CEO Coaching International Podcast

For the past 25 years, StoneAge has been experimenting with ways to give its employees a stake in the company’s success, a path to personal wealth-building, and more ownership over their individual job performance. What began as a profit-sharing program evolved into a homegrown stock ownership program, and now a federally-regulated Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that could provide a model for other businesses looking for creative ways to build an inclusive, winning, and productive culture. Kerry Siggins has evolved along with StoneAge as well. On today’s show, we discuss her 11-year rise from general manager all the way up to CEO, and why she believes more businesses should consider forming an ESOP to get employees on board with making BIG happen.

Dr. Gill Heart served more than seven years in the Israel Defense Force's most elite and stressful unit. He went undercover behind enemy lines and came face-to-face with life or death situations. After receiving his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College, London University, Dr. Heart moved to the United States and became an entrepreneur. He founded and successfully managed venture-backed medical device startups that were primarily focused on neurological and brain applications. Now Dr. Heart has combined his military training, his study of Jewish mysticism and philosophy, and his business acumen to create a training regimen to help people manage stress in both their personal and professional lives. On today's show, Dr. Gill Heart discusses the mental training that is necessary to deal effectively with extremely stressful situations. CEOs may not be able to control when a cash flow crisis or social media firestorm flares up. But we can control how we react to stressful situations so that both our businesses and our bodies keep executing at a high level.

Why do some of the biggest and best companies in the world work with CEO Coaching International? Because our best practices get real results. At our recent Summit, CEO Mark Moses noted that our clients have achieved $7 billion in revenue, 40% annual CAGR after 4 years, and 210% Median Profit Growth Rate across the board. We’re proud that our clients’ sustained growth and stables of top talent have also attracted serious interest from strategic buyers and private equity firms. On today’s show, Mark Moses discusses how six of our clients have executed 9-figure exits. And we’re not talking theory here. These are real-world philosophies and activities that have led our clients to more scale, more revenue, greater valuations, and dream exit scenarios. In fact, we have more clients following this exact same pipeline who will be achieving similarly BIG results in the very near future.

When we find a great new restaurant, see a great new movie, or upgrade to a great new piece of tech, we tell everyone we know, “I really love this, you gotta check it out!” Smart companies are learning how to cultivate that same kind of reaction in their workplaces. Employees who love where they work promote your business to their social and professional circles, stick with their companies longer, and go above and beyond because they feel like they’re part of making something BIG happen. On today’s show, Keith Alper discusses the importance of culture and employee engagement, and how to inspire your team to go from liking your company to loving it. Keith also shares some key insights from his long entrepreneurial career, including how he managed to maintain a very effective business partnership for more than three decades.

In this age of social media and internet activism, lots of top CEOs have Tracy Williams on speed dial for when a crisis hits, or a lawsuit threatens a company’s brand or reputation. Even companies that are vigilant about living their values, following best practices, and creating a healthy workplace culture are vulnerable to the wrath of online mobs if they don’t have an action plan in place when inevitable misunderstanding or slipups do occur. On today’s show Tracy Williams discusses reputation management in the age of social media, particularly how to protect yourself and your company from a PR disaster that could explode as fast as a tweet.

So how do you break into an industry as specialized as dental supply? Easy. Have a dentist tell you, “No!” “My oldest brother is a dentist,” explains Steve Kizy, “and when I graduated from college it was in 2008 and we were in the recession and I asked my brother if I could work for him and help him grow his dental practice. He looked at me straight in the face and said, ‘No, you cannot work for me. One brother already works for me and I'm not going to take care of another.’" Steve’s brother did however point him to a niche market with a lot of opportunity and potential for growth. Combine that with an entrepreneurial drive that went back to selling cell phones in his dad’s convenience store as a high school student, and a fast-growth entrepreneur was born. On today’s show, Steve Kizy discusses how his company is growing so fast in a highly competitive industry and the challenges that go along with that fast growth. We discuss how to foster a culture of teamwork and pitching in that will help any firm in any field get through the rough patches and make BIG happen year after year.

You worked hard to build your business. You made mistakes. You learned from them. Nothing was given to you. You had to rely on your grit and determination to earn every inch of your success. So why should your kids have it any different? Because even the toughest CEO can turn to mush once we hear “Mommy!” or “Daddy!” We don’t want our kids to have to struggle like we did. We want their lives to be as easy and pain-free as possible. But Dr. Tim Jordan has found that our best intentions often lead to negative results. And in many cases, the same knack for prescient problem-solving and planning that’s made your business successful can hold back your kids’ development. On today’s show, Dr. Tim Jordan discusses the five biggest parenting mistakes that CEOs and entrepreneurs make and offers some expert tips that will prepare your kids to make their own BIG happen.

Getting BIG requires big cash. But the venture capital landscape is more crowded and competitive than ever. How is your company going to stand out from the masses of wannabe entrepreneurs? Do you have a vision that will tantalize investors? The right numbers to secure the right investment? The right plan to capitalize on that investment? The right team? The grit and determination necessary to make BIG happen? On today’s show, serial entrepreneur Anthony Venus talks about the genesis of his new company YayPay, how he determined when the company had achieved product-market fit, and the steps he used to raise $8 million in venture capital money.

Jim Weaver didn’t set out to be a 5-time CEO in such a diverse array of businesses. But whenever opportunities presented themselves, Jim took advantage, pivoting his companies and himself towards new experiences, better markets, and BIGGER growth. Now he’s ready to share what he’s learned from five stints in the big chair with CEO Coaching International’s clients. On today’s show, Jim Weaver discusses his transition from government work to the private sector to going public, and what his experiences at the top of multiple companies have taught him about being a great CEO in any field.

After a highly-recognized career in tech sector sales management – including working for IBM at its peak – Jerry Swain jumped off the corporate track and became an entrepreneur. He started, of all things, a high-end specialty chocolate company that ended up receiving four buyout offers before Jerry finally sold to a strategic buyer. On today’s show, Jerry Swain discusses the lessons he learned from IBM’s world-class sales training program, and how he applied that wisdom to his own BIG entrepreneurial ventures.