Lead. Learn. Grow.

Carla Fowler founded THAXA out of a passion for performance science, where the fields of strategy, productivity, and psychology intersect. Since its inception in 2013, THAXA's scientific approach to individualized coaching has attracted a devoted client base of dozens of executives at firms ranging from Fortune 500 technology companies to venture-backed startups to innovative non-profits. 

Carla's coaching methods draw upon the multidisciplinary field of performance science to generate the best ideas surrounding strategy, execution, and mindset to assist leaders in their endeavors. Over the past 10 years, she has distilled the key principles of performance into understandable concepts and a method that helps leaders incorporate these ideas into their day-to-day performance, helping them go faster and improve their results. 

Carla graduated from Brown University, then earned her MD and PhD at the University of Washington, and completed her internship in general surgery at Stanford University. 

We touch on a variety of performance-related topics in our conversation, including:

-why Carla left medicine to pursue developing a coaching practice. -how Ultimate Frisbee taught Carla to focus on the essential few. -how she thinks about performance in a multi-disciplinary way. -why self-improvement often doesn't work. ...and much more.

A couple of books that Carla frequently recommends are Essentialism and Effortless, both by author Greg McKeown. You can find out more about Greg and learn more about both books here. 

You can visit Carla's website here and get a free download, just for Lead. Learn. Grow. listeners. 

You can connect with Carla on LinkedIn. 

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You can contact host Robin Green by emailing him at [email protected].

You can subscribe to The Huddle, a weekly leadership email, by clicking here. 

Matt Dira is the Founder of the Dira Group. He coaches and advises high-performers to better manage all aspects of their life, including money. 

Our conversation touches on self-limiting beliefs, goals, and what it means to "have it all." Matt shares thoughts on why and how having a coach can be a life-changing investment.

I particularly enjoyed his take on kids and money. If you have youngsters, you'll want to hear some tips and ideas he has. He mentions an app called  GravyStack and shares how he uses it in his home. The Green children should be happy that this app wasn't in existence as they were coming along. 😁

Matt also talks about the power of compounding and why seemingly insignificant actions have a profound effect over time. 

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You can learn more about Matt and his coaching practice here. You can find Matt on Instagram @themattdira. Also, text MAP to 804 920 2436 for a free "Wealth Map." 

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Connect with Robin Green at [email protected] or you can subscribe to his weekly leadership newsletter called The Huddle by clicking here. 

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If you like the Lead. Learn. Grow. podcast, please rate and review and share with others. 

Episode 52 of the podcast features Chesdin Harrington, a product manager at Capitol One, and a graduate of the University of Virginia. Chesdin was an accomplished baseball player and was a member of the nationally-ranked Cavalier baseball program during his time in Charlottesville. 

Chesdin talks about his college journey, lessons learned from playing sports, and how he has been intentional about building his career. He shares a couple of experiences that he sought out that were really good examples for other young professionals to follow. 

If you'd like to connect with Chesdin, you can find him on LinkedIn here. 

Here's a great article that Chesdin wrote that was first published in d1baseball.com about his thoughts and feelings when his career was cut short by COVID. 

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If you'd like to connect with Robin Green, you can find him here, or contact him at [email protected]. 

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To sign up for The Huddle, a weekly leadership newsletter, click here. 

Welcome to episode 51 of the Lead. Learn. Grow. podcast with Robin Green In this episode, we dive into the art of persuasion with Adele and Chip, seasoned professionals in the convincing business and co-authors of a newly released book, Convince Me.

Key Takeaways:

• Innate Persuasion Skills: We all have a natural ability to convince others, but Chip and Adele's book provides strategies to refine and enhance these skills for more effective persuasion in our personal and professional lives.

• Storytelling as a Tool: Chip, with his FBI background, emphasizes the power of storytelling to translate complex experiences into relatable business lessons.

• Emotional Regulation: Adele highlights the importance of forensic listening and emotional regulation in building trust and effectively persuading clients.

• Quick Trust in High-Stakes: Chip discusses strategies to establish a quick sense of trust in high-stakes situations, crucial for successful outcomes.

• Mirroring and Matching Techniques: Learn how these techniques can build rapport and lead to deeper insights into others' thoughts and feelings.

• Understanding Unstated Narratives: Addressing the internal beliefs and perceptions that everyone carries can be a game-changer in negotiations and sales.

• Balancing Empathy with Action: While empathy is essential, Chip and Adele discuss the importance of guiding clients beyond empathy to improve their situations.

• Avoiding Righteousness in Persuasion: Adele's favorite concept from the book involves starting from a point of agreement to steer conversations effectively without imposing self-righteousness.

• Experiential Learning: Chip's preferred aspect of the book is the focus on learning from experiences, featuring interviews with experts to offer practical methods for engaging with others.

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Connect with Adele and Chip on LinkedIn. 

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Connect with Robin Green on LinkedIn. You may also reach him at [email protected].

Jessica Marsh is the Executive Director of the Richmond Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. ACG is an association for corporate growth, development, and mergers and acquisitions professionals. 

Jessica discusses her role, how it impacts the organization, and lessons learned during the pandemic. It's a wide-ranging conversation touching on a number of interesting topics. 

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Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn here. You can learn about ACG here. 

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Click here to sign up for The Huddle, a weekly leadership email. You can contact Robin Green by emailing [email protected].

Have you ever considered that what we are being sold about digital marketing is wrong? What if it’s hurting the business? What if we all are buying the powerful tools and leaving out the fuel that powers them?

Tom Schwab believes the best things in life come from conversations. It’s these powerful, sometimes awkward conversations that propel us from where we are personally and professionally to where we dream of being.

As an engineer, a Navy Veteran, and Nuclear Propulsion Plant Operator, Tom thinks differently. Tough Minded, Skeptical, sometimes even Cantankerous, but always technically competent, always thinking – “What if” is how the head of the Nuclear Navy described it.

As a small business owner and entrepreneur, he understands the unique challenges of business owners. This led him to be an early pioneer of using inbound marketing for eCommerce and targeted podcast interviews for marketing that connects.

Tom is the author of two books: Podcast Guest Profits: Grow Your Business with a Targeted Interview Strategy, called the bible of podcast guesting and One Conversation Away: A manifesto for a rich life and a profitable business.

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Contact Robin Green at [email protected]. 

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Sign up for Robin's popular leadership newsletter, The Huddle, by visiting here. 

Jesse Grapes is the President of Benedictine Schools of Richmond, which include both Benedictine College Prepartory School for boys, and St. Gertrude's School for girls. These unique schools offer single-sex educational opportunities for high school students on a growing, beautiful campus on the bluffs of the James River. 

Jesse earned his B.S. in Information Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and upon graduation, joined the world of business consulting. He shares that although his career was off to a good start, he felt like something was missing. Then, the world changed. 

On September 12, 2001, he volunteered for the United State Marine Corps. That began a long and storied career that included three combat duties in Iran, and many notable achievements, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. 

After his military career, Jesse began his equally successful career in education. He was Principal and Regional Director of an innovative, 7,000 student for-profit school in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also was the Headmaster at BCPS prior to his current role. 

Jesse Grapes is a leader of leaders, and he shares his philosophies, stories, and how he has continually re-invented himself to live a meaningful and virtuous life. 

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My Early Life by Winston Churchill  Jesse shares this as one of his favorite books and an example of seeking opportunity, taking risks, and inspiration stories. 

7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the importance of sharpening the saw. 

Plutarch's Lives

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

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Contact Robin Green at [email protected].

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SIgn up for The Huddle, a weekly leadership newsletter where Robin shares insights, lessons, and stories to help leaders lead more effectively. 

Buddy Biancalana is one of approximately 1,600 players that have been drafted in the first round since the draft began in 1965. With the weight of expectations, pressure to perform, and the demands of being a professional athlete, Buddy quickly rose through the Kansas City Royals minor league system - from Rookie League to the Major Leagues - in five years. 

As a part-time player, Buddy was what the baseball world calls a "good field-no hit" player, playing the demanding shortstop position. Then, late in the 1985 season, Royals manager Dick Howser inserted him in the lineup late in the year, and he played the best baseball of his life. He was a key contributor in helping the Royals win their first World Series. 

As he shares in our conversation, the pressure of the World Series was immense. Literally, the entire world was watching. Yet, as you'll hear, Buddy says he was as calm as he'd ever been. And he played flawless defense and hit better than he'd ever hit before. Later, he realized that he'd had an "In the zone" experience. 

This experience, along with a childhood incident that Buddy shares in our conversation, led him to begin to study the brain-body connection. Now, as the founder of Zone Motion, he helps athletes and executives have "in the zone" experiences in a more intentional way, rather than by chance. 

You can buy Buddy's book, The 7 Secrets of World Class Athletes, here. 

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You can contact Robin Green at [email protected].

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If you like this podcast, you may also like Robin's weekly leadership newsletter, The Huddle. Join the growing number of subscribers (it's free), including leaders from business, education, and athletics. You can subscribe here. 

If you live in Richmond, VA, you know Jeff Katz. The host of an award-winning talk show on WRVA during afternoon drive time, he has a long and storied career. In this fun conversation, you'll hear tales of going from a police officer to selling radio ads and finally hosting his own show. Regardless of where in the country he was working, two things have been a constant. One, his talent behind the mic and his ability to connect with his audience have been recognized repeatedly. Second, he cares about his community. 

Jeff is a master storyteller who spins many yarns in our time together. A master of his craft, Jeff shares some of the lessons he has learned through his long and successful career. 

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If you'd like to learn more about Jeff and his work, you can visit jeffkatz.us.  There, you can learn about Jeff's consulting, coaching, and speaking services. If you'd like to listen to his show or learn more about the broadcasting pursuits, visit thejeffkatzshow.com.

Jeff even invites you to call him at 804.596.6596 or use toll-free at 888.334.JEFF.

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To learn more about Sandler Training or to connect with Robin, email him at [email protected]. 

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To sign up for our growing leadership newsletter, The Huddle, visit green.sandler.com/huddle.

Join me as I speak in a great conversation with Jenn Drummond of Park City, UT.

A car accident in 2018 left Jenn awestruck and emboldened. Rescue workers couldn’t imagine any scenario where she came out of it alive, but she did. That’s when she realized you don’t get to choose when you leave this life…but you sure can choose how you live it. Strengthened by this awareness, she set out to live in a more authentic and adventurous way.

Inspired to climb a mountain for her birthday, her son raised the stakes by suggesting Mount Everest. Not one to back down from a challenge, she accepted the pursuit. During her training, her coach upped the ante and proposed that she go for a Guinness World Record and become the first woman to climb the 7 second summits. The pursuit matched her desire to live a life of significance, not just success.

Today, Jenn is a world record holder who elevates others to master their own summit in life. She’s a successful business owner and mom of seven kids who, as you will hear, inspire and brazenly challenge her.

She’s also an international speaker, author, and host of the "Seek Your Summit" podcast, which focuses on inspiring others to go beyond success to a life of significance.

You can find out more about Jenn at jenndrummond.com. Details of her soon-to-be-released book are here. 

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If you are a leader and a learner, subscribe to our fast-growing leadership newsletter called The Huddle. Each week, you get a dose of leadership goodness. Best of all, it's free. Sign up here. 

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You can contact Robin Green at [email protected] with questions or if you know someone that would make a great guest on the podcast.