The Leadership Lesson Hidden in America's Story

The Leadership Lesson Hidden in America's Story

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter]  The story of America is the story of getting punched in the face and choosing to come back stronger. That is not just history. That is leadership. As the country turns 250, BJ sits down with Army Colonel Steve Messenger to unpack what that actually demands of you. Steve teaches a class called Failing with the Stoics and has spent his career building leaders inside the military's deliberate, hierarchical, brutal development system. In this episode, Steve and BJ get into the BRAG framework for servant leadership, why solid citizens and learners need totally different things from you, the three ropes every leader has to bounce off of, the moment a major stepped into a combatives ring and got slammed in the face, and the identity lie most leaders quietly believe. The line that stuck with BJ: chase people, not badges. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Reagan, freedom, and the 250th birthday setup 01:13 - Why America's story is the story of getting back up 07:25 - Doing your best when life has split priorities 10:07 - The Failing with the Stoics class 11:04 - Solid citizens vs learners and what each one needs 14:01 - The BRAG framework for servant leadership 19:00 - The major who stepped into the combatives ring 24:29 - Jack Hughes and the gold medal goal that says it all 27:11 - The three ropes every leader needs to bounce off of 35:02 - The identity lie most leaders quietly believe Connect with Stephen Messenger: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-messenger-866136a5/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-messenger-866136a5/] Website: https://themaximumstandard.com/ [https://themaximumstandard.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenmessenger19/ [https://www.instagram.com/stephenmessenger19/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069227347214&locale=es_LA [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069227347214&locale=es_LA] Connect with BJ Kraemer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/ [https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/] Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/ [https://mcfaglobal.com/] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee [https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee] Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224] Books mentioned: * Why Not the Best by Jimmy Carter * Meditations by Marcus Aurelius * No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings * Antifragile by Nassim Taleb This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com [https://podcastboutique.com]

Your Project Managers Are CEOs in Training. Are You Developing Them Like It?

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter  Most firms send their project managers to a bootcamp once a year, hand them a certificate, and call it development. Anthony Fasano says that's not even close. PMs are running your client relationships, your budgets, your teams. They are CEOs of their projects. If you are not building them like CEOs, you are capping your own growth. Anthony just released Beyond PM Training, and his ecosystem approach is a wake up call for any firm that thinks a seminar is a strategy. In this episode, Anthony and BJ break down the four phases of real PM development, why 90 percent of firms cannot even tell you how many PMs they have, the abundance mindset most of the industry is missing, and the line BJ keeps coming back to. Systems beat seminars. If you run a firm or you are a PM trying to develop yourself, this one is the blueprint. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Why PM development is the real growth lever 02:33 - PM development is an ecosystem, not a class 04:01 - The four phases of the development ecosystem 05:07 - Why 90 percent of firms cannot even count their PMs 06:18 - Why you have to assess PMs before you train them 10:14 - Getting senior PMs speaking the same language 17:14 - PMs have to advocate for themselves too 19:10 - The abundance mindset that lifts the whole industry 21:19 - Why systems beat seminars 23:11 - How to micro dose PM development Connect with Anthony Fasano: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyjfasano/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EngineeringManagementInstitute/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/engineeringmanagementinstitute/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@engmgtinstitute X: https://x.com/EngMgtInstitute Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EngineeringManagement Website:https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/ Connect with BJ Kraemer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/ Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

How to Be the Parent Your Young Athlete Actually Needs

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter  Most parents think they're doing right by their kid in youth sports. They show up. They invest. They mean well. But Jonathan Carone says two hidden emotions are quietly driving most of the bad sideline calls. Self love and self glory. Once you can name them, the whole thing changes. Jonathan runs Healthy Sports Parents and helps moms, dads, and coaches build the kind of relationship with their kid that makes the sport actually mean something. In this episode, Jonathan and BJ get into the youth sports arms race, why kids are quitting before high school, the fun map study that puts winning at 40th on the list of things kids actually find fun, and the 5 to 10 ratio every parent and coach should know. The line that stuck: methods are many, principles are few. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Welcome and why this topic matters 01:17 - What kids actually need from the adults around them 03:33 - The two hidden emotions driving every sports parent 06:15 - BJ's real time dilemma with his nine year old 11:20 - If you're meant to get there, you're going to get there 22:20 - The fun map study and where winning actually ranks 23:01 - The 5 to 10 ratio every parent and coach should know 26:34 - Why you need love deposits before criticism 28:52 - The Kobe Bryant moment that reframes coaching kids 31:09 - I'm dad. Then I'm coach. Connect with Jonathan Carone: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-carone-52145778/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HealthySportsParents/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthysportsparents\ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@healthysportsparents Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HealthySportsParents Website: https://healthysportsparents.com/ Connect with BJ Kraemer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/ Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

The Question Every Business Owner Should Be Asking Themselves

Most business owners can rattle off their revenue, their pipeline, and their biggest headaches. Almost none can answer this one. What is the business actually doing to serve you in your life? Krystn Macomber asks her clients that before anything else. She's a fractional Chief Growth Officer who helps small government contractors stop chasing every shiny opportunity and actually build a strategy. In this episode, Krystn and BJ get into the BD curse of always saying "maybe we can win this," why the first year of her own business was the easy one, where AI actually helps in marketing and where it falls flat, and the rule she made about saying yes to the scary stuff. If you run a business or you're sitting in corporate thinking about leaving, this one has something you can use this week. Topics discussed: 00:00 - What fractional growth support actually is 01:46 - Who Krystn says no to as a client 05:15 - The business development curse 08:01 - How chasing everything burns out your best people 10:12 - Where AI helps in BD and where it falls flat 14:16 - Why the first year of business was the easy one 15:27 - The LinkedIn highlight reel needs to go 20:10 - Promoted to manage 25 people overnight 24:01 - The rule she made about saying yes to scary things 31:08 - The question every business owner should ask themselves Connect with Krystn Macomber: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystnmacomber/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/summitstrategywins/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summitstrategywins/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6BGAiN7JAN_RvI6K9mzAzA Website: https://www.summitstrategywins.com/ Connect with BJ Kraemer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/ Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com

The 2 Words Every Leader Should Say More Often

Get Weekly Leadership Blueprints in your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/mcfaglobal/leadership-blueprints-newsletter  Most leaders shut down ideas without realizing it. A "yeah but" in a meeting. A quick correction before someone finishes. The team quietly learns to stop bringing anything new. Will Dennis runs Unscripted Productions, an applied improv studio that trains Fortune 500s, hospitals, and schools on the fix. It comes back to two words. Yes, and. In this episode, Will and BJ unpack why "yes, and" is the most underrated leadership tool out there. What Nick Sirianni was secretly doing all Super Bowl run. Why one company tests emerging leaders on whether they hold the spotlight or stand in it. And the hardest line to sit with: a leader's real job is to work themselves out of one. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Why we're talking about improv, not AI 02:00 - Improv as the safest place to fail 05:00 - How "yes, and" turns down the heat in any room 14:18 - What Nick Sirianni was secretly doing all season 19:03 - The hidden test for who actually gets into the leadership program 24:23 - The most powerful sentence you can hear in a locker room 24:47 - A leader's real job is to work themselves out of one 29:24 - A boardroom hack any leader can steal tomorrow 34:27 - Rapid fire: books, the word sonder, and dinner with Adam Grant 38:55 - Why improv is not the thing you think it is Connect with Will Dennis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamjdennis/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unscriptedproductions Website: https://www.unscriptedproductions.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unscriptedprod Connect with BJ Kraemer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-kraemer-9a0855b/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bj_kraemer/ Website: https://mcfaglobal.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4bcvcAw0rigwymZCwZgfgN?si=45fc1e07c82742ee Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-blueprints/id1561090224 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique: https://www.podcastboutique.com