For You Leaders - Business And Leadership Podcast Featuring Kirk Dando

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.” Abraham LincolnKirk is on vacation this week. He’s taking some time to “sharpen his axe” so he can be a healthier more productive husband, father, friend, and leader. It’s hard for any leader to disconnect, but it’s even harder to deal with the consequences of not taking time for true self-care. Learn and grow from 9 award-winning CEOs, esteemed journalists, and overall great people about how they think about slowing down to speed up in this special podcast we produced to help you. 

“Ideas are great… but they are only as good as the people executing them.” Sean Spector, CEO + Founder Of Dropoff It’s almost a foregone conclusion - if you set the strategy and keep measuring it, it will all work out. However, a mediocre strategy with an amazing, aligned team will beat the brilliant strategy with a mediocre team almost every single time. The problem can be counterintuitive. We have all kinds of metrics and measurements to see how the business is performing, but we often neglect the most important metric to executing our strategy: how are our people doing (both personally and professionally)? That’s what today’s episode is all about: how to increase velocity by knowing how your people are doing through impactful 1-on-1s.

Working closely with leaders and their organizations, I hear a ton of myths around strategy. Many people have a strong opinion on what they think will (or will not) work when it comes to developing and executing their growth strategy. For example, “OKRs don’t work… We have to get everyone aligned to these goals… We need to set stretch goals... We have too many meetings... We need a 10-year vision...” The list goes on and on. Today, I’m not only going to dispel some common misunderstandings around developing and executing strategy, but I am also going to share the best practices learned from some of the world’s best strategists and CEOs.

The best gift you can give yourself, your team, your investors, your customers, and your organization is the ability to execute. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Execution of those ideas is where dimes turn into fortunes.

Today you’ll learn how other successful CEOs and their teams make sure their strategy comes alive through an unlikely process. You will see how to move your team beyond compliance to commitment (to the plan) with 1 key question. This 1 key question will drive clarity and desired alignment to execute in 2021.

What confidence level do you have in your 2021 strategy? Will it be executed with the quality, timeliness, and budget you have promised to your investors, customers, and team members? In the latest For You Leaders podcast series, “Call the Shot, Make the Shot,” I will share the best practices around strategy from some of the world’s fastest-growing companies, like Amazon, HomeAway, Dropoff, and many others.

It’s true. NOTHING KILLS FASTER THAN SUCCESS.That’s because success has a way of masking the issues that rob an organization of its full potential. Every healthy business matures through 3 distinct stages of growth with different characteristics and problems at each stage. If you are successful, you will grow yourself into problems. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to know which stage of growth your organization is in. You must be able to predict and prepare for the journey ahead so you don’t stall out - or worse.In the Velocity Vector Series’s final chapter, I will unpack exactly what happens as a company scales. I’ll also explain the two critical inflection points in every growing business and what you need to do as a leader to solve the crucial Warning Signs of Success that growth causes in every healthy organization. 

The goal of the Velocity Vector is to provide you with a framework and the mindset needed to achieve Decision Velocity. Although Decision Velocity sounds provocative and like something you should have, what is Decision Velocity? More importantly, why is it the unspoken goal of every leader, yet so elusive?

As we approach Thanksgiving, we wanted to re-release one of our most popular podcasts ever. By any measure, 2020 has been a challenging year. That’s why it’s even more important than ever to focus on today’s subject: gratitude. It may sound tone-deaf, but gratitude is a healing tool with an incredible impact on my life and so many others. Furthermore, science proves an attitude of gratitude will literally rewire your brain for success - even in a year like 2020, and all the time. Listen to this special episode of The For You Leaders podcast all about how you can start this powerful practice in your life.

One of the top five things I’ve heard over the last 25 years when I start working with a CEO and their team is, “We are not aligned,” or “We want to be better aligned.” Why does it matter? More importantly, are you, your team, and the organization aligned? If you’re not as aligned as you want to be, what would be different? What problems would it solve or how would your life be improved? This episode of the For You Leaders podcast is all about alignment: why and how the healthiest organizations prioritize and achieve true alignment. Download the tools and graphics discussed in this episode at http://TheVelocityVector.com

Here is one thing experience taught me: your plan will never go 100% according to plan. It doesn’t matter how perfect you think your plan is or how sophisticated your plan is. It doesn’t even matter how much time, effort or energy you put into planning. However, in this episode, you’ll learn a framework to help your team think independently and adjust, even when your plan doesn’t go according to plan.

Does everything feel like it is moving too slow in your organization, including growth? Do you feel ready to accelerate into and throughout the new year? What are the stress levels for you, your team, your business, and at home? If you and your team are looking for ways to speed up growth and slow down stress, this podcast will show you the best practices used by some of the world's most successful leaders. This is not hyperbole, what we share represents the consolidation of 11,000 different conversations over 25+ years. *** Be sure to download the Velocity Vector + Velocity Vector Leadership Guide at http://TheVelocityVector.com ***

We continue our conversation with David Hassell, the CEO and Founder of 15Five. While 15Five is a software platform built to administer the 5-15 Framework, the secret to their success lies in building conditions of trust. We dive deep into the ways a simple framework (don’t worry, no software is required) is really a secret weapon to build trust and build physiological safety. This is especially important in today’s ever-changing environment.

Today we dive into a framework called “the most important 15 mins of any employees’ workweek” - the 5-15. Our guest, David Hassell, is the founder of 15Five. His company expanded the 5-15 concept to inspire greater performance within individuals, teams and organizations. In this episode, David explains the idea behind 5-15s, why they are so powerful and how you can start using the concepts today.15Five is offering its service for free until June 15, conditions apply. For more information, visit: http://foryouleaders.com/15five

Brett Hurt, co-founder and CEO of data.world, joins us on today’s episode. He provides his unique perspective on leading and communicating during difficult times. Brett has learned from both major breakthroughs as well as major breakdowns: from taking a company public (Bazaarvoice) to his experience in the middle of the dot-com but (Coremetrics). In this episode, Brett authentically shares his experience to help you become a better leader. Visit ForYouLeaders.com for links to all the resources shared.

This social episode was taken from a live Q&A we did in our Private Facebook Group for the executives we work with. Suzi Sosa, the founder and CEO of Verb, joined the group to explain her unique perspectives and approach to leadership - especially in this uncertain time. She covers a wide range of topics from how her leadership team has responded to how her customers (like Facebook, CHANEL, Bumble and Whole Foods) are responding to how she’s changed her focus from managing her time, to managing her energy.

For this special edition of the For You Leaders Podcast, we focus on another way you can improve your leadership and be a force multiplier, especially in this time of uncertainty. By studying the patterns of great leaders from the past, as well as working closely with thousands of leaders, we have identified a short list of priorities the most admired leaders have consistently used to navigate through difficult times. Today, Kirk is going to share the number one priority of every great leader, both past and present.

Today we bring you another special episode of The For You Leaders Podcast. Today Kirk is going to share a very simple, yet powerful, tool leaders use during uncertain times called “The Commander’s Intent.” It’s so simple, you can start using it today. Listen in as we discuss how to lead during uncertain times by using the power of Commander’s Intent.Don't miss the previous episode in this series where we discussed more about how to lead during uncertain times, as today’s world is changing and presenting challenges, globally, at a scale and pace greater than anything any of us has experienced - due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Are you a leader struggling or thinking about how to be leading during uncertain times with Coronavirus / COVID-19 ? If so, we wanted to hit pause and talk about what it means to be leading during uncertain times and the significance of being intentional and leading well. There’s no hype, just perspective on what we’re seeing with the CEOs we have the chance to work with on a daily basis. Let’s hit pause and talk about the importance of your leadership in this uncertain time. 

Today, we continue the conversation around product development with Christopher O’Donnell, Chief Product Officer at Hubspot and Ash Devata, Head of Product at Duo Security. We cover a wide range of topics from how to creatively interview to ensure you get the right person in your next product management hire, including ways to pressure test for EQ and IQ to specific ways Hubspot and Duo Security develop and execute their product roadmap. We even dive into how CEOs should think about and influence product to deliver the best customer experience.