The Game Changing Attorney Podcast with Michael Mogill

Confusing great culture with unconditional acceptance is one of the fastest ways to destroy a business. In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill challenge the belief that accountability and close relationships can’t coexist. The conversation begins with Michael reflecting on Steve Wynn's philosophy of creativity and how it applies to standing out in saturated markets, then shifts into three critical questions about culture, accountability, and performance. From diagnosing silent culture problems to justifying special privileges for top performers, this episode tackles the hard truths that most leaders avoid. The tightest cultures are built on standards, not sentiment. Here's what you'll learn: Why creativity is not about invention but about creating contrast between expectation and reality How to maintain accountability and culture simultaneously without confusing the two Why special talent deserves special privileges and how to defend that to your team Unconditional love has no place in business. Unconditional standards do. ---- 02:25 – Michael Mogill explains Steve Wynn's definition of creativity as the clash between thesis and antithesis. 03:54 – How the Game Changers Summit became innovative by defying conference expectations rather than matching them. 11:09 – Jessica Mogill shares how skip-level meetings reveal patterns and uncover real culture problems. 13:43 – Why calling your business a family creates unconditional expectations that destroy accountability. 15:45 – How transparency with performance data prevents resentment when underperformers are let go. 17:39 – Why exceptional performers deserve exceptional privileges and how to defend that decision. 18:52 – The NFL veteran principle: special treatment must be earned daily and can be taken away. ---- Links & Resources: Steve Wynn Video on Creativity The Mirage The Game Changers Summit Fyre Festival The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 394. How to Grow Without Losing Culture (Or Your Sanity) with Varghese Summersett 352. Susan Fowler — Why Everything You Know About Motivating Your Team Might Be Completely Wrong 54. Eric Farber — The Case for Culture

Drama isn't just annoying. It's measurable, costly, and completely avoidable. In this encore episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill sits down with Cy Wakeman, leadership expert, author of No Ego, and founder of Reality-Based Leadership, to unpack the staggering cost of emotional waste in the workplace. From venting and scorekeeping to resisting change and holding organizations hostage, drama silently destroys productivity and engagement. This conversation challenges the conventional wisdom around employee happiness and exposes the hard truths about accountability, leadership myths, and what it really takes to build a high-performing culture. Here's what you'll learn: Why the average employee spends over two hours a day stuck in drama, and what that really costs your firm How to stop managing emotional waste and start building a culture rooted in accountability and results Why popular leadership advice is often based on flawed research, and what the evidence actually says about engagement and performance Stop managing the drama and start building the culture you actually want. ---- Show Notes: 02:56 – Cy Wakeman discusses her mythbusting approach to leadership and why she brings evidence-based research back into HR instead of relying on pop psychology. 05:15 – Understanding the invisible tax that drains productivity and engagement from every team without most leaders realizing it. 06:12 – The cost of workplace drama and why it's affecting far more of your organization than you think. 14:25 – Why the strategies designed to boost engagement often backfire and create the opposite of what leaders intended. 16:09 – The accountability paradox that makes it impossible to satisfy everyone on your team with the same approach. 19:20 – Where leaders should actually invest their time and energy for maximum organizational impact. 24:35 – What really happens when you raise standards and why most leaders are wrong about the consequences. 28:26 – A new framework for measuring employee value that goes far beyond traditional performance reviews. 36:20 – Rethinking generational differences and what younger employees actually bring to high-performing organizations. ---- Links & Resources: No Ego by Cy Wakeman Reality-Based Leadership by Cy Wakeman The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace by Cy Wakeman Reality-Based Leadership Website ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 369. Your Ego Is Making You Miserable with Cy Wakeman 191. Joey Coleman — Never Lose an Employee Again: The Simple Path to Remarkable Retention 97. Liz Wiseman — Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact

Longevity doesn't equal excellence, but somewhere along the way, we started treating it like it does. In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill tackle one of the most uncomfortable truths in leadership: tenure is not a metric for promotion. From attorneys demanding partnership based on years served to team members resenting promotions they believe they "deserved," this conversation exposes the friction that happens when loyalty is mistaken for performance. Michael also shares how he's training his daughter to see skills as learnable, not innate, and why the same growth mindset applies to building teams that reward excellence over seniority. Here's what you'll learn: Why rewarding tenure over performance quietly destroys your standards and demoralizes top performers How to define partnership expectations before resentment builds and misalignment festers What to do when you've been delaying a termination decision, and why waiting only makes it worse Time served is not the same as value delivered. This episode is your reminder to lead with clarity, not comfort. ---- 01:57 – Michael introduces his new daily training sessions with his seven-year-old daughter and explains why focus is a trainable skill that nobody teaches. 06:47 – How the triathlon training principle applies to business: success has less to do with natural ability and more to do with time dedicated to practice. 09:26 – An attorney with six years of tenure demands partnership and equity, claiming the firm owner is "moving the goalposts." 14:26 – Why tenure doesn't trump performance, and how to explain promotions based on meritocracy without apology. 18:07 – Michael explains why delaying a termination decision only makes it more painful, and why it will never be easier than today. ---- Links & Resources: Marshmallow Test Lewis Hamilton ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 411. AMMA — What to Do When Everyone Wants Something From You 401. AMMA — From Girl Dad to CEO: The Michael Mogill Playbook 52. Brian Chase — Aligning Passion and Purpose

Most people think they have a revenue problem, but in reality, it’s a reputation problem. In this encore episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill sits down with Rory Vaden, co-founder of Brand Builders Group, New York Times bestselling author, and the youngest person ever inducted into the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame. Rory reveals why personal branding isn't about vanity or follower counts, but about the digitization of reputation in an industry where trust determines everything. Through frameworks like Sheehan's Wall and insights from building multiple eight-figure businesses, this conversation challenges the myth that you need to be everywhere, talk about everything, and serve everyone to break through. Here's what you'll learn: Why 58% of Americans want their lawyer to have an established personal brand and how the digitization of reputation drives warm inbound leads in high-trust professions How to break through Sheehan's Wall by identifying your one uniqueness and focusing all your energy on one audience, one problem, and one revenue stream Why serving the person you once were unlocks your most powerful competitive advantage and creates trust that transactions alone never will The biggest personal brands aren't the most talented. They're the most focused. This episode will show you where to aim. ---- Show Notes: 03:43 – Rory shares how he made $250,000 in his summers doing direct sales door-to-door to fund his first company. 09:10 – Why 58% of Americans want their lawyer to have an established personal brand and what that means for the legal industry. 12:08 – Rory introduces Sheehan's Wall and explains why most people fail to break through by being everywhere at once. 16:04 – Larry Winget's transformative advice on finding your uniqueness and exploiting it in the service of others. 28:19 – Rory reveals the shortcut to finding uniqueness by serving the person you once were. 30:33 – John Maxwell's definition of success and why the people who know you best should respect you most. ---- Links & Resources: Brand Builders Group Take the Stairs by Rory Vaden  Sheehan's Wall ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 378. Your Law Firm’s Ads Suck: Here’s Why (and How to Fix Them) with Billy Gene Shaw 205. Gyi Tsakalakis and Conrad Saam — Marketing Mash-Up: Scalable Strategies from Industry Experts 32. Seth Godin — Putting Your Best Work Out Into the World

The people slowing you down aren't always the ones you'd expect, and they're closer than you think. In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill break down the three types of people who quietly drain your time, energy, and momentum, and why distancing yourself from them is one of the most important leadership decisions you can make. From the ones who talk in circles to the idea generators who never execute, to the "must be nice" crowd who confuse luck with sacrifice, this conversation is a tactical guide to protecting your bandwidth and building a culture of accountability. Here's what you'll learn: Why the people who say the most often have the least to offer, and how to identify when someone is avoiding accountability How to separate real initiative from empty ideation, and why ideas without execution are just hallucinations What the "must be nice" mindset reveals about envy, effort, and the victim mentality that holds people back This episode is your reminder that who you surround yourself with determines how far you go, so choose carefully. ---- 00:02:07 - The three types of people that will get in the way of your growth 00:06:02 - The Mexico vacation story and what people don't see behind success 00:07:02 - Abundance mindset vs. zero-sum thinking 00:10:05 - You can't change people, but you can align incentives with their goals 00:12:23 - Nature vs. nurture: the role of childhood trauma and intrinsic drive 00:13:40 - Why you can't teach hungry and screening for it during hiring 00:15:56 - The importance of clarity and trial roles before promotion ---- Links & Resources: The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni Nature versus nurture Chip on your shoulder mentality ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 359. AMMA — The Ultimate Guide to Retaining Top Talent 328. Sherry Stewart Deutschmann — Transform Your Business with Bold, People-First Leadership 240. Jessica Mogill — Why Hiring A-Players is Important

The best marketing strategy is the one nobody wants to hear. In this encore episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill sits down with Ryan Deiss, CEO of Digital Marketer and one of the most respected authorities in modern marketing. Ryan shares the brutal lesson he learned sitting at a bar with a quarter million dollars in debt, the napkin that changed everything, and why the principles that saved his business contradict nearly every marketing trend being sold today. This conversation strips away the hacks and shortcuts to reveal what actually determines who wins in any market, why weak businesses fail faster with good marketing, and how the most successful entrepreneurs think about growth, identity, and what success really means. Here's what you'll learn: Why the entrepreneur who can spend the most to acquire a customer always wins, and how to engineer your business to do exactly that How to recognize when chasing marketing tricks is costing you more than it's gaining you, and what to focus on instead What separates entrepreneurs who scale successfully from those who burn out or plateau along the way Marketing without a solid foundation is just expensive noise. ---- Show Notes: 03:44 – The unexpected lesson from selling a $14 ebook and thinking beyond a one-time sale 04:58 – Why entrepreneurs need the dangerous mix of naivete and overconfidence to get started 08:30 – The back-of-a-napkin decision that changed everything 10:40 – How simplifying the business model led to the first $1 million year 15:32 – The real metric that matters in marketing and why most people focus on the wrong one 17:19 – Marketing as an amplifier and why it can’t fix a broken business 25:46 – Why great marketing must get people to not just notice, but stare 31:00 – The patterns behind the least successful entrepreneurs 39:40 – How Ryan defines success and the power of optionality ---- Links & Resources: Digital Marketer Viktor Frankl Vincent Van Gogh Pablo Picasso ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 211. Pat Flynn — Superfans: How to Stand Out, Grow Your Tribe, and Build a Successful Business 180. Seth Godin — Putting Your Best Work Out Into the World 29. Billy Gene Shaw — Entertain, Educate, Execute: How to Dominate on Social Media

What's stopping you from keeping the promises you make to yourself? In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill unpack the real cost of breaking commitments to yourself and why most New Year's resolutions fail before February. From outgrowing old friend groups to walking away from prestigious obligations that no longer serve you, this conversation challenges you to stop negotiating with yourself and start building a life that reflects your actual priorities. Here's what you'll learn: Why breaking small commitments to yourself erodes your ability to follow through on bigger goals How to recognize when relationships and obligations are holding you back instead of pushing you forward What it takes to stay a student of your craft even when you think you've figured it all out This episode is a challenge to stop breaking promises to yourself and start building the discipline required to become who you say you want to be. ---- 05:26 — Why breaking small commitments to yourself erodes your ability to follow through on bigger goals 06:02 — How to build discipline through stacking small wins that compound over time 06:50 — The power of recording your goals on video to create accountability 09:47 — Understanding envy and why people give you a hard time when you remind them of what they gave up on 14:24 — The concept of insouciance and why you should stop playing the validation game as an adult 15:32 — Recognizing the trade-offs and opportunity costs of every commitment you make 20:34 — Why maintaining a student mindset prevents stagnation even after decades in business ---- Links & Resources: Peter Diamandis Elon Musk Interview CES ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 411. AMMA — What to Do when Everyone Wants Something From You 288. AMMA — The Art of Being Decisive 194. AMMA — The Harsh Truth About Entrepreneurial Success

What if the reason you're not achieving extraordinary results isn't because you're doing too little, but because you're doing too much? In this encore episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill sits down with Jay Papasan, Vice President at Keller Williams Realty and bestselling author of The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. Jay breaks down why the popular concept of balance is a fallacy, how multitasking is actually killing your productivity, and why discipline is not what you think it is. From understanding the truth about willpower to mastering the focusing question that changes everything, this conversation delivers a master class in achieving more by doing less. Here's what you'll learn: Why multitasking is a lie that's costing you 28% of your day and lowering your IQ by 11 points How to use selective discipline and the 66-day habit formation principle to make success automatic What the focusing question is and how it creates clarity around your most leveraged activities Want to achieve extraordinary results? This episode shows you exactly how to get there. ---- Show Notes: 03:52 – The origin story of The One Thing, from a 14-page handwritten essay to a bestselling book 05:59 – Why focusing on one thing is such a challenge despite being simple 09:01 – Walking through the process of using extreme Pareto to narrow down priorities 13:04 – Debunking the myth of multitasking and why it's costing you 28% of your day 19:36 – The Green Beret story: how training creates habits that last decades 28:26 – Defining willpower as different from discipline and why it's a limited resource 30:16 – A powerful study on parole judges that proves willpower depletion is real 36:47 – Counterbalancing instead of balance and why it matters for business and life 47:23 – How purpose gives you direction and a clear sense of priority ---- Links & Resources: The One Thing by Jay Papasan Atomic Habits by James Clear Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin Willpower Doesn’t Work by Benjamin Hardy Grit by Angela Duckworth Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod The Pareto Principle ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 383. AMMA — Why Comfort Will Quietly Destroy Your Law Firm 334. Dr. Benjamin Hardy — From Limiting Beliefs to Limitless Potential: A Guide to Personal Growth 78. Dr. Katy Milkman — How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

If you’re carrying the same problems into the new year, it’s not because you don’t know what to do. It’s because you’ve been avoiding the hard calls. In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill kick off the new year by answering real questions from law firm owners submitted during our Crisp workshops. These are not theoretical leadership conversations. They are real scenarios about bad hires, private equity pressure, painful lessons, and the habits required to lead at a higher level in 2026. If you’re entering the new year with uncertainty about your decisions, your team, or your direction, this episode brings clarity to what actually matters. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why keeping the wrong person on your team costs more than the discomfort of letting them go How to think about private equity without fear and what actually makes a firm competitive What leadership habits matter most in 2026, including extending your time horizon and protecting sleep quality This is not a motivational reset. It’s a reality check for the year ahead. ---- 02:14 – The bad apple problem and why keeping the wrong person always costs more 04:25 – The real question leaders avoid when it comes to firing decisions 05:00 – How to think about private equity without fear or distraction 08:55 – What actually makes a law firm competitive long-term 09:06 – Why pain is the fastest teacher and how lessons really stick 12:33 – Extending your time horizon to reduce stress and make better decisions 15:23 – Why sleep, recovery, and clarity are leadership advantages 17:25 – How to think selfishly in the right way as a firm owner ---- Links & Resources: Private equity Sleep hygiene ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at https://crisp.co/coach ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 420. The Sleep Science That Separates Elite Performers with Dr. Michael Breus 377. AMMA — Market Chaos: How to Not Just Survive, But Thrive 240. Jessica Mogill — Why Hiring A-Players is Important

The difference between those who scale and those who stall isn't talent. It's the willingness to act when every instinct says quit. In the Season 6 finale of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael Mogill revisits the most powerful conversations from 2025. From David Kolbe's insights on understanding your instinctive strengths to James Amaro's blueprint for building accountability culture, James Lawrence's discipline in mastering discomfort, Verne Harnish's framework for scaling past plateaus, and Kat Cole's philosophy of relentless self-improvement, this episode distills the season’s most actionable wisdom into one comprehensive guide for growth. Here's what you'll learn: Why understanding your conative strengths can prevent years of burnout and misalignment in your career and your team How deliberate discomfort and daily disciplines train your mind to refuse quitting when adversity hits What it takes to build an accountability culture that drives KPIs without sacrificing team morale or losing top talent The leaders who dominate 2026 will be the ones who stopped waiting and started executing on what they already know they should be doing. ---- 3:04 — David Kolbe explains the four action modes and how understanding your conative strengths changes everything 9:57 — Why your Kolbe result doesn't change over time and what that means for your career 13:16 — James Amaro shares how he rebuilt his firm from 6 people to over 80 after losing almost everything 17:07 — The accountability culture that took profit from 5% to 34% 23:24 — Triathlete James Lawrence reveals his genetic testing results 28:17 — Mental toughness requires doing activities you hate 36:32 — Verne Harnish on why ambitious goals drive energy while attainable goals kill it 42:09 — Founder Mode: why you can delegate everything except the soul of your business 52:18 — Kat Cole's journey from Hooters hostess to leading billion-dollar brands 56:44 — “The Hotshot Rule” for relentless improvement ---- Links & Resources: Kolbe Assessment  Amaro Law Firm  James Lawrence (Iron Cowboy)  Iron Hope  Verne Harnish  Scaling Up  AG1 ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at https://crisp.co/coach ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: Episode 423: How to Actually Scale Your Standards Episode 404: The Dangers of Premature Growth with Eric Siu Episode 365: Discipline Is a Daily Decision