My Guest In 2026, you probably don’t need to look terribly far to read about both the frequency and seriousness of cyber attacks on both individuals and small businesses. Because of how unfortunately common these attacks have become, and because of how difficult they can be to understand if not explained at an appropriate levelContinue reading “A Cybersecurity Survival Guide for Small Businesses”
Category Archives: Podcast- Managing Your Business
A Glimpse Into The First 90 Days as a New CEO
My Guest How to approach the first 90 days as a new CEO, including what to do and what not to do, is also among the most frequently asked questions that I’ve received over the past 14 years. For this reason, I thought it would be helpful to interview 3 CEOs, each at different stagesContinue reading “A Glimpse Into The First 90 Days as a New CEO”
A Peek Behind the Curtain: What Small Business Ownership *Really* Looks Like
My Guest The point of today’s episode is to give the uninitiated a peak behind the curtains, and to provide but one example of what leadership really looks like at the ground level. My guest today, Rishi Sahel, is a great example of a CEO who has withstood more than his share of punches toContinue reading “A Peek Behind the Curtain: What Small Business Ownership *Really* Looks Like”
$2B Company Founder on Youth, Inexperience, and Why You’re More Ready Than You Think
My Guest Ronnen Harary is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Spin Master Toys, the global children’s entertainment company behind PAW Patrol, Bakugan, Melissa & Doug, Rubik’s Cube, and Toca Boca. Alongside his longtime business partners, he co-founded Spin Master in Toronto in 1994 and eventually transformed it from a two-person startup into the fourth-largest toyContinue reading “$2B Company Founder on Youth, Inexperience, and Why You’re More Ready Than You Think”
The Wisdom of Failure: Growing from our Personal and Professional Setbacks
My Guest Dr. Larry Weinzimmer is a Professor of Strategic Management at Bradley University and is the best-selling author of The Wisdom of Failure, a book based on a groundbreaking 7-year study of what 1,000+ managers across 21 industries really learned from their personal and professional failures. In addition to being a best selling author,Continue reading “The Wisdom of Failure: Growing from our Personal and Professional Setbacks”
Hiring Your Second in Command: With Cameron Herold, Founder of the COO Alliance and Former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK
My Guest Cameron Herold is the former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, a franchised junk removal business that he helped grow from $2M to $106M in revenue during his 6-year tenure as COO. Based on that experience, in 2016 Cameron founded the COO Alliance, a peer group for Chief Operating Officers (or those whose roles are bestContinue reading “Hiring Your Second in Command: With Cameron Herold, Founder of the COO Alliance and Former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK”
“Great CEOs Are Lazy”: Why the Best SMB Leaders Do Less—But Achieve More
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 growthContinue reading ““Great CEOs Are Lazy”: Why the Best SMB Leaders Do Less—But Achieve More”
Why Most Incentive Plans Fail—and How Thoughtful CEOs Get Them Right
My Guest I’m joined this week by Stacey Carroll, who has spent substantially her entire career leading HR organizations across a wide array of companies, with a specific focus on compensation & benefits. She has also spent the past 14 years leading HR Experts on Call, a company she founded where she acts as anContinue reading “Why Most Incentive Plans Fail—and How Thoughtful CEOs Get Them Right”
Installing an Operating System in Your Business: Lessons from Real EOS Implementations
My Guest Over the past handful of years, there has been substantial growth in the number of companies who have decided to implement formal “operating systems” to govern certain strategic and operational decisions within their businesses. I implemented EOS (or “the Entrepreneurial Operating System”) in my own company beginning in 2015, and we continued toContinue reading “Installing an Operating System in Your Business: Lessons from Real EOS Implementations”
How A.I. is Transforming the Acquisition and Operations of Small Businesses
My Guest You are likely aware of how much AI has already changed how we live and how we work. You’re probably also aware – at least vaguely – of how much it will continue to change the way that we live and work over the coming months and years. The process of searching for,Continue reading “How A.I. is Transforming the Acquisition and Operations of Small Businesses”