Path for Growth

Latest Episodes:

How to Do Sales Properly Part 1 Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Want a clearer picture of what’s working in your business—and what needs attention? Take the free 12 Fundamentals Assessment for a personalized score and your clearest next step: 12fundamentals.com

Are you a leader who feels uncomfortable with the idea of sales? This episode is for you! Alex unpacks three principles to help you view sales differently, three things to never sacrifice in pursuit of a sale, and three qualities that make someone a great salesperson. This episode is part one of a two-part series, so make sure to catch the next episode about building an effective sales process.

Many leaders are uncomfortable with sales, but it doesn’t need to be this way (0:40)
Three principles to change your approach to sales (1:52)
1. Sales, done properly, is service (2:36)
2. Relational sales focus on what the customer wants and needs (3:40)
3. The best sales strategy is effectively solving a legitimate problem (7:26)
Integrity matters more than a sale (9:59)
Don’t sacrifice the customer’s dignity (14:41)
Don’t sell unless you believe your product will actually serve them (16:26)
Three qualities of a great salesperson (18:27)
1. Earned confidence (18:58)
2. Empathy (23:42)
3. Trustworthiness (25:54)

Helpful Links and Resources

If you're an impact-driven leader looking for accountability and guidance on achieving healthy growth, get perspective, direction, and training from our community of impact-driven leaders and the Path for Growth Coaching Team. Learn more about our Executive Membership at the link below.

Path for Growth Membership

If you are a business leader, owner, entrepreneur, or simply looking to determine a path for healthy growth in your life both professionally and personally, get insight, guidance, and accountability in the context of a trusted relationship. Learn more about Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching at the link below.

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Most email isn't worth it. This one is. Each week, you'll have a principle worth learning, a question worth answering, and a recommendation worth taking delivered to your mailbox each Wednesday morning. Sign up below. It's worth it.

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Join us for the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders. This Experience exists to help you grow as a Leadership Team. The entire schedule has been designed for you to grow as an owner while simultaneously investing in your organization’s top leaders.

Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

Tactics for Entrepreneurial Sanity: Time Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

If you want your business to experience healthy growth, you need to make sure you’re prioritizing your own sanity. In this episode, Alex wraps up our series on “Tactics for Entrepreneurial Sanity” with a conversation about time. He shares 11 simple strategies you can implement to start maximizing your time, and he explains why sustainable, consistent action is the most effective way to experience the benefits.

If you want to put your business in order, start by putting yourself in order (0:55)
Time is a gift we can optimize in service of others (1:45)
Today we’ll walk through 11 tactics you can use to maximize your time (3:02)
1. Clarify and document your big three for each day (3:35)
2. Engage in distraction-free work once a day (9:04)
3. Clarify the priorities for the season you’re in (11:17)
4. Hire an executive assistant to own your calendar (13:09)
5. Schedule margin (16:21)
6. Experience margin (17:56)
7. Guard a weekly Sabbath (19:54)
8. Proactively prune (25:49)
9. Schedule vacations in advance (30:59)
10. Remove social media from your phone (36:12)
11. Love God and love people (37:52)

Helpful Links and Resources

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Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

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Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Looking for some direction on what to read next? Alex recently compiled a list of 101 book recommendations for Spiritual Growth, Personal Growth, Leadership Growth, and Business Growth. Click the link below to get Alex’s Reading Guide.

Download the Free Reading Guide

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Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

The Practice of Presence with Will Mooney Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

If you want to get your business in order, you need to get yourself in order. In this episode, Alex talks with someone who has played a key role in helping him grow personally so that he can lead more effectively: his counselor, Will Mooney. Will shares some practical insight about why it’s so important for leaders to stay present, what gets in the way of practicing presents, and how to prioritize your own growth. He also talks through his morning routine, discusses some key things he wished people knew about listening, and much more.

Today Alex is talking to his counselor, Will Mooney (0:37)
Why do you love the work you do? (2:58)
Why is your own personal growth so important for your work? (4:38)
What does it mean to be present, and why does that matter for leaders? (9:15)
Why is it wrong to try to make other people “okay?” (14:08)
What blocks us from being present, and how can we grow in these areas? (18:13)
How do you set yourself up for success in the morning? (33:51)
What do you wish more people knew about listening? (39:30)
How do you stay present when switching between different hats? (44:52)
Why are the questions “What do you want, and what would that give you?” important? (50:51)
What common challenges do you see keeping people from growing? (1:00:18)
How to connect with Will (1:04:35)

Helpful Links and Resources

If you own or run a business and are committed to making excellence predictable, this workshop is for you. Click the link below to register for Operationalize Your Business on Monday, February 13th, 2023 — 1:00-2:30 PM CST.

Register for the 90-minute Operationalize Your Business Workshop

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Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

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Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Download the Free Reading Guide

Get connected with Made and Matter Counseling:

Made and Matter Counseling

Join Path for Growth on Instagram for more content.

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

What You Should Read Next with Olivia Graham Jan 10, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we’re answering one of your most asked questions: “What books do you recommend? Path for Growth Coaching Manager Olivia Graham interviews Alex about the list of 101 books he chose to include in the Path for Growth reading guide. Alex shares some of his top takeaways from these books, along with tips for becoming a reader and getting the maximum amount of value from the books you read.

Today Olivia Graham will talk with Alex about Path for Growth’s new reading guide (0:36)
Why did you want to become a reader? (2:21)
Can you tell us about your journey of becoming a reader? (7:26)
How have you intentionally consumed books in order to get more value? (12:28)
Why were “The Road to Character” and “Second Mountain” so impactful for you? (18:18)
What are some treasured things in your life that came from challenging yourself? (27:25)
How do you draw a distinction between discomfort and fear? (32:51)
How did “How to Measure Your Life” change your view of success? (36:48)
Can you walk us through your approach to decision making? (45:24)
What have order and chaos looked like for you as a business owner? (53:04)
What are the 4 stages of anything new? (58:19)
What are some examples of decisions leaders can make at the highest possible level? Why is this so important? (1:05:10)
What does it mean to create a shared pool of meaning in conversations? (1:12:20)
Why is “There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon” valuable? (1:17:47)
How do you recommend people interact with this list? (1:22:52)

Helpful Links and Resources

Download the Free Reading Guide

Path for Growth Membership

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Sign up for the Worth It Wednesday Email

Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Join Path for Growth on Instagram for more content.

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

Happy New Year? Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

Are you happy about the new year that’s coming, or are you just tired of the old one? Whatever your answer, there’s good news: you have the ability to do something different this year. In today’s episode, Alex shares a motivational message about practicing healthy growth in 2023, from taking intentional action to having faith for the things we can’t control.

You have the ability to do something different this year (0:00)
Growth is methodical and intentional (3:04)
You don’t control it all, but you have access to the one who does (5:23)
What do you believe, and what are you going to do about it? (7:29)

Helpful Links and Resources

Path for Growth Membership

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Sign up for the Worth It Wednesday Email

Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Download the Free Reading Guide

Join Path for Growth on Instagram for more content.

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

What Did You Learn in 2022? Dec 27, 2022

Show notes

When you take time for intentional and specific reflection, it can transform your leadership and your business. In today’s episode, Alex gives you time to reflect on 5 personal questions and 6 organizational questions as we close out 2022 and head into the new year. He also shares a few principles for cultivating creative curiosity and explains how these can help you make the most of your reflection time.

Wisdom and transformation come from reflection (0:56)
Reflection is most effective when you focus on creative curiosity (3:55)
The most powerful questions are often the ones you ask and answer yourself (4:25)
The quality of your answers will never exceed the quality of your questions (6:21)
Specific questions yield specific answers (9:04)
We’ll share 5 questions to reflect on personally at the end of 2022 (10:37)
1. What are 3 specific experiences that you are grateful you had in 2022? (11:13)
2. What are 3 positive leadership qualities you consistently practiced this year, and how can you amplify those? (14:22)
3. What are 3 leadership weaknesses that were exposed to you about yourself this year? (16:44)
4. What is one area where you grew in 2022? (20:09)
5. What personal lesson or principle do you want to ensure you take with you into next year? (22:45)
We’ll also share 6 questions for organizational reflection (25:08)
1. If the past year were a book about your business, what would it be titled and why? (26:03)
2. What were the 3 biggest victories for your organization this year? (27:38)
3. What were the 3 biggest lessons the organization had to learn this year? (29:26)
4. What is one specific value or quality your organization exemplified this year, and what caused that? (31:13)
5. What is one specific quality or value your organization lacked this year, and what caused that? (32:43)
6. What is one thing you want your team to hear from you about 2022 as you head into 2023? (34:11)
Deliberate, intentional reflection can transform your leadership (38:25)

Helpful Links and Resources

Path for Growth Membership

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Sign up for the Worth It Wednesday Email

Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Download the Free Reading Guide

Join Path for Growth on Instagram for more content.

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

Strategy is a Team Sport Dec 20, 2022

Show notes

For a small business to experience healthy growth, it requires team members to operate as both strategists and tacticians. In this episode, Alex shares an excerpt from a Path for Growth team meeting where he leads a conversation about strategic thinking. He explains why strategy is so important as you’re trying to achieve your vision, and he shares practical steps for implementing strategic thinking in your day-to-day activity.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from our team meeting on strategic thinking (0:47)
Every healthy business needs to be able to answer these three questions (1:42)
Once you know where you’re going, the immediate next question is “how?” (5:53)
To answer “how?” you need both strategy and tactics (9:18)
Amplify your strengths and shore up your weaknesses (12:20)
The specificity of your strategy will never exceed the specificity of your vision (14:54)
Take responsibility for capturing and communicating what the win is (16:25)
Effective strategists have more awareness of the moves available to them in the present (18:39)
Take inventory of the moves you know and where you got them from (22:05)
Pursue opportunities to rhythmically increase your moves (23:10)
Team takeaways(24:48)

Helpful Links and Resources

Path for Growth Membership

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Sign up for the Worth It Wednesday Email

Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Download the Free Reading Guide

Join Path for Growth on Instagram for more content.

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

5 Lessons for Life and Business with Path for Growth Coach Kelly Kreger Dec 13, 2022

Show notes

From becoming one of Path for Growth’s earliest clients to joining the team as a one-on-one coach, Kelly Kreger has played an instrumental role in the success of Path for Growth. In this episode, Kelly shares five of the biggest things she’s been learning this year, including the value of principle-based thinking, new time management strategies, and practical tips for developing a healthier relationship with social media. You won’t want to miss this episode!

Get to know Kelly Kreger (3:26)
What motivated you to focus on principle based thinking? (12:08)
How did you approach learning about principle based thinking? (16:25)
What are some of the principles you keep coming back to? (22:21)
How can leaders set clear expectations that help the whole team win? (32:38)
What have you learned about time management in the past year? (46:01)
Why is reflection and finding takeaways so important for you? (1:00:39)
What have you done to develop a healthier relationship with social media? (1:09:52)
What is the one challenge you want to give leaders? (1:23:15)

Helpful Links and Resources

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Path for Growth Membership

Learn more about the 2023 Path for Growth Experience – Leading Leaders

Download the Free Reading Guide

Sign up for the Worth It Wednesday Email

Join Path for Growth on Instagramfor more content.

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

Pursuing Operational Excellence with Andy Reith Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we share a conversation between Path for Growth COO Zack Estes and Origin Footwear COO Andy Reith about what it means to pursue operational excellence. Andy shares some of the biggest lessons he learned from working at Toyota for ten years, and he explains how he’s grown as a leader since taking on his role at Origin. Andy also shares practical insight about communicating your mission to customers, balancing the tension of serving customers with staying true to your values, and incorporating Lean principles into a service-based business.

Can you tell us about your experience working at Toyota for 10 years? (4:05)
What’s the biggest lesson you learned early in your career? (8:18)
What inspired you to focus on American manufacturing and join Origin? (13:16)
What challenges have you encountered while teaching principle-based thinking? (19:01)
Why is it so important to make work/information visible? (23:37)
What’s the difference between value add activity and waste? (26:26)
How do you encourage innovation while also determining what’s valuable? (29:00)
Is there tension between serving the customer and manufacturing in America? (30:29)
How do you communicate your mission to customers? (37:24)
What have you learned about communication from working at Origin? (41:43)
How do you keep up with maintenance without spreading yourself too thin? (45:49)
What sets Origin apart when it comes to your mission? (51:49)
How can a service-based business pursue Lean ideas? (55:33)

Helpful Links and Resources

Path for Growth Membership

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Sign up for the Worth It Wednesday Email

Join Path for Growth on Instagramfor more content.

Links Andy Mentioned

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

Tactics for Entrepreneurial Sanity: Relationships Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

If you want to experience healthy growth in your life and business, you need to invest in your relationships. In this episode, Alex continues our series “Tactics for Entrepreneurial Sanity” by sharing five strategies that can help you invest in consistent, lasting relationships. He explains why loving people well is the most important thing a leader can do and shares specific examples of how he’s implemented these tactics in his daily life.

Putting yourself is the first step to creating healthy growth (0:52)
People and connection are what matters most (2:48)
You become what you follow, so become someone people admire relationally (5:00)
1. Establish relational rhythms (6:23)
It’s important to define who matters most so you can really invest in them (13:12)
2. Meet consistently with a counselor (14:03)
3. Pray before meals (18:28)
4. Keep your phone off the table at meals and in meetings (22:29)
5. Ask questions that prompt real conversation (26:02)
Try asking these questions of the people in your life(29:40)

Helpful Links and Resources

Path for Growth Membership

Path for Growth One-on-One Coaching

Sign up for the Worth It Wednesday Email

Join Path for Growth on Instagramfor more content.

Not sure where to start? Describe what’s happening in your business or team, then explore 400+ practical resources to help you take the next right step: resources.pathforgrowth.com

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