Ep.204: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Mike Zani (@MikeZani). My guest today is Mike Zani, CEO of The Predictive Index, a talent optimization platform built around their nearly 70-year-old behavioral assessment tool. Today they help companies optimize their teams by identifying the key strengths of employees and hiring prospects to get the fit right. This is Mike’s third time being a CEO and he brings a wealth of knowledge around early team construction and scaling. Mike and I talk about the story of The Predictive Index, the evolving role of human resources, the landscape of tools to help optimize talent, and all kinds of lessons on change management. Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.  Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/ I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey. Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N Links: The Predictive Index Mike on LinkedIn The Science of Dream Teams by Mike Zani Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:18) - Acquiring Predictive Index (00:07:15) - The keys to early success  (00:12:28) - Goals and ambitions in the early days post-acquisition (00:22:13) - Developing HR Teams (00:37:49) - How do you create a cohesive portfolio of tools to gather team data? (00:44:28) - The T-shirt analogy (00:53:00) - Improving yourself: Not listening (00:57:17) - Preparing for the next CEO role (01:00:19) - Maintaining high levels of energy (01:02:50) - The joys and frustrations of growing a company alone vs. with a partner