Better Business, Better Life

Adam Harris is Frank and Fearless. As a leadership coach, consultant and facilitator, he applies this approach in all areas of his professional and personal life.

In this episode, he discusses why so many great companies miss out on their potential and shares the important questions all business owners must ask themselves. He stresses the importance of having difficult conversations - avoiding them is a disservice to everyone involved. Despite the discomfort, disagreement and uncertainty then creates opportunity.

His mission is to create the space to have the right conversations, at the right time, with the right people. Having worked with 25 businesses to implement EOS, he also tells us his favourite EOS tools and how they’ve transformed his clients.

Find out how leaning into being frank and fearless has taken him to incredible and challenging new heights, both figuratively and literally!

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor explores the power of EOS and AI Together with guests Peter and Philipp from Success.co. After scaling a software company to more than $40 million, Peter and Philipp share how discovering EOS completely changed the way they operated their business. Before EOS, their company was growing rapidly but felt chaotic, with leadership spending more time reacting than creating clarity and alignment. Everything shifted when they implemented EOS properly. The structure, accountability, and discipline helped them organize the business, improve communication, and scale far more effectively. But along the way, they became frustrated with the existing EOS software options, finding them clunky, outdated, and lacking the integrations modern businesses needed. That frustration led them to build Success.co, an EOS-focused platform designed to combine the simplicity and purity of EOS with the power of modern technology and AI. Throughout the conversation, Peter and Philipp discuss the importance of staying true to EOS principles while using AI to enhance execution, visibility, and accountability. They explain how their software includes features like real-time updates, mobile accessibility, AI-generated insights, and automation to help leadership teams make better decisions faster. Debra, Peter, and Philipp also explore the future of AI in business, discussing how AI can augment leadership thinking, automate repetitive tasks, improve meetings, and provide deeper operational insights. Rather than replacing people, they believe AI becomes a powerful tool for helping teams work smarter and stay aligned. The episode also highlights the importance of having an EOS implementer, trusting the EOS process fully, and separating facilitation from participation so leadership teams can focus on solving real issues instead of managing meetings. This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs interested in the future of business operations, leadership alignment, and how combining EOS and AI together can create more efficient, scalable, and accountable businesses. CONNECT WITH DEBRA:    ___________________________________________         ►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner ►Connect with Debra: [email protected] ►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/ ►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/ ___________________________________________       GUEST’S DETAILS: ► Philipp Maucher – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-maucher-42747798/ ► Website – Success.co: https://www.success.co/ ► Peter Coppinger – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petercoppinger/ ► Website – Success.co: https://www.success.co/ Episode 272 Chapters:   00:00 – Introduction 00:39 – Introduction and Overview of AI and EOS 02:21 – Peter’s Journey and Initial Challenges 03:47 – Transition to Success.co and Philip’s Role 07:34 – Implementing EOS and the Role of an Implementer 10:52 – Challenges with Existing EOS Software 11:17 – Developing the Success.co Software 19:33 – Benefits of Using EOS Software 32:52 – AI and the Future of EOS Software 40:38 – Final Thoughts and Tips for Implementing EOS

You will know CocoVinny from Shark Tank and The Profit - his passion for his company Coco Taps is contagious!

CocoVinny Zaldivar has been an entrepreneur since 16 years old. Through his experiences, he narrowed down his three non-negotiables.

Whatever he did next needed to be good for people, good for the planet, and it had to be fun. With Coco Taps he found his life-long passion, building something of value that continues to create value.

In this episode, he shares his ups and downs through the pandemic and how he's never had an exit strategy. Despite the uncertainty and losing several million dollars revenue in the lockdown, CocoVinny used this time to focus on what was really important for the future of his business and stepped on the gas. He went full steam ahead on the development of a new machine, reached out to potential investors and got creative with marketing strategies.

He shares that EOS helped Coco Taps respond to COVID with agility.

"It's probably one of the best things that happened to us during COVID. We did everything remote, but it was still helpful to go through these processes and still learn how to pivot and learn how to adapt."

Fortunately, he was able to keep all his staff. The lockdown helped his team focus and re-focus. With all their future planning, they were able to bring ideas forward and use this difficult time as an opportunity to innovate. He also shares that the way Coco Taps is run is so tied to their core values that they don't have to fire people, they just self-select out if they're not in alignment.

Listen to the full episode to find out how CocoVinny approaches business, life and the beautiful future of Coco Taps! 

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor explores why having your best year in business can actually become one of the most dangerous moments for a leadership team. 

Drawing on both her experience working with entrepreneurs and the research from Jim Collins, Debra explains how success often creates complacency, weakens discipline, and slowly introduces the behaviours that eventually lead businesses into decline. 

She walks through the five stages that many businesses experience after a major period of success. From arrogance built on past wins, to chasing growth without focus, explaining away problems, searching for a saviour, and eventually giving up quietly, Debra highlights how decline is rarely sudden. Instead, it happens gradually when leadership teams stop asking hard questions and start avoiding uncomfortable truths. 

Throughout the episode, Debra shares why the businesses that continue scaling successfully are the ones that stay humble, disciplined, and curious, even after major wins. She explains how leadership teams often begin to lose traction when meetings become too polite, scorecards are ignored, and difficult conversations stop happening. 

Debra also discusses the dangers of relying on “saviour hires” to fix deeper systemic issues, and why true growth comes from maintaining strong leadership discipline, accountability, and honest communication across the business. 

This episode is a powerful reminder that success should never reduce focus or discipline. The businesses that continue to grow after their best year are the ones willing to stay honest, challenge themselves, and keep evolving long after the celebrations are over. 

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:    
___________________________________________          
►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner 
►Connect with Debra: [email protected]  
►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/  
►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/  
 

Episode 271 Chapters:    
 
00:00 – Introduction 
00:39 – The Danger of Success in Business   
02:24 – Stages of Decline After Success   
05:16 – Preventing Decline After Success   
06:09 – Ad Lib Questions and Answers   
10:22 – Spotting Early Signs of Decline   
12:12 – Final Advice for CEOs   

Mel Rowsell is a leadership coach & facilitator, as well as co-founder of Vend, a tech startup with rapid growth. Affectionately known as camp mother, she managed People & Culture as Vend grew from 0 to 250 employees.  

In this episode, Mel discusses the constant feeling of imposter syndrome while wearing the many, many hats founders & entrepreneurs are required to wear. After leaving day-to-day operations to start her coaching practice, she was surprised at her own resilience and resourcefulness. She shares how she overcame imposter syndrome and the ups & downs of a founder's journey.

An expert at human connection in the workplace, she also shares tried and true advice on creating a curious & empathetic workplace culture. Find out if you're inadvertently rewarding behaviour that's harming your company and how to lead in the Fourth Imagination Age.

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor tackles one of the biggest barriers to scaling: the conversations leadership teams avoid that could unlock growth. 

Debra exposes the “polite meeting trap,” where teams stay comfortable, avoid conflict, and leave meetings with no real decisions or progress. While it may feel safe, this behaviour quietly stalls growth and erodes accountability. She makes it clear that politeness does not build great businesses, effectiveness does. 

The episode dives into why leaders avoid hard conversations in the first place. Fear of conflict, protecting relationships, and power dynamics all play a role. When the most senior leader avoids tough topics, the entire team follows, leading to side conversations, misalignment, and slow execution. 

Debra explains how EOS provides the structure needed to make these conversations easier and more productive. With clear roles, accountability, and objective data, teams can separate people from problems and focus on solving real issues without emotion taking over. 

She also shares practical strategies to shift from avoidance to action, including eliminating sidebar conversations, bringing issues into the room, and regularly assessing whether team members are aligned with core values and truly fit their roles. 

If your leadership team feels stuck, overly polite, or avoids the real issues, this episode is a direct call to step up, have the conversations that matter, and create the clarity needed to grow. 

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:    
___________________________________________          
►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner 
►Connect with Debra: [email protected]  
►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/  
►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/  
 

Episode 270 Chapters:    
 
00:00 – Introduction 
00:55 – EOS Thinking and the Importance of Honest Conversations  
02:46 – The Polite Meeting Trap  
04:17 – The Founder and Power Dynamic Problem  
05:58 – The Role of Structure in Facilitating Hard Conversations  
06:49 – Ad Lib Questions and Answers  
11:44 – The Real Cost of Polite Meetings  
13:59 – Structures That Make Hard Conversations Safer  
15:43 – The Importance of Regular Reflection and Conversations 

The last in our series for Season 2 & a special for Australia & New Zealand, who are in lockdown.

Justine is the Visionary / Founder at Your Virtual Assistant. The company has around 30 virtual assistants & Virtual Business Managers, based all around New Zealand.

She came across EOS a few years ago & tried to self-implement. I'll let her tell you why it didn't work, however, she came to me back in March 2020, just before the lockdown in New Zealand hit. 

We were excited that I could help her to implement it into her business. However, once lockdown was announced, she came to me & said she wanted to pause.

We had a  discussion and fortunately, she decided that there probably wasn't a better time to be starting - given all the uncertainty that comes with a global pandemic.

16 months later & Justine & her new Leadership team have smashed all their goals & are continuing to achieve their rocks each quarter.

In a time when many businesses are struggling, the Your VA Leadership Team has Clarity, they have Simplified their business & they are achieving their Vision.

And most importantly, Justine is back doing what she loves & takes her weekends off, without feeling even a little bit guilty.

If you'd like to understand how she did this, then take a listen.

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor sits down with Amanda Barkey to explore the difference between using EOS vs running a business on EOS, and why that distinction changes everything. 

Amanda shares her journey from self-implementing EOS in her Soccer Shots franchise business to becoming a certified EOS implementer. Starting with limited support and plenty of early struggles, she and her husband turned their business around by applying EOS tools and disciplines, eventually scaling and successfully selling multiple franchises. 

A key insight from Amanda is that simply using EOS tools is not enough. Real transformation happens when you fully commit to running your business on EOS with consistency, discipline, and accountability. She highlights how tools like the Level 10 Meeting, People Analyzer, and clear compartmentalisation improved communication, strengthened team health, and drove results. 

The conversation also dives into the importance of the visionary and integrator relationship. Amanda credits having a strong integrator as a major factor in their success, helping maintain structure and execution while the visionary focused on growth and direction. 

Beyond business, Amanda shares how she applies EOS principles in her family life, using tools like a family VTO and core values to create alignment and reduce conflict. She also discusses her nonprofit work in Cameroon, funded by her business success, demonstrating how EOS can support not just better businesses, but better lives. 

If you are currently “using” EOS but not seeing full results, this episode will challenge you to step up into truly running your business on EOS. 

CONNECT WITH DEBRA:    
___________________________________________          
►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner 
►Connect with Debra: [email protected]  
►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/  
►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/  
___________________________________________        
GUEST’S DETAILS:   
► Amanda Barkey – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-barkey-409908107/ 
► Website – EOS Worldwide: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/amanda-barkey/ 

Episode 269 Chapters:    
 
00:00 – Introduction 
00:35 – Amanda Barkey’s Entrepreneurial Journey and EOS Implementation  
02:21 – Amanda Barkey’s Background and Business Journey  
12:36 – Challenges and Successes with EOS Implementation  
15:10 – The Role of an Integrator and Implementer  
34:20 – EOS in Family Life  
47:18 – Amanda’s Future Plans and Nonprofit Work  
47:30 – The Power of EOS Tools  
47:43 – Final Thoughts and Advice for Entrepreneurs 

Emily is the owner of SideMark, which she started 7 years ago. It is a highly successful company & she puts its success down to implementing EOS (The Entrepreneurial Operating System) into the business.

Apart from the successful business, Emily is living her dream career life which she has crafted intentionally over time.

She has just recently written a. book called Growth Junkies Unite – A Simple Guide to Invigorate your Journey.

In this episode, she shares with us what being a growth junkie really is & how she has created a multi-faceted career, as co-owner of the business, a Professional EOS Coach & Business Coach, a published Author & a peer-group facilitator, as well as enjoying a full life outside of business.

After implementing EOS to help them run their business 5 years ago and seeing tremendous success, Emily launched her EOS coaching practice to help other entrepreneurs and leadership teams get more of what they want from their business.

She describes herself as the poster girl for EOS as she has run a business without EOS & with EOS. And she wishes she had found it earlier.

"When I first got into entrepreneurship, I didn't know what I was doing. It's not like I went to school and learn how to run a business. And at the time, I found this business was in need of a turnaround situation, it was a $13 million office furniture dealership down in the southwest part of the United States. And it was just so much fun to dig into. And yet I could have done it better now that I know what I know, it would have been easier and faster. And so when I moved into the opportunity to buy in as third owner of a $15 million office furniture dealership, my two partners and I quickly realized that we really wanted to come together and figure out our vision for where we wanted to take the company. And so luckily, at that time, I was a part of a peer group. And in that group, I heard about EOS, which is the entrepreneurial operating system. It's a way of operating and running a business more effectively and efficiently so that you can get more out of the business and actually enjoy the business more."

Emily shares her journey to bring EOS into the business & how it changed not only the business but her life too.

In this episode of Better Business, Better Life, Debra Chantry-Taylor and Adam Harris go deeper into what it really takes to get a business unstuck, moving beyond surface-level fixes to uncover the root causes holding companies back.They explore why so many businesses face the same issues again and again, and why most teams jump to solutions too quickly without properly identifying the real problem. Using tools like the EOS Issue Solving Track (IDS) and simple but powerful W questions (Who, What, When, Where, Why), they explain how to dig deeper and solve issues properly the first time.A major theme in this conversation is clarity. Without it, teams become reactive, communication breaks down, and founders feel increasingly overwhelmed as the business grows. Debra and Adam highlight how lack of clarity around roles, expectations, and outcomes leads directly to stagnation.They also discuss the importance of accountability, structured meetings, and consistent practice. High-performing teams don’t just talk about issues, they build the muscle to solve them through repetition, trust, and open, honest conversations.The episode also tackles tough topics like having the wrong people in key roles, unproductive meetings, and early warning signs that a business is losing traction. Founders are encouraged to step back, take a clarity break, and seek external support such as coaches, mentors, or peer groups to gain perspective and momentum.If your business feels stuck in cycles of the same problems, this episode provides practical tools and mindset shifts to help you regain clarity, fix root causes, and move forward with confidence. CONNECT WITH DEBRA:    ___________________________________________         ►Debra Chantry-Taylor is a Certified EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Business Owner►Connect with Debra: [email protected]  ►See how she can help you: https://businessaction.co.nz/  ►Claim Your Free E-Book: https://www.businessaction.co.nz/free-e-book/  ___________________________________________       GUEST’S DETAILS:   ► Adam Harris – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adam-harris-eos/  ► Website – EOS Worldwide: https://www.eosworldwide.com/adam-harris Episode 268 Chapters:   00:00 – Introduction 00:36 – Why Businesses Get Stuck: Introduction and Initial Thoughts  02:48 – Exploring the Root Causes of Repeated Issues  13:35 – The Importance of Teamwork and Practice  18:47 – Identifying the Wrong People in Key Roles  23:47 – Unproductive Meetings in Growing Companies  35:58 – Communication Breakdown and Reactive vs Proactive Behaviour  38:53 – Overwhelm Among Founders and Lack of Clarity  41:27 – Early Warning Signs of Businesses Losing Traction  41:39 – The Role of Lack of Clarity in Business Stagnation  44:28 – First Steps for Founders to Take When Recognising Symptoms