The Wake Up Eager Podcast

When several capable people want the same leadership role, the best decision comes from clearly defining what the position requires and evaluating each person's true fit—not simply rewarding ambition, tenure, or visibility.

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

• 1. Wanting the role does not automatically mean someone is suited for it. Ambition can be valuable, but desire alone does not tell you whether a person has the judgment, leadership approach, emotional maturity, or personal skills the position requires. Someone may genuinely want the promotion and still be a better fit for a different path.
• 2. Define the role before comparing the people. Promotion decisions become emotional and political when leaders begin with the candidates instead of the job. First identify what success in the VP role actually demands—its priorities, challenges, leadership expectations, and critical competencies. Then evaluate each person against that standard.
• 3. A thoughtful decision protects both the organization and the candidates. Promoting the wrong person can damage performance, relationships, and confidence across the team. A clear, job-related process makes the decision easier to explain and gives every candidate useful insight into their strengths, gaps, and future development.

KEY QUOTES

• "Wanting the VP role and being the best fit for the VP role are not always the same thing."
• "You have to define the job before you start deciding which person should have it."
• "The loudest, most visible, or most ambitious candidate is not automatically the right leader."
• "A promotion should not be a reward for doing well in the job someone already has."
• "The real question is not, 'Who deserves it?' The real question is, 'Who best matches what this role requires?'"
• "When the expectations are clear, the decision becomes less personal and much more defensible."

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Before discussing candidates for an important promotion, create a one-page success profile for the position. Identify:

• The most important outcomes the person must deliver.
• The leadership and decision-making skills the role requires.
• The behaviors needed to work effectively with the team.
• The internal motivations that will help someone remain engaged.
• The experience and knowledge that are truly necessary.
• The culture, manager, and organizational environment in which the person will operate.

Then compare each candidate to the role using multiple sources of information, including performance history, behavioral examples, interviews, references, and assessment results. Assessments should inform the discussion, but they should represent less than 30 percent of the final decision.

Finally, meet individually with each candidate. Explain the decision clearly, recognize the strengths they bring, and provide specific development guidance—especially for strong employees who were not selected. A well-managed promotion process should strengthen the leadership pipeline rather than leave several valuable people feeling dismissed.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Executive coach and author Chip Scholz shares practical wisdom on self-leadership, reducing workplace drama, using assessments wisely, letting go of ego, and building a life centered more on usefulness than status.

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

• 1. You cannot lead others well until you learn to lead yourself. Chip makes the point that leadership is a profession, not just the reward someone gets after being good at their technical job. Leaders have to shift from "doing" to "being" and learn how to guide people, not just keep proving their own expertise.
• 2. Drama grows when leaders avoid the conversation everyone already knows needs to happen. One of the strongest sections is Chip's direct advice around the "one bad apple" problem. His first question is simple: "Is this person a keeper?" If they are, coach them honestly. If they are not, take appropriate action. Avoiding it usually damages trust across the whole team.
• 3. A meaningful life is built around usefulness, not performance. The through line in Chip's books and stories is the shift from status, applause, and external validation toward usefulness, purpose, relationships, and peace. That theme ties beautifully into Wake Up Eager: work matters, but so does the life you are building around it.

KEY GUEST QUOTES

• "Coaching is not about fixing people. It is about helping already good people get better."
• "The best cultures are people-oriented and performance-driven, in that order."
• "If you've got someone who is a problem on a team, everybody knows it."
• "Ask yourself first: is this person a keeper?"
• "I don't believe you can lead others until you lead yourself."
• "Most supervisors come from the land of super workers."
• "We have to go from a way of doing to a way of being."
• "Mindfulness is just about noticing."
• "You don't force the cut."
• "I wanted to build a life less centered on status and more on usefulness."
• "Every dog has its day. Everybody gets their 15 minutes of fame, and everybody is going to die."
• "I can't do much about world peace, but I can do something about peace for myself."

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

This week, look at one leadership situation you have been tolerating, avoiding, or overthinking. Ask yourself Chip's question: "Is this person a keeper?" If yes, define the one core behavior that needs to change and prepare for a clear, respectful conversation. If no, decide what next responsible step is needed. Either way, remember that the rest of the team already feels the impact of your action or inaction.

For a personal reset, try Chip's simple five-minute practice: breathe. Use box breathing - inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four - before you respond to a stressful email, meeting, or conversation.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Chip Scholz is an executive coach, author, and leadership advisor who works with CEOs, business owners, and leadership teams to build stronger businesses through coaching, assessments, strategic planning, and leadership development. His company, Scholz & Associates, describes his work as helping leaders gain clarity and focus on what matters most in work and life. Scholz & Associates

Chip is the author of Small Decisions, Big Shifts and Every Dog Has Its Day: Reflections on Life, Love, and the Lathe, and his upcoming book Handoffs focuses on leadership, succession, and family business transitions.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Wake Up Eager really does start the night before. In this episode, Suzie Price talks with Dr. Nicole Williams about why sleep is not a luxury, a weakness, or something high performers can simply "push through." Dr. Nicole explains how poor sleep affects mood, focus, hormones, weight, stress, executive function, and long-term health. She also shares simple, practical ways to restore better sleep, including consistent wake times, smarter caffeine habits, evening downshifting, hydration, light management, and nervous system regulation.

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

• 1. Sleep is a performance strategy, not a badge of honor. Dr. Nicole challenges the idea that being exhausted, overbooked, or surviving on too little sleep proves commitment or productivity. She explains that well-rested people often perform better because their brain, body, mood, and focus have more capacity.
• 2. A good night's sleep starts early in the day. Sleep restoration is not only about what happens at bedtime. Dr. Nicole emphasizes the importance of consistent wake and sleep times, morning hydration, caffeine cutoffs, sunlight, movement, and taking breaks during the day so the nervous system does not stay stuck in overdrive.
• 3. "Tired but wired" is a sign your nervous system needs a downshift. If your body is exhausted but your brain will not stop, Dr. Nicole recommends an intentional evening routine. Dimming lights, avoiding blue light, journaling, doing a brain dump, keeping the room cool, and creating a calmer transition into bedtime can help the body move into rest-and-repair mode.

KEY GUEST QUOTES

• "By optimizing sleep, you optimize performance."
• "It's about the quality of what we're doing, not necessarily the quantity of what we're doing."
• "Your good night's sleep actually starts with how you wake up."
• "Hydrate before you caffeinate."
• "A lot of people are tired, but wired."
• "When we are sleep deprived, executive functioning is one of the first things that gets affected."
• "Good sleep allows you to show up in the rooms that matter most."
• "Healthy, consistent, good quality sleep has a trickle-down effect into so many other areas of your life."

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

• Pick a consistent wake-up time and protect it. Start by anchoring your day with a regular wake time, even on weekends when possible.
• Hydrate before caffeine. Drink water first thing in the morning before coffee or tea. Dr. Nicole suggests using hydration as a natural way to increase energy before reaching for stimulants.
• Set a caffeine cutoff. Because caffeine has a long half-life, Dr. Nicole recommends cutting it off by noon, especially if sleep quality is an issue.
• Create a 30- to 60-minute evening downshift. Dim lights, step away from screens, journal, read something calming, take a warm shower, or use a simple bedtime routine to tell your body it is safe to sleep.
• Do a brain dump before bed. Write down open loops, next-day priorities, concerns, and unfinished thoughts so your mind does not try to process them at 2 a.m.
• Protect melatonin production. Keep the room dark, avoid bright lights if you wake during the night, and reduce blue light from phones, tablets, and TVs before bed.
• Keep the bedroom cool. Dr. Nicole mentions that many sleep recommendations fall around 62–69 degrees, with each person needing to find what works in their home and body.
• Look at food, alcohol, and sugar as sleep inputs. Alcohol, refined sugar, refined carbohydrates, late meals, and stimulants can all interfere with sleep quality.
• Use movement and strength training wisely. Weight training and regular movement can support hormone health, deeper sleep, and better recovery.
• Get help if sleep issues persist. If sleep problems continue, consider working with a qualified health professional who can look at hormones, cortisol patterns, nutrition, stress, and root causes.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr. Nicole Williams is the founder of HealthFix, where she helps professional women and high-performing leaders improve energy, resilience, body composition, hormone balance, and long-term health. Her work focuses on root-cause wellness strategies that support sustainable performance instead of quick fixes. In this episode, she brings practical guidance on sleep restoration, nervous system regulation, and the daily habits that help people wake up with more energy and clarity.

SHOW NOTES

Former Turner Broadcasting executive Allan DeNiro shares behind-the-scenes stories of working with Ted Turner and reveals the people-first leadership lessons that helped build one of the most innovative media companies in the world.

Ted Turner is remembered as the bold founder of CNN, the visionary behind Turner Broadcasting, and one of the most influential media entrepreneurs of the modern era.

In this episode, former Turner Broadcasting executive Allan DeNiro takes us beyond the headlines to share firsthand stories about Ted's leadership, speed, risk-taking, trust in people, and people-first decisions.

Allan reflects on what it was like to work inside the larger Turner Broadcasting world, which included CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks, World Championship Wrestling, and more.

You'll hear stories about the company's groundbreaking 24/7 on-site childcare center, a nearly global employee intranet, and Ted's simple but powerful reminder to "take care of our people.

"This conversation is a tribute to Ted Turner's leadership legacy and a practical reminder that every leader can create "fertile ground" where people, ideas, courage, and confidence can grow.

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

• 1. Great leaders create "fertile ground" for people and ideas to grow. Allan described Turner Broadcasting as a place where people were encouraged to take chances, move fast, and figure things out. Ted Turner's leadership created space for bold ideas, new businesses, and talented people to grow—without constant micromanaging.

• 2. People-first leadership is a business strategy. The 24/7 on-site childcare center was not just a nice employee benefit—it was a practical solution for a 24-hour news and media company. Allan made the business case, and Ted quickly approved it because he understood that taking care of people helped the business succeed.

• 3. Visionary leaders challenge the status quo and trust others to execute. From CNN to TBS to the Braves, Ted Turner saw possibilities others dismissed. He moved quickly, challenged old models, and trusted capable people to carry ideas forward—a leadership lesson that still applies to every organization today

KEY QUOTES

• "Every single employee believed that they worked for Ted."—Allan DeNiro
• "Everything moves very fast."—Allan DeNiro
• "Ted was all about seeing around corners—not only looking ahead, but looking ahead and left and right."—Allan DeNiro
• "To me, it became a business issue, not a philosophical issue."—Allan DeNiro, on the childcare center
• "This is a damn good idea. We're going to do this."—Ted Turner, as remembered by Allan DeNiro
• "His style was to get out of the way."—Allan DeNiro
• "Do not look at the status quo and accept it. Ted never did."—Allan DeNiro
• "Take care of our people."—Ted Turner, as remembered by Allan DeNiro
• "He gets paid to go up to his office and think for a while. We get paid to take care of our people."—Allan DeNiro
• "Ted provided for the people that worked for him what I call fertile ground."—Allan DeNiro
• "You can do this. If you can't do this, you'll figure it out."—Allan DeNiro
• "Everybody listening can have a long-lasting impact on their people."—Allan DeNiro

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

1. Ask yourself where your team needs "fertile ground ."Look for places where people need more trust, clearer ownership, or permission to test new ideas.
2. Turn people issues into business cases. When advocating for employee support, connect the need to performance, retention, service, and results—just like Allan did with the childcare center.
3. Stop accepting "we don't talk about that" as an answer. If an issue keeps coming up in the halls, on your team, or in exit interviews, it probably deserves a real conversation and a clear decision.
4. Give ownership, then get out of the way. Once you assign responsibility to the right person, resist the urge to micromanage. Trust can create speed, confidence, and accountability.
5. Clarify your leadership legacy. Every leader can ask: "Are people more confident, capable, and energized because they worked with me?" That is the kind of impact people remember.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Allan J. DeNiro is a seasoned executive, consultant, author, and former Turner Broadcasting and Havertys human resources leader who brings decades of practical wisdom in leadership, hiring, culture, and people development.

SHOW NOTES

https://www.pricelessprofessional.com/tedturner

Jim Collins calls them "encodings"—the deeply wired patterns that shape how we contribute—and in this episode, Suzie Price explores how understanding your natural strengths, motivations, and energy can help you build a life you can't wait to wake up to.

What if the key to a more energized, meaningful life isn't working harder—but understanding what you're truly wired to do?

Inspired by Jim Collins' book What to Make of a Life and his conversation with Tim Ferriss, Suzie explores the concept of "encodings" and connects it to the TriMetrix assessment and the Wake Up Eager philosophy.

She shares personal stories, research from Gallup and Jim Collins, and practical examples from hiring and leadership to show how alignment impacts performance, fulfillment, and energy.

Whether you're leading a team, making career decisions, or simply trying to understand yourself better, this episode will help you recognize the clues your strengths and energy have been giving you all along.

Discover how to stop fighting your wiring and start living more intentionally.

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

1. Your Energy Leaves Clues - The things that consistently energize you, engage you, and feel natural often point directly to your deepest strengths and encodings.

2. Success Doesn't Always Mean Alignment - You can be capable, respected, and even successful in a role that fights against your natural wiring. Over time, the energy cost of misalignment catches up.

3. Understanding Your Wiring Creates Better Decisions - Whether you're hiring, leading, coaching, or planning your future, understanding how people naturally think, behave, and stay motivated helps create stronger alignment and better outcomes

KEY QUOTES

"You can be successful, respected, capable, and still be living completely outside your encodings. Eventually, the energy cost catches up to you."

"You can be good at something and still not be encoded for it."

"Your experiences don't create your encodings. They reveal or suppress them."

"Energy leaves clues."

"Sometimes your encodings are hiding in plain sight."

"Stop overriding your wiring."

"When your wiring, your strengths, your environment, and your contribution begin to align, you don't just perform better—you come alive."

"Life gets better when we align what energizes us with how we naturally contribute."

"Words don't teach. Life experience teaches."

"We should allow others to be who they are through their strengths."

"If you don't change and grow, you won't have what you need for what's coming next."

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

1. Start Tracking Your Energy - For one week, pay attention to the conversations, projects, and activities that leave you energized versus drained.

2. Look for Repeating Patterns - Identify strengths, interests, and contributions that have shown up consistently throughout your life and career.

3. Stop Minimizing What Comes Naturally - The things that feel easiest to you may be some of your greatest gifts—even if they seem ordinary.

4. Seek Objective Feedback - Use assessments, coaching, journaling, or trusted friends to help validate the patterns you may be overlooking.

5. Make One Small Alignment Adjustment - Choose one activity, project, or responsibility that better reflects your natural strengths and make space for more of it this month.

ABOUT SUZIE PRICE

Suzie Price is the founder of Priceless Professional Development, creator of the Wake Up Eager philosophy, and a TriMetrix expert who helps leaders and organizations align people, roles, and strengths to build high-commitment, low-drama workplaces and lives they can't wait to wake up to.

Smart leaders still make bad hires because they skip upfront clarity—failing to define observable success for the role—then rely on general interview questions and are swayed by likability/confidence. In this episode, your host Suzie Price, discusses the fixes.

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS

• 1. Define success first. Identify the observable, day-to-day behaviors the role requires before interviewing.

• 2. Anchor interviews to those priorities. Create behavioral questions tied to the top 3–5 Superior Performance Attributes.
• 3. Don't confuse likability with fit. Evaluate competence against the defined attributes, not just confidence or rapport.

KEY QUOTES

• - "Confidence is not competence, connection is not capability."
• - "Define what success looks like in this role five days a week, not in theory, not in a job posting, but in real observable behavior."
• - "Ask yourself, what are the top three to five things this person must do well every single day to be successful?"
• - "Good questions don't work if they're not anchored to something specific to your role at this time in this company, in your position, in your team."
• - "They slow down before they speed up."

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

• - Define 3–5 daily must-dos for the role (observable behaviors).
• - Build a simple scorecard with those attributes and 1–5 anchors.
• - Write 1–2 STAR behavioral questions per attribute and ask the same to all finalists.
• - Assign interviewers to evaluate specific attributes and use the scorecard in debriefs.
• - Add a short work-sample or situational task tied to the top attribute.
• - Create 30/60/90 outcomes linked to the attributes and review early.

ABOUT THE HOST

Suzie Price is the founder of Priceless Professional Development and host of the Wake Up Eager Workforce Podcast. For more than 20 years, she has helped leaders and organizations improve hiring, communication, and performance through the practical application of behavioral science, personal development, and the TriMetrix assessment suite.

Ep 147: Touching Heaven, Walking Earth

How 10 Minutes a Day Can Transform Your Life and Leadership

- If you're too busy to slow down, this conversation might be exactly what you need. How 10 minutes a day focused on your inner life can transform how you lead, live, and show up in the world.

Overview:

Ron Price discusses the importance of inner life and spiritual practices in leadership and personal growth. He emphasizes the significance of daily reflection, prayer, and activities like gratitude and acts of kindness. Ron's new book, "Touching Heaven, Walking Earth," explores the Lord's Prayer and offers a seven-week program for spiritual growth. He highlights the need for leaders to invest in their inner life, even if it's just 10 minutes a day, to enhance their clarity, peace, and purpose. Ron also shares personal anecdotes and practices, such as maintaining a gratitude list and praying for others, to illustrate the transformative power of inner work.

Top Takeaways From Episode 147:

• - Ron Price emphasizes the importance of nurturing one's inner life for effective leadership and personal growth.
• - Ron's new book, "Touching Heaven, Walking Earth," is a seven-week program based on the Lord's Prayer, aimed at fostering spiritual wellness and community connection.
• - The program includes daily activities such as gratitude lists, acts of kindness, creative expression, and connecting with others.
• - Ron advises setting aside at least 10 minutes daily for self-improvement and spiritual practice.
• - The book is designed for a wide audience, including skeptics, those seeking to reconnect with faith, and those wanting to grow spiritually or build community.
• - He encourages leaders to find activities that help them feel centered and to prioritize self-care to avoid burnout.

Key Quotes:

Ron Price – 00:00 - Ron, if you don't change and grow, you won't have the insights, wisdom and strength to be the best version of yourself for what's coming tomorrow.

Ron Price – 07:32 - you're the only person who can open it up.

Ron Price – 19:47 - 10 minutes a day can transform your life.

Ron Price - 46:32 – Relax. It's not all on your shoulders.

Ron Price - 47:53 – Be still and know.

Main Timestamps: 0:04:03 — Prioritize the inner life: carve daily time (start with 10 minutes) for reflection to improve leadership presence and resilience.

0:05:49 — COVID epiphany: proactively reinvest in inner growth so you're prepared for unexpected change.

0:06:14 — Build a habit: start small (10–30 minutes/day) and protect that time as your "circle of control."

0:16:43 — Use a structured short program: try a 7-week theme-based routine (3–4 pages or 10 minutes/day) to slow down and reflect.

0:18:09 — Daily micro-practices to adopt: listen to uplifting music, perform one act of kindness, do a short creative exercise, have a meaningful conversation, write 3 gratitudes, pray/reflect for someone, and rest.

0:20:24 — Morning routine template: gratitude list + brief reading (devotional/Bible/reflective text) + journaling + targeted prayer/intentions for the day.

0:27:54 — Practice forgiveness regularly: schedule or prompt daily/weekly reflections to release grudges and reduce emotional load.

0:31:59 — Define "preparedness" as centered presence: cultivate practices that keep you present, values-aligned, and focused rather than reactive.

0:33:20 — Find your "time stops" activity: identify one activity (music, exercise, nature, writing, art) that puts you in a flow state and schedule it weekly.

0:38:57 — Prevent burnout with rhythm: adopt micro-rests (daily) and periodic longer recovery (sabbatical or extended rest) before reaching crisis depletion.

0:41:53 — Invest in long-term wellbeing: use diagnostics and targeted self-care (sleep, nutrition, movement, medical/age metrics) to extend vitality and capacity.

0:46:01 — Leadership mindset shift: relax the "it's all on me" pressure—cooperate with your values/spirit rather than trying to control everything.

0:50:24 — Use a short shared practice to deepen team connection: run a short group reflection program (7 weeks / 10 min daily) to build empathy and honest conversations.