Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher

Today’s conversation is all about designing the future you! Who are you? Who are you going to be? What stories are you telling yourself today that are shaping your future success?   Founder and president of Transitions Institute, Inc., David Zelman has served as a corporate and business coach to millionaires, billionaires, royalty, and other top professionals who want to bridge the gap between professional accomplishment and personal satisfaction. His unique approach to fully expressing one’s humanity has empowered people to step beyond what is predictable and create truly extraordinary lives.   From near-illiterate high school dropout to college graduate to corporate consultant and business coach, David knows a thing or two about making successful transitions. When he realized he was headed down one dead end, he found the courage to pivot toward something better. Dying with your potential intact is not a good idea! The game isn’t to fulfill your potential, it’s leaning into it. That’s what the trajectory of designing a second life is all about.   We all have unlimited potential, the challenge is to figure out how to access it. What we dedicate our time and efforts to is what we are committed to. If you want to tap into your future potential, you have to be committed to it!   Too many people don’t understand the full nature of commitment. The internal conversations we have that excuse us from commitment become our reality, so we have to be very careful about what we tell ourselves. No matter what happens, commit now to being one of the finishers who doesn’t give up!   Interview Links: Transitions Institute David Zelman If I Can, You Can: Transformation Made Easy, by David Zelman, Ph.D.   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

Are you so certain of what you (think you) know that you’re missing out on the possibilities that only come with embracing the unknown? Taking risks and presenting yourself in powerful ways are both key concerns of effective leaders.   Victoria Labalme harnesses principles from Broadway, Hollywood & Television to help entrepreneurs, artists and leaders Risk Forward® and Rock The Room®. She’s a WSJ bestselling author, Performance Strategist & Hall of Fame Speaker.   Victoria found her most impactful stage as a coach to CEOs and leaders around the world. From her own experiences with 9/11, terminal cancer and the pandemic, she has learned as well as anyone the value of embracing the unknown and utilizing the performing arts to present your best self.   When you present yourself from within, you harness a current that is followed by your authentic self and the natural energy that you have. Victoria’s programs Risk Forward® and Rock The Room® are both about the authentic expression of one’s self, in leadership, in business, and in life.   Many leaders feel the pressure to always have a clear goal or vision that they are working toward, but don’t actually know what’s coming next. But Victoria argues that it’s in not knowing that our best work and creative innovations appear. When we are willing to lean into an authentic place, we’re opening ourselves up to the possibilities that can only come with the unknown.   Few experiences have created uncertainty like the pandemic and today’s economy. When leaders are willing to lean into the unknown, rather than hold tight to what they think they know, they come alive. Victoria shares four ways to risk forward and reminds us - “don’t let your goals get in the way of your vision.”   Interview Links: Victoria Lebalme Risk Forward   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

How and when are you going to sell your company? It’s the biggest sale you’ll ever make, and the one that too many business owners aren’t spending enough time preparing for. But the sale of your business needs your time and attention now in order to really pay off down the road.   Larry Snyder has successfully led businesses for over 40 years. He has been through all four stages of a business — starting one, building the foundation, growing the business, and exiting. He knows the value of being prepared for an exit from Day 1 and how to achieve that for optimal value.   Looking back to his own exits, Larry made several key proactive steps. First, he recognized that a successful exit doesn’t happen overnight. He also identified how to align all invested partners to optimize well before the exit date. Larry has seen firsthand what happens when companies don’t have a clearly-thought-out exit strategy in place. And without one, business owners are setting themselves up to receive a fraction of the sale price that their business is actually worth.   But how can a business owner know if they are on the right track for making a smooth exit? Start by taking a vacation! If you can’t take a two-week vacation without your company falling apart or you constantly having to check in on everyone, you’ve still got some work to do.   Create a clear picture of your exit. What does it look like when you leave the business, regardless if it’s five, ten or twenty years from now? What is your role in the company once you have made your sale? Larry shares several anecdotal experiences where it pays to begin with the end in mind. Most importantly, no matter how far you are from your exit, dedicate some time to structuring it each week, and ask the questions that lead to the insight that you need to be prepared for the optimal exit, whenever it may come.   Interview Links: Larry Snyder   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

A great storyteller knows how to craft a story and use it to their advantage. With your team, your investors, your customers, and your partners, the right stories can be incredibly powerful.   Stephanie Paul’s talents take many forms — as an actress who has worked in 10 international TV and Film markets, as an improv, stand up and sketch comedian, a director, producer, writer, public speaker, and most recently the author of Unlock the MAGIC of Story. She began acting at the age of 10 and has spent her life engaging others in powerful stories.   She has learned that the most powerful story you will ever tell is the one you tell yourself. Some stories empower us, and some make us feel limited, but all of the stories can either motivate or paralyze us. Actors use these stories to harness the brain chemicals that make for good entertainment, and we can hack our own biology — for better or worse — with storytelling.   Your brain will complete an unfinished story, even without the facts to support it. Stephanie explains how our brain jumps to conclusions and that affects our narrative and our behavior in ways that aren’t actually consistent with our values or beliefs. The way you show up and how you tell your stories to others can be incredibly effective on others.   Bottom line, if you’re not having fun, then neither is your audience. Passion shines through more than any other measure of preparation. At the end of the day, the buy-in is biological and the story influences the decision-making. The stories you tell have the power to make or break your business, your customers, your investments, and your life.   Interview Links: Stephanie Paul Unlock the MAGIC of Story   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

People who are willing to take more risks are more likely to experience greater success, and the only difference is that they are willing to try, and occasionally fail.   Jim McCormick is the president of the Research Institute for Risk Intelligence, a world-class, Hall of Fame skydiver, and author of The Power of Risk. With over 5,200 skydives to his name, Jim knows plenty about the value and thrill of intelligent risk-taking. He took his first jump when he was 32, and immediately found that satisfaction that comes with conquering his fears.   But how important is risk-taking in reaching your goals? Jim shares the fears of deep-sea exploration and the value that leaders have by sharing their expertise with non-experts. Humans do not like to feel vulnerable, and risk makes us vulnerable, but that doesn’t mean it should be avoided altogether.   Everybody is happy when innovation works out, but what happens when companies take a risk and it doesn’t work out? Jim explains the 350 Rule, which celebrates failure while still focusing on and aiming for success. No enterprise can expect every risk to result in reward, but those risks are generally still worth taking.   After every single jump, Jim reviews footage and reflects on what went well and what can be improved for next time. With a culture of permission, companies and leaders can embrace failure and encourage intelligent risk-taking.   It’s incredible to consider how much effort some people put into taking risks out of their lives, but that is rarely the path that leads to the greatest success. Playing it safe, or reflexive risk aversion, often limits the success you can experience. With 3.67 million skydives made in the U.S. last year and only 10 fatalities, it’s clear that our perception of risk and the actual risk we face often vary widely.   Interview Links: Research Institute for Risk Intelligence Jim on LinkedIn   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

At the intersection of work and home, we find life — who we are and where we find purpose amidst all the things we deal with. There are frameworks to deal with in every aspect of life, and this week’s guest understands the challenge of trying to manage it all while finding and fulfilling our life’s purpose.   Jonathan Domsky is the founder of Kidorable and is now a full-time coach. He calls himself an accidental entrepreneur who started with the simple goal of gaining more control over his time. When he realized he couldn’t dedicate any more of his life to work that didn’t light him up, he transitioned to coaching — what he calls the best journey of his life.   Even though Jonathan didn’t know anything about coaching, he did have the desire to take action. With that dedication and a clear vision of the kind of coach he wanted to be, Jonathan started on his new path and has experienced great joy along the way.   When we don’t know who we are or what our core values are, it’s impossible to know if we’re achieving meaningful progress in our careers or lives. But work that is aligned with your purpose is naturally joyful, and Jonathan outlines the steps required to become more fully aligned with your life’s purpose.   Your why and your how point the direction toward the purpose of your life, but your life is really about the what. It can take some experimentation to find out the what of your life, and Jonathan shares some of the exercises and experiences that have helped his clients discover and define their life’s purpose.   Interview Links: Untangled Coaching Jonathan on LinkedIn   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

As the CEO, do you ever feel like you get a little sidetracked? Do you feel you’re too in your business instead of focusing on what you’re actually good at? This week’s guest knows how to offboard those troublesome tasks so that you can get more productive CEO work done.   Richard Shaull is the Founder of Unleashed, a company that helps visionary CEOs free up 30 hours per week by training their COO counterpart, which then allows CEOs to focus on tasks that propel their company forward. After almost killing himself through two business ventures, Richard made it his mission to help other entrepreneurs never go through the same struggles again.   As a newly-married man and running two businesses at the same time, Richard couldn’t take it anymore. He was suffering on a level he did not know he could. He ended up losing investor money, got defrauded by the U.S. government, sued, you name it, Richard experienced it.   As Richard reflects on what he could have done better, he realizes that his fatal flaw was his leadership ability. Everyone external thought his company was doing great, but internally, nothing was working right. Everything was falling apart.   Richard had to take ownership. Everything rises and falls with leadership and he was the root source of the problem. He realized a little too late that what got him here was not what would get him there, and that was how the cookie crumbled.   Interview Links: Unleashed.ceo Richard on LinkedIn   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

When you’re scaling your business, fires are likely to pop up and get your mission detailed. Business owners often face the problem that they’re unable to utilize their people effectively in times of crisis. Today’s guest has wisdom on how to keep culture aligned and have everyone’s mental stamina primed and ready for action.   John Robertson is the Founder & President of Fortlog Services. He built his services with an encouragement-based approach, resolving root causes at the source as opposed to treating crisis in the workplace symptomatically. He is a Workforce Wellness Expert and a Cultural Alignment Specialist and helps organizations develop and engage their people.   Why do we make people feel bad whenever something stressful happens in the workplace? The old school “walk it off” model when you’re in pain just doesn’t work. John has seen clients excel greatly in their position, but each and every task they did became a painful stone in their shoe that built up to the point where they no longer could take it. It’s John’s job is to prevent it from ever getting to that point.   “Why do you want to work here?” This is a poorly structured question. Many new hires don’t know how well they’ll be able to fit into your team. The question and all the actions supporting that should be rephrased to, “How can we help you work here?” Telling your team the crisis problem doesn’t exist only makes the bleeding become heavier.   Interview Links: Fortlog.co Runtowardtheroar.online John on LinkedIn   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

How do we attract and retain A-players? And how do we build an A-player culture in a me-over-we environment? Today’s guest knows that the number one asset of any successful company is the people, and he has joined the podcast to share his secrets of company culture success.   Marc Reifenrath is the co-founder and CEO of Spinutech. Spinutech has grown from a university dorm start-up over 20 years ago to a multinational digital agency with 150-plus team members across the U.S.   What does it mean to have the kind of company culture that attracts and retains top talent? From the beginning, Marc and the team at Spinutech aimed to shape their workplace as one that they wanted to work at. Since they aren’t in the business of saving lives, they aim to have fun with the work they are doing.   Leaders give their team permission to act, whether it’s through yelling at employees or playing and having fun while working. As CEO, Marc has had to give up some of his favorite fun parts of his work, but that hasn’t stopped him from striving to exemplify the company vision and motivate his team along the way.   Even a merger hasn’t slowed down the power of this team’s culture. Marc reveals the secret of a successful merger — to treat everyone like it’s their first day again — and the values that keep his company culture running strong. From attracting to retaining superior talent, Marc understands and shares how to find and keep the best person for any job.   Interview Links: Mark Reifenrath in Twitter   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.  

Today’s guest has an array of life experiences that uniquely shaped her leadership skills. From parochial school to West Point, Special Ops to stockbroker, Becky Margiotta has powerful insights into the leadership skills that lead to success.   Becky Margiotta is the cofounder and owner of The Billions Institute, LLC, the author of Impact with Integrity: Repairing the World Without Breaking Yourself, and the host of the Unleashing Social Change Podcast. Becky also directed the 100,000 Homes campaign for Community Solutions, working across 186 cities to permanently house more than 100,000 people.   With her diverse background, Becky was prepared to tackle the biggest challenge of her career — housing the homeless. Over the course of four years, she succeeded in reducing homelessness in Times Square by 87%. She highlights some of the situations she faced during this opportunity and how her leadership skills turned challenges into incredible success.   Over her 11 years working with the homeless, her curiosity and desire for interpersonal connections led her to found The Billions Institute. The aim of the institute is to support large-scale change as a matter of justice and to get solutions to everyone who can benefit from them as fast as possible. They work with social entrepreneurs, change leaders, and C-suite leaders in healthcare, public schools, and more to scale up in a major way.   For Becky, effective scaling as a leader starts with falling in love with the problem. When you love the problem you’re working with, it becomes easier to do whatever it takes to solve it. Dig deep into your personal motivation, be prepared to serve whenever the opportunities arise, and build your business around generosity.   Interview Links: Billions Institute   Resources: 20,000 Scaleups Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube   Scaling Up is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and our team for Scaling Up Coaches (formerly Gazelles). We share how the fastest-growing companies succeed where so many others fail.   Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the show is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.   We help leadership teams with the biggest decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth. Scaling Up is based on Verne’s original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.   Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then please leave a review! Help other business leaders discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast so they, too, can benefit from the ideas shared in these podcasts.