Great Game of Business

In this episode, Shawn Busse, Jaci Russo, and Jay Goltz explore strategies for businesses to differentiate themselves in competitive markets, even in industries that may seem mundane, like trash collection or scrap metal sales. They share personal examples and discuss the importance of execution and innovation in making a business remarkable. For consultants: Understanding how to help clients stand out in saturated markets is crucial for enhancing their competitive edge and fostering sustainable growth.

In this episode, Paul Downs, Mel Gravely, and Sarah Segal explore the balance entrepreneurs must strike between adhering to their vision and heeding external advice. They discuss the importance of understanding the context of advice, the value of having a board of advisors, and the complexities involved in deciding whether to follow their guidance. For consultants: This episode highlights the critical decision-making processes that leaders face, emphasizing the need for discernment in accepting external input, which is essential for fostering trust and self-management in organizations.

In this episode, Sharon Gillenwater shares her experiences as a founder navigating the challenges of Silicon Valley, highlighting the pitfalls of venture capital and the advantages of bootstrapping her second business, Boardroom Insiders. She discusses the surprising financial outcomes of her ventures, emphasizing the lessons learned in B2B marketing and the realities of business ownership. For consultants: understanding these insights can enhance their approach to advising clients on funding strategies and the potential benefits of self-financing in business growth.

Shawn Busse delegates retreat planning to his leadership team without a budget cap. Jennifer Kerhin invites employees to ask her anything, watching what questions surface. Jay Goltz cuts back on advertising and calls that his retreat. For consultants: Retreats are a low-stakes way to test whether you trust distributed decision-making, actually want to hear your people's thinking, and how you measure what matters.

Paul Downs, Liz Picarazzi, and Jaci Russo navigate the tension between competence and mediocrity: what to do with employees who are good enough not to fire but uninspiring enough to question whether you should, disagreeing sharply on whether personality tests like Myers-Briggs resolve interpersonal friction and debating whether anyone should ever be surprised by negative feedback. They wrestle with the calculus of keeping a known mediocrity versus gambling on an unknown hire, while Paul captures the discomfort behind these choices with a moment of candor: "I need to go shut the door before I say this. I forgot to do it." The group also surfaces a practical ChatGPT use case and grapples with whether a business owner should report a dangerous competitor even at risk of retaliation. For consultants: in self-managed organizations, this problem doesn't vanish but transforms into a question about peer accountability and role clarity, making explicit agreement on performance standards necessary rather than optional.