In a tech-driven world, can businesses stay human? Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff explore how to balance automation with genuine connection. From Chaplin to Spartacus, they explore resisting dehumanization, celebrating the human touch in business, and reclaiming creativity. They also reveal how to ensure technology elevates—rather than diminishes—your entrepreneurial spirit.

Show Notes:

Tech can empower or dehumanize. Confidence and human connection are crucial.

Customers crave real conversations, not automated prompts.

Knowing how to ask the right questions is an art form.

Real solutions that address people’s pain points require empathy and personal connection.

Layoffs aren't a sustainable path to success (or profitability).

Inflating profits by slashing costs is a short-sighted strategy that executives often resort to when preparing a company for sale.

The most interesting people are always the ones who defy conformity.

The U.S. founders aimed to create a society where individuals could thrive.

Prioritizing quality, service, and the human touch is a smart business plan.

Resources:

Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

Perplexity

Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam by Pope Brock

Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

Are the people on your team ready to step into any role if needed? If not, why not? Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff explore the "swing cast" concept, explaining how adaptable, cross-trained teams—like actors ready for any role—drive entrepreneurial success. Learn why prioritizing ample time off for team members and focusing on results builds a high-performing business.

Show Notes:

If you try to work continuously without taking time off to recharge, your overall productivity and performance will decline.

Most Strategic Coach team leaders have experience in multiple roles.

Team members can grow by volunteering for responsibilities beyond their initial job description.

People accustomed to working within large corporate structures may struggle in smaller, more agile entrepreneurial environments, which have fewer support systems in place.

Entrepreneurism is a “Results Economy,” not a “Time and Effort Economy.”

Selling is about getting a sale, not the time and effort you put in to get the sale.

Most entrepreneurial companies begin with the founder acting as the primary salesperson.

We can expect to see more people returning to the office, driven by our innate need for social interaction and connection.

If you want to build a great company culture, you need team members in the office.

Resources:

Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

What Free Days™ Are And How To Know When You Need Them

Give and Take by Adam Grant

Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®

Paying your team is a given, but the way you think about it can make a huge difference—for both them and you. If you see your team as just a cost, that mindset won’t get you far. But when you view your team as an investment, everything changes. Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff dive into why this shift in perspective will be transformative for your entire company.

Show Notes:

If you think of someone as a cost, you’ll communicate that to them.

If someone feels that they’re seen as a cost, they’re deprived of all their creativity.

Creative people compete with other creative people for attention.

If you’re on the receiving end of indifference, you feel taken for granted.

If you’re an owner and founder, your team members are always paying attention to what you say and how you behave.

If you let someone know you see them as a cost, you’ve lost most of their value as an investment.

Just because someone’s successful doesn’t mean working with them is a positive experience.

The top entrepreneurs are collaborative, not competitive.

Every entrepreneur is motivated by either status or growth.

Power is the ability to either produce change or prevent it.

Resources:

Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage

The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs

The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

Learn more about Jeffrey Madoff

Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach®