Why That Worked – Presented by StoryBrand.ai

If you’ve ever smelled that warm and buttery smell in the mall, and minutes later, had an Auntie Anne’s pretzel in your hand, you’re not alone. Auntie Anne’s has 2,000 locations in 26 countries. They’ve made 1.8 billion pretzels -- enough to go around the Earth 50 times. And their success is about a lot more than just that amazing smell. Auntie Anne’s founder, Anne Beiler, is an incredible leader with a unique backstory. She joins Donald Miller on this episode of the Building a StoryBrand podcast to share the lessons she’s learned growing this company. Her story will inspire you in so many ways, especially if you’re passionate about personal growth and building a company with a greater purpose. For a blog post summary of the episode with practical takeaways, visit http://buildingastorybrand.com/45

Is it possible to live a life of service and sacrifice even while pursuing a career that matters deeply? When you look at the life of sportscasting legend Ernie Johnson, Jr., you can’t help but say yes. On this episode of the Building a StoryBrand podcast, Donald Miller sits down with Ernie Johnson. They share a heartfelt conversation about leading a life of significance and making room to help others, even while we pursue our careers. Don’t miss this inspiring episode. The life lessons here are rich and hard and absolutely worth your time. Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/44 to help you apply what you learned in the interview to your life and business.

What if there were a roadmap that showed you all the major milestones your business was going to hit as it grows? Wouldn’t it be great to know what’s coming next and how to navigate well? That framework exists, and we’re going to explore it in depth on this week’s episode of the Building a StoryBrand podcast. Donald Miller sits down with David McKeown of PredictableSuccess.com. He and his father Les have developed this framework over decades, and they’ve seen it prove out in countless companies, regardless of their size or industry. When you understand these seven stages, you’ll understand how to strike a perfect balance between innovation and processes. And when that happens, the success of your business becomes a lot more predictable. Listen now and take the guesswork out of growing your small business. Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/43 to help you apply what you learned in the interview to your business.

The better we understand people, the better leaders we’ll be. And one of the best tools for understanding yourself and those around you is the Enneagram. If you haven’t encountered it before, the Enneagram is simply an ancient personality framework. There are nine core types, and we tend to gravitate toward one of them in our youth as a way of coping with the world. This week on the Building a StoryBrand podcast, Donald Miller talks with Enneagram expert Ian Cron about how to use this powerful framework to make both yourself and your business healthier. They unpack each of nine personality types and then discuss how understanding the Enneagram can help you become a stronger, more empathetic leader. Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/42 to help you apply what you learned in the interview to your business.

What’s the most powerful tool in the world for captivating the human brain? It’s storytelling. As business leaders, sometimes we struggle to keep our audience’s attention for a few seconds. But storytellers have figured out how to keep an audience’s attention for hours. If we want to captivate our customers, we need to understand the art of storytelling. So today on the Building a StoryBrand podcast, Donald Miller talks with Allan Heinberg, one of the world’s most accomplished storytellers. He’s written for Grey’s Anatomy and Sex and the City and is currently the showrunner for Shonda Rhimes’ show The Catch. In this episode, you’ll find a wealth of wisdom for how to captivate your audience of prospective customers. (There’s also a fair amount of geeking out about character development and the creative process!) PLUS! Don’t miss the BONUS SEGMENT with musician Drew Holcomb. Drew stopped by our office to talk about the business of music and to play a couple of songs for us. Listen now! Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/41 to help you apply what you learned in the interview to your business.

Most of us business leaders are glued to our phones. Work can feel all-consuming. We end each day fatigued and overloaded, and everything suffers as a result. But life isn't supposed to look like this. We need what Juliet Funt calls “white space” -- strategic rests and pauses between our busy-ness. This week, Juliet joins Donald Miller on the Building a Story Brand podcast, and she helps us understand the importance of these pauses for our work, the four big reasons we struggle with it, and what we can do to reclaim our rest and thoughtfulness. This is an inspiring conversation, and the wisdom Juliet shares has the potential to give us better quality of work at the office and better presence with our loved ones at home. Don’t miss it! Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/40 to help you apply what you learned in the interview to your business.

Why do some companies stay young, agile, and competitive, while others get bogged down and decline? That’s the big question that this week's guest, Chris Zook, set out to answer. After years of research, he and his team at Bain Insights found three key elements that showed up in successful companies, and they called them “The Founder’s Mentality.” On this episode, Donald Miller sits down with Chris to understand how these three elements make a company healthy on the inside and create more profit and more impact on the world. Listen now! Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/39 to help you apply what you learned in the interview to your business.

Why do leaders fail? It’s not because they don’t know what they’re doing. It’s usually because they’ve failed to listen to and develop their staff. They’ve failed to respect and communicate well with them. Basically, they’ve failed at people skills. To help us master the fine art of people skills, Lee Cockerell, the former Executive VP of Operations for Disney, joins Donald Miller on this episode of the Building a Story Brand podcast. Lee built his sterling career by focusing on people, and in this conversation, he shares five major takeaways we can all use to help our teams grow -- and see our businesses grow as a result. ***PLUS! A BONUS SEGMENT*** Just in time for the Masters tournament this week, Donald talks with professional golfer Ryan Moore about what it’s like to play the Masters and what makes its unique brand of tradition and excellence so special. Don’t miss it! Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/38 to help you apply what you learned in the interview to your business.

Motivation is overrated. If you want to accomplish the things that will grow your life and your business, you can’t rely on it. And today’s guest on the Building a Story Brand podcast, Mel Robbins, is with me on this notion that motivation isn’t the key to success. More than that, she’s discovered a simple mental strategy we can use to bypass motivation in order to make wise decisions that grow our businesses, make healthful decisions, and strengthen our relationships. It’s incredibly simple and intuitive, as you’ll see, and it has the power to dramatically impact your life. Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/37

Why are most meetings so awful? A lot of us leave every meeting feeling like we’ve wasted our time and gotten nowhere on a problem -- only to get back to our desks farther behind on our “real jobs.” But with a little intention, we can make meetings not just productive, but also energizing and fun. On this episode of the Building a Story Brand podcast, Donald Miller sits down with Daniel Tardy the SVP of EntreLeadership, Dave Ramsey’s business coaching division. They walk through nine strategies we can use that will make our meetings more productive and more fun. With this advice, you can lead dynamic meetings that bring out the best in your team and actually move the needle for your business. Get the worksheet that goes along with this episode at http://buildingastorybrand.com/36