The Entrepreneur’s Blueprint For Inspiring Leadership Over Management

What’s the difference between being in charge and being in control? In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares his surprising insights on managing teams and creating a productive work environment, offering practical strategies for empowering team members, fostering independence, and creating a thriving organizational culture. Tune in to discover Dan's proven approach to entrepreneurial leadership! Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why self-managing has to be built in from the very beginning.What gives Dan confidence in his concepts and tools.What people rely on entrepreneurs for as leaders.Why Dan doesn’t intervene when a team member might fail on a project.The difference between leadership and management—and being in charge versus being in control.How Strategic Coach® makes sure their team members don’t get burned out.Why Dan doesn’t even think about anyone who might be competing with Strategic Coach.  Show Notes: The number one skill for having a Self-Managing Company® is profound ignorance. The number one structure is Unique Ability Teamwork®.If you don’t get everyone’s roles right, you won’t get anything else right.It’s hard to correct a mistake you’ve made from the beginning.Confidence in your concepts and team is more crucial than trust.Confidence can come from knowing that you’ll always transform when you fail.A truly Self-Managing Company operates successfully independent of your constant oversight.Giving your team members the freedom to innovate, contribute, and pursue their Unique Ability® is essential to long-term business growth and success.Many entrepreneurs pride themselves on being hands-on with everything that happens at their company, but it’s important to resist the urge to rescue struggling teams.Being hands-off means allowing your team to learn from failures and trusting that they’ll develop problem-solving skills.Trust means that you’re taking a risk, and entrepreneurship is founded on risk.Everything that Strategic Coach needs to be is organized on teamwork.Strategic Coach has great institutional habits and institutional wisdom.In science, the experiment cannot depend upon the experimenter. The same applies to business.Being in control is management; being in charge is leadership.Make sure the little things that have to be there every day are right—the freedoms and supports that allow team members to thrive—and everything else will fall into place.  Resources: Unique Ability® Blog: What Is A Self-Managing Company®? Blog: Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage Blog: Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only) Blog: Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers

A Free Day™ is a 24-hour period with no work-related activity whatsoever. A great many entrepreneurs struggle with taking true Free Days™. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about The Entrepreneurial Time System®—which consists of Free Days, Focus Days™, and Buffer Days™—and why it’s essential for you to provide structure to your Free Days if you want the greatest business success. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The purpose of each of the three types of days in The Entrepreneurial Time System.Some non-work activities you can use to structure your days.Why it can be much easier to work than to take a day off.Why entrepreneurs are so resistant to taking days off entirely without work.Why you shouldn’t have an unplanned Free Day. Show Notes: You gravitate to the part of your life that has the most structure. Taking a day as if it were a Free Day, but structuring it with activities that are business activities, means that you're not going to be rejuvenated by the day. You can have a lot of structure to your days even when you’re not working. You can do activities on Free Days that you would never touch on a workday. Structure means that you’ll be supported by things that are already planned. If you have an idea on a Free Day, wait to see if it sticks with you until a workday. It’s a lot easier to set out to write 100 books than to set out to write only one book. An idea that is really great bothers you because it wants to be born into the world. You can still use all your strengths when you’re on a Free Day. Profitability means you’re not only making money, you’re keeping money. Your plans regarding retirement affect how you take your Free Days. Resources: Article: What Free Days Are, And How To Know When You Need Them Perplexity app Article: Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage The Impact Filter™

In this episode, Shannon Waller interviews Associate Coach Ben Laws, exploring his entrepreneurial journey and insights on self-discovery. Ben shares how intentional structures and relationships have fueled his success across multiple businesses and offers a unique perspective on business, life, and family. Tune in to uncover the mindset that drives impactful entrepreneurship and personal growth! Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: ·     How Strategic Coach®has influenced much of how Ben’s personal life functions.·     What Ben considers to be the ultimate freedom.·     How Ben demonstrated an entrepreneurial attitude at just four years old. ·     The key to Ben’s exponential growth. ·     Why setting out as an entrepreneur didn’t seem that risky to Ben.·     What to do if you’re considering becoming part of the Strategic Coach community. Show Notes Our eyes only see and our ears only hear what our brain is looking for. Forming connections and helping people solve problems are entrepreneurial social skills.  Entrepreneurs seek to innovate and drive change. Business owners try to maintain the status quo. If you name the game, you own the game. The further your company gets from where you started, the greater the risk of diluting what made your company great. Experience is the one thing that can’t be commoditized. Entrepreneurs are always discovering who they want to be. There's no greater call to loving your neighbor than being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are always being challenged. Entrepreneurs are exponentially more self-aware than other people.  People often think that life is happening to them rather than for them. As an entrepreneur, your number one job is to protect your confidence. Resources Unique Ability® Book: The Team Success Handbook by Shannon Waller Book: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy  Book: The Wealth Of Nations by Adam Smith Perplexity Blog: Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs Blog: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs  Blog: What Is A Self-Managing Company®? The Six Ds Of Exponentials

In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the philosophical and moral foundations of entrepreneurism, tracing its roots from Adam Smith's theories to present-day insights. They explore the correlation between creating value, self-interest, and moral philosophy, providing valuable insights for entrepreneurs today and proving that entrepreneurship lies at the foundation of a prosperous world. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: The rewards—financial and otherwise—for being an entrepreneur.The prevalent attitudes in higher education that often stand in opposition to entrepreneurialism.How Dan has used setbacks on his entrepreneurial journey to his advantage.The type of organization you can create when you embrace the entrepreneurial way of thinking.Why bureaucratic environments stifle creativity and limit money-making opportunities. Show Notes: Being an entrepreneur is a very intelligent way of planning out and living your economic life.Many successful individuals are often perceived to be driven by past traumas, but entrepreneurship can simply be a means to pursue your passions and get paid for it. When people within a company feel they can’t be themselves, politicking and bureaucracy take over. When you work with entrepreneurs, you know when they’re happy and you know when they’re not. Entrepreneurial instincts can only take you so far. You also need hard, bankable skills in order to be successful. Entrepreneurism is the only economic forum where you have a direct, interactive relationship with the actual marketplace. The closer you are to understanding why someone is willing to pay for the results your skills produce, the more knowledgeable, capable, and confident you will become. When you use your capabilities to continually create increasing value for others, they’ll continually write you bigger and bigger checks. Every corporation that exists today began with an entrepreneur having a direct relationship with the marketplace. Dan defines two universal entrepreneurial laws: You must depend upon your own capabilities for your financial security and you should not expect any reward unless you've first created value. Resources: Unique Ability® Blog: Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only) Book: The Wealth Of Nations by Adam Smith Book: The Theory Of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith Book: The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

In this episode, Dan Sullivan reveals his secret weapon for entrepreneurial success: The Impact Filter™. Learn how this powerful tool can boost your confidence, sharpen your focus, and dramatically increase your productivity. Also, discover how Dan uses it to clarify his thoughts, set intentions, and make decisions rapidly—all while reducing meetings by two-thirds!Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How Dan Sullivan uses Fast Filters (the “sprint” version of The Impact Filter) to have focused conversations with himself before important events.The importance of being in teamwork with yourself first to enhance collaboration and productivity with others.How the Fast Filter can help you decide which ideas are worth pursuing (and which aren’t).The value of clarifying your thoughts and setting context before meetings, leading to more efficient and productive interactions.Dan's practice of reviewing five major life goals daily and aligning his actions to support these long-term objectives.Show Notes:Dan uses Fast Filters to have focused conversations with himself before important events, boosting his confidence and intentionality.Engaging in self-conversations can also improve focus and productivity. By defining goals and action steps, you can prioritize tasks, eliminate distractions, and make progress toward your goals.Being in teamwork with yourself leads to better collaboration and productivity with others.It can also lead to more intentional decision making in entrepreneurship. By aligning your thoughts, actions, and goals, you can make informed choices that support your long-term vision.Fast Filters provide mental focus and energy and help you decide which ideas are worth scheduling meetings for.Clarifying thoughts and setting context before meetings leads to more efficient and productive interactions—and reduces the number of meetings you end up having!Dan’s approach has reduced his meetings by two-thirds over the past 10 years.There’s a difference between your "thinking brain" and your "acting brain," and Coach tools help you get them in teamwork with each other.Focused thinking time directly impacts entrepreneurial success.Fixating on an unpredictable future limits your productivity in the present, similar to being trapped in the past. Resources: PerplexityThe Kolbe A™ IndexThe Impact Filter™

In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, Shannon and Dan discuss the profound impact of setting context over focusing on content. Renowned for his ability to create powerful contexts in coaching, Dan shares insights on how this approach shapes thinking and decision making among entrepreneurs. Through real-life examples and coaching strategies, they explore how clarity of context not only simplifies complexities but also enhances community building, personal growth, and self-confidence.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The distinction between context and content in coaching and communication.How setting a clear context enhances decision making and clarity.Examples of powerful contextual frameworks in history and technology.The impact of context on community building and personal growth.Practical applications of context-setting in everyday communication.Show Notes:Setting context empowers people to think independently.Context allows you to focus on what's most important to you rather than conforming to external influences.Content is what is discussed or shared, while context defines why it matters and how it relates to personal experience.Dan offers the example of Steve Jobs, whose ability to redefine contexts, such as with iTunes, simplified music consumption.Context also simplifies decision making and reduces mental clutter by providing a clear framework for action.Context ensures clarity in communication by explaining the purpose or relevance of information.Community building and productive conversations are a natural result of context-setting.Macro contexts, like demographic shifts and geopolitical factors, significantly impact daily experiences, such as economic decisions made at grocery stores or reactions to political messaging.Demographic shifts, such as the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, are altering economic landscapes globally, and understanding demographic changes can help anticipate shifts in consumer behavior, workforce dynamics, and economic policies.Understanding both these contexts helps individuals and businesses navigate uncertainties and make informed decisions that align with broader trends and changes.Thinking about your thinking and focusing on context leads to more confidence and independence in all areas of your life.Contextual understanding also empowers people to resist manipulation and make informed decisions. Resources: Unique Ability®The Strategy Circle®The CliftonStrengths® AssessmentThe Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management

In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, Shannon Waller interviews Colleen Bowler, a Strategic Coach Associate Coach with over 20 years of experience. Colleen shares her journey from an early entrepreneurial mindset, influenced by her family, to becoming a leader in the financial planning industry. They discuss Colleen's current company, C&J Innovations, and her leadership in the industry, as well as her passion project, Generous Kids. Tune in to learn how Colleen's early entrepreneurial mindset shaped her career and the impact of Strategic Coach on her journey.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The power of collaboration and identifying individual strengths in an entrepreneurial journey.Strategies for personal and professional growth, emphasizing continuous learning and development.Insight into building successful firms and the impact of empowering others.Practical examples and applications of concepts such as Unique Ability® and strategic growth.The importance of quick assessments in empowering individuals and advisors for success.Show Notes:Colleen shares her journey and early exposure to an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing the value of hard work, earning opportunities, and the importance of translating this mindset two her own parenting.She also highlights the importance of systematizing the predictable to focus on connecting with clients—a key strength for entrepreneurs. Colleen explains how she built a top financial planning firm by empowering her team and avoiding the "I" mentality, instead using "we" to serve clients.Colleen talks about how Strategic Coach® helped her achieve real work-life balance, going from not taking any time off to taking a week's vacation within two years.Colleen referred 10 people to Strategic Coach before even qualifying herself because she saw how the Program helped people achieve an extraordinary quality of life.One thing that makes Strategic Coach workshops so valuable is that they’re led by other entrepreneurs who understand firsthand the challenges members face.Colleen highlights the value of being around like-minded people and getting her "butt in the chair" every quarter for creativity and growth.Colleen talks about selling her firm and starting her new venture, C&J Innovations, where she creates assessments for financial advisors.These assessments help advisors align with clients' future goals and mindsets for better relationships and growth.She also promotes her passion project Generous Kids, teaching the habit of giving to children. ResourcesThe Experience Transformer®More about ColleenC&J InnovationsUnique Ability®

For 35 years now, The Strategic Coach® Program has been helping entrepreneurs to achieve business success and business growth while living happy lives. But Dan Sullivan didn’t set out to create a program for entrepreneurs. He set out to create a thinking program, and entrepreneurs are the ones who took to it the most. In this episode, Dan talks with fellow business coach Shannon Waller about the genesis of Strategic Coach® and why it works so well for entrepreneurs. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The learning experience created by others that’s had the most influence on Dan’s thinking today.The ways of thinking on which Dan based The Strategic Coach Program.How constantly growing in capability and confidence protects you from worrying about the future.What lets Dan know he’s created a timeless thinking tool.Where all Strategic Coach thinking tools come from.Show Notes: The entrepreneurial game will continue for as long as you’re up to it. Each person can take the actual experiences of their daily life and develop them into knowledge. The challenges you face each day are sufficient to create a lifetime learning program. It's easier to get things created and produced these days than it was in the old days. Entrepreneurs have to be learning on a daily basis, while many non-entrepreneurs don’t have to do much learning after they get the job. Some non-entrepreneurs view having to learn new things as a chore, while entrepreneurs see it as an advantage. The bigger the problem and the faster the solution, the bigger the check for the entrepreneur. Strategic Coach clients are never told what they should learn from using a Coach thinking tool. It’s dangerous for an entrepreneur to get bored. Entrepreneurs get punished most heavily for not changing their minds. Entrepreneurs can make greater progress from thinking than people in most other lines of work. As a group, Strategic Coach clients are uniquely confident and feel a unique sense of capability and confidence about the future. Strategic Coach clients make more money and take more free time than a comparable group of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are the only people whose success depends upon being transformative. Strategic Coach clients have a shared language thanks to the Program’s thinking tools. The cause of most entrepreneurial problems is loneliness.Resources: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs [Article] Unique Ability® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Entrepreneurial Time System®—The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management The Experience Transformer®—Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers [Article] The Impact Filter™

Everyone knows that AI is going to be an increasing factor in business success and business growth, and it’s essential that entrepreneurs are aware of the technology’s limitations as well as its potential. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller speak with special guest, AI expert Evan Ryan, about what’s holding back the productive application of AI and what you can do instead to best take advantage of AI in your organization. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How to use AI, an intangible, to achieve measurable goals.Where Evan has seen the most success in companies’ use of AI.The first question every executive asks Evan.Ways of thinking that make AI more accessible.Why many people are hesitating to adopt AI in their businesses.Examples of where hesitation to use AI has prevented business growth.Entrepreneur ideas supporting making the change to AI.How to convince people to take a big leap using AI.The way AI disrupts established thinking about budgets.Why the successful use of AI requires a growth mindset. Show Notes: No matter how fast the technology itself moves, it's as slow as the humans that are adopting it. If a solution works for one person, you know 50% of what it would take to work for 10 people. Humans don't naturally think in terms of exponentials because nothing in our world really operates exponentially. If you experience sudden growth, and it’s behind you, you can do your own exponentials going forward. If you don't know where the leadership is, you don't know where the rest of the organization is. It's hard for people to grasp intangibles unless they're conceptually prone, so you need tangible proof of selling an intangible. If software is magic, AI is magic times a million. Something that’s inherently unclear and inherently vague is inherently a little scary. Technology doesn't become normal until it becomes boring. We have to normalize our way into the future. And that means that you have to start small and get used to it. San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and the media talk about AI like it's the end times. A lot of what goes on in Silicon Valley is getting people to bet on the bet. They're not actually betting on the technology. One new capability always introduces new capabilities. That's a feature of technology. The problems we want to solve are the same. We just keep getting better technology with which to solve them. To grasp future jumps, people need to grasp past jumps. Technology is automated teamwork. AI won't necessarily replace people, but people who know AI will replace people who don't. Resources: AI As Your Teammate by Evan Ryan TeammateAI.com The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan ChatGPT Perplexity.ai Unique Ability® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan Article about The Experience Transformer®: “Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers” Article: “What Free Days Are, And How To Know When You Need Them” Deep D.O.S. Innovation by Dan Sullivan

Do you give yourself time to think? Many people don’t. And for entrepreneurs, the stakes are higher because they’re in the marketplace independently. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about why thinking time is so important for business success and how entrepreneurs can get the highest quality thinking time through The Strategic Coach® Program. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:·     Why deep thinking is scary.·     The question that The Strategic Coach Program was based on from the start.·     Why it’s easier to get entrepreneurs thinking about their thinking than most people.·     Why thinking about your thinking is something that has to be consciously learned. Show Notes: Most people only do the kind of thinking done in Strategic Coach® in extreme emergency. Most people engage in three levels of thinking: thinking about things, thinking about other people, and thinking about other people’s thoughts. But there is a fourth level: thinking about your thinking. Higher education is almost entirely based on people who spent their whole lives thinking about somebody else's thoughts. In any sale, the first thing that people buy is a relationship. There’s only one expert on what progress is going to make a client happy, and that's the client. Some people don’t think about their thinking because they’re afraid of their thinking. For most people, it’s an unnatural act to think about their thinking. The Strategic Coach Program is about the clients, not the coaches. Instead of thinking about their thinking, most people just engage with whatever the world throws at them during the day, and then watch TV in the evening. Thinking about your thinking means taking agency over what actually goes on in your mind. The more you think about your thinking, the more normal it becomes. The problem is never the problem; the problem is not knowing how to think about the problem. Tightly scheduled entrepreneurs cannot transform themselves.Resources: Thinking About Your Thinking by Dan Sullivan The Dan Sullivan Question by Dan Sullivan Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan The Impact Filter™ Article: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs