CEO Coaching International Podcast

Greg Solomon, former CEO of McDonald's South Africa and a seasoned coach, shares his insights on scaling businesses. He outlines his four-stage scaling framework and the importance of a 10X mentality for growth. Solomon discusses the balance between profitability and growth, and the distinct challenges faced by different business types. He emphasizes the need for adaptable leadership and reveals how coaching can uncover blind spots. Lastly, he highlights the evolving role of digitization and AI in enhancing customer experiences and operational efficiency.

Michael Slater, a successful entrepreneur and coach at CEO Coaching International, shares his 'Dreaming Backwards' process to help CEOs transform visions into executable strategies. He discusses the importance of creating a visual envisioned state and iterating on a five-year plan, using his experience with Nik Software as a case study. Slater emphasizes balancing aspirational goals with practical realities, handling resistance to change, and maintaining momentum after big wins. With insights on using AI creatively, he highlights how strategic strands can guide companies toward their envisioned future.

Sasha Kelberg, a Wharton-trained entrepreneur and coach, shares insights on the importance of separating personal identity from business for effective leadership. He discusses how founders can overcome growth limitations by delegating and stepping back to reveal team potential. Sasha emphasizes defining a company's purpose beyond profit, using the COVID crisis as a catalyst for collective sacrifice. He offers practical strategies for continual reinvention and connecting purpose to performance, proving that a service-driven approach enhances organizational success.

Rod Reynolds, a seasoned global executive and three-time CEO, shares insights on building high-performance teams. He emphasizes that hiring the right talent is crucial, advocating for multifaceted approaches that include AI. Rod discusses the importance of accountability, succession planning, and aligning values with performance systems. Drawing parallels from his endurance sports journey, he highlights how athletic discipline fosters resilience in leadership. He also suggests key resources and his coaching philosophy to help CEOs achieve sustainable growth.

Scott White, a seasoned entrepreneur and coach at CEO Coaching International, shares his insights on effective leadership rooted in positivity and perspective. He emphasizes that choosing an uplifting viewpoint is crucial for CEOs, showcasing how it transforms team culture. Scott discusses practical tools for embedding positivity and highlights the importance of strong social networks for sustained success. His engaging anecdotes illustrate the power of gratitude and small victories in creating high-performing teams.

Guest: Brenda Jacobsen and Andy Harris, Managing Directors at STS Capital Partners, where they guide entrepreneurs and CEOs through the intricate and often emotional journey of selling their businesses. Overview: Selling your business may be the single most important financial event of your life. And the process is far more complex, emotional, and impactful than most CEOs realize. CEOs who truly care about the businesses they built need to find more than just the right fit for a sale. They need to work through a strategic process that will maximize the company's value, protect their teams, and secure their legacies as founders. On today's show, Brenda Jacobsen and Andy Harris discuss what it takes to prep your company for sale, how to balance running the business while navigating the exit process, and the critical decisions that determine whether you just get a deal done or Make BIG Happen for the future of your family and your company.

Guests: CEO Coaching International's Mark Moses, Don Schiavone, Craig Coleman, and Christopher Larkins. Quick Background: CEOs who want to get to BIG need to answer four questions: What do you want? How do you get what you want? What could stand in the way of you getting what you want? How do you hold yourself accountable? If you combine specific answers with actionable strategy, then tariffs, AI, new competitors, and new disruptions are nothing more than manageable variables. And while other companies "wait and see," you'll be making consistent progress toward your BIG goals.  On this classic episode, CEO Coaching International leaders discuss their Wall Street Journal bestseller Making BIG Happen and how our system can help CEOs grow their companies through uncertainty and adversity.

Guest: Ken Eissing, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Ken has served as President, COO, General Manager, or Advisor in the Technology, Media, Telecom, and BPO Financial Services industries in public and private entities ranging from Fortune 100 to less than $20 million businesses. Quick Background: Is your sales team consistently clearing the bar, month after month? Great. Then it's time to raise the bar.  Left to their own devices, even the best salespeople will take the path of least resistance to hitting their targets and getting paid. This misalignment between what's good for your people and what's good for the business will eventually lead to a plateau -- and that's the last place you want to be with competition rising, tariffs looming, and AI disrupting.  The CEO needs to keep every piece of the sales process -- from what you're selling to the quality of the team doing the selling -- on an upward trajectory that drives the whole company towards its long-term goals.  On this classic episode, Ken Eissing discusses six ways CEOs can assemble, manage, and motivate a top sales team that will drive fast growth and Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Dan Smytka, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Dan has global expertise in growing and leading multibillion-dollar businesses with marquee brands such as General Electric, Carrier, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Dan has also led businesses in Asia and Europe where he cultivated a reputation for generating profitable growth, building high-performance collaborative executive teams, and executing strategies to expand profit margins and deliver sustainable results. Quick Background: CEOs started 2025 with a long list of unknowns ranging from AI and interest rates to tariff turbulence and global conflicts. Six months later, questions about the world and the pace of change in business still outnumber definitive answers. But the best CEOs know that where there are challenges there are always opportunities. And if you have courage, vision, strategy, and a team of A-players, your company will be nimble enough to adjust on the fly and strong enough to grow through any obstacles.  On this classic episode, Dan Smytka discusses specific strategies that will help you keep moving products, delivering services, expanding your profit margins, and Making BIG Happen even when the going gets tough.

Guest: Mo Said, the Founder & CEO of Mojo Supermarket, a powerhouse advertising agency that's been named Small Agency of the Year, Strategy Team of the Year, and one of the Best Places to Work. Overview: Growing and managing a BIG business is an art. For many CEOs, high-level leadership is also a journey of self-discovery. Find that perfect harmony between all your skills and passions and Making BIG Happen will be that much more fulfilling.  On today's show, Mo Said discusses how he resolved the tensions between the artist he wanted to be and the CEO his business needed. He also shares how he designed his own CEO education through stories, coaching, and reflection, and why great entrepreneurs are actually great artists.