
Hosted by Scott Joseph · EN

A man who'd cycled twenty miles, total, decided to ride fourteen thousand across two continents, faster than anyone in history. He made it in 99 days, on skills you already have.In part two, Dean Stott hands you the playbook he used to rebuild four times. You'll learn why the traits that win in special forces, sport, and business are already in you, how to let the room speak before you do, why he refused a plan B on finishing but stayed flexible on the how, and the 70 percent rule for picking your next target. Part two of two. Pour a bourbon and settle in!What's inside, in the order it unfolds:The traits that carried over: humility, the pursuit of excellence, self-beliefHow belief actually gets built: proof, not pep talkYou're the figurehead, not the smartest person in the room: build the team around what you're notDecisions when everything's on fire: the hot debrief, reversing the plan, and the moving targetWhen the team breaks: managing egos on a missionFinding your next target with 70 percent of the informationThe fourth mountain: starting over in finance at 48Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)The traits that transfer: humility, excellence, self-belief (02:51)Belief built on proof: Benghazi and the Canadian embassy call (06:14)Why the traits are mirrored across sport, business, and the field (12:15)Dead or divorced: the conversation that started the ride (15:17)Finding a mission: the Pan-American ride and mental health (20:13)Not the smartest person in the room: build the team around what you're not (24:24)The room speaks before the commander (26:29)Making decisions when everything's on fire: the hot debrief (29:58)Reverse the plan: start where the pain is (31:18)Hit the target, move the target: 14 days ahead to one day behind (33:30)Scaling past yourself: teaching the team to make the call (38:05)When the team breaks: contracts, fresh eyes, and egos (39:05)Finding your next target: 70 percent of the information, then your gut (44:22)No plan B on whether, flexibility on how (47:43)The fourth mountain: into finance at 48 (53:05)Join Scott at the next Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat this October in Louisville, Kentucky.The first five people who go to meplusultra.com/BBC50 will receive 50% off their ticket to the Me Plus Ultra Leadership Retreat!Apply for the Me Plus Ultra Mastermind to connect with elite entrepreneurs who solve real problems together: https://MePlusUltra.comGrab Dean's book "Relentless": https://www.amazon.com/Relentless-Special-Operations-Record-Breaker/dp/1665725168Connect with Dean Stott:https://www.deanstott.comhttps://www.instagram.com/deanstotthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-stott-24725880https://www.facebook.com/deanstottsbshttps://x.com/deanstottsbsSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

The most dangerous day of your career isn't the day you fail. It's the day the mission that built you changes, ends, or quietly stops pulling you the way it used to.In this episode, Dean Stott walks you through the parachute accident that ended a 16-year Special Forces career he never planned to leave, what the first months were really like once the team, the resources, and the identity all went at once, and the single shift that turned it around. You'll learn why that lost feeling after a win, an exit, or a plateau is completely normal, why it has almost nothing to do with your capability, and the one move most people skip when everything changes. Part one of two. Pour a bourbon and settle in!Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00) Who Dean believed he was in the military (06:15) Why his exit was forced, not planned (06:47) From "rockstar with every asset" to "no longer of any use to us" (13:00) The parachute accident and the six-week limbo (13:34) Losing the physical edge that got him there (14:50) Why some veteran transitions are smooth and others turbulent (15:34) Finding a niche by not competing with his own friends (23:42) The move most people miss: cutting away from the old tribe (24:10) Did you lose your capabilities, or did you lose the target? (29:39) Rearview mirror vs. the windscreen (32:17)Join Scott at the next Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat, October 13-15, 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky.The first five people who go to meplusultra.com/BBC50 will receive 50% off their ticket to the Me Plus Ultra Leadership Retreat!Subscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHn Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra: https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/ https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/ https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJoseph https://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/ https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/ https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

That standard you're proudest of might be the very thing most made of you. Most of what you call standards aren't built into your business. They're built into you. They live in your head, they run on you being there to catch what everyone else misses, and the day you step away, they're gone.You'll learn the three-week test that separates a real standard from a fake one, why your people aren't the problem when things slip, and how to make one standard observable, teachable, and inspectable so it holds without you. Pick the one you keep catching and build it this quarter!Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)The three-week test for a real standard (00:34)Standard or non-negotiable, it's the same bar (00:57)When the standard is you, that's a bottleneck (02:25)The contractor who bragged about the wrong standard (03:54)"I thought that was just how you like things" (06:51)Why his people got confused, not worse (08:04)Test #1: is it observable? (10:39)Test #2: is it teachable? (12:37)Test #3: is it inspectable? (14:18)The Friday inspection that made it real (15:19)How to build your one standard this quarter (16:15)Why a clear bar keeps your best people (18:38)The BB&C Leadership Retreat offer (19:40)Join Scott at the next Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat, October 13-15, 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky.The first five people who go to https://MePlusUltra.com/bbc50 will receive 50% off their ticket to the Me Plus Ultra Leadership Retreat!Apply for the Me Plus Ultra Mastermind to connect with elite entrepreneurs who solve real problems together: https://MePlusUltra.comSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Count the ways you're chasing new business right now. Referrals, ads, emails, the newsletter you started and stopped. Now the harder question. How many are actually finished? Running isn't finished. A thing that's running can still be losing you money and you'd never know it.You'll learn how to pick the one channel your numbers already point to, what finishing it really takes, and when you've earned the next one. You'll hear how a $4M caterer killed six lead sources, built the one already working, and made his new business boring. And boring is the most beautiful word there is!Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)Running isn't finished, and what that's costing you (00:30)You don't have a lead problem, you have a seven-things-running problem (01:47)What Scott got wrong for years at J&L Marketing (03:11)Tony's catering company and the feast-or-famine whiplash (04:33)Where his last 20 corporate accounts actually came from (07:04)The hard call: killing six lead sources to build one (07:37)How Tony built the referral channel into seven streams (08:54)Why predictable beats exciting, and boring wins (10:45)Level one: get the channel running without you (14:17)Level two: five to seven streams feeding one channel (15:39)Level three: tune each stream and turn the dials (18:38)What predictable new business actually buys you (19:24)Turn challenges into measurable results with the FREE Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat Workbook: http://meplusultra.com/workbookSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Eighteen months from now, your business will need a different person in your chair. Not a harder-working version of you. A different one, good at the decisions you're avoiding today.In this episode, you'll write the job description for the owner your business will need before a crisis hands it to you: define the role by what it decides and what it puts down, block the time before you can fill it, and turn your one missing skill into a project with a teacher and a deadline. You'll walk out with something to build, not a list of what's wrong!Topics discussed:The person your business will need in 18 months (00:00)Why most leaders meet that person the hard way (00:41)Meet Dana: "who does the business need me to be?" (04:08)The job description for a $35 million version of her company (05:47)How Dana built the calendar and the skill before she was ready (06:45)Move #1: define the role by what it decides, not its title (10:09)Move #2: put the role on your calendar before you can fill it (11:47)Move #3: turn the missing skill into a project, not a hope (13:23)Why the real build is getting deliberately worse at your best skill (14:46)The weekly discipline and the 90-day question (15:32)Read the job description on purpose, before a crisis hands it to you (17:03)Apply for the Me Plus Ultra Mastermind to connect with elite entrepreneurs who solve real problems together: https://MePlusUltra.com/hotseatSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Think about your last truly bad day in business, the kind where something broke that you never saw coming. Who did you actually call? Most owners have a phone full of contacts and almost nobody they can reach when it really counts.You'll learn how to build your own board of five people before you ever need them: who belongs in each seat and why most owners pick wrong, the small, specific ask that earns a yes, and the light cadence that keeps the line warm. Build it while nothing's wrong, because the day you need it is the one day you can't!Topics discussed:The last bad day you didn't see coming (00:00)Why you build the table before you need it (03:12)How the "fourth box" started over a bourbon and a cigar (05:13)The introduction worth more than the advice (07:30)Move #1: selection — five seats by function, not friendship (09:40)Move #2: the small, specific, give-first ask (13:13)Move #3: cadence — keeping the line warm (15:44)The best time to build is when nothing's wrong (18:16)Claim 50% off your seat at the next Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat, October 14–16, 2026 in Louisville, KY: https://meplusultra.com/BBC50Apply for the Me Plus Ultra Mastermind to connect with elite entrepreneurs who solve real problems together: https://MePlusUltra.comSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

The most expensive document in your company isn't your lease or your payroll. It's your to-do list. You can close every item on it and end the year with a business that's less broken, but not one dollar more valuable.You'll learn the difference between the fix-it list that runs your week and the build list that changes what your company is actually worth. Scott gives you three filters for choosing the one thing worth building this quarter, the discipline to protect it, and permission to let a few things stay broken for 90 days!Topics discussed:The most expensive document in your company (00:00)Less broken, but not a dollar more valuable (01:10)The best year that added zero value (03:46)The fix-it list vs. the build list (07:32)The most respectable hiding place in business (13:05)Three filters: compounding, constraint, ownership (13:56)One protected construction block a week (18:30)Permission to stay broken for 90 days (20:10)What are you actually building this quarter? (21:22)Turn challenges into measurable results with the FREE Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat Workbook: http://meplusultra.com/workbookApply for the Me Plus Ultra Mastermind to connect with elite entrepreneurs who solve real problems together: https://MePlusUltra.comSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Your most expensive asset isn't your top client or your best hire. It's the quality of thinking you bring to every decision. And most leaders are giving that away for free before 9am.In this episode, you'll learn the three shifts that happen when leaders protect their highest-quality thinking time: decisions made from your sharpest position instead of your most depleted one, a team that builds real judgment because you stopped being constantly available, and energy that compounds instead of degrades. Thinking time isn't a luxury. It's an operating asset!Topics discussed:What three uninterrupted hours would change in your business (00:00)The strategy gap is really a think gap (00:30)A Costa Rica phone call you weren't expecting (02:21)Why protected thinking time is an operating decision, not a personal indulgence (05:15)Michael Poro's three words: simple gets done (05:40)Shift #1: decisions made from your sharpest position, not your most depleted one (06:51)Shift #2: your team gets stronger because you stop being always available (09:12)Shift #3: your energy compounds instead of depletes (11:00)The 90-day question worth sitting with (15:30)Turn challenges into measurable results with the FREE Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat Workbook! http://meplusultra.com/workbookSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Revenue tells you how your quarter performed. Legacy tells you why it was worth building at all. Two businesses are being built inside yours right now: the P&L you're tracking, and the second story being built whether you watch it or not.In this episode, you'll learn the four operational moves that build something lasting: defining what your name will mean before the market does, investing in relationships with no visible ROI, holding a standard you'd keep even without an exit, and letting people see what you actually value. Exit and legacy reinforce each other!Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)The two businesses being built inside yours (01:12)Revenue tells you "how"; legacy tells you "why" (07:00)Move #1: decide what your name will mean before the market does (07:26)Move #2: invest in relationships with no visible ROI (09:05)Move #3: hold a standard you'd keep even without an exit (10:42)Move #4: let people see what you actually value (13:33)The Giving Hope gala — what consistency produces over time (14:51)The October BBC Leadership Retreat in Louisville (16:19)Join Scott at the next Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat, October 13–15, 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky. Visit meplusultra.com/bbc50 for 50% off your ticket.Subscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

That key seat you keep hiring around? The one where the right person feels too expensive or too far out of reach? It's costing you more than the salary ever would.In this episode, Scott Joseph tells the story of a Starbucks conversation that turned one underperforming dealership into 19 stores and a multiple-nine-figure exit. You'll learn how to name the single role that changes your math, how to hire for where you're going instead of where you sit today, and how to protect that hire long enough to let it compound!Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)The Starbucks coffee that became a nine-figure exit (01:29)The friend, the dealership, and the one piece of advice (02:28)From 90 units to 900: what the right operator made possible (04:58)Hire for the business you're building, not the one you have (06:46)Principle #1: name the single role with disproportionate return (07:39)Principle #2: hire for where you're going, not where you are (09:07)Principle #3: give them the authority their responsibility requires (12:09)Principle #4: protect the relationship for the compounding to show up (14:01)The two questions every leader should sit with right now (16:58)Claim 50% off your seat at the next Business Bourbon & Cigars Leadership Retreat, October 13–15, 2026 in Louisville, KY: https://meplusultra.com/BBC50Apply for the Me Plus Ultra Mastermind to connect with elite entrepreneurs who solve real problems together: https://MePlusUltra.comSubscribe so you don't miss any episodes:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3SN2fHnSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/74bfJL9J2fjevQEvi17ekUYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MePlusUltraNetwork/Connect with Me Plus Ultra:https://www.instagram.com/me_plus_ultra/https://www.facebook.com/MePlusUltra/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1011061052968028/https://x.com/Me_Plus_Ultra/Connect with Scott Joseph:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ScottJosephhttps://www.instagram.com/scotttjoseph/https://www.facebook.com/ScottTJoseph/https://x.com/ScottTJoseph1This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com