What military strategies and tactics can business leaders leverage to position their companies for success?

In this episode, Rich sits down with four-star General Robert Brown, President and CEO of the Association of the United States Army. General Brown is an experienced commander who has led at every level, from platoon through Army Service Component Command, leading a group of over 100,000 soldiers.

In this conversation, he discusses military strategy and best practices for navigating the modern Fog of War, sharing his insights on red teaming, after action reviews, and leadership principles.

---------

“Too much information has become the fog of war. It used to be not enough. Now it's too much… Now you've got to look through haystacks of information, thousands of haystacks of information, to try to find that golden needle in the haystack that will help you make a decision.”

“ I've seen somebody say to me: ‘Here’s my strategy, it’s 15 pages.’ And it's like, hey, it's gonna fail, You might as well stop. Start again. Can't be 15. Nobody's gonna read it.”

“ The key is creating a learning environment where people want to learn and that after action review helps you learn and overcome those issues that may be buried if you didn't pull them out. It's like pulling a band aid off. You can't be thin skinned. Sometimes it's tough.”

Practice Makes Profit: Increasing team velocity through a decision inventory.

League of Strategic Minds [listener question]:   What's the best way to tell if someone is strategic?

Winsights: Ideas for Advantage:    Sun Tzu, the Chinese general and philosopher, wrote, “Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.” Are you and your team repeating the same tactics year after year and expecting some type of miraculous change?  Carve out time to think strategically about the changes in your market and with your customers. Stop procrastinating and start innovating.

--------

(00:00) Deep Dive Interview with General Brown

(54:57) Practice Makes Profit

(56:17) League of Strategic Minds

(57:31) Winsights, Ideas for Advantage

---------

Links:

Submit a question for Rich to the League of Strategic Minds: https://www.strategyskills.com/strategic-minds-podcast/

General Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-brooks-brown-1981usma/

AUSA.org: https://www.ausa.org/

Strategic Quotients Assessment: https://www.strategyskills.com/strategic-quotient-assessment/

Rich Horwath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richhorwath/

Rich Horwath on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RichHorwath

Rich Horwath on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richhorwathceo/

Strategic Thinking Institute Website: https://www.strategyskills.com/

Inc. Magazine’s Top 4 book for 2024: STRATEGIC Book: https://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Direction-Advantage-Executive-Excellence/dp/1394215339

New executive development platform: Strategic Fitness System: http://www.Strategic-Fitness-System.com
Sign up for Rich’s free Strategic Thinker Newsletter: https://www.strategyskills.com/subscribe/

[Subscribe to the Podcast]
On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategic-minds/id1748877976

On Spotify

: https://open.spotify.com/show/57wbZTtLJhznc4OBCe0OE6?si=c2c74bbb9b4340e0&nd=1&dlsi=f9d56ce5aafd4941

What are the business techniques leaders can learn from a Chess Master CEO and how should they be thinking about the future of AI?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Alan Trefler, a chess master and the Founder and CEO of Pegaystems, the Enterprise Transformation Company that helps organizations Build for Change® with enterprise AI decisioning and workflow automation. Alan has earned multiple patents and overseen the expansion of Pega from start-up to a $1.3+ billion, global, public company with about 6,000 employees.

In this episode, he discusses the lessons he has taken from chess into business, and how he thinks companies should be strategically thinking about AI.

---------

“The chess master will look and identify a set of candidates. They don't just stare at the position and magically figure out what to do. They say, ‘hey, here are three, four, five things that appear to be credible alternatives’ and then very methodically dig through them to figure out which might be the best one or what the holes are.”

“In the four decades of Pega’s existence, we've done five complete technology shifts….

And every single one of those encompass the risk of doing something that was materially different. And there's always risk when you're doing something the first time, or you're doing something that is hard. Ultimately I think evaluating those risks is key, but you also need to think about the risk of not making a change.”

“If you think of AI as an accelerant, as a way to, for example, tell you something about your business that you should make better and then you have the chance with your team to weigh in and don't necessarily do what the AI is telling you, but use the AI as a stimulus. Boy, you can use the AI as it exists now, and it can profoundly change the way a business works.”

Practice Makes Profit: Increasing productivity and efficiency by scoring and categorizing your interactions.

League of Strategic Minds [listener question]:  What are the keys to running a good strategy offsite meeting?

Winsights: Ideas for Advantage:  Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, said, “When the rate of change inside a company is slower than the rate of change outside, the end is in sight. The only question is when.” Are you and your team making changes internally in your thinking, processes, resource allocation, and structure each and every quarter?

--------

(00:44) Deep Dive Interview with Alan Trefler

(43:50 Practice Makes Profit

(45:48) League of Strategic Minds

(48:27) Winsights, Ideas for Advantage

---------

Links:

Submit a question for Rich to the League of Strategic Minds: https://www.strategyskills.com/strategic-minds-podcast/

Alan Trefler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alantrefler/

Pegasystems: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pegasystems/

Rich Horwath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richhorwath/

Rich Horwath on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RichHorwath

Rich Horwath on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richhorwathceo/

Strategic Thinking Institute Website: https://www.strategyskills.com/

Inc. Magazine’s Top 4 book for 2024: STRATEGIC Book: https://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Direction-Advantage-Executive-Excellence/dp/1394215339

New executive development platform: Strategic Fitness System: http://www.Strategic-Fitness-System.com
Sign up for Rich’s free Strategic Thinker Newsletter: https://www.strategyskills.com/subscribe/

[Subscribe to the Podcast]
On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategic-minds/id1748877976

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/57wbZTtLJhznc4OBCe0OE6?si=c2c74bbb9b4340e0&nd=1&dlsi=f9d56ce5aafd4941

How can you use the principles of neurosurgery to maximize your leadership performance?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Dr. Theodore Schwartz, a pioneering neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine, known for developing minimally invasive techniques for brain tumor and epilepsy surgery.

Dr. Schwartz explores the mental and physical preparation required for surgery, navigating the challenge of making hundreds of cascading decisions and cultivating the personal resilience needed to persevere in such a high stakes environment.

---------

“I often say to the residents when we're operating, ‘Don't forget to listen to the tumor.’ And they're like, ‘What do you mean?’ I'm like, ‘You have to listen to the tumor. The tumor is telling you where it's going to hold on and where it's going to let you go. And you can't always impose your will on the tumor, but you have to listen to it and see what it's telling you, and react to that to change your plan.’ So you have to be receptive to the information coming in in order to create the most productive plan to move forward.”

“Although we erect a certain amount of emotional armor to deal when things go wrong, you then have to also be very, very sensitive and be able to let down that armor and be a human being.”

“And the question is, how do you put yourself in that mental space and in that physical space to function at a hundred percent, literally three days a week, I'm operating, you know, 48 weeks a year. Going on 25 years, right? I mean, it's just, it's relentless. It's every day. You have to show up because you have to be there for your patient.”

Practice Makes Profit: Assessing competition using the competitive landscape framework.

League of Strategic Minds [listener question]: What's the best way to communicate strategy?

Winsights: Ideas for Advantage: Sarah Blakely, self made billionaire and CEO of Spanx said, “Insights are gifts from the universe. Every time I have them, I capture them right away. The more that you write them down and pay attention to them, the stronger that the gift and the connection will become.” Where are you recording your insights and how often are you reviewing these insights to transform them into new value?

--------

(00:40) Deep Dive Interview with Dr. Ted Schwartz

(045:42) Practice Makes Profit

(47:22) League of Strategic Minds

(49:21) Winsights, Ideas for Advantage

---------

Links:

Submit a question for Rich to the League of Strategic Minds

Theodore Schwartz on LinkedIn

Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery

Rich Horwath on LinkedIn

Rich Horwath on YouTube

Rich Horwath on Instagram

Strategic Thinking Institute Website

Inc. Magazine’s Top 4 book for 2024: STRATEGIC Book

New executive development platform: Strategic Fitness System
Sign up for Rich’s free Strategic Thinker Newsletter

[Subscribe to the Podcast]
On Apple Podcasts

On Spotify

What does it take to scale a business for sustained success?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts, a unique membership program for RVers offering stays at over 5,000 locations.

Joel shares his entrepreneurial journey founding and growing Storyblocks into a nine-figure business, culminating in a successful sale to a private equity firm. He dives into the real challenges of starting a company, from nailing the perfect product-market fit to scaling. Joel details his experience jumping domains from a tech startup to scaling Harvest Hosts in the hospitality travel space through leadership, listening, and learning.

---------

“Any action is more powerful than inaction.”

“The simplest way to run a good company is hire great people.”

“A lot of times the answers exist either with your customers or your team members. They already know the answer. You just have to find it.”

“So when you're starting from zero, you've got to create brand awareness. You've got to convince people, ‘This isn't too good to be true. Trust us, give us a shot.’ All those things go into product market fit. So it's frustrating because just having the best product for the best price doesn't necessarily get you the fit. And so you start to learn that brand is important.”

Practice Makes Profit: Using the Business Model Innovation Framework to think about how your business needs to evolve to remain relevant in your market.

League of Strategic Minds [listener question]: What's the most important skill for a leader to possess?

Winsights: Ideas for Advantage: Warren Buffett. Billionaire investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.” What have you said no to in the past month that's enabled you to work with greater focus and precision?

--------

(00:41) Deep Dive Interview with Joel Holland

(46:28) Practice Makes Profit

(49:44) League of Strategic Minds

(50:41) Winsights, Ideas for Advantage

---------

Links:

Submit a question for Rich to the League of Strategic Minds

Joel Holland on LinkedIn

Harvest Hosts

Rich Horwath on LinkedIn

Rich Horwath on YouTube

Rich Horwath on Instagram

Strategic Thinking Institute Website

Inc. Magazine’s Top 4 book for 2024: STRATEGIC Book

New executive development platform: Strategic Fitness System
Sign up for Rich’s free Strategic Thinker Newsletter

[Subscribe to the Podcast]
On Apple Podcasts

On Spotify

How can you guide the growth of your people into a competitive advantage?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Tami Wolownik, Head of People & Organization at Siemens Mobility, where she leads the HR function for 4,000 employees.

Tami discusses one of the biggest strategic resources for any company: talent. She shares practical advice on how to help people create a skills-based future, improve performance management through Growth Talks, and enhance succession planning through Talent Spotlights. She also discusses aligning functional goals with corporate goals and her approach to leadership development throughout the organization.

---------

“I will tend to block portions of my schedule in the morning for what I call impactful thinking. When I know there's two or three different projects that I'm working on, or that I need to get with the team on and I need to do some advanced planning, advanced thinking, I'm going to block my schedule.”

“You have to have leaders who understand that they don't have to be the smartest person in the room.”

“You should be open to constructive feedback if it's coming from someone who has your back.”

“Leaders have to truly empower employees and not only empower, leaders have to rely on employees. And if the leaders get that up front, that they do need those employees, they need their ideas, they need their input, they can't generate everything that has to come out of their department or their group on their own, as soon as they understand that and decide to tap into that, they will be an effective leader.”

Practice Makes Profit: Completing the time assessment at the end of each quarter to see if you're happy with where your time's being spent relative to your priorities.

League of Strategic Minds [listener question]: What are the key areas to cover in a strategic plan?

Winsights: Ideas for Advantage:

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple said, “We want ideas coming from all 100,000 people, not just five or three. A much smaller number of people have to decide and edit and move forward, but we want ideas coming from everywhere.” What channels have you set up to enable your people to share their insights on a regular basis?

--------

(00:48) Deep Dive Interview with Tami Wolownik

(49:18) Practice Makes Profit

(51:13) League of Strategic Minds

(53:18) Winsights, Ideas for Advantage

---------

Links:

Submit a question for Rich to the League of Strategic Minds

Tami Wolownik on LinkedIn

Rich Horwath on LinkedIn

Rich Horwath on YouTube

Rich Horwath on Instagram

Strategic Thinking Institute Website

Inc. Magazine’s Top 4 book for 2024: STRATEGIC Book

New executive development platform: Strategic Fitness System
Sign up for Rich’s free Strategic Thinker Newsletter

[Subscribe to the Podcast]
On Apple Podcasts

On Spotify

How can you drive disruptive innovation and gain competitive advantage in a highly-regulated industry?

In this episode, Rich sits down with Dennis Devine, President and CEO of Alliant Credit Union, one of the largest and fastest-growing credit unions in the United States. Dennis explores how to design differentiated strategies that disrupt industry norms, build a member-centric culture, leverage data for innovation, and form strategic partnerships. He also shares how he thinks in three time horizons and ensures that every leader on the team is an effective risk manager.

---------

“Almost no organization is big enough to try to be everything to everyone, and as soon as you try to do that, and you're unwilling to make those trade-offs, you lose the opportunity to be distinctive in the areas that you can be distinctive.”

“There's no value in just looking busy and just doing the busy work. There is value in having the big idea or leading the significant effort.”

“It's important that every leader in a high-performing organization, I think, be a risk manager and think that's part of their role.”

Practice Makes Profit: Using the strategic fitness system as a way for leaders to practice the skills that are fundamental to success.

League of Strategic Minds [listener question]: Is SWOT analysis still a valuable strategic planning framework?

Winsights: Ideas for Advantage: “Michael Porter, Professor at Harvard Business School, wrote, “There is no best auto company. There is no best car. You're competing to be unique. Consider your people, their competencies, capabilities, and company offerings. What's unique and are you leveraging those areas of uniqueness into competitive advantage?”

--------

(00:41) Deep Dive Interview with Dennis Devine

(42:29) Practice Makes Profit

(45:30) League of Strategic Minds

(47:30) Winsights, Ideas for Advantage

---------

Links:

Submit a question for Rich to the League of Strategic Minds

Dennis Devine on LinkedIn

Alliant Credit Union Website

Rich Horwath on LinkedIn

Rich Horwath on YouTube

Rich Horwath on Instagram

Strategic Thinking Institute Website

Inc. Magazine’s Top 4 book for 2024: STRATEGIC Book

New executive development platform: Strategic Fitness System
Sign up for Rich’s free Strategic Thinker Newsletter

[Subscribe to the Podcast]
On Apple Podcasts

On Spotify