CEO Coaching International Podcast

Strategic planning is a relic from a bygone era. Today, the most successful companies create an "Execution Plan" that identifies then delivers on the company's key objectives and initiatives for the year. In today's episode, Sheldon Harris walks us through a specific process that your leadership team can use to implement your own "Execution Plan" and make your next 12 months the most profitable ever. 

We all want the best for our kids. And for many of us, this includes getting admitted to top schools. For decades, Mimi Doe, who holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University, has been teaching students and their parents the proven roadmap to get accepted to top schools. The truth is, the top schools admission process is not transparent and it is shrouded in myths. In today’s show, Mimi shines a light on this opaque process and describes in detail the things you can do today to help ensure your kids have the best shot at getting admitted to the top schools of their choice. 

Culmen International is like a company you'd expect to see in a James Bond movie. They help the government to detect and interdict illicit trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, explosives, narcotics, and other weapons. They train people in counter-terrorism, ordnance logistics, and border security. And a couple years ago, Culmen, founded and led by its long-time CEO Dan Berkon, made a major play to enter a new line of business. Success was immediate, but there was one problem. The company had to raise $11 million--and fast--or they'd lose the contract. You'll learn in today's podcast how they scrambled to raise money, secure the contract, and double the size of the company. You'll also learn how Dan pulled a Jerry McGuire-like exit from his first employer, took one employee with him, and went on to build a $50 million company with offices all over the world.

Brenda Jacobsen started in the family business right out of college and eventually rose to CEO of the company. After a "type-A driven business woman" told Brenda about the coach she was using and raved about the tremendous results she was getting, Brenda decided to contact the coach. Shortly after hiring CEO Coaching International coach Jay Reid, Brenda's company got an unsolicited offer to buy her company. The timing was perfect. Working with Jay and the team at CEO Coaching, Brenda was able to bring in another buyer to the table, play one off the other, and get a much higher sale price--all while negotiating a good payout for herself. This is the behind the scenes story of a business sale that can benefit all small to mid-size companies when it comes time to sell your company.

Sheldon Harris, the former president of Cold Stone Creamery, entrepreneur, and now coach at CEO Coaching International, says meetings don’t have to be a boring waste of time. In fact, he says there’s a specific “cadence” of meetings and a structure that enables leaders at all levels to be highly effective communicators. By following his strategy, you can turn internal communication into a scalable competitive advantage for your company.

The amazing story of how two guys started a revolutionary real estate e-commerce company that has transacted more than $30 billion in real estate--online.   Rob Friedman and his high school friend Jeff started an offline auction company that did reasonably well. But then the internet came along and they decided to put some listings online. Things really took off when, after four years of badgering the owner, they bought the domain Auction.com for $1.7 million and rebranded the company. Today, Auction.com is the country's (and possibly the world's) largest e-commerce seller of real estate. And they hold a world record! The Auction.com platform was used to facilitate the largest verified e-commerce transaction in history based on current Guinness World Records information: The $96 million sale of Manhattan Towers, a two-building, 309,734 square-foot office property in Southern California.

Like great entrepreneurs, Todd and Sean saw a need and built a company to fill it. Sensing that e-commerce was about to explode in the late 1990s, they decided to start a company to supply these firms with fulfillment services. Right on queue, business took off. However, they had to overcome early stumbles in hiring the right people for the leadership team before the business was on solid footing. Today, people, culture, and systems keep the firm on the Inc. 5000 list.

Former COO of Grasshopper shares the three keys and one metric you must optimize as you start massively scaling your business. Don Schiavone, the former COO of fast-growing Grasshopper, "The Entrepreneur's Phone System," was instrumental in leading the company as it optimized its 100% digital marketing growth strategy and its eventual sale to a Fortune 500 company. He brings together an in-depth understanding of technology with a data-driven “test-everything” philosophy: You can’t manage what you can’t measure. While coaching entrepreneurs at CEO Coaching, Don's approach to coaching focuses on three pillars of success: people, process, and systems.

CEOs from around the world gathered in Newport Beach, CA recently for the third annual CEO Coaching International Summit. Guest speakers included bestselling authors, health experts, CEO Coaching's founding partner Mark Moses as well as several of CEO Coaching's clients. By the end of the two days of learning, networking, and socializing, attendees headed home to all parts of the world with new ideas and relationships that will accelerate their business growth for years to come. In today's episode, we discuss many of the key takeaways from the event. 

Josh McCarter led the spinout of a small firm and with great leadership and a big vision, re-focused the company into new markets and the company experienced explosive growth. As a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, Booker’s platform empowers firms such as spas, salons, dance studios, and photographers to manage their appointments, their staff, and their customers, and, importantly, be able to transact with those customers. With a recent acquisition, Booker has become an end-to-end platform that a service-based business can use to both run their operations and grow their sales. In today's show, Josh discusses the keys to the firm's growth and how the SaaS model works.