Leading with Genuine Care Episode 44: Bo Burlingham - Purpose, Passion, and Finishing Big
On this week’s donothing podcast, I’m honored to chat with Bo Burlingham. Bo possesses an unparalleled ability to uncover what makes a company and its leadership truly exceptional. Together, we dig into topics including how to build a 100-year business, the strategies behind exiting your company the right way and even his surprising past before Bo became a business writer.
Bo is the former executive editor at Inc. Magazine and currently holds the title of editor-at-large. He’s also written for publications including Harper’s, Esquire, Mother Jones, The Boston Globe and Boston magazine, was the managing editor of Ramparts magazine, contributing editor of New Times magazine and more.
He’s also the author of several books on business include Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top. His book, Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big was a finalist for the 2006 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award.
Small Giants also inspired a community of businesses, called the Small Giants Community. These businesses are dedicated to creating a positive company mission that puts their people and culture over rapid growth.
He’s also written two books with Jack Stack, the pioneer of open-book management. One of those books, The Great Game of Business, brought the concept of open-book management to the world. To date, it’s sold over 300,000 copies and was named one of the “100 best business books of all time.”
Discover the merits behind entrepreneurial purpose, passion and finishing big in my conversation with the wonderful, Bo Burlingham.
In this week’s donothing podcast, you’ll learn:
- What inspired Bo to write Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top
- Why a business owner’s experience when exiting their company differs from other career paths
- How finding a distinct purpose is integral to happiness after selling a business
- What surprising percentage of business owners are unhappy after exiting
- Why it’s important to carefully plan your exit earlier than you think
- When business owners should start planning their exit
- How business owners can avoid feeling regrets after selling their business
- Why identity is so tied into a person’s business—and how they can keep it after they leave
- What happens when business owners don’t properly plan their exits
- What Evergreen business and the Tugboat Institute are
- How investing in an Evergreen company differs from others
- Why it’s important to identify the reason you want to go into business
- How former business owners can find purpose after exiting their company
- How Bo went from a young anti-capitalist to a prominent business writer
- Why Bo’s radical roots brought his wife—and the FBI—into his life
- What Bo did after leaving his revolutionary lifestyle behind
- How working at Inc. Magazine changed the way Bo saw the world
- Why meeting entrepreneurs opened his mind to how great companies can work
- What Bo thinks about the Small Giants Community
- Why meditation has become a huge part of Bo’s everyday life
- What Bo thought about his donothing Leadership Retreat experience
Connect With Bo Burlingham Online
Website: http://boburlingham.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoBurlingham
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/32GjVK5
Find Bo’s Books Online
Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Tophttps://amzn.to/32BnZuSSmall Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Bighttps://amzn.to/2OcWeFT
Street Smarts: An All-Purpose Tool Kit for Entrepreneurs, with Norm Brodskyhttps://amzn.to/2Gqo37c
The Great Game of Business, with Jack Stackhttps://amzn.to/2XZTMHe
Don’t Miss the 2020 donothing Leadership Retreat Early Registration Discount available until August 1st
The dates are set for next year’s silent retreat at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. Join me and other leaders from April 19-23, 2020 as we dive into the biggest leadership challenge our lives—doing nothing. Learn more about the donothing Leadership Retreat at https://www.donothingbook.com/retreat.
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