S2 E3 - Lead Like A Child
Manage episode 407110622 series 3557869
Joining The Whole Enchilada this week is author Brandon Waldon, who draws on his own experiences in being an artist to give his own perspectives on the power of words and how being more childlike can enhance our experience as entrepreneurial leaders.
Mitch Santala introduces best-selling author Brandon Walden and starts by asking how the idea for his first book, Seeds and Trees, came to fruition. When discussing Brandon’s success in some areas of life while he had failures in others, Brandon mentions a childhood trauma that lead him down the pathway of self-discovery, that ended in Seeds and Trees.
The two then talk about the timeless principles of entrepreneurial leaders and Brandon says that hands down, the power of words is a principle all leaders need. He follows up with comments on kindness.
A conversation about patience leads to a bank account analogy and examples of how bad roots can creep in, to the detriment of the good roots, with Mitch comparing Hallmark Channel movies to an episode of Survivor.
Brandon comments on letting seeds grow too big, not anticipating how overgrowth can be stifling, while Mitch shares his own struggles of moving from a career in ministry to a career in business. Is commoditizing something you created akin to selling out?
Childlike dependency is discussed when Brandon tells a humorous story about his daughter’s need for help after a trip to the bathroom, leading to a conversation about complexity and simplicity.
Mitch then asks Brandon about a time when he felt like he was up against too much and wanted to quit and shares his own story about a snafu at Starbucks and how he never saw the third option that was right in front of him.
Brandon talks about his dad’s own entrepreneurial journey and about how the definition of entrepreneur is changing.
Finally, Mitch asks Brandon about his favorite Mexican food and Brandon laments the lack of white cheese queso in California. He wants to take Mitch to San Jose Mexican Restaurant, a regional chain in South Carolina. Of course, they’ll order a large bowl of white queso and Brandon suggests a taco salad. Mitch is not prepared to eat rabbit food until Brandon describes the salad in mouth-watering detail and Mitch agrees that he sounds delicious.
Table Talk: Gil Moegerle, Erin Pruetz, and Isaac the Former Intern join Mitch to talk about their perspectives on Brandon’s interview.
Gil is drawn to Seeds and Trees being about kindness in leadership, sharing his own story about a difficult-to-please boss who operated with anything but kindness. Isaac talks about his own journey as he starts out in creating a new social media marketing business. He places importance on creating seeds inside himself that will grow into his own, personal garden of leadership principles.
Erin is reminded of a saying that her kids came home from camp with one year and how it can be applied to life and leadership -- fear is a liar.
Mitch finishes up the episode by remarking on how small changes, like how we pose a question, can lead to big changes in what we harvest, even going back to his kids’ elementary school days and a program that highlighted kids doing good deeds around the school.
Links: https://www.brandonwalden.com/
The King’s Way of Life https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZXDSYZL/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
Manchild [Redefined] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1925638464/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
San Jose Mexican Restaurants https://www.sanjosemex.com/
About Our Sponsor: Executive Scheduling Associates employs 120 professional schedulers filling the sales calendars of 500 financial wholesalers across North America. And we now provide short-term services dispositioning event and cold contact lists. Ask us for details at esasolutions.com.
Subscribe to our podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, and Stitcher.
Follow us:
31 حلقات