What is it about creative people that sets them apart? Why can some people consistently create new things while others can’t? Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff discuss the individuals who bring new value into the world and the best ways someone in business can use their creativity.

Show Notes:

• Quality is the foundation of every successful business plan.
• Never say no to yourself; there are plenty of others who will do that for you.
• Instead of wasting time pondering your ideas, you often just need to take action.
• No one has ever spent any time in the future or in the past. All we have is the present.
• Many people dismiss ideas prematurely without knowing how they might turn out.
• The majority of people struggle to engage directly with the marketplace.
• Creativity isn’t only about having a unique vision. It’s also about taking that vision and being able to replicate it.
• You can replicate a creation, but not its creator.
• To build a thriving business, focus on faithfully replicating what has been successful in the past.
• Every new creation has a limited lifespan; innovation is the key to longevity.
• Balancing creativity with consistency is crucial. Too much focus on expansion can dilute the original experience.
• Your customers are 50% of your creative team. Their feedback and insights matter.
• Beware of letting greed influence your creative process. Passion should come before profit.

Resources:

Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical

Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

We all have the ability to create. So why do some people feel they need permission in order to move forward with their ideas? Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff discuss how to cast off the need for permission and create value like you were meant to do.

Show Notes:

Permission means that you can’t move forward unless someone else says you can.

If you're asking permission, you're giving someone power to exercise over you in certain situations.

Some people’s first consideration when they have a new idea is to prepare a proposal and get permission to move forward.

Some parents give their children free rein to do whatever they want to do.

If you have a lot of children, you have to manage, not just parent.

Being a parent is like being a business owner in that you’re always being watched.

If you ignore your surroundings and you aren't tuned in, you can get old without having any wisdom.

When you go for the easiest, fastest solution, you’re usually going for the worst one.

Resources:

Creative Careers: Making a Living With Your Ideas by B. Jeffrey Madoff

Charlatan by Pope Brock

Empire of Deception by Dean Jobb

“The Junkification of American Life” by David Brooks

Thinking About Your Thinking by Dan Sullivan

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

When a friend asks for your opinion on a new idea, you want to be helpful, but how should you respond when you don’t think their idea will succeed? Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff discuss ways to be supportive and helpful without lying or making a commitment.

Show Notes:

You can decide to help someone in a way that won’t involve you beyond a conversation.

In the business of coaching small businesses, you discover quickly that there’s a reason why small businesses are small.

People who can afford to make high investments usually know other people who can afford to make high investments.

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to keep track of what lies you’ve told.

The biggest factor in qualifying for The Strategic Coach® Program is being a growth-minded person instead of a status-minded person.

The problem is never the problem. The problem is that people don’t know how to think about the problem.

It’s a service to anybody who's had a new idea to get them thinking about their thinking about how they're going about it.

When somebody comes to you with a new idea, they're locked into a context that this is going to be a real winner.

If honesty ruptures a relationship, it wasn’t really a relationship to begin with.

A lot of times, people are looking for reinforcement for what they’ve already done, and it’s too late for them to do anything different.

Resources:

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz

Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam by Pope Brock

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

Do you recognize the unique strengths of your team, or do you overlook them? Jeffrey Madoff and Dan Sullivan explore the art of "casting" in business and life, revealing how self-awareness and understanding can lead to greater success. Discover how knowing oneself can transform team dynamics and drive long-term achievement.

Show Notes:

• There are a lot of talented people out there who are compelled to do what they’re doing.
• When someone’s auditioning for a role, you get a gut feeling if they’re nailing it or not.
• Someone having the right appearance for a role doesn’t mean they can pull it off.
• Some talented people can take direction, and some can’t.
• In addition to skill, you can test someone’s instincts in the audition process.
• Sometimes, you find out that someone you called in to audition for one role would actually be good in a different role.
• For a person to be the right fit, they have to be both good in their role and good in teamwork with everybody they’ll be working with.
• While you’re casting, you have to be focused, and aware of the context of the role.
• The more casting you do, the sharper your casting skills become.
• Finding the right person for a role might require a lot more looking than you’d hoped for.
• The higher your standards, the longer it might take to cast someone in a role.
• Greatness is only achieved over a long period of time.
• If you know who you are, you don’t have to spend time thinking about it.
• It's hard to care for others when your full-time job is caring about yourself.
• If someone doesn’t know who they are, you can’t predict how they’ll respond to challenges.

Resources:

Book: Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

Book: Wanting What You Want by Dan Sullivan

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

Jeffrey and Dan discuss the intricate relationship between humans and technology as they seek to understand how our thoughts and intentions shape technological advancements. Join them as they explore the historical context of technology, the importance of mindset, and how necessity drives innovation—and discover how our human nature fuels continual improvement.

Show Notes:

• Technology is a human-driven process. As long as there have been humans, there have been humans creating technology.
• The evolution of technology is fundamentally about how humans think and improve upon existing ideas rather than the technology itself.
• Jeffrey and Dan define technology as the intentional arrangement of resources and ideas to create systems that solve problems or enhance capabilities.
• Early technological advancements were rooted in survival needs, such as the management of fire and the creation of tools for protection and sustenance.
• The creation of a new tool will inevitably create inequality because it’s an advantage.
• The phrase "necessity is the mother of invention" highlights how challenges often drive technological advancements, leading to creative solutions.
• Our mindset plays a crucial role in technological development. Those who can envision possibilities often lead innovation.
• Certain technologies become inevitable, and you can either adopt them or resist them.
• If you feel victimized by a technology, that means you see the technology as a force outside of yourself.
• It’s easier to improve on something than to create something new.
• The best learning comes when you put things together in a new way.
• Successful technology development often requires collaboration and the ability to communicate ideas effectively to garner support and resources.

Resources:

Perplexity

The Technological System by Jacques Ellul

Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

Will AI be a burden on human creativity, or will it free us up to innovate in ways we never thought possible? Jeffrey Madoff and Dan Sullivan predict how artificial intelligence will reshape work, culture, and the economy. Explore the balance between tech advancements and human connection, and discover the surprising ways AI might redefine fulfillment in our lives.

Show Notes:

• AI is set to transform many job sectors, especially those repetitive tasks that don’t bring joy. This isn’t just a challenge; it’s an opportunity to rethink what fulfilling work means.
• The idea of finding fulfillment in work is a relatively new concept. In the past, we were focused on survival and stability.
• As AI takes over more routine and repetitive tasks, people have the opportunity to move beyond being consumers to become creators. How will this shift culture?
• Financial security affords people the ability to take risks in pursuing their passions.
• What does the world you’re born into owe you? What does the world you’re given allow you to create?
• Will AI be the common “enemy” that brings us together?
• Dan believes in strengthening strengths instead of fixing weaknesses.
• Goldman Sachs estimated generative AI could automate activities equivalent to 300 million full-time jobs globally.
• New technology always creates new jobs, however, and we tend to forget that when we focus only on the disruption.
• Are we hitting a wall with technology commoditizing the parts of our lives that we find meaningful?
• We can’t ignore the ethical challenges of AI, such as intellectual property rights and data privacy. Consider the implications of unauthorized use of personal data or voices.
• Future conversations on AI will include the seven stages of robots and the essence of intelligence.

Resources:

Goldman Sachs 2023 report: Briggs, J., Kodnani, D., Hatzius, J., Pierdomenico, G. (2023). The Potentially Large Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth. Goldman Sachs Economic Research.

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

We live in a world saturated with technology. It can be difficult to tell how much you’re using technology and how much technology is using you. But you can avoid distraction and stick to your purpose by focusing on the basics. Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff discuss who we are, and who we’re right for, in a world of technology.

Show Notes:

Regardless of technology, what matters is what you actually have to say that’s interesting and valuable to other people.

Technology is a tool, so all you need to know is how to use it most effectively.

Technology changes, but human behavior stays the same.

The fundamentals of what makes a good story never change.

Creativity, a human trait, is the cornerstone of the effective use of technology.

Most social media influencers aren’t creating anything.

When a new technology emerges, it’s generally applied to the content that already exists.

Technologies have a hype phase where everybody claims it changes everything.

You pay for social media with your attention.

Resources:

Article: Unlocking Entrepreneurial Freedom: The Four Phases Of The Freedom Cycle

The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management (Free Days™, Focus Days™, and Buffer Days™)

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

About 50 years ago, the microchip had people making predictions about how the technology would influence all areas of human life. Now, advancements in artificial intelligence are generating the same sorts of predictions. Dan and Jeffrey discuss the psychological effect of AI’s potential, the very different mindsets with which people are approaching it, and who is set to benefit the most.

Show Notes:

New technologies can force people to rethink their relationship to work and to everything else in their lives.

If you want to remain human, you have to adopt a theater-based attitude because the attitudes related to computers take the human out of the picture.

Every technological advancement has given a certain advantage to early adopters.

When it comes to technology, the playing field levels rapidly.

There are people whose mentality is that machines are good and humans are bad.

There's a certain Ponzi scheme quality to the way early investments are done.

In some industries, money isn’t made in coming up with new ideas, but in taking advantage of other people being enthralled by new ideas.

There are businesspeople who have been almost deified by a certain level of consumers. 

The new luxury and desirability come from something that has the human touch.

You can get so far into the world of new that you've lost touch with everything that already exists.

Every time we lose the ability to connect and share an experience with others, we’re losing something fundamental to what we are as humans.

Theater is the ultimate in a shared emotional experience because it's live.

Creating a brand can be all about storytelling, theater, and connection.

Resources:

Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

Are you casting your team like a theatrical production or just going through the motions with your hiring? Jeffrey and Dan explore how theater principles can revolutionize entrepreneurship. Discover how casting roles can improve creativity, productivity, teamwork, and engagement. Learn about their new book, Casting Not Hiring, and gain insights into innovative tools for defining roles in your business.

Show Notes:

• The key to building a successful entrepreneurial team is to cast people for roles rather than just hire them for jobs.
• This leads to collaborative teamwork that builds on and amplifies individual strengths and talents.
• There is a significant overlap between entrepreneurship’s activities and theater as an expression of entrepreneurship, since both involve taking risks, engaging an audience, delivering compelling narratives, and bringing creative concepts into reality.
• Entrepreneurship is an inherently creative act that involves taking an idea and attempting to actualize it into products or services.
• Similarly, every interaction is a performance; treat pitches and meetings as auditions to captivate your audience.
• These traits contribute to the adaptability, innovation, and forward-thinking mindset essential for navigating the challenges and opportunities within entrepreneurship.
• The 4 x 4 Casting Tool™, available in Jeffrey and Dan’s upcoming book, Casting Not Hiring, is a fantastic resource for defining roles and expectations clearly within teams that facilitates success from day one.
• Past events, challenges, and opportunities have a significant impact on shaping present and future decisions within entrepreneurship.
• By acknowledging the importance of past experiences, entrepreneurs can draw upon lessons learned, insights gained, and skills developed, and leverage them to inform current strategies, problem-solving approaches, and decision-making processes.

Resources:

Book: Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

Do you understand the true potential of AI for your business? Jeffrey and Dan explore the practical applications of AI for entrepreneurs and discuss how it can streamline operations, improve productivity, and solve complex problems across various industries. Learn to navigate the current AI hype and discover how to leverage this technology as a powerful tool for driving business growth and innovation.

Show Notes:

• AI is primarily a complexity solver, excelling in areas involving multiple interwoven systems.
• Effective AI applications include traffic systems, air traffic control, healthcare, military operations, and gaming.
• Entrepreneurs should evaluate AI based on whether it makes processes faster, easier, and cheaper and produces bigger results.
• Entrepreneurs should focus on backstage AI applications to improve human front stage performance.
• Creating newsletters with AI can significantly reduce team workload and achieve high engagement rates.
• AI search engines like Perplexity provide concise, relevant information quickly compared to traditional search engines.
• AI uses an enormous amount of electricity, potentially straining current power grids.
• Modular nuclear reactors may be a potential solution to AI's energy demands.
• Many AI start-ups may not survive long-term; successful companies will likely consolidate multiple AI applications.
• AI is an extension of human thinking, not a replacement.
• Avoid getting caught up in trying every new AI tool. Instead, focus on applications that provide tangible benefits to your business.
• AI can make productive people significantly more productive, but may make unproductive people more unproductive.
• It’s important to balance AI insights with human judgment and experience when making decisions about your business.

Resources:

Perplexity

Book: Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Book: Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®