New Podcast: The Dov Baron Show

I’m excited to share this two-part podcast interview on The Dov Baron Show. Dov is a powerhouse interviewer with a deep understanding of leadership strategies. From the description: “Every episode offers a tantalizing taste of the delicious thoughts and wisdom of global leaders, Deep Thinkers, entertainers, and a spectrum of the most captivating minds—from astronauts soaring the cosmos to philosophers plumbing the soul's depths.

What podcast do the top Fortune 500 executives listen to? This one!”

Dov writes and speaks about our emotional source code, so he’s big on origin stories and we dig in to mine. As the show notes describe, “Scott is a renowned expert whose life story is as inspiring as his professional insights. His journey is nothing short of remarkable, having transformed from a high school near-dropout to a respected author whose voice has graced the pages of the Harvard Business Review over forty times.

Part 1 opens with a clip highlighting how leaders unwittingly drive counterproductive behaviors in their sales organization. You can listen using these links or whatever app you use for podcasts:

Part 1: Rethinking Growth Leadership

Part 2: Why It Must Be Value Before Transaction!

I hope you enjoy the interview and content. Please review and add your comments on whatever platform you use for your podcasts.

Individual Leadership: Thinking Aloud

There are plenty of good times to think aloud. When presenting a clear and succinct version of your idea or thought is not a requirement. From personal conversations where your thoughts or feelings are valuable on their own, to meetings designed specifically for creating, brainstorming, and problem solving, where incomplete thoughts or wandering ideas are part of the process of communication.

But in most meetings, especially if there are more than a few of people, your colleagues do not want to hear you think aloud. They don’t want to hear tangential ideas, or the story you were just reminded of that isn’t quite relevant. In business meetings you will be rewarded for clarity, succinctness, and directness in your communication. Doing that well, usually requires a moment of thinking to answer the question: “What is the point I need to make?” The crisper the answer to that question, the more powerful your point will be.

Organizational Leadership: Strategy Succeeds Or Fails In Every Sales Call

Is your company selling what you want, to whom you want, how you want? Or are you selling whatever you can, to whomever you can, however you can. This is the essence of Growth Leadership. Your strategy succeeds or fails in every sales call.

Executives don’t pay enough attention to this and it’s one of the reasons growth stalls. To make this concept pragmatic and usable every day, consider the core elements of strategy and how they show up in every meeting:

Objectives: Will this opportunity produce the results we need? Sufficient revenue? Acceptable margin? Scale? Likelihood of customer loyalty?

Competitive Advantage: Are discussions centered on the client’s issues and needs that lead to our greatest value and differentiation. Or is it a pitch/presentation of whatever is most comfortable and familiar?

Target Market: Is this the right kind of customer organization? Are we engaged with the right level who can authorize purchase of our solutions? Or meeting with whoever is willing?

CX/Sales Experience: Are we creating value? Using expertise and insight to help the client think differently about problems, opportunities, and solutions? Or are we mostly communicating features and functionality?

Your sales organization will drive the execution you need when you provide them the leadership they need.

Perspective: That's Not How You Debate

A quick perspective on the recent Presidential debate in the United States. And an excuse to share a favorite moment from the classic movie Old School.

Without any partisan politics, I can offer you with conviction that both candidates were awful. I’m not talking about them as Presidential choices, but as debaters. In college I won two bronze medals at the speech and debate national championships, I know what a good debate looks like.

Good debate highlights the best points from each side’s position, arguments, or contentions. It supports them with data, facts, and relevant information. A good debater will emphasize the strengths of their points, while providing evidence that weakens the effectiveness of the opposing point. It’s interesting. Thought provoking. And helps you understand both sides of an issue better.

We did not get that. Instead, we got a steady stream of poorly supported claims, declarations of personal capability, and the expected, albeit disappointing, ad hominem attacks. Including a sidebar argument about who is better at golf.

If you feel that your candidate won or lost, it isn’t likely because of the debate. We hardly got to see one.

LinkedIn Live: What leadership topics do you want to discuss?

I’ll be back after Labor Day with a new line up of livestream events. Are there any topics you’d like me to address on LinkedIn Live? Please let me know by clicking here or replying to this email. Part of the value of the livestream format is that, unlike just reading an article or watching a video, we have the chance to engage and consider how the ideas apply to your unique circumstances. What topics do you want to cover?