
The Remarkable Leadership Podcast
The Remarkable Leadership Podcast with Kevin Eikenberry is dedicated to all things leadership. Each week Kevin shares his thoughts about leadership development and ideas to help you see the world differently, lead more confidently and make a bigger difference for those you lead. He also has weekly conversations with leadership experts discussing a wide range of topics including teamwork, organizational culture, facilitating change, personal and organizational development, human potential and more.
Latest episodes

Apr 27, 2022 • 37min
How to Stop Complacency and Improve Performance with Len Herstein
Are you successful? Do you know that success can lead to complacency? Complacency can decrease productivity, create mistakes, and impact the bottom line – it costs money. Len Herstein sits down with Kevin to discuss the dangers of complacency and why vigilance enables us to remain successful. Self-awareness is a start. When we become predictable, either personally or in our organizations, it becomes easier for a competitor to take over. We need to be strategically unpredictable and develop habits that minimize overconfidence. Key Points Len Herstein discusses complacency vs. vigilance and how we notice if we are becoming overconfident. He shares the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). He talks about metrics and unintended consequences. Meet Len Name: Len Herstein His Story: Len is the author of Be Vigilant! Strategies to Stop Complacency, Improve Performance, and Safeguard Success. He is on a mission to empower organizations and individuals to protect the success they’ve worked so hard to achieve. Len has a 30+ year history in business, marketing, and entrepreneurism–working in brand marketing for Coca-Cola, The Campbell Soup Company, and Nabisco before founding Manage Camp (a business conference producer). Worth Mentioning: In 2015, Len answered a higher calling to public service when he became a Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy in Douglas County, Colorado, where he works up to 850 hours a year as a state-certified peace officer on the patrol team – for free. Len quickly realized he was learning valuable lessons through his law enforcement training that applied directly back to his business. The most important lesson, and one of the very first he learned, was the concept that complacency kills, and vigilance saves This episode is brought to you by… The Daily Email, daily inspiration for leaders sent Monday-Friday every week. Kevin writes a short message to inform, inspire, engage, and focus you on becoming the best you and the best leader you can be. Book Recommendations Be Vigilant!: Strategies to Stop Complacency, Improve Performance, and Safeguard Success. Your Business and Relationships Depend on It by Len Herstein I’ll Be Back by Shep Hyken Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans by David Meerman Scott and Reiko Scott Related Podcast Episodes Building a Peak Performance Organization with Chris McGoff. From Suck to Success with Todd Palmer. What it Means to be a 100x Leader with Jeremie Kubicek .

Apr 22, 2022 • 5min
Four Keys to Successful Morning Routines - Thoughts from Kevin
Routines are wonderful things. When we have a routine, we no longer have to think about it. We are able to operate automatically, freeing up our brains for other things. Morning routines are especially important as they allow us the opportunity to start the day off successfully and productively. In this video, I am giving you four key idea to think about as you create, re-create or re-adjust your morning routines. 1. Prepare your body 2. Prepare your mind. 3. Prepare your attitude. 4. Prepare your focus. Tweet it out: How you start the day has a huge impact on the success of the day. Are you consistently preparing your body, mind, attitude and focus for success? @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Subscribe to the Future of Work Newsletter.

Apr 20, 2022 • 32min
Building Corporate Soul with Ralf Specht
We’ve heard of company culture. What about corporate soul? We know most employees quit their jobs not because of compensation, but because they don’t feel valued. Ralf Specht joins Kevin to discuss the Soul System™. This is a framework Ralf developed that aligns purpose with strategy and behavior. He shares an example of a company with a soul. Further, companies that operate in this framework are more successful and see higher ROI. Key Points Ralf Specht describes company soul and how this differs from culture. He shares his thoughts on purpose vs. mission. He advises how you can impact culture when you are not a senior leader. Meet Ralf Name: Ralf Specht His Story: Ralf is the author of Building Corporate Soul: Powering Culture & Success with the Soul System™. He was a founding partner of the startup Spark44, a global marketing communications powerhouse. He was the architect of an innovative, industry-first joint-venture with Jaguar Land Rover, which he grew to a global revenue of $100+m and 1,200 employees. Worth Mentioning: He consulted for more than 20 years with global companies and brands such as Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, General Motors, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Puma, and PWC with McCann Erickson. The title of his forthcoming book is Beyond the Startup: Sparking Operational Innovations for Global Growth. This episode is brought to you by… Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential, Kevin’s free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you become a more confident and successful leader. Book Recommendations Building Corporate Soul: Powering Culture & Success with the Soul System™ by Ralf Specht Leading From The Jumpseat: How to Create Extraordinary Opportunities by Handing Over Control by Peter Docker Related Podcast Episodes Building a Powerful Culture with Patty McCord. Connecting Your Company Culture with Your Brand with Denise Lee Yohn. The Power of Corporate Culture with Chris Dyer.

Apr 15, 2022 • 5min
Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket - Thoughts from Kevin
Now, you might already know that I grew up on a farm, and so I have plenty of farm phrases in my vernacular. Some of these phrases wouldn’t make any sense to you. But some of those farm phrases are things you’ve either heard before or maybe even heard here on this blog last week. You can watch that episode right here. So last week we talked about making hay, and today we’re talking about gathering eggs, and specifically about not putting all your eggs in one basket. Now, I don’t have nearly as much personal experience with eggs as I do with making hay. But think about it for a second. If you’ve got a basket that you’re using to collect eggs and as you’re putting them in one cracks. Well then, you have a problem. Even worse, if you drop the bucket, you lose all the eggs. So what’s the point for us as leaders? Well, there are several things for us to think about here. And I’m starting the video with one of my favorite thoughts in business: One is a dangerous number. Tweet it out: One can be a dangerous number. Look for multiple options, multiple solutions, and multiple paths to your success. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Learn more about, listen and subscribe to the Remarkable Leadership podcast here. Learn more about Kevin’s daily email newsletter and sign up here.

Apr 13, 2022 • 39min
No Bullsh!t Leadership with Martin Moore
Leadership isn’t rainbows and unicorns; it’s about results. Martin Moore believes there is a disconnect between the process and function of leadership today. He joins Kevin to share his No Bullsh!t framework and why leaders need to move past being liked and commit to developing the habits and disciplines that improve their leadership capability. Key Points Martin Moore shares his 7 imperatives from the No Bullsh!t Leadership framework (Value, Conflict, Resilience, Working at level, Ambiguity, Accountability, and Decision-making). He discusses what it means to work at level and how to get accountability. He gives advice for building resilience. Meet Martin Name: Martin G. Moore His Story: Martin is the author of No Bullsh!t Leadership and co-founder with his daughter, Emma Green, of Your CEO Mentor, a company whose purpose is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. He is also the host of the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast. Worth Mentioning: Martin is the former CEO of CS Energy. He also developed Leadership Beyond the Theory, a global training program geared toward sharing his insights and wisdom with the world’s top executives. This episode is brought to you by… Future of Work Newsletter, a free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you, your team and your organization be more successful in the ever-changing remote work environment. Book Recommendations No Bullsh!t Leadership by Martin G. Moore Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies by McKinsey & Company Inc., Tim Koller, Marc Goedhart, David Wessels The Halo Effect: . . . and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers by Phil Rosenzweig What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel Related Podcast Episodes Leading By Learning From the Tech Titans with Alex Kantrowitz. From Suck to Success with Todd Palmer. Insights into the Science of Leadership at Amazon with Bill Carr.

Apr 8, 2022 • 5min
Making Hay and Making Progress - Thoughts from Kevin
I grew up on a farm, and so I have plenty of agricultural phrases in my vernacular, but actually all of us have some of those phrases. For example: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Yep, that’s a farm phrase. And hint, I’m going to talk about it next week. But for now we’re talking about this phrase: Make hay when the sun is shining. Now, you may have never made hay. You may not know what that means but you’ve probably heard the phrase. Here’s the backstory. Hay is made from growing crop (grass, alfalfa and clover most frequently), and it is cut when it’s very green and very moist, a growing plant. However it must be dry before it can be bailed up to be used and stored. So you can cut hay when it’s raining, but you can’t make hay and bale it when it’s raining. The sun’s got to be shining. The crops need to be dry. There’s a limited time window. Make hay when the sun is shining. So here’s the point for us as leaders. Tweet it out: To make hay when the sun shines means to do the work you need to do, when you need to do it. And you don’t have to be a farmer to understand that. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Learn more about, listen and subscribe to the Remarkable Leadership podcast here. Learn more about Kevin’s daily email newsletter and sign up here.

Apr 6, 2022 • 41min
How Leaders Can Create a Company Culture That Doesn’t Suck with S. Chris Edmonds and Mark Babbitt
Culture seems to be the latest buzzword, yet the employee experience is important. Let’s face it, employees have a choice of where they want to work. Chris Edmonds and Mark Babbitt sit down with Kevin to talk about culture and that it doesn’t have to suck. You have a role to play and when you equally value respect and results, profits go up. Key Points Chris and Mark define good and why it is more important now than ever before. They share their thoughts around “servant purpose”. They discuss how you can create or adjust the culture if you aren’t senior leadership. They talk about how remote work impacts culture. Meet Chris and Mark Names: S. Chris Edmonds and Mark Babbitt Their Story: Chris and Mark are the authors of Good Comes First: How Today’s Leaders Create an Uncompromising Company Culture That Doesn’t Suck. Chris is also a speaker, executive consultant, and founder of The Purposeful Culture Group. Mark is also a speaker, executive coach, and President of WorqIQ. Worth Mentioning: Chris is one of Inc. Magazine’s 100 Top Leadership Speakers and was a featured presenter at South by Southwest. Mark is also CEO and Founder of YouTern. This career-focused community enables college students, recent graduates, and young professionals to find their first or next internship or job with the right organizational culture for them. This episode is brought to you by… Future of Work Newsletter, a free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you, your team and your organization be more successful in the ever-changing remote work environment. Book Recommendations Good Comes First: How Today’s Leaders Create an Uncompromising Company Culture That Doesn’t Suck by S. Chris Edmonds and Mark S. Babbitt The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World by Dorie Clark Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact by Liz Wiseman Related Podcast Episodes Turning Culture into Competitive Advantage with Jeff Grimshaw. Creating Courageous Cultures with Karin Hurt and David Dye. Solving the Culture Puzzle with Mario Moussa and Derek Newberry.

Apr 1, 2022 • 6min
Leadership Lessons from the Great Resignation - Thoughts from Kevin
The great resignation has been all over the press and all in the media. Everyone’s talking about it and many people are participating in it. I recently recorded a video with personal lessons from the great resignation. You can watch that here. But today we are talking specifically about what the great resignation means for leaders. There are major challenges for every leader and there are also some great lessons. We’ll explore those in the video below. Tweet it out: The Great Resignation holds lessons for leaders if we look for them. The biggest one is that people are thinking about work differently than ever before. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Learn more about and subscribe to our weekly email, the Future of Work Newsletter.

Mar 30, 2022 • 36min
Learning from the Best with Scott Miller
No two leadership journeys are the same. And, regardless of where we are, there is always an opportunity to learn. Scott Jeffrey Miller joins Kevin to discuss insights and lessons learned from hosting On Leadership with Scott Miller. The common thread he found from each of the 30 mentors he highlights in his book, Master Mentors, is they are clear in what they want to accomplish. They approach life with an abundance mindset and listen more than they talk. Key Points Scott Jeffrey Miller highlights lessons and stories he learned from hosting his podcast. He discusses the power of gratitude and living your life through the lens of “I get to.” He shares advice on how to find a mentor. Meet Scott Name: Scott Jeffrey Miller His Story: Scott Jeffrey Miller is the author of numerous books, including his latest book, Master Mentors: 30 Transformative Insights from Our Greatest Minds. Miller hosts the FranklinCovey-sponsored On Leadership with Scott Miller, the world’s largest and fastest-growing weekly leadership podcast. Worth Mentioning: In addition to supporting FranklinCovey’s global thought leadership efforts, Miller has developed the ignite your genius™ coaching series to help leaders take their careers from accidental to deliberate. He also hosts FranklinCovey’s Bookclub.com series with world-renowned authors. Miller began his professional career in 1992 with the Disney Development Company (the real estate development division of Walt Disney Company) as a founding member of the development team that designed the town of Celebration, Florida. Miller and his wife live in Salt Lake City, Utah, with their three sons. This episode is brought to you by… Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential, Kevin’s free weekly e-newsletter. It’s full of articles and resources to help you become a more confident and successful leader. Book Recommendations Master Mentors: 30 Transformative Insights from Our Greatest Minds by Scott Jeffrey Miller Be Exceptional: Master the Five Traits That Set Extraordinary People Apart by Joe Navarro The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. Going There by Katie Couric Related Podcast Episodes Management Mess to Leadership Success with Scott Jeffrey Miller. Read to Lead with Jeff Brown. Being Impact Player with Liz Wiseman.

Mar 25, 2022 • 6min
three cultures you must consider
Organizational culture has been an important topic for a number of years, but right now, as I’m recording this video at the beginning of 2022, culture has never been a bigger focus. Organizations around the globe are trying to figure out what the future of their workplace will look like. And rightfully so, they’re concerned about their culture. And many leaders are trying to figure out how they can get the culture they used to have back. Now let me just say, trying to get back to the culture you used to have pre-pandemic will not be possible. The world has changed significantly as have we and our people. Whether we like it or not, culture is always changing. It’s never static. So as you think about your organizational culture and what that will look like for you, I’d like to share three cultures that you should consider in this process. Tweet it out: To create the culture you want, you must consider the culture of your past and present as the starting point. @KevinEikenberry In this episode: Learn more about, listen and subscribe to the Remarkable Leadership podcast here.