CEO BrainFood: Recent Episodes
Michael Langhout
CEOs successfully leading growth companies require continual learning, new thinking and a guided approach. CEO BrainFood was created to be a resource and guide for entrepreneur founders and CEOs seeking insights and useful tools to help them build enterprise value, generate higher profits, and develop the talent needed to consistently win at the Great Game of Business.
01:44 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Susan Drumm who speaks to the origin story of her organization Meritage Leadership Development
09:20 – Michael and Susan reflect on the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic
12:47 – Building resilience in the face of adversity, stress and anxiety
25:33 – The importance of effective delegation and the OURS system
29:30 – Susan speaks to the many assessment tools that she utilizes in her work with leaders
33:37 – Michael and Susan speak to their unique experiences as growth and leadership coaches
38:34 – Where listeners can follow Susan
40:00 – Michael thanks Susan for joining the show and where listeners can find his Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“I would say it’s more critical than ever that leaders spend time engaging with their team in this [remote] format because people feel isolated.” (10:11)
“What I was curious about is what makes some leaders able to handle stressful situations more gracefully while others just get their buttons pushed and become reactive or lash out. And, is it innate? Can it be learned and, if so, how?” (15:58)
“I recently heard a statistic that the average life expectancy for a police officer after they retire is ten years. Think about that. Because of the wear and tear from such high stress situations that they’ve had to deal with, the toll that’s taken on their bodies without the ability to build the resilience, can really make a difference.” (23:15)
“The way you think drives your actions.” (26:50)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Susan’s LinkedIn
Meritage Website
00:55 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Albert Erisman
03:23 – Al talks about why he started Ethix Magazine & The Theology of Work Project
06:25 – Why purpose, meaning and focus outweigh the importance of profits
09:21 – Al talks about his book, The ServiceMaster Story, and the Four Objectives
20:09 – The concept of ‘Shingles on the Roof’
22:42 – The importance of leaders understanding the value of service workers
27:37 – Al explains that leaders aren’t perfect
29:11 – The importance of training
32:34 – Diversity of culture and religion
35:44 – Al speaks to how his company dealt with exponential growth through acquisitions while honoring the four objectives
38:08 – Michael thanks Al for joining the show and for the great work that he’s doing
40:15 – Where listeners can follow Al
41:04 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“I think the whole idea of purpose, meaning and focus is the central idea and then profit is the means by which you do that.” (08:31)
“What happens to a company that has a focus on its employees, its purpose, and its meaning? And what happens when that shifts and becomes about profit?” (11:12)
“He wrote that, ‘ServiceMaster had cracked the code by the way the service industry is perceived because they alone were able to instill purpose, meaning and value into the work of a service worker. It changed the way they saw their work and, therefore, it changed the results for the customer.’” (25:07)
“If you build a system that will only works for perfect leaders, it will fail because there are no perfect leaders.” (28:15)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Al’s LinkedIn
Theology of Work Website
Ethix Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
Al’s Book – The ServiceMaster Story
01:01 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Jack Stack
04:21 – Jack’s origin story and the goal of The Great Game of Business
14:25 – The importance of forward-thinking forecasting
20:29 – The secret sauce of The Great Game of Business
27:50 – The importance of the critical number
34:14 – Jack speaks to a story in his latest book, Change The Game
38:03 – The importance of creating jobs
39:59 – Michael and Jack discuss the value of culture
45:13 – Jack provides some final observations and takeaways on business
49:34 – Jack talks about the state of the economy
53:57 – Michael thanks Jack for joining the show and for the great work that he’s doing
54:23 – Where listeners can follow Jack
56:08 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“I began to realize there’s two ways of leading a company. One is by a product and service and then one is these people look at the company from a totally different set of metrics. I’m trying to make a precision flywheel and they’re trying to make a precision balance sheet.” (07:26)
“If you’re not creating new businesses in your companies right now, your survival’s gonna be very very small in the future.” (21:38)
“If you can forecast, you can actually control the world.” (24:40)
“You need sales. There’s no question you need sales, ok? But sales without margins is just more work.” (33:04)
“Selling EBITDA is like selling a house with only one bathroom.” (39:34)
“When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance.” (45:47)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Jack’s LinkedIn
Jack’s Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
Jack’s Books – The Great Game of Business & Change The Game
Get In The Game
00:54 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Mark Green
03:55 –Coaching for Results vs. Coaching for Growth
07:04 – Michael promotes Mark’s book, Activators
10:29 – Mark speaks to hidden growth killers
17:56 – Universal quantifiers
20:35 – Mark talks about three different types of fear
26:08 – Mark lays out the five symptoms of fear
32:45 – Mark tells the story about his Grandpa Ben and the importance of changing your neighborhood
37:55 – The value Mark places on purposefulness and the link between purpose and strategy
46:13 – Mark speaks to his personal purpose and the process it took to figure it out
50:50 – Michael encourages the audience to pick up a copy of his book, Activators
51:59 – Mark talks about some projects he’s currently working on, including a new book
53:06 – Where listeners can follow Mark
54:00 – Michael thanks Mark for joining the show
54:24 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“When the hidden growth killers are operating and you’re not aware of them, you’re actually not really at choice, right? You’re surrendering choice to operate on your habits, your beliefs, your motivators.” (16:18)
“If you have fear that’s affecting you, there’s no way that you can feel like a great CEO when you know that you’re not addressing the behaviors that actually weaken your business.” (24:02)
“We use logic to justify our thinking. So, we’re typically blind to our fears.” (29:16)
“Often what I’ve observed is we maintain status quo networks, comfort zone networks… And, the truth of the matter is, in many cases, you’ve become among the most expensive houses in all of your neighborhoods. And then you wonder why you’re not growing as fast as you want to grow.” (34:47)
“Purposefulness is a chronically under-utilized resource, often at great expense.” (39:30)
“My purpose is to unlock human potential.” (46:16)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Mark’s LinkedIn
Mark’s Website
Link to Harvard Business Review Article on Purpose
BOOKS MENTIONED
Mark’s Book Website
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
00:58 – Michael introduces today’s guests, Rich Armstrong and Steve Baker
01:41 – Michael promotes Rich and Steve’s latest book, Get In The Game
03:41 – The origin story of The Great Game of Business
08:48 – How Jack Stack began the process of teaching the language of business to his team
12:08 – Steve addresses the concept of open-book management
15:31 – Jack’s philosophy of lifetime hiring
18:16 – Building a dominant workforce
20:49 – How to engage employees to become better business thinkers
24:24 – How scorecarding works
27:39 – Benefits of a company getting into The Great Game
31:58 – Key principles and elements of The Great Game of Business
38:52 – The concept of a self-funded bonus
44:02 – The importance of a healthy culture
51:03 – Why Michael loves to highlight The Great Game of Business
52:06 – Michael thanks Rich and Steve for joining the show and praises the work they’ve done
52:17 – Michael encourages the audience to visit The Great Game of Business website
53:08 – Michael promotes the upcoming Great Game of Business Conference
54:01 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“It [The Great Game of Business] was all about productivity. It was about quality. It was about building a solid product, but not necessarily building a company.” (06:38) (Rich)
“The dominant companies in the next ten years will be those who are dominant with their workforce.” (18:25) (Steve)
“People want to be in the know, and they want to know what they can do to contribute.” (22:55) (Rich)
“If you would have invested a thousand dollars, if you were brave enough to invest a thousand dollars back in 1983, that thousand dollar investment is worth close to eight million dollars in value today.” (29:06) (Rich)
“Business is like a game. To play any game, you gotta know what the goal is. That’s the critical number. And then you have to know what game you’re in so you gotta know and teach the rules. You’ve got to follow the action and keep score.” (34:46) (Rich)
“Let the slackers and the dead weight go work for your competitors.” (46:30) (Steve)
“The company is the product. And, if that’s the case, if the company is indeed the product, building a great company, you will have the best quality, the best service, the best of everything. And that’s a great place to work if you ask me.” (50:03) (Steve)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Rich’s LinkedIn
Steve’s LinkedIn
The Great Game of Business Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
Get In The Game
Change The Game
01:01 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Paul Adams
02:17 – Paul talks about his upcoming book, Your Business Your Wealth
03:55 – Michael speaks to his experience working with CEOs who take a salary that is lower than the market rate
09:15 – Two common mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to valuing their business
11:49 – The danger of not thinking about an exit strategy
16:45 – Michael talks about the ever-expanding role of today’s CEO
18:27 – Paul speaks to interviews he’s done with various financial publications
20:50 – Paul poses an interesting thought experiment to determine financial independence
24:40 – How Sound Financial Group identifies and works with their ideal client
28:41 – The architect example
34:13 – Paul speaks to the purpose of his podcast entitled, Your Business, Your Wealth
37:35 – Paul provides a special offer to listeners of CEO Brain Food
38:04 – Michael thanks Paul for joining the show and praises the work he’s done
40:54 – Michael encourages the audience to visit Paul’s website
41:30 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“All too often, business owners spend most of their time focused on just growing their business. And the more successful their business is, they assume it’s just gonna work out on their personal balance sheet.” (03:43)
“It’s not a competition between what assets you can buy outside your business and how good the return is inside your business. Everybody will agree, the best rate of return you have is in your business just right up until it’s not. And, when it’s not is when you need to be in a position to have financial independence.” (20:01)
“You cannot have financial independence, you cannot retire on the business balance sheet. You have to transmit money from the business’ balance sheet to your personal balance sheet by more than the sale.” (22:07)
“When we make a client an offer, we charge a fee like an architecture does. We build the design. We help you build the blueprints based upon the future that you want. And then, you have the blueprints. You can go implement that yourself.” (28:41)
“Because what we [Sound Financial Group] want to be able to do is have people that are wildly satisfied with us. And what we don’t wanna do is charge a fee to anybody that we didn’t provide significant value in return.” (34:00)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Sound Financial Group’s Website for a Financial Inquiry Call - Info@sfgwa.com (Inquiry in the subject)
Sound Financial Group on Facebook
Sound Financial Group on LinkedIn
Paul’s LinkedIn
Paul’s Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
Sound Financial Advice (Paul’s Book) – Sound Financial Advice: How to Recapture the Money you are Losing and Add it to Your Family's Wealth
00:58 – Michael introduces today’s topic, making purpose central to strategy
02:00 – Michael recalls working for an absent manager whose purpose and values were misaligned
04:07 – Why making money should not be the sole purpose of an organization
05:46 – How the CEO of Michelin incorporated purpose into strategy
07:40 – The rise of entrepreneurship
10:03 – The pursuit of purpose crisis that our society is facing today
11:14 – Risks we face when we do not have a purpose
11:45 – Identifying your quest
12:58 – Attributes of exponential organizations
14:41 – The Massive Transformational Purpose (MTP)
15:31 – Examples of great MTPs
16:06 – The Disney Example
16:56 – What makes Massive Transformational Purposes so powerful and impactful
18:30 – The benefits of capitalism
19:13 – Michael recalls his past interest in starting a medical technology company
21:10 – How Michael found his own purpose
21:55 – Michael leaves the audience with a self-inquiry question to consider
22:08 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“In recent years, purpose has become something that we’re all focused on. But once it’s discovered and articulated, oftentimes it gets relegated to the periphery of the business.” (01:35)
“The idea that making money as a primary goal or purpose, in and of itself, is good and worth pursuing has proven to be man’s downfall since biblical times.” (04:07)
“Purpose is no longer just the foundation stone or integral part of the DNA of your company. Today, purpose is becoming central to strategy.” (05:35)
“Today, the facts are, seventy-five new businesses start every hour, unbelievably. And eight out of ten of them fail in the first eighteen months.” (08:15)
“Many aspiring entrepreneurs are leaving the so called ‘security’ of their jobs – and I say that in quotes – in favor of working for themselves in pursuit of a dream. People are attracted to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur because of a deeper yearning for a sense of purpose.” (10:08)
“The truth is we all have a desire for purpose. It’s that thirst for a mission, a yearning for a quest, and then to fulfill it. Having a sense of purpose gives us a better chance at having a longer life than almost anything else.” (11:27)
“A Massive Transformative Purpose…is bigger than a mission statement. It’s why you do what you do, why you get up in the morning, and why your organization exists. It’s a higher aspirational purpose and it’s about thinking big.” (14:42)
“‘Delivering Happiness’ as a purpose for Disney at the central of strategy in that company has allowed that company to branch out from cartoons and animations all the way through to theme parks, animated movies, film, and many other divisions and revenue streams.” (16:10)
“The MTP acts as a guiding compass when decisions get made. It actually helps to lower transaction costs. And, this is critical to culture and I have to really emphasize this, it depoliticizes the organization.” (18:14)
“I would quote Sir Richard [Branson] by saying that, ‘When the dreams don’t scare you, then your dreams are too small.’” (21:45)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Strategy + Business Article featuring Jean-Dominique Senard
TEDx Video on Entrepreneurship featuring Mark Leruste
Entrepreneur Magazine Article featuring Salim Ismail
BOOKS MENTIONED
Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it)
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
00:53 – Michael introduces today’s guest, Daniel Marcos
02:47 – Why everything starts and ends with the CEO
05:10 – Daniel speaks to why the strength of the founder usually becomes the weakness of the company
07:12 – Level Five Leaders
09:39 – The Southwest Airlines example
10:56 – Daniel’s entrepreneurial journey
16:50 – The importance of coaching
20:45 – Daniel speaks to his fundraising prowess
25:39 – Keeping up with the speed of scaling as a CEO
30:01 – The decision to leave his company, travel, and go back to school
32:13 – Daniel opens up about his mortgage company that failed in 2008
35:21 – Building the Growth Institute
37:44 – The value of learning through reading
39:14 – The importance of self-care
40:41 – Stages of growth
45:39 – Understanding that business plans change
46:04 – The second growth stage: sales
48:47 – The third growth stage: scaling and infrastructure
51:13 – The fourth growth stage: dominating your industry
52:03 – Differentiating between being an employee and owner of a company
54:56 – Michael and Daniel discuss core values
59:20 – Michael encourages the audience to visit Daniel’s website
59:50 – Daniel talks about his Master of Business Dynamics Program
1:02:37 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
1:02:52 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“Usually what I’ve found is the strength of the founder becomes the weakness of the company.” (05:16)
“We as coaches need coaches. We cannot coach ourselves.” (19:46)
“So whenever you’re doing something you want to do, something that is a challenge, you do it well. When you see it as a problem, then you’re gonna do it well.” (31:16)
“And, by the way, the more I learn and the more exercise I do in the morning, the better day I have after.” (39:01)
“People believe they can do a business plan and they’re going to execute the business plan exactly as they thought. No way.” (45:39)
“So that’s when you begin scaling, after sixteen to twenty employees. And you have to build and invest in infrastructure. And then you have to align and simplify the operation.” (50:12)
“The only way to bypass this growth is really throwing a lot of money to fix mistakes and problems.” (57:30)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Daniel’s LinkedIn
Daniel’s Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm
00:58 – Michael recaps the last few episodes of CEO Brain Food
01:29 – Introducing today’s topic: Three Execution Disciplines
03:25 – The strategy horizon
05:09 – Discipline One: Priorities
06:51 – Discipline Two: Data Metrics
10:25 – Creating a mini game to identify the critical number
11:19 – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
13:28 – Discipline Three: Communication Rhythms
15:59 – The value of operating as a team
16:54 – Line item ownership
18:32 – The weekly huddle
20:46 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
21:05 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“I like to think of strategy in a three-year planning horizon. Thirty-six months, twelve quarters, three years. That’s your strategy horizon.” (03:25)
“So, if we have an aspirational differentiator out there – something that we’re not doing today that we need to be doing in the future to be different than our competition – then it follows that we need to be working on elements of that differentiator today in the current year.” (05:39)
“Your activities in the organization should all be focused on improving or driving one primary objective in the current period that is critical to the ongoing success of the organization.” (06:38)
“People support what they help create.” (09:07)
“The right KPI is a number that directly influences that critical number and is gonna help predict the outcome.” (11:24)
“It’s important to understand that the daily meeting is not a problem-solving session. Instead, it provides an opportunity each day at a specific time for the team to communicate with each other on specific topics.” (14:53)
“With empathetic listening, we’re building trust on the team which is a very very powerful concept.” (16:18)
“Make no mistake about it. The CEO is the metronome that will help you achieve your objectives and make your goals and help you scale your company.” (20:06)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
KPI Library
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Podcast production by FullCast
01:09 – Introducing today’s topic: Driving Growth with KPIs
01:33 – Reinforcing the importance of tracking your critical number
02:28 – Defining the critical number
07:12 – Michael invites listeners to take a moment to reflect on their critical number
07:44 – The factors that influence and drive positive action towards your critical number
11:24 – The importance of financial literacy
13:21 – The Weekly Huddle
15:18 – Sharing the profits
17:54 – The importance of execution
20:13 – Developing KPIs
20:58 – Michael articulates the difference between accountability and responsibility
23:36 – The value in forecasting critical numbers in advance
25:02 – Michael provides examples of leading indicator concepts
26:25 – KPIs, priorities, forecasting and measuring
29:38 – The Five Scoreboards
32:13 – The importance of setting goals that will make organizations stronger
33:27 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
33:38 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“The critical number provides a focus on what’s most important. And, in fact, it’s the determining factor critical to the company’s success.” (03:35)
“The driver is a number that directly influences the critical number.” (10:55)
“You want your people to be engaged in forecasting the number. You want them to really own that number.” (12:05)
“You want to be sharing with the employees the profit that they help you create, but only after a threshold level of profit is made.” (15:18)
“The critical number is what you want to achieve. The drivers are how it’s going to be achieved.” (17:17)
“When we’re developing the KPIs, first we want to identify the problem to be solved or we want to identify an opportunity that we’re going to leverage.” (20:13)
“Accountability cannot be delegated, but responsibility can.” (20:54)
“What gets measured gets done.” (30:16)
“The critical number provides us a learning opportunity that becomes part of our everyday process of running the business. Everyone in the company should know the critical number.” (33:08)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Jim Collins' Website
Four Characteristics of a Strong Critical Number
🎙️🎙️🎙️
Podcast production by FullCast
01:02 – Introducing today’s topic: Do You Know Your Critical Number?
02:17 – Michael speaks to his own experience working with his CFO on his critical number
03:48 – The Mariano Rivera example
05:30 – The value of historical data
07:30 – Identifying the critical number
10:02 – Engaging your team to achieve your critical number
11:17 – The Great Game of Business
13:05 – Other strategies for engaging your people
14:00 – The importance of educating your people on the business
17:50 – Michael leaves the audience with a quote from Jack Stack
18:42 – Michael poses a self-inquiry questions to the listeners
19:17 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
19:46 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“We have numbers available to us at a moment’s notice, the tip of our fingers. Numbers are everywhere, and leaders use them in tracking progress and making important decisions.” (03:37)
“With so much information, we tend to lose focus and it just is all foggy and it runs together.” (06:44)
“I like to think of the critical number as the one number that represents the important variable we have to get right in order for our organization to succeed.” (07:40)
“A great way to engage your people is to connect the data that you’ve got to a benefit such as a bonus, or some type of reward, or even equity in the form of stock and stock options.” (13:05)
“At ‘Great Game,’ the critical number is defined as an operational or financial number that represents a weakness or vulnerability that, if not addressed and corrected, will negatively impact the overall performance and long term security of the business.” (17:19)
“People support what they help create.” (17:57)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Jim Collins' Website
Four Characteristics of a Strong Critical Number
BOOKS MENTIONED
Get In The Game: How To Create Rapid Financial Results And Lasting Cultural Change
The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
🎙️🎙️🎙️
Podcast production by FullCast
01:56 – Introducing today’s topic: Creating a Living Culture with Authentic Leadership
02:10 – Defining what we mean by ‘culture’
05:35 – The Theranos Example
07:12 – Culture as a differentiator
08:12 – Understanding your core values
10:19 – The Zappos Example
12:22 – Why leadership is key to culture
14:19 – Authentic leadership defined
16:17 – The importance of building trust
18:08 – The Operations vs. Sales Example
19:24 – Taking a financial hit in order to retain the integrity of core values
20:30 – Characteristics of an authentic leader
21:34 – Finding your purpose
22:34 – The Disney Example
24:56 – Michael reiterates the importance of differentiating yourself through authentic leadership
27:29 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
27:58 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“To me, culture is your combination of your core values, your purpose, and the direction your company is taking.” (02:23)
“When you have a great culture, it can be a differentiator in the market.” (04:23)
“Be thinking about culture as a way to be different, a way to differentiate yourself.” (07:12)
“Leadership creates culture. So, if you’re the CEO, your job is to articulate why your company exists, what it stands for, what it believes in, and what it values and especially where it’s headed.” (12:22)
“To build trust you need to be vulnerable. You need to be able to say, ‘Gee, I don’t know the answer to that question. Let’s do some research and figure this out.’” (16:17)
“The authentic leader is gonna show what they do and how they do it by consistently demonstrating with their own behaviors – their words and actions – their commitment to the core values and the core purpose of the company.” (20:30)
“By choosing true authenticity, your team is going to have more confidence in you.” (26:46)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The REMARKable Triangle
The Functional Team Scorecard
Jim Collins' Website
BOOKS MENTIONED:
Organizational Culture and Leadership
Built to Last
01:10 – Welcoming back today’s guest, Blaine Millet
04:08 – Blaine poses an intriguing question about customers
05:24 – Results companies can expect by adopting a strategy of customer obsession
06:36 – Building long tail differentiation
08:02 – The Disneyland example
09:52 – The Ace Hardware example
11:05 – Michael dives deeper into the Disneyland example
11:53 – How a company can start the journey to customer obsession
13:30 – The ‘REMARK’able Triangle explained
16:22 – Component One: Trust
19:59 – Customer Anxiety explained
22:19 – Component Two: Customer Experience
24:04 – Component Three: Consistently helping your audience
26:23 – Blaine reiterates his belief that companies should stop marketing
28:17 – Finding your core customers
31:13 – Blaine’s favorite strategy for acquiring the right customers
36:10 – Blaine leaves the audience with one final piece of advice
38:57 – Where listeners can follow Blaine
39:54 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
40:13 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“The one thing I like companies to think about is to ask yourself, ‘What are the pain points in your business that you wanna solve?’” (06:02)
“Well it’s [Disneyland] the happiest place on Earth because, when you go there, they treat you so incredibly well. They obsess over every guest that show up at Disneyland.” (09:30)
“There is no one, and I mean no one, on the planet that will ever advocate for you or be your marketing agent if they don’t trust you.” (16:32)
“For all the ‘Attaboys’ you earn, you need about a hundred ‘Attaboys’ cause every one ‘Ah shit’ wiped out all hundred ‘Attaboys.’” (19:11)
“Not all money is good money.” (29:34)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The REMARKable Triangle
The Functional Team Scorecard
Jim Collins' Website
Blaine’s LinkedIn
Blaine’s Website
01:02 – Introducing today’s guest, Blaine Millet
02:45 – Focusing on customers
06:42 – The importance of differentiation
11:18 – The Holy Grail of customer obsession
14:29 – Why Blaine advocates for organizations to stop marketing
17:45 – Strategies to get customers to talk about your organization with others
19:48 – How customer obsession ties into the culture of a company
21:19 – The Zappos example
25:23 – Blaine provides some advice on building the right culture
29:15 – The Florida Ritz-Carlton Story
34:10 – Michael teases Part Two of his interview with Blaine Millet
35:10 – Where to find Michael’s Functional Team Scorecard
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“That’s the magic of customer obsession. If you’re so over the top obsessed with your customers, your customers are so over the top happy with you that they’re more than happy and actually will go out of their way to be an advocate for you.” (12:44)
“Stop marketing. Your customers are dying to do it for you.” (14:49)
“Customer obsession is synonymous with culture.” (20:56)
“Why don’t we go out and look at ‘How would this impact our customer positively, negatively or no change at all?’ And let’s bring that back and discuss it before we make a decision.” (28:42)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
The Functional Team Scorecard
Jim Collins' Website
Blaine’s LinkedIn
Blaine’s Website
00:57 – Introducing today’s topic, building a culture of trust
04:36 – The importance of trust
05:28 – The three pillars of an organization
07:19 – The five key points of culture
07:32 – One: Find and Defend Your Cores
09:38 – Two: Build Authentic Relationships
13:27 – Three: Lead Transparently
16:14 – Four: Develop a System of Feedback
18:12 – The Rule of One Percent
19:37 – Five: Be Present
21:36 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“I like to think of an organization with three pillars. It’s like a three-legged stool. You have strategy, you have structure and you have culture.” (05:38)
“Culture is descending. It starts at the top and must be promoted and literally kept alive by the leader and the leadership team.” (06:53)
“How you define and defends your cores will often determine your ability to grow and scale your business.” (08:08)
“The deeper that your relationship is with those that you’re leading, the more effective you’ll be in leading them.” (10:55)
“Leadership and trust go hand in hand. They’re very interrelated and both are about relationship.” (13:31)
“There’s not a greater impact that you can have on an organization or a company than when you hire someone, or evaluate someone’s performance, or coach them.” (15:50)
“The Rule of One Percent recognizes that at least one percent of what the person is saying is probably true.” (18:19)
“We know that trust takes a lifetime to build and can be destroyed in a moment. That is so true. The culture of trust in a company needs to be proactively established by leadership and consistently applied day-to-day in personal behaviors and actions.” (20:25)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
Jim Collins' Website
BOOKS MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST
Organizational Culture and Leadership
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
01:01 – Introducing today’s topic, Multiplier or Diminisher (Leadership Styles)
01:58 – Michael recalls his experiences working with both multiplier and diminisher kind of leaders
06:09 – A Diminisher Leader Mindset
07:09 – A Multiplier Leader Mindset
09:10 – Closing the gap between “where we are” and “where we want to go”
12:47 – Diminisher leaders create anxiety
15:01 – Multipliers are “debate makers” not “decision makers”
15:43 – Five distinguished characteristics of a Multiplier
16:05 – A Multiplier Leader is a talent magnet
17:02 – A Multiplier Leader is a liberator
18:34 – A Multiplier Leader is a challenger
19:57 – A Multiplier Leader is a debate maker
20:47 – A Multiplier Leader is an investor
25:04 – The impact of shifting to a Multiplier Leadership style
27:23 – Michael leaves the audience with a question to consider
27:48 – The topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“A Diminisher is a leader or manager whose view of intelligence is based on elitism and scarcity.” (06:12)
“A Multiplier assumes that there are smart people everywhere who will figure out problems and become even smarter in the process.”(07:09)
“Multipliers are the talent magnet, the liberator, the challenger, the debate maker and the investor.” (15:53)
“A liberator creates space for people to step up and also feels safe to fail.” (17:54)
“How smart you are is defined by how clearly you can see the intellect of others.” - John Brandon, Director of Int’l Sales at Apple Inc. (18:22)
“The challengers are going to be pushing their teams beyond their own knowledge and beyond the knowledge of the organization.” (19:25)
“Multipliers give other people the investment and ownership they need to produce results independent of the leader. It’s not servant leadership but it’s open leadership.” (24:14)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
BOOK'S MENTIONED
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great)
00:51 – Introducing today’s topic, “The 3HAG Way” planning system
01:13 – Background of Shannon Susko
03:01 – How 3HAG System bridges the gap between 1-year goal and BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) System
05:38 – An anecdote from General Dwight Eisenhower
08:18 – The significance of aligning your team to the core values of the organization to effectively build enterprise value
10:51 – Mapping out your internal and external environments
14:14 – How Market Attribution Framework is used to generate the core of your 3-Year Strategy
16:43 – Articulating exceptional strategies to fill in the gap
17:21 – Plotting concrete milestone steps to achieve the differentiators
19:20 – Assessing your current human resources versus the requirements you need to meet to accomplish the 3-Year Goal Strategy
21:29 – The Cash Conversion Cycle
22:53 – Michael leaves the audience with a quote
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“You get out what you put in.” (02:09)
“In preparing for battle, I’ve always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower (05:30)
“Preparation is everything but when the plan is put to the test we must be prepared for variances that are out of our control.” (07:41)
“If we’re clear about our foundations, then we can be more effectively able to withstand events and adjust the variables that threaten our efforts to build enterprise value.” (08:52)
“Strategy is about being different” (16:21)
“When there is no vision the people will perish”. Proverbs 29:18 (22:59)
RESOURCE LINKS
Shannon Susko
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
BOOK'S MENTIONED
Built to Last by Jim Collins
5 Dysfunctions of a team by Patrick Lenconi
01:01 – Introducing today’s topic, coaching
01:41 – The preconceived notions about coaching
02:46 – The importance Michael places on reading
06:13 – Why everyone needs a coach
07:12 – Attributes of a great coach
09:15 – The golf example
09:51 – A compelling argument for having a coach
10:58 – How Michael views potential client needs
12:17 – Bill Campbell: The Trillion Dollar Coach
15:57 – The importance of having courage as a leader
18:47 – The communication rhythm within an organization
20:31 – Roles and responsibilities of a great coach
21:08 – Michael leaves the audience with a simple question to consider about coaching
21:21 – Michael recalls a recent client call he participated in
22:39 – The three-year swim lane plan
24:36 – Why everyone needs a coach
25:09 – The three areas of leadership: power, influence, and authority
25:43 – Considerations to make before hiring a coach
26:07 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
26:33 – Harry encourages the audience to share this podcast with others
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“Warren Buffet reads three hours a day. Bill Gates reads a book every two weeks. Mark Zuckerberg the same thing.” (03:35)
“As leaders, we cannot operate in a vacuum. What I’ve really come to discover is that we can’t do this ourselves. Everyone needs a coach.” (06:05)
“I had an old boss one time that was very fond of saying, ‘Hey, we need to step on the shoes without messing up the shine.’” (06:39)
“For any important endeavor, learning from the people who have found the recipe for success can take you to a higher performance level faster than any other known effort.” (09:05)
“This was probably Bill Campbell’s primary differentiator: getting people to work together, breaking down silos. He always advised his coaches that they need great people in the world of product creation.” (15:00)
“Consensus dumbs down the ideas and does not get you to the best option when you’re considering a series of options. What you want is deep debate, healthy debate, constructive criticism and healthy arguing.” (15:25)
“A coach helps to spot the gaps in performance, identifies behaviors that increase or reduce entropy within the organization.” (17:32)
“One of the favorite quotes that I have of Bill Campbell’s is ‘You may have a title of manager, but your people are gonna decide if you’re their leader’” (20:58)
“It’s very important to realize that you don’t have all the answers and be willing to accept that a coach can take you to a higher level.” (24:50)
“If you’re able to influence others, and you look over your shoulder and you find that people are following you, then you might consider yourself a leader at that point.” (25:35)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
Jim Collins' Website
The Future of Leadership Development Article
BOOK'S MENTIONED
Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell
01:12 – Introducing today’s topic, How Do You Scale Leadership
03:43 – Michael recalls a leader he met early in his career
08:18 – The value Michael places on humility
09:55 – Michael speaks to a recent article he read from Harvard Business Review
11:00 – The Simon Sinek Video
13:47 – Leadership is a choice
14:23 – What makes a great leader
15:04 – Defining leadership through alignment, execution, and renewal
15:55 – Leading through behaviors
18:42 – Michael provides steps for scaling leadership
18:49 – Step One: Perform a talent assessment
20:25 – Step Two: Present a clearly articulated perspective of strategy
21:12 – Step Three: Identifying who needs to be involved and actively engaged in the leadership program
21:38 – Step Four: Ensure all systems that are in place support the change effort you’re looking to make
21:57 – The Great Game of Business
23:06 – Michael leaves the audience with some questions to reflect on
23:34 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“What got ya here won’t get ya there.” (01:31)
“It’s not the leader’s job to be friends, but it’s the leader’s job to understand the comings and goings of his or her people that are reporting to them and to lead them.” (06:37)
“It starts at the top. Poor leadership creates a very toxic culture. The good news is great leaders can have a positive influence on outcomes, especially in a shifting strategic environment.” (08:57)
“Leadership is a choice, not a rank.” (13:47)
“Behavioral accountability precedes results.” (16:03)
“Most companies do not articulate their strategy and do not teach their strategy to their people. Their strategy is something that is held in the minds and hearts of the CEO and leadership team. And even then it can be confusing.” (20:44)
“Leadership is like swimming. You cannot learn it from books. Ultimately, you must get in the water.” (23:00)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
Jim Collins' Website
The Future of Leadership Development Article
Circle of Safety Simon Sinek Video
BOOK'S MENTIONED
Leadership at Scale: Better leadership, better results
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Who
The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
01:00 – Introducing today’s topic, Leading High Performance Cohesive Teams
03:50 – How the size of the team impacts its cohesive state
05:31 – Michael speaks to a leadership retreat he recently attended
06:26 – The importance of being present
09:40 – John Maxwell’s Five Levels of Leadership
10:46 – Hiring the right people
11:33 – Turning the hockey match into the ballet
13:42 – How a CEO can develop a highly functional and cohesive team
16:18 – Tools for developing emotional intelligence
18:05 – The cultural norm of interruption
19:19 – Six key points for leading high performing cohesive teams
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“There’s power, there’s influence, and there’s authority. Those are the three things that you have as a leader.” (09:15)
“It’s people, product and processes. Those are the three ‘P’s.” (11:16)
“Our job as leaders is to articulate the vision so that it is crystal clear, make sure that everybody in the company understands the core values and the purpose of the company – the vision of it, where are we headed – and continually reinforce that through time with everybody.” (12:49)
“Conflict is nothing more than the pursuit of truth if you have a trusting relationship.” (20:58)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
Jim Collins Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Field Guide for Leaders, Managers, and Facilitators
00:56 – Introducing today’s topic, Business Acceleration by Design
04:30 – Attribution Framework
05:35 – Acceleration and the Flywheel
07:04 – How Vanguard utilized the Flywheel
09:29 – Intel and Moore’s Law
11:47 – The medical device industry
13:09 – How cash is a vehicle for business growth
14:53 – Amazon’s cash conversion cycle
15:54 – The four components of the cash conversion cycle
19:35 – Exponential Organizations
21:16 – How thinking big can lead to creating a legacy
22:38 – Eleven attributes of an EXO company
28:06 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“The definition of strategy is a unique and valuable position that’s been established that’s different from the competitors.” (04:02)
“Once we grasp how to create Flywheel momentum in our particular circumstance and apply that understanding with creativity and discipline, we get the power of strategic compounding.” (06:37)
“Cash is absolutely the fuel for growth, a primary one. And, we know that growth really drains cash.” (13:20)
“To achieve exponential growth, you must first think really big.” (20:18)
“If your ‘why’ doesn’t give you goosebumps, then you probably have some more work to do on it.” (23:14)
“The fastest growing and best EXOs leverage data and algorithms to scale in ways that are possible today that weren’t possible even five years ago.” (24:43)
“Uber is the largest taxi company in the world and they don’t have any taxis. Airbnb is the largest hotel chain in the world and they don’t own any properties.” (25:07)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
Jim Collins Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance
Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
The Metronome Effect: The Journey To Predictable Profit
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it)
00:49 – Introducing today’s topic, Do You Have the Right Talent
01:26 – Why this is such an important topic in the early stages of a company’s growth
02:16 – The People Equation
02:55 – Developing the skillset necessary to identify the correct talent
04:39 – Growing and scaling a business
06:10 – Challenges growing companies face when looking to add talent
08:49 – Top Grading
09:56 – How Zappos’ culture became a magnet for new employees
10:47 – Why some companies fall asleep at the wheel when it comes to hiring talent
15:24 – The six core competencies of hiring a team
17:35 – The importance of responsibility
19:18 – Consistency
20:34 – The power of saying ‘No’
22:26 – Why the right people do not require micro-management
24:57 – Mirror Maturity
26:17 – Developing a set of core values
30:08 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“If you can think broadly about skills versus passion and alignment, those two things are critical in determining whether or not a person is going to be successful in the position or in the company.” (03:17)
“The more people that you have on your team that believe in what you’re doing and have passion about it, the more successful you’re gonna be.” (06:01)
“It’s often proven that the A performers, the best people that are highly productive and very much aligned with what you’re doing, they have a network and they like to hang around other A performers.” (09:37)
“If you begin with ‘who’ rather than ‘what’ you can adapt more readily to the ever-changing marketplace. If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of motivating and managing people largely goes away. With the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction. You still won’t have a great company.” (14:09)
“If you feel the need to be tightly managed then maybe you’re the wrong choice for the company or the job.” (23:11)
“Nothing great ever happens unless it is fueled by passion and passionate people.” (24:50)
“I would just, in summary, say develop you’re core values first and build a set of core values for your company.” (26:17)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
Jim Collins Website
Knowledge at Wharton Video Series
BOOKS MENTIONED
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
01:06 – Introducing today’s topic, Authentic Leadership
02:29 – The need to reinforce the value of leadership
05:04 – The role trust plays in effective leadership
06:08 – How leadership can be taught
07:46 – Michael defines Authentic Leadership
08:31 – Modern examples of authentic leaders
10:20 – Michael identifies Bill George as a model of authentic leadership
11:54 – Understanding your core values
13:39 – Tony Hsieh and Zappos
14:33 – Additional resources for leaders looking to improve their skills
16:18 – The importance of body language
16:59 – Cleaning out any unethical behavior
18:14 – Removing perks
20:14 – Leading and living the core values and the purpose of the company
20:47 – Being authentic
23:39 – Finding your purpose
24:57 – Learning to follow your passion
25:59 – The value of having a mentor who can teach you
27:35 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“I look back in history and it seems like there’s a frequency. Like, every eight or ten years some major group of companies at the top level have a struggle in this area.” (03:15)
“Trust, as they say, takes a lifetime to build and a minute to destroy.” (05:43)
“I think that leadership can be taught. I think it can be modeled. I think it can be mentored. I think it can be broken down into some very basic parts.” (07:28)
“That’s why I say authentic leadership I think is the one type of leader that is gonna get followed.” (07:46)
“Your body language is everything. And that’s true whether you’re running a five person company or a fifty-thousand person company.” (16:37)
“There’s nothing worse than an executive that has their door closed all day long.” (19:51)
“To me, culture is defined by core values, purpose, and your vision of the company.” (20:24)
“It’s very important to find your purpose in life and your purpose for being in the company. If you don’t know what that is, you’re going to be wandering through life.” (23:48)
“Seek a new name, a higher level than you are in life, and go introduce yourself to that person and ask them to mentor you. That means you have to humble yourself a bit and put your ego aside, because yes you do have room to grow.” (26:22)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
Knowledge at Wharton Video Series
BOOKS MENTIONED
Discover Your True North
Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value
01:05 – Introducing today’s topic, Competitive Advantage
04:09 – How to differentiate from competitors
06:03 – Identifying your core customer
08:43 – The Southwest Airlines example
11:06 – Attribution Framework Analysis
14:59 – Why companies struggle to implement this framework
17:39 – A common mistake many mid-market companies make
18:20 – The importance of the emotional experience
21:00 – Questions companies can consider as they begin the process of identifying their core competency
22:28 – Michael teases the topic of the next episode of CEO Brain Food
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“He defines strategy as the creation of a unique and valuable position involving a different set of activities from your competitors.” (04:37)
“Understanding your core competencies and understanding who it is that you really want to do business with and what it is you’re delivering to them, your uncommon offering, allows you to invest in those strengths and leverage them, which are differentiators.” (08:05)
“What you’re looking for are those attributes that are not well represented by any competitor. Those are the opportunity areas for you to move in and differentiate and be unique.” (13:06)
“This is like turning a ship, a big ocean liner out in the ocean. You can’t turn it on a dime, right? It takes a couple of miles to really change course and it takes a lot of effort.” (15:37)
“Start thinking about your transactions as satisfying an emotional experience.” (18:20)
“When you have something that’s uncommon and unique in the marketplace, you’re really the king of the mountain. I mean you can control your destiny a lot better.” (20:43)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance
The Inside Advantage: The Strategy that Unlocks the Hidden Growth in Your Business
3HAG WAY: The Strategic Execution System that ensures your strategy is not a Wild-Ass-Guess!
00:51 – Introducing the host of CEO Brain Food, Michael Langhout
01:18 – The inspiration for this week’s topic, the War for Talent
03:00 – How unemployment has changed over the past few decades
04:02 – The importance of anticipating disruption
06:25 – How the demographic change has affected the ways in which companies hire
07:52 – Adapt or die
08:41 – Culture
10:06 – Companies Michael admires for their culture
11:57 – Talent Assessments
13:37 – The specific methodology Michael uses for talent assessment
16:12 – The biggest surprises companies encounter when Topgrading
20:11 – The importance of viewing workers as learners
22:14 – Harry introduces a new segment: Three Resources
22:44 – The Article Resource
23:42 – The Video Resource
26:04 – The Book Resource
28:30 – Michael leaves the audience with some food for thought
TWEETABLE QUOTES
“The economy is robust. The economy is growing rapidly. And, in fact, to match the growth of the economy, if your company is going to be growing, you’re going to be needing to add a lot of people over the next twelve to eighteen months.” (03:24)
“You want your culture to be your brand. In other words, you’d want it to be like a magnet attracting talent from the marketplace for prospective employees.” (08:56)
“It’s the quality of the product that you’re dealing with here. And, you want the best, the very highest quality that you possibly can get for the money that you’re paying.” (19:41)
“Our target is to have one of these podcasts on a topic that is of interest at least a couple of times a month, if not more frequently. I look forward to talking about these topics. They’re exciting, they’re important and they’re very helpful to companies that are trying to grow.” (28:06)
RESOURCE LINKS
Michael’s LinkedIn
Michael’s Website
BOOKS MENTIONED
The Zappos Culture Book –
The War For Talent Article
Topgrading (How To Hire, Coach and Keep A Players)
VIDEO: Jack Stack
New episodes and full show notes available at https://www.langhoutinternational.com/podcast