
Hosted by Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach and Gord Vickman · EN

Statistics show that there’s no shortage of people pitching their expertise and services, but no one’s really paying attention to them. Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman explain why so many pitches are getting ignored and how to actually engage with the people you’re talking to. Show Notes: We can only truly pay attention to only one thing at a time. Instead of thinking about a marketplace, focus on relationships. Our eyes only see and our ears only hear what our brain is looking for. People who work in highly competitive organizations often keep their future aspirations a secret. The more technological the communications become, the greater the technological reach. People have developed pitch filters, as well as content and entertainment filters. There's a crisis growing in the technological and marketing worlds where it’s taking more effort and more money to not get a result. Having questions that get another person to think about their future is 100 times more powerful than any answer you could give them about their future. Resources: Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan Article: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs Walter Payton Anything And Everything Podcast with Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

Join us for a rewind of one of our most popular episodes. Believe it or not, podcasting has now been around for over two decades. Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman take you back through the history, helping you see where your own story fits in. You’ll hear where podcasting is headed and learn the art of having compelling conversations that make people laugh, think, question, and always come back for more. In This Episode:The first podcast was published in 2003 via RSS, marking the beginning of the era.Podcasting allows for a more intimate connection with listeners, creating a loyal and supportive audience.The greatest compliment you can pay anyone in broadcasting is, “I feel like I know you.”Podcasting is a relationship-building medium. You don’t have to sell anything if you don’t want to.AI-powered capabilities are only going to increase and expand, making the medium more accessible to everyone.Podcast listeners count on two things: they want to learn something new, and they want to be entertained.Giving away free content in podcasts can inspire listeners to investigate your company and write a check.Even a 20-year-old podcast is new to someone coming across it for the first time.With podcasting, everyone who’s listening to you made the choice to listen to you. They’re there because they want to be. Resources: The first podcast everDan’s first podcast ever with Joe PolishI Love Marketing Podcast with Joe Polish and Dean JacksonOpen Source podcast with Christopher LydonChris Voss, author of Never Split The Difference and former FBI hostage negotiatorThe Strategic Podcast Network™

In a world of misinformation and deep fakes, an entrepreneur who is selling based on trust is a beacon of light. Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman let entrepreneurs in on a timeless system for becoming a source of truth. Show Notes: In every interaction, part of the human brain is quietly assessing whether someone can be trusted. At its core, marketing is about presenting something that feels credible and valuable enough for people to quickly say yes. The more self-awareness you have, the easier it becomes to understand others and relate to them. Trust matters because it creates predictability. When we trust, we can better anticipate outcomes and decisions. Our sense of knowledge is built from countless small facts that gradually come together into a larger understanding. With the rise of deepfakes, we can no longer rely on our senses the way we once did—seeing is no longer believing. A simple rule that always holds: create value before you ask for anything in return. Education doesn’t stop at school. Life continuously adds new layers to who you are as a unique individual. The most important story you tell is the one about yourself. It’s through how you act, react, and show up in different situations. Resources: Primal Intelligence by Angus Fletcher

Are your most ambitious years behind you, or still ahead? Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman explain The Six-Year Framework™ from Dan’s latest book, Always More Ambitious, and share why recent capabilities are the best fuel for your future. They also discuss how to stay smart in a distracted world so teamwork and technology keep you calm, creative, and increasingly ambitious at every age. Show Notes: The Six-Year Framework keeps you focused on three years of recent achievements and three years of future growth. There’s a direct connection between capability and ambition: expanding one naturally expands the other. The real fuel for your next jump isn’t more goals—it’s taking your strongest capabilities and deciding where you want them to go next. Teamwork and technology are the two biggest multipliers behind entrepreneurs’ best decades. Pairing your smartest past decisions with your most exciting new possibilities makes the future feel bigger and more achievable overnight. A fixed six-year window gives you a clear sense of progress instead of the stress of chasing a constantly moving goalpost. Entrepreneurs need to resist getting lost in new tech and instead let their team find and build the right tools. Deciding that your later decades will be your most ambitious changes how you use every year between now and then. Resources:Always More Ambitious by Dan Sullivan Perplexity Shannon Waller’s Team Success podcast The Strategic Podcast Network

Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman are joined by special guest Evan Ryan. Evan shares his decade-long experience with AI and its entrepreneurial possibilities. They discuss Evan's book, which explores the potential of AI in various aspects of life, and provide valuable insights into how entrepreneurs can integrate it into their workflow to achieve more in less time—and make life more fun in the process. In This Episode:AI can be defined as a computer doing something that a human used to do.Evan’s goal is to allow his team to be less robotic in their lives, and to free themselves to do more fun, creative things.A lot of people think of technology as something that happens to them.There are two kinds of problems that a business can face: growing business problems and dying business problems.AI isn’t going to help companies that aren’t using their teams well, or creating value in the marketplace.Artificial intelligence is not artificial wisdom. Humans are still required for that.Those who remain resistant to AI are usually people who want to maximize their billable hours, not improve their workflows. Resources:AI as Your Teammate: Electrify Growth Without Increasing Payroll by Evan RyanEvan Ryan’s company is: teammateai.comUnique Ability®Perplexity AI

Do you feel like your team can’t function without you? Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman reveal why entrepreneurs should get out of their own way, and how constant availability stifles growth. Learn the "6 p.m. doorbell rule," why deleting 660 emails was a breakthrough, and how to reclaim your time without losing control. Show Notes: Constant availability as a founder signals to your team that you don’t trust them to operate independently. The “6 p.m. doorbell rule” reminds you to set boundaries. If someone’s reaching out after hours, it’s usually for their benefit, not yours. When you mass delete your inbox, you learn how little truly requires your direct involvement. Being needed for every small decision is a trap entrepreneurs often set for themselves. If you’re always accessible, you teach your team to rely on your thinking, preventing them from growing their own capabilities. An entrepreneur can build in layers of teamwork between themselves and whoever might want to contact them. Value your own time as highly as your company’s best product. Stop giving it away to anyone who asks. True opportunity is rarely missed by stepping back; in fact, real opportunities come from protecting your focus. If your company falls apart when you’re gone, it means you have a job, not a business. Resources: What Free Days™ Are And How To Know When You Need Them The Impact Filter™ The Transformation Trilogy

Feeling overwhelmed by AI’s endless possibilities? You’re not alone, but it’s nothing to worry about. Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman share how top entrepreneurs avoid tech fatigue by focusing on clarity, delegation, and human strengths. Learn why mastering one tool beats chasing shiny objects, how to lead teams without being a tech expert, and the mindset shift that turns AI into your ally and not a threat. Show Notes: Getting great at one AI tool is far more valuable than feeling overwhelmed by dozens. Humans aren’t computers, so your creativity and intuition are irreplaceable. AI is here to stay, just like electricity, so focus on how it can serve your goals.You don’t need to be a tech expert. Just know enough to guide AI toward what matters to you. Too many choices can freeze progress, so simplify and focus on what actually moves you forward. If you feel behind on AI, don’t worry. Most people are just starting to explore it too. Your team likely has someone who loves this stuff, so be sure to tap into their enthusiasm and knowledge. Nobody tinkers and experiments like humans do—that’s where breakthroughs happen. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about asking the right questions. Resources: The AI search engine discussed is All AI Tools Learn about Mike Koenigs and Lior Weinstein Perplexity The Impact Filter™ The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Join Dan Sullivan and Gord Vickman as they explore the rapid growth of podcasts and how the most successful shows get things done. Why are so many people turning to podcasts over traditional media? The answer, Dan says, is relationship: The best podcasters know that it’s not about them—it’s about you.Show Notes:Why podcasts exploded in popularity.Why creating a podcast is no longer just fringe marketing.The importance of building relationships with listeners.A marriage analogy for building a show from a seed.The importance of understanding the listener's needs.A timely transition from broadcast to podcast. Resources:Most people agree that the inventors of the podcast were Adam Curry (a former MTV VJ) and Dave Winer (a software developer). These two friends wanted to find a way to download online radio broadcasts to an iPod—a game-changing device that had been released a few years earlier in 2001.

In one of our most popular episodes, Dan Sullivan, Gord Vickman, and guest Mike Koenigs share what it takes to build an audience. A lot has changed about broadcasting. It’s not as hard, risky, or expensive as it used to be. There’s no barrier for anyone to go online and start broadcasting—which can be both a good thing and a bad thing.Show Notes: It’s desirable to be trained and taught by people who have been through what you have or worse because you’re looking for shortcuts. The activity of selling has to be facilitated by technological solutions, especially as they get more powerful. Using technology to promote, market, and create buying behaviors is always a moving target. Taking on whatever the cutting edge is without alienating the masses is a delicate balance. The biggest challenge anyone has now is that everyone is online, and it costs nothing to broadcast. People can sense authenticity very quickly. The rules that work for scarce mediums don’t work for abundant mediums. Unlike with traditional mediums, there are no gatekeepers when it comes to online broadcasting. Audience-building might have as much to do with your personality as it does with the work you’re putting in. Some people just know how to manifest and manage energy in a magical way. Resources: Download your FREE digital version of Mike’s bestselling book, “Ai Accelerator”The Strategic Coach® ProgramGrowing Great Leadership by Dan Sullivan

Is social media fact-checking becoming obsolete? This episode explores Mark Zuckerberg's shift from using professional fact checkers to employing community-driven content moderation on Facebook, mirroring broader changes in digital discourse. Dan and Gord discuss the implications for information sharing, the evolving political landscape, and the potential democratization of online truth verification. Show Notes: Facebook is moving away from professional fact checkers, eliminating partnerships with approximately 90 fact-checking organizations due to perceived political bias. A fundamental political culture shift took place during the recent U.S. federal election. Mark Zuckerberg is adopting a community-driven content moderation approach similar to X (Twitter), implementing "Community Notes" where users can flag and verify information. This shift represents a significant evolution in how digital information is verified and shared across social media platforms. The change could potentially disrupt the business models of existing fact-checking organizations, many of which relied on Facebook contracts. Younger generations have grown up in a hyper-connected world and feel the need to be well-informed, but stepping back from the constant barrage of information on social media can have a positive impact on mental health and productivity. Dan Sullivan’s secret to staying focused and productive in the digital age? Treating his attention as his most valuable property (i.e., being highly selective about what information and media he consumes). Podcasts have become the most trusted form of media available today. Resources: The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan Your Attention: Your Property by Dan Sullivan