Here's the second in our series on energy and its importance to being a high performing executive. Rob Connelly is the CEO at Henny Penny, one of the leading makers of kitchen equipment for companies like Chick-fil-A and McDonalds. He's no stranger to this podcast and he's one of the CEO's I most respect. Turns out, he has thought more about the importance of energy in doing his job than I have. More importantly, he routinely talks to his people about energy's impact in their lives and performance. He believes there is a "flow" that highly effective executives create for themselves. I have no doubt this podcast will give you plenty of energy!

Woody Swink is one of the Co-Presidents at McCall Farms. Based in Effingham SC, they are the country's largest canner of southern vegetables. (Think Allen's, Bruce's Yams, Popeye Spinach.) I've had the pleasure of helping Woody, his other Co-Presidents and their other executives in creating their latest strategic plan. While working together it became clear to me that Woody brings an unusual amount of energy to his role and company. And it made me want to do a series of podcasts to learn what executives think about energy and its importance to their jobs and success. Like me, you'll enjoy Woody, especially his 3 kinds of Family that drive his energy!

The one thing they don't tell you when you become a manager is that there will always be more work to get done, than there will be time and resources to get that work done. So every great manager has methods by which they create clear priorities for themselves and their people. In this episode I share a classic tool you can start using today to make sure more of your time and energy go to the right things.

Changing the leader in any business is a challenge. Changing one after 18 years makes the process even harder. In this minilog I share how one of my clients had raised the bar for me and my clients going forward. Listen and learn some of the things you can do, when you change the leader to make this seismic event the positive step foward we all want.

I'm not an economist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express! Clients keep asking my opinion of the economy and whether my cleints are planning on a recession. Will the Fed engineer a soft landing or have they already gone too far with interest rates. In this minilog, I share my observations and predictions for how your business will be impacted.

Is Southwest a mere shadow of its former self, or was their "holiday meltdown" a one-time aberration? In this minilog I discuss Pat Lencioni's defense of America's largest leisure travel air carrier as well as Phil Baker's reasons why he thinks Southwest is no longer the role model for for purpose-driven organizations.

Jon Avery is the CFO of Necco Foster Care in Cincinnati. He joins me for this 2nd edition of discussions about how you can design a compensation system that will produce exceptional performance. Jon explains how the thinking of your people about their performance does not always align with how their performance is viewed by their boss or the company. That means that the compensation they receive may not send the intended message. Jon's top tip reminds us to dial in the compensation on what we are trying to make happen at the management level. Easier said than done!!

This is the first of three episodes dedicated to sharing best practices for designing a compensation system that produces the best results for your company. Rich Craig is the Managing Partner for the 415 Group, an accounting firm that does tax, audit and IT for its clients in the Canton, Ohio area. In his role, Rich has seen the compensation strategies of literally hundreds of businesses. He shares his experiences and recommendations to get the best return from the compensation you provide your people. Remember, people pay this gentleman hundreds of dollars an hour for his expertise and you're getting it for free!

Every one of us has someone who is marginally performing in some area of their job. The question is, what are we doing about it? In this minicast, I share key questions we should always consider to determine the root cause of the lack of performance and how the answer(s) should impact what we say and do as "the boss". When there's marginal performance on our team, we should be the most uncomfortable!

No executive with whom I've worked has ever admitted that they were a micro manager. Likewise, when I've told them I had evidence that they were micromamaging, each one doubted the feedback. Simply said, even if we are micro managers, chances are we don't think we are. In this minicast I explore what it looks like, feels like and how we can rationalize why it's in everyone's best interests when we micromanage. Even if you aren't a micromanager, this will be a great minicast to share with your managers!

If you think the last 24 months have been unusual, the next 12-14 months could be even harder to predict. Should you be cutting expenses? Should you be tightening up your supply chain? In this minicast I share what my clients are experiencing and doing to give your some additional perspective. Remember, one good thing about disruption of the status quo is that for many businesses, it creates significant opportunity.

Sound harsh? Then this mini cast is for you. A great leader takes literal responsibility for the performance of their people, especially when it's not what it should be. When we don't like the results a person gives us, do we assume it's their fault, or ours? This is five minutes to challenge how much of the marginal performance in your team is their fault, or yours.

There's no more important thing an executive team does than the meetings they hold. This is the 3rd of three podcasts designed to help your meetings produce even better results. And I can think of no organization other than Necco Foster Care to share their approach. That's because no client with whom I've worked has done more to change or improve their meetings than this executive team. Pam Priddy is their Chief Strategy Officer (and truth teller). You'll enjoy her insights about what they've learned after more than four years of working to perfect their meetings.

In my work I get to see all kinds of talented people, at all levels of an organization. It's given me the opportunity to see the consequence of having too little or too much confidence. In this minilog I discuss the consequnces of both in your own performance as well as the stress it can create. Every manager will face this challenge, with their people as well as their own performance. This minilog will help you have a plan for dealing with it!

Structure is how a business deploys all of its assets. Some of the most valuable assets of any business are the time of its executive team and the collective wisdom and thinking they bring to the business. Meetings are where truly great teams bring out the best in each other's thinking so that the business can advance. Sam and Dan Wiley, both time-proven executives and former guests on this podcast share what they have learned about running truly effective meetings. You'll love their "lessons learned"!

One of the biggest expenses in your business (if not the biggest) is the cost you have for the people you employ. Knowing that, it's amazing how many companies don't have a stratgey for their compensation. In this minilog I share some questions your compensation strategy should answer so your compesation creates the greatest engagement possible.

James Felton is one of The Table Group's top consultants. He's been working with executive teams longer than me. Which means he knows more than even I do about what it takes for teams to conduct great meetings. This is arguably one of my best podcasts because of the amount of practical and relevant information that you can put to work literally in your next meeting.

Part of every manager's job is to "grow their people". That means improving their personal productivity by 3-5% every year. And most of us unintentionally limit the growth of our people by failing to delegate enough, especially to our high potential people. Join me in this minlog as I share what other execs do to reduce the time it takes for their people to grow!

Not surprisingly, every group of people, be it a team, a business, or even a family has some dysfunction. What may surprise you is how dysfunctional a board can be. Especially a board of directors. In this minilog I explain why boards have this dysfunction and how you can help your board members better behave. And as a result, make it possible for them to better help you and your business. Remember, if your board is misbehaving, you owe it to them and yourself to help them be their best selves.

That's the question. The daily huddle is the least understood and as a result, most poorly utilized of all the different meetings you can conduct. In this minilog I describe what a huddle should be, how to conduct it and what the benefits should be for you and your team when you "huddle"! Looking for better results and less confusion in your business? Then listen to this minilog now!