Growth Think Tank

The big debate in business is customer first or employee first. For many, it is a hard decision. I asked seventeen Inc, 5000 leaders of the fastest growing companies, the same question. The only one said customer first. The other sixteen were firm in their stance that the best leadership strategy is to put employees first. When you put customers first, your employees can feel it to their core. When you create a culture of employee first, you have a chance to connect and support your people. When you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers. Customer first is an outdated concept in leadership, but it is smart in corporate strategy. Find out why I say this. Get the show notes for 364 | Customer First or Employee First? Which is best for you? Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett #CustomerFirst #Leadership #GHepisode364 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Operations Management is the process of streamlining the systems of the business. When you grow fast, you often have to change some of the outdated operations management procedures to ensure that you can keep improving. In other words, you have to let go of the old and embrace the new. Today's guest Michael Redbord with Hubspot. Michael shares some of the changes they made at Hubspot in operations management. Discover how you can look at your operations to manage for growth.

Overcoming self-doubt is part of the journey to growth. Embracing it and learning to grow through it is the key. I was at an event where Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, was talking about her journey to success. She was asked, "what is something you still struggle with today?" She answered it, and it blew me away. The self-made billionaire still has self-doubt. We talked about it, and I share with you how she overcomes the negative self-talk. In this episode, we talk about overcoming self-doubt. Get the show notes for 362 | Overcoming Self-doubt With Help from Sara Blakely Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett #OvercomingSelfDoubt #Leadership #GHepisode362 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Now there are some fundamental reasons why you must learn how to increase trust online. It is not just because it is great for your brand and catering to the needs of your customers. It is also because Google has changed the way it looks at trusted websites. They have real humans looking at a website to see if they are trustworthy. My guest today is Phil Singleton who shares how to increase trust online and what it means with Google. Get the show notes for 361 | How to Increase Trust Online with Phil Singleton Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Philip Singleton with your host @GeneHammett #TrustOnline #Leadership #GHepisode361 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Every CEO or leader has spent some time in what I call firefighter mode. It is that type of leadership where you are the one that has to make decisions and put out fires. You want to be a servant to your people and remove challenges. You think it is the best use of your time. Well, that is until you stop and think about it. For me, it took hiring a leadership coach as I was running a $1m company and all I had before the coach was fires to put out. Becoming a leader that is effective and respected means you have to stop being a firefighter. Becoming a leader is intentional. In this short video, I share my story of being a firefighter and how I broke the pattern to become a leader. Get the show notes for 360 | Getting Out of Firefigher Mode and Becoming A Leader Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett #BecomeALeader #Leadership #GHepisode360 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Discover how to improve customer service with new insights to get to the heart of the issue. Every business has to create systems to improve customer service. Today's interview is with Shep Hyken, a true master of customer service. Shep shares with you how to think about customer service and what to do about it. Today is all about how to improve customer service. Get the show notes for 359 | Powerful Insights on Improving Customer Service with Shep Hyken Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring Shep Hyken with your host @GeneHammett #ImprovingCustomerService #Leadership #GHepisode359 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

If you desire to become a better leader, you must be willing to look inside yourself. Leadership is as much about you (the leader) as it is about the people you are leading. This short video gives you a perspective on the art to become a better leader. I give you a few new ideas to help you. This is part of the HyperGrowth Tips series and it all about how to become a better leader. Get the show notes for 358 | Become a Better Leader for Growth Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett #BetterLeaderforGrowth #Leadership #GHepisode358 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

How to improve your sales using Linkedin. Linkedin is not new. In fact, more than 10 years ago I was using to help me grow my business. The new era of sales requires you to use the tools in ways that allow you to connect and engage before you try to sale. I talk to Phil Gerbyshak today to get new insights on using linkedin for sale. Discover the art of more sales using Linkedin in today's interview. Get the show notes for 357 | The New Rules Of Sales Using Linkedin with Phil Gherbyshak Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches featuring @PhilGerb with your host @GeneHammett #SalesusingLinkedIn #Leadership #GHepisode357 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

It is commonly said that a business is a collection of systems. Our job as leaders and owners is to create systems that allow us to attract customers, enroll them, serve them and create experiences they will share with others. It is a never-ending journey to create better systems. If you want your company to grow, you must have the right systems for growth. Today I share with you how you can improve your systems and be a better leader at the same time. Discover how to create better systems in this episode. Get the show notes for 356 | Create Better Systems for Growth Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with your host @GeneHammett #CreateBetterSystem #Leadership #GHepisode355 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!

Putting people first is the way it should be. But I write it that way because sometimes it is not. Janel Laravie shares with me how putting people first has changed her culture and business to be among the fastest growing companies in America. Janel's company Chacka Marketing made the Inc5000 list this year based on putting people first. Learn how creating a culture of people first changes the leadership and results for this company. Get the show notes for 355 | Creating a Culture of People First with Janel Laravie Click to Tweet: Listening to an amazing episode on Leaders in the Trenches with @janellaravie and your host @GeneHammett #CreateyourCulture #Leadership #GHepisode355 #Podcasts Give Leaders in the Trenches a review on iTunes!