It doesn't take a genius.: Recent Episodes
Hip Socket
Employee engagement, customer experience and more from two business coaches. Mike and Mark turn business trends, research and theory into practical actions you can apply at work.
We all tend toward one or the other. If you emphasize both, you share a skill with some of the best leaders.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A roofer's watermelon trick ... a game for high-school juniors ... what do they have in common?
Something that goes back at least to Aristotle. And it's something that can help just about every area of your thinking and interacting.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Change fatigue is real!
In our continuing series, we discuss how even skilled Navigators can burn out when change is constant, incomplete or poorly supported. Sustaining the healthy response requires systems and personal practices that protect energy and dignity over time.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
You've seen these responses to change in your workplace or home.
Change creates uncertainty, and people tend to respond as a Victim, Critic, Bystander, Charger or Navigator.
When change shows up at work, who do you become? And how can you respond to the others?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A simple test helped Mike realize he was one of perhaps only 4 percent of the world's population. Since his youth, he had turned it into a superpower. Do you have any in your workplace?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mark coding with AI--without any experience?
Getting clarity about professional successes worth celebrating and professional opportunities for more fulfillment, balance and satisfaction?
Yes to both!
Take the Self-Assessment here.
(Adapted from Co-Active Coaching (3rd ed.) © 2011 by Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House and Phillip Sandahl--fourth edition sold here.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
One of the foundational stories of our civilization spells out how the ancients thought about honor.
And as our culture changes, these stories will give you insight into how your employees and coworkers think about honor.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Did you know the precursor to the CIA gave people a manual for turning workplaces in enemy countries into a living, breathing "Office Space?"
Are you prepared to protect your workplace against them?
Part 3 of 3, where we finally get to the subject of employee sabotage. Spoiler: Office workers get their own entire section in the OSS manual. ...
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Did you know the precursor to the CIA gave people a manual for turning workplaces in enemy countries into a living, breathing "Office Space?" Are you prepared to protect your workplace against them?
Back by popular demand, this is now part 2 of 3: How to sabotage your workplace as a manager!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Introducing to the IDTAG audience: our friend, Till Kahrs. It's impossible to summarize Till with a profession, or an achievement, or a story. But he has a lot of all three.
Tune in to hear some amazing stories of his hit songs, his TV appearances and the things he did that allowed him to transition from one success to another. (Hint: It involves a lot of what he trains on: mindset, communication skills and a touch of "focused wooing.")
Till's book
Till's YouTube channel
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Did you know the precursor to the CIA gave people a manual for turning workplaces in enemy countries into a living, breathing "Office Space?"
Are you prepared to protect your workplace against them?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark. Email: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
What makes the Will Guidara story and his book "Unreasonable Hospitality" so compelling--and so useful?
We share insights we've used from the book. Mark had the opportunity to train under Will Guidara and shares what he learned from Will's team.
https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/books
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Will Guidara's bestseller now has a field guide! Tune in to hear some of the surprises you can expect in this excellent follow-up. https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/books
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Our episode on triangles was just a precursor to the thinking of Pamela Cole--our colleague, mentor and an actual genius! We got a chance to preview some of her upcoming book--and it has the solution to gossip in the workplace.
Our previous episode on triangles
Pamela Cole's recent work
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mark shares business genius he witnessed at the Great Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati. Tune in to hear how a small customer engagement went from a desire for a small prize to a sale--to repeat business.
(It would work for employees, too!)
See Amanda Trumpower's kids books here.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Ridiculous youth slang? Serious life concept? Why not both! We explain the why and how of intentionally looking for and focusing on those small wins already happening.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
What if you could invest in your future leadership team by inviting them to make impacts on your business today? Introducing a case study: The Future, a workshop series that combines a "Capstone Project" with training, a book club, discussions with experts, and more. Hear how it is helping our clients.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
We made it to 300 weekly episodes!
Join us to hear about another 300 (made popular in modern times by Frank Miller's graphic novel that inspired a film of the same name).
We learn about one of the most storied battles in history. Leadership and culture were the real winners--and can be for your workplace.
Or, interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Plato's "Meno" gives some clues on how Socrates used a coach approach--in some ways--and predicted the content of the bestseller "Crucial Conversations." How can you use elements of the Socratic Method?
Our "Crucial Conversations" resources can be found here.
Or, interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Six criteria ... six pass-or-fails ... and it applies to any industry. Would your workplace be a best place to work for?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Last episode, we discussed the scientific evidence that coaching really works. So what exactly is coaching? What does it look like? Is it OK to want training and advice from a coach? How do you pick a good one? We answer these questions and more.
Want a copy of the white paper we mention?
Or, interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Recent scientific analysis shows that coaching works! But mainly in a particular way. If you partner with a coach or use the coach approach with others, this episode will ensure you are focusing on the right areas for true growth.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
We recently decided to dust off an old tool ... and were surprised to find most of the room declaring it the most useful part of the day.
If you care about relationships with customers, coworkers or kin, you'll want to learn the Johari Window.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A thought-provoking Substack article argues, "We had overestimated the value of 'human relationships'. Turns out that a lot of what people called relationships was simply friction with a friendly face."
Where is the friction showing up in your customer experience?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Have you been outsourcing the hard work of addressing employees directly? Triangles are draining your team--but there are simple techniques to solve them.
(The excellent "Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart" was a source for this episode.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Welcome to our Myth Busters series! Is it really true you should praise in public, criticize in private?
Tune in to find out how you might be emphasizing psychological safety to the expense of culture, standards and performance.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Most managers coach on the surface…
📌 Goals. Actions. Accountability. Performance.
But the best leaders know something deeper is always present:
Every employee brings TWO agendas into every conversation.
In this episode of It Doesn’t Take a Genius, we break down one of the most powerful ideas from Co-Active Coaching:
The Little-a Agenda vs. The Big-A Agenda
✅ Little-a agenda = the tactical “what”
✅ Big-A Agenda = the deeper “why”
The real driver behind motivation, fulfillment, and growth.
If you only coach the task, you get short-term compliance.
But when you connect daily work to who someone is becoming, coaching becomes transformational.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why most coaching stays stuck at surface level
How to uncover what really motivates your team
The best Big-A questions every manager should ask
A real example of turning a skill goal into an identity breakthrough
Boundaries every leader must respect (you’re a coach, not a therapist)
🔥 Great coaching isn’t just about better results…
It’s about helping people align what they do with who they’re becoming.
Ask one deeper question — and watch the magic happen.
👇 Drop a comment: What’s one Big-A question you want to start asking your team?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Most managers don’t fail because they don’t care… They fail because leadership becomes a “when I have time” activity.
In this episode, we break down the ultimate leadership truth: If it’s not on your calendar, it’s not real.
You’ll learn how top-performing leaders use consistent execution to build winning teams by scheduling:
✅ Weekly 1-on-1 coaching
✅ Daily leadership touchpoints
✅ Development time that actually happens
✅ Culture-building recognition moments
This is the simple discipline that separates average managers from great leaders.
Because winning isn’t luck… Winning is consistency.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
What do Walt Disney's cashmere sweater and a bottle of pesto on a Patagonian mountain have to do with each other? The answer is the same thing that helps build trust and loyalty with the people around you.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
You don’t get what you want in life. You get what you ask for. Most people walk around hoping. Hoping they get noticed. Hoping the boss sees their effort. Hoping the customer understands their value. Hoping the universe connects the dots.
Hope is not a strategy.
Asking is.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Another tool in your work to engage others: your stories. About 2,500 years ago, Plato said this would work. It's still used today. Here's why--and how to get started.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A follow-up to our episode, "Your coworker, the flat-earther" moves on from your engagement to your employees' engagement. Are they Patriots?
Can you be OK with them just being Citizens? (AI is probably going to make this problem even harder!)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Do your coworkers wear you out?
One hilarious novel from 1910 has the answer--and it happens to agree with Gallup's Q12 Employee Engagement Survey. Have you made friends with your weirdo coworkers?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Guitar gods Steve Vai and Joe Satriani agree with Mark's Pap-paw! Memorization (yes, even in the workplace) is really important--and you CAN do it.
Links:
- Rick Beato's fascinating interview with Vai and Satriani
- Red Harrison mini-documentary
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark had a chance to interview the owner-operator of two incredibly successful Chick-fil-A locations. Her insights on customer experience--and employee engagement--inspired us to record this overview.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Thanks to research, Mike has cracked the code on how to give a memorable present. Tune in to hear how diamond charms for your friend's Crocs may actually be a good idea.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Have you fallen into the trap of problem-solving instead of asking? It may be counter-intuitive, but if you're the manager ... it's how you grow your team.
(AI says: The discussion focuses on the importance of questioning and understanding decision-making processes, emphasizing that managers need to develop skills in asking thoughtful questions rather than providing immediate solutions. The episode concludes with insights on organizational growth challenges and the need to foster independent problem-solving through active listening and reflective thinking.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Do what now? Well, the disaster in Mark's front yard (yeah, it's a water main) illustrates a workplace truth echoed in the book of Jeremiah. When all you see are actions, how can you judge intent?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
It's not what you think! In less than 5 minutes, Mike gives you a powerful question that will give you fresh eyes for your entire operation--and a followup question that will ensure you can take action.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mark had an Experience with AI. It's a sign that there has never been a better time to connect with your network. Listen for six ideas on how to increase interest in your brand in the Age of AI.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Observe these two actions in your boss (or yourself!) to identify one of four types of leaders. Only one type is the best. ... (Every good business book needs a foursquare grid--and Kim Scott's "Radical Candor" gives us an incredibly practical one.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
How do you maintain enthusiasm and motivation, particularly during challenging times like the transition into fall and the holidays? Use Marcus Aurelius' practice that has influenced millions ... and these three other great ideas.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A general manager made an observation, and maybe you've seen it too. Some employees are rude--or the opposite, fawning. Is it possible that it's just a lack of self-worth?
Tune in to learn the symptoms that point to an employee self-worth issue--and what a manager can do about it.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Almost 7 minutes of straight fire! (We're pretty sure the kids are still saying that.) Do you need signs to tell customers what to do? You may be putting a Band-Aid on poor design.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Do you want an engaged team that innovates and collaborates its way to long-term success? Mark's incredibly successful client has a concept for you: Think art, not sport.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike's litmus test of effective training and coaching. Can you use what we teach in a game situation?
Learning has not taken place until behavior has changed.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Every one of these true stories from our clients cost $20 or less. And all of them generated positive reviews, perfect surveys, repeat business and referrals.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
What does your brand promise? If you dilute how you live up to that promise or drift from it, your customers will know it long before there are any Cracker Barrel-style news items.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
"You can choose your attitude!" ... But how? Mike dives in to the simple link between action and emotion. Do you ask yourself the question?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Did you see it coming? You should have ... now, how about your organization's brand? Or your personal brand?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mark shares the one sentence a sushi restaurant said to him that made him a customer for life (if he wasn't one already). Are you equipped to speak the same way? Whether you have a CRM or not, listen in to hear how to implement a culture that personalizes to customers and builds loyalty.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike discusses the importance of time management and the "4D, One Touch Rule" to maximize efficiency and reduce stress. The rule involves deleting items that are not relevant, delegating tasks to others, doing tasks that can be completed quickly, and deferring tasks that require more time.
Can you implement it and save time?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Compassion > Empathy. Customers become more loyal--and employees don't burn out!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A chilling question from Mark's friend prompted this episode. Are you using an assessment such as DISC? It should never be used for evaluation or punishment. Details in this episode.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A conversation with an award-winning Navy captain led to this episode about the one thing a leader cannot delegate.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
How can something so basic be so instrumental to employee engagement and retention?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Hilaire Belloc was a dynamic leader--a historian who became part of history himself. He studied the Duke of Marlborough, a commander who lost ZERO battles. And it convinced him that there are four qualities of a leader. How do you measure up?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Safety razors, old coffee-making methods, vinyl records and the Squirrel Nut Zippers have something to say about what kinds of customers and employees you are seeing.
Special thanks to 4th Level Roasters ... D&V Barbers ... and Mark's blog where these kinds of thoughts have been percolating for a while.
(This wasn't meant to be an episode. But an off-the-cuff discussion of authenticity is pretty authentic. ...)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Have you struggled to make a change because you weren't clear on what you actually wanted to accomplish? This easy exercise helps you gain meaningful clarity on what the future should look like.
(Mark learned it from Master Certified Coach Bryan Brown of Coaching To Lead. Check him out!)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Instead of asking direct questions, you make confident, open-ended statements that invite response, insight or clarification.
Isn't that breaking the rules? No! And it has a particular set of advantages--tune in for more.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Guest genius, Dom Genova, returns to explain how a creative entrepreneur survived a stifling culture to launch a successful car dealership that won awards for ethics.
Dom’s success as a car dealer boiled down to ensuring his customers didn’t get taken advantage of by the car biz. Now he has a book to help others.
Also check out Dom's podcast and radio show, the No-Nonsense Roundtable. His guests range from YouTube's best rock music interviewer, Rick Beato, to a member of the Rascals, to Garrison Keillor himself, to the man who bought a laptop for Ringo.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Sometimes, it DOES take a genius. Meet our friend, Dom Genova. He is an expert at customer experience, marketing and entrepreneurship.
Dom’s success as a car dealer boiled down to ensuring his customers didn’t get taken advantage of by the car biz. Now he has a book to help others. And it’s good!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Fascinating research from Decision Dynamics reveals why some employees seem to lose motivation after a while--and why great employees become mediocre managers. Are you leaking solid talent?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
From their new book: Silence is golden--and awkward. But do it anyway! Mike and Mark explain why silence works, why it's hard to practice ... and how you can break through to using this key skill for the inquiring leader.
This episode is from Mike and Mark's new book, "The Inquiring Leader"--buy it here!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
From their new book: Mike and Mark take aim at one of the biggest lies in leadership: "Great leaders are born, not built."
Learn how to flex your leadership muscles of inquisitiveness in this episode. (Want more articles? Here are a scholarly explanation of dialogic leadership and a short piece from Mark explaining how slowing down leads to learning.)
This episode is from Mike and Mark's new book, "The Inquiring Leader"--buy it here!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
If your team always agrees with you--but never takes action--this episode's for you. It's time to stop settling for input ... and start asking for ownership.
From Mike and Mark's new book, "The Inquiring Leader"--buy it here!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
From Mike and Mark's new book, "The Inquiring Leader:" It's easier, more efficient, to be the Answer Guy--the leader who gives all the direction and tells people what to do.
Or is it? There are limitations to directive leadership. ...
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
(And buy the book here!)
From Mike and Mark's new book, "The Inquiring Leader:" A manager's "impossible choice" was solved with a powerful question. All four types of powerful questions help a leader clarify the situation, analyze what's really going on, gain awareness and plan for the future.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
(And buy the book here!)
From Mike and Mark's new book, "The Inquiring Leader:" How five different leaders used questions—not counteroffers—to retain employees ready to resign.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
(And buy the book here!)
- How to retain employees without a raise
- Coaching conversations to reduce turnover
- Best questions to ask when someone wants to quit
- Employee retention through leadership
- Stop resignations with empathy and inquiry
- How to have powerful stay interviews
- Modern employee engagement strategies
- Leadership questions to build trust
- Culture-driven employee retention
From Mike and Mark's new book, "The Inquiring Leader:" The real-world story of a general manager who slashed "time-to-line" from 38 days to 5—and saved $1.2 million—because of a single question.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
(And buy the book here!)
- Leadership questions that drive performance
- How to lead with questions
- Modern leadership styles
- Culture of curiosity at work
- Business coaching with questions
- How to reduce employee turnover
- Dealership management success stories
- Time to line improvement
- Leadership podcast for young managers
We conclude our series on fostering a culture of continuous improvement by talking about how it needs to be ... continuous! You need regular check-ins that look at progress through three different lenses. And there are pitfalls to avoid when you do that.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Champions: It's a corporate buzzword ... and it is a crucial element for anyone hoping to develop a culture of continuous improvement.
3M, Pixar and Intuit all have lessons for us to learn about how to--and how NOT to--engage champions for your initiatives. Are you punishing your champions?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
There are four things you need to have for a pilot to be a success--even if it fails. In our ongoing series on creating a culture of continuous improvement, we discuss how to pilot your innovative ideas. Google, HubSpot and SpaceX have lessons for all of us.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
In our ongoing series on developing a culture of continuous improvement, it's time to start filtering all of those ideas you've collected. If you are overwhelmed, take a pruning lesson with this episode:
There are many prioritization techniques and time management strategies, such as the Eisenhower Matrix and the MoSCoW method. Improve your strategic decision-making by focusing on high-impact activities to achieve long-term success.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
In our series on developing a culture of continuous improvement--as Seth Godin says, "being better at being better"--it's time to share how you FIND those improvements.
How do you create an idea bucket ... with a tap? Mike has lots of experience getting teams to share their ideas.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
If talking about corporate values makes your eyes roll, this episode is for you. A culture of continuous improvement requires that you uncover your DNA: your values.
Defining them--and the stories behind them--lead to an organization that can live them out. The hosts share several exercises you can use to uncover those values.
Hat tip to "Co-Active Coaching," "Start with Why" and two-time guest Chris Hunsicker.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
If you want to "be better at being better," you need a vision. Mike and Mark share tools they use to help individuals and organizations develop a culture of continuous improvement. All you need is a penny, a blank sheet of paper and some crayons. ...
Herb Mast's "Intentionality for Leaders."
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Are you improving your organization? Not good enough! You have to, as Seth Godin says, "be better at being better."
Continuous improvement, kaizen, is the name of the game. We talk about the signs that you're settling for less than that--and habits to improve your continuous improvement culture.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Discovering and developing your strengths is the best path to reaching your potential--and there is a powerful way to use them with a team.
Mark's brother joins the podcast to explain CliftonStrengths, a.k.a. StrengthsFinder. Luke Ramsay was Gallup's third certified Strengths Coach in the state and has given more than a thousand assessments.
Email Luke here. Purchase "Born to Build" here.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A high-school drop out who became a chemistry major ... who had a career in IT ... which led to a long, successful career in training and development? Meet Mark's dad, Martin Ramsay of CEATH Company.
Mike and Martin have a wide-ranging discussion about how Martin combined so many streams, found clients, used experiential learning, and traveled the globe using innovative tools that helped clients address systems, vision and people.
Interested in a free tool from Martin's collection? Email us for the "tennis ball exercise."
Martin's latest book: "The Possum Principles"
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
The Gallup Q12, as it’s commonly called, is a set of 12 questions designed to measure employee engagement. Not satisfaction. Engagement. Why is that distinction important? Because satisfaction is surface-level—think free snacks in the breakroom—but engagement digs deeper. It’s about your team’s emotional connection to their work and their belief in the purpose of what they’re doing.
These questions came from years of research by Gallup, particularly detailed in their book "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, which examines what makes employees thrive. And guess what? Engaged employees don’t just work harder—they work smarter, stay longer and bring their A-game to your organization every day.
Part 4, "Growth" - Questions 11 and 12:11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
The Gallup Q12, as it’s commonly called, is a set of 12 questions designed to measure employee engagement. Not satisfaction. Engagement. Why is that distinction important? Because satisfaction is surface-level—think free snacks in the breakroom—but engagement digs deeper. It’s about your team’s emotional connection to their work and their belief in the purpose of what they’re doing.
These questions came from years of research by Gallup, particularly detailed in their book "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, which examines what makes employees thrive. And guess what? Engaged employees don’t just work harder—they work smarter, stay longer and bring their A-game to your organization every day.
Part 3, "Belonging and the Greater Good" - Questions 8 to 10:
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
-
My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
-
I have a best friend at work.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
The Gallup Q12, as it’s commonly called, is a set of 12 questions designed to measure employee engagement. Not satisfaction. Engagement. Why is that distinction important? Because satisfaction is surface-level—think free snacks in the breakroom—but engagement digs deeper. It’s about your team’s emotional connection to their work and their belief in the purpose of what they’re doing.
These questions came from years of research by Gallup, particularly detailed in their book "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, which examines what makes employees thrive. And guess what? Engaged employees don’t just work harder—they work smarter, stay longer and bring their A-game to your dealership every day.
Part 2, Meeting "Basic Human Needs" - Questions 3 to 7:
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
-
In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
-
My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
-
There is someone at work who encourages my development.
-
At work, my opinions seem to count.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
The Gallup Q12, as it’s commonly called, is a set of 12 questions designed to measure employee engagement. Not satisfaction. Engagement. Why is that distinction important? Because satisfaction is surface-level—think free snacks in the breakroom—but engagement digs deeper. It’s about your team’s emotional connection to their work and their belief in the purpose of what they’re doing.
These questions came from years of research by Gallup, particularly detailed in their book "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, which examines what makes employees thrive. And guess what? Engaged employees don’t just work harder—they work smarter, stay longer and bring their A-game to your dealership every day.
Part 1, "Clarity and Resources" - Questions 1 and 2:
1. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.2. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day. Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
WARNING: This episode features physical and sexual child abuse, as well as suicide.
She is a cherished wife and mother of four successful children. She owns her own cleaning business. She is usually the most positive person in the room. And yet she started life in an orphanage in Moldova, surviving years of some of the worst trauma.
What was life like in Soviet and post-Soviet culture? What gave her the ability to overcome her challenges? How can we overcome ours? Learn the answers in this two-part episode.
Resources mentioned:
"Open Fields & Iron Curtains: Hope, Endurance, Suffering & Grace" by Lilia Klaczynski
The Murray Method
WARNING: This episode features physical and sexual child abuse, as well as suicide.
She is a cherished wife and mother of four successful children. She owns her own cleaning business. She is usually the most positive person in the room. And yet she started life in an orphanage in Moldova, surviving years of some of the worst trauma.
What was life like in Soviet and post-Soviet culture? What gave her the ability to overcome her challenges? How can we overcome ours? Learn the answers in this two-part episode.
Resources mentioned:
"Open Fields & Iron Curtains: Hope, Endurance, Suffering & Grace" by Lilia Klaczynski
The Murray Method
Stephen R. Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is something you've probably used, even if you can't name the seven habits.
A core principle is this: At all times, you can focus on only one of two things. And that focus will determine your trajectory.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
The man whose face launched a thousand memes (warning: language) figured out long ago the importance of reminders over instruction. Reminders help us maintain habits and practices. And stories are reminders on steroids. Stay tuned for wisdom from the Dr. Johnson.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Your boss was incredibly successful because he or she had you!
What happens after you get promoted and the team you are now leading no longer has a "you?"
Recreating yourself as a leader means shifting focus from personal achievement to team empowerment. Your new role is about creating opportunities for others to shine, building trust and independence.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Want a corporate culture as strong as Western Civilization itself? Find your stories.
Mark and Mike discuss the importance of stories in shaping culture and their potential impact on an organization. They discuss three kinds: "origin stories," "stories of bad times and lessons learned" and "stories of heroes and triumph." They can help you and your people not just understand but shape your culture.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Do the rules not apply to you? No, really: Have you ever been with a company that announced new rules that seemed completely unneeded? You might have been a part of LCD Management.
It happens to the best of us in leadership--and there are simple methods to avoid all the problems it causes.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Thought-provoking feedback from a listener inspired this followup episode about the two things that made Western culture so strong and long-lasting: Dignity and Excellence. Excellence has evolved over the millennia ... and Dignity is a relative upstart. If they work for growing culture ... could they work for growing you?
(Check out this episode on our YouTube channel to see the graphics.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Want more on time management and delegation?
There is even more to glean from Harvard Business Review's second-most popular article. We covered 1-3-1 last episode ... now it's time to address the rules for monkeys that allow you to tackle gorillas.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Discover how to stop getting bogged down by your team's challenges and start empowering them to solve problems on their own. In this episode, Mark and Mike introduce the powerful 1-3-1 delegation method, a game-changing approach for managers who want to stay focused on leadership without being drawn into every issue.
They also dive into why it’s crucial for employees to show up with solutions instead of waiting for direction and how fostering a culture of problem-solving and continuous growth can transform your team. If you’re ready to level up your leadership and reclaim your time, this episode is a must-listen!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Do you strive for Excellence? Do you honor Dignity? If you don't have both, you're missing out on what made the West so successful. Enjoy some ideas from Mark's upcoming book, "The Lost Tools of Business."
(Mark's podcast interview on Refining Rhetoric is found here.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark kept meaning to record an episode on DiSC, and Mark had a request for the very same thing after a recent speaking engagement.
Two questions! That's all it takes to tap into a system used to describe and make use of our differences for, literally, millennia. (If you'd like to take Wylie's excellent DiSC assessments, drop us a line.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike has been noticing a trend ... and after some research, he has realized: We are all doomed. The Customer Experience Death Spiral® has come.
(Unless we break out of it, that is--listen in for some tips.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Introducing our new series on memes that are going viral with employees--and have something to say about their engagement and your leadership.
How informed are your workers? If they are not proactive about getting informed ... are you the reason?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Are you too arrogant to delegate?
"One of our two listeners" had a great follow-up to Mike's story about the managers who weren't interested in winning. And Mike has a follow-up to what happened with that client.
(FYI, Dow leads an amazing dojo called The Way Karate ... so clearly he gets our "Dow-ist"/Taoist joke.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Sales training: It's never too early! Mark shares how his kids prepared for the 4-H Country Ham Project. Roleplaying cold calls helped them earn big money. But there is a bigger agenda at play ... are you making use of it in your training?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Do you suffer from Mood-Dependent Excellence? Do you know why your back-to-basics meeting won't solve your problems? Do you understand the difference between training and coaching?
Chris Hunsicker joins Mike again to unpack a chapter of his book, "Unstoppable Culture: A Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Relentless, Results-Driven, High-Performing Team."
Grab a pen--lots of practical tips in this episode!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Our friend and mentor, Chris Hunsicker, travels the globe helping clients transform organizational culture and leadership. And he just published a book that captures many of the principles and tools he shares: "Unstoppable Culture: A Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Relentless, Results-Driven, High-Performing Team"
Chris shares how he wrote it--and how you can use the process (structure, tiny habits and more) to accomplish anything.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
The CDK shutdown: A crisis so big it impacted the GDP. Mike and Mark watched a firm not just survive but thrive, thanks to five key behaviors.
And it turns out there is a plot twist involved.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
We are always online, always stimulated. Apps that attempt authentic experience fail ... but your phone can alert you to gamble on Dave & Buster's games. (You read that correctly.)
How can your employee experience engage such online, overly stimulated workers? There are four keys. ...
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
"You know, we're just not reaching that guy." -Gary Larson's The Far Side
Mike shares the story of a client who had a huge opportunity to take sales and performance to the next level. He did all the right things ... why weren't his people doing the right things?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
A classic American novel spells out the philosophy that many have in the workplace. If your workplace struggles with politics, retaliations and victimhood, Mike and Mark have a reset.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark have heard it before: "We're always coaching around here." What if we told you that talking isn't necessarily coaching? And that there are five different types of talks you must have in order to drive performance?
Your hosts reveal Gallup's clear findings in this episode.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mark's kids experience that rite of passage for swimmers everywhere: the DQ judge.
It's a reminder that "clarity is kindness." It is too late when your people are facing the judge. If you don’t hold your people to the standards, the judge will.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike learns the long history of a quote often attributed to George Carlin. There are lessons here for anybody who judges. (Hint: That's you and me. We're all judging. So do it well!)
Want more? See this Forbes article and "The Art of Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action" (it's out of print--read it here). Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Have you ever found yourself torn between two options? Whether it's goals, priorities, paths, values or something else, maybe you need to stop choosing and start living in the tension! Mike and Mark share success stories from individual clients all the way up to global corporations who manage tension.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mike asked our AI overlords, "What advice would you give a new manager?" Do the answers line up with Mike and Mark's coaching?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Mark shares the story of what happened when an intern opened up to a room full of professionals. Are you willing to say you don't have it figured out? Your future growth--and success--may depend on it.
We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
If you are trying to reach a goal, congratulations! Now let's talk about your activities, habits and lead measures--which are all the same thing.
Learn more about "Atomic Habits" by James Clear here. (And here's a documentary short about Mark's papaw, country and bluegrass artist Red Harrison.)
We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
What if you could always effectively communicate and persuade employees, customers and leadership? Our special double-length episode celebrates one of America's most successful communicators, Booker T. Washington. His method illustrates one of the world's oldest communication methods: the "five canons" of classical rhetoric.
Click here for our episode on the first canon's tool, the "common topics."
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mark shares a true story about Baby Boomers misunderstanding Millennial hard workers, and the disastrous results of not addressing negative feedback. If you care about employee retention, this one's for you.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mark is still fired up about Booker T. Washington. His take on his slaveowner father blew us away. Washington has something to teach us about how we handle mistreatment of people in the workplace.
Resources mentioned:* Donna Hicks and her dignity books * Crucial Conversations resources * Our podcasts on dignity (parts one, two and three)
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Honor the streak! Lost episodes! More Booker T. to come! And other insights from our labor of love that has lasted weekly for almost four years.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mark thinks Booker T. Washington is one of the greatest Americans of all time. Need proof? Check out how Washington improved students who wanted to be teachers ... by turning his school into a brick-making powerhouse.
Resources mentioned:
- "Up from Slavery"
- "What a black cemetery teaches us about self control"
- "Choices: a Civil War battle and the battles we face with every decision"
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
It's the model of education that built a culture that has lasted millennia. It's so profound--and so simple--that we can explain it in 15 minutes. Are you using all three elements in your training?
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike had two questions and two fill-in-the-blanks. Mark observed rooms of participants wrestle with the simple exercise. On this episode, they share the results and how you can use it, too.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
A movie about Moses ... a David Bowie song ... a near-riot at a ballet ... and, well, our very own Mike dealing with cutting a check that will bounce.
It's all good news! How are you looking at your constraints?
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
It all hinged on choices. If one had not chosen to rise before dawn ... if another had not chosen to commit to training ... if still another had not chosen to execute the severest of punishments ...
... it's possible we would not live in the United States of America.
Are you taking your daily decisions just as seriously as the men of the Battle of Stones River?
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
American hero Booker T. Washington told the story of the freeing of the slaves by relating the other side of the coin: responsibility. If you plan to grow yourself or to empower others, it's a lesson you must embrace.
More on slavery and American history:
- Why they aren’t the Newport Bengals: Slavery is never good for business
- What a black cemetery teaches us about self control
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Kate Middleton is not a lizard person. But people can now say it is technically possible for the Illuminati to hide that she is.
That ridiculous paragraph was brought to you by our new AI world, where trust in institutions--including potentially your business--is eroding daily. But fear not! You have a secret weapon.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Toyota has been synonymous with quality for decades. Part of the secret is the company's distinct way of operating, which has been a gift to companies and managers worldwide.
Perhaps you know one of those gifts: kaizen. Do you know about genchi genbutsu? It has kept Toyota's quality high ... and it will prevent you from ever jumping to a conclusion again.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
If Mike's wrong about Feel-Think-Do, then people shouldn't be smoking anymore. And an entire segment of our economy should disappear. The concept will help you persuade others--and yourself.
Resource mentioned: Positive Coaching Discussion Questions (free download)
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Benjamin Franklin, in his early 20s, did something that would change his life--and America. And you can do it too.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark recorded about this about a year ago ... and it has come up again ... and again ... and again. ...
Now with some new data, new stories and new proofs, we give you: the coach's forbidden word. Follow this rule and make your coaching less risky.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
There is a part of your brain that can grow every day. But only if you get out of your comfort zone. Mike explains the connection to getting better at literally anything that makes you uncomfortable. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
We love featuring geniuses on It Doesn't Take a Genius! Herb Mast's book "Intentionality for Leaders" has been praised by the likes of Boeing and Ford CEO Alan Mulally and leadership great Patrick Lencioni.
Mark asks Herb to share some of the insights in the book that helps you go "beyond mere talk, actionless goal setting and good intentions to real and sustainable results."
Herb has hundreds of resources on his site healthydealer.com.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike has had a series of troubling interactions that explain a lot of what our clients are facing: Nobody is listening anymore. Fortunately, there are several ways to combat this.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
RANT INCOMING: An employee rant leads Mike and Mark to discuss good CX--and the motives and methods that create them. Have you considered both?
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Are you interested in thinking things through? Communicating?
Since the time of Aristotle, there has been a powerful tool to help you do both. Mark explains.
Download the free handout with sample questions and an example here on our extensive Resources page.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
It doesn't take a genius--but we have one anyway! And he's here to help you understand your organization's messaging, the next generation of workers and artificial intelligence.
Introducing Mike and Mark's friend and colleague, Baylor University lecturer Matthew Brammer.
After marketing communication and PR roles at Motorola and the National Hot Rod Association, Matthew began helping clients as coach and trainer, growing leaders, defining vision and improving customer experience.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Want to be weird? Be excellent first.
Mike explains his principle with a stellar server and Dennis Rodman. It shows up in sales, too. ... Goofballs are just nutty. Stars are unique.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mark thinks you ought to get up early. Can Mike be convinced?
A lifelong early riser shares the scientific, practical ... and spiritual reasons to follow the examples of the likes of Ben Franklin and Jesus.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark are both surprised they haven't made an episode about this fundamental method to ensure you or your team make a change: the Change Formula.
Hat tip to one of our mentors, Greg Tanski, for introducing us to this short, memorable and life-changing tool.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike reads academic papers. Is it for fun? A desperate cry for help? Regardless, one paper led to him giving the gift of a 3-foot Twix bar. The reaction to the candy is a great lesson for any individual or business wanting to make an impression with a gift.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Dealing with an upset customer? Colleague? Family member? Mark learned the magic words for ensuring an upset person feels heard while you take your next steps.
... And have you met our friend SARA?
Resource mentioned: Herb Mast's "Intentionality for Leaders: Why and How Some People, Teams and Leaders Achieve More and How You Can Too"
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
The warriors in the Iliad ... Pa in the Little House stories ... and you and me. We all want to improve and excel. But why? There are good ways to answer that question--and some incredibly destructive ones as well.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
A sobering question: Have they stopped talking to you? ... Or whining to you?
"Going quiet" is a symptom of disengaged employees. But there are solutions: A Navy captain points the way.
Mike and Mark cover communication in general and how to run meetings in particular. Click here for videos and downloads on "Crucial Conversations."
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Skyline Chili is legendary (at least to Mark's family). A home-run performance by a Skyline employee begged the question: Can a company actually care?
Mike and Mark share the simple secret to employee (and customer!) engagement.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
It might sound like clickbait, but the title is not an exaggeration. Mike and Mark cover
- AI's latest novel uses
- attempts to regulate it
- attempts to avoid regulations
- and how human beings can stay human as they harness our new artificial intelligence reality.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Most people have heard of brainstorming. But to do it effectively, you need more direction than just "come up with a bunch of ideas."
Mike and Mark discuss the rules you need for effective brainstorming. And they explain the brainstorming hack that exploits the natural wiring in our brains: Introducing negative brainstorming.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
In honor of our first Halloween episode, enjoy these TRUE stories of leaders we have seen who made mistakes ... and paid the price. ...
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Most teams and individuals have goals. Tracking progress on those is the easy part. What are you doing to measure and focus on the activities that lead to the goal?
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
If you are a lone wolf with no direct reports, the last episode revealed how you can "delegate" some of your less important tasks so you can focus on your priorities.
But what if you DO have a team ... and that team is too busy to receive more tasks delegated from you? There is an answer, and it is a four-step method.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Are you a lone wolf with no employees to take over your urgent--but less important--tasks? How do you handle time management when there is no-one to delegate to?
Mike and Mark have some ideas.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Lego saw it ... Toyota seems to always see it ... GM didn't see it ... and the bigger or older your organization is, you might not see it either.
Innovation occurs on the edges. There are things you have to do to leverage it. (Check out this excellent Harvard Business Review article for some related thoughts and a printable worksheet.)
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
A surprise resignation causes Mike to take a client through an exercise that changes everything. If you have valuable team members that you want to keep working with you, "Don't wait for the funeral!"
Suggested resources:* The simplest feedback method around
* Just-in-time feedback: why, what and when
* Marcus Buckingham on effective feedback
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
The Ikea Effect: Mike shares Harvard research that explains why some projects and initiatives get buy-in and some don't. Have you involved your team in the work? Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
The cross country meet ended in tears--and a reminder that people have incredibly different preferences for how to interact with the world and think.
For the first time on the podcast, we discuss the timeless DISC model for behavioral styles. Are you coaching, recognizing and training in a way that meets your team members' preferences?
The Hip Socket site has tons of DISC tools on its Resources page.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
disc #coaching #leadership #recognition
Is the public clamoring for more hot Jane Austen takes from two males sharing tips for the workplace?
Much to our surprise: Yes! Our recent Jane Austen episode was one of our most popular.
There's more. "Pride and Prejudice" has a lot to say about the dangers of ... well ... prejudice. Tune in for how Elizabeth Bennett overcomes confirmation bias--and how you can too.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
GuysWithoutLooksWithBooks #literature #workplace #leadership
What is sarcasm? Can it be acceptable? What is the most effective form of feedback?
The Workplace Book Club is back! This time we tackle an excerpt from "Emma," another novel by Jane Austen. (Download our free excerpt and discussion guide.)
If you think you're about to read a bit of a romance novel, you're in for a treat. Austen was a student of human nature and would have made a great manager.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
GuysWithoutLooksWithBooks #literature #workplace #sarcasm
"If I have not seen you doing it, I will assume that you can't do it."
Easy to say ... hard to master. Tune in to hear Mike's recent experience in fine-tuning his training and coaching process. (Spoiler alert: It led to the client immediately selling what scientists label "a bajillion more units.")
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Auto industry legend Tim Jackson returns to discuss his many electric vehicles. The former president and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, Jackson is a member of the Colorado Automotive Hall of Fame and organizer of the Clear the Air Foundation. His upcoming book covers the auto industry's past, present and future.
Are EVs the future? Tune in to find out.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
In episode 136, Mark introduced Mike to Dude Perfect. Now he and his family have attended the Panda-monium Tour. It's time to debrief the fun.
When you know your why ... when your why is your brand ... success is simply a matter of staying true to your brand's promise. Insights for every organization in this one.
P.S. Lots of photos and video for this episode on our YouTube channel.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Part 2! Mark interviews Mark Oelze, founder and director of PLEDGEtalk. Through more than 30 years as a marriage and family counselor, he developed the PLEDGE tool to help clients walk through the steps of healthy conflict. Mark says, "There is an ORDER to follow if one is to resolve conflict and restore healthy communication."
Clients are asking him to share PLEDGE in the workplace. That's what It Doesn't Take a Genius does best! Mark's material dovetails nicely with our Crucial Conversations resources found here.
Mark's book for marriage: "The PLEDGE of a Lifetime."
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mark interviews Mark Oelze, founder and director of PLEDGEtalk. Through more than 30 years as a marriage and family counselor, he developed the PLEDGE tool to help clients walk through the steps of healthy conflict. Mark says, "There is an ORDER to follow if one is to resolve conflict and restore healthy communication."
Clients are asking him to share PLEDGE in the workplace. That's what It Doesn't Take a Genius does best! Mark's material dovetails nicely with our Crucial Conversations resources found here.
Mark's book for marriage: "The PLEDGE of a Lifetime."
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes ... or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike talks to auto industry legend Tim Jackson, the former president and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. A member of the Colorado Automotive Hall of Fame and organizer of the Clear the Air Foundation, Jackson's upcoming book covers the auto industry's past, present and future.
Tune in to hear the naming of two hit bands ... the reason for disappearing parking spots ... and whether flying cars will be mass transit or personal mobility.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
flyingcars #automotive #colorado #autoindustry #autotrends
Once a week for three years straight! Mike and Mark share the episodes that most resonated with them and with our listeners.
Mike's picks:
Episode 30: Ship it. Just Ship It! Quit listening to the resistance. The resistance is that voice in the back of your head telling you to back off, be careful, go slow, compromise. Beware, your "lizard brain" does not want you to even watch this podcast. Mark and Mike share their personal struggles with the "resistance" and how to push through it. (Seth Godin's book and Mike's Harry Hugger series are both mentioned.)
Episode 80: Why tripping over the truth is the key to change. If you and your team need to change, you’ll require a “significant emotional event.” Have you put yourselves in a position to “trip over the truth?” (Andy Stanley’s interview with Horst Schulze and "building a cathedral" both mentioned.)
Episode 127: Coaching feedback for kids and adults 127 Coaching is as simple as providing a child with feedback on his or her drawing. This simple metaphor can help you change your coaching habits--and take some pressure off.
Audience picks: Episode 104: The magic of Coach Wooden--and interview with his disciple Episode 86: Lessons from the Lockpicking Lawyer: messages to your tribe The "Crucial Conversations" series (other resources, including free download, also at link)
Mark's picks: The Workplace Book Club series (starts at episode 92: "proud of your defects" from Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice")
Plato's 8 universal leadership qualities (starts at episode 49: an introduction to Plato's list in the Republic)
podcast #leadership #literature #mindset #crucialconversations #culture #coaching #questions #communication #personaldevelopment #publishing
After what we must declare a HISTORIC day of work, John Adams sat down to write his wife a little update.
Why all the fireworks? There's a reason--and it's a lesson for how we manage our people today.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
America #USA #4thOfJuly #IndependenceDay #LiberalArts #Liberty #workplace #management #EmployeeEngagement #DeclarationOfIndependence
She has 2.4 million followers on TikTok--and she has some things to teach you about finding your customer niche, improvisation at work and daily habits. The podcast is proud to present improv comedy great Karen Cass! (Forgive me "ums" and "uhs" ... I was excited.)
Follow her on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. And check out improv theater legend Dad's Garage for her upcoming show.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
CustomerEngagement #improv #Habits #NicheMarketing #marketing #actress #DadsGarage
Mark interviews one of the savviest coaches he knows, David Adamec, on his research into the best size for a team.
There is a formula ... Steve Jobs even had a Rule about it ... and Dave wishes he had known all this when he assembled a team to break a Guinness World Record.
For more on how David can help you, contact him through LinkedIn or daveadamec@gmail.com.
Follow Team Jetpack on Facebook or Instagram.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
teamwork #communication #teams #facilitation #coaching #kaizen #ProcessImprovement
Have you ever wanted to tell off a coworker? AI can help you ... not get fired. A memo rewrite has gone viral--but is the rewrite really any better?
"Karen from Accounting" is going to be replaced ... but what are the human soft skills that AI can't replace? And could AI be a tool to help you engage with other sentient organisms?
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
ArtificialIntelligence #AI #EmotionalIntelligence #communication #PersonalDevelopment
Do you have a vision or expectation you need your people to embrace? You can tell them ... you can push ... or you can ask questions that allow them to "trip over the truth."
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
coaching #leadership #management #vision
The podcast--on location! We visited the Capital One Cafe in Cincinnati to learn about the bank's innovative customer experience. It's impressive--and it really works because of the people.
To see the tour, check out our YouTube channel. Thanks to Jenna and Olivia for taking good care of us!
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
cx #customerexperience #banking #retail #capitalone #capitalonecafe
Do your employees show commitment? ... Or just compliance? Come for the important leadership topic, stay for the juicy automaker stories.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
workplace #management #leadership #employeeengagement
Mike and Mark have loved ones joining the workforce. What does Gen Z need to hear to help them thrive in their first jobs? Mark suggests two things to do, and two things to be aware of.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
careers #workplace #newjob #genz #generationz #leadershipdevelopment
A short episode about a short word. This one word can be mostly stricken from your vocabulary if you are planning to coach.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
coaching #managers #leadershipdevelopment
The problem with AI is It doesn’t do what I want it to do. It only does what I ask it to.
See PizzaLater's hilarious Pepperoni Hug Spot post here.
(Correction: In the episode Mark said there was a creepy puppet music video by Peter Gabriel. It was actually Genesis, after Gabriel left the band. And then beat his old band's video at the MTV Music Awards with "Sledgehammer!")
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
artificialintelligence #coaching #questions
Mark was excited to make editing this episode the FIFTH item checked off his list today! Why is that important?
Do your team members lack focus? Have great ideas but lack execution? In short, have you ever wondered if they have ADHD or ADD?
Mike has figured out how to "externalize the motivation" and have "a physical embodiment of the completion of tasks." (News flash: We are not doctors. Consult medical professionals for actual diagnoses.)
Resources that inspired Mike:
- This is how you treat ADHD based off science, Dr Russell Barkley part of 2012 Burnett Lecture
- Joe Rogan: Psychologist Describes the ADD Mind State
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Our last episode revealed how to use "The 4 Disciplines of Execution" to lead an office. But once you have scores to measure on a scoreboard ... how do you hold the team accountable?
There are three possible scenarios. This episode prepares you for all three.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
A case study from our clients:
Mike coaches Mark on how to help an office seeking to achieve a goal that will take years. How do they measure success and progress? How does the team make sure they perform and execute?
This sounds like a job for the 4 Disciplines of Execution!
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
From the mail bag: A listener asks an extremely important question for any organization that plans on a long-term future. Which is more important to an organization, culture or innovation?
Mike and Mark find answers in a Toyota factory and a bunch of monkeys.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
What do elementary school kids, some barbers, a Canadian pastor and our clients have in common? They are all noticing the crucial, crucial need for conversation in leadership.
Good news: There are practical ways to hone your conversational skills.
Resources referenced in this episode:
- "Why All Future Leaders Will Be Great Conversationalists"
- "The Coaching Habit"
- "The Storyteller's Secret"
- "Conversation: Even more important in an AI world"
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
A listener's question: How do you help a good team go from checking the box to adapting in the moment? To start developing your employees, start with why. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
It's the closest our podcast will ever get to math. There is a simple equation that you have seen play out again and again in teams. It closely mirrors research from the Gallup organization--and it tells you exactly what percentage of time you should be spending with each of your employees. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Hearing yourself in a recording is a jarring experience. And what the people around you experience in your communication may be jarringly different from what you intend. How can you experience what it's like in their shoes? Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
When Mike and Mark started talking about AI, there were a few news stories. Now every day there is another bombastic headline. AI is already affecting court cases, video series ... and how you search for information, regardless of your occupation. You need to wrap your head around "AI as photocopier" ASAP. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
If you have kids, you might have heard of the YouTubers Dude Perfect. The channel is geared toward a younger audience interested in trick shots and goofy contests, but even Mark's wife cackles at their antics.What's the appeal? Mike learns about the multimillion-dollar franchise and shares his observations. Next up: Mark's family attending Dude Perfect's summer tour. Stay tuned for a report. ...Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Why would Mark ask an AI to write a Bible study for a podcast about the workplace?
It has loads to say about what we chose to be dependent on ... about what is happening to our attention spans ... and about what we can do that brings value.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Where is the line between AIs filling needed voids and AIs replacing humans who make connections with others?
We already have computers with warm, empathetic voices. Does it matter that the machine doesn’t care, just its designers do?
Could a machine be a pet? A librarian? An engineer? A coach? A manager?
A spouse?
Big-box checkout lines, Barry Manilow, a cyberpunk art-making robot and a Japanese robot seal hint at the answers of this newly developing field.
Mike and Mark wrestle with the latest: Maybe most jobs will involve AI-wrangling. Or maybe the real value will be in making human connections.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike has found some incredibly practical uses for artificial intelligence--and Mark is practically terrified.
Sure, you can make a deepfake or chat with an infamous historic villain--but you can also use the most powerful brainstorm partner ever. And we're just getting started harnessing the capabilities.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
We used to ask customerfacing team members, "How is working with you better than going online?" Now the question for everyone is, "How is working with you better than working with AI?"Mark taunts our future AI overlords. Mike has further treasures to reveal from his experiments with AI. It's impressive--and scary. Are all of our jobs in danger? In a sense. After we recorded this, we both agreed it felt like a different kind of episode. More AI episodes to come. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
A Wall Street Journal column shared the research behind how reading aloud to students can overcome losses they suffered during pandemic shutdowns. It's a practice Victorian teachers, classical education proponents and home schoolers have known for years. (See: Read-Aloud Revival. See also: Mark's amazing wife.) Mark thinks it's a practice you need, too. Listen in for the benefits of turning training and department meetings into, well, story time. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Mike is a believer! He has seen the light--the value of artificial intelligence--in the form of ChatGPT. He's ahead of the curve ... as we went to press, news broke that its creator was in talks with investors for a valuation around $29 billion. Tune in for a demonstration of the power that just may change everything. This is the first in a series on AI. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
New Year's has come and gone ... so what if resolutions don't work for you?
Mike has learned from his clients about two alternatives that will help you take action on your goals.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
A report from a listener: He quit ... for less money ... doing the same work. Why?
It's not about money. As the Great Resignation continues, it's a good time to look at the research from Gallup--and common sense.
Make your organization as attractive to employees as possible. (See some related advice here.)
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Coaching is as simple as providing a child with feedback on his or her drawing.
This simple metaphor can help you change your coaching habits--and take some pressure off.
You can listen to an episode sharing insights from "Coaching Amplified" here.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
You had a good feel about him. You even used modern interviewing techniques to select the right kind of hire. But a dud slipped through anyway. Are you testing for skills? Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Mark's alleged weight loss journey is a great way to illustrate all five items you must include in your goal. If you actually want to accomplish something, that is.
Seriously: SMART goals can change your life.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Put yourself in the shoes of a young woman trying to buy a car. This true story points out three problems relevant to anyone involved in selling anything to customers. How do you measure up?
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
DISCLAIMER: This episode features the observations of two coaches and is not psychiatric or legal advice. We hope, as the episode mentions, to connect you to life-saving resources for a nightmare scenario. Coaching and managing can uncover life-threatening situations. What do you do if you suspect suicidal thoughts in the workplace? The right question could save a life. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark.
Mark was so struck with the powerful simplicity to Mike's recent work that they made a podcast episode about it:
The lockdowns have come to an end. Here are two meetings you need to have before too much time passes.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
It's a question we are often asked: "I'm trying to coach my employees, but sometimes I need to tell instead of coach. When is that OK?"
There is a simple answer, and it involves this chart we have made available for download. It also involves Charles Bronson and Jason Statham, for some reason. ...
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
Some informative new episodes related to our series on "Crucial Conversations:"
This latest series focuses on “common fallacies,” arguments we make that, if you stop to think about them, just can’t be true.
Identifying and naming these statements can keep you from losing focus on what truly matters.
We encourage our listeners (both of you) to use these fallacies to evaluate the stories others tell you and the stories you tell yourself.
Plus, they’re funny!
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
Some informative new episodes related to our series on "Crucial Conversations:"
This latest series focuses on “common fallacies,” arguments we make that, if you stop to think about them, just can’t be true.
Identifying and naming these statements can keep you from losing focus on what truly matters.
We encourage our listeners (both of you) to use these fallacies to evaluate the stories others tell you and the stories you tell yourself.
Plus, they’re funny!
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
Some informative new episodes related to our series on "Crucial Conversations:"
This latest series focuses on “common fallacies,” arguments we make that, if you stop to think about them, just can’t be true.
Identifying and naming these statements can keep you from losing focus on what truly matters.
We encourage our listeners (both of you) to use these fallacies to evaluate the stories others tell you and the stories you tell yourself.
Plus, they’re funny!
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
Some informative new episodes related to our series on "Crucial Conversations:"
This latest series focuses on “common fallacies,” arguments we make that, if you stop to think about them, just can’t be true.
Identifying and naming these statements can keep you from losing focus on what truly matters.
We encourage our listeners (both of you) to use these fallacies to evaluate the stories others tell you and the stories you tell yourself.
Plus, they’re funny!
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
Are you a new leader lacking confidence? We’ve got some tips.
Confidence wasn’t automatically included when you were promoted to your first leadership position. We can help.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
As coaches, Mike and Mark spend a lot of time teaching clients how to coach their teams. You can learn powerful questions ... you can master frameworks for the conversation ... but how do you ask the question?
This episode borrows liberally from Mark's training with the International Coach Federation and from Michael Bungay Stanier, who we think is the bee's knees.
Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and/or Mark.
That high-stakes, emotional conversation you just had? The one where you finally had a resolution to a big issue? It's all for nothing if you don't complete this final step.
This episode is part of our series on "Crucial Conversations." The first episode is at this link.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Finally! After all the prep work, it's time to have that high-stakes, emotional conversation. There are three "whats" and two "hows." Introducing S.T.A.T.E.
This episode is part of our series on "Crucial Conversations." The first episode is at this link.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
There is one more thing to do before you actually have that high-stakes, emotional conversation: ensure you make it safe. Whatever "safety" means to you, there are multiple perspectives to consider, which are all addressed in this episode.
This episode is part of our series on "Crucial Conversations." The first episode is at this link.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Have you ever had an argument that turned out to be just a misunderstanding? If you're going to have a high-stakes, emotionally charged conversation, you need to look hard at the story you are telling yourself. Learn more about this powerful and challenging exercise.
This episode is part of our series on "Crucial Conversations." The first episode is at this link.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
In preparing for a high-stakes, emotionally charged conversation where there will be opposing views ... you better learn to look. Mainly at yourself. Tips on how to do so in this episode.
This episode is part of our series on "Crucial Conversations." The first episode is at this link.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
When you identify a high-stakes, emotional issue with strongly opposing views ... how quickly do you discuss it?
Or do you resort to "silence or violence?"
As promised last episode, welcome to our series on how to have difficult conversations. We are using the excellent "Crucial Conversations" as our inspiration.
Whether you have to tell somebody they smell bad, discuss a bad behavior with a loved one or give negative feedback to a colleague, listen to hear how practical and valuable this universal tool can be.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark talk through how to handle eight common things recent research revealed as roadblocks to coaching in an organization.
No. 2 on the list is an excellent example of why we are so excited for of our coming series on how to have difficult conversations. Listen in for a preview on this universal issue.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Who wants to take out a home loan and spend your leisure hours paying it off? Apparently quite a few Nintendo customers. ...
Mike and Mark explore the magic of Animal Crossing--and five tips it gives for keeping customers loyal and employees engaged.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Have you ever been strongly suggested to attend a presentation or workshop? Perhaps even "voluntold?" This episode is to help you make the most of it.
And for the first time ever, Mike and Mark facilitated some workshops together. So for the first time ever, they recorded an episode sitting in the same room. Let the dumpster fire ensue.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Still on a high (Mike prefers the term "learning hangover") from our conversation with the CEO of the John R. Wooden Course, Mike and Mark discuss one of the core tenants of the Wooden approach. Lead by example. Simple to say, hard to execute, profound in its impact. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
We've produced two years of weekly podcasts! To celebrate, here's a fascinating conversation with a mentor of our mentor--who was mentored by the Wizard of Westwood himself. Lynn Guerin is CEO of the John R. Wooden Course. He partnered with Coach Wooden to create the course, sharing Wooden's legacy of "timeless wisdom for personal and team success." In our interview, Lynn told about the impact Wooden personally made on him. (Wooden's records are too many to list here ... and his impact goes well beyond NCAA basketball games. Lynn's suggestions for the best ways to start exploring: * "Coach 'Em Way Up: Five Lessons for Leading the John Wooden Way" * "Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court")
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Our fourth and final statement for building a culture that has both results and relationship: Accountability is a two-way street. Managers are expected to hold their people accountable. But notice there is an expectation for you, the manager, built into that statement! We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Our third statement on building a culture that honors results and relationship:
Clarity is kindness.
It unlocks productivity. It is at the core of behavioral change programs. It's biblical. Easy to understand, hard to do!
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Our second statement on building a culture that honors results and relationship:
Start with the why.
Tune in to find out what this has to do with tattoos on your rear end.
(Sexy sax music provided by Sexy Sax Man.)
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Last time Mike and Mark discussed the tension to manage in your organization's culture: relationship vs. results, treating people well vs. performing well.
This episode unpacks the first of four statements to help you manage that tension. There are three ways you should trickle culture downhill ... each with a different degree of difficulty.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
There is tension in your organization’s culture. And it is most definitely a tension to manage, not a problem to solve.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
A listener's 20-something kid opens the eyes of Mike and Mark to what businesses are up against:
Do your younger customers know and care? How about your employees? Listen in to start the discussion in your workplace--because it's only going to get worse. ...
We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Mark needed help with plaster. Mike wanted toast. The endings of both stories are examples of how managers can employ the link between delegation and development.
We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
What will be your legacy? Your organization's legacy? On this week's Workplace Book Club, we look at a poem. (Just like AMC did for the sake of a hit TV show.)
Even in the workplace, are there things that last? Mike and Mark are #twoguyswithoutlookswithbooks.
The excerpt and study guide for this episode, "Nothing beside remains," is available for free download.
We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Charles Dickens has some thoughts on crying. He makes some blanket statements about the three ways expressing negative emotions improves you.
Does it apply to the workplace? Mike and Mark are #twoguyswithoutlookswithbooks.
The excerpt and study guide for this episode, "No shame in tears," is available for free download.
We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Should looks matter?
Do they?
What about criticism? What's the appropriate response to getting it?
Shakespeare gives his 2 cents via Hamlet, and Mike and Mark are #guyswithoutlookswithbooks.
The excerpt and study guide for this episode, "Clothes make the man," is available for free download.
We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
What's more important, logic or relationships? Truth or friendship? Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" has something to say about that--yes, even at work.
Another episode of #guyswithoutlookswithbooks, where we bring the book club to the workplace.
The excerpt and study guide for this episode, "Conviction vs. friendship," is available for free download.
We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Mark puts his money where his classical educated mouth is: He and Mike read and discuss a bit of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."
What in the world does this have to do with the workplace? A lot, it turns out. Do you know anybody who is proud of their defects?
Welcome to #guyswithoutlookswithbooks.
The excerpt and study guide for this episode, "Proud of your defects," is available for free download.
We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
From our case files: dealing with THPD (Toxic High Producer Dilemma).
How do you measure someone's negative effects on your culture against their positive effect on your bottom line?
What options do you have?
What will you have to commit to to handle it?
All this and more on today's episode.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
What you're about to hear is real. It is a recording of a live coaching session between Mike and Mark.
Managers are supposed to coach. But what does it look like? Sound like?
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
At the request of a listener, we're addressing a specific situation that many of us have experienced. How do you lead a team where some members are prone to outbursts or other signs of disrespect?
To further complicate the subject: It's a manager recently promoted from that team!
If you have additional suggestions for the manager, please comment below. And as always, we would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Our last episode suggested you "ask one more question." That habit is built on the foundation discussed in this episode. The humility to stay curious and confess "I don't know" is the key to growth. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
A short episode for a simple subject: Asking one more question can transform the interactions you have with others.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
An anonymous attorney who picks locks on YouTube has a valuable lesson for anybody trying to attract employees or customers who really "get you."
Three lessons, to be exact.
(Note to audience: Mark managed to make it through this entire episode without once mentioning Mitchell and Webb's classic Padlockigami. But watch and enjoy.)
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
This is a quick recording to alert you to the video version of this week's podcast, found here. We hope it's a blessing to you. Happy Thanksgiving and season's greetings!
It really is as simple as the title.
... With one qualifying statement.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Leaders often know exactly what they want to do with their teams. But they can stop doing those things because of whiners and objectors.
Mike and Mark share two ways to address the naysayer. They are two sides of the same coin, and it might just lead to the critic becoming the champion.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
You can't tell people you care--you have to show them! So how do you do that?
There are three basic concepts, and two simple behaviors, to do just that. Put this episode into practice and stop employee turnover.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
It's a skill so basic it's often forgotten. Observation has a number of benefits--if you do it the right way. Mike and Mark share what they've learned over the decades that can help you maximize performance with your team.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
If you and your team need to change, you'll require a "significant emotional event." Have you put yourselves in a position to "trip over the truth?"
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Andy Stanley's interview with Horst Schulze (Ritz-Carlton)
- Why are your people here? ("building a cathedral")
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
A French aristocrat's 1830s book was supposed to explain what made the United States so unique.
It also happens to give modern organizations:
- a diagnostic checklist for employee engagement (do you have citizens or subjects?)
- the three things you must do to increase employee engagement.
For more on the topic, see Mark's blog post.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
We've discussed Mike's Respect-based Performance Coaching method in previous episodes. Here's another insight from Mike's new book--one that can change your life:
You can't order excellence.
More insights from the book can be found in these previous episodes: * How do you coach? * Three things you need for your coaching to succeed: + Trustworthiness + Care + Commitment
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
A July 2021 survey found that 55 percent of working Americans are looking to change jobs. If you employ Americans ... this podcast is for you.
Mike and Mark share three key factors in retaining your workforce.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
The name of your organization--even your name--can raise or lower the value of anything connected to it. How do know if it's valuable? And how do you increase that value? We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Well, somebody told Mark this story ... Mike swears it wasn't him. ... But once upon a time in Mexico, a resort put on a customer experience master class for a family with young kids.
(There's a topless woman, but don't let that throw you--we put it here to get attention.)
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
When writing and publishing his first book, Mike discovered something through his use of Fiverr. And whatever you are trying to accomplish, the discovery will help you get things done, too. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Before Simon Sinek's Golden Circle there was the Sir Christopher Wren story. Have you discovered and clarified your team's purpose? If not, you're missing a big factor in employee engagement. To explore your purpose, use our free worksheet. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Bonus Episode! Mike and Mark's last two episodes covered seven key coaching questions ... but what does it look like to use them?
Stay tuned for tips on how to make the most of the questions. To go deeper, see "The Coaching Habit" by Michael Bungay Stanier.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Part 2: Mike and Mark recently discussed three things you must have to successfully coach. Now they return with seven of the very best coaching questions.
These are simple and worth memorizing.
To go deeper, see "The Coaching Habit" by Michael Bungay Stanier.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark recently discussed three things you must have to successfully coach. Now they return with seven of the very best coaching questions.
These are simple and worth memorizing.
To go deeper, see "The Coaching Habit" by Michael Bungay Stanier.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
No one is the bad guy in their own movie!
Mark and Mike provide examples of people convinced that they are the heroes in their story. They also discuss how this mindset impacts how you approach and coach these people. This podcast actually raises more questions then it answers. Check it out!
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
When dignity isn't honored, people suffer! After episodes describing dignity and the temptations to violate it, Mike and Mark get down to describing HOW to honor it in practical terms--and why that's such a big deal.
References: The Donna Hicks book that inspired this series can be found here. We also reference "the Chick-fil-A video" and "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team."
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Honoring dignity can transform your workplace--and you. But there are at least 10 ways to violate dignity ... what happens when you do?
Donna Hicks's work on dignity inspired this series. Learn more here. In this episode we also reference "the Chick-fil-A video" and "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team."
Our final episode in the dignity series will cover how to make use of all this material.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
We launch our series on dignity with this double-length episode. Honoring dignity can transform your workplace--and you.
Donna Hicks's work on dignity inspired this series. Learn more here. And stay tuned for our future episodes about what happens when we violate dignity--and how to overcome it.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Another live-coaching example! Periodically Mike and Mark provide examples of what coaching looks like.
Tune in to hear Mike coach Mark on the teams-vs.-tribes principle from Episode 64. What is the tribe for Mark's classics-focused business, Hip Socket?
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
Mike and Mark are back to discuss teams--this time, in comparison with tribes. Which do you need? And how do you identify if you have a tribe?
Mentioned in the podcast: "Tribes" by Seth Godin.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark.
What's the difference between a team and just a group? Mike explains how he boils it down to one characteristic. He and Mark also share what it takes to take a group and turn it into a team.
Some of the material references Patrick Lencioni's phenomenal "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team."
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Just-in-Time Feedback has benefits for the employer and the employee. But how do you give feedback so frequently? Mike and Mark share what works.
We mention the AID method, which you can learn more about in episode 16.
We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
There are many coaching methods out there ... but what do you need for any of those methods to work?
Mike and Mark discuss how commitment takes coaching from an interesting conversation to a surefire way to make progress--and how to use your calendar to make that happen.
Questions or comments for future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
There are many coaching methods out there ... but what do you need for any of those methods to work?
Mike and Mark discuss why care unlocks coaching opportunities. They share the big question to ask and the key mindset to use.
Questions or comments for future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
There are many coaching methods out there ... but what do you need for any of those methods to work?
The first of three things: trustworthiness. Tune in to learn the elements of trust--and, more importantly, how to demonstrate them.
Questions or comments for future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
"A sage on the stage or a guide on the side?" After decades of experience helping clients, Mike and Mark reflect on when individuals and organizations are ready for a coach--and what kind of coach to look for.
We hope this helps anyone ready to grow. Questions or comments for future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark wrap up their series on Plato's universal leadership qualities with number 8:
Don't be a bastard.
It's perhaps the foundation of the entire list.
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
Do you enjoy not just the mental work of your job but the physical?
Do you see a purpose the makes it worth pushing through the discomfort?
Plato says good leaders answer "yes" to both questions.
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
A good leader is tenacious. Socrates said so. (At least, Plato's Republic said Socrates said so.)
Mike and Mark look at another universal leadership quality, one that helps you stick with your efforts to grow. How do you show up tenacious? Listen in to find out.
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
Last episode, Mike and Mark explored what it is to be sharp and quick at learning--one of eight characteristics Socrates (in Plato's Republic) says a leader must have.
Now we turn to one of three keys to keeping at your learning: memory.
It seems so simple, but it means so much more than just quoting facts and figures. Are you organized in your knowledge? Do you know your work "by heart?" Are you an artist?
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark continue to investigate Plato's Republic. In it, Socrates defines eight characteristics a leader must have. Are you sharp and quick and learning?
What would it mean if you were? What is the benefit of your team becoming a "learning organization?"
And how are you like a dog?
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
(We've been producing podcasts for a year! How did that happen?)
In Plato's Republic, Socrates defines eight characteristics a leader must have. How do you feel about the fact that the third item is "very good-looking?"
What does that mean in the modern world? ... Are you good-looking? Two plain-looking guys weigh in.
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
In Plato's Republic, Socrates defines eight characteristics a leader must have. Number 2 is courage.
Can you stand short-term pain for long-term gain? Are you willing to show your heart? If you don't see the connection, this episode is for you.
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
In Plato's Republic, Socrates defines eight characteristics a leader must have. The list starts with reliability.
How big a deal is it? And how do you become more reliable?
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
Plato's Republic is perhaps the most influential book spreading Western culture throughout the world. He describes his teacher, Socrates, listing the characteristics leaders must have to rule. How do you stack up to the list? This is the first in a nine-part series.
Questions or ideas for Mike and Mark: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
We're taught to say "thank you" from childhood. Why is it so powerful for adults ... and why is it so hard? Mike and Mark share stories about its power and how to apply it.
Resource: "The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People" by Gary Chapman and Paul White
Questions for future episodes? Email mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark wrap up legendary coach Marshall Goldsmith's 20 Bad Habits: Challenges in Interpersonal Behavior. Which one is your biggest opportunity?
Listen to the end for tips on how to change a habit!
Questions? Email mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark share legendary coach Marshall Goldsmith's 20 Bad Habits: Challenges in Interpersonal Behavior. Which one is your biggest opportunity?
This is one of four parts; we discuss five of the 20 in each episode.
Questions? Email mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark share legendary coach Marshall Goldsmith's 20 Bad Habits: Challenges in Interpersonal Behavior. Which one is your biggest opportunity?
This is one of four parts; we discuss five of the 20 in each episode.
Questions? Email mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark share legendary coach Marshall Goldsmith's 20 Bad Habits: Challenges in Interpersonal Behavior. Which one is your biggest opportunity?
Stay tuned for parts 3-4, where we discuss the rest of the 20.
Questions? Email mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Referrals. Or as our friend Dr. Dan Edgar says, "Can you give me the name of five friends you'd like to not be friends with anymore?"
Mike and Mark discuss an alternative to the traditional referral method, found in Bob Burg and John David Mann's "The Go-Giver."
Bob Burg's Networking Questions
Questions you'd like to see answered? Contact mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
Want your team to make real progress on things that matter? Worried about holding them accountable? Accountability habits can help!
Mike and Mark share updates on Mike's Habit Tracker document and stories of recent client work on the 4 Disciplines of Execution and holding others accountable.
Download a copy of the Habit Tracker here on the Resources page.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution official website
Send us your questions or feedback: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark discuss "the big one," the issue looming at the back of all employee performance. This episode is about sharing the why, bringing it to life with stories, rituals and ... "-isms."
Send us your feedback or questions you'd like answered on future episodes: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark discuss "the big one," the issue looming at the back of all employee performance. Learn more about the "why," how to spot commitment vs. compliance--and what to do about it.
Send us your feedback or questions you'd like answered on future episodes: mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net.
There are four habits to ensure you make real progress on what's most important. As a follow-up to our three-part series on the 4 Disciplines of Execution, Mike introduces a Habit Tracker worksheet. It's a great example of a 4DX "scoreboard."
Download a copy of the Habit Tracker here on the Resources page.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution official website
Send us your questions or feedback: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Have you and your team struggled to execute your strategic plan or hit forecast? Have your personal goals collapsed all around you? Mike and Mark have good news for you: There are four habits to ensure you make real progress on what's most important.
In part 3 of 3, they discuss disciplines 3 and 4: how to play your game.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution official website
Send us your questions or feedback: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Have you and your team struggled to execute your strategic plan or hit forecast? Have your personal goals collapsed all around you? Mike and Mark have good news for you: There are four habits to ensure you make real progress on what's most important.
In part 2 of 3, they discuss habits 1 and 2: the rules to your game.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution official website
Send us your questions or feedback: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Have you and your team struggled to execute your strategic plan or hit forecast? Have your personal goals collapsed all around you? Mike and Mark have good news for you: There are four habits to ensure you make real progress on what's most important. Part 1 of 3.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution official website
Send us your questions or feedback: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
This extraordinary podcast is our first holiday special, our first featuring a guest speaker and our first hour-long podcast.
Coping with the holidays is a stressful time for many people. Toss a pandemic into the mix and you have lot of good people struggling to stay positive.
Our special guest speaker, Pamela Cole, brilliantly and generously shares her insights on how to live well in times of stress.
Ask yourself: "What is the thought you had before you had those feelings?"
Resources/Pamela References:
- Pamela Cole’s Website
- Captain Snout and the Super Power Questions: Don't Let the ANTs Steal Your Happiness by Dr. Daniel Armen and Brendan Kearney
- The Feeling Good Handbook by David D. Burns
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term form of behavioral treatment. It helps people problem-solve. CBT also reveals the relationship between beliefs, thoughts and feelings, and the behaviors that follow.
- MoodFit App
- Happify.com - Overcome negative thoughts, stress, and life’s challenges!
Send us your questions, and we will do our best to address them in future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark wrap up their series on the Lost Tools of Business. The ancient art of dialectic is the powerhouse skill that takes knowledge and turns it into understanding. How do you ensure you and your team can be confident in your decisions? Listen to find out.
Free resource to help you practice dialectic: Questions for the "five common topics"
Send your questions for future episodes to mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark discuss what the Karate Kid has to do with planes on autopilot and your professional growth. Learn how internalizing "a grammar" could impact every decision you make.
Questions for future episodes? mike@successamplified.com or mark@hipsocket.net
If you think of "blowhard politicians" when you think of rhetoric, this episode will surprise you. Mike and Mark discuss a forgotten art that made the ancients great. Learn how some of the ancients' rhetorical skills can help us be great leaders today.
Email us your questions for future episodes: mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
Mark coaches Mike to explain why he named his business "Success Amplified." Stay tuned to hear some nuggets about how to be the kind of organization that amplifies its own success--and Mike's process for helping that happen.
Mike's work at Success Amplified
Mark's work at Hip Socket
Send your questions for future episodes to mark@hipsocket.net or mike@successamplified.com.
Is there something you have thought about making to share with others? A book for your network, a project for the office, an idea for the world? Just ship it! Mike shares his experiences publishing two (and soon, three) books. Seth Godin's encouragement summarized his process and gives all of us lessons in taking action on that thing we've been thinking about.
Seth Godin's "Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?"
Mike Marshall's "Harry Hugger and the Delightful Day"
Mike Marshall's "Harry Hugger and Field Trip Friday"
What would you like to learn about in future episodes? Contact us at mike@successamplified.com and mark@hipsocket.net.
"Wrestle and grow." Mark discusses with Mike how this sentence is the secret to real development as a leader. In part 2, they focus on how to wrestle--to do the hard work of reaching new awareness--so you can take action and grow.
Questions for future episodes? Contact Mike (mike@successamplified.com) or Mark (mark@hipsocket.net ).
"Wrestle and grow." Mark discusses with Mike how this sentence is the secret to real development as a leader. In this episode, they focus on how to identify what you want to grow in or to, using an ancient concept from the Greeks.
Questions for future episodes? Contact Mike (mike@successamplified.com) or Mark (mark@hipsocket.net ).
Mike and Mark wrap up a three-part series of insights from Dr. John Kotter's eight steps for implementing change. This week, the really hard part: making change stick in the organization.
Dr. Kotter's book: "Leading Change"
A helpful related episode on the change formula: "But how do you actually make changes?"
Email Mark (mark@hipsocket.net) or Mike (mike@successamplified.com) to ask questions for future podcasts.
Mike and Mark continue sharing insights from Dr. John Kotter's eight steps for implementing change. This week: three steps to engage and enable an organization to change.
Dr. Kotter's book: "Leading Change"
Our episode on the change formula: "But how do you actually make changes?"
Email Mark (mark@hipsocket.net) or Mike (mike@successamplified.com) to ask questions for future podcasts.
Ever felt like you knew the change you wanted to have but couldn't get your team on board? Mike and Mark discuss Dr. John Kotter's eight steps for implementing change. This week: three steps to create a climate for change.
Dr. Kotter's book: "Leading Change"
Our episode on the change formula: "But how do you actually make changes?"
Email Mark (mark@hipsocket.net) or Mike (mike@successamplified.com) to ask questions for future podcasts on change.
(It probably already has!) Mike and Mark imagine how our listeners could beat Amazon at their own game by applying some of the pioneering company's Leadership Principles against them. Did you know there are many parallels to the Christian church? And that Mark did not know his youngest kid had wandered into the recording studio?
For help in disrupting yourself, contact Mike (mike@successamplified.com) and Mark (mark@hipsocket.net).
Mike and Mark discuss the hard work of actually seeing your new awareness turn into tangible action. Meet the Change Formula.
We challenge our listeners (both of you!) to send us your change formulas. It can be part of your First Steps.
mike@successamplified.com
mark@hipsocket.net
Mike and Mark tackle three areas to think through as you try to help someone gain awareness and take action. (That's coaching.) The YouTube version has a visual joke; sadly, the audio-only version is visual joke-free.
How can we help? Mike is at mike@successamplified.com. Mark is at mark@hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark conclude their three-episode series on time management with some tips on taking an inventory of your time, how to use that inventory to plan your week and a deep thought from Moses.
For more time management help, contact Mike at mike@successamplified.com and Mark at mark@hipsocket.net.
Last time Mike and Mark discussed how to spend your time on the most important things ... but how do you determine those most important things? Tune in to hear why priorities should not be plural, what our other fan wants to hear more about and what prompted Mark to use a vulgar expression.
Mike and Mark have three practical tips ... and a huge mindset shift ... to help you better manage your time. This is part 1 of what we anticipate to be a three-part series.
What do dogs, elephants and statistics professors have in common with you and I? Our performance is effected by our beliefs--including beliefs in things that are not true! Mike and Mark discuss how to check those beliefs and soak in better ones.
Mark is at www.hipsocket.net.
Mike is at www.successamplified.com.
Mike shares the frustration of how hard it is to achieve true teamwork. He and Mark discuss Shawn Achor's book "Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being." Chick-fil-A, U2 and the Christian church share the spotlight. Tune in for three things you can do to help your team.
Mark can be found at www.hipsocket.net.
Mike can be found at www.successamplified.com.
Mark opens the kimono to share with Mike his geeky hobby. Games Workshop is a stock market darling--up over 600% over the last five years. One of its secrets? Feedback.
(By the way, GW artist Natalie Slinn painted the visual aide ... she said it took her 50 hours. Talk about employee engagement!)
For more on Mike: https://successamplified.com.
For more on Mark: https://www.hipsocket.net.
Mike and Mark discuss how a recent car dealership training session was so effective because of its relationship to Ancient Greece. Reach out to Mike (mike@successamplified.com) and Mark (mark@hipsocket.net) for more.
Mike and Mark explore the benefits and dangers of empathy--and discuss the ancient step beyond empathy that just so happens to unlock better relationships with customers and coworkers.
Last episode revealed how to form good habits. Mike and Mark recently saw them in action when visiting clients for the first time in months (thanks, corona!). They explain that it's not just forming habits but ensuring those habits serve the "Now, Near and Far."
Mike and Mark tackle the challenge of forming new habits. (You know, good ones.) They suggest some tips on staying motivated--five Rs and an A. To learn more about Mark, visit www.hipsocket.net. To learn more about Mike, visit www.successamplified.com.
Mike and Mark share stories of managers who took care of their staff. It turns out those staff members were loyal and top performers. There's a lesson there, you know.
The machines are here, and they want your job. What can you do that they cannot? Mark and Mike share their insights and what you can do. (Our announcer is now voluntarily sending us more snarky remarks to add to our episodes. Enjoy!)
Mark and Mike discuss the challenges of making connections with customers and employees when your face is partially obscured by a mask.
Mark enlightens Mike about the two concepts--empathy and compassion--and how they apply to life and work. (Also, apparently not paying our announcer has caused him to becomes more sarcastic.)
Mike and Mark discuss four elements crucial to building trust with customers--some rational, some definitely not.
Mark and Mike examine the power of the question, "Why is this happening for me?" Speaker and author Mike Robbins brought this powerful question to our attention. In this day and age of extreme change, it can be a life-changing question.
In this second of a two-parter, Mike and Mark move from why storytelling is important to how to tell your story.
Mike and Mark share some key concepts around the power of storytelling. In this first of two parts, they discuss why stories are so important to organizations.
Mike and Mark discuss how to stay present in the moment and marvel at the fact that their production values have gone from terrible to sub-par.
Four types of customers are shopping. How do you determine yours--and operate with so many constraints?