Paper Napkin Wisdom - Podcast And Blog For Entrepreneurs, Leaders And Difference-makers

This is the time of year when so many of us start to take stock of the year that passed and the one that’s coming. It’s that time that we start to think about what could be for the year ahead. There have been studies done that show that most people only accomplish a small fraction of their goals from year to year. Yet there are others that do much much more. There’s a simple way that you can make more of your goals happen, and more of your team’s goals happen, that requires little effort from you other than setting up an uncommon structure for them that involves transparency and dialog around progress … the ULTIMATE leading indicator. Great teams do this way better than the rest … update your goals to SMART2 goals and make your results change like never before. If you want a structure to help you do this, I want to give it to you. Please go to www.PaperNapkinWisdom.com and sign up, we’ll send you the e-book that contains the secret structure that will build more scalable, even exponential results than you had

  If you’re a long term Paper Napkin Wisdom listener, you may remember Christina Harbridge’s last visit EPISODE 47, when we had a lively discussion about shifting focus towards things that are enjoyable. If you’re just tuning in, Christina has a very interesting background. She has co-authored software, built a company that hit national revenue success, practiced acrobatic swing dancing, been a NASA test subject, and collaborated to design several large-scale metal sculptures currently on display in San Francisco, Austin, and Toronto. Now, she is the CEO of Allegory, a company that provides group training, one-on-one coaching, behavior change, and company culture services. In today’s podcast, she breaks down why drilling down on context is crucial to good communication. Christina explains, “If I ask you for food and you hand me an apple, it’s because I wasn’t specific enough.” Taking it a step further, if she wanted a Granny Smith, she may find herself disappointed when you hand her a Golden Delicious for a

In a society where people expect things to materialize instantly, many would be entrepreneurs expect the same, as it relates to success. However, in today’s podcast, founder of RYSE Media, Jay Jackson discusses how his view of entrepreneurship has evolved over the years and provides tips for the next generation of entrepreneurs. “Some people dream of success, some people wake up and work hard at it every day,” he says. With the insurgence of social media and the desire for instant gratifications, Jay finds that many people aren’t willing to put in the work required to be successful. “When you see a successful person, aspiring entrepreneurs often don’t understand the steps it took to get them there,” Jay says. Growing up, he often idealized the wrong people and was headed down a different path until he found a mentor who changed his perspective. The process of fulfilling his dreams by founding his own magazine wasn’t easy, “Early on, I realized the importance of consistency. I try to pass that value along to m

Too often we get stuck. Caught. Stopped dead in our tracks. Usually we end up blaming ourselves for something we did or got wrong in the past. Or because we “wish” we were doing something else right now. Remember one thing: You are frekkin’ unstoppable … Remind yourself ever day, all the time. And take epic action … Move forward, you can do it. In fact, you’re the only one who can. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success … get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

As entrepreneurs, it’s often tough to take time to smell the flowers. Learning how to juggle endless to-do lists, a budding business and loved ones can be difficult for even the most seasoned entrepreneur. However, in this week’s podcast, Trackmaven’s CEO Allen Gannett explains why he is making it a point to take time to be appreciative. The 25 year old helms the fifty person B2B software company and managed to raise $26M. “I met investors who immediately fell in love with the business. There was a lot of momentum,” he recalls. Early on, he gravitated towards one of his investors and they began a mentor-mentee relationship. “As a young homosexual CEO, it was a confidence builder to find someone I connected with in a world where I wasn’t really fitting in,” Allen says. However, things took a turn when his mentor died unexpectedly. Stunned by the loss, he realized that he hadn’t been as appreciative of his mentor’s support. “It made me reflect on ways to appreciate those who have invested in me emotionally and

With recent public events on my mind, I’ve been paying a little more attention (and asking questions) of my female teammates, colleagues, and other entrepreneurs, leaders and difference makers and have been stunned to hear their stories of having to “work harder” to be heard than their male colleagues. I’m not saying this is everyone’s story – in fact I’ve been mostly oblivious to the issue in the bubble that is my entrepreneurial world. I say it’s time to draw a line in the sand and for men to ensure they #ManUp and no longer let their male counterparts, colleagues, and teammates to treat women in any lesser way than their male colleagues. I know that the events of the last week will lead to other women, in other walks of life, to come out and speak about what’s happened to them in the workplace. Let’s make sure they’re heard. And let’s end this … Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small

Abby Robinson is Atlas Corps’ Chief Development and Engagement Officer. Atlas Corps’ mission is to “address critical social issues by developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and promoting innovation through an overseas fellowship of skilled nonprofit professionals.” She leads behind the scenes and works one step behind the entrepreneur, but is always in step.  Although “make it big” might be a phrase we normally think of as applying to the entrepreneur or top executives, when Abby says it she means, “Wherever, whenever, whoever you are, you can do your best and have an impact. I think that’s a good saying to drive one through life.” Making it big includes helping others grow as well, to be inspirational and help young people achieve. The key to being successful for Abby is by listening to the entrepreneur’s idea and creating her own system to get his visions and thoughts on paper efficiently. Seeing the bullet points and a timeline, she can create something achievable. Consistently, and that has buil

Who among us doesn’t want better results? So often we look at the bottom line and continuously set better goals and watch for the outcomes that we want to see. Whether it’s improving the bottom line, better customer service, client retention or other outcome based metric – we want to improve them. Rarely, however, do we look to the process that created the outcomes and structure time and energy toward reviewing the process and making improvements. If you build a system around improving the processes of your organization, you’re guaranteed to get better results over time. Try it out for yourself. The faster you apply the process improvements, the faster you can go up the hockey stick of growth. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur a

It’s a tale as old as time -  a regular human discovers their calling and springs to action. Our hero/heroin usually meets up with a mentor or a group of allies and they face a villain as a collaborative force. Joey Womack, CEO of Atlanta based Amplify 4 Good, thinks that entrepreneurs often follow a similar path. His organization uses a combination of out-of-the-box thinking, rapid problem-solving, and obsessive data tracking to help companies create impact. In today’s podcast, he talks about why “being a force for good” has become his guiding principle in his journey. Joey initially adopted this mantra when he decided to go against the grain and opt out of accounting,  the family trade. While searching for motivation to follow his entrepreneurial journey despite the naysayers, this quotes got him through dark times. He explains, “As change-makers and entrepreneurs, we are heroes. We have a responsibility to look out and have a bias to action.” A fellow Star Wars fan, he compared entrepreneurs to Jedis. “We

Everyone is talking about the greatest PREDICTOR of success is how much “grit” or resilience someone has. How willing are they to slog through the rough stuff before reaching for the prize. Some call this delayed gratification, though I don’t think they are the same thing. The secret source of resilience is within you … it lies with passion, love, and faith. Feeling passionately for what you’re doing, caring deeply about the work and the people you serve with and for, and faith in the vision are all lessons of the heart. Some call this the “soft stuff” … I call this the tough stuff. Connect to that inner passion and you’ll find limitless resources not just for you but for everyone around you. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur an

Is there a formulaic way to build a great startup? Today’s guest, Maxim Wheatley thinks so. Maxim comes from a very diverse background - he is an award-winning product leader and innovator, with proven success operating at the intersection of business development, innovation, and product strategy. Additionally, he is the co-founder of LifeFuels, a company that aims to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to to diagnose, manage, and cure health ailments. Maxim’s thoughts on entrepreneurship boil down to three basic tenets: “Dream big and start small, constantly seek new questions to answer, and remember that it’s the people who turn ideas into companies,” he says.   ‘Dream Big & Start Small’ While it’s important to have vision, it’s also important to get comfortable to with taking small steps. “Like [Reddit Founder] Alexis Ohanian says, ‘Entrepreneur is a fancy word for someone who has ideas and does them’,” Maxim says. While having a big vision important, he urges entrepreneurs t

So many times our teams look to us to articulate clearly the future vision of the company or the project. It’s up to us to detail it for them. We have to show them where we’re going, what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, even what it tastes like and sounds like. How do we do that if we’ve never been there – it’s a future state after all. It’s a future vision that requires us to CHANGE what we’re doing to make happen. The answer is simpler (but not easy). Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success … get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

We’re just a few days away from 2017! If you’re like most business owners, you’re looking for ways to evolve your marketing strategy next year. If so, this podcast is my New Year's gift to you. Former Paper Napkin Wisdom guest Joe Calloway recommended today’s guest, and I’m so glad he did. Jane Atkinson has over 25 years of experience securing top-tier speaking gigs for Fortune 500 C-Level executives. In today’s podcast, we discuss her method that ensures success for her campaigns. Her three step process, “Ready, Aim, Fire”,which she outlines in her new book The Wealthy Speaker, provides the framework for her clients to succeed. “In the ‘Ready’ phase, we get crystal clear as to what we’re selling,” she says. Aim refers to gaining clarity around what the focus of the campaign will be, while ‘Fire’ is the execution of the campaign. All great marketing plans have a formula and Jane’s “rule of threes” framework is no different. Prior to developing this outlook, she realized the need to develop a unique process.

Bottom line … when we are under pressure and stress (or distress) our pulse quickens. We need to distribute vital energy to various parts of our bodies quicker in these situations. Our companies are no different. We need to speed up our communication rhythm in these situations and there is no doubt that there is value to having a regular heartbeat – a regular structure to daily, weekly, monthly communications. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success … get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

Business success, especially entrepreneurial success, is about finding the right fit for your work, while also finding a harmony with everything else that affects your work. Business success is like relationship success. Sure, it would be wonderful to find the perfect match, but sometimes it’s even better to learn how to make an imperfect match fit. Communication and understanding allow unlike people to form mutually beneficial alliances. When alliances are formed, trust is born. It’s the same with business. Moving at the speed of trust propels businesses to flourish in a timely manner, while reinforcing and strengthening the foundations of that success. People often ask Tendrel’s Devon Davey how to build a solid business team. Her go-to reply is: start small with the power of two. Entrepreneurs can move so quickly that they are unable to initially communicate and receive feedback from a large team. Again, to use the relationship analogy, once the trust is established between two people, others can be brought

Resilience is not an accident. It doesn’t arrive at the moment of need by default. The reality is that resilience is there when we need it when we plan for it. Part of this is, of course, planning for it by having a great Playbook, aligned with your Path, and articulated with predictable communication structures to your Key Players. Without planning there’s no chance that you’ll have resilience when you need it. The thing is, however, practice is important too. How do you practice resilience? Listen in … but it starts with building predictable structures of communication and collaboration. It continues with practicing these habits in good times – maintaining them during great times. Holding space for your team (and yourself) daily helps. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we c

Over the years, Paper Napkin Wisdom guests have described ways for entrepreneurs to structure their business and life in a way that gears them for success. While some topics have been complex, today’s podcast gets us back to the basic. Serial entrepreneur Bill Dallas explains his guiding principles in business and life for the past three decades. “Pairing means with meaning is the only way to live a full life,” he asserts. “Means” refers to the problems entrepreneurs solve, while “meaning” describes the purpose behind their efforts. He believes that merging the two ideals is the key to successful entrepreneurship and a happy life. He started his businesses back in the 1980s in an old Victorian home. Back then, entrepreneurship was just barely in vogue.  “I had to apply meaning to the things I was doing on a daily basis, even when they weren’t things I necessarily enjoyed doing,” Bill recalls. By deriving meaning from even the most mundane of tasks, he was able to parlay that passion and become the founder of

If you’re a Rebel, Rule-Breaker and Renegade this is for you … If you’re the kind of person that likes to follow along with all the rules (especially from other people) and loves doing JUST what their told this won’t make sense. As an entrepreneur we like to color outside the lines … even our lines. STOP IT! It’s the most challenging thing to do … but in this week’s episode I share why we need to stop and how it can move us forward. Take Action is a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, and the focus is on the small, 1% improvements we can make in our businesses and lives. Small changes make a big difference! This podcast will help you make small changes that will change your world, so we can together save the world one entrepreneur and small business at a time! Based on The Book Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success … get yours now on Amazon or at Paper Napkin Wisdom.

Just in time for Christmas, there’s cold weather in the upcoming forecast here in Ottawa. So it’s fitting that today’s podcast discusses ways to raise the temperature on company culture. If you’re a long-time Paper Napkin Wisdom fan, you’re familiar with Motivational Speaker and Leadership Consultant Jason Barger. In today’s chat, we focused on how companies can collaboratively create and maintain a positive culture, or in Jason’s words, “Be a thermostat; proactively set your temperature.” Jason details this sentiment in his new book Thermostat Culture. The book centers on the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat – while thermometers just report the temperature, the thermostat controls and regulates the environment. “Culture is dynamic,” Jason says, “The most successful cultures are proactively managed.” For the past decade, organizations and pundits have become obsessed with company culture. But Jason points out that a great culture consists of more than foosball tables, catered lunches and casu

Each week I’€™ll post a short podcast, usually between 3 to 5 minutes long, just talking about how to apply the Paper Napkin Wisdom 5 Step Plan to Life and Business Success in an everyday kind of way. As I was speaking to a group of entrepreneurs about execution this week, we discussed the value of changing our Perspective as leaders to not think that we were out front, but rather out back of our teams supporting them as they charged forward. The discussion evolved toward understanding the value of how elephants lead. While elephants have obvious size and strength, that’s not how they lead. The alpha female is the leader of the herd and she leads from the back of the group using skills like Problem Solving, Social Intelligence, Openness, Decisiveness, Patience, Confidence, and Compassion to guide the group. Make it a great week!!