On Your Mark, Get Set, Grow!

Guest: Curt Gooden, CEO Coaching International's Chief AI Officer. Curt helps CEOs define and realize their AI vision and meaningfully integrate AI into their business strategy and operations by leading CEO AI Roadmap workshops.  Quick Background: Mastering AI is not the CEO's job. But learning about the fundamentals and identifying potential implementations is a responsibility that no CEO can afford to shrug off any longer. As Peter Diamandis said at our recent Make BIG Happen Summit, "Everyone’s moving towards AI companies. It is happening now, and it is the most important happening that has ever existed.” You simply can't let challenging ideas and an alphabet soup of acronyms prevent your company from catching this wave. On today's show, Curt Gooden explains important AI concepts and discusses how CEOs can drive innovation and gain a competitive advantage that will Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Greg Coticchia, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Greg is a six-time CEO, award-winning entrepreneur, business leader, professor, and author with over 30 years’ experience in tech products and services. Quick Background: Innovation is the lifeblood of a growing company. If you're not continuously improving your products and services and exploring new marketplaces, you're putting a cap on your business' potential, and creating an opening that younger, nimbler, and braver competitors will march right through. On today's show, we explore Greg Coticchia's process for mastering new product development and building a culture of innovation that will Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Jonathan Seliger, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Jonathan is an accomplished Chief Executive Officer, Senior Advisor, and Investor with over 30 years of experience.Having lived and worked in Asia for the last 30years,Jonathan brings a global perspective to the challenges of scaling a business to BIG. Quick Background: Even if your company is global, business is always local. Your strategies for attracting and retaining customers have to be customized for each individual market. What unites your plan of attack from town to town, state to state, and country to country is the consistency of your company’s values, the strength of its brand, and its ability to execute, no matter what. On today’s show, Jonathan Seliger shares his strategies for expanding a brand’s reach, effectively managing growth challenges, and ensuring that scaling efforts align with long-term profitability and sustainability goals that will Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Keith Corrigan, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Keith has deep expertise in implementing Lean business practices. As a coach he draws on a proven track record of driving growth, managing through crises, and achieving operational excellence in various industries. Quick Background: Lean management is a systematic approach to running an organization that focuses on continuous improvement and seeks to maximize customer value while minimizing waste. Essentially, it involves using fewer resources to create more value for customers. The primary goals of lean management are to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and increase productivity and quality by streamlining processes and eliminating any steps in a process that do not create value for the end customer.  Some companies have faced the threats of high inflation and interest rates by scaling back, well, everything: costs, office space, marketing, people, new products, and perhaps worst of all, ambition. CEOs have to understand that there's a BIG differ

Guest: Edward Hughes, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Edward is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with two decades of experience as a CEO and three decades in senior leadership across Technology, Consumer Products, and Sporting Goods companies. He's also an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Irvine, teaching General Management and Entrepreneurship in MBA and Executive MBA programs.  Quick Background: There's no one way to be an effective business leader. But the CEO's unique alchemy of personality, strategy, and vision has to inspire trust from employees at every level of the organization. If your employees don't believe in you, they won't be willing to follow you through the inevitable ups and downs on the way to Making BIG Happen.  On today's show Edward Hughes discusses his comprehensive leadership philosophy, which emphasizes building trust to drive success and foster a high-growth culture.

Guest: Saari Gardner, the Chief Experience Officer at CEO Coaching International. Saari is responsible for setting the client experience strategy, managing the client journey, and championing client impact.  Quick Background: While the title "Chief Experience Officer" is relatively new, the executive-level responsibilities that will fall on the CXO's desk are not. Before considering a costly new c-suite hire, your company needs to have a holistic understanding of how touchpoints with customers and employees fulfill needs and exceed expectations. Guided by the CEO's vision, a CXO can raise those standards, maintain consistency across every department, and build a powerful culture that will Make BIG Happen. On today's show, Saari Gardner discusses the CXO's multifaceted responsibilities, from being a changemaker and a voice for the customer at the executive table to reducing internal friction that impacts customer satisfaction. Saari also highlights the link between employee experience and customer service exce

Guest: Randy Koch, a coach at CEO Coaching International. Randy drew on his 11 years of AI and Data experience to build CEO Coaching International’s CEO AI Roadmap Product (AI Strategy for CEOs). He also leads AI Strategy Workshops with our clients and coaches.  Quick Background: The hype around AI is so BIG that many CEOs struggle to zero in on two-to-three specific, practical, and actionable applications. That's where our CEO AI Roadmap comes in. The combination of our proven best practices and cutting-edge analysis of the latest AI trends will help CEOs develop a comprehensive AI strategy that delivers BIG results. On today's show, Randy Koch gives an overview of the process CEOs can use to build their own CEO AI Roadmaps, leverage AI to its full potential, and Make BIG Happen.

Guest: Mark Moses, CEO and Founding Partner of CEO Coaching International.  Overview: The 2024 Make BIG Happen Summit in Miami Beach, Florida is almost here! On April 26th and 27th, 400 of the BIGGEST and best business leaders from around the world will gather at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel to learn, to connect, and to get inspired to Make BIG Happen in their lives and businesses. And, for the first time in the Summit's 10-year history, we're opening up registration for this one-of-a-kind event to CEOs, entrepreneurs, and executives outside of our coaching community.  On this special episode, Mark Moses discusses the Four Groundbreaking Event Themes that will define the 2024 Make BIG Happen Summit, our extraordinary lineup of speakers, and what he hopes attendees will take away from their time in Miami Beach.

Guest: Robert Glazer, the Founder and Chairman of the Board of global partner marketing agency Acceleration Partners. Robert is also a serial entrepreneur, an award-winning executive, a bestselling author, a keynote speaker, and the host of The Elevate Podcast. Overview: Effective marketing is a constantly moving target. Today's hot engagement strategy will be copycatted by all of your competition tomorrow. "Old-fashioned" media like print and radio get rediscovered on the cheap ... until everyone else rediscovers them and drives up the cost of ad buys. In order to maintain a competitive marketing advantage, CEOs need to start looking for synergies and partnerships that can boost your brand's awareness, strengthen your appeal to niche customers, and Make BIG Happen.  On today's show, Robert Glazer discusses how partnership marketing works, action steps that CEOs can take to augment their current marketing strategies, and some of Robert's key learnings from building a fast-growing company.

Guest: Harold Brand, Chairman of the Board and CEO of CYBRA, a leader in the barcode and RFID technology space. Harold is a client of CEO Coaching International. Overview: A good CEO understands his company's core competencies. A great CEO also understands his company's weaknesses. And the absolute best CEOs have the humility and long-term vision to get help shoring up those weaknesses so that they can Make BIG Happen.  On today's show, Harold Brand discusses how working with CEO Coaching International's Jim Weaver helped his technology firm grow into a sales and marketing juggernaut with over 2,700 customers worldwide.

Guest: Bruce Clay, founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc. (BCI), a leading search marketing company providing search engine optimization (SEO) services and consulting, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising management, content development, and social media marketing services. Overview: Is your digital marketing plan stuck in "The Before Times?"  Post-pandemic, CEOs need to understand how to get maximum effort, creativity, and service from their marketing teams.  And as we head into the next iteration of the AI era, CEOs need to understand that tech is never a solution -- it's a tool that needs to be placed in the right hands, in service of clear objectives. On today's show, Bruce Clay discusses how COVID and AI have accelerated digital marketing's evolution and how to tweak your marketing attack to keep Making BIG Happen. 

Guest: K. Scott Crawford, Partner, New Business Development, Client Prioritization at Preferred CFO, a company that provides outsourced CFO and comptroller services to companies seeking to elevate financial strategy, overcome challenges, maximize profits, and accelerate growth. Overview: Leveraging your company’s financial data isn’t just a numbers game. Without top talent and clearly defined roles for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting financial data, CEOs won’t have the insight they need to track, measure, and manage KPIs to BIG. On today’s show, Scott Crawford discusses the CEO’s role in the financial side of the business, the key players to assemble on your financial team, and the six essential financial tools every company needs. 

Guest: Daniel Kim, VP of Product Development and Content at CEO Coaching International, where he oversees the creation of Making BIG Happen tools, methodologies, and skills. Dan also serves as a resource to coaches and clients for challenges related to finance, banking, M&A, PE/VC/IPO, industry benchmarks, and reporting issues. Previously, Dan was VP of Corporate Development at several firms and a head of research and technology analyst in the investment banking industry for 25 years.  Quick Background: Entrepreneurs and CEOs rarely love managing their business' finances as much as they love running their businesses. But leaders need to have comprehensive data at their fingertips and a team that can use that data to enhance the company's strategic planning and execution. On today's show, Daniel Kim discusses the critical role of accurate financial data in Making BIG Happen, including real-world examples of how money management can either drive growth or unravel your company's culture.

Guest: Mike Morris, a Principal at Kettle Hole Partners, a company that helps you optimize your marketing results based on detailed tracking of the numbers. Previously, Mike headed up Customer Acquisition and Retention at Grasshopper, The Entrepreneur’s Phone System, where he tripled the customer acquisition rate and doubled revenue in 3 years.  Overview: When a company falls short of its goals, sales and marketing teams tend to point fingers at each other. Sales complains that marketing isn't delivering enough qualified leads. Marketing complains that sales isn't closing enough leads. And perceptive CEOs see a significant misalignment that threatens to drag down profits. On today's show, Mike Morris discusses structural and analytical strategies CEOs can use to keep sales and marketing focused on reaching your target customers and Making BIG Happen. Mike also uses his time at Grasshopper as a case study in identifying a sales niche and firing test bullets to identify new opportunities for growth.

Guest: Chris Dyer, a company culture and remote work expert. He's also a former CEO who has managed thousands of people, and his companies were consistently named a "best place to work." Chris' new book is The Power of Company Culture: How Any Business Can Build a Culture That Improves Productivity, Performance and Profits. Overview: Recently, the tech and entertainment sectors have given us some high-profile examples of what happens when a company's culture degrades from a strength into a liability. CEOs have to be intentional and specific about building a culture that will generate value for all stakeholders, keep the company moving toward its targets, and, ultimately, Make BIG Happen.  On today's show, Chris Dyer discusses what culture is, how leaders cultivate it, and how culture can drive or destroy growth.

Guest: Jeffrey Pfeffer, the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, where he has taught since 1979. Prof. Pfeffer is the author or co-author of 16 books, including his latest, 7 Rules of Power: Surprising--but True--Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career. Overview: The tools that allow business leaders to gain, increase, and retain their power are neutral. It's how you use those tools that determines how far others will be willing to follow you and how BIG your company will get.  On today's show, Jeffrey Pfeffer discusses his 7 Rules of Power, how power is and isn't distributed through successful organizations and societies, and the choices we all have to make as we strive to Make BIG Happen. 

Guest: Mark Miller, the CEO of Connective, a community-based social services nonprofit operating in British Columbia and the Yukon to create safe, healthy, and inclusive communities for all. Overview: A nonprofit may not have the exact same goals as a for-profit business. But the principles of success are no different for a nonprofit CEO: have a vision that benefits all stakeholders, track, measure, and manage progress towards milestones every day, and assemble a team of people who care about your mission and will work hard to Make BIG Happen.  On today's show, Mark Miller explains how he professionalized his nonprofit and grew the organization by more than 700% in seven years.

Guest: Christian Stang, Vice President Of Business Development at GINCOR Werx, a leading company in the custom manufacturing of vocational vehicles. Overview: It's common for the top salesperson to get promoted to lead the sales team. But there's a big difference between being a top salesperson and being a great leader. How do the best sales people cross the chasm into leadership and lead their team to BIG results? On today's show, Christian Stang discusses how his experience as a top-performing salesperson informs how he builds and manages collaborative sales teams. 

Guest: Fred Joye, Co-founder of Arcanys, a premier Swiss software development outsourcing firm based in the Philippines. Fred's firm specializes in building and maturing highly skilled, dedicated teams of developers for startups and established businesses. Arcanys is also a Strategic Partner of CEO Coaching International.  Overview: The best companies hire the best people, period. That means even if your tech firm isn't directly competing with Facebook and Google, you're still competing with Facebook and Google for top talent. To win that battle, growing companies need to get creative about how they build, compensate, and motivate their teams. On today's show, Fred Joye discusses how companies can use outsourcing to scale their development teams with top software engineers and compete against BIG tech companies that have more resources. 

Guest: Siddhartha Agarwal, the founder of Bhoruka Park Pvt. Ltd, one of the leading commercial real estate developers in Bangalore, India.  Overview: Thinking BIG is a mindset that, with practice, coaching, and follow-through, can become a powerful habit. Apply the same systems and processes to your business that you apply to sports, hobbies, personal challenges, and relationships, and there's no limit to what you can accomplish.  On today's show, Siddhartha Agarwal discusses why he set a goal of swimming across the English Channel, how he worked with a coach and a partner on a year-long plan to achieve that goal, and what the whole process taught him about Making BIG Happen in both business and life.