Podcast
Winning Standards
Hosted by Michael Mojo · EN
Winning Standards is the podcast for founders, leaders, and high performers who are done settling. Every episode is built to change how you think, lead, and perform.
Michael Mojo has spent over 20 years coaching founders, leaders, and high performers across Australia and beyond. $3.26 billion in influenced client revenue. 1,000+ businesses transformed. Olympic athletes. AFR Fast 100 companies. Business owners who built empires from nothing to everyday people who just want more out of life.
This is not the same podcast it used to be. Winning Standards has evolved.
You will hear Michael's unfiltered solo sessions on identity, psychology, standards, and what it actually takes to lead at the highest level. You will hear from world-class performers and industry leaders who have done the work and have the results to prove it. And you will hear raw, real conversations with everyday founders and community members who are in the middle of it right now. Growing. Failing. Rebuilding. Leading. The messy middle that nobody else shows you.
Three formats. One standard. Zero fluff.
If you are scaling a business, leading a team, or pushing through a ceiling you cannot explain, this is where you start.
Subscribe/Follow and raise the standard.
Topics include: self-leadership, leadership psychology, founder burnout, scaling a business, business growth, leadership development, high performance habits, team leadership, business owner mindset, and building a business that runs without you.
27episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep. 610 -The Numbers Game That Scales a Business Fast - $1M per annum to upto $1M per week | Riley Barker
4d ago00:53:25Tap to summarizeRiley Barker, from Best Solar and Batteries went from a million dollars a year to as much as a million a week. In four years. And when he explains how, it has almost nothing to do with luck or timing. Most business owners are guessing. They chase growth on gut feel, hope the leads show up, and can't really tell you why one month beats the next. Riley runs his company on something completely different, and it's the thing that took Best Solar and Batteries to one of the largest residential battery installers in South Australia. In this episode he sits down with Michael to unpack how he thinks about scaling, and why he treats the whole business less like a hustle and more like a problem with a solvable answer. He's honest about what came before the growth too. The early years that nearly buried him, the money habits most owners get wrong, and the uncomfortable realisation about his own role that was quietly capping everything. What he did next is the part worth hearing. They also get into how Riley hires, and why he deliberately tells people the worst parts of the job before they take it. Why he's willing to walk past talent to protect something he values more. And the personal discipline underneath the whole rise, the kind most people say they'd do but never actually stick to. If your growth keeps stalling and you can't put your finger on why, this conversation will give you a very different way to look at the entire thing. In this episode: How Riley went from $1M a year to as much as $1M a week in four years Why most owners stay stuck guessing their way to growth The mindset shift that turns scaling into a solvable equation The early mistake with money most business owners repeat The realisation about himself that was capping the whole business Why he tells new hires the worst parts of the job on purpose What he hires for instead of skill, and why The personal discipline that funded a four-year rise Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 609 - Dropping Prices = Dropping Standards
1w ago00:17:45Tap to summarizeEvery business owner reaches a point where the work stops feeling like the problem. The customers are difficult, the staff aren't stepping up, the margins are thin, and no amount of hustle seems to shift it. Michael Mojo thinks there's a reason for that, and it's hiding somewhere most owners would never think to look. It comes down to a single idea that runs quietly underneath how you price, how you lead, and who you let stay on your team. Once Michael names it, you start to see it in decisions you've been making for years without noticing, decisions that have been setting the ceiling on your business the whole time. In this episode Michael gets into why the people around you behave the way they do, what actually happens to a business the moment an owner decides to expect more, and the uncomfortable stretch nobody warns you about on the other side of that decision. There's also a quick audit he wants you to run on yourself, and it starts with a couple of words you probably said out loud today. Listen once and you'll catch yourself hearing it everywhere, in how you charge, how you lead, and how you talk when no one else is around. In this episode: The neediness trap that quietly pulls low-standard customers and staff toward your business How your pricing strategy secretly signals the standards you'll be living with all year The real reason business owners feel frustrated with staff, communication, and team performance Why raising your standards repels certain people, and what that reaction is really telling you The staff wipeout period most small business owners never see coming when expectations rise A simple language audit that exposes where you're operating from need instead of standards Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 608 - How to Scale without Burning Out - What Nobody Warns you About Owning a Business | Ryan Frahm
2w ago00:55:57Tap to summarizeEveryone sells business ownership as easy money, but scaling a business and growing a team is far harder than anyone warns you. Ryan Frahm found that out the hard way building his company from the ground up. Ryan is the founder of Green Connect, a South Australian electrical contracting company he's scaled from scratch, and in this episode he's honest about what that actually took. The years of stress, the debt, the stretch that nearly broke him. He and Michael get into why so many people go into business chasing money or status and stall out, and why a clear long-term vision is the thing that separates the ones who make it from the ones who burn out. He opens up about the low point that finally pushed him to seek mentorship, and the shift in thinking that changed his trajectory from there. They dig into an idea that reframes how you read your own circumstances, why real growth means being the least experienced person in the room, and why so many founders stay trapped as operators, buried in the work instead of building the company. Then it gets practical for anyone trying to scale. Why hiring on attitude and values beats hiring on technical skill, what quietly happens to a team with no clear five-year plan, and why the founder's role has to keep evolving or the whole thing hits a ceiling. Ryan and Michael also get into the part most business talk ignores completely: how much a supportive partner matters, and why a relationship needs the same intentional work a business does. If you've ever romanticised owning a business, or you're grinding through the hard middle of one right now, this conversation will hit home. In this episode: The reality of business ownership nobody warns you about Why chasing money or status is the wrong reason to start The low point that pushed Ryan to seek mentorship The "life is a mirror" idea and how it changes your accountability Why real growth means being the smallest fish in the pond How to stop being a stuck operator in your own business Why hiring for attitude beats hiring for skill every time What happens to a team without a clear five-year vision Why a supportive partner is an advantage most owners underrate Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 607 - Sh*tty Employees Don't Build Great Businesses (How to Build a Team That Actually Performs)
2w ago00:11:07Tap to summarizeBad staff will sink a business faster than almost anything. But what if the reason you can't seem to keep good people, or get the ones you have to lift, runs deeper than the hires themselves? In this episode Michael Mojo digs into why so many business owners feel trapped by a team that won't perform, and why the usual fixes (better hiring, more rules, tighter management) rarely solve it on their own. He makes a case that shifts how you see the whole problem, and it starts somewhere most owners never think to look. He gets into the popular "work on your business, not in it" advice and why it quietly backfires, why struggling owners tend to share one specific blind spot, and how culture becomes the real energy running through a company or the thing slowly draining it. He also unpacks why celebrating small wins builds momentum that big distant goals never will. The conversation then opens up into something bigger: why we started paying people for time instead of value, where that broken idea came from, and what changes when you rebuild a business around output and contribution instead of hours logged. Michael explains why the best performers are drawn to certain leaders and quietly avoid others, and what that says about the kind of team you're currently attracting. If you've ever blamed your team and wondered why nothing changes, this one will give you a very different place to start. In this episode: Why "work on your business, not in it" can quietly work against you The one blind spot struggling owners tend to share How your standards ripple through the entire organisation Why culture is the energy of a business, not a buzzword The small-wins habit that builds momentum big goals can't Why paying for time instead of value is a broken model How to shift a team from money-focused to value-focused Why top performers are drawn to some leaders and avoid others Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 606 - From Rock Bottom to Reinvention - He resisted the one thing that saved his life | Heath Shelmerdine
3w ago01:07:19Tap to summarizeFive years ago Heath Shelmerdine's marriage had collapsed and he was in the darkest place of his life. A mutual friend pointed him toward Michael. He almost didn't make the call. Heath is a South Australian entrepreneur, and in this episode he opens up about the moment everything fell apart and the slow climb back that followed. He was deeply skeptical of coaching at first, questioning why he'd take advice from anyone who hadn't already walked his exact path. He gets into the shift in thinking that finally let him accept help, and why he now sees that resistance as the thing that was quietly holding him back. From there the conversation moves into how Heath actually runs and scales a business. He talks about leading through action instead of orders, why he stopped hiring on experience alone and started hiring on culture and values, and how he learned to delegate by letting his team fail in small ways while catching them at the moments that count. Michael and Heath also dig into the uncomfortable stuff around success. Heath admits he used to think Michael's taste for nice cars was a bit much, until he realised that judgement was really about his own insecurity. They get into why high performers keep moving the goalposts, why success and fulfilment are not the same thing, and how you can reinvent yourself at any point once you commit to it fully. If you've ever felt stuck, skeptical of help, or like you've already missed your window to start again, this conversation will stay with you. In this episode: The referral that led Heath to make one of the most important calls of his life Why he resisted coaching at first, and the shift that finally changed his mind How business coaching works like elite athletic coaching, in the tiny margins Why Heath leads through action rather than orders The hiring change that mattered more than experience or technical skill How to delegate by letting people fail safely Why chasing symbols of success can mask insecurity The difference between success and fulfilment, and why high performers miss it How to reinvent yourself at any age once you truly commit Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 605 - Why "Building Rapport" Is Killing Your Sales | Anthony Vizzari
3w ago01:07:15Tap to summarizeEveryone told you to build rapport. Talk about the weather. Find common ground. Anthony Vizzari thinks that advice is quietly costing you every deal. Anthony is an Senior Vice President at 7th Level and one of the sharpest sales strategists around, and his whole philosophy flips the old playbook on its head. In this episode he argues that great selling has nothing to do with being liked and everything to do with leadership, influence, and actually solving the problem in front of you. The moment you stop trying to be on the prospect's level and start showing up as the person who holds the answer, everything changes. He gets into why salespeople fail the second they accept a surface-level answer, the "red light, green light" method he uses to know exactly when to move forward on a call, and why the objections you dread most are usually the exact reasons someone needs what you're selling. It's a masterclass in how to close a sale without being pushy, how to actually overcome objections, and how to sell with integrity instead of pressure. Then it goes somewhere most sales conversations never do. Anthony opens up about integrity, why chasing money without a moral compass eventually collapses, what he actually looks for when hiring, and how pushing trolleys at a supermarket still keeps him grounded today. If you've ever felt slimy selling, or watched deals slip away and couldn't explain why, this conversation will rewire how you think about the whole game. In this episode: Why old-school rapport building is quietly killing your close rate How to position yourself as the expert instead of the friend The "red light, green light" method Anthony swears by on every call The two objections most people fear that actually mean the opposite How to overcome objections by dropping a prospect's guard in one move The line between selling for good and selling for evil, and why it sets your ceiling The three traits Anthony hunts for in every hire Why building a closer is more like raising a child than training a rep The grounding habit he's kept since his supermarket days Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 604 - Why I Say No to "Can I Pick Your Brain?" | Money, Value & Knowing Your Worth
3w ago00:19:33Tap to summarizeSomeone offers to buy Michael Mojo lunch so they can "pick his brain." He says no. And the reason why is the whole episode. It's got nothing to do with being busy, and everything to do with something most people never stop to measure. Michael calls it money follows value, a rule running quietly underneath every deal, every relationship, every favour you've ever done. And most ambitious people have it completely backwards. They think it's about hustle. Hours. Who you know. It's not. Once Michael explains what's actually being traded in every interaction you have, you'll start seeing it everywhere, especially the exchanges that have been quietly costing you for years. He gets into why the way most people network is a waste of time, the quiet thing that turns good relationships into resentment, and the uncomfortable reason he won't spend his time around certain people, no matter how badly they want to be in the room. If you've ever felt like you give and give and it never comes back around, this one will land. You won't protect your time the same way again. In this episode: Money follows value, the rule almost every ambitious person gets backwards Networking, and why most of the way people do it is a waste of time Value exchange, what's really being traded in every interaction you have What Michael's actually saying no to when he turns down "can I pick your brain?" The quiet shift that turns a good relationship into resentment Self-worth and validation, the trap that keeps high earners feeling empty no matter what they buy Knowing your worth, the line between "survival and wants" and living by a completely different standard Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 603 - Is Fear Driving Your Success? (Why It'll Eventually Break You)
3w ago00:25:33Tap to summarizeMost driven people think their ambition is a strength. Michael Mojo thinks it might be the exact thing quietly destroying them. There's a specific kind of high performer who hits every goal and still feels empty on the other side of it. The burnout. The crash after the win. The strange sense of loss right when they should feel proud. In this episode, Michael explains why that happens, and why it almost always traces back to something that has nothing to do with the goal itself. He breaks down the difference between being pain-avoidant and being purpose-driven, and why so many ambitious people are secretly using success to outrun childhood wounds, insecurity, and a feeling of never being enough. He gets into why rest feels like guilt for high achievers, how money quietly becomes a hiding place instead of a tool, and the mismatch in vision that silently wrecks relationships while you're busy "providing." Then he lays out what it actually takes to rebuild your operating system around purpose instead of fear, so you can finally stop chasing and start creating from a completely different place. If you've ever achieved the thing and felt nothing, this conversation will explain why, and what to do about it before you reach the end and realise you were running the whole time. In this episode: Why hitting your goals can leave you emptier than before you started The difference between being pain-avoidant and genuinely purpose-driven How success becomes a way to escape wounds you've never actually faced Why rest triggers guilt in driven people, and how to reframe recovery like an athlete The hidden way money turns from a tool into a place to hide How mismatched vision quietly destroys relationships while you think you're providing The shift from fear-based motivation to purpose-based flow, and how to actually make it The one question to sit with now so you don't reach the end full of regret Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 602 - Four Colours One Team
4w ago00:17:17Tap to summarizeMichael Mojo says your team is a mirror. If they're reactive, disorganised, or dropping the ball, he's not looking at them first. He's looking at the leader. In this episode, Michael breaks down why staying small feels safe but quietly traps founders in a business that can't run without them, and the exact framework he uses to build a leadership team that actually holds itself accountable. Not through more meetings. Through understanding who's actually sitting at the table. He introduces a simple personality framework built around four types, and explains why hiring people who think exactly like you is one of the most common mistakes scaling founders make. Michael gets specific about his own team, including the type of person he deliberately surrounds himself with to cover the blind spots his own personality creates. He also walks through exactly how he implements this inside his own business, from testing, to using AI to turn the results into something the whole team can actually use, to the conversation that changes how a team works together for good. If your business still can't run without you in the room, this episode will show you exactly why, and what building around it actually looks like. In this episode: Why your team's behaviour is a direct mirror of you as the leader The hidden cost of keeping your business small and reliant on you The four personality types Michael says every strong leadership team needs Why hiring people just like yourself is quietly capping your growth How Michael uses AI to turn a simple personality test into a leadership tool The one conversation that changes how an entire team works together Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
Transcribe →Ep. 601 - From ebay Reseller to Rocket Company Founder - Edward Robinson
4w ago01:23:43Tap to summarizeHe Watched SpaceX Land a Rocket. Then He Built His Own Space Company. Edward Robinson watched a SpaceX rocket land and decided, on the spot, he was going to build spacecraft. Nobody was hiring a teenager into the space industry, so he funded his own path instead, reselling electronics on eBay to pay for his first rocket experiments. Every early test failed. In this episode, Edward explains why he refuses to treat failure as a setback at all, and what it actually took to go from backyard experiments to founding Robinson Aerospace Systems. He and Michael get into the brutal middle stretch of building a company that almost nobody warns founders about, how he thinks about risk when it's someone else's money on the line, and where he believes the next era of space, from NASA's renewed moon ambitions to satellite-driven education, is actually heading. If you've ever wondered what it takes to build something in an industry that was never going to hand you a way in, this conversation will change how you think about failure completely. In this episode: How watching a SpaceX landing changed the entire direction of his life Why he funded his first rocket experiments reselling parts on eBay The mindset that let him treat repeated failure as fuel, not defeat The brutal middle stretch of scaling a company almost nobody talks about How he manages risk when he's responsible for someone else's money Where he believes the next era of space and NASA-driven innovation is heading When you're ready to fast track your results, here's 2 ways I can help: This month's intake for The Odyssey is now open. If you've hit a ceiling in your business and know the constraint is you, not your business, this is the breakthrough. Limited intake [Learn more] Stuck, need clarity, or just want to upgrade how you think, lead and perform? Thrive Time is my premier self leadership event. [Secure your seat] Official channel and episode of the Winning Standards Podcast hosted by Michael Mojo. All Rights Reserved. Follow Me on Social Media: 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/themichaelmojo 📸Insta: https://www.instagram.com/themichaelmojo 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themichaelmojo 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelmojo 🔗 Website: www.MichaelMojo.com
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