Welcome to The CEO Project Podcast, where Jim Schleckser, author of Great CEOs Are Lazy, discusses ways top CEOs can optimize their businesses. Jim announces the rebranding of the podcast from "The Lazy CEO" to "The CEO Project Podcast," aligning with the project's broader mission. Today’s guest, Bradley Hamner, a business growth coach, shares his journey from struggling in his first business to developing a scalable process architecture that allowed him to work "on" rather than "in" his business. Now, he coaches entrepreneurs to build systems that drive sustainable growth, especially focusing on small to mid-sized businesses.

Bradley highlights the challenges small businesses face with popular operating systems like EOS and 4DX, often needing custom approaches to suit smaller teams. His "SCALE" framework emphasizes sustainable revenue, profitability, time off, leverage through delegation, and efficient operations. Together, Jim and Bradley discuss the importance of community and peer support among CEOs to reduce ego barriers, foster vulnerability, and achieve personal and business growth. This episode underscores that scalable success requires structured processes and a supportive community for CEOs on their journey.

In this 100th episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser marks the milestone by announcing the show's upcoming name change to The CEO Project Podcast, reflecting its focus. Beginning with episode 101, listeners will find all content under the new name.

Jim’s guest is Jennifer Frye, the CEO of Appreciated Asset Business Solutions, which specializes in building robust sales pipelines for industry disruptors through a unique prospecting and appointment-setting service. Jennifer emphasizes that successful client acquisition hinges on a personalized, relationship-focused approach. She shares insights into how her firm distinguishes itself by using targeted psychographics and values alignment, going beyond typical demographic data to create meaningful client connections.

In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser, founder of The CEO Project, announces the upcoming name change of the podcast from The Lazy CEO Podcast to The CEO Project Podcast. The current episode is number 99, and the switch will happen after the 100th episode, although all past episodes will remain accessible.

The guest on this episode is Don Schmincke, a researcher with a background in MIT and Johns Hopkins. He shares insights from his research on the high failure rates of management theories, revealing that they often ignore primal human decision-making factors. Schmincke’s work spans across biological, physical, and business systems, blending disciplines to uncover ways to help companies grow faster than traditional methods. His research, which includes looking at human behavior and ancient training programs, has led to breakthroughs in management by focusing on altering human beliefs rather than just providing tactical tools.

In this episode of The Lazy CEO podcast, Jim Schleckser, host and founder of The CEO Project, introduces Ilias Simpson, the new President of Cart.com. Ilias talks about Cart.com's comprehensive supply chain solutions, emphasizing its omni-channel capabilities and how they manage everything from digital storefronts to order fulfillment. He explains the company’s end-to-end approach, handling fulfillment for big brands like PacSun and Toms. Cart.com’s ability to offer integrated marketing, order management, and warehouse services sets them apart in a highly competitive market.

In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, Jim Schleckser, founder of The CEO Project, discusses the growing field of customer experience engineering alongside Sharon McGuire. The episode explores how companies can design processes that delight customers, turning their experiences into key marketing tools. The hosts emphasize that understanding customers, including segmenting them based on their unique needs, is critical for crafting a successful customer journey.

They touch on methods like surveys and qualitative focus groups to gain insights into customer desires, noting that exceptional experiences often come from delivering what customers didn’t explicitly request but would love. They highlight the importance of eliminating friction, such as through seamless technology or low-effort processes, like easy car rentals and fast online checkouts, drawing parallels between B2C experiences (like Amazon) and B2B environments.

In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser interviews, Erwin Visser, a business development leader at Microsoft who has not only achieved success in tech but also in extreme sports, having summited Mount Everest. The conversation covers several key topics, starting with hiring top talent, focusing on exceptional personal achievements like mountain climbing. The guest shares insights on cloud migration trends and the role of AI in enhancing productivity and cybersecurity, discussing real-world examples of AI applications in sales, finance, and auditing.

In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser dives into the world of podcasting as a business tool, exploring how it can drive growth and success. Jim welcomes Seth Greene, an expert in the field and co-host of The SharkPreneur Podcast. Seth shares his unique approach, highlighting that podcasting isn't about getting millions of downloads or sponsorship revenue. Instead, it's about building relationships with guests and leveraging those connections for business success.

Seth explains that the key to podcasting for business growth lies in focusing on two types of guests: potential clients and joint-venture partners. By engaging these individuals in meaningful conversations, podcasts can convert them into clients or referral partners, creating long-term business opportunities. Seth emphasizes that the goal is to establish trust and build a rapport, making the podcast a tool for relationship-building rather than just content creation.

In this episode of The Lazy CEO Podcast, host Jim Schleckser discusses the importance of a relentless desire to learn, particularly for CEOs and leaders. Schleckser introduces his guest, Damon Lembi, a two-time bestselling author and learning platform host, who has helped over two million people enhance their skills. The conversation centers around the concept of learning as a key competitive advantage for companies and leaders.

Lembi shares his personal journey, from his early career in baseball to becoming a leading figure in the learning and development space. He emphasizes the need for individuals to be open to learning, adaptable, and self-aware, highlighting that success often stems from continuous self-improvement. The discussion explores practical ways to assess a person's willingness to learn during hiring, including asking candidates to share recent books they've read and how they’ve applied that knowledge.