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

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!!

The world loves leaders. We write books and television shows about them and promote leadership as one of the defining qualities of a successful person. However, today’s guest Bill Treasurer, has a somewhat unorthodox take on what great leadership should really look like. After spending the last two decades as an author and leadership development coach for Fortune 500 brands, he has concluded that we have been wrong in our approach to the concept and essence of leadership.  “The first law of leadership is ‘It’s not about you’,” he says. A self-described leadership plumber (“I’m the one who gets the hairballs out,” he jokes), Bill explores this concept in his latest book entitled A Leadership Kick in the Ass. “I got the concept from my son. He was chosen to be class leader for the day. When I asked him how it went, he said ‘I got to open doors for people’,” Bill recalls. This seemingly innocuous but impactful statement revealed to Bill that one of the basic tenets of leadership was being overlooked. “Emerging l

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. This week I visited a group of entrepreneurs for a workshop on Execution. On the way back, I had huge challenges getting back home for the weekend. Apparently there was some sort of computer error, which took a ton of time to fix and, predictably, let to me missing the flight home. The challenge was that 1000s of other passengers had the same challenge as I did that day. I never quit, nor did I think of quitting … in fact, I’ve never quit on anything. In fact, in never even occurs to me. This week I share why. Make it a great week!

Many entrepreneurs, both budding and seasoned, can sometimes find themselves in a standstill due to lack of action. But how can entrepreneurs make “action” their default? If you’ve been following our show, you’ll know that a motto of mine is “make it bad, then make it better.” Today’s podcast guest, John Henry explains why the motto “default to action” has become one of his guiding principles. “You’ll be surprised what you can build if you default to action,” says the 23 year old entrepreneur and founder of Cofound Harlem, “I think some people may disagree with that principle but that’s the stage of entrepreneurship I’m in.” He adopted this mantra years ago when he founded his first business. A child of immigrant parents, John has always maintained a scrappy approach to entrepreneurship. While working as a doorman, he was approached by a resident who provided him with a business opportunity. “The resident offered to give me wholesale rates on dry cleaning if other residents were willing to do their dry cleani

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. Had a fun, wine-filled conversation this week with someone about unlikely sources of cinematic inspiration. I’ve almost always gone back to this handful of movies when I feel like my belief in myself is shaken and I need a source of inspiration. What movies do you watch for inspiration? My top few are in the podcast … but there are so many more (including my holiday favorite) It’s a Wonderful Life, and Scrooged, that could have made the cut. Make it a great week!

Welcome to Episode 1 of Leading Behind the Scenes, a new channel focused on supporting those who support great leaders and entrepreneurs. Miranda Barrett is an entrepreneur support expert with more than 10 years working with more than 400 entrepreneurs as part of the EO Global Team, and shares her insights on what it takes to be an effective leader. Leaders often think they’re leading, but their staff is disengaged and disinterested in the overall mission. “If you think you’re leading and no one is following, you’re just out for a walk,” she says. According to Miranda, the main trait of a good leader is someone who knows how to leverage and engage their team. “Entrepreneurs have so much energy and passion. It’s akin to an excited golden retriever,” she says. Leaders must understand how to share that excitement and vision with the team. Additionally, showing sincerity and curiosity is a crucial part of getting teams in line with their leader. She explains, “You have to admit when you’re stuck and turn to your

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. I was visiting a group of 20-30 entrepreneurs in Washington, DC this week and we were discussing Execution (getting stuff done). There are so many of us that seem to get stuck in urgent tasks, instead of focusing on the important work that will move us forward.  Sometimes we do this because it is more comfortable to play the role of the superhero and the save the day, the way we have always done, rather than do the uncomfortable task of doing something new. Remember, the new task – the harder one to pick, is supposed to be uncomfortable. We have never done it before. Go for it … do the thing that you have never done to get the results you have never had.

Power is an interesting concept. Few other nouns evoke such a visceral response quite like the five letter word. Today’s Paper Napkin Wisdom guest has a unique take on power and has used this philosophy to guide his organization, Accountability Lab. “The best thing you can do with power is give it away,” says Blair Glencorse. While many people seek to “change the world” by gaining power through political or economic means, Blair notes that the people who actually inspire change are those who give their power away. “I believe we are all powerful in our own way,” he muses. His organization works with young people across the world in an effort to make governments more accountable. “We help people generate accountability from the bottom up, through guiding them into realizing and channeling that power,” he says. He believes this system will help change governments. Citing his film school in Liberia, Blair explains how marginalized people often have more power than they realize, “We often look at [them] from a Wes