How Leaders Think with Kenny Lange

Kenny Lange
  • 4.9 (10)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Discover the secrets to impactful leadership with How Leaders Think, hosted by Kenny Lange. This podcast is your go-to resource for insights from top leaders across various industries. Each episode delves into the minds of successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and thought leaders to uncover strategies for personal and professional growth. Key Topics Covered: - Emotional goals and effective leadership - Coaching and employee retention - Innovation and AI in business - Escaping hustle culture - Building strong organizational values - Adaptability in nonprofit leadership - The intersection of personal growth and spirituality Join us every Wednesday to transform your leadership approach and unlock your potential. Subscribe now and never miss an episode! Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Visit our website at kennylange.com for more resources and updates.

  1. 14h ago

    How Darin Bellisario Thinks About Trusting Your Customers' Feelings

    Most leaders say they put the customer first. Darin Bellisario says that is harder than it sounds, and he shares what it takes. Darin Bellisario is the CEO of Good Owners, a pet parent education organization. In this conversation, he and Kenny start with why artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing customer-centric design back to the front. Then they talk about why it is so hard to do well, why data is not the same as knowing your customer, and Darin's rule of thumb: trust their feelings, not their solutions. They also cover the nonlinear learning journey, where customers will spend their effort, and a first step any leader can take. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the Show 01:41 Customer-Centric Design In The Age Of AI 03:39 Why Customer-Centricity Is So Hard 09:15 Why Say Pet Parent 14:50 Data Is An Abstraction Of Reality 22:15 Customer-Centricity Is Not Data 24:25 Trust Their Feelings, Not Their Solutions 33:58 The Nonlinear Learning Journey And AI 39:21 Where Customers Will Spend Their Effort 43:39 A First Step Any Leader Can Take What You'll Learn • Why customer-centric design is hard to do. Darin says everyone wants to say they put the customer first, but it takes real commitment. His team ran hundreds of interviews with dog parents and spent years talking with rescues, breeders, trainers, and daycares • Why Good Owners says pet parent. The word came from how dog parents see themselves, and Darin says you know the work is real when designers, copywriters, engineers, and marketers choose those words on their own • Why data is an abstraction of reality, and two questions to ask when you look at survey numbers: what are you not measuring, and what are you not asking? • Why customer-centricity is not data. It is a relationship with the customer. Darin's rule of thumb is to trust their feelings and forget the solutions they suggest, because customers are not thinking about what is possible • How the nonlinear learning journey works. Every dog parent starts in a different place, so the Guide to Dogs lets you go to any chapter and dogGPT tailors the answer. Darin also says to remove the friction that frustrates customers and let them spend their effort where they want to • A first step any leader can take: ask how your team can spend time with customers, and how you make room for it. Darin says you can start overnight, and to just go have conversations instead of trying to measure everything About Darin Bellisario Darin Bellisario is the CEO of Good Owners, a pet parent education organization working to help the millions of new and lost dog parents struggling to get the information and knowledge they need to be successful in their lives with their companions. A former management consultant and MIT Ph.D., Darin has led his team of engineers and dog professionals to create both the Good Owners Guide to Dogs - now the largest, most extensive resource for dog parents ever created - and dogGPT - the first Pet AI platform able to give parents reliable, comprehensive guidance. Darin Bellisario Resources Website: https://www.goodowners.guide/?utm_medium=podcast Guide to Dogs: https://www.goodowners.guide/?utm_medium=podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darinbellisario/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodowners_rcoc/ Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #CustomerCentricity #ProductDesign

    How Darin Bellisario Thinks About Trusting Your Customers' Feelings

  2. Oct 14

    How Natasha Skolny Thinks About Connecting The Dots For Your Team

    Leaders often see where the company is going. Their people often can't see it yet. Natasha Skolny helps close that gap. Natasha Skolny is a leadership coach, speaker, and founder of The Leadership Cabin. In this conversation, she and Kenny talk about why a clear vision still doesn't land with a team, why she says everyone is a leader, and how your values give you a personal North Star. They also talk about the sneaky beliefs that run in the background, and why a team of highly independent leaders can clash with the people who want to collaborate. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the Show 01:08 The Story Behind The Leadership Cabin 02:10 Leaders Who Can See The Vision But Can't Connect The Dots 07:58 Everyone Is A Leader: Responsibility Flows Both Ways 11:31 Finding Your Personal North Star Through Your Values 17:17 A Walk, A War Zone In Your Head, And The Pressure To Perform 23:13 Where Sneaky Beliefs Come From 33:38 When Independent Leaders Create A Culture Clash 46:30 The Baby Step: A 24-Hour Exercise To Find Your Vision What You'll Learn • Why a leader can share the vision and still not be understood. In her talks with senior leaders, Natasha hears that some people are afraid to decide on their own, and some don't see how the work connects to what they care about • Why she says everyone is a leader, and why helping people connect to the vision is a partnership that goes both ways • How to find your personal North Star through your values, and why to check those values again each time your life shifts • The questions Natasha asks when an old pattern shows up: Where did I learn this? Why do I believe it? Is it true? • A first step for the next 24 hours: ask yourself why your vision matters beyond money, then map what you want your business to look like in 10 years, 5 years, and 1 year About Natasha Skolny Natasha Skolny is a leadership coach, speaker, and founder of The Leadership Cabin. She partners with leaders and teams who want to elevate their impact by creating clarity around their shared North Star, strengthening connection, and empowering each person to bring their unique strengths and zone of genius to the work. With over 20 years in leadership development, Natasha helps leaders navigate transition and create teams where people thrive and results follow. Natasha Skolny Resources Website: https://www.theleadershipcabin.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theleadershipcabin/ Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #TeamCulture #CoreValues

    How Natasha Skolny Thinks About Connecting The Dots For Your Team

  3. Sep 30

    How Catrina Craft Thinks About Money vs. Wealth

    Making money and building wealth are not the same skill. Catrina Craft works with founders on the gap between them. Catrina M Craft, CPA is the founder of Craft Money Map, where she helps seven-figure-plus professional service firm founders build proactive, year-round tax and wealth strategy instead of once-a-year filing. She spent more than 20 years specializing in advanced tax strategy after asking a top strategist, early in her career, to teach her everything they knew. Kenny and Catrina talk about the difference between chasing revenue and building wealth, why she thinks of herself — and the founders she works with — as performers who need real off-seasons, and the unspoken thoughts about money that most founders never say out loud, even to the people closest to them. Chapters 00:00 Meet Catrina Craft 01:33 The CEO reset 03:28 Leading like a performer 05:54 Why past success isn't enough 10:11 What founders don't say out loud 15:32 Business is a sport 20:53 Build seasons of rest into your business 29:10 Money vs. wealth 34:07 One step in the next 24 hours 35:52 Where to find Catrina What You'll Learn • Why revenue and wealth are two different goals, and how to start treating yourself as the "CEO of your wealth journey" instead of just the CEO of your business • How Catrina reframes herself — and the founders she works with — as performers, and what that actually changes about how she plans her week • Why leaders need real off-seasons, and how Catrina's own coach takes a 40-day sabbatical every year while her team runs the business • The unspoken thoughts founders carry about money that they rarely say out loud, even to a spouse or a coach — and why naming them matters • A free, low-cost first step toward thinking like a high performer: find a mentor to study, even one you never get to meet About Catrina Craft, CPA Catrina M. Craft once walked up to one of the top tax strategists after a conference and said, “I want to learn everything you know” — then spent the next 20+ years doing exactly that, building the financial infrastructure the wealthiest 1% actually use. Her superpower is spotting the strategies most CPAs and business owners miss entirely: proactive, year-round planning instead of once-a-year filing. Today she's the founder of the Craft Money Map®, where she helps seven-figure-plus professional service firm founders use those same strategies to grow their wealth. Catrina Craft Resources Website: https://www.catrinamcraft.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catrinamcraft/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catrinamcraft/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catrinamcraft1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@catrinamcraft7801 Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #WealthStrategy #TaxStrategy

    How Catrina Craft Thinks About Money vs. Wealth

  4. Sep 23

    How David Heaps Thinks About Inner Architecture

    You can see yourself doing it. You still can't stop. David Heaps is the founder and executive coach at Leadering, where he works with founding CEOs who keep solving the same problem in different forms. He spent nearly 11 years studying with indigenous teachers in the Amazon, and what he brought back became a method he calls Inner Architecture Work — finding the operating rules a leader built early in life, usually without ever choosing them, and changing the ones that are quietly running the show. Kenny and David walk through the four stages of catching an old pattern in real time, the exact moment a rule gets written (a kitchen, a hot burner, age three or four), and the one pattern David finds in almost every founder he coaches: the CEO who can't hold anyone to a standard, and ends up quietly doing the team's work for them instead. Chapters 00:00 The Inner Architecture Behind Founder Burnout 01:43 Writing the Book Behind Inner Architecture Work 04:39 Why Most Leadership Advice Stops Too Early 08:23 The Four Stages: From Blind Repetition to Freedom 13:12 The Founder Patterns Almost Everyone Has 23:33 Where the Rules Come From: The Hot Burner Story 32:19 How One Blind Spot Becomes 200 Different Standards 39:29 Your First 24 Hours: Two Free Ways to Start What You'll Learn • The four stages of catching yourself mid-pattern — from doing the thing and only noticing after, to doing it while watching yourself and feeling powerless to stop, to actually changing course in the moment • Where an "operating rule" really comes from — it's rarely deep, and it's almost never about the thing you think it's about • The one pattern David finds in almost every founder he works with, and why it quietly builds resentment on the whole team • How a CEO's own unspoken pattern cascades all the way down an org chart, whether anyone ever names it or not • Two free ways to start in the next 24 hours — no drip campaign, no sales pitch About David Heaps David Heaps is the founder and executive coach at Leadering and the creator of Inner Architecture Work — a method for finding and changing the operating rules that quietly run a leader's decisions. A former COO, he spent nearly 11 years studying with indigenous teachers in the Amazon before developing the framework he now teaches to founding CEOs. His book, Inner Architecture: Finding and Freeing Yourself from the Invisible Rules That Are Ruling You, by David L. Heaps, is forthcoming. David Heaps Resources Website: https://www.leadering.com/ Book your complimentary Inner Architecture Audit (90 minutes): https://calendly.com/leadering/inner-architecture-audit Free six-step process — email David directly, no drip campaign: david@leadering.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-heaps-leadering/ Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #SelfAwareness #ExecutiveCoaching

    How David Heaps Thinks About Inner Architecture

  5. Sep 3

    How Angela Finlay Thinks About Skills Over Job Titles

    You keep saying you can't find the right people. What if they already work for you? Angela Finlay is a fractional and interim CHRO who helps companies rebuild how they hire, promote, and plan. She also wrote a book about it and teaches in Columbia University's M.S. in Human Capital Management program. Her argument is blunt: most companies track people by job title, and a job title is just a snapshot of what someone did before. The thing that actually predicts whether a person can do the work is their skill portfolio — everything they can do, most of which never makes it onto a resume. So leaders end up hiring for a skill that is already sitting ten desks away. Kenny pushes on what that means for how you build an org chart when you don't know what the roles will be in eighteen months. Chapters 00:00 The Talent Paradox: Short on People, Planning to Cut 06:25 The STACK Model: Five Kinds of Skill Behind a Job 14:30 Start With Outcomes, Not Job Titles 22:09 Reward Managers for Growing Skills, Not Just Numbers 27:53 What Counts as a Skill — and Who Validates It 34:33 Why Small Companies Turn Faster Than Big Ones 38:18 The Skills Leaders Are Actually Short On 43:23 Fifteen Minutes on a Friday: Build Your Inventory What You'll Learn • Why "we can't find the right people" and "we're about to cut people" are the same problem, not two • The STACK model — the five kinds of skill inside any job: supportive, tactical, adaptive, complementary, and knowledge-seeking • How to build a role backwards from the outcome you need, instead of forwards from a job title • Why paying managers to grow their team's skills is the change that makes every other change stick • The AI skill nobody is hiring for: not using it, but knowing what should never be handed to it • Two first steps that cost nothing — fifteen minutes on a Friday for you, and a look at your last three job postings if you lead people About Angela Finlay Angela Finlay is a fractional and interim CHRO, author of Skill Stacking: Taking Ownership of Your Career in Changing Times, and an educator who helps organizations and professionals rethink what it means to build a successful talent organization in today's ever-changing workplace. Angela Finlay Resources Website: https://windwardhcm.com/ Resources (book, white paper, contact): https://windwardhcm.com/podcasts/ Book — Skill Stacking: Taking Ownership of Your Career in Changing Times: https://a.co/d/c1OVVx9 White paper — Stacking for Growth – The GROWING Model: https://windwardhcm.com/podcasts/ Skills inventory — the STACK Profiler: https://app.stackingyourcareer.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ablumfinlay Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #Hiring #Skills

    How Angela Finlay Thinks About Skills Over Job Titles

  6. Jun 24

    How Dre Baldwin Thinks About Personal Agency for Success

    What separates top performers from everyone else? In this episode, Kenny Lange sits down with Dre Baldwin, founder of Work On Your Game®, former professional basketball player, 4x TEDx speaker, and author of 43 books. Dre shares how discipline, personal initiative, and relentless execution helped him go from an overlooked Division III athlete to a successful entrepreneur and thought leader. They explore the difference between information and implementation, why most organizations struggle with execution, and how entrepreneurs can scale their impact without constantly creating something new. If you're ready to stop chasing ideas and start producing bigger results, this conversation is for you. Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Dre Baldwin Resources Website: http://www.WorkOnYourGame.com LinkedIn: http://LinkedIn.com/in/DreAllDay Facebook: http://Facebook.com/WorkOnYourGameUniversity Podcast: http://www.WorkOnYourGamePodcast.com Book: http://ThirdDayBook.com Books Mentioned The Third Day — Dre Baldwin http://ThirdDayBook.com The Mental Handbook — Dre Baldwin Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Execution

    How Dre Baldwin Thinks About Personal Agency for Success

  7. Jun 17

    How Neal Foard Thinks About Trade Over Business for Building Meaningful Customer Relationships

    What if we've been thinking about business all wrong? In this episode, Kenny Lange sits down with Neal Foard, founder of Storyfire®, to explore why the word "business" may have distanced us from the people we serve—and why thinking like a tradesman changes everything. Neal shares lessons from decades creating campaigns for brands like Toyota, Budweiser, Lexus, and Sony, revealing how storytelling, generosity, and genuine care create companies that customers love and employees are proud to represent. If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, or anyone who wants to build something meaningful, this conversation will challenge how you think about customers, culture, and the stories your organization tells itself. Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Neal Foard Resources Website: https://www.storyfire.net LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-foard/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nealfoard YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nealfoard Personal Website: https://nealfoard.com Hashtags #howleadersthink #leadership #storytelling #businessleadership

    How Neal Foard Thinks About Trade Over Business for Building Meaningful Customer Relationships

  8. Jun 10

    How Michael Neuendorff Thinks About Leading as a Coach for Organizational Growth

    What does it take to move from being a high performer to becoming a leader who develops others? In this episode of How Leaders Think, Kenny Lange sits down with Michael Neuendorff, President of Bay Area Executive Coach, to discuss why today's leaders must move beyond command-and-control leadership and embrace a coaching mindset. They explore leadership blind spots, the dangers of the advice trap, reverse mentoring, earning influence, and practical ways to build stronger teams. If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, manager, or nonprofit executive looking to develop people more effectively, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership. Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Michael Neuendorff Resources Website: https://www.bayareaexecutivecoach.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelneuendorff/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bayareaexecutivecoach LinkedIn Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bay-area-executive-coach/?viewAsMember=true Books Mentioned The Coaching Habit — Michael Bungay Stanier The Advice Trap — Michael Bungay Stanier The Founder's Evolution — Scott Ritzheimer (upcoming) Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipSkills

    How Michael Neuendorff Thinks About Leading as a Coach for Organizational Growth
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About

Discover the secrets to impactful leadership with How Leaders Think, hosted by Kenny Lange. This podcast is your go-to resource for insights from top leaders across various industries. Each episode delves into the minds of successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and thought leaders to uncover strategies for personal and professional growth. Key Topics Covered: - Emotional goals and effective leadership - Coaching and employee retention - Innovation and AI in business - Escaping hustle culture - Building strong organizational values - Adaptability in nonprofit leadership - The intersection of personal growth and spirituality Join us every Wednesday to transform your leadership approach and unlock your potential. Subscribe now and never miss an episode! Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Visit our website at kennylange.com for more resources and updates.

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