Inside Strategic Coach: Connecting Entrepreneurs With What Really Matters

A focus of The Strategic Coach® Program over the past ten years has been a particular type of collaboration, one between entrepreneurs who share a common goal. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how such collaborations immensely benefit everyone involved, not just the clients.

Some people say we’re heading toward a recession—and they’re right. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about what entrepreneurs can do so that they not only won’t suffer when the recession hits but will actually make even greater progress than before.

If you have a goal you’ve decided to accomplish in the next 25 years, that can be exciting but also overwhelming. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the major differences between an entrepreneur having a 25-year goal, and an entrepreneur working inside of a 25-Year Framework.

Experiencing fear is part of entrepreneurial life, but do you really know what your fear is trying to tell you? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why entrepreneurs feel fear and the best way to respond when you feel it.

Every entrepreneur experiences rewards as a result of the choices they’ve made for themselves, and it’s natural that every entrepreneurial parent wants their children to experience those same, positive rewards. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the best ways to engage with your children about entrepreneurism.

There are a wide variety of reasons that a person might feel fragile, and there certainly seems to be more people feeling fragile in the world today than there used to be. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss what has people feeling fragile and what they can do to be stronger.

It often happens that when an entrepreneur starts experiencing great success, they also begin experiencing new issues in their personal lives. In this episode, Dan Sullivan draws on decades of wisdom from coaching entrepreneurs to explain why this happens and what to do about it.

Everyone in the world has been dealing with major economic shifts, and it would be a mistake to start assuming that things are going to get back to what’s familiar, or what you might consider “normal.” In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how things are going to continue to change for decades and what it all means for entrepreneurs.

Experiencing friction is a fundamental aspect of being an entrepreneur. But, instead of denying or fighting against entrepreneurial friction, how do you embrace, identify, and transform it to unlock your desired future? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller take a deeper look at the meaning of friction, examine the ways it manifests, and explore its relationship to the Four Freedoms.

Charlie Epstein has been part of The Strategic Coach® Program for 27 years, and he’s found that it allows him to continually find the oasis in the desert of entrepreneurism. In this episode, he tells Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller about bringing together his personas of financial advisor and stand-up performer in a one-man show.

Charlie Epstein has been part of The Strategic Coach® Program for 27 years, and he’s found that it allows him to continually find the oasis in the desert of entrepreneurism. In this episode, he tells Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller about bringing together his personas of financial advisor and stand-up performer in a one-man show.

Whenever Dan Sullivan meets someone new, he reminds himself that he’s only the 21st most important person in their life. In this episode, he explains why this is the best way to begin a new relationship.

There might be a lot of reasons for an entrepreneur to freak out, but there’s one freakout that triggers all the others. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the dangers of having unrealistic deadlines.

Due to the acceleration of new technology in all areas of human activity, life has become complex. But there are ways you can maintain simplicity in how you operate without missing out on anything that new technology can provide you. In this episode, Dan and Shannon explain how, with examples.

For a variety of reasons, most people like asking questions to which they already know the answers. But in the entrepreneurial world, all breakthroughs are created by asking questions you don’t know the answers to. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains how different types of questions lead to different results, and in which situations each type of question is best.

New technologies are created when someone sees how the creation would fit existing desires, but that doesn’t mean that potential customers will understand its purpose or how to use it. In this episode, Dan and Shannon talk about the essential role of coaching when it comes to technology.

In business, it sometimes happens that someone is required to perform a task that’s beyond their capability. While it might seem like the entrepreneur or team leader should step in and help in such a case, doing so can actually get in the way of the individual and the team growing their capabilities. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares a way to handle failures that will benefit the future of the entire organization.

In 1950, sociologist David Riesman developed a model to describe three types of individuals based on how they develop their opinions, values, and expectations of the world: tradition-directed, inner-directed, and other-directed. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains what these three models look like, why entrepreneurs are more likely to bet their futures on their inner values, and how you can work on remaining true to yours.

When an entrepreneur pitches a project they’ve envisioned, it can seem like great results are just around the corner. But often, there are elements the entrepreneur hasn’t predicted, and these elements can delay, or even permanently sink, a project. Dan Sullivan has created a list of checkpoints you can use on any project to determine just how profitable it’s going to be, and when. In this episode, he explains the dangers of not using the checklist and walks you through each of its points.

Figuring out what to charge for a product or service can be a source of great stress, and sometimes fear, for entrepreneurs. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains the mistakes most entrepreneurs make when determining a price and how they should be thinking about it instead.

While some entrepreneurs take advantage of new opportunities presented by change, others get stuck in their situations and left behind. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the difference in perspectives between these types of entrepreneurs and how you can be on the right side of the current divide.

A general narrative is that people need to be courageous when they’re relatively young because they won’t be able to take risks when they’re older. But this narrative doesn’t apply to entrepreneurs. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains the role of courage in an entrepreneur’s life and how he’s become more courageous and ambitious now, at the age of 78, than he was 30 years ago.

How do you teach your kids to be smart about money and ensure they’re not spoiled? This is a question many successful entrepreneurs have faced, including financial expert Chad Willardson, who decided to write a book on the subject. In this episode, Chad explains to Dan Sullivan how parents can ensure their kids are financially literate and have good “money values.”

In coaching successful entrepreneurs for decades, Dan Sullivan has developed the belief that every experience is valuable, and no single experience more than any other. In this episode, he explains why it’s important to allow people to learn and grow from their own experiences, including failure.

Most people don’t realize it, but the biggest danger you can face as an entrepreneur is boredom, which happens when you become so successful that you’re not excited anymore. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the negative decisions and situations that boredom can lead to, and what you should do if you find yourself getting bored.

We’re not always in control of the situations or circumstances we find ourselves in, but we can always choose how we respond to our experiences. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how you can deal with every negative experience in a positive way.

A lot of people think that self-confidence and self-esteem are one and the same, but there’s an important difference. One is a fact, and one is nothing but a wish. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how to recognize the difference and how to make sure you have self-confidence.

Every entrepreneur has developed certain mindsets, but some of those mindsets result in unnecessary stresses. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the benefits of being able to ask the right questions and of recognizing that the world wasn’t created for you.

Even entrepreneurs with enormous capabilities experience feelings of insecurity, and it’s important to understand why you feel insecure in order to avoid the situations that cause it. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains what leads to insecurity and how it can be avoided.

Most people don’t know it, but the main currency of the human race, especially entrepreneurs, is shortcuts: better, faster ways of getting things done. In this episode, Dan Sullivan talks about why shortcuts are so important and how entrepreneurs create, and trade in, shortcuts.

Every entrepreneur wants to get the most out of teamwork, but it isn’t always clear how to do that. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can engage in teamwork in a way that’s most productive and strengthens your own capabilities and efficiency.

Entrepreneurs want to be around for the long haul, but stress and challenges can sometimes mean an earlier end to a career. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares what he does to keep himself strong at the age of 77, and how he’s planning to be effective for many years to come.

Most entrepreneurs start out doing everything themselves, but if they continue doing so, they’re operating inside of a trap they created. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how and why entrepreneurs should go about finding the best person for each job, capitalizing on the strongest capabilities out there.

Collaborations are a way for entrepreneurs to jump to the next level of effectiveness, but there are right ways to enter into a collaboration—and wrong ones. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller lay out the groundrules for great collaborations and explain the invaluable benefits you can gain from them.

For over three decades, Strategic Coach® has worked with some of the world’s best entrepreneurs to help them achieve their goals. Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller look back and share stories about the origins of the company and some of its invaluable thinking tools.

Non-entrepreneurs think money is entrepreneurs’ main motivation, but truly successful entrepreneurs see money only as a means to gain greater freedom. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the significant difference between having “freedom from” and “freedom to,” and why entrepreneurs should strive for both.

After extensive experience serving in the U.S. military, Peter Kofod became an entrepreneur in the field of rail infrastructure. In this episode, he tells Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller about the different stages of his interesting and impressive journey so far.

Diversity and inclusion are vital, but not everyone completely understands what this means or how to best practice it. In his book The Inclusive Mindset, award-winning entrepreneur Justin Jones-Fosu explains how to cultivate diversity in your everyday life. Here, Shannon Waller talks to Justin about what led him to educating people on this topic and about his company, Work Meaningful, which is helping people improve workplace engagement and more.

Everyone has things they’re bothered by. These things create negative feelings, but often are not actually problems. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about recognizing when the only thing wrong with a situation is that you’re bothered by it, and what’s best to do in those situations.

Each of us primarily uses a certain type of thinking: either linear or associative. And a key to finding success and creating the best value lies in recognizing which way you think and how your brain works. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the different types of thinking and the best approaches to take advantage of them.