My Guest

Our guest today, Dr. Jim Schleckser, helps leaders grow their companies. He specializes in the issues that fast growth firms experience in their business models, talent, processes and systems as they reach higher levels of performance. Jim and his team at the Inc. CEO Project work with over 100 CEOs of high growth companies to identify and obliterate the things that stand between them and continued organizational success.
With 30 years of leadership in business strategy, technology businesses, process improvement, organizational development, mergers and acquisitions, engineering, sales and marketing, he brings experience in leading global organizations in both public and private environments across many functional areas to the table. Jim has been quoted in The New York Times, Time, The Huffington Post and National Public Radio. His ideas have been translated into 9 languages and he has done business in over 26 countries.
Jim is also the author of the bestselling book Great CEOs Are Lazy.
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"Great CEOs Are Lazy": Why the Best SMB Leaders Do Less—But Achieve More – In The Trenches
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Episode Summary with Timestamps
- 00:00 Introduction to Jim’s Journey
- 04:18 The Importance of Peer Groups for CEOs
- 06:41 The Concept of “Lazy” CEOs
- 08:19 The Process of Writing a Book
- 12:08 Prioritizing as a New CEO
- 15:16 Early Wins vs. Long-Term Goals
- 18:55 Identifying Problems as a New CEO
- 22:00 The Timeline for Fixing Bottlenecks
- 23:18 Engaging with Clients Early
- 25:41 High-Leverage vs. Low-Leverage Work
- 31:37 The Culture of Meetings and Decision-Making
- 34:22 Understanding CEO Effectiveness
- 35:29 The Psychological Barriers to Delegation
- 39:33 Seeking Feedback as a CEO
- 42:12 Building an Effective Leadership Team
- 45:33 Recognizing and Addressing Hiring Mistakes
- 51:19 Managing Energy as a Leader
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