Why That Worked – Presented by StoryBrand.ai

It’s easy to spot weak company culture, isn’t it? We’ve all witnessed the politics, egos, and backstabbing. That kind of toxic environment makes it hard to do good work and retain good people. But it’s not so easy to pinpoint what makes a thriving company culture. What steps can we take to cultivate it with our current employees? How can we recruit and hire people who “get it?” To answer those questions, Donald Miller sits down with renowned business consultant Patrick Lencioni this week on the Building a StoryBrand podcast. Patrick shares the three characteristics of a great team member, plus practical ways you can help your team develop those traits. Your business can’t reach its potential if your people don’t reach theirs. What Patrick shares here will help you create a positive, authentic company culture that drives your overall business growth. http://buildingastorybrand.com/84

So, at this point, you know you need a strong social media strategy to grow your business. But it seems like the best practices are always changing. It takes a ton of time. You’re constantly updating all the things. And at the end of the day, you have no idea if it’s even working. Here’s the good news. With the right strategies, you can measurably grow your business with social media -- even if you don’t have a lot of time or a huge staff. That’s why we’re thrilled to have Rachel Hollis on the podcast today. She’s the force behind The Chic Site, where she’s built a massive community by serving them with valuable content. She sits down with Donald Miller to talk through the five key social media strategies you can use to engage your followers and grow business. If you’re worn out by social media, listen to this episode. You’ll be ready to start building a tribe that can take your business to the next level. http://buildingastorybrand.com/83

When the Winter Olympics start this week, we’re going to be captivated by winners. We’ll get inspired by seeing years of hard work all come down to one moment of glory. You may not be fine-tuning your luge run. But as business leaders, we still want to win. We want to surpass last month’s goals. We want to beat the competition. We want to lead the industry. That’s why we have Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton back on the Building a StoryBrand podcast this week. He and Donald Miller talk about how to live more like a champion. Scott has an amazing way of taking what he’s learned about competing and winning at the highest level and turning it into wisdom we can use in everyday life. When you know what champions do differently, you’ll start accumulating little wins  -- and those will turn into big victories for your business and your life. Don’t miss this one. You’ll walk away inspired and equipped to tackle your most Olympic-sized goals. http://buildingastorybrand.com/82

These days, our economy shifts and evolves at light speed. It can be overwhelming and intimidating just to follow along with the news. But if you lead a business, you need to understand how these big-level marketplace changes affect your company. When you do, you’ll feel empowered to make smarter decisions about how you hire and invest. In this episode of the Building a StoryBrand podcast, Donald Miller talks with economist and investment expert Ron Carson about the many economic issues that impact a business leader. You’ll discover what the new tax plan means for you, how to spot a strong financial opportunity, specific investment ideas for today’s market, what to watch out for when you hire a financial advisor, what’s really happening with blockchain technology -- plus a whole lot more. You don’t have to feel intimidated or overwhelmed by economics. Listen to this episode and discover how a better grasp of economics can make a huge difference in your small business’s bottom line. http://buildingastorybrand.com/81 

For your business to truly thrive, you’ve got to be good at delegation. You know this. But it’s so hard to relinquish control of your email, your calendar, and your travel. You’ve bought into the myth that only you can do it all, and it’s sucking the life out of you. A personal assistant can help -- but only if you set up the relationship in a healthy way. To help us, Donald Miller sits down with Bryan Miles. His company, Belay Solutions, helps high-performing executives achieve more by pairing them with top-notch virtual assistants. In this episode of the Building a StoryBrand podcast, they discuss the 5 key ways you can create a positive and productive relationship with your assistant, even if you’ve been reluctant to delegate in the past. Stop trying to do it all. Listen to this episode, and you’ll unlock new levels of freedom, creativity, and value for your business. http://buildingastorybrand.com/80

Have you ever felt like something is missing from your customers’ experience? Or that you and your team are just “going through the motions?”   Sure, you’re delivering a great product, but it’s just a business transaction. Worse, you and your team have lost the excitement you used to have about serving your customers. That’s why I’m thrilled to sit down with Dan Heath on the Building a StoryBrand podcast. As the  co-author of The Power of Moments, he’s going to show you what’s missing in your customer and team interactions. You’re going to learn 4 ways to create powerful moments they’ll always remember. As a leader, you don’t need a ton of money or resources to create defining moments for the people you serve. You just need a desire and a little imagination to make your time with them unforgettable.   After reading this blog post or listening to this podcast, you’ll no longer be just delivering a product. Instead, you’ll be creating memories that will last forever. http://buildingastorybrand.com/79

Do you always feel like you’re short on time? Most days, it seems like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that matters to us. But what if the problem isn’t how many hours we have — but how we’re using them? That’s the big idea from Daniel Pink, our guest today on the StoryBrand podcast. Daniel has done the research and studied the science, and it turns out that certain times are better than others for doing different types of work. Donald Miller sits down with Daniel to help you finally understand the smart way to structure your time. He points out the common time management mistakes he sees and how to fix them. And he shows you a simple way to pay attention to your natural rhythms, so you can maximize your productivity and creativity every day. The quest for the ideal schedule ends here! Listen to this episode to stop the constant stress of the time crunch. Then watch your days (and your life!) transform. http://buildingastorybrand.com/78

We may hide it well, but the truth is most of us business leaders and executives suffer from the same fears that plagued us in middle school — appearing incompetent, vulnerable, and foolish. These fears get in the way of our goals and mess up our relationships. But not this year. As we move into 2018, we’re going to start with how to face your underlying fears in a healthy way. This week, Miles Adcox joins Donald Miller for this week’s episode of Building a StoryBrand podcast. As the CEO of the therapeutic retreat center Onsite, he’s been helping leaders like you and me understand how we need to embrace our fears rather than give in to the typical fight, flight or freeze responses.   This is an inspiring conversation, and the wisdom Miles shares has the potential to launch our new year in a way that will forever change the way we lead. Don’t miss it! http://buildingastorybrand.com/77

Since it’s Christmas, we decided to wrap up all the practical advice from 2017 and give it to you in a single episode. Tune in to Blake Mycoskie, Chief Shoe-Giver and founder of TOMS, for the first three hires you should make as you scale up your business. Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better reveals how to build mental models to help you avoid wasting time on unimportant tasks. Professional storyteller Tricia Rose Burt gives you the story structure that will help you resonate with your audience. And Robert Sutton, author of The A-hole Survival Guide, will tell you how to avoid jerks at the office. We’ll finish with advice on how to close deals from Molly Fletcher, author of A Winner’s Guide to Negotiating. Whether you’re traveling today or just waiting around for Christmas dinner to come out of the oven, listen to these episodes you may have missed or review the key points of 2017. We hope you’ve learned as much as we have from our guests this year. And we wish you a happy, healthy business that will bless you and your loved ones as it grows. http://buildingastorybrand.com/76

Get our most helpful advice from some of our favorite interviews in a single episode! As we close out the year, we’ve selected five big ideas from our conversations that zero in on building your business. You get to hear from Seth Godin, marketing genius, about speed versus perfection when it comes to launching your product. You’ll learn how to reverse engineer your goals from Fizzle director, Chase Reeves, and how to get your team to focus on and execute your most important goal from 4DX co-author Chris McChesney. Nancy Duarte will teach you how to structure your upcoming presentation. Finally, copywriting extraordinaire Ray Edwards will reveal the magic words you need to use with your customers to make you money. If you’re traveling over the holidays, this is a great way to find helpful episodes you may have missed or revisit your favorites for fresh insight. We hope that we’ve helped to grow your business this year by gleaning the best wisdom from our guests and bringing it to you when you most need it. http://buildingastorybrand.com/75