

In this episode, Bill delves into the psychological barriers that hinder our ability to secure affirmative responses in business interactions, emphasizing the detrimental impact of personal concerns and self-doubt. He identifies common worries, such as fearing one is too salesy or arrogant, and illustrates how these internal fears can prevent effective communication and diminish the enthusiasm in pitches or proposals. Bill proposes a solution to shift focus away from oneself and towards understanding and addressing the needs and interests of the other party. By acknowledging and setting aside personal concerns, rather than suppressing or compensating for them, individuals can engage more authentically and constructively in conversations. This approach encourages looking beyond one's insecurities to concentrate on the other person's perspective, fostering a more connected and productive dialogue that can lead to a mutually beneficial "yes." Bill's insights highlight the importance of self-awareness and adaptability in overcoming personal barriers, thereby enhancing the ability to scale one's business more enjoyably and effectively.


The ultimate goal of building a company is to build its value. Designing a company that can get rich is not always top-of-mind for business owners, but it should be. Christopher Volk is the author of The Value Equation. Christopher was instrumental in leading and publicly listing three successful companies, two of which he co-founded. A 2019 regional winner of EYs’ Entrepreneur of the Year award, Christopher is a frequent university lecturer and serves on multiple non-profit boards. Not all companies are created equal. While many companies focus on their goods or services that are designed to make the world a better place, what separates an average company from a successful company is its ability to master the financial aspects of business. In order to get really good at one thing to the point that people are willing to pay money for it, business owners have to be willing to reject a lot of other things. Determine who your core customers are, identify what you can do to bring them value, and hone in on just that, leaving everything else behind. Consider what you would do if you could do it all over again. How can you disrupt your business, or put yourself out of business? Those are the steps you need to take today to make your company more successful tomorrow. Interview Links: CHRISTOPHER VOLK Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


In this episode, Bill introduces a comprehensive approach to talent assessment aimed at enhancing team performance and fostering a positive work environment as businesses grow. He emphasizes the critical importance of assembling a team that not only performs well but also aligns with the company's values and culture. Bill introduces the concept of a talent assessment tool and process that focuses on two main criteria: fit with the company's values and performance in their current roles. This straightforward assessment provides a clear strategy for managing team members, highlighting the need to nurture high performers who embody the company's ethos and reconsider the fit of those who don't, regardless of their performance. Bill delves into categorizing team members into A players, B players, and those who neither fit the company's culture nor meet performance expectations. He suggests actionable strategies for each category, including training for B players to enhance their performance and making the tough decision to part ways with those who, despite high performance, do not fit the company's culture. This segment emphasizes the impact of each team member on the overall team dynamic, underscoring the importance of alignment between individual contributions and the company's core values for sustained growth and success. Throughout the episode, Bill encourages leaders to undertake this talent assessment process with rigor and caution, ensuring that decisions are based on accurate evaluations of both fit and performance. This thoughtful approach to team management aims to increase the proportion of A players within the organization, thereby improving team morale, performance, and ultimately, the company's ability to scale effectively.


Does dignity in the workplace really matter? Plenty of companies seem to get by without upholding dignity, but with over 40 years of experience and $60 million in annual sales, today’s return podcast guest knows there is a better way. Ari Weinzweig is the co-founder of Zingermans Delicatessen. Ari, alongside his co-founder, Paul Saginaw, started Zingerman’s in 1982 as a restaurant and specialty food retail space. Now the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has 23 partners, employs over 750 people, and generates over $60 million in annual sales from ten separate businesses. In countries and companies alike where dignity is the norm, progress can happen. Companies that are run by tyrants limit growth and eliminate progress. Dignity has been central to the success of Andy’s 42-year business partnership with Paul Sagen. Together they built and expanded a community business that has provided people with a place to connect. Ari reflects on his vision and approach to successful business scaling. Ten years in, he and his partner realized they had reached a threshold of success without a clear vision of where to go next. A vision is a win-win future and an action plan to make it happen. And integral to the success of the vision is the upheld dignity for everyone involved. Ari highlights the six elements of dignity that he has challenged himself to work with every day. From honoring humanity to acting authentically without acting out, dignity is at the core of success in the modern workplace. Interview Links: ARI WEINZWEIG Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


In this episode, Bill explores the crucial concept of process accountability as a key driver for company growth and efficiency. Focusing on the interplay between team engagement, performance, and the seamless integration of various business processes, Bill sheds light on the importance of defining and managing core processes distinct from functional responsibilities within a company. He emphasizes that processes like the transition from lead to customer experience involve multiple departments and, without clear accountability, can lead to missed opportunities and inefficiencies. Bill delves into the idea that while functions such as sales, marketing, and operations have clear leaders, cross-functional processes often lack a defined ownership, leading to potential issues in the handoff between departments. By identifying core processes and establishing metrics and ownership, companies can mitigate risks and improve overall performance. Bill encourages listeners to map out their business processes, identify where functional handoffs occur, and appoint process owners to ensure smooth operations and enhance the customer journey from lead generation to payment collection. Throughout the episode, Bill provides actionable advice on how to identify, map, and measure core business processes, stressing the importance of accountability and leadership in process management. He suggests that this strategic focus on process accountability is essential for businesses aiming to scale effectively and maintain high levels of operational excellence.


In this insightful episode, Bill dives into the critical importance of fostering a culture of learning and development within businesses to fuel growth and ensure talent retention. Bill emphasizes the necessity for every team member to contribute effectively and how investing in employee development significantly enhances job satisfaction and loyalty. He shares practical advice for companies, especially those operating with limited resources, on how to cultivate a continuous learning environment that benefits both employees and the organization. Bill outlines actionable strategies for integrating learning into the company's fabric, highlighting innovative and budget-friendly approaches such as "lunch and learn" sessions and leveraging tools like Trainual for efficient learning management. He stresses the positive outcomes of becoming a learning organization, including improved employee performance, increased value, and stronger retention rates. Tune in as Bill unpacks the steps businesses of any size can take to build a dynamic and supportive learning culture, ultimately driving their success and scalability.


Are you working at a job, or are you working at building a business that will be worth enough to sell someday? Michael E. Gerber is the author of the NY Times mega-bestseller for two consecutive decades, The E-Myth Revisited, and nine other worldwide best-selling E-Myth books. For over 40 years, Michael has been impacting the lives of small business owners as one of the world's most renowned small business thought leaders. With 34 books in his name, Michael is a rockstar author who describes his success with The E-Myth Revisited a complete accident. He knew how to sell encyclopedias, and he quickly learned how to sell systems for any company. The true product of a business is the business itself, and therein lies the secret of success. Instead of trying to reinvent everything all the time, the basics of business are the same across the board. Companies succeed when they have their basics covered. Michael shares the success of McDonald’s, what he calls the most successful small business in the world. It’s not the culture of a company that creates the success, it’s the approach to developing people in a way that they know the story, the vision, and the values of a company and can deliver it to customers over and over again. In business, practice absolutely makes perfect. The experience of practicing creates a ritual, and that ritual leads to mastery. When companies can master their offerings in a way that can be delivered flawlessly to their customers, they will find success. Interview Links: Michael E. Gerber Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


If you’re feeling overwhelmed by unsuccessful attempts to grow your business, you may be too focused on the systems. Growth happens when the focus shifts to addressing the systems, not the symptoms, of your company. Today’s guest is Dave Newell, CEO of Evolve Leadership Consulting. Dave works with small business leaders to implement the Five Facets of Business — a small business operating system — to optimize processes and foster team alignment around culture, strategy, operations, story, and finances. When systems and behaviors are aligned, the magic can start to happen. In the early days of Dave’s work, he quickly realized that every business is a series of systems that not only have to interact with each other, but they have a major impact on each other. Dave highlights a $750,000 company that had the goal of scaling up to $20 million. Their operations were a nightmare, the CEO had unrealistic goals, and the team was uninspired and stressed out. The systems — not the symptoms — were the root problem that was holding this company back. By creating simplified, scalable structures, the company was able to create manageable systems that more effectively supported its target market and its core business. Business is a complex web. Every decision impacts other decisions, and it takes a good hard look at what really matters most to figure out the next steps. Too often business owners hyperfocus on the one angle that makes them look good, but everyone around you can see your business success, or failure, from every angle. Ignore the symptoms, and the problems will only get worse. Address the symptoms, and real growth can finally start to happen. Interview Links: Dave Newell Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


In this episode, we delve into the essential strategies for fostering teamwork and driving growth within your company. I introduce the concept of the "Functional Accountability Chart Exercise," which aims to clarify roles and responsibilities, boost productivity, and streamline operations. We explore the importance of eliminating ambiguity in ownership, ensuring individuals take full accountability for their tasks, and distributing workload effectively to prevent burnout. Join me as we discuss key roles like marketing, R&D, sales, operations, finance, IT, HR, talent development, and customer advocacy, all crucial for achieving sustainable growth and success. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Bill on YouTube Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


There is power in meaning, especially in your marketing, and it may be the ticket to achieving the growth that you are seeking. Pete Steege is the CEO of B2B Clarity. With over 30 years of marketing experience with a wide range of B2B technology and manufacturing businesses, Pete helps companies manage and scale their businesses by using meaning in their marketing to scale their businesses. In the early days of his career, Pete realized that marketing focused on sharing intellectual information while entirely missing the why behind the message. Marketing is supposed to be about relationships, and relationships are built on meaning. Companies grow when clients can clearly see why you can help them reach their goals. Pete shares the factors that create meaning behind these relationships, including authenticity. Tell the truth about why you are here in a transparent and authentic way. Focus on the work that you care about rather than trying to meet the needs of a too-broad spectrum of clients. The trust that you grow with your key clients is the most powerful element to your success. When you lean into, and then highlight, what you care about most, the growth will occur naturally. Interview Links: Pete Steege https://www.linkedin.com/in/petesteege Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


A great tool for reinforcing your strategy over time and embedding it in your company’s culture is the manifesto. An effective manifesto can be read daily, or at least weekly, shared with your team like a manifestation, and provides the opportunity to reflect on its relevance today. When reflected on often, a manifesto encourages people to apply its truths to their day-to-day actions and goals. There is a simple formula for developing your manifesto. First, identify the purpose. What is the “why” of the work you are doing? Next, consider your values and brand promises. Then, turn to your BHAG to round out your manifesto. Bill’s manifesto is clear and gives him purpose in the work he does each day. Over time, your manifesto will become deeply ingrained in the decisions that you make and pull everyone on your team toward the company’s core strategy. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


There are plenty of ways to grow your business, but until you’ve worked out your strategy, it can be really hard to scale. One strategy makes funding growth much easier — franchising. Joining the show today is Lance Graulich. Known as the “King of Franchising,” Lance is the CEO of ION Franchising, an industry-leading franchise consulting and development group that represents over 800 franchise brands and business opportunities in every imaginable category. He’s also the host of the Eye on Franchising Podcast. Lance has helped over 1,000 people go from “Wannabe” Entrepreneurs to Franchise owners with his work and has helped Franchises such as TGI Fridays grow to over $225 million in revenue. Franchises, and optimized businesses in general, aren’t about the business, they’re about the people. Successful leaders look for the people who know how to get the job done and build a great business up from there. From the bald guy who owns hair salons to the garage door franchisee who just exited for $98 million, franchises provide a perfect opportunity to develop an empire without having any specialized knowledge of the business. Lance has insights into avoiding failure as well. In any franchise selection process, there are people to meet and questions to ask to determine whether it’s the right fit for you. He also covers scaling tactics, innovation strategies, and the power of choosing a franchise over the slow, organic growth of the traditional stand-alone company. Interview Links: Lance Graulich https://www.lancegraulich.com/ Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Sometimes the littlest things are the hardest things. Many people really struggle with their one-phrase strategy. The one-phrase strategy distills everything your business offers down to your competitive, profitable advantage over everyone else. The way you do business, your customer advantage, or the way you deliver goods or services all could become your one-phrase strategy. It’s generally operational, and it gives you a great competitive profit advantage. After you’ve figured out your brand promises, your core customer, and your differentiating activities, you need to look for the thing in all of that that can become your one-phrase strategy. When you find it, you’ve got the key to being profitable and competitive over time. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Every company wants to grow faster, but what is the point of scaling up if you can’t retain the employees and customers you’ve already got? You have to deliver exceptional customer experience so that the growth you’re working on actually matters. Ali Cudby is the Founder and CEO of Alignmint Growth Strategies, which delivers consulting and training so you and your team know what to do to prevent customer churn before it starts. Ali knows customer experience is not a department — it’s cross-functional. She is the author of the #1 best-selling book on customer retention, Keep Your Customers. Straight out of business school, Ali was staffed on a project with the call center at the New York Times. She saw firsthand that the company was not engaging with its call center employees in a way that aligned with its global brand. She quickly learned that the way you engage with your team has a huge impact on the way that they engage with your customers, and that means the customer experience really matters. The action steps to creating a culture that targets the customer experiences are simple. Make employees feel valued. Pay them an attractive wage. Give them swag or company merchandise so they feel like they are part of the team. Consider your customers. Do you give as much love to your existing customers as you do to your brand-new customers? Do you provide a higher tier of customer support to your higher-tier customers? Do you spend as much time maintaining long-term relationships as you do onboarding new customers? Ali’s experiences — from bra fitting to lingerie consulting to the work that she does now with Alignmint — all underscore the same message. When you focus on the customer experience, you are fostering long-term loyalty and the potential for the kind of scaling up that lasts. Interview Links: Ali Cudby https://alignmintforgrowth.com/ Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Profit per X is a strategic KPI that indicates the potential of the unit of measure that is most constrained in your business. As an independent coach, Bill’s most constrained thing is the number of days that he can work or profit per day. A laundry delivery service may deal with profit per truck or profit per stop. When you identify and optimize the number of profit per your X, it may be per customer, per product, per transaction, or per job, but whatever it may be, if you can optimize it, you can make a meaningful difference in your growth. Consider the pros and cons of optimizing your per X, and then focus on the one that will lead to the greatest growth. Strategic decisions about how you lead, grow, and scale will come more easily as a result. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Nothing significant happens when you’re working alone. If you want to do anything big, you’re going to need a powerhouse team. Return podcast guest Mike Michalowicz founded and sold two multi-million dollar businesses by his 35th birthday. He is the bestselling author of Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Clockwork, and Fix This Next. He has built two additional multimillion-dollar companies and has become one of the world’s most popular speakers on small business topics. His new book is All In: How Great Leaders Build Unstoppable Teams. The vision you may have for your business is not necessarily the same vision for the entirety of your team. Leaders often work in their own self-interest, but powerful leaders work to help their team realize their dreams as well. As you as a leader prioritize their vision, they will begin to prioritize the vision of the company. What do your people want? Why should they perform to the best of their ability? Effective leaders prioritize recognition, create traditions in the workplace, and foster a workplace culture that celebrates the dreams and accomplishments of every team member. Mike wants leaders to treat people as human beings rather than human resources. He highlights the transformation that the right captain was able to inspire on the worst-performing ship in the Navy. It takes a team to be successful, and that team needs 100% commitment from every single member. When the team is all in, the success is unstoppable. Interview Links: Mike Michalowicz https://mikemichalowicz.com/ Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Your X-factor is the thing that gives you an advantage in your marketplace. It is your secret sauce to being better and standing out from your competition. It’s the key to growing faster than anyone else. It’s not easy to figure out your X-factor, and when you do, you have to keep it a secret that you can use for as long as you can because it doesn’t last forever. A truly great X-factor will expire as it is figured out by other people. You can figure out your X-factor by determining if your obstacle to growth is more about supply or demand. Identify the key barriers to meeting those supply or demand needs, and then figure out which one you are going to solve in a unique, innovative, or sexy way. That is your X-factor. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.
Safety is at the core of the culture of every business. Sometimes it’s in direct ways, sometimes in indirect ways, but safety is always at the core of the work people do. Apolonia Rockwell is the Founder and CEO of True Safety Services, a company that specializes in on-site safety consulting and in helping employers with Safety/CDL Training local to Colorado, as well as nationwide. With a front-row seat to the dangers and harsh realities of hazards in the workplace in her childhood, adult Apolonia was fascinated and relieved to learn about federally mandated safety requirements. She now works to bridge the gap between a company’s safety director and the employees they work to protect. As a strong female in a male-dominated field, Apolonia has taken an effective approach to getting employee buy-in, connecting with the unspoken leaders, and using curiosity to invoke respect. Safety is often disregarded or minimized, but effective safety practices always start with leadership. Effective cultural change can only happen when leaders exhibit the behavior they want to see in their team. Apolonia shares a variety of incidents, insights, and experiences she has had over the years, and the ultimate safety that leaders in every field need to focus on — the mental and emotional health of their employees. Interview Links: Apolonia Rockwell Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


If you asked people to pick three or four words to describe you and your business, what would they say? Would your customers and partners recognize your clear identity, or would they stumble? The words that you want to own in the future are the words that you invest in over time, starting now. Bill wants to be known as The Scaling Coach, and he has focused years and hours of effort on making that a reality. The key to identifying the words that you want to own is by talking to other people about their perception of you. Try Googling your business and asking your peers. Invest in the marketing that will secure your identity in the way you want to be known. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for you to own those words. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.
How can you get out of your business so that it can actually grow and thrive? Chances are, you’ve had days when you wished you could fire yourself. In reality, when it’s time to exit, you need to be the first person out the door. Jeff Russell is a best-selling author, renowned speaker, and accomplished entrepreneur. As the founder of many successful businesses and author of his latest book, Fire Yourself First, Jeff is an expert in helping business owners break free from the daily grind. Get ready for an insightful conversation as we delve into his proven strategies for achieving business success and living a life well-balanced. Once Jeff decided he wanted to work just 10 days a month, he focused on finding a way to build up his businesses so that they could run without him. By hiring and training people who could run the business without him there, he essentially built an ATM for himself. His book underscores a four-step program that transforms an overbooked life into a 10-day-a-month work program. Wise business owners use the knowledge they have to create a business they care about while avoiding enslavement for the rest of their lives. By creating a bigger picture than simply where you are today, you can begin to craft the life that will offer you greater freedom in the future. Discovering your why, the purpose of your life, is the key to creating the life you want. Ask yourself what you are proud of, what you find deeply satisfying, and what your contributions are to the world around you. When you build up a business that helps solve problems, and then remove yourself from that business, you’ve created a business that is worth more than it would be if you were there running it day after day. Don’t be selfish, fire yourself for the sake of your business. Interview Links: Jeff Russell Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


What is your guarantee? When you put your money where your mouth is, you lock in your brand promise. A guarantee can also serve as a catalytic mechanism that keeps your team focused on the right things and rewards the right behavior. Whether it’s a money-back guarantee or rewards for improvement, your strong guarantee serves as a bounty for the promise you have made. Make it big and make it strong to make it effective. Bill’s guarantee is that if you are unhappy with his team’s work at any point you can apply a credit on your next invoice and leave the program that you’re in. A guarantee is a powerful tool that lets people know that you are serious about their satisfaction. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.
How many of your strategy problems could be solved if only you knew what your customers have to say about your business? Mark Allen Roberts is the CEO and Founder at OTB Solutions, a Certified Scaling Up Coach, and a data-driven sales growth expert with over 37 years of experience in helping manufacturing CEOs and business leaders strategically drive explosive growth in revenue, profits, and shareholder value. Once Mark tasted the satisfaction of finding and solving customer problems — and turning a 10 million dollar business into a 300 million dollar sale as a result — he was hooked. As a scaling coach, he has helped myriad companies solve their problems by doing one simple thing. Too many salespeople focus on their generic sales pitch when really, they need to be asking better questions and figuring out how to solve their customers’ problems. Talking to the customer about brand promise generalities is not enough. Effective problem solvers identify the needs that their customers have and then highlight those solutions in ways that are credible to their target audience. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, or how hard this work may sound. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to actually talk to your customers, uncover their needs with effective questions, and find solutions to those needs, you will find the success that is waiting right in front of you. Interview Links: OTB Solutions https://www.otbsolutions.com/ Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


What are your differentiating activities? Differentiating activities are the operation-side things that you do differently than anyone else. They also help you achieve your brand promises over time. How are you able to deliver different results and, ultimately, a superior value to your customers? Start by identifying your brand promises, then look at the unique ways that you are operating. What is unique about your products and services, your operations, your team, and about the way you execute your promises? Think across strategy, across marketing, and the economic engine of your business. What is different about you? Next, consider your key competitors and what they have to offer that is different from you. Then identify up to seven key unique things about your operations that you can emphasize and invest in. For Bill, a podcast, online learning, and a focus on scale set him apart from his competitors. The internal, operational ways that you fulfill brand promises will create a unique, valuable company that is not like everyone else. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.
Alex Sanfilippo is an entrepreneur, SaaS Founder, and Podcast Host. He is the CEO of PodPros, a software company specifically focused on independent podcast hosts and their guests to elevate their voices through podcasting and be heard. In his 15 years in the aerospace industry, Alex worked his way from taking out the trash up to the C-Suite. When he was told to stop the above-and-beyond initiative, he realized it was time for a major change. After an initial struggle, Alex identified a better equation for entrepreneurship and he was on his way to real success. Alex’s equation is simple. Find an area of passion, get into the community of that area of passion, find a problem that they are struggling with, and then offer the fastest possible solution to that problem. When you focus on that problem, and your ability to solve it, you differentiate yourself in a way that allows you to stand out. Potential customers will tell you what their pain points are, and when they are, and your job is to solve it. When you do, and they put their money where their pain is, you’ve got a standout business that is going to make things happen. Interview Links: PodPros https://podpros.com/ Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Brand promises are what your customers can expect from you. It’s what sets you apart from the competition. You want to have three key brand promises that make your offerings clear. Your first brand promise should be your basic, core offering. The second brand promise should be a differentiator and highlight what makes you better than the other options. And for Bill, the third brand promise is all about fun. That may not be a fit for everyone, but it is perfect for the customers that Bill wants to do business with. Once you have figured out your core customer, ask them what they consider different or better about you. Their answers will help you hone in on and avoid holding onto your anti-brand promises. Doing so can set you apart as a differentiated, profitable business. If you’re having a hard time identifying your brand promises, write down what you know and ask AI to help you distill your offerings down to just a few keywords that will highlight what your brand promises are. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Nothing easy is ever handed out for free, but the challenge of working for what you want most is always worth the reward. After playing for the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Denver Broncos, Chris Gronkowski ventured out to build a product with the aim to alleviate the challenges athletes experience with the standard protein shakers. Owner and inventor of the Ice Shaker, Chris has joined the Scaling Up podcast to share the highs and lows of his business growth. One of five brothers, Chris was raised in a business-minded family. Always racing each other and always challenging each other to see who was faster and stronger, Chris learned how to compete — and win — at an early age. From his first paper route job, through college, and all the way to the NFL football field, Chris learned the lessons of hard work that he has used to build a successful business. Time with the NFL doesn’t last forever, but Chris was able to carry over his passion for sports and fitness from the field into his business Ice Shaker. His big break in business came after being highlighted on ABC’s Shark Tank, where millions of viewers saw the product, investors including Mark Cuban were brought in, and their success skyrocketed. On the flip side, Chris admits that the first three years of building his business kept him awake every night. Learning how to delegate and actually allow others to take over aspects of a business was a huge aspect of his eventual success. From sponsors and investors to what it was really like to compete on Shark Tank and QVC, Chris shares his insights into what it takes to build a successful business. Interview Links: Ice Shaker https://www.iceshaker.com/ Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Do you know who your core customer is? The core customer is the buyer that you want to focus on. Your core customer loves working with you, would heartily recommend you, and willingly pays your full price. Your core customer is the top 20% of your clientele. Consider the essential qualities of your core customer and take time to learn more about what makes them who they are. The more qualitative factors you have about them, the more you will understand what you need to do to more effectively engage with them. For Bill, the core customer is highly motivated, open to growth, and a good personality fit. Give your core customer a distinct name to set them apart from your average client. By identifying just two or three clear characteristics of your core customer, you will be able to increase your effectiveness and engagement all around. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


In this week’s episode, Scaling Up has lined up eight fan-favorite episodes from 2023. In case you’ve missed any of these classics, we have compiled a quick recap of each of the episodes and the guests below. Thank you for listening to the Scaling Up show! How can you get the most for your company and maximize the value of your company? The value of your business comes from how well the business can run without you. Nick Arellano is an award-winning M&A veteran who helps business owners get the most money from the sale of their companies. This conversation is filled with key moves that company owners need to consider when strategizing their sale, negotiation considerations, and what owners can realistically expect from the sale. Empathy is a leadership skill and an essential cultural practice that matters more today than ever before. Rob Volpe is an astute observer of life and a master storyteller who brings empathy and compassion to the human experience. As CEO of Ignite 360, he leads a team of insights, strategy, and creative professionals serving the world’s leading brands across a range of industries. He is the author of the Silver Benjamin Franklin award-winning book, Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. You don’t have to look very far to see that there is an empathy crisis in our world today. Rob’s focus is on the how-to of empathy. Once you see that there is a problem what can you actually do about it? The United States is losing over 100,000 people and experiencing over half a trillion dollars of economic impact each year due to opioids, including fentanyl. That’s more than a 737 crash per day. This public health and national security issue is a supply-and-demand problem that, unlike previous epidemics, our nation is failing to resolve. Guest Admiral Winnefeld graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and served for 37 years in the United States Navy. He flew the F-14 Tomcat and served as an instructor at TopGun and as senior aide-de-camp to General Colin L. Powell. What can we learn from sports about making the right calls? Sally Jenkins has been a Washington Post columnist and feature writer for nearly 30 years. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2019 and the winner of the Associated Press Red Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sports Journalism in 2021. For sports fans, business leaders, and anyone who wants to elevate their game — whatever that game may be — Sally joined the podcast to share what it takes for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results. Real connections win out over canned messages every single time, but how can you amplify your brand narrative through organic content that makes those meaningful connections? Morgan Ingram is the founder behind Ascencion Media Productions (AMP). He’s a sales educator and content creator and has been named one of the Top 50 Sales Leaders to Follow by LinkedIn, a Top 25 Sales Development Thought Leader by Inside Sales, and a Four-time LinkedIn Top Sales Voice. Technology has enabled people to be lazy at scale, which can have a massive negative impact on your potential audience. Just as professional pilots, doctors, and golfers regularly return to the fundamentals, it is just as essential in the business world to continually return to the basics of the performance platform. This episode of the Scaling Up Podcast features Verne Harnish, a world-leading expert, speaker, author, and entrepreneur in the field of business growth. Together they offer insights into Altman’s Maxims, Jobs’s doers vs. dreamers, the power of asking, daily routines, remote work, and much more. A sales playbook is designed to help deliver the kind of results you are aiming for. Morné Smit has spent his life elevating respect for sales and marketing professionals in dozens of companies across 28-plus industries on three continents. Developing from a salesperson to leading sales teams in six different industries, including spearheading a 10X growth outcome over five years in a mid-market property company, Morné gained invaluable insight, knowledge, and experience over two decades that brought him to found Emerse in 2017. As second in command, COOs are often in place for a reason or a season, but rarely for the lifetime of a company. Cameron Herold is the mastermind behind hundreds of companies’ exponential growth and has earned his reputation as the business growth guru. He has built a dynamic consultancy with clients that include a monarchy and a Big 4 wireless company. Cameron discusses his new book The Second in Command. How can bad language enhance the way you connect with others? There is power in language. As a leader, the way you articulate your company’s value and vision matters. There is power in using language intentionally and connecting with others with the words you use. Professor Valerie Fridland is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nevada, Reno. The goal of her research is to better understand how variability in speech production relates to variability in speech perception and how social identity affects speech. Interview Links: “Maximize the Value of Your Business — Nick Arellano” “Empathy — Tell Me More About That with Robert Volpe” “Admiral Sandy Winnefeld — Losing a 737 Every Day” “Bet on You — How to Make Every Decision THE RIGHT CALL — Sally Jenkins” “Social Selling 2.0 with Morgan Ingram” “Insights with Verne Harnish” “Morné Smit — Sales Playbook for Greater Sales & Profit” “Cameron Herold — "The Second in Command — Unleash the Power of Your COO" “Dr. Valerie Fridland — The Good Side of Bad Language” Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Great leaders inspire other people. There are a number of ways to inspire, but if all of your excitement and passion about your business only lives in your head, it’s not really doing much good at all. You want to light other people up about what your business can do and where it is heading. Inspiring conversations start with sharing your purpose, your BHAG, your vivid vision, and the solutions you have to the problems that you see in the world. Talk about the moment that you committed to getting involved in the business and how you have been transformed as a result. When you can share your vision with others, you will be better at hiring and retaining team members. You will be a better partner, a better salesperson, a better fundraiser, and eventually better at selling your company. Map out your vision, share emotions out loud, and improve your storytelling skills. You don’t have to be perfect at it, but you do want to develop your inspiring storytelling skills so that you become the leader that people truly want to hear from. Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.


Everyone likes to say they come from a place of abundance, but who really means it? And what happens when people are vulnerable enough to ask for their needs? Today Bill is joined by Curt Bear, founder of LoCo Think Tank, a small-business peer advisory group founded in 2014 in Northern Colorado to help business owners be more confident leaders and grow their businesses faster through perspective, accountability, and support. From small business banker to mobile food trailer owner, LoCo Think Tank was born out of Curt’s desire to facilitate peer advisory at an affordable price point. His group asks tough questions, addresses blind spots, and makes a positive impact on their community. There are givers and takers around the world, in every business, and every community. Sharing your abundance is something that some people are wired for, and volunteering can have just as much meaning as consulting or working for pay. Curt’s group includes a dozen high-achieving small business veterans who are in a place of abundance and want to share what they have been given. Asking for your needs is an essential step to success. Surrounding yourself with a support group or think tank that can help you identify your priorities will help you get what you need, even when you don’t recognize it yourself. Curt highlights his own experience with wanting to operate a food truck while also recognizing via his mentors that he was not going to achieve the success he wanted in life by continuing down that path. Identify the appropriate people that you can share your needs with, and you just may find the solutions that you didn’t think of yourself. Interview Links: Curt Bear https://www.linkedin.com/in/curt-bear Resources: Growth Navigator Coaching Scaling Up Summits https://scalingup.com/summits/ (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube Recruiter.com Short List (use code scaleup) Scaling Up https://scalingup.com/ is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail. Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth. We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.