266: Why Failing Is a Part of Winning

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or leader of a team, you’ll benefit from the life wisdom that Gary Polk shares in this special conversation. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of the value of failure or losses. Gary also explains why he’s a big believer in the triple bottom line, which includes “People, Planet, Profit.”

Gary is a Black businessman, CEO, business consultant, university professor and author. For decades, he’s been passionate about entrepreneurs…and why they succeed or fail.

His initial book, Why Entrepreneurs Fail (to Win), is widely used as a textbook in college entrepreneurship programs. He’s also written books with similar titles specifically for Black and Brown Entrepreneurs and for Women Entrepreneurs. Gary is committed to helping these leaders learn what they need to know so they can be as successful as possible.

Gary is focused on the triple bottom line, “People, Planet, Profit,” and believes these 3 elements align to drive success for everyone involved. He’s a proponent of social entrepreneurship and launched the Polk Institute Foundation in January of 2021.

You’ll discover:

Why all 3 of Gary’s books include “Fail (to Win)” in the title
What failing can teach us
Why Gary says EQ is more important than IQ
The #1 value Gary emphasizes at Polk Institute
How Social Entrepreneurship can fit into any business

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Connect with Gary

Gary’s Resources

Website

Polk Institute Foundation

Books

Why Entrepreneurs Fail (to Win): An Insider’s Perspective

Why Black & Brown Entrepreneurs Fail (to Win)

Why Female Entrepreneurs Fail (to Win)

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

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251: Leadership Practices of Successful Start-ups

What do the best founders do when leading others to fulfill the company’s mission? You’ll find out in this valuable conversation with Raja Skogland, who’s based in Norway.

Raja is not only an entrepreneur herself, she has also invested in more than 70 start-ups and small businesses. She’s observed firsthand—and also practices herself—the leadership skills necessary for building a successful company.

Raja is the Founder and Chair of The Visionary Company & VC. She’s created an ecosystem of experts, board members, investors, and serial entrepreneurs. Their purpose is to help startups, scale-ups, and small- to medium-size businesses raise money and build profitable, scalable businesses. Raja is also a Board Member of NorBAN, the Norwegian Business Angel Network.

You’ll discover:

How Raja’s experiences in the business world led her to the work she does today
Why Raja works on her mindset on a continuous basis and encourages entrepreneurs to do the same
The power of surrounding yourself with “friend clients”
Key leadership skills needed to run a successful business or team
How Raja applies these skills with her children and with her team

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Connect with Raja

Raja’s Resources

Websites

Raja Skogland Blog

The Visionary VC

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

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240: Focus on Serving, Not Competing

Which leadership skills and strengths are important for entrepreneurs in order to build a successful business? Geoffrey Kent shares the ones he needed to use, and they’re the same ones he advises every business leader to develop. You’ll be mesmerized by the stories Geoff tells to illustrate his points.

Geoff has been a serial entrepreneur for more than 40 years. As a result of his own experiences, he’s developed a comprehensive methodology to help entrepreneurs build their own unique, customized strategy for responsibly scaling exponential business growth.

Today Geoff teaches entrepreneurs – from business start-ups to those who are growing – how to connect their entrepreneurism with their passion.

You’ll discover:

The lessons Geoff learned along the way in his own entrepreneurial journey
Why leaders need to have a clear, compelling vision and be able to articulate it to others
What Geoff advises you to focus on instead of the competition
How Geoff served his customers so powerfully that they became his sales team
The 3 questions Geoff asks entrepreneurs to determine if they have a viable business idea

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Connect with Geoff

Geoff’s Websites

Think Big with Geoffrey Kent

Entrepreneur University

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Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

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146: Lessons from a Business That Didn’t Make It

Have you considered starting a business—or do you run one now? In either case, my conversation with Sylvana Caloni and Paul O’Donnell is a must-listen. They share essential lessons learned from the starting up and closing down of a premium pie business. Their insights can help you avoid pitfalls and increase your chances of long-term success.

Sylvana and Paul co-authored Humble Crumbles: Savouring the Crumbs of Wisdom from the Rise and Fall of Humble Pie to tell the story of Paul’s failed business venture. Paul provides a raw account of his journey as an entrepreneur with his company, Humble Pie, and Sylvana supplements his narrative with observations and suggestions based on her dual lenses as an equity analyst and leadership coach. They embrace the one word we tend to avoid in life and in business: failure.

You’ll discover:

Why “failure” is not a negative
The importance of self-awareness for entrepreneurs to be successful
Why you must consider the downsides when creating a business plan
How to make the most of mentors and advisors when starting and running a business
The value of making a BIG ask

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Connect with Sylvana

Connect with Paul

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Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

090: A Three-Pronged Marketing Strategy with Kindness As the Foundation

Do you struggle with marketing your business? Catch this interview with guest Gabe Arnold. He’s the Founder & CEO of Business Marketing Engine, and he knows a thing or two about marketing. Gabe is known as a serial problem-solver, and with his 22 years of experience in professional writing, computer technology and marketing management, it’s a title that fits him well. In our conversation he shares big-picture concepts as well as tactics you can incorporate into your own marketing strategy. And what I loved most is that he wraps them all in a desire to bring more kindness, love and respect to business relationships.

You’ll discover:

How to become more comfortable marketing your services
Elements of a successful “omni-marketing” strategy
Ways to build your referral network so you leverage your marketing through influencers in your niche
What Destinations, Content and Traffic mean and why they’re essential to your business success
Why kindness is a cornerstone of all of Gabe’s business relationships

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Connect with Gabe

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Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Order from Amazon

Strong for Performance

Create a Coaching Culture with Learning & Development Programs That Stick

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Gabe’s Websites

Business Marketing Engine

Gabe Arnold’s Blog

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