True Grit with Craig Kautsch

Do you ever avoid conflict? The truth is, there is a price to pay!  This week’s guest is Matthew McDonald who is a conflict expert...more specifically a guy that knows how to keep the peace!  

Prior to founding Peacekeeper Works LLC, Matthew practiced law for 25+ years handling litigation of all kinds including employment, insurance, and business-related matters.  

As we all know...the costs of conflict are real–attorneys fees, litigation expenses, employee turnover, and broken relationships.  Unresolved conflict is corrosive. It consumes time, energy, and resources better spent elsewhere. Yet conflict is universal….and the good news is Matthew has a dynamic perspective on all of it!

He’s a father of 4 boys with one in heaven and has been married to his wife Alicia for 34 yrs

Listen in while I deconstruct the nuances of conflict and tease out some strategies we can apply to our businesses.

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher
Peacekeeper Works

Want to know why entrepreneurs get stuck?  Get some useful pearls of wisdom from this week’s guest, Randy Gideon!  

Randy is the founding principal of Gideon Toal.  For the past 30 years, he’s had a broad-ranging mission to provide project oversight for architecture, management, master planning, and interior design projects. His cluster of companies have employed 100s people and are involved in projects that add up to between 2-300million annually.  

He’s an award-winning architect and was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. He has served on the board of several prominent civic organizations including Downtown Fort Worth, Inc., Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and Streams and Valleys, Inc. and was President of the Texas Society of Architects. He’s been married to his wife Beth for 27 years and has been an inspiration and mentor to me over the years.


Useful Links:
Gideon Toal Management Services
Bad Blood by John Carreyou
The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli

She was fired from her job and promptly started a female-led biotech company that was launched by winning 50k in a pitch contest.  

My next guest is Elyse Dickerson who is CEO and Co-Founder of Eosera, a biotech company committed to developing innovative products that address underserved healthcare needs. 

Among Eosera’s numerous industry awards, Elyse herself has won many accolades for her leadership and service. Most recently, in 2019, Drug Store News named Elyse the Top Women in Health, Wellness, and Beauty. D CEO awarded Elyse with the honor of being on the 2019 Dallas 500 list and named her Most Admired CEO, and Fort Worth Business Press presented Elyse with the title of the Great Women of Texas. Fort Worth Magazine named Elyse Fort Worthian to Watch, and FW Inc named her Top 400 Most Influential People. Elyse is also a polished public speaker and gives inspiring presentations to large groups around the world. In addition, Elyse authors many articles related to business, including being a Forbes contributor. 

Elyse has over two decades of experience leading teams in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. She managed portfolios with annual revenues of $1.7 Billion and drives product innovation and the commercialization of numerous technologies across the globe.

Prior to co-founding Eosera, Elyse spent over a decade at Alcon, where, as Global Director, she set the near and long-term global strategic vision for the Anti-Infective, Otic, Dry Eye, and Ocular Nutrition franchises. At Alcon, Elyse launched new products globally and consistently grew sales year over year.  

Elyse holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at SMU. 

Listen in while I deconstruct the incredible journey of fortitude and determination.  Learn about the tools she used to build her company despite the uphill battle.

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
Eosera
Trailblazer by Marc Benioff
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
How Remarkable Women Lead by Joanna Barsh

Ever heard of a businesstry? Me neither...Imagine creating a not-for-profit that doesn’t depend on donations!  This episode will teach you some very useful ideas that will open your eyes to new ways of making a difference in the world.

This week’s guest is Stan Dobbs who has a rare combination of an entrepreneurial spirit and a heart to advance the cause of Christ through what he calls the Gospel Shot Clock.  Stan has founded several awesome businesstries such as Apartment Life and his more recent venture the Lionheart Children’s Academy.  

He’s beaten back a terminal cancer diagnosis and has completed an Ironman!  Stan and I became fast friends and had a dynamic conversation that spanned a wide range of meaningful topics that will help you grow your business and increase your joy!

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
Apartment Life
Lionheart Academy
Author John Polkinghorne

Attention all Wonder Women!  

You’re gonna love this interview!  My next guest is Penny Johnson who is the CEO of Hugeley Hospital and the SW region of Advent Health. She oversees a 500mm budget and 3,000 employees which includes over 300 doctors. 

WOAH!  

The Adventist Health System is comprised of 44 hospital campuses including the 234k/sf 6 story campus just South of town.  So Penny knows a thing or two about culture and leadership.  Listen in while I tease out some awesome nuggets about leadership and hospital finance.  

She is a great example of how you can be a mom and wife AND lead a gigantic organization.

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
Hugeley Hospital
The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean
Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown

Listen in while I tease out some useful strategies to live your best life and scale your business. 

This week’s guest is John Pergande.  John has quite a resume starting out delivering papers in Green Bay to Graduating from Yale in 1985 where he was on the rowing team. He moved on to get his MBA from Northwestern University in ‘91 (the year I graduated from high school) 

He cut his teeth trading on the NYFE and the Chicago Futures Exchange then bought his first company in his mid-thirties and promptly sold it for a healthy profit.  He used the cash to launch his current business InsureZone which provides a cornucopia of services to insurance agents and brokers.  

He has grown InsureZone to over 45k users over the past 20 years.  John has been married for 30 years and has raised and launched 3 boys…

Buckle up and enjoy this cool wide-ranging conversation with John Pergande!

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
InsureZone
Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

Do you hate procrastination as much as I do?  Self-hypnosis is the quickest way to get out of your own way. Thanks to Chris Thompson I’m getting amazing results by folding hypnosis techniques into my daily meditation practice.

Chris is an entrepreneur, professional hypnotist, and hypnosis trainer. Although formally educated in engineering and finance, Chris left the corporate world to work alongside his best friend and hypnosis mentor, Mike Mandel, as the co-founder and co-trainer of Mike Mandel Hypnosis. Chris is widely recognized as one of the top business minds in the field of hypnosis.

MMH has over 10k clients and is the fastest-growing Hypnosis training company in the world!

I’ve been a non-stop student of their work since the beginning of this year and I wanted to introduce you to some new ideas about how to grow personally and professionally through some out of box techniques.  Techniques that I’ve been using to intensify some of my better qualities and overcome some less than awesome behaviors that I want to get rid of.

Enjoy our interview as we explore the possibilities of hypnosis.

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
Mike Mandel Hypnosis
Connect with Chris on Facebook!
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

As a well-off middle-aged white guy, I often find myself at a loss.  A little stuck as it relates to the racial tension in the world.  In this week’s episode, I get to ask some awkward questions to an expert on the subject.  Dante Williams is the Founder of CommUnity Frontline a non-profit who serves the black community and brings awareness to many of our racial issues.

As a youth growing up in Fort Worth, Dante and his family lived all over the city.

Because he was the son of a single teen mom, he and his family experienced many of the same hardships that others in our overlooked communities deal with today. Although his mother worked hard to provide and instill core values in her children, tough times came still. From the loss of a sister, at birth and witnessing the hit and run accident, that ultimately took the life of his younger brother. These and other events fueled his passion for ensuring that the community knows that there are men that are willing to enter into and help alleviate the things our communities suffer from.

Listen in as Dante and I have an open and honest discussion about race, leadership, religion, and our varied views of Black Lives Matter.

Note: Dante is a successful entrepreneur and the proud Owner of DIG Contracting 

DIG Contracting is a general contractor and owner representative specializing in commercial construction for over 15 years.

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
Manhood Restored by Eric Mason
DIG Contracting
CommUnity Frontline

We all need a therapist... If you don’t have one you’ll probably be fine...but you will be slower. Slower to grow, slower to understand, slower to succeed.  This week’s guest is Lee Long.  He’s been the main catalyst to my growth in the past 5 years.  I’ve spent hundreds of hours with this man and it has changed my life.  We touch on a wide variety of topics including business, marriage, depression, and endurance running. You’ll get the inside scoop on why 3rd party help has expedited all things valuable in my life.

With over twenty years of clinical experience, Lee has worked with many adults, couples, adolescents, and families. His experiences range from working with adolescents in juvenile detention programs, Counseling Director of a residential treatment program, psychiatric hospitals, and private practice.

Lee works with individuals who deal with addictions, mental health issues, relational struggles within the family, and more. He helps families re-establish relationships and married couples rekindle their love and commitment.

Lee is a Licensed Professional Counselor and supervisor in the state of Texas. He is certified in Cognitive Behavioral Analysis Systems of Psychotherapy (CBASP), an evidence-based approach, developed by Dr. James McCullough, to treat chronic depression. He is also intensively trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Lee is currently completing his doctorate in counseling with an emphasis in traumatology. His dissertation involves Cognitive Behavioral Analysis Systems of Psychotherapy and why it is effective.

He’s an avid runner and has run 8 marathons and a couple of ultras and actually did a 50k on a Woodway treadmill.

Useful Links:
Restoration Counseling
The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller
Parenting With Love And Logic by Foster Cline

GSD stands for “Get Shit Done”. It’s one of my favorite aspects about my next guest. He recently ran over 400 5k’s in a row and lost 50 lbs. He’s a cyclist, real estate investor, aircraft mechanic, prior military, race car builder and overall community builder!  

Eric Daniels has reinvented himself before my very eyes. I’ve become great friends with him in the past few years and even spent a week with him hiking almost 100 miles on the Appalachian Trail last summer. He started his career in FW as an engineer at Lockheed Martin leading a team of other engineers in designing the leading edge of the F-35. One of the most hi-tech jets in the world. 

But then He found himself at a crossroads in his life and decided to set aside the scientific calculator and join the crazy world of Real Estate. In just a few short years he has figured out how to become an elite level realtor and still be a great dad and husband.  Eric has an incredible mind and I was able to uncover what makes him tick.

Useful Links and Book Mentions:
Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
The Go Giver by Bob Burg