There are so many different essential traits of a gifted leader. Few are more important than planning. No one wants to get lost in their business or with their careers. Everyone in the building is going to be judging the leader by the quality of their planning ability. In most organizations, the difference between a business having to shutter its doors...or being highly profitable is the quality of the leadership's planning. Join Michael and Jim as they take a deep dive into all aspects of what it takes to be a well-planned leader.

When it comes to being successful in business and life, it's all about relationships.  Most elite leaders will tell you that developing a circle of trusted friends, colleagues, and partners is as important as any other task before them.  However, building business relationships does not come easy for many entrepreneurs and leaders. Isolation and loneliness is all too prevalent in entrepreneurship. Often there can be sadness behind that beaming, business-facing smile.  Building business relationships isn't something that is really taught in business school. But it's taught in this podcast! Join Michael and Jim as they delve into this most important topic and as they explain the differences and similarities between business relationships and personal friendships.  If you're a leader, don't miss this extraordinarily valuable episode.

Have you ever started off a day or week by saying to yourself, "There is no way we're going to get everything done that we need to do?" If you're like most business owners, this experience occurs with too much frequency, and over time can cause great harm to your health and well being. It brings this crushing feeling where the walls are coming closer and closer to you on all sides. When you're a leader or entrepreneur, this is exasperated further as your panicked face starts to spread to everyone in your organization. The worst part? You're probably the root cause of why this is happening. The good news is it's totally fixable. Join Michael and Jim as they discuss this important topic and provide you with the most calming remedy.

Can you imagine what it would be like if you had no competition in your business? None at all. Theoretically, our company's offerings would be in high demand and we could negotiate in our favor with all of the leverage. The phones would be ringing...the cash registers would be singing...at least for a while. That's because competition is actually a leadership friend. One that makes us stronger. As leaders, competition is good for us. It's good for our teams. It's good for our customers. And competition isn't just about competitors. It's so much more! Join Michael & Jim as they delve into a critical strategy for winning in business, leadership and life.

Many people decide to start a business with the idea that it's going to change their lives in so many marvelous ways. It will change your life alright. They got that part spot on. The truth is this is a high risk journey...being a business owner. That pathway can lead to financial ruin, a loss of friends and a break-up of a family. You need to know this heading down this road. Which is why being a successful business owner entails so much more than merely growing your revenues.  Join Michael and Jim as they discuss how to win in all aspects of the game of entrepreneurship.

In this special episode of the Two Are Gathered Leadership podcast we hear from Co-Host Jim Johnson only six weeks after his recent open heart surgery.  After more than 50 years of being a hard charger in the business world he shares what his most intimate thoughts were about leadership, success and life as he was being wheeled into the surgery room for what might have been his last moments here on earth.   What really matters when it comes to building a company? How do you truly measure success? How do you know if you're an excellent leader? This is the episode every entrepreneur should listen to and should freely share with all of their business friends.  Join Michael and Jim for an unforgettable leadership discussion of a lifetime.

There are few things leaders and entrepreneurs enjoy more than being in control. The truth is we never really are in control. It's one of the great leadership delusions. There are so many things well, well beyond our scope of control...such as rain falling, earth shaking, waves crashing and most of the world's geopolitics that affect even the smallest of businesses. Then there are health crises.  All out of our control! If we accept the true reality that ultimately we are not in control then as leaders it now becomes our responsibility to learn how to lead when things are out of our control.  Can we even do this? Join Michael and Jim as they explain how.

If we're in leadership. If we're entrepreneurs. There is an excellent chance we're heard this phrase throughout our lifetimes: You are SO stubborn. What's interesting about the word stubbornness is that it's used both positively and pejoratively. That is...it's both a complement and a criticism. The reason is...there really is a LIGHT SIDE, and a DARK SIDE to stubbornness. The goal in leadership is to tap into all of the qualities of stubbornness without slipping over into the edge of stubbornness despair. Join Michael and Jim as they shine the light on stubbornness.

One thing virtually every leader and entrepreneur wants to do...is to grow. They want to experience interpersonal growth...intellectual growth...they want to grow their skillsets and those of their teams...they want to grow their network, their net worth...their revenues...their bottom line...their vision. Growth is exciting. Which is probably why so many leaders can be reluctant to do the exact opposite.  That is to exercise the discipline of pruning. Yet, that's the exact critical practice that often can result in the best kind of growth possible.  Join Michael and Jim as they discuss the power of pruning in leadership and life.

How future proof is your business? How well prepared are you for all of the things that could go wrong? This is one of the least enjoyable parts of being an entrepreneur. Going through all of the "What if's?" and having a strong response in place for as many of these challenges as you can. It's not as exhilarating as charting out plans for new product and service launches and dreaming up ways for more growth. But future-proofing your business will be one of the most important exercises you conduct as a leader. Join Michael and Jim as they discuss many of the most essential parts of this planning.

When you get into a leadership role one of the first great challenges you'll have to face is realizing that things are much different than they are advertised. Yes...those dreams of leadership and entrepreneurship. That you'll be the captain of your own ship...that you'll be able to create a schedule and a lifestyle well beyond anything you could have imagined. These may be true in part or in whole. But they also arrive with the tremendous burden of responsibility. These responsibilities weigh down on us and if we're not careful can take us to a very unhealthy place.  How is your overall health as a leader? Join Michael and Jim and they'll walk through a leadership health check.

What is one of the most common questions a young entrepreneur will ask a much more experienced business owner? It's this: "When does all of this get easier? When does running a business get easy?" In many ways business does get easier when compared to those early frantic times of daily struggles. You build more systems. You gain efficiency. You can even work at making your job more enjoyable for you. But...there will always be some less glamorous elements of owning a business...of being in charge. That "grind" never goes away. Join Michael and Jim as they share some of the largest frustrations experienced by entrepreneurs and how best to deal with all of them.

One thing about leaders and visionaries...we love to see what's far ahead and plan for the brightest of futures. It's about planning. It's about growth. It's about vision. Unfortunately, there are those times in the leader's voyage when things get hazy...they get foggy...and uncertain. Forget about planning for next year or even the next six months...you've got to get through the next few days. Join Michael and Jim as they share how best to drive through a leadership fog.

You have your favorite restaurant. One you've enjoyed for years. But...then something has changed. It's just not as good as it used to be. It happens with vendors we work with. You engage with them because of their amazing service and fair prices...and over time, they lose their luster. They lose their value to you. But, the worst case is when this is what they are saying about YOUR business. It's just not as good as it used to be.  If they are saying this about your company, the end is near. In this competitive environment you can't afford to let things go downhill for too long.  Join Michael and Jim as they share key tips regarding keeping your good business from going bad.

As leaders, in order for us to be successful, we must be excellent communicators. This is something we need to grow in each and every day. And interestingly enough...as we develop our capabilities as a communicator...one of the things we need to master is not just what we say...but what we shouldn't say. We can destroy our business more rapidly with the words we SAY than the words we DON'T say. Figuring out what NOT to say, is one of the important leadership tactics...and one of the most difficult disciplines. Join Michael and Jim as they speak on this most important topic.

When you hear the word "networking" it conjures up an image of a toothy salesperson in a suit, walking through a large gathering of prospects, reaching out a well groomed hand to offer a shake....while the other hand is slipping people business cards. The truth of the matter is...at the entrepreneur level...you really don't have time to be attending all of these multiple events...passing out business cards like frisbees. Your more successful business owners don't. They rely on a networking strategy that is infinitely more effective. Join Michael and Jim as they share advanced networking techniques that will grow your business in powerful ways.

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How many times have we heard this phrase: Patience is a virtue? Often it seems like we hear this every day. But, what does this phrase...this colloquialism...really mean when it comes to business? On one hand, you're hearing that in order to succeed you've got to hustle...hustle...hustle. And, on the other hand...you're taught that you need to be patient, calculating and thoughtful. So which is it? Join Michael and Jim as they provide definitive answers regarding the virtues of patience in business.

There is a big difference between winning the lottery and winning in business. Yet, many entrepreneurs sometimes get these confused. So many want to hit the big time with their business, but many times in this pursuit they themselves get hit...big time. It's the age old pursuit. Captain Ahab in Moby Dick with the Great White Whale. Or Hemingway's Santiago...in The Old Man and the Sea. They had to learn the hard way...sometimes you get the fish...and sometimes the fish gets you. Join Michael and Jim as they share the untold story about landing the bigger fish.

One of the dark secrets of entrepreneurism is that it's not all that it's made out to be. You're told that if you quit your job and start your own business, that you'll be able to choose your hours, be your own boss and the money will flow in like Niagra Falls. Instead...you lose sleep, hair, money...and sadly, some of the relationships around you, and you ask yourself, "I did this for what reason?" This can bring on a bad case of the Business Owner Blues.  How do keep from getting depressed? Join Michael and Jim for answers.