About a month ago, one of my executives had me download the Claude.AI app. Since then, it has completely revolutionized the way my small business works.
 
Interestingly, the thing that won me over wasn’t better content creation or smarter answers. After all, every one of these tools can do that. Instead, Claude pulled off something none of the others could. In under a month, it let me eliminate a position I’d planned to re-hire. And my profit margin went up instead of down.
 
Just so you know, though, I'm a big fan of AI. I use a lot of different AI platforms for various business processes. But what my team and I have been able to do in the last few weeks is unbelievable. If you miss this opportunity and your competitors capitalize on it, you will be left behind -- and likely in a very, very, very short time. That's how powerful this is!
 
On this episode, I'm going to give share with you what Claude is, how Claude is different from ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, and other AI platforms, and a few specific things you can do in your business that will free up a ton of your time.

Show Notes: What Is the Best AI for Business in 2026 (Small Businesses)?
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/what-is-the-best-ai-for-business-in-2026-small-businesses/)

Our topic today is about how to improve employee engagement at your company and we are continuing a two part series that we started last week. If you recall, last week, I mentioned that most HR directors and executives know engagement is a problem. They just are not sure what is actually causing it or what to do about it. So, in the last episode, I shared with you a bunch of studies and statistics about what the experts are saying is the real problem.
 
And as it turns, most companies are spending their workforce engagement budgets on things that aren't the real problem.
 
Today we cover the two root causes that most companies never address along with a few steps that you can implement to actually solve the problems -- or at the very least, minimize the destructiveness of the behaviors. And then, at the end of the episode, I included a list of widely circulated FAKE employee engagement statistics! During our research, we kept coming across these same statistics over and over. Apparently, other posts keep reprinting them because they never actually checked the original source. Once you see the list that we compiled, you'll begin to realize WHY HR executives are spending so much for activities and processes that don't move the needle at all. So, stick around until the end of the episode for that.

Show Notes: Most Employee Engagement Activities Aren’t Engaging Employees
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/most-employee-engagement-activities-arent-engaging-employees/)

If you want to know how to improve employee engagement at your company, you are not alone. Most HR directors and executives know engagement is a problem. They just are not sure what is actually causing it or what to do about it. The good news is that experts around the world have researched this topic extensively. As a result, we know what drives engagement and what kills it. We know what moves the numbers in a positive direction.
 
And we also know what does not work — which turns out to be what most companies are spending their workforce engagement budgets on.
 
This episode is a summary of some of the most compelling data related to Workforce Engagement. Below are 35 interesting employee engagement statistics for 2026 that every HR leader needs to know. (We also linked to all of our primary sources.) Below the statistics, our experts will give you the seven things worth actually measuring, the two root causes most companies never address. And finally — perhaps most usefully — we included a list of widely circulated FAKE employee engagement statistics! During our research, we kept coming across these same statistics over and over. Apparently, other posts keep reprinting them because they never actually checked the original source. We did. 

Show Notes: Most Employee Engagement Activities Aren’t Engaging Employees

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/most-employee-engagement-activities-arent-engaging-employees/)

Poor leadership skills can ruin team morale. As a manager, you hold more power than you might think. Obviously, you can hire and fire your subordinates. You can also promote them… or not promote them. You may also have the ability to approve a raise. If not, you at least have the ability to conduct the annual review.

In essence, your leadership skills and moral compass have a direct impact on their career. Even if you treat everyone fairly, your impact on their lives is unmistakable. This is why having a great boss is the number one wish of most employees. They often rank this above more vacation time and a bigger paycheck.

So if you're looking to become that great boss so many teams desperately need, stick around for 5 reasons you really need to pay attention to your leadership skills!

Show Notes: Five Ways that Poor Leadership Skills Can Ruin Team Morale
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/four-ways-poor-leadership-skills-can-ruin-team-morale/)

If you’ve ever worked on a team that had a crazy amount of chemistry, you already know the answer. Everything they touched was gold, they produced more than any other team combined, and they had fun doing it.

Unfortunately, you know that that is not the norm. Most teams have people you don’t like, that one person that doesn’t do anything, one person who shows up always talking about their personal life, one person who thinks they’re better than everyone else, and you have to try and make it work.

So, what’s the difference between those two teams?

I would say it all comes down to how they communicate!

So this week I'll be going over everything I know about effective communication to ensure your team becomes the best version it can be!


Show Notes: What is Effective Communication and How Does it Create a Dream Team Dynamic?
(https://team-building.org/what-is-effective-communication-and-how-does-it-create-a-dream-team-dynamic/)

Looking for the best way to deliver an effective impromptu speech? You will want to master two components. First, you want to reduce your nervousness so your audience sees your response as credible. Then, you want to deliver a credible response so your audience sees you as the expert.

If you are new to public speaking, an impromptu speech is one where you have to speak on short notice. So you won’t have a lot of preparation time. Even seasoned speakers can panic when asked to deliver one of these “spur of the moment” presentations.

So stick around to hear the absolute best, easy ways to give a reliable impromptu speech. 

(Oh, by the way, if this is something that you're wanting to learn even more about, go check out my other podcast Fearless Presentations and learn more about our 2 day public speaking classes)

Show Notes: 5 Steps to Give an Impromptu Speech (Even If You Hate Speaking)
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/how-to-improve-impromptu-speaking-skills-tips-to-deliver-an-improvised-speech/)

Last week I introduced the first 5 skills that every single leader needs to have to be effective, and some of them were probably surprises. I'm sure after taking the survey you realized that a lot of those skills are often overlooked. Things that really are make or breaks for a good team leader that for one reason or another are never developed either do to not knowing what they are, not knowing how to develop them, or not knowing that you need to. 

This week I'll be going over those last 5 roles an effective leader must fulfill and a lot of these are more focused on the coaching aspect of leading, an aspect very rarely focused on. So stick around (and if you haven't yet, go check out the show notes to see the leadership survey to assess how good of leader you already are and what you need to focus on more.

Show Notes: Leadership Roles Survey - Do You Exhibit Effective Team Leadership?
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/leadership-roles-survey-do-you-exhibit-effective-team-leadership-take-the-survey)

Leadership is not a singular skill. You're not a good leader if you just know how to discipline well, or delegate well, or coach well, or set goals well, you are only a good leader if you can fulfill all of these roles simultaneously. The problem is you can't grow as a leader if you don't even know all the roles you have to fill. So this week, that's what I'm covering. 

I'll be going over the first 5 skills you need to develop to grow as a leader but before doing anything, please go take the survey in the show notes below to know how you stand as a leader right now!


Show Notes: Leadership Roles Survey: Do You Exhibit Effective Team Leadership?
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/leadership-roles-survey-do-you-exhibit-effective-team-leadership-take-the-survey)

The term “team-building” is thrown around quite often describing any type of activity that is likely to build some type of camaraderie or team environment. However, the specific activities and games that make up a good event can be lumped into a few types of categories. The success of your company depends on its foundation: customers, profit, and company culture. Team building exercises are a great way to connect staff and build a positive culture.

The effectiveness of the exercises or events depends on the inclusion of the whole team, in smaller teams, aiming for a shared goal. Some involve a random object, such as tennis balls, while other fun activities could use puzzle pieces with trivia questions.

It's incredibly important to not just understand what team building is and why it's important, but also what TYPE of team building is best suited for your team, and today that's what I will be covering!

Show Notes: What Is Team Building?
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/what-is-team-building/)

Welp, we're finally here, the last secret to building wealth. Maybe "secret" is the wrong word because, especially in this case, this is a tip that I'm sure you've heard before. It's almost universally known as the biggest factor in building substantial wealth. The great divider between "just getting by" and "being well off". Secondary sources of income.

Almost all industries have a salary cap so, no matter how much you make at your job (and you can certainly make a lot), there is a point where growing isn't really an option anymore. At that point, your money needs to make money. Investments, stocks, side business's you're hands off on, these are the way you can really grow exponentially, and that's what we're going over today.

So stick around as I tell you my experiences and what I've learned whenever it comes to amassing different avenues of making money.

Show Notes: How to Build Wealth in Three Simple Steps
(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/how-to-build-wealth-in-three-simples-steps-wealth-strategies-for-any-age/)