The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems "The definition of a nightmare is having a big dream and a bad team." -John Maxwell The Weekly Habit to Get Out of the Weeds If I had a mandate (or could recommend one thing) as a starting point to getting out of the weeds, it would be a Weekly Operating Routine. Especially for the owner. You can’t dig out while you’re drowning in the day-to-day. This simple rhythm is like a gateway... It brings order to the chaos, and it...
7 days ago • 2 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems "The definition of a nightmare is having a big dream and a bad team." -John Maxwell The Weekly Habit to Get Out of the Weeds If I had a mandate (or could recommend one thing) as a starting point to getting out of the weeds, it would be a Weekly Operating Routine. Especially for the owner. You can’t dig out while you’re drowning in the day-to-day. This simple rhythm is like a gateway... It brings order to the chaos, and it...
9 days ago • 2 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems Me and a lot of leaders in their happy place, lol. John Maxwell's Live2Lead Report In Short email today. I've been out the last couple of days at John Maxwell's Live to Lead event and got back late last night. I gave my notes a quick scan to share a few points from the speakers with you: "It's harder to lead yourself than to lead your team." - John Maxwell Jesse Cole (owner, Savannah Bananas) is exactly what you'd expect,...
23 days ago • 3 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems (New episode below!) Founders: Stop Tinkering. Buy the Answer. It's Worth It. It’s not your job to solve every problem. Your job is to get to clarity fast. Sometimes the smartest move is to buy the solution. I’ve been working with a founder who is growing like crazy. Clean books, zero financial clarity. Receivables stuck across client portals, contractors to pay, invoices in limbo. Every week brought a new spreadsheet and...
30 days ago • 2 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems The Scale Behaviors: How Leaders Turn Time into Leverage Founders think more revenue unlocks time… but it’s the other way around. How they spend their time is what unlocks revenue. There are a set of behaviors that go along with scaling. Behaviors that create leverage. Systemizing. Developing people. Visioning. Strategizing. Communicating. To name a few. Which behavior to focus on depends on what stage the business is in....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems Clarity Toolkit: 5 Stages, BAS & 90-Day Roadmap Every successful transformation begins with clarity about where you stand today where you aspire to be what’s in your way what to do about it It doesn’t matter if we’re talking business, leadership, health or anything else. Forward progress starts by seeing those four points clearly. This week I'm rolling out updates to three of my most powerful tools to help you get that...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems Make Progress a Game Keeping yourself and your team engaged? Not as easy as it sounds. You’ve probably tried it all. Bigger incentives. New systems. More meetings. Less meetings. But if you’re still struggling to get real buy-in, you’re not alone. That was the focus of my latest conversation with Caitlin Johnson, a pro at using gamification to drive business results. Caitlin’s approach isn’t about handing out points or...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems Your Brand Already Exists Your brand is already out there. Even if you haven’t defined it, or even if it’s not what you want - people are forming their own picture of who you are and what you stand for. That’s not meant to be alarming. Most founders realize their brand isn’t as sharp or as intentional as it could be. What’s less obvious is how easy it is to fall into the trap of “branding by volume”. Posting more, saying...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The Golden Thread business design // leadership // strategy // systems Succession Planning Isn’t Just About the Payout Thinking about selling your business someday? Everyone loves the story where you build, sell, and walk away with a fat check. Easy money, right? Except… that’s not the story most owners actually live. The real work—and real reward—comes from what you do before and after the sale. Picking the right successor. Knowing when “enough” is really enough. And figuring out who you...
2 months ago • 2 min read