Think Like an Owner Alex Bridgeman

This is my 200th episode of Think Like an Owner, and for this special episode I’ve invited my good friend Justin Mazeka Vogt on for the honors. Justin and his business partner Ed Redden were among the very first to reach out to me when I first started the podcast 5 years ago. We’ve discussed this episode’s topics extensively, from thinking bigger to gaining leverage and designing the ideal life for ourselves, all topics Justin is passionate and thoughtful about. We also talk about what they’ve learned building Avuity and providing leverage across their team, not just to themselves as individuals

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 
Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.
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Links:
Justin on Twitter
Evermore Industries
Invest Like the Best w /Jeremy Giffon
Traction by Gino Wickman
Tim Ferriss w/ Sam Corcos

Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:32) - What it means to think bigger and apply it in your career
(00:08:24) - What sticks out to you from everything you learned about Charlie Munger?
(00:10:58) - Building a compounding vision
(00:25:10) - Giving yourself leverage
(00:27:55) - Learnings from Tim Ferriss’ Podcast w/ Sam Corcos
(00:36:48) - What process or part of your every day have you cut because it didn’t benefit the organization?
(00:41:00) - Balancing an asynchronous strategy with a sense of urgency
(00:45:00) - Advice on thinking bigger
(00:50:47) - How Alex sees the Podcast compounding going forward

Ep.199: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Ann Rhoades (@Ann_Rhoades).

I’m thrilled to share my episode today with Ann Rhoades on building values-driven cultures that drive outperformance. Ann was the VP of People at Southwest Airlines with founder Herb Kelleher and was a founding executive as VP of People, and eventually a board member of JetBlue Airways. She has also worked with companies like Doubletree Hotels, P.F. Changs, Restoration Hardware, and countless others through her consulting and research firm, People Ink.
Our discussion focused on building and maintaining values-driven companies from the perspective of the CEO and how they can drive the process forward. One of my favorite takeaways was the importance of tying your values to behaviors, providing real-life examples of how to act in accordance with your values. It’s one thing to announce your core values to your team, but tying them to their everyday roles is crucial. We also talked about how to hire based on values, employee retention, continuous improvement, and how strong values-driven cultures create category leading companies. Please enjoy this fantastic episode with Ann Rhoades.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 
Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.
Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Links:
People Ink
Ann on Twitter
OC Tanner 2024 Workforce Study
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:46) - Why values are so important
(00:14:24) - Ann’s career path and key experiences that led to building a high-performance culture
(00:24:50) - Typical symptoms of a lackluster culture
(00:27:25) - Implementing values
(00:30:22) - The most common obstacles CEOs have in implementing values
(00:32:46) - Having a values-focused hiring process
(00:47:27) - Connecting values to behaviors
(00:50:01) - Tools and systems to measure how an org is living the values
(00:52:50) - Retaining A-players
(00:55:03) - Advice to CEOs looking to build stronger cultures

Ep. 198: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Joel Peterson (@JoelPetersonGSB).
My guest today is Joel Peterson. Joel is the founder and chairman of Peterson Partners, a private equity, venture, and search investment firm, and the former CEO of Trammell Crow. He is also the former Chairman of JetBlue AIrways and is currently in his 31st year teaching at Stanford GSB. Finally, Joel has published two books, The Ten Laws of Trust and Entrepreneurial Leadership.
This in-person episode goes far and wide into building and maintaining trust, designing a fulfilling life, skills growing CEOs need, leadership transitions, lavish communication, and building value focused organizations as CEO.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 
Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.
Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Links:
Joel on LinkedIn
Peterson Partners

Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:02) - Joel’s favorite classes to teach at Stanford
(00:05:36) - Engineering a remarkable life
(00:10:21) - Joel’s Values-driven leadership and companies class
(00:13:03) - Hindsight on running Trammell Crow
(00:20:32) - Launching Peterson Partners
(00:23:14) - Characteristics of high-performing CEOs 
(00:33:48) - Measuring trust of an organization with their CEO
(00:38:22) - Joel’s time at JetBlue
(00:39:48) - CEO audits
(00:41:01) - Navigating tough situations
(00:46:02) - Adaptability in Founders
(00:49:16) - Insights on Recruiting Talent 
(01:00:00) - Getting over betrayal

Ep.197: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Jason Anderson (@andersonjasone).
My guest today is Jason Anderson, CEO of Arizona College of Nursing and former CEO of VRI. Jason brings an extensive range of experience as CEO to this episode and we dive into critical skills he’s developed to be effective at each step. One of my favorite parts of our discussion was on how he is constantly on the lookout for talent in everyday life, always in “recruiting mode” for his company. We also talk about hiring executive talent and using recruiters, tough situations like losing a large customer, leadership transitions, and connecting with your team. Please enjoy my conversation with Jason Anderson.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 
Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.
Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N


Links:
Arizona College of Nursing
Jason on LinkedIn
Tru Recruitment
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:45) - Jason’s previous career in Sales and it’s impact on his role as a CEO
(00:07:02) - What skill have you improved upon since operating as a CEO?
(00:11:16) - Involving families of team members in business events
(00:13:18) - Talent recruitment
(00:16:24) - Using recruiters and hiring executives
(00:20:49) - Evaluating executives and leaders within the company
(00:23:33) - Refining communication styles
(00:29:09) - Improving your performance at work, outside of work
(00:31:30) - Setting boundaries
(00:32:45) - Challenging experiences as a CEO
(00:39:59) - The unique experience of running a PE-backed company
(00:45:00) - Building effective Sales teams
(00:48:00) - Inorganic growth
(00:51:34) - Being more aggressive in your career path

Ep.196: Alex (@aebridgeman) is joined by Shikhar Saxena (@shikhar-saxena).
My guest today is Shikhar Saxena, co-founder and CEO of Milan Laser Hair Removal. Milan, founded in 2012, is the nation's largest laser hair removal provider with over 300 locations in 32 states and 1,900 employees performing 50,000 treatments a month.
Keys to Shikhar’s growth story have been an obsession with customer experience and a constant study of other CEOs and resources to improve his performance. We talk about that obsession with customer experience and lessons learned through scaling, studying peers, and the market for med spa businesses today. Please enjoy this fantastic episode with Shikhar Saxena.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 
Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.
Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Links:
Milan Laser Hair Removal
Shikhar on LinkedIn

Topics:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:03:59) The Milan origin story
(00:13:07) Verticals to pursue in the Med Spa space
(00:14:43) Improving the customer experience
(00:21:05) Studying companies to learn about consumer experience
(00:23:59) Changing clinic management through scale
(00:26:33) Key executive roles
(00:28:44) Hiring and interviewing
(00:33:51) Disseminating core values across locations
(00:37:08) Dealing with stress
(00:41:59) How PE changes processes
(00:45:15) Predictions for the industry
(00:46:17) The decision to focus solely on hair removal
(00:50:42) Future growth plans
(00:53:54) Shikhar’s book
(00:58:29) Final thoughts

My guest today is Mahesh Rajasekharan, CEO of Cleo, a software platform for supply chain system integrations. A few months ago I asked a few friends which sales-focused CEO they admired most and they all unanimously said Mahesh. With Mahesh at the helm, Cleo has grown from a single-digit ARR business in 2012 to nearly $100 million in ARR today, with even greater ambitions for the future. He has built some of the most robust and high-performing sales and product teams I’ve seen and is a value-adding investor and advisor to many other CEOs.
Mahesh and I talk about the story of Cleo and how they drive customer value, pivot points along the growth journey, building best-in-class sales and product orgs, growth while remaining profitable, private equity ownership, and so much more. Please enjoy this fantastic conversation with Mahesh Rajasekharan.

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn. 
Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

I want to tell you about our audience survey we are currently running. These surveys help us create the best content for listeners and better understand your needs and interests. Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback, we greatly appreciate it. After 30 days we are giving $250 cash to 4 survey responders, just add your email at the end of the survey.
Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/3QLBB1N

Links:
Cleo
Mahesh on LinkedIn
Topics:
(00:04:06) Cleo and how Mahesh has evolved the business
(00:11:37) Identifying customer needs
(00:14:04) Growing and coordinating a product team
(00:18:17) Communicating with customers
(00:21:20) Building and scaling a Sales organization
(00:37:15) How the CEO role has changed
(00:39:02)Self-evaluation
(00:42:49) Defining profitable growth
(00:48:56) Themes for companies who can’t become profitable
(00:52:17) An example of a project that wasn’t working initially but learned it would down the road
(00:54:13) Experiences as a private equity-backed CEO
(00:58:21) The most enjoyable part of the CEO role
(00:59:27) M&A
(01:03:47) Advice for software CEOs in scaling