For You Leaders

Latest Episodes:

How busy, successful leaders manage their time Jul 06, 2016

Show notes

This is the second half of our interview with tech entrepreneur Mellie Price. Mellie is an experienced investor and a startup innovator. She has an impressive resume and you can read her full bio here. Most importantly, she is a leader that cares deeply about the people she comes in contact with and her own personal accountability. She is constantly reflecting on her life and decisions and is actively becoming a better leader.

In Part 1, Mellie provides some great insights into being a leader and a woman leader. If you missed that amazing episode, listen to it now.

We started to talk about the concept of work-life balance in the last episode. Mellie really latched onto Kirk’s idea of seasons (not balance) and she even took it a step further. Kirk and Mellie also discuss advice she would give to a new entrepreneur, how she says "no" to good opportunities and the power in the edges of a bell curve.

Today’s Topics Include:

How Mellie struggled with not always being on 110% of the time, she realized that humans need to break things up to charge their batteries.
The concept of “seasons” instead of work-life balance.
How to be aware of other people’s “seasons” and let others know when you are entering a new season.
The way Mellie schedules her time.
What happens when you get burned out and the impact it has on those around you.
The ineffective way many leaders respond to being overwhelmed.
How to say no, especially when you want to do it all.
The consequences of constant rescheduling and how to stop rescheduling for good.
The structure Mellie insists on for meetings to make sure they are meaningful for both parties.
How Mellie uses open office hours to keep her calendar under control.
The value of being your true self.
The power at either end of a bell curve
Should you work on your weaknesses or hire to compliment them?

Tweetables:

“I believe in seasons of time, work life balance is just a fallacy.” Kirk Dando

“Balance to me means I’m listening to myself, when I can crank out high quality work, I just ride it.” Mellie Price

“Good leaders recognize that different people have different cycles - creatives, programmers, and finance people have different work cycles or seasons. Recognizing these are critical.” Mellie Price

More great Leadership Advice Podcasts

Mellie Price’s powerful leadership approach for women - and men. Jun 29, 2016

Show notes

MELLIE PRICE - PART 1

Today our guest is award-winning tech entrepreneur, Mellie Price. She is currently the Executive Director of Technology Innovations at the Dell Medical School. She is a Founder and Managing Director of Capital Factory and a co-founder of SoftMatch. Additionally, she is an experienced investor and fund manager, an eight-time entrepreneur and has managed explosive growth in large and small companies. I'd encourage you to read her full bio here. Her accomplishments are remarkable.

Even with all of her accomplishments, Mellie still feels like she is learning new things. She still feels like a "pup," as you'll hear in this episode. Today, you'll hear from Mellie that leadership is less about the hard skills and more your authenticity and the soft skills. She shares her personal definitions of leadership that led to her success.

I believe there are too few women leaders in the workplace. Over my career, some of the best leaders I've worked with were woman leaders. I asked Mellie her thoughts on why there were so few women leaders.

She, admittedly, didn't see the gap until she saw the workplace through the lens of being a parent. She then experienced the real issues first-hand. Listen to my interview to get Mellie's powerful leadership insight for women...and for men.

Today’s Other Topics Include:

The characteristics of being a good leader.
The simplicity of leadership that we try and complicate.
How your word is your bond with employees, friends and family.
How personal accountability is key.
What do you do when you make a mistake? How can you rise above the mistake?
Mellie's advice for women leaders.
How women are judged by a different measuring stick.
Is it really a man's world?
The role motherhood had on changing her views of women in the workplace and our society.
The practical issues that exist for women she's recently discovered.
The gap in For You leaders.
How the same issues exist for men, but in a different way.
How to find the right boss for your family.

More great leadership podcasts

Wrestling with the pressures of success - Charles Thornburgh - Part Two Jun 22, 2016

Show notes

Today we continue our conversation with Charles Thornburgh, the CEO of Civitas Learning. Civitas Learning partners with higher education leaders to bring together the best of new leading-edge technology, design thinking and data science on a mission to help a million more students. It’s a huge mission that we talked about in detail in the last episode - make sure you listen to part one.

In this episode, we wrestle with the issues that growth causes. Charles is quick to point out that what many times looks like a finish line, is usually just another starting line.

Civitas Learning has been fortunate enough to raise a large amount of money, recently raising $60 million.

Fundraising brings added pressure on the business, as you are now working with others’ money. From a CEO’s perspective, you are now responsible for fulfilling many more promises. The pressure is tough, but Charles shares how he copes with a growing company, investors and a family in this episode.

Today’s Topics Include:

How do you deal with raising a lot of money? How do you focus with extra responsibility?
Charles is recognizing what looks like the finish line from a distance is actually another starting line.
To help carry the load, Charles talks about he works with coaches and mentors. They help contribute perspective and see around corners.
Running Civitas Learning, his title hasn’t changed, but his role has changed many times.
The biggest way he sets priorities is blowing up his calendar. He shares how he has to decide how he spends his time to make the business the best it can be.
The role of meditation and mindfulness can plan in a busy life.
The missing variable in work-life balance is spending time on yourself.
As stresses get bigger, time needs to be spent on yourself. You need to focus on sleep, exercise, and diet to keep stress levels down and be able to cope.
To truly be force multiplier, you need to take care of yourself.
The analogy of a racehorse.

For You Leaders Podcast

Dando

Force Multiplier: how to exponentially expand your efforts - Charles Thornburgh, CEO of Civitas Learning - Part One Jun 14, 2016

Show notes

One unique person can reshape generations. For Charles Thornburgh, CEO of Civitas Learning and today's podcast guest, it was his great grandmother. As a woman in the early 1900s, she earned a graduate degree - practically unheard of in that time. That decision was a true force multiplier. You'll learn about the force multiplier and how Charles uses it as CEO in this episode.

Civitas Learning partners with higher education leaders to bring together the best of new leading-edge technology, design thinking and data science on a mission to help a million more students each year learn well and finish strong. Charles shares more about how they are accomplishing this on the podcast.

Listen to this episode to learn more about Charles's incredible grandmother, her influence, the million student problem and how you can be a force multiplier.

Today’s Topics Include:

The unique (and huge) mission of Civitas Learning.
How Civitas Learning is going to solve the million student problem.
How Citivas Learning helps students graduate from college.
The multi-generational impact of having more college graduates.
The amazing story of Charles's grandmother - her convictions, beliefs and actions that changed generations after her.
What leadership means to Charles personally.
How to develop a compelling vision, find a talented group of people to focus on that vision and complete the vision.

Links and Resources:

How to discipline a child - Leading through fatherhood, Part Two Jun 09, 2016

Show notes

Attend several parenting seminars and they will all offer you conflicting advice. Most agree that discipline plays a major role in a child’s development. Today we talk about a controversial topic - discipline. We even discuss spanking. When does it work? When does it not work? We also investigate time-tested methods of how to discipline a child.

As you might recall I turned the reigns for the next podcasts to Chip Hanna, my VP of Product and Marketing, while I’m on vacation. He’s going to be a new dad in August. He took my vacation as a chance to interview the dads in his life and learn about the most important leadership position - being a parent.

Today’s Topics Include:

- How to handle a crying kid.
- The parenting method used and endorsed by two of the dads.
- Letting your kids be responsible for their actions.
- The role of communication and consequences.
- How to ensure your kids know what you expect from you.
- Spanking - did “the dads” use it? Did it work?
- The two takeaways from “the dads” around discipline

Meet the Dads:

Bob Hanna, Chip Hanna's father, Minister - Salem, Oregon
Kirk Dando, CEO of Dando Advisors - Fort Collins, Colorado
Aaron Marez, Chip's long-time friend - Houston, Texas
Jerome Schiager, Chip's father-in-law - Fort Collins, Colorado

The most important leadership title isn't CEO - Leading through fatherhood, Part One Jun 09, 2016

Show notes

I've had many titles after my name. COO. CFO. Author. Investor. The list goes on and on. However, there is one role that will always be at the top of that list - Father. I’m the proud father of three beautiful girls. It’s the greatest leadership role in the world.

Leadership starts in the home and it can start with you.

I have a confession to make: I’m on vacation right now with my girls. Traditions and time with my family are part of the non-negotiables you’ll hear me talk about in the upcoming podcasts.

I turned the reigns for the next podcasts to Chip Hanna, my VP of Product and Marketing. He’s going to be a new dad in August. He took my vacation as a chance to interview the dads in his life and learn about the most important leadership position - being a parent.

Part One - Meet "the Dads" in Chip’s life. They set the expectations for how life changes with a new one in the home.

Today’s Topics Include:

- You’ve probably heard about the imposter syndrome with leadership, but how does that relate to being a dad?
- The simple act of trying to be dad is more important than what you actually do.
- The fact that you are trying is more than most and maybe better than most.
- Kirk's one secret to being a great dad.
- What to focus on, so everything will fall in place.

Meet the Dads:

The Insights Behind Creating Great Companies. Lessons from entrepreneur Brett Hurt. May 25, 2016

Show notes

You may have heard about Brett Hurt, he has started numerous tech companies, invested in even more and serves on many prestigious boards. But you probably don't know the whole story of Brett and his newest endeavor, data.world. You can read more about Brett and his work at his Lucky7 blog.

Here's what's most important to know about Brett. He didn’t set out to be a great leader, he set out to be a great person. In this podcast, you'll hear that he's committed to a lot more than just starting and growing companies. He wants to change the world for the better through technology. He also talks in-depth about all the accomplishments that happen through business. Learn more about this incredible entrepreneur and his unique insight.

Today’s Topics Include:

The three primary roles of a CEO
The secret to developing an incredible startup culture
The family atmosphere he was able to create at Bazaarvoice
The motivation behind his new startup, data.world
data.world's very young (and influential) first investor
The importance of leadership

Family in business: How to navigate bloodlines in the business - Rocky Turner, CEO of LPR Construction - Part 2 May 25, 2016

Show notes

Family in the business. When does it work? What does it not? We're talking again to Rocky Turner, co-founder and CEO of LPR Construction. Make sure you listen to Part One, where we talk about Rocky's leadership style.

Today, Rocky has all three sons working in the business. One son, Linc, is the President. However, LPR didn't always have a favorable view of family in the business. In fact, at one point, it was outlawed. We asked Rocky what changed and how he now views family in the business. His answers may surprise you.

In todays' episode:

The sticky situation of family in the business. When does it work? When does it not work?
How Rocky holds people accountable - including family.
What Kirk was originally hired for...and what he ended up doing.
Who made the biggest influence on Rocky's leadership.

How your leadership style drives growth - Rocky Turner, CEO of LPR Construction - Part 1 May 25, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, we're talking to Rocky Turner, co-founder and CEO of LPR Construction. They are one of the largest steel erector and heavy industrial construction companies in the US. While we talk to many startups, Rocky brings the unique prospective of building a construction business from the ground up. You'll love the different style of leadership he brings and the wisdom from many years of experience.

In this episode, you'll learn:

What exactly is a "For You" Leader. It's not just the name of this podcast.
Rocky's model for leadership.
The role humility and instincts play in his role.
How he takes drama out of the business.
The most difficult decisions he has to make.
The one piece of leadership advice he'd give to his kids.
The importance of earning "benefit of doubt."
How to handle people that make mistakes.

Work-Life Balance: How to be a father and founder. Peter Lehrman - Part 2 May 24, 2016

Show notes

Today we are talking again (listen to part one here) to Peter Lehrman, Founder and CEO of Axial. Axial helps companies plan, grow, or exit by connecting business owners to buyers, leaders, investors and advisors.

Imagine, you’re in the city that never sleeps. It’s your first time being a CEO. You’ve got a growing family. You’ve founded a company that has a really large purpose. How do you manage being a founder of a company and lead a growing family?

Peter Lehrman, CEO of Axial, provides some great insight into how to lead a company - and a family.

Topics covered in this episode: