Winning teams are lead by leaders who learn from their mistakes, lead by example, and inspire everyone on their team to perform at higher levels.

My guest today, Greg Heeres, is a coach, speaker, and author of 5 books (soon to be 6). Greg candidly shares what he’s learned and mistakes he’s made as he’s grown and built successful teams over the years.

Timestamps
(00:20): Introduction.
(01:02): About Greg Heeres
(02:11): What makes Greg and Maximize Leadership unique.
(03:01): Greg’s career path.
(04:54): Greg’s job with the insurance company.
(07:27): Greg’s positive lessons learned.
(09:34): The “one hour a month” plan.
(14:42): Greg’s negative lessons learned.
(18:31): Being responsible for people.
(21:12): Learning by seeing the warnings.
(22:39): The Detroit Lions as an example of leadership.
(32:22): Keys to retention.
(35:13): Greg’s advice for leaders.
(40:00): Connecting with Greg.
(42:24): Wrapup.

Episode quotes
“I have an abundance mindset … I don't think there's scarcity out there. Maybe there's a scarcity of something, but I just don't believe in it.”

“I found each person had a different motivating lever, and my job was to find those levers and make sure that we put them in a spot where they could be successful.

“It isn't just the Hall of Fame player that might be on your roster. It's everyone, and there's going to be another Hall of Fame person coming up the ranks. So, I believe in developing people.”

“I think word of mouth opens the door and then the culture really cements it when they get in.”

“Be honest. If you break trust, you'll not have a lot of retention, and recruiting will be difficult.”

Recommended reading

• “Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding thee Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty” by Patrick Lencioni
• “Sage Advice: Listen to Wisdom or Learn the Hard Way” by Greg Heeres
• “The Business Baton: How to Solve the Owner's Dilemma and Exit with Clarity and Confidence” by Greg Heeres
• “The Shawn Effect” by Greg Heeres
• “Are Your Customers Doing the Rave?” by Greg Heeres
• “Creative Power: Releasing Your Innovative Potential” by Greg Heeres

Recommended listening

• The Craig and Greg Show with Craig Owens and Greg Heeres

Connecting with Greg Heeres

• Phone: 616-570-4888
• Email: gregheeres@gmail.com
• Website: MaximizeLeadership.com
• Greg Heeres on LinkedIn

If you've recently started or are thinking about starting a business you probably have a ton of questions and are looking for answers from others who are in the trenches like you are.

This week Ryan Atkinson, the founder of Spacebar Visuals and the the host of the UpFlip Podcast joins us to discuss his experience starting and building a successful business and what he's learned from interviewing dozens of entrepreneurs.

Timestamps
(00:20): Introduction.
(01:04): About Spacebar Visuals.
(02:05): What makes Spacebar Visuals unique.
(03:11): Ryan Atkinson’s background.
(06:53): Finding a co-founder.
(10:51): Who Spacebar Visuals sells to.
(11:36): About the Spacebar team.
(12:57): The hiring process.
(15:21): Lessons learned while growing the team.
(20:30): What does BDR stand for?
(22:23): About the UpFlip podcast
(25:03): How Ryan became the host.
(28:20): Lessons learned from interviewing guests.
(29:55): Ryan’s recommended reading and listening.
(32:00): Ken Trupke’s recommendations.
(33:40): How to connect with Ryan Atkinson.
(34:46): Wrapup.

Episode Quotes
“I'm a very opportunistic person, so if I see an opportunity, I'm going to run with the opportunity.”

“I'm only 25 years old, so I am not perfect by any means … I'm the farthest thing from perfect, so I'm learning every day.”

“If you are wanting to start a business, think about those specific criteria that you want to go after and who the end user is.”

“Hiring has been the most unexpected challenge I've had as a CEO and founder. It is so hard to find good talent and then also retain them and also set them up for success.”

“I've always loved entrepreneurship, I love reading books about entrepreneurs. I just love the whole entrepreneurship thing.”

“A lot of these companies that have scaled have put a company culture in place. They have their core values and they actually live by them.”

Recommended Reading

• “Walt Disney: The Biography” by Neal Gabler
• “Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” by Ron Chernow
• “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson
• “Hangry: A Startup Journey” by Mike Evans
• “Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike” by Phil Knight
• “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson
• “Leonardo da Vinci” by Walter Isaacson

Recommended Listening and Viewing

• UpFlip podcast with Ryan Atkinson
• UpFlip YouTube Channel
• TechGuide podcast with Ryan Atkinson

Follow/Connect with Ryan Atkinson

• Spacebar Visuals company website
• UpFlip Academy
• Ryan Atkinson on LinkedIn

If you're a leader who struggles to get the results you need from your team, but you’re uncomfortable having conversation around accountability or consequences, then today’s show might help you see things differently.

My guest this week is Hamish Knox of Sandler Training. Hamish has written a book on accountability and has a framework for making it a positive thing that helps you and your team achieve your team goals and their individual goals.

Timestamps

(00:20): Introduction.
(01:03): About Sandler.
(02:14): Expanding beyond sales training.
(03:45): Hamish Knox’s background.
(07:57): Accountability.
(11:04): Keeping team meetings short.
(20:52): Veteran team members need accountability, too.
(25:24): Hamish’s approach to coaching.
(32:05): Establishing buy-in.
(36:45): The lead dog sets the pace.
(38:50): What Hamish is reading and listening to.
(44:25): Connecting with Hamish.
(46:26): Wrap-up.

Episode Quotes
“Communication is our single most powerful driver of real value, internally and externally.”

“Oh, I sent 5,000 emails today, boss. Oh great. What kind of response did you get? Well, 4,990 unsubscribes.”

“The fact of the matter is that in order for us to successfully scale, everybody needs to be following the same program.”

“It does not matter what we say, it matters what they hear.”

“If we don't have data to build an accountability program with, we're really just flying by the seat of our pants. Accountability needs real data, real clarity, and real consequences.”

“Your culture is the behavior approved implicitly or explicitly. That's it.”

Recommended Reading

• “Accountability The Sandler Way” by Hamish Knox
• “Change The Sandler Way” by Hamish Knox
• “How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs” by Guy Raz
• “Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time” by Keith Ferrazzi
• “Your Brain at Work” by David Rock
• “What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful” by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter
• “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck

Recommended Listening

• Full Funnel Freedom podcast with Hamish Knox
• How I Built This podcast with Guy Raz
• The Brainy Business podcast with Melina Palmer

Follow/Connect with Hamish Knox

• Email: hamish@sandler.com
• Hamish Knox’s website
• Hamish Knox on LinkedIn

Growing sales is key to any successful business. But first you have to get in front of your ideal prospect.

This week, Stu Heinecke, bestselling author of How to Get a Meeting with Anyone, joins host Ken Trupke on The Clarity Advisors Show.

Stu and Ken talk about contact marketing, Stu's new book, and Stu's career as a Wall Street Journal cartoonist.

Timestamps

(00:20): Introduction.
(01:15): The problems Stu Heinecke solves.
(02:53): Stu’s typical client.
(07:10): Using cartoons to reach clients.
(12:56): How to get a meeting.
(17:25): Getting in front of a Dream 100 client.
(20:04): Growing your business like a weed.
(22:18): Framework and principles.
(29:41): Recap.
(32:30): Stu’s recommended reading and listening.
(36:20): How to contact Stu Heinecke.
(37:57): Wrapup.

Episode Quotes
“We need unmatched competitive advantages that our competitors can't match. I'm calling them unfair because that comes from the weed strategy book that I wrote, but they're not really unfair or illegal. They're just competitive advantages that our competitors can't match. And so that's what I am always striving to give to my clients.”

“If you keep sending something and it's the same thing, people get tired of it quickly and they bore easily. So it's a real challenge.”

“I don't think businesses can survive – or certainly they're not going to thrive – without unfair advantages. And again, by that I don't mean something that's illegal or actually unfair. I just want our competitors describing them that way.”

“The process is, for us, the accumulation of expertise and experience that creates the greatest amount of efficiency and let's say competitive advantage. But we have to share it, meaning we have to train our team to run the process.”

Recommended reading and listening

• “How to Get a Meeting with Anyone: The Untapped Selling Power of Contact Marketing” by Stu Heinecke.
• “Get the Meeting!: An Illustrative Contact Marketing Playbook” by Stu Heinecke.
• “How to Grow Your Business Like a Weed: A Complete Strategy for Unstoppable Growth” by Stu Heinecke.
• “Drawing Attention: How to unleash the incredible power of cartoons in marketing, advertising, sales promotion, job search, VIP contact campaigns and more” by Stu Heinecke.
• “Big Fat Beautiful Head: A book of cartoons by Stu Heinecke”
• “Mastering Megatrends: Understanding and Leveraging the Evolving New World” by John Naisbitt and Doris Naisbitt.
• “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell.
• Clarity Advisors Reading List

Follow/Connect with Stu Heinecke

• StuHeinecke.com
• Stu Heinecke’s newsletter: Grow Your Business Like a Weed
• Stu Heinecke on LinkedIn

With just two weeks until the 2024 U.S. presidential election, politics is becoming a more frequent topic of discussion in the workplace.

On this episode of The Clarity Advisors Show, host Ken Trupke fields a question from a business owner who’s concerned that her team will become distracted -- or even divided -- by political conversations.

Ken explains that while everybody has a right to voice their opinion outside the workplace, it’s important at work to stay focused on serving customers.

If you have a question for Ken to answer on a future show, send it to ken@clarityadvisors.io.

Timestamps
(00:20): Introduction.
(02:00): Giving the benefit of doubt.
(03:32): The sports analogy.
(04:31): Commitment to two things.
(05:34): Does it directly relate to our business?
(06:28): When people push back.
(11:16): Communicating the message.
(13:01): Summary.

Episode quotes
“People can like or dislike anything and everything, but we don't want that to distract us when we're on the field, when we're doing the work."

"When we're serving our customers, we want to be united around that.”

“When you take off the jersey and step outside our four walls, well then you're free to express yourself any way you want.”

“We don't need to take sides on political things to be successful at work. So let's not distract ourselves. Let's stay focused on our customers.”

“We're not trying to limit free speech here. It's just that some speech doesn't necessarily have a place at work.

“The short answer here is absolutely; it is within your rights as the business owner to limit what we talk about at work. If it's divisive, it just doesn't have a place at work. Let's stay focused on our customers.”

Recommended reading and listening

• Clarity Advisors Reading List

Follow/Connect with Ken Trupke

• ken@clarityadvisors.io
• ClarityAdvisors.io
• Ken Trupke on LinkedIn

In my recent appearance as a guest on the "Systems Simplified" podcast, I talked with my friend and host, Adi Klevit of The Business Success Consulting Group, about the importance of setting goals for your business and how to get your team aligned and engaged to achieve them. We also discussed using the daily huddle to create a culture of accountability to support success.

Timestamps

(00:20): Intro.
(00:59): Systems Simplified podcast intro.
(01:50): About Clarity Advisors.
(02:22): Who Clarity Advisors works with.
(03:33): Ken Trupke’s background.
(05:19): The start of Clarity Advisors.
(05:55): Helping leaders identify goals.
(07:36): Figuring out the first step.
(13:05): Methods of establishing accountability
(17:09): Ideal agenda for a morning huddle.
(21:34): Do’s and don’ts of a standing huddle.
(23:20): Connecting with Ken Trupke

Episode Quotes
“There's usually some kind of communication issue.”

“If the leader doesn't know what they're trying to achieve, it's really difficult for everyone on the team to try to help them achieve that goal.”

“You've got to be specific and measurable. Unless you define what "more" is, how do you know if you've ever achieved that?”

“We can do anything, but we can't do everything.”

“There are only two acceptable outcomes once you've made a commitment. You either get it done or you tell me ahead of time so that I can make adjustments.”

“People like to keep score. When you know can do things to change the scoreboard -- not just be a passive observer -- it's just a lot more fun.”

Recommended Reading and Listening

• The Clarity Advisors Show: 107 Adi Klevit -- Improving your business through systems and processes
• Systems Simplified podcast hosted by Adi Klevit
• Clarity Advisors Reading List

Follow/Connect with Adi Klevit

• Phone: 503-662-2911 (call or text)
• Email: adi@bizsuccesscg.com
• Website: bizsuccesscg.com
• Adi Klevit on LinkedIn

Follow/Connect with Ken Trupke

• ken@clarityadvisors.io
• ClarityAdvisors.io
• Ken Trupke on LinkedIn

As leaders, we want to build a team that shares our desire to serve our customers (the what we’re doing) and also shares our core values (the how we do it). We want to be clear about “WHAT” and “HOW”, so we attract the right teammates.

And as a job seeker – a potential employee – it’s also important that you know what your values are so you know if you’re finding the right match for you.

Our guest today is Ken Misiewicz, President and CEO of Pluene Service Company. Ken has spent decades shaping the culture at Pleune and has been very intentional about hiring for fit - helping both his company and his current and potential employees.

Timestamps:

(00:20): Introduction.
(01:25): About Pleune Service Company.
(02:03): The processes-running side of Pleune.
(02:50): Ken Misiewicz’s background.
(04:17): Culture fit and why it’s important.
(07:20): Why an employee should think about culture fit.
(10:10): Helping employees define their core values.
(14:15): When somebody doesn’t know what they don’t know.
(21:40): What happens when it doesn’t work.
(26:18): Emphasizing culture.
(28:39):Being an ESOP company.
(34:20): Connecting with Ken Misiewicz

Episode quotes:

“Everybody's different. They have different motivations, different desires, different goals, different passions, and what gets them moving, what gets them fired up. It has to be matched with the employer, the work the company does, and the customers they serve. If it doesn't, it's a mismatch.”

“What's really nice about being an employee-owned company is that we can talk about the long term and the short term and try to connect the dots because we don't hire people just for the short term. Every hire is meant to be for their career.”

“We're looking for great human beings, and they're wrapped in all kinds of different ways. And so, we're looking for them to have the commonality of values because that is the single biggest indicator of whether or not they are going to stay.”

“You can handbook people to death, but that doesn't really drive behavior in a positive way.”

Recommended reading and listening:

• The Clarity Advisors Show Episode 10: Ken Misiewicz – Leading an employee-owned company
• Clarity Advisors Reading List

Follow/Connect with Ken Misiewicz:

• Email: kmisiewicz@pleuneservice.com
• Pleune Service Company website
• Ken Misiewicz on LinkedIn

Part of being a leader is setting expectations and assigning responsibilities. But what if a team member doesn’t do what they’re supposed to do, when they’re supposed to do it? That’s a problem leaders seem to be facing more often.

On this edition of The Clarity Advisors Show, host Ken Trupke talks about the importance of holding team members accountable and helps leaders prepare for "What if they don't?"

Timeline

(00:20): Introduction – Defining the problem.
(02:54): Origin of the problem.
(05:16): The contract in the workplace.
(08:34): What if they don’t?
(10:59): Addressing the problem.
(11:52): Consequences of inaction.
(14:30): Conclusion.

Episode Quotes

“There are only two acceptable outcomes once you agree to do something. Do it on time, or tell me before that you're not going to get it done.”

“Accountability, by its very nature, is confrontational because I'm expecting you to do something. And if you don't do it, then we've got a problem.”

“The exchange of value is employer money for employee work. And should the employer stop paying, the employee would not just accept that.”

“Once accountability is out the window for one person, it's very quickly out the window for everybody.”

“If you are not going to address the issue of accountability, it's not going to stop. In fact, it's going to spread.”

Recommended reading and listening

• Clarity Advisors Reading List

Follow/Connect with Ken Trupke

• ken@clarityadvisors.io
• ClarityAdvisors.io
• Ken Trupke on LinkedIn