. Lori’s company, Growth Owl, works with purpose-driven organizations to help with fundraising and sponsorship dollars. That is an effort that requires a lot of persuasion, but Lori’s previous 10 years with PBS and NPR gave her the experience that has made her an expert in persuasion. Lori’s goal in starting Growth Owl was to apply the principles that are utilized in public media to a wider variety of purpose-driven companies. The art of persuasion is not a simple one to master, and in this conversation, Lori shares a host of tactics that work. First, understand that while emotions are used in decision-making, facts-based language will earn a greater response than feelings-based language. People are more likely to be persuaded when they hear supporting facts and numbers than when they hear how you feel about it. Lori recommends connecting with people at the lowest level of Maslov’s Hierarchy of needs possible. By doing so, you will be able to connect with more people at a more basic level. Highlighting the fears of a company is another angle that can be used, as long as it is coupled with an action-based solution. Bill recommends connecting with people who actually care about the things that you care about. It will be difficult to persuade someone who is not interested in feeding homeless dogs to donate funds that will be used to buy dog food. And it will be easiest to work with the people who do care when you are speaking in their language. Lori suggests using the “5 not 50” approach to persuasion. Choose five highly qualified decision-makers, learn as much as you can about them, and approach them. By keeping a greater focus on a smaller number, your chances of effectively persuading them are much greater. Don’t spam everyone in your entire email list, instead connect with those who have engaged with you in relevant ways. Identify your objective in reaching out before your first communication. Are you trying to sell something right off the bat? More likely you are just trying to get a conversation started. Asking for a five- or six-figure donation is not going to happen over one email with one attachment. Be succinct, be respectful of others’ time, and be ready to engage in ways that get the answers that you are seeking. Interview Links: Lori Zoss Kraska Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts. Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

For most of us, when looking to hear “yes,” what gets in the way is us. Our thoughts and feelings get in the way of our ability to effectively communicate with other people. When we’re stuck inside our heads, we worry that we may be too much of something, or don’t have enough skills in a particular area, and we dread hearing “no.” All of these things are happening internally, and they all keep us from talking to and connecting with the other person in a way that encourages the “yes” we’re seeking. If you can get out of your head and get over what you think the other person is thinking, the more naturally you will get your “yes.” Instead of worrying about what might be going wrong in the conversation, focus on the other person. What about your conversation is of interest to them? Imagine the conversation going well. Get curious about what they want and ask more questions. When you do, you’ll find that you can hire, sell, fundraise, partner, and engage with greater ease. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Today’s conversation is all about being awesome, and there is no better teacher than John “Gucci” Foley, the legendary former solo pilot for The Blue Angels who flew in the original movie Top Gun, who continues to inspire organizations to High Performance through a GLAD TO BE HERE mindset, operational excellence, team improvement, and high trust! John is one of the Top 10 most sought-after keynote speakers and trainers on leadership, high performance, teamwork, trust, and a GLAD TO BE HERE mindset! From the night he watched the first moon landing in 1969 and the visceral energy he felt at his first air show, John knew from an early age that he was meant to be in the sky. Over time his dreams turned from astronaut to lead solo pilot, with a stop in college football along the way. There is a huge difference between having a vision and executing it. Success happens when you are able to keep a dream alive, formulate a plan, and act on it consistently over time in a way that turns your dreams into success. Obstacles are an inevitable part of every success story. Resilience is key, and success is much more likely to happen when you are able to get others to buy into your vision as well. Don’t just dream about your success, surround yourself with a team who also believes in your dream. John’s life has been filled with failed attempts and pivoting plans and the lessons he has learned along the way. He shares his stories of flying for Top Gun, misfiring a missile, and the many points at which he had to advance fearlessly to reach his goals. Too many leaders don’t perform at their full potential, they perform at their belief level. Leveling up is essential for fearless leaders, and that performance will either be enhanced or limited by the beliefs we have in ourselves. If you are willing to meet your obstacles head-on, fearless success is guaranteed to come your way. Interview Links: John “Gucci” Foley Fearless Success: Beyond High Performance Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts. Mentioned in this episode:Q20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.com

Most of us have learned to control our emotions. We’re expected to look strong and be stoic. In the early years of his career, Bill was told to calm down and stop showing so many emotions when he was excited about possibilities at work. So how is it possible that vulnerability can be powerful? Showing your vulnerabilities requires courage and strength. Whether people believe it or not, emotions are at the root of every decision we make. Even the rational, logical decisions we make also touch our feelings. When leaders can get in touch with all of their feelings — good and bad — they have access to powerful vulnerability. Yes, it takes courage to get in touch with your feelings, but when you can share those feelings with other people in a way that results in greater connections, the results are always powerful. Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20

What does it take to be successful? The underlying structures of your business craft the foundation that will make or break your success. Patrick Esposito is an entrepreneur, business executive, attorney, advisor, and board member. He has helped to found, lead, and advise small- and medium-sized businesses in technology, consulting, retail, banking, real estate, and other sectors, as well as U.S. government organizations, for more than two decades. During his career, Esposito has advised start-up executive teams, family business owners, large publicly traded company executive teams, and leaders in the U.S. Department of Defense. He recently launched Initiative Labs LLC to help small- and medium-sized business leaders apply the approaches, methodologies, and tools from his book, The Structure of Success, to create the conditions for success in their business ventures. A self-proclaimed jack of all trades, Patrick learned early on that, when it came to scaling up, employing the wisdom of an independent who knew how to scale was one of the most beneficial aspects of his journey toward success. While reflecting on his experiences with various companies, Patrick highlights two key categories of wisdom. First, the general business wisdom that is required for growing a company. The outside perspective from a general scaling expert is essential, but the second piece of wisdom is equally as critical — the industry-specific, specialized knowledge that promotes internal growth. Successful scaling up is not just about money and it’s not just about execution, it’s also about crafting an effective ecosystem structure. From tech to financial service companies, tires to banks and environmental services, Patrick’s experiences have made him an expert in his work. When it comes to scaling, he has learned that making the right structural and scaling investments that benefit growth and underline profitability is the key to success. Interview Links: Patrick Esposito The Structure of Success: A Framework to Help Build Your Business Better Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts. Mentioned in this episode:Busy is Broken bookOur new book, Busy is Broken, coming this September. Sign up for the release at busyisbroken.comQ20 Diagnostic OfferStuck? Q20 Growth Diagnostic will give you a fresh perspective and it's free. ScalingCoach.com/Q20