The Fast Leader Show | Strategy Execution & Systems Design

Vicky Oliver was working at an advertising agency on September 11, 2001. After that day, Vicky decided to do a career redirect. She set upon a path to use her skills in a different way that ultimately led her to write about Bad bosses, Crazy Co-Workers and Other Office Idiots.

Rick Brinkman knew he had to get better at presenting. While presenting to a large group, he was unable to understand why everybody began to laugh hysterically. But he learned one thing that has helped him to move on to delivering hundreds of successful presentations since.

Shawn Vij was just out of business school and he was given the responsibility of the accounting for a project. He spotted something shady in the books and began to ask questions. He must have asked too many questions because his boss terminated him. That’s when Shawn’s outlook took a turn for the worst.

Sean Hawkins worked for a company that had been acquired twice in a short period of time. Sean had to navigate the delicate balance of being transparent where he could while upholding his responsibly to the organization. Sean learned that one investment he made really paid off in the end.

Erik Seversen had a horrible string of hiring the wrong person. That’s when he needed to do something different. He decided to totally change the interview process and his leadership style. Erik started focusing more on using emotional intelligence to move forward and applying it to his new English as a second language startup.

Tim Perek carried his journey map and personas into a c-suite meeting with all of his research and data. He walked them through all of the ideation and through the prioritization. Then his moment of truth came when an executive asked a key question. That’s when Tim learned the key to delivering value with his customer experience program.

Steven Stein started a small business with his wife. He was responsible for doing many of jobs necessary to grow the company. But to grow, Steven had to learn a valuable lesson. He did and today they employ more than 170 people throughout the world and he’s become a leading expert on psychological assessments and emotional intelligence.

Jeff McManus started a new job in a new town and was trying to understand and learn everything. One night while driving home after his night class, Jeff wrecked his car after falling asleep at the wheel. In the hospital, he realized things needed to change. That’s when Jeff came to realize that he must totally shift his thinking. That’s when he enabled himself to move onward and upward faster.

Brian Biro was down on himself. He had a drive to be the best at whatever he did. He was very intense and was no fun to play with. That’s when he decided to change one word and it helped him to move onward and upward faster.

Josh Seibert was a successful sales professional. He was promoted to a sales manager and all he had to do was teach people to be like him. Josh then proceeded to take a mediocre sales team and turn them into a failing sales team. That’s when he learn his most valuable lesson ever.