A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world

Today on the show we've got Mike Sarraille, EF Overwatch Co-Founder, Managing Partner & CEO.  Mike is one tough guy.  Being a Marine wasn't tough enough for this guy, so he became a Navy Seal.  We talk about leadership and ownership in this interview.  Its a must listen! About Mike Mike Sarraille is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer, founder and board of director for the VETTED Foundation, a 501(c)3 Veteran executive education platform, a graduate of the University of Texas McCombs Business School, and a leadership instructor and strategic advisor for Echelon Front, a management consulting firm. Mike served fifteen years as an officer in the SEAL Teams and five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an enlisted Recon Marine and Scout-Sniper before receiving his commission in the Navy. Mike served in SEAL Team THREE, Task Unit Bruiser alongside Extreme Ownership authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin where he led major combat operations that played a pivotal role in the Battle of Ramadi in 2006. Mike again deployed with Task Unit Bruiser in 2008 and led historic combat operations in Sadr City during the Battle of Route Gold. Following his return, Mike assumed duties as the primary leadership instructor for all officers graduating from the SEAL training pipeline. Mike was then selected for assignment to the Joint Special Operations Command where he completed multiple combat deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Mike is a recipient of the Silver Star, six Bronze Stars, two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, and a Purple Heart. Mike continues to participate as a Veteran Transition subject matter expert on panels across the nation. Connect with Mike EF Overwatch Echelon Front Twitter LinkedIn Extreme Ownership Book I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

About Carl Over the past decade Carl Kinghorn has had the opportunity to grow as a leader within EFC Systems. He has championed changes to culture, processes, and development techniques that has enabled scaling the company's ability to deliver quality software to its clients in the agricultural space. During this time, he's seen the company triple in size; and in his role as VP of the software development group, he gets to be a leader and a teacher with a goal of enabling his teams to succeed. ​​ Carl is active in the Nashville development community as a technical speaker and is President of the non-profit Nashville .NET User Group (@NashDotNet). He brings an enthusiastic and welcoming presence to the group whose mission is to serve the community by organizing events that enable networking, education, and career guidance.​​ ​​ Carl has a BBA in Information Systems from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). What we talked about Relationship changes in growth Transparency Work for the team Alignment / Autonomy Matrix Collaboration Culture Change Purpose Communication User Groups Speaking Providing Value without Coding Say "We" not "I" Connect with Carl Twitter LinkedIn Nashville .Net User Group I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

About Mike Mike Cohn is the author of three of best-selling books on agile (User Stories Applied for Agile Software Development, Agile Estimating and Planning, and Succeeding with Agile). He is one of the world’s most sought-after and respected Certified Scrum Trainers, a keynote speaker, and an in-demand coach to companies throughout the United States and around the world. As the founder of Mountain Goat Software, Mike specializes in helping companies adopt and improve their use of agile processes and techniques in order to build extremely high-performance development organizations. His weekly email tips on succeeding with agile are read by over 100,000 people. With more than 20 years of experience, Mike has previously been a technology executive in companies of various sizes, from startup to Fortune 40. He is a co-founder of both the Scrum Alliance and the Agile Alliance, the home of the Agile Manifesto. He can be reached at mike@mountaingoatsoftware.com Today We Talked About Early years of Mike Cohn Management Communication of Agile Project Management Rubber Duck Debugging Asking Questions Leading people to the solution instead telling them the solution Implementing Scrum Wicked Problems, Righteous Solutions Scrum Alliance and Agile Alliance Do it by the book Essential Scrum Content Creation Entrepreneurship Be more open to experiments that may not work out Trust Trip-wires Ask More Questions than you make Statements Connect with Mike Twitter Blog Website LinkedIn I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show we've got Mike Burrows.  Mike is a leader in the lean, agile and project management community.  He's a well known speaker and consultant. About Mike  Agendashift founder Mike Burrows is the author of Kanban from the Inside (2014) and Agendashift: Outcome-oriented change and continuous transformation (2018); his third book Right to Left: the digital leader's guide to Lean and Agile is due in 2019. He is recognized for his pioneering work in Lean, Agile, and Kanban and his advocacy for participatory and outcome-oriented approaches to change, transformation, and strategy. Prior to his consulting career, Mike was global development manager and Executive Director at a top tier investment bank, and CTO for an energy risk management startup. Today We Talked About Lean Engagement Agile Leadership Identify the authentic situation of need Understand the What/When/Where of the project AgendaShift - Engagement Model Avoid Micromanagement Self-organization Understanding pain-points of users and a vision of what people would like to see Change doesn't have to be tiny small changes, it can be big picture change Focusing on outcomes, not solutions Get a mentor, read/listen to books. Connect with Mike Website Twitter LinkedIn I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

About Thom: (Ret.) Navy SEAL Thom Shea is the founder and CEO of Adamantine Alliance, a Leadership training organization. Thom works directly with executives and high performance individuals who want to master the Five Pyramids of Human Performance® to achieve the next level results. Thom is a renowned Keynote speaker, presenting dynamic topics of Leading in Chaos, Forging Leaders, and the Culture of Leading People. Thom interviews high performance leaders on The Unbreakable Podcast. He is the author of the best selling book “UNBREAKABLE: A Navy SEAL’s Way of Life.” Little and Brown publishing. Before creating Adamantine Alliance, Thom served 23 years with distinguished Valor as a Navy SEAL. During his military career he served in three wars, ultimately leading a team of Navy SEALs into Afghanistan in 2009 where he earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Valor, Army Commendation with Valor and his second Combat Action medal. He was hand-selected to serve as Officer In Charge of the famed SEAL Sniper course from 2010 – 2012. During his two year tenure, he transformed the sniper curriculum while successfully increasing both graduation numbers and shooting performance test scores. In his downtime, Thom runs Ultra marathons. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Ball State University and a Master Training Specialist certification from the Naval Special Warfare Center. He now resides in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife and three children. Today We Talked About: Unbreakable: A Navy SEAL's Way of Life by Thom Shea BUDS Training Being A Seal 5 Pyramids of Success Physical Wealth Spiritual Relationships Intellectual Adventure Racing Practice Leadership Team Dynamics Accountability Modeling Behavior Strong Women are necessary for Men to Succeed 13 Life Lessons in Unbreakable Internal Dialog Hope is the absence of action Belief is the absence of knowledge Three Keys to Leading Hunger Skill Humble Being Comfortable being Uncomfortable Don't compromise yourself Disruption Connect with Thom Website Unbreakable Book Twitter Facebook Podcast 13 Unbreakable Lessons I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Just another #1 world ranked video game player turned philosopher turned Navy SEAL turned non-profit startup CEO. John Allen is the CEO of Elite Meet, a Non-Profit organization he co-founded along with Jordan Selleck that connects high performing, transitioning veterans, like Navy SEALs and Fighter Pilots, with companies who are looking to hire. He started out at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, after which he served in the Navy as a Navy SEAL for seven years. Now the former Navy SEAL, turned non-profit start up CEO helps Navy SEALs, fighter pilots and other elite veterans find meaningful employment after they leave active duty. Today We Talked About: Video Games?  Skate - #1 ranked in the World! War Stories Leadership After the Navy Aggressively use LinkedIn, but don't look or sound like everyone else. Be Shameless The Best Leaders are good at making quick decisions and are confident in their choices   Connect with John Allen: Elite Meet LinkedIn Instagram I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

About Jeff Jeff Haden is speaker, ghostwriter, Inc. Magazine contributing editor, and author of the bestselling The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to WIn. Before changing careers he spent 20 years in manufacturing, starting as an entry-level shop-floor employee, climbing the ladder through a variety of customer service, human resources, production control, and multi-plant improvement team positions, to finally direct all manufacturing operations for a Fortune 500 company. Along the way he "made every leadership mistake it was possible to make." But he learned a lot from those mistake. And he also wants you to know that Richard Branson once gave him half his sandwich. So there is that. Today We Talked About: The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win 100,000 push-ups and 50,000 sit-ups in a year One on Ones On Boarding Great Job... Rewards Engagement Why people matter Serial Achievement Think Process over Goals Copy the framework (process) Your job is to serve those that report to you The time when Richard Branson gave Jeff half his sandwich Treat an employee like a person Motivation as an Excuse You need a pro, not a coach Contact Jeff The Motivation Myth - Book LinkedIn Twitter Inc. Website Business Insider I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

About John “How were you able to pull that off?” John has made a habit of creating seemingly impossible outcomes, whether transforming a struggling team to become the top performer, or engaging an audience with his playful, interactive, life-changing style. His belief is simple: we are each endowed with one unique genius, different than any other person on the planet. John uses his genius to create seemingly impossible outcomes and in doing so, helps people win big! His professional career spans 9 owner funded companies, some of which thrived, others not as much. Regardless, each company (and one non-profit foundation) taught valuable lessons and honed the skills and passions John holds today. In short: Do what you love! Love the people you do it with! In Evoking Genius, John partners with clients to create outcomes that they simply could not imagine possible, through an encouraging coaching style. “The clients always set the agenda,” says John, “and my job is to make the process of necessary change or transformation safer and more attractive than standing still.” That result comes about often in a playful manner, transforming work into play, and unleashing individual, team, and organizational “genius” in the process. “We take struggling teams and help them to transform into top performers. We take already great teams and partner with them to transform to their next highest level of growth. That almost always centers upon releasing the pent up talent in each individual and team. That sounds simple, and it’s not always easy. Our job is to make that process accessible, attractive, and mostly…safe. It never hurts to make it fun too,” claims John, who spent more than his fair share of time in the principal’s office for his playful approach to life…and grade school. That same approach makes transformation much more appealing for clients. Vital Stats BS in Economics and German from Georgetown University. 7 years of formal study in ontology, neural science and linguistics. 7 children. 3 grandchildren. CrossFitter and extreme athlete. Charitable board member, mostly for charities associated with eliminating child poverty and human trafficking. Giving back is simply part of his personal ethic. Today We Talked About The Motivation Trap: Leadership Strategies to Achieve Sustained Success Genius Talent Founder of Evoking Genius Purpose vs. Motivation Dan Pink - Drive Passion - Doing You Best Work Leaders Don't Provide Motivation Edit instead of Create Uncovering Genius Talent Hostage Negotiation Growing up with a the last name of Hittler Be Authentic “The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what?  After you start doing the thing, that's when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.” - John Maxwell Connect with John LinkedIn Book Website I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Bobby Allen serves as Chief technology officer (CTO) for CloudGenera and as Stewardship Pastor for Wellspring Church. He brings the unique perspective of being a thought-leader in Cloud Computing while helping lead a Gospel-centered, multi-ethnic church in Charlotte, NC. Bobby is a veteran of Intel, Bank of America and multiple startups.  He went into corporate America after being an Intel fellow at the University of Michigan. He is available to speak to your organization or at your next event about how to move from information to clarity to insight. Today we talked about: Time management as a start-up New Leadership for a New Year Being Present Ask your spouse "How present you are?" Transparency Don't bring the bad stuff home Importance of Mentors Need a Paul (someone to go before you) Need a Timothy (someone to come after you) Need a Barnabas (someone that's right there with you) Don't let ability compromise integrity Do you want your boss's job, or their boss's job? Think about your next 2 moves The size of your platform doesn't matter Bi-vocational careers Connect with Bobby Twitter Company Church LinkedIn I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

As CISO for Webroot, Gary Hayslip advises executive leadership on protecting critical information resources and oversees enterprise cyber-security strategy. His mission includes creating a “risk aware” culture that places a high value on securing and protecting customer information entrusted to Webroot. Hayslip’s career in the fields of enterprise information security and network security spans more than 20 years and includes multiple CIO, CISO, and deputy director of IT positions for the U.S. Navy, the Federal Government, and the City of San Diego. In these positions, he was instrumental in architecting security programs from the ground up, auditing large, disparate networks and consolidated extensive legacy network infrastructures into converged virtualized datacenters. Hayslip recently co-authored the CISO Desk Reference Guide: A Practical Guide for CISOs – Volumes 1 & 2, which are considered among the leading books on enabling CISOs to expand their expertise and scope of business knowledge. He serves as an advisory member of the EvoNexus Selection Committee, where he reviews and mentors cybersecurity and Internet-of-Things startups. He sits on the board of directors for both the Cyber Center of Excellence and the Infragard San Diego chapter. Hayslip is an active member of the professional organizations ISC2, ISSA, ISACA, OWASP, and Infragard. He currently holds several professional certifications, including CISSP, CISA, and CRISC. Hayslip has a BS in information systems management from UMUC and an MBA from San Diego State University. Today We Talked About: Origin Story Balancing Usability and Security Certifications for CISO's Risk Management Cyber Security SoftSkills Patient Tenacity Time Management Team Work Dependability Communication Collaboration Curiosity Connect with Gary LinkedIn Twitter Website Books Normally this is where I ask for a rating/review/subscribe, but instead, this month I’m asking that you make a donation for Breast Cancer Research in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month