As an entrepreneur, there are always obstacles in the road, things holding us back, making us swerve and risk heading off into a ditch. Much about being competitive in today's business is having the ability to steer away, to avoid running into those boulders that seem to fall into the middle of our paths. However...that's assuming that we're actually moving forward. That we're on the road. The truth is, that for many entrepreneurs, the greatest difficulty is just getting started. Join Michael and Jim as they explain how to overcome the difficulty of getting started.
There are few things more exhilarating and frightening than building a business from scratch. Starting a business, keeping your doors open, battling the storms, and defending yourself constantly from your own delusion...is not easy. In fact, it will probably be the most difficult thing you've ever done in your life. And, often it will seem like it's taken you four lifetimes to get to where you want to go. And that's only if you get there! Yet, it doesn't have to be impossible. And, it doesn't have to be as difficult as we often make it. Join Michael and Jim as they share keen insights into how to build a business the right way. Or how to rebuild yours if it could use some new inspiration.
If you examine the backstory of any successful leader, you'll discover they have their own list of "Most Valuable People" of sorts, and that's influencers in their lives who were always in their corner, who cared about them, and invested in their future. We call those people mentors. They often are in the background, and unknown to many, but they are essential to the development and success of leaders. This is why it's so important to surround yourself by the right influences as you grow in your role. But, how do you go about choosing an excellent mentor? How do you go about selecting someone who you can mentor? Join Michael and Jim as they explore the extraordinary value and pathway of being mentored, and being a mentor.
One of the greatest traits a leader can have is their ability...just like a prize fighter...to take a hit. Because if you're going to take a leadership role, you're getting into the ring...and your opponents aren't going to be taking it easy on you. When it comes to launching or managing an organization, there is no sugarcoating this...it won't be simple. In fact, it will probably be the hardest thing you'll ever do in your lifetime. We wish this wasn't an exaggeration. You will encounter unimaginable adversity along the way. Disappointments. Unexpected obstacles. A lot of injustice. Yet, successful leaders are able to survive by leaning on the strong belief that when seemingly insurmountable difficulties arrive, they'll be able to confidently say, "This too shall pass." Join Michael and Jim as they explore this critical topic.
As leaders and entrepreneurs...we are all about growth. In fact, some would say we are obsessed with growing. We like to captain our ways to new revenue records and to reach new levels of profitability. That's natural for entrepreneurs, and in some ways it's the drive that is needed to actually keep us in business. Yet, there are those times when you look out at sea and in the future you see darkening skies and you go, "Oh my!" It's times like these when you need to batten down the hatches. Join Michael and Jim as they share how to respond when the business climate gets tumulteous.
"I've got a strange feeling something bad is about to happen." Have you said to this yourself before? If you've been in leadership for any length of time, you've probably experienced this feeling many times throughout the course of your career. This feeling is actually something valuable to you in your leadership role. It is a sixth sense of a sort. The ability to discern what will happen before it eventually does. The challenge is to not become paranoid while still maintaining an acute sense of awareness of anything and everything that could go wrong in the organization you are leading. Join Michael and Jim as they explore how to balance a high level of leadership awareness without overreacting and causing more harm than good.
In a perfect world, the people we lead would be highly skilled individuals with extraordinary work ethics, and with a strong appreciation for the opportunity they have. Sometimes, however, those you lead have some of those characteristics, but not all. Some of them are highly skilled, yet don't necessarily hold you with the highest regard. There can be several reasons for this, some of them beyond your control. It's a harsh fact when it comes to leading. Not everyone will appreciate you and the effort and quality you put into your work. Still, many times, you still need to keep these people on your team, and as productive and happy as possible. Join Michael and Jim as they share how to lead those who don't appreciate you.
There are so many different essential traits of a gifted leader. Few are more important than planning. No one wants to get lost in their business or with their careers. Everyone in the building is going to be judging the leader by the quality of their planning ability. In most organizations, the difference between a business having to shutter its doors...or being highly profitable is the quality of the leadership's planning. Join Michael and Jim as they take a deep dive into all aspects of what it takes to be a well-planned leader.
When it comes to being successful in business and life, it's all about relationships. Most elite leaders will tell you that developing a circle of trusted friends, colleagues, and partners is as important as any other task before them. However, building business relationships does not come easy for many entrepreneurs and leaders. Isolation and loneliness is all too prevalent in entrepreneurship. Often there can be sadness behind that beaming, business-facing smile. Building business relationships isn't something that is really taught in business school. But it's taught in this podcast! Join Michael and Jim as they delve into this most important topic and as they explain the differences and similarities between business relationships and personal friendships. If you're a leader, don't miss this extraordinarily valuable episode.
Have you ever started off a day or week by saying to yourself, "There is no way we're going to get everything done that we need to do?" If you're like most business owners, this experience occurs with too much frequency, and over time can cause great harm to your health and well being. It brings this crushing feeling where the walls are coming closer and closer to you on all sides. When you're a leader or entrepreneur, this is exasperated further as your panicked face starts to spread to everyone in your organization. The worst part? You're probably the root cause of why this is happening. The good news is it's totally fixable. Join Michael and Jim as they discuss this important topic and provide you with the most calming remedy.
Can you imagine what it would be like if you had no competition in your business? None at all. Theoretically, our company's offerings would be in high demand and we could negotiate in our favor with all of the leverage. The phones would be ringing...the cash registers would be singing...at least for a while. That's because competition is actually a leadership friend. One that makes us stronger. As leaders, competition is good for us. It's good for our teams. It's good for our customers. And competition isn't just about competitors. It's so much more! Join Michael & Jim as they delve into a critical strategy for winning in business, leadership and life.
Many people decide to start a business with the idea that it's going to change their lives in so many marvelous ways. It will change your life alright. They got that part spot on. The truth is this is a high risk journey...being a business owner. That pathway can lead to financial ruin, a loss of friends and a break-up of a family. You need to know this heading down this road. Which is why being a successful business owner entails so much more than merely growing your revenues. Join Michael and Jim as they discuss how to win in all aspects of the game of entrepreneurship.
In this special episode of the Two Are Gathered Leadership podcast we hear from Co-Host Jim Johnson only six weeks after his recent open heart surgery. After more than 50 years of being a hard charger in the business world he shares what his most intimate thoughts were about leadership, success and life as he was being wheeled into the surgery room for what might have been his last moments here on earth. What really matters when it comes to building a company? How do you truly measure success? How do you know if you're an excellent leader? This is the episode every entrepreneur should listen to and should freely share with all of their business friends. Join Michael and Jim for an unforgettable leadership discussion of a lifetime.
There are few things leaders and entrepreneurs enjoy more than being in control. The truth is we never really are in control. It's one of the great leadership delusions. There are so many things well, well beyond our scope of control...such as rain falling, earth shaking, waves crashing and most of the world's geopolitics that affect even the smallest of businesses. Then there are health crises. All out of our control! If we accept the true reality that ultimately we are not in control then as leaders it now becomes our responsibility to learn how to lead when things are out of our control. Can we even do this? Join Michael and Jim as they explain how.
If we're in leadership. If we're entrepreneurs. There is an excellent chance we're heard this phrase throughout our lifetimes: You are SO stubborn. What's interesting about the word stubbornness is that it's used both positively and pejoratively. That is...it's both a complement and a criticism. The reason is...there really is a LIGHT SIDE, and a DARK SIDE to stubbornness. The goal in leadership is to tap into all of the qualities of stubbornness without slipping over into the edge of stubbornness despair. Join Michael and Jim as they shine the light on stubbornness.
One thing virtually every leader and entrepreneur wants to do...is to grow. They want to experience interpersonal growth...intellectual growth...they want to grow their skillsets and those of their teams...they want to grow their network, their net worth...their revenues...their bottom line...their vision. Growth is exciting. Which is probably why so many leaders can be reluctant to do the exact opposite. That is to exercise the discipline of pruning. Yet, that's the exact critical practice that often can result in the best kind of growth possible. Join Michael and Jim as they discuss the power of pruning in leadership and life.
How future proof is your business? How well prepared are you for all of the things that could go wrong? This is one of the least enjoyable parts of being an entrepreneur. Going through all of the "What if's?" and having a strong response in place for as many of these challenges as you can. It's not as exhilarating as charting out plans for new product and service launches and dreaming up ways for more growth. But future-proofing your business will be one of the most important exercises you conduct as a leader. Join Michael and Jim as they discuss many of the most essential parts of this planning.
When you get into a leadership role one of the first great challenges you'll have to face is realizing that things are much different than they are advertised. Yes...those dreams of leadership and entrepreneurship. That you'll be the captain of your own ship...that you'll be able to create a schedule and a lifestyle well beyond anything you could have imagined. These may be true in part or in whole. But they also arrive with the tremendous burden of responsibility. These responsibilities weigh down on us and if we're not careful can take us to a very unhealthy place. How is your overall health as a leader? Join Michael and Jim and they'll walk through a leadership health check.
What is one of the most common questions a young entrepreneur will ask a much more experienced business owner? It's this: "When does all of this get easier? When does running a business get easy?" In many ways business does get easier when compared to those early frantic times of daily struggles. You build more systems. You gain efficiency. You can even work at making your job more enjoyable for you. But...there will always be some less glamorous elements of owning a business...of being in charge. That "grind" never goes away. Join Michael and Jim as they share some of the largest frustrations experienced by entrepreneurs and how best to deal with all of them.
One thing about leaders and visionaries...we love to see what's far ahead and plan for the brightest of futures. It's about planning. It's about growth. It's about vision. Unfortunately, there are those times in the leader's voyage when things get hazy...they get foggy...and uncertain. Forget about planning for next year or even the next six months...you've got to get through the next few days. Join Michael and Jim as they share how best to drive through a leadership fog.