Explore every episode of the podcast CEO Coaching International Podcast

Guest: Smith Holland, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Smith served as President & CEO of three businesses, including Crayola, Hallmark Global, and Hallmark Canada, with revenues ranging from $125 million to $2 billion.

Quick Background: No "good" company makes the leap to "great" without exceptional leadership. Where good CEOs just keep the gears turning, great CEOs actually create value by managing a culture that inspires peak performance and drives consistent growth. 

On today's show, Smith Holland discusses how leadership drives value creation, how the CEO multiplier effect amplifies the CEO's impact across the organization, and how he coaches CEOs to unlock their potential and Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Brian Mergelas, a coach at CEO Coaching International.  Brian is an accomplished leader with over 25 years of experience in driving growth, innovation, and operational excellence for global technology companies and startups.

Quick Background: As AI usage becomes more and more mainstream, companies that didn't have the foresight to include an AI road map in their last few annual planning sessions are scrambling onto the bandwagon. But if your company is in catch-up mode, you'll never gain ground in this rapidly evolving space without a plan for analyzing your options, building up your infrastructure, and streamlining integration.

On today's show, Brian Mergelas  explains how leaders can use AI to unlock value in their businesses. Brian shares his insights on developing an AI strategy, navigating its challenges, and its potential to revolutionize industries, including yours. We also explore practical examples of leveraging AI for process improvements, innovation, and decision-making to Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Anthony Venus, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Anthony is an experienced entrepreneur and CEO who led his latest venture-backed SaaS firm YayPay from its inception to a successful exit.

Quick Background: Why are some founders and CEOs able to repeat BIG success? Because they understand that winning a market, consistent growth, and nine-figure exits aren't a matter of luck. Once you've learned how to install specific, measurable, and actionable systems, you can repeat those processes at new companies, and even in new industries.

And the best of the best, like the team at CEO Coaching International, can teach other CEOs how to do the same and Make BIG Happen.

On today's show, Anthony Venus discusses how his leadership and strategic vision fueled YayPay's growth and ultimate success, the importance of developing a strong company culture, and what his recent travels have taught him about the need for CEOs to lead with passion and purpose.

Guest: Earle Pratt, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Earle is a seasoned CEO who has led companies in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America in the Education and EdTech, Franchising, and Financial Services markets. Earl has led multiple private equity backed businesses (investors include The Carlyle Group and Camden Partners) and has extensive experience prepping companies on both sides of a sale transaction.

Quick Background: What is the difference between selling your company and selling BIG? Preparation. CEOs eying an exit start planning to reach that finish line years in advance so that they can optimize both their businesses and that future opportunity. That longer runway also helps the CEO prepare for a major personal and professional transition once the sale is complete.

On today's show, Earle Pratt shares a five-step process that CEOs aiming for a sale should adopt sooner rather than later.

Guest: Emily Murphy, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Emily has held multiple leadership roles in the federal government, most recently serving as Administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency charged with managing 371 million square feet of office space, over $75 billion in governmentwide contracts, and a number of shared services.

Quick Background: Think you have problems managing, compensating, and inspiring your team? Well, imagine your workforce is more than 11,000 strong, you're overseeing a $37 billion budget, and both you and your organization are responsible for supporting the operation of the U.S. federal government.

On today's show, Emily Murphy discuses the specific strategies and tactics that she implemented within the GSA that led to BIG improvements in culture, employee engagement, and leadership scores, all while generating multi-billion-dollar increases in sales and revenue.

Guest: Kevin Adams, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Kevin's experience includes leadership roles in publicly-held, private equity-backed, and family-founded businesses including Isagenix, ConAgra Brands, International Home Foods, and Stella Foods.

Quick Background: No, "growing broke" isn't a contradiction in terms. It's what happens when a CEO's eyes get so wide that she loses perspective on what made the company special in the first place. Without that clear focus on what's really driving your growth, your business could wander off track and burn cash with every wayward step.

On today's show, Kevin Adams describes a four-part framework for achieving rapid growth that's centered on the "secret sauce" your company needs to make BIG happen.

Guest: Odmar Almeida-Filho, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Odmar has extensive global turnaround experience in consumer packaged goods, telecom and internet media technology, and consulting at companies including Procter & Gamble, Dell, Telefonica, and Amway.

Quick Background: If a struggling company is in need of a turnaround, usually the CEO needs to execute a personal turnaround too. That doesn't mean completely changing who you are as a leader. But it does mean that you'll need to place a renewed emphasis on certain leadership traits in order to reorganize and reenergize your company before a bump in the road turns into a gaping pit.

On today's show, Odmar Almeida-Filho explains the five-part roadmap he's used both as a CEO and as an entrepreneur coach to execute successful turnarounds that set struggling companies back on track.

Guest: Jerry Swain, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Jerry is a highly recognized, results-driven Chief Executive Officer with over 20 years of experience in executive leadership, planning, strategy, and business operations. He had a highly recognized career in sales management at IBM and other high-tech companies and was also the founder of a high-end specialty chocolate company that he later sold to a strategic buyer.

Quick Background: If sales are falling short, then your salespeople must be falling short. Right?

Only if you hired the wrong salespeople to begin with. Assuming you're putting a premium on matching top candidates to your company's specific needs, it could be your processes and training that need an overhaul.

On today's show, CEO Coaching International's Jerry Swain shares his four-step process for getting the best out of your existing salespeople and preparing your incoming wave of talent to hit the ground running.

Guest: Douglas DeBoer, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Douglas is a three-time CEO with extensive experience leading companies to strong growth and monetization outcomes. He has led companies and brands in the USA, China, and Asia-Pacific, including Domino's Pizza, General Mills, Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, Colgate-Palmolive, and Unilever.

Overview: There's a point in every growing company's lifecycle where you've achieved product-market fit and it's time to scale your business and expand your executive team. At this moment, a growing business is staring at both maximum opportunity and maximum risk. Try to grow too fast without the right people in your C-suite, and you could "grow broke." Aim too low and you might be missing your moment to achieve something really BIG.

On today's show, Douglas DeBoer walks us through his four-part framework for effectively navigating these critical moments and scaling your business.

Guest: David Friedman, the founder and CEO of CultureWise and the author of a great new book, Culture by Design.

Overview: Effective CEOs have systems, plans, and analytics that manage and measure nearly every aspect of their businesses. But many don't have a system for guiding the company's culture, which is arguably the most significant driver of BIG growth. On today's show, culture expert David Friedman explains how to build a powerful cultural operating system that replaces all those inspirational break room posters with a set of defined, teachable behaviors.

Guest: LaQuita Cleare, an international speaker, public speaking coach, and the CEO of Clear Communication Academy. She has extensive experience working with CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 companies, public figures, and politicians in more than 50 countries across four continents, including many clients of CEO Coaching International.

Overview: People are not persuaded by information. An honest, well-crafted story that makes an audience feel something can make a lasting impression for both you and your business. Whether you're speaking at a conference or addressing your staff on Zoom, effective storytelling that showcases who you really are and gives your audience opportunities to engage with your main themes is key to connecting, inspiring, and making BIG happen.

Guest: Kurt Wilkin, a successful entrepreneur and CEO. He's the Co-Founder & Visionary of HireBetter, a company that impacts lives by connecting and empowering good people to build great companies. Prior to that, he founded, led, and sold The Controller Group, which was a professional services firm focused on accounting, technology and recruiting. Kurt is also an active member and officer of YPO.

Overview: Why are so many companies struggling to fill vacancies? According to hiring expert Kurt Wilkin, businesses that are stuck in a pre-pandemic mindset have to improve their value propositions and get creative about attracting the best talent. And just as importantly, CEOs have to demonstrate to prospective candidates that their passions run deeper than just turning a profit.

Guest: Lloyd Brown, the Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Smart Chemical Services, which has been named an Inc 5,000 Fastest Growing Company for three years in a row. Lloyd is also the author of a new book, Refined by Failure.

Overview: Failure hurts. But according to Lloyd Brown -- who was fired from a company he co-founded -- if a CEO is humble enough to admit mistakes, hold himself accountable, and work on improving blind spots, failure can also grant wisdom that you can use to make BIG happen going forward.

Guest: Mary Naylor, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Mary is a repeat founder, CEO, and board member working in diverse sectors including customer loyalty, consumer services, concierge and lifestyle services, hospitality, travel, financial services, call center customer service, and technology platforms. She has 30 years of expertise in enterprise business development, go-to-market strategies, sales optimization, channel partnerships, team building, and fundraising.

Quick Background: What's the BIGGEST mistake CEOs make about their go-to-market strategy?

Acting like it's finished. 

Consistently studying and refining your value proposition, customer profile, and messaging is the only way to keep your company competing, growing, and Making BIG Happen. 

On today's show, Mary Naylor walks us through the five steps she uses to ensure that a CEO's go-to-market strategy stays relevant and dynamic in a constantly evolving marketplace.

Guest: Matt Shearer, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Matt is a highly motivated business leader and brand management executive with over 23 years of experience building teams and driving results on a global scale. Matt spent over 20 years at Under Armour and played a major role in the early stages of brand and business development, with significant focus on elevating the brand on an international level. Matt is also a member of YPO and a former professional lacrosse player.

Episode in a Tweet: In business and sports, aligning the best players with a great gameplan is the only way to win BIG.

Quick Background: Business is a team sport. And the very best teams use strong culture and clearly defined goals to put great players in a position to win consistently.

On today's show, Matt Shearer explains how his experience as an athlete and sports brand executive influenced his leadership philosophy and team management strategies.

To find the right leaders for your team, you have to separate the true high performers from the pretenders who've been bobbing along in the high tide at other stellar companies. And to fill a key chair in your leadership team, you'll also need to find candidates whose motivations and management styles fit with your company's most pressing needs. 

On today's show, Gordon Forsythe discusses how to vet and hire talent who will succeed within your culture and execute the tasks that will make BIG happen for your firm.

It's easy for CEOs to get so caught up in taking care of their businesses that we neglect an even more important responsibility: taking care of ourselves. Poor diet and exercise habits get compounded by no sleep and an excess of stress until one day you look in the mirror and can't recognize the person looking back at you. If you're not that lucky, you might not realize that go go go is no way to run a business until you're waking up in a hospital bed.

Luis Vargas was 60 pounds overweight and running on empty when he decided he needed to make self-care a BIG priority. On today's show, Luis shares the five elements he says he needed to win in order to transform his body, his mind, his business, and his life.

Guest: Megan Couch, the Chief Experience Officer at Integrity Staffing Solutions.

Overview: The millions of jobs lost to the COVID-19 pandemic have created a problem that many companies weren't anticipating: as the world begins reopening, the absolute best displaced workers have lots of options. Your total value proposition has to encompass culture, leadership opportunities, hybrid work models, and, yes, a competitive comp structure if you want to attract top talent.

For the first time in history, a company's workforce could span four generations. Aligning a diverse group of employees with such a wide range of life experiences could be especially challenging if you're also trying to keep your WFH teams connected with in-person staff and salespeople.

But in any business challenge there's also opportunity. If you can connect tried-and-true values with a new, more connected worldview, your employees will continually learn from each other, gain new skills and perspectives, and move your company in exciting new directions.

On today's show, Lew Jaffe shares how to effectively manage a multigenerational workforce towards BIG.

All CEOs have to grow into their roles. But for Kerry Siggins, becoming a leader has been a lifelong process of learning how to maximize her strengths while overcoming weaknesses that nearly killed her.

On today's show, Kerry discusses how she conquered her struggles with substance abuse and started to make BIG happen in her life and work.

Effective annual planning may be the single biggest differentiator between companies that stay small and those that get BIG. But the very best CEOs understand that the building up to your planning session and maintaining your exit velocity afterwards are just as critical to growth.

On today's show, Greg Fricks explains how his company implemented the annual planning process, the lessons they learned, and how this ongoing process has set them up for continued success.

Guest: Rafael Paniagua, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Rafael is an experienced global leader and a longtime YPO member who is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Prior to becoming a coach, Rafael was a CEO and President in the power, automation, and manufacturing industries, where he led ABB Brazil for seven years. He also led several global businesses as Group Vice President, managing more than 5,000 employees, 14 factories, and operating in more than 30 countries.

Episode in a Tweet: Going global could jump start your trajectory towards BIG.

Quick Background: The smaller your business is, the more vulnerable it is -- to customer attrition, to supply chain disruption, to ambitious competitors, or to fallout from a global pandemic. Now that you've completed your digital pivot, the size of your potential customer base is limited only by the scope and quality of your sales strategy. A little extra bandwidth and an office in an emerging market stocked with triple-A talent might be all you need to grow your business into an international success.

On today's show, Rafael Paniagua shares 4 keys to running a global business and how to make BIG happen by expanding geographically.

Many entrepreneurs and C-suite executives think they're ready to take the BIG job as CEO. But until you've sat in that chair and felt the weight of an entire company -- and the well-being of all its employees -- resting on your shoulders, it's hard to appreciate the level of responsibility you're taking on or anticipate how you as a leader will react to that responsibility.

On today's show, Douglas DeBoer shares five things every first-time CEO should be prepared to do to set up their company, their team, and themselves for BIG success.

We've talked a lot in the past year about how moments of disruption can provide entrepreneurs with a BIG opportunity to start a new business. And in this current environment, nimble startups and aggressive existing companies can identify and fulfill customer needs that their larger competitors might be overlooking.

That is, as long as the CEO has a clearly defined plan and enough resilience to tackle whatever unforeseen problems are around the corner.

On today's show, CEO Coaching International's Jeff Bledsoe explains how he led his food processing startup through the fire -- literally -- to $200 million in revenue and a BIG exit.

Guest: Lisa Tanzer, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Lisa is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of experience, including 10 years in CEO and president's roles and 10 years leading marketing teams as the CMO. She's worked with Fortune 1000 companies like Gillette, Staples, and Hasbro, as well as privately held and venture-backed companies across a range of industries.

Quick Background: Nothing can move the needle on your company's ceiling quicker than talent. That's why great companies hire the best people, period. But how do you know if your teams are coalescing around the company's BIG goals and cultural values?

On today's show, Lisa Tanzer details the five traits of high-performing teams and her proven approach to building and managing the talent CEOs need to Make BIG Happen.

Accelerating your company's growth rate involves much more than just improving the sales skills of your team. It takes a combination of truly listening to and understanding what your clients need and positioning your people, services, and products as the ideal, one-stop solution. 

On today's show, John Giegerich shares five ways that businesses that have a solid foundation in place can take that next step and empower their sales force to deepen client relationships and generate BIG sales. 

One of the toughest parts of being a CEO is all the distractions. Everybody wants a piece of your time. So how do the best CEOs manage to perform at their peak without getting burned out? How do you develop this personal and work mastery?

On today's show, Bruce Bowser shares the key steps entrepreneurs and CEOs can take to take back their time and develop personal and work mastery.

For every Zoom call or Slack message that quickly becomes part of your daily workflow, there's a CRM system that doesn't quite integrate right, a customer service platform that misfires, or an inventory management system that's too cumbersome. Separating tech that could improve your business from so-called "upgrades" that will only cause more problems is going to be key to completing and refining your digital pivot.

On today's show, Mike Klaus shares a five-step process for defining, planning, executing, and reviewing your tech investments to make sure they're giving your margins, service, and efficiency a BIG boost.

Guest: Rob Posner, CEO of NewDay USA, a leading mortgage company serving America's veterans, service members, and their families.

Episode in a Tweet: This mortgage company's in-house "university" trains top talent to deliver pandemic-proof customer service.

Quick Background: A generation ago, why were aspiring communication pros desperate to work at CBS? Why was Ogilvy top of the list for young advertisers? Why did IBM and Hewlett-Packard hoard top talent in the tech and sales sectors?

These companies weren't just industry leaders. They were leaders because of their legendary training programs. The best college graduates knew that once they'd "graduated" from those programs, they'd have the skills to excel either in-house or just about anywhere else they wanted to work.

Of course, CEOs who make training central to their culture are the biggest beneficiaries of this kind of investment in talent-building. On today's show, Rob Posner explains how NewDay USA recruits, trains, and develops an exceptional workforce.

Guest: Rekha Skantharaja, the CEO of Tangram Insurance Services and a member of YPO.

Episode in a Tweet: Strong leaders draw on their feelings and experiences to "arrive ready" when faced with adversity.

Quick Background: As the calendar flips over to 2021, COVID-19 vaccines are starting to roll out across the U.S. It's looking more and more likely that life and business might start to feel normal again by the second half of next year.

So ... What's next?

Even if we are able to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror soon, experienced CEOs know that the next major roadblock is just around the corner. Is your business ready to pivot and accelerate through a coming disruption? Is your culture strong enough to absorb a sudden personnel change? Will you be able to lead your company effectively if a personal problem puts new demands on your time and emotional well-being?

On today's show, Rekha Skantharaja describes how she has learned to "arrive ready" for any challenge. She also talks about how being open about her personal challenges has helped her to develop into a more inspiring and relatable leader.

Guest: Geoff Goldwater, a founding member of Odell Studner, which is a fast-growing risk management and consulting company. Geoff is also an entrepreneur coaching client of CEO Coaching International.

Episode in a Tweet: Will a crisis break your business or open up a new path towards BIG?

Quick Background: The scale of Covid-19's disruption to global life and business is unprecedented. But if you think back ten years, the experts were saying the same thing about the Great Recession. Go back another ten and we were coping with the fallout from 9/11 and the tech bubble bursting. A previous generation of leaders had to struggle through Black Monday, just as their predecessors had to deal with stagflation in the 1970s.

The pandemic environment may well be more daunting than these previous challenges. But good business is good business, no matter what the particulars are. Companies that are still struggling to regain their footing during Covid-19 can adapt strategies that helped CEOs win during previous crises to this difficult moment.

On today's show, Geoff Goldwater shares the three-step process he used to reinvent his company after the Great Recession and lead it back to a fast growth path.

Growing your own company is challenging. Growing someone ELSE's company challenges CEOs to apply their skill sets in very different ways. Instead of building your own culture, you're inheriting the founder's. Instead of seeing your own vision of BIG, you have to make sure you and the founder see eye-to-eye. And while, at your own company, you might have struggled to hold yourself accountable, as a hired gun you won't be CEO for very long if you're not meeting the founder's expectations and maintaining a growth trajectory.

On today's show, Jeff Tennyson shares his three-step framework for stepping into a founder CEO's shoes while still making the job your own.

If you're in IT or supply chain management, you might have made a relatively smooth transition to WFH. High-touch businesses that depend on face-to-face client service and close-knit culture are having a tougher time adjusting to the pandemic environment. Keeping your team and customers safe while also safeguarding what's special about your company should be a priority item on your annual planning agenda.

On today's show, Kevin Hamilton discusses the five key adjustments his high-touch company made to keep its culture and its business thriving.

CEOs who kept their foot on the gas during the pandemic are seeing a lot of distressed but valuable assets in their rear-view mirrors. There are bountiful opportunities to snag top talent that's tired of waiting for their current employers to turn a corner. And companies that haven't regained their footing might make attractive acquisition targets. But buying a company isn't as simple as writing a check. In a business environment that's still very unsettled, you need to make sure an acquisition is going to drive growth that makes investing your time and your resources worthwhile.

On today's show, Luc Stang discusses a four-step process for bolt-on acquisitions that can make BIG happen with minimal risk and cash outlay.

Guest: Ryan Iwamoto, Co-Founder & President of 24 Hour Home Care, which has been on the Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing companies for eight consecutive years. Ryan is also an entrepreneur coaching client at CEO Coaching International.

Episode in a Tweet: These four tips will help your business to stop merely surviving and start thriving again.

Quick Background: Andy Grove, the former Chairman and CEO of Intel, famously said, "Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them."

Much like the 2008 recession, the pandemic is exposing structural inefficiencies and stagnant thinking that many businesses were blind to while the global economy was charging ahead. Companies that have merely survived Covid-19 so far need to turn a corner, start planning, and get back to growing before "holding steady" turns into flatlining.

Today's guest, Ryan Iwamoto, has successfully navigated both the Great Recession and Covid-19. He co-founded 24 Hour Home Care in 2008--during the heart of the Great Recession--with a $160,000 investment. Thanks to his decisive leadership throughout 2020, the company is on track to do over $115 million in revenue this year, despite operating in an industry that's been hit hard by the pandemic.

Guest: Chris Justice, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Chris is a former CEO with a proven track record of managing business units from $25 million to $700 million across diverse industries, including retail, lodging, automotive, e-commerce, and casino gaming.

Quick Background: Running a business has always been hard. And considering that today's CEOs need to manage complex generational divides, global competition, rapid technological advances, and a constantly evolving economic landscape, leading isn't going to get any easier. But if your company has a clear vision, top talent, and dependable systems, there are very few BIG goals or problems that a CEO can't break down into smaller, more manageable parts. 

On today's show, Chris Justice shares his practical, five-step framework for turning around companies and dealing with complicated business situations.

Guest: Jamil Nizam is the CEO of Waldom Electronics and Chris Lauret is the COO. Jamil is also an entrepreneur coaching client at CEO Coaching International.

Episode in a Tweet: A first-class onboarding process will make a BIG first impression on your new team member.

Quick Background: Most companies have it backward. They celebrate when someone leaves the company instead of when they join.

On today's show, Jamil Nizam explains how his first-class onboarding process eased new COO Chris Lauret into his responsibilities while also giving him a new perspective on just what kind of company he was working for. Chris and Jamil also discuss how they coordinate and execute key tasks remotely so that BIG keeps happening, even at a distance.

When he started out in the restaurant business, Chris Gannon's goal was to open one great restaurant at a time. His mix of incredible flavors, first-class hospitality, and high nutritional value was such a success that in only four years Bolay expanded to 15 locations.

And then Covid-19 hit. With indoor dining suddenly off the menu, Chris and his team had to make a major pivot that would allow them to sustain the business through the pandemic while also laying the groundwork for a successful future.

On today's show, Chris Gannon explains how transparent leadership, all-hands-on-deck teamwork, and a commitment to community building have kept Bolay on track to make BIG happen.

Guest: Fiona Kesby, the CEO of Go-VA, which is a company that provides outsourcing services to firms around the world. She's also an entrepreneur coaching client at CEO Coaching International.

Episode in a Tweet: Strong culture and a commitment to BIG values can keep your business growing through the pandemic.

Quick Background: CEOs have discovered that the culture they created before Covid-19 is playing a BIG role in how well their companies are moving through the pandemic environment. Rearranging the nuts and bolts of what you do is a heck of a lot easier if you have a clear vision of why you're doing it, as well as strong values supporting every person and process.

On today's show, Fiona Kesby discusses how her principles have guided her virtual assistant firm through not just a Covid-19 disruption, but a full military lockdown by the Philippine government that's one of the longest quarantines in the whole world.

Guest: Kurt Wilkin, the Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist of HireBetter, a company that "harnesses the power of talent to solve business challenges." Kurt is also an active member and officer of YPO.

Episode in a Tweet: Covid-19 disruption has created a richer than usual talent pool. Take advantage and upgrade your team where you need it the most.

Quick Background: At the beginning of the year, CEOs were exploring every available option to find top talent during a very tight labor market. The workplace disruption that Covid-19 caused has changed that. If you need to fill an important leadership position in your company right now, the pool of available talent is deeper than it's been in quite some time. But don't think that means making a key hire is going to be easier. On the contrary, CEOs have to be even more careful that they're not letting sterling resumes and shiny smiles distract them from what's most important: hiring someone who is going to buy into your vision, enhance your culture, and help your company make BIG happen.

On today's show, Kurt Wilkin discusses effective strategies for sourcing talent and the key considerations CEOs need to make when weighing short-term needs versus long-term goals.

Guest: CEO Coaching International's Stephen Bebis. Stephen held a variety of senior merchandising roles at Home Depot before being named the VP General Merchandise Manager for the Mid-South Division. He also founded Aikenhead's Improvement Warehouse and built it to $1 billion in sales before selling it to Home Depot. After the acquisition, Stephen served as President and CEO of Home Depot Canada and chairman of the Aikenhead/Home Depot Partnership Board. Stephen also founded Golf Town, built it to 65 stores, and took the company public.

Episode in a Tweet: There's always a crisis somewhere. The best leaders have a continuous planning process and the right people to execute it.

Quick Background: When Stephen Bebis joined Home Depot in 1984 the company had just 14 stores. When he left in 1990, he was running a $20 billion division as a head merchant and was the VP of the southern part of the country. And while some might look back on the '80s and early '90s as a booming time for business, think about everything that happened during the 6 years that Stephen helped Home Depot grow. Two presidential elections. Black Monday, 1987. Tumult in the Middle East, including Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. Not to mention annual hurricane seasons and other unpredictable disasters.

No, running a business isn't easy during Covid-19. But as Stephen discusses on today's show, CEOs always have to be prepared to adjust to unforeseen circumstances and refocus their efforts on how to satisfy and grow their customer base.

We all want our customers to be happy. But what happens when they're not?

No matter how delighted your customers are when your products and services deliver as advertised, at some point, a shipment will get buried in a blizzard, software will crash, a green employee will say the wrong thing at the worst time … or a global pandemic will disrupt your supply chain.

According to customer service expert Matt Dixon, how your company addresses those bumps in the road is far more critical to generating customer loyalty than all those perfect, positive experiences the customer might be taking for granted.

On today's episode, Matt discusses some insights from his book "The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty" that will help you refocus your customer service on what really creates lasting repeat business: quick problem solving and ease of use.

 If you really want to grow your business fast, you need to build a team that will disagree with you.

Does that sound counter-intuitive?

Well, it worked for Abraham Lincoln. Our greatest president famously assembled a "team of rivals" in his cabinet because he wanted to work with smart people who would challenge – and improve – his thinking.

So what does your "cabinet" look like? Is your C-suite full of Yes Men and Yes Women? Have you created an atmosphere where your best people are afraid to challenge you with their best ideas?

Either situation can be fatal to a company's growth, especially in today's uncertain and rapidly fluctuating economy. Right now, every business leader is being challenged to think outside the box and find innovative solutions to today's unprecedented problems. In this podcast, Gerry Perkel describes how building a team that disagrees with you can help a CEO not only tackle the challenges that COVID-19 presents, but successfully grow their business to new heights.

If you want your company to stay successful, then maintaining a meaningful growth rate needs to be one of your BIG annual goals. But as we've seen recently at companies like WeWork and Uber, chasing growth for the sake of growth just pumps your business full of hot air. Once the hype bubble bursts you could find yourself overvalued, understaffed, and bleeding cash.

On today's show, CEO Coaching International's Tracy Tolbert lays out a more practical managed growth strategy that will get your company BIG without sacrificing profitability.

Vision. Cash. People. Relationships. Learning. Only the CEO can tackle those key responsibilities. If those five things aren't the focus of your day, then you're wasting your time and hurting your company.

Like cutting the ad budget when you have to reduce costs, CEOs often push learning to the back burner in favor of higher-profile things like casting a vision or visiting top clients. And while vision and meeting clients are critical, so too is taking the time to learn and stay on top of the latest changes sweeping the business world. Setting aside that time might feel indulgent when we know there are projects to monitor, books to balance, and teams to manage.

On today's show, CEO Coaching International's David Sun explains why self-improvement isn't selfish – it's essential to mastering your space, inspiring your team, and growing your business BIG.

A successful business is a marathon, not a sprint. And just like long-distance runners and Ironman competitors, good CEOs have to prepare for "hitting the wall": that inevitable point in your company's progress where you're just not progressing anymore. Growth stagnates. Gears grind. The next BIG goal is one step in front of you, but you can't find the energy to move your feet.

In her career as an entrepreneur and executive, Ramona Capello earned a reputation for breathing life back into dying businesses. On today's show, she explains why companies of all sizes hit the wall and how the best CEOs break through and start growing again.

Guest: Sarah Dusek, the founder of Under Canvas, the leading upscale outdoor hospitality brand that she grew to a value of over $100 million. Today, Sarah is a venture capitalist, a cofounder of a new hospitality company, and the author of the new book, Thinking Bigger: A Pitch-Deck Formula for Women Who Want to Change the World.

Overview: In 2012, Sarah Dusek's "glamping" company was starting its first season at Yellowstone National Park. One fateful afternoon, a huge thunderstorm rolled in and flattened the campsite, and, seemingly, Sarah's dream. 

But Sarah, her husband, her employees, and even her customers rallied. She rebuilt her business model with an eye towards repeatability and scale. And as the company began to get to BIG, Sarah began "thinking bigger" as well. 

On today's show, Sarah Dusek describes her incredible journey from the brink of collapse to building a $100-million industry leader. She also shares lessons from her new career in VC about what makes a business investible.

Many ambitious companies learn too late that there's a BIG difference between the size of your total market and the size of your addressable market. But focusing on your addressable market without limiting your growth potential can be tricky, especially if you don't have a clear vision forward and a mastery of the key numbers driving your business.

On today's show, former Samsung NeuroLogica CEO Phil Sullivan discusses a three-step process he used at Samsung that will keep your company's growth and the size of your addressable market in sync.

One of the biggest challenges companies face is how to hire great people at a reasonable price in one of the tightest labor markets on record. There's simply not enough qualified talent to fill everybody's needs, especially if your company is early in its growth journey and trying to catch the giants in your field.

Smart companies are thinking more broadly and more globally about how to solve this pain point. But lingering misconceptions about offshoring can discourage CEOs from investigating what could be a talent gold mine.

On today's episode, Chris Van Vladricken answers all your questions about offshoring including: service options, the hiring process, costs, and how the nuts-and-bolts infrastructure works to keep your local employees and remote workers in sync.

The battle for the best talent is as fierce right now as it's ever been. The best performing companies spare no expense when it comes to recruiting top performers. And young companies just starting down the road to BIG need to make sure they're not stuck settling for second-best.

How?

One: make sure your employee compensation package is stellar.

Two: make sure you're not so busy shopping in the same crowded talent pool that you're overlooking other ways to hire the best performers for the jobs you need done.

Mastering number two is a BIG reason Jim Bennett grew Unishippers from 0 to $120 million. In this conversation, recorded live at the 6th Annual CEO Coaching International Summit held in Santa Monica, CA, Jim and coach Don Schiavone discuss how Jim recruited unconventional employees and then trained them up into a major differentiator between his company and the competition.