Evan Nierman

Red Banyan

Red Banyan is a strategic communications firm specializing in public relations, crisis management and marketing.  Red Banyan Group combines creative thinking, steady judgment shaped by experience and a relentless commitment to achieving results for its clients.  Red Banyan offers a wide array of services, including: media relations, crisis management, marketing, corporate communications, litigation support, social and digital media, copywriting and editing and media training.

Founder and CEO

Entrepreneurs'​ Organization

Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Member 

Green Bullion Financial Services

Director of Public Relations

Saylor Company

Principal

AIPAC

Editorial Director and Executive Editor of Near East Report

Communications Associate and Managing Editor of Near East Report

Communications Assistant

Founder & CEO, Red Banyan PR | Author of Top-Rated Newsletter on Communications Best Practices

My team and I are focusing on STRATEGY and RESULTS. I lead an international PR and crisis management firm that exists to press the truth.  We empower clients to achieve business goals using strategic communications. We specialize in crisis management, high-stakes PR, and complex assignments requiring creative thinking, steady judgment shaped by experience and a relentless commitment to exceeding expectations.

Red Banyan Group is a strategic communications firm specializing in public relations, crisis management and marketing.  Red Banyan Group combines creative thinking, steady judgment shaped by experience and a relentless commitment to achieving results for its clients.  Red Banyan offers a wide array of services, including: media relations, crisis management, marketing, corporate communications, litigation support, social and digital media, copywriting and editing and media training.

Titles change. Companies reorganize. Projects end.
But your mission is what stays.

I see this every day in crisis PR.

People who attach themselves to roles, personalities, or status lose direction the moment pressure rises.

People who attach themselves to a mission stay steady even when the narrative falls apart.

In high-pressure situations the difference is striking:

a.) Leaders who cling to titles look for protection.
b.) Leaders who cling to purpose create solutions.

When a leader centers their compass on a goal instead of ego, the team immediately knows how to respond under pressure.

This shapes reputation from the inside long before the outside world sees it.

If you want stability in difficult moments, start here:

Anchor yourself to values, not positions.

Positions shift. Integrity remains.

Focus on mission, not personalities.

Preferences crack under pressure. 

Mission keeps direction.

Build a culture where purpose leads and titles follow.

This creates a team that holds together even when the silence gets uncomfortable.

In crisis PR, purpose is the most reliable navigation tool.

Reputation begins at the point where you choose to attach yourself.

Follow Evan Nierman for insights on crisis PR, leadership under pressure, and reputation management.

A reality check for any leader: 
Your crisis plan is only as strong as the person who goes first.

Most teams assume a crisis will activate responsibility automatically.

They think the plan will guide everyone.

They expect people to step in at the right moment.

But crises do not work that way.

The real breakdown happens when every person waits for a signal that never comes.

Hesitation does more damage than the crisis itself.

A crisis-ready team runs on four behaviors:

1. Awareness → People notice early signs instead of assuming “it will pass.”
Awareness stops problems before they spread.

2. Initiative → Someone steps forward even if it is not part of their role.
Initiative prevents escalation.

3. Communication → Information moves quickly and clearly.
No gaps, no guessing, no confusion.

4. Follow-through → What starts gets finished.
No loose ends for the public to fill with their own narrative.

Without these behaviors, plans stay on paper and the crisis gains control.

With them, the team acts with clarity and the situation stabilizes before it spirals.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis leadership and responsible communication.

In every crisis, the same problem appears:
everyone waits for someone else.

Most crises don’t escalate because of external pressure.

They escalate because of internal silence.

In organizations without a clear chain of responsibility, the same pattern emerges: everyone assumes it’s “someone else’s job.”

And while that pause drags on, the internet becomes the spokesperson.

A vacuum in a crisis never stays empty.

If you don’t fill it, the narrative will.

Leadership in a crisis isn’t delegation.

Leadership means the first sentence, the first move, and the first signal come from you not from the chaos around you.

The most dangerous phrase in crisis PR is: “I assumed.”

When a crisis hits, it must be unmistakably clear who speaks, who leads, and who owns the response because while the team hesitates, the reputation burns.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis PR and reputation management.

Reputation is what people believe about you. 
Character is who you are when no one is watching.

You can shape reputation.

You choose your message, control the narrative, and manage how you appear in public.

Character is different.

It is built in the unseen moments.

In choices that cost you something.

In how you treat people who cannot offer you anything in return.

Here is the truth many leaders learn late:

Reputation without character looks strong until pressure hits. 

Then it collapses.

Reputation is external. 

Character is internal.

When they do not align, that gap becomes the crisis.

You can polish reputation.

You cannot fake character.

People may believe the image for a while.

But character shows itself over time in patterns and consistency.

Character is what survives the crisis.

If it is real, you rebuild.

If it is not, everything falls apart.

Leaders who last are not the ones with the best PR.

They are the ones whose private behavior matches their public words.

Reputation may open the door.

Character is what keeps you in the room.

Follow Evan Nierman for weekly insights on leadership, integrity and what endures.

The way you treat people when no one’s watching
says more about your leadership than any title ever could.

I’ve seen this in boardrooms, startups, and crisis situations.

The leaders who earn trust under pressure are the ones who lead with respect, not authority.

Reputation doesn’t begin with public perception.

It begins in private moments how you speak to assistants, interns, or colleagues when stress peaks.

Those quiet interactions shape culture. 

And culture shapes how your organization responds when challenges appear.

If you want lasting trust, start here:

1.) Respect without hierarchy.
People notice how you treat those who can’t advance your career. Respect creates loyalty that outlasts titles.

2.) Listen before reacting.
When pressure rises, the instinct is to speak first. Listening shows discipline — and builds confidence in your judgment.

3.)Treat every role as essential.
No crisis is solved alone. When people feel valued, they take ownership — and that’s where real resilience begins.

Leading with title earns compliance.

Leading with respect earns commitment.

Reputation is built on how people feel in your presence, not on your résumé.

Follow for weekly insights on leadership, crisis PR, and reputation management.

A client once told me: "I don't want to apologize. I want to win."
That's when I knew we had a problem.

He was furious.

The media was running a story he believed was unfair.

The facts, in his view, were being twisted.

And his instinct was to fight back. Publicly. Loudly.

To "set the record straight."

To win.

I understood the impulse.

When you're being criticized—fairly or not—the natural reaction is to defend yourself.

To prove you're right.

To make everyone see your side.

But here's what I told him:
"You can win the argument and lose everything else."

Because in a crisis, winning isn't about being right.

It's about being trusted.

And trust doesn't come from fighting.

It comes from how you show up when things go wrong.

Here's what happens when ego drives crisis response:

You focus on being right instead of being heard. 

People don't care about your ten-point rebuttal. 

They care whether you understand their concern.

You turn critics into enemies. 

When you fight back, you escalate. 

And escalation rarely ends in your favor.

You lose the people in the middle. 

The ones who were willing to listen? 

They stop listening when you start swinging.

The conversation I had with that client wasn't easy.

But eventually, he understood:

The goal isn't to win.
It's to resolve.

To move through the crisis with your reputation intact.

To show humility when humility is called for—and strength when strength is needed.

We didn't issue a combative statement.

We acknowledged the concern. 

Clarified the facts calmly. 

Focused on what we were doing moving forward.

No victory lap. No "gotcha" moment.

Just accountability and action.

The story faded.

The relationship with his stakeholders held.

And he learned something more valuable than winning an argument:
In crisis, ego is a liability.

Strategy is what saves you.

Follow for weekly insights on strategy and leadership under pressure.

The verdict doesn't matter if you've already lost in the court of public opinion. Litigation PR has changed.

It used to be simple: Don't comment on pending litigation. 

Let the lawyers handle it. 

Stay quiet until the judge rules.

That strategy doesn't work anymore.

Because while your legal team is preparing motions, the other side is shaping the narrative on social media, cable news, and in the press.

And by the time the case settles or goes to trial, public perception is already locked in.

Here's what's different now:

The court of public opinion moves faster than the courtroom.

A lawsuit gets filed. 

Within hours, it's trending.

You can't wait 18 months for discovery to tell your side of the story.

The damage is happening now.

Silence reads as guilt.

"No comment" used to be safe.

Now it looks like evasion.

If you're not telling your story, someone else will and their version will stick.

Juries Google.

Even when judges instruct them not to, jurors search for information.

What they find online influences how they interpret the evidence in court.
Settlements don't erase headlines.

You can settle the case. 

You can't settle the reputation damage.

If the narrative is "they did something wrong and paid to make it go away," that story lives forever.

What effective litigation PR looks like today:

1. Legal and PR working together from day one. Not as adversaries. As partners with a shared goal: protect the client.

2. Proactive messaging that tells your side without compromising the case. You can communicate strategically while respecting legal boundaries.

3. Stakeholder management beyond the courtroom. Employees. Investors. Customers. They're making decisions now based on what they see—not waiting for a verdict.

4. Digital reputation management. Ensuring your narrative isn't buried by the opposition's spin.

The goal isn't to win the PR battle and lose the legal one.

It's to protect your reputation while you fight the case—so when it's over, you still have a business to run.

Litigation PR isn't optional anymore.

It's essential.

Because even if you win in court, losing in public can cost you everything.

Follow for weekly insights on litigation communications and reputation protection.

If you're delivering bad news over email, you've already lost the relationship.
I see it all the time.

The termination notice sent at 5 PM on a Friday.

The policy change buried in a mass email.

The apology that reads like it was drafted by legal and approved by no one with a pulse.

Leaders hide behind screens when things get hard.

And it always backfires.

Because bad news delivered without presence feels like cowardice.

And cowardice destroys trust faster than the bad news itself.

Here's why email fails in crisis:

1.) It removes accountability. You can't see the person's reaction. 

You can't answer their questions. 

You can't adjust based on how they're receiving it.

You just send it—and hope it lands okay.

2.) It feels transactional. Email says: "This is a task I needed to complete."

A conversation says: "This matters enough for me to show up."

3.) Tone gets lost. What you meant as direct reads as cold. 

What you meant as professional reads as detached.

And in a crisis, tone is everything.

4.) It invites misinterpretation. People fill in the gaps. 

They read between the lines. They assume the worst.

Because when you're not there to clarify, they're left to imagine your intent.

The hard conversations—the ones that matter most—deserve your presence.

Not your inbox.

That means:

→ A phone call when you can't be there in person.
→ A video meeting when you need to see their face.
→ A real conversation—not a one-way broadcast.

Yes, it's uncomfortable.

Yes, it takes more time.

Yes, it's harder than hitting "send."

But leadership isn't about efficiency.

It's about integrity.

And integrity shows up.

Even when—especially when—the news is bad.

Follow for weekly insights on communication, presence, and leadership.

Five words that never work in a crisis:
"It was just a joke."

I’ve heard this defense after an offensive tweet, a tone-deaf comment, or a video that “wasn’t meant seriously.”

Every time, it makes things worse.

Intent doesn't matter. Impact does.

You may have meant it as humor, but if it landed as hurtful or dismissive, that is what counts.

Explaining your intent doesn't erase the impact. 

It only sounds like avoiding accountability.

Humor doesn't land the same for everyone.

What is funny to you may be insulting to someone else.

Sarcasm gets lost. Tone gets misread.

And you do not get to control how people receive it.

"Just joking" sounds like minimizing.

People hear:

"You're overreacting."
"You're too sensitive."
"I'm not responsible."

That never ends well.

The internet doesn't care about your intentions.

A joke that fails in a room is awkward.

A joke that fails online is permanent.

Screenshots keep the words, not the tone.

What to do instead:

Own the impact.

"I meant it as humor, but I see how it landed, and I'm sorry."

Skip the justification.

Don't explain why they shouldn't be offended. 

Acknowledge that they are.

Know your audience.

Not every joke fits every context.

The best communicators understand this:

You don’t decide how your words are received.

You only decide whether you'll stand by them or own the mistake.

Follow for weekly insights on communication, accountability, and reputation.

Microsoft just bought a 27% stake in OpenAI.
On paper, it's a business deal. In reality,

it's a power shift that changes everything about who controls the future of AI.

And most people aren't paying attention.

Here's what just happened:

OpenAI—the company that gave us ChatGPT—was structured as a nonprofit with a mission: develop AI that benefits humanity, not shareholders.

Now it's becoming a public benefit corporation.

With Microsoft holding significant equity.

Translation: the guardrails just got weaker.

And the profit motive just got stronger.

This isn't just a tech story.

It's a reputation and accountability story.

Because when innovation moves faster than regulation, trust becomes the only thing holding the system together.

And trust is fragile.

Here's what this deal reveals:

Power and accountability are diverging.

Microsoft gains influence. OpenAI gains capital.

But who's accountable when something goes wrong?

When AI makes a harmful decision, who answers for it—the nonprofit mission or the corporate investor?

The structure just got more complicated. And complexity is where accountability dies.

The narrative is shifting before the public realizes it.

Most people still think of OpenAI as the "good guys" in AI development.

Independent. Mission-driven. Different from Big Tech.

But this deal quietly erodes that distinction.

And once the public catches on, the backlash will be swift.

Innovation is outpacing oversight.

AI development is moving at a pace regulators can't match.

New models. New capabilities. New risks.

And the companies building it are writing their own rules—because no one else can keep up.

That's a reputation time bomb.

Three lessons for communicators navigating the AI era:

1.) Transparency isn't optional anymore.
The days of "move fast and explain later" are over.

If your company is pushing boundaries in AI, you need to communicate what you're doing, why, and who's accountable—before someone else defines it for you.

2.) Mission statements won't protect you.

Saying you're committed to safety and ethics doesn't mean anything if your structure prioritizes profit.

The public is learning to look past the messaging and examine the incentives.

3.) One misstep reshapes trust overnight.

AI mistakes don't just hurt your brand. They reshape public perception of the entire industry.

When trust is the only thing preventing regulation or backlash, you can't afford to get it wrong.

This deal is a signal.

The AI race is accelerating.

And the companies that win won't just be the most innovative.

They'll be the ones who figured out how to build trust while everyone else was just building technology.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis management in the age of rapid innovation.

The video went viral within hours.



Erratic driving. Swerving across lanes. 

Tailgating. Confused explanations.

Britney Spears is struggling and the people who should be protecting her brand either can't reach her, or aren't there.

This is what happens when crisis management fails before the cameras start rolling.

Her family, once accused of micromanaging under conservatorship, is now reportedly uninvolved. She's entirely on her own.

That absence is a brand liability playing out in real time.

For public figures, a functioning support system is essential reputation management. Without close advisors and a competent crisis team, minor incidents escalate into viral PR disasters.

What every crisis team should learn:

1. Act before the cameras roll.

Warning signs were there—erratic posts, fractured relationships, behavioral shifts insiders likely noticed months ago.

Waiting until damage goes viral is a fatal mistake.

2. Build a network, not an audience.

Fans aren't advisors. Real stability comes from legal, emotional, and strategic professionals who can say "no."

If no one in the inner circle has that role, the inner circle is the problem.

3. Control the narrative—or be controlled by it.

Her Instagram follow-up was confusing, rambling, unsupervised. It made things worse.

Messaging needs to be intentional. Not every thought belongs online.

4. Understand the cost of visibility.

Britney Spears is a brand with cultural equity, legacy value, and commercial interest.

When celebrities become unstable in public, they jeopardize the long-term viability of their brand.

5. Have a comeback plan before the crisis hits.

Image rehabilitation must begin in calm moments, not after public collapse.

The Reality:

Once the video goes viral, you're not managing a crisis.

You're managing the aftermath of one that's been building for months.

When public figures lack a clear PR strategy, one misstep becomes an irreversible spiral.

Public life offers rewards, but also risk.

When the spotlight turns toxic, survival depends on having the right people, the right plan, and the ability to act fast.

Because if you don't manage your reputation, someone else will.

Follow for weekly insights on crisis intervention and reputation protection.

The House passing the Epstein files bill 427 to 1 is not the headline.
The real headline is what happens next.

Many people assume the release will simply reveal names and fuel public outrage.

They think the narrative will unfold on its own, driven by the documents alone.

It won’t.

The truth is that the decisive moments will unfold in the first 24 to 48 hours.
 
That is when teams move, stories shift and reputations are either protected or permanently damaged.

Here is the pattern that crisis professionals recognize immediately:

• rapid distancing from implicated networks
• controlled statements designed to anchor early perception
• coordinated messaging to shape how the public interprets new information
• quiet legal positioning before narratives harden

With preparation, reputations can be stabilized.
 
Without it, the public forms conclusions that become nearly impossible to reverse.

For a fuller breakdown of what the next phase will look like, see my crisis communications analysis on CBS LA:

https://lnkd.in/eNcjD88i

Excited to be a guest speaker at Broward College today. Sponsored by Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education, this event highlights the importance of kindness in our lives and the impact each of us can make. #guestspeaker #browardcollege #education #kindnessmatters #leadership

Red Banyan has once again been named an Inc. Magazine Power Partner—recognized back-to-back as one of the top B2B firms in public relations. PROUD of the work we do, the IMPACT we create, and the TEAM that makes it happen. Grateful to the leaders who count on us when the stakes are highest. Recognition like this is earned by showing up, staying sharp, and delivering when it matters most.
#IncPowerPartners #RedBanyan #Leadership #CrisisPR #ReputationMatters

Open article: Red Banyan Named 2025 Inc. Power Partner | Red Banyan by redbanyan.com

Red Banyan Named 2025 Inc. Power Partner | Red Banyan

Even the most successful entrepreneurs have blind spots. 
I wrote this piece for Entrepreneurs'​ Organization's Inc. Magazine channel after seeing how often leaders overlook issues that quietly grow beneath the surface—especially when things are going well. Big takeaway? Success doesn’t erase your weaknesses. It often hides them. Staying aware is what separates leaders who grow from leaders who stall. 
Read the full article here:
https://lnkd.in/ei3ysW-x
#Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Growth #ReputationMatters

Open article: 5 Blind Spots That Sneak Up on Successful Entrepreneurs by inc.com

5 Blind Spots That Sneak Up on Successful Entrepreneurs

It’s not every day your work helps put a client in the dictionary. 
But that’s exactly what Red Banyan did.

Through focused media relations and strategic advocacy, our client’s insights were quoted by Merriam-Webster and cemented into the official definition of “radicalism.” A defining voice on a defining issue—with national impact.
This kind of influence doesn’t happen by chance. It’s the result of precision, consistency, and the right message delivered at the right time.

This is the power of strategic communications.
This is the power of Red Banyan.

See the dictionary citation: https://lnkd.in/eFzcmDE7
#StrategicComms #MediaRelations #ThoughtLeadership #CrisisPR #ReputationMatters #Authority

Glen Powell understands that reputation is the most valuable asset. He is smart and strategic about his every move, and it's paving the way to new levels of superstardom. My take in the Us Weekly cover story.#celebrity #publicrelatons #strategy

Open article: How Glen Powell Balances His Career, Dating and Life in Texas (Excl) by usmagazine.com

How Glen Powell Balances His Career, Dating and Life in Texas (Excl)

When a crisis occurs, customers shouldn’t be left to solve it themselves. 
As I shared with Business Insider, hospitality companies earn goodwill by removing the burden, not adding to it. Relocation, refunds, and clear guidance aren’t perks. They’re the basics. Read the full story:

Open article: Hilton's CEO says problem-solving keeps guests coming back by businessinsider.com

Hilton's CEO says problem-solving keeps guests coming back

Leadership means staying grounded when everything around you is uncertain.

I recently contributed this piece to EO on how today’s leaders can build resilience that actually lasts. Especially when times are turbulent, the habits you form before the crisis often define how you lead through it.
Grateful for the chance to share these ideas with the EO community—and would love to hear what’s worked for you. Read the full article here:
https://lnkd.in/eU_n8UCG
#Leadership #Resilience #Entrepreneurs #CrisisPR #StrategicComms

Open article: Developing Resilient Leadership Habits for Uncertain Times by eonetwork.org

Developing Resilient Leadership Habits for Uncertain Times

Learning about diplomacy, debate and ideally compromise, collaboration and problem-solving. Critically important business and life skills. Proud of my daughter Noa Nierman for participating in Model U.N. as a diplomat from Jordan!

Student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas | Teen Leader |

The past two days, I’ve been honored to participate in BULLSMUN 2025 as a delegate for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This is a Model UN conference for high school students where we use parliamentary procedure, give speeches, and collaborate to solve current global diplomatic issues. I participated in the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) committee, where the bloc I led developed a logistical and fair economic and legal framework addressing climate change and managing the effects of global hunger. I was honored to be named Outstanding Delegate by the committee chair, as well as my school being named best large delegate with the most amount of wins! Grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with other students, practice my public speaking, and craft detailed resolutions to real life issues. I am also excited to announce that I have officially joined the MSD Model Un club officer team as the social media manager. Looking forward to the next conference already!

Quantum Leading

Quantum Leading empowers CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors and non-profit leaders to create breakthroughs in their lives and organizations.   

Quantum Leading was founded by Dave Kashen with a vision for helping leaders access their courage, power and wisdom to achieve their goals and dreams.  Unlike traditional change initiatives and workshops, Quantum Leading creates a shift in the lens through which leaders see the world, enabling them to achieve seemingly impossible results.

Leadership Coach for Startup CEOs

Fearless Ventures

Fearless Ventures is a venture capital fund committed to delivering top tier financial returns by supporting the world's best entrepreneurs in becoming conscious leaders and building companies that create value for all stakeholders.

Co-founder & Managing Partner

The Conscious Leadership Group

Leadership Coach & Trainer

Worklife Inc. (acquired by Cisco)

Worklife is a technology startup with a mission to help people love their work life by eliminating soul-crushing, ineffective meetings. There are over 3 Billion meetings per year in the U.S. and it is estimated that 50% of the time spent in meetings is wasted!!! Meeting effectiveness is the #1 driver of employee satisfaction. We're excited to take on this huge opportunity to enable teams and companies to be significantly more effective while helping millions of people be happier and more fulfilled at work.

https://www.worklife.com

YCombinator Winter 2015 | Acquired by Cisco Systems, October 2016

Co-founder & CEO

Wellsphere (acquired by HealthCentral)

Built fastest-growing online consumer health platform with more than 6 million monthly visits and created network of more than 2,500 leading health bloggers (www.wellsphere.com); successfully implemented innovative enterprise health solution at Stanford University with unprecedented results (bewell.stanford.edu).  Responsibilities included finance, operations, product management and marketing.

Co-founder & COO

SPO Partners

Member of eight-person investment team responsible for managing $3 billion of invested capital. Performed analyses and conducted extensive research and diligence to identify and evaluate potential public and private equity and debt investment opportunities, and monitored existing investments. Developed detailed operating models to evaluate earnings- and cash flow- generation potential of businesses, including relevant investment returns analyses. Research and analyses focused on companies in the following industries: professional services, consumer products, cable and media, telecommunications, enterprise software, natural resources, real estate and hotels, and specialty chemicals.

Investment Associate

Goldman Sachs

Participated in various corporate finance and strategic advisory assignments, predominately for real estate, hotel and gaming companies, performing a variety of valuation techniques including leveraged buyout/recapitalization, accretion/dilution, discounted cash flow, relative contribution, share repurchase, options pricing (contingent value rights), public company comparables and recent transaction analyses. Served as co-captain of analyst recruiting for the University of Pennsylvania.

Investment Banking Analyst

I coach startup founders/CEOs to bring out the best in themselves and their teams, scale their companies, experience less anxiety & overwhelm and more calm, confidence & clarity… and maximize the probability of their startup’s success. 

I’ve coached over a dozen founders who’ve scaled to over $1B+ and dozens that have scaled to over $100mm. My clients have collectively created more than $100B in value. 

I've had the privilege of coaching some of the most extraordinary founders and CEOs in the world who've built iconic companies such as Instagram, Solana, Jet, Fetch, Alto Pharmacy, MorningBrew, Redesign Health, Indiegogo, Republic, Truebill and many others. 


My mission is to help the world's most extraordinary entrepreneurs become conscious leaders that lead from vision, love and inspiration.  

More at davekashen.com

Specialties: startup CEO coaching, leadership development, culture development, team alignment.

Dave Kashen

In a conversation with Jesse Pujji, we talked about the time when he just exited his company for a life-changing amount of money.

For years, he'd dreamed of buying an Aston Martin. Finally, he could afford it.

But when he went to the dealership, something unexpected happened. Instead of excitement, he felt anxiety.

"That's going to bring the number down," he thought. "I can't do that."

He walked away without the car.

This wasn't about the money – he had more than enough. It was more to do with what the money had come to represent in his mind: his sense of safety.

The very thing he thought would give him freedom had become a prison.

Here's what's fascinating: Before the exit, he felt free to want the car. After the exit, when he could actually afford it, he felt trapped by needing to protect what he'd gained.

This is the paradox of sourcing our security externally. The more we get, the more we have to lose. The bigger the pile, the more energy we spend protecting it.

The security that lasts doesn't come from the size of your bank account, but comes from knowing you're okay regardless of what's in it.

When you recognize your inherent wholeness, you can enjoy the Aston Martin without needing it. You can pursue ambitious goals without being enslaved by them.

That’s the freedom you’re seeking that you think is on the other side of success. But the seed of that freedom is already within you. 

Because how else could you want something if it was truly unknown to you? The fact that you know enough of what it’s like in order to want it means that it’s already available to you.

I see LinkedIn posts celebrating 9-9-6 culture - nine to nine, six days a week.

Founders filming themselves at 2 AM like it's a badge of honor. Time-lapse videos of teams grinding around the clock.

Here's what I want to know: show me your results.

The founders I work with who create the most sustainable success aren't the ones working the most hours. They're the ones working most effectively.

They understand three things that grind-culture misses:

Resistance drains more energy than the work itself. If you're choosing to do something while hating that you have to do it, you're burning fuel at both ends.

Your body will force renewal whether you plan it or not. Ignore your natural rhythms and you'll end up in burnout, recovering for months instead of hours.

The future you're living into determines your energy. If you're working hard while secretly believing you'll fail, that contradiction will exhaust you faster than any workload.

Bragging about hours worked tells me nothing. Results that compound over time tell me everything.

Sustainable intensity beats unsustainable grinding every time.

What would change if you measured success by impact instead of hours logged?

Most founders I meet believe the same lie:

“If I stop beating myself up, I'll lose my edge.”

I asked one client: 'Are you willing to accept yourself and your startup exactly as you are right now?'

“Absolutely not,' he said. 'That's insane. What would motivate me?”

So we ran an experiment. I told him to do nothing for a week. Watch Netflix. Go to Vegas. Stop the self-criticism entirely.

He was terrified he'd become lazy and lose his creative drive.

By day six, he was bored. By day seven, he had three new business ideas and couldn't wait to get back to building.

Most entrepreneurs run on what I call 'dirty fuel' - fear, lack, and the story that they're not good enough yet.

But there's another way. Clean fuel: curiosity, vision, and the simple joy of creating something meaningful.

The founder who shifts from 'I have to' to 'I get to' doesn't work less. They work differently.

More creativity. Less burnout. Better decisions. Deeper impact.

The most successful leaders I know aren't driven by what they're running from.

They're pulled forward by what they're building toward.

Your creative energy won't disappear when you stop whipping yourself. It will finally have space to breathe.

There's an ancient practice that sounds almost cruel at first.

Sit quietly and repeat: "I am entitled to nothing."

Nothing. Not success. Not love. Not even this breath.

Most people recoil. "That's depressing and nihilistic.." “What’s the point?”

They feel like accepting that is like giving up. 

But here's the reversal they miss.

When you truly accept that you're entitled to nothing, something miraculous happens. 

Suddenly, everything becomes a gift.

The statistical probability of you existing at all rounds to zero. Every relationship, every opportunity, every moment of aliveness becomes extraordinary.

Most of us operate from the opposite assumption. We create an ideal vision of how life should unfold, feel entitled to it, then spend our days frustrated when reality doesn't match our mind's blueprint.

Your spouse should be more appreciative. Your team should be more motivated. Your investors should be more supportive.

When they're not, we feel disappointed. Resentful. Like life owes us something.

But the founders I know who seem to create magic? They start from zero entitlement.

They're genuinely amazed when someone chooses to work with them. Grateful when a customer says yes. In awe that they get to build something from nothing.

When you demand nothing, you will expect nothing... 

And when you expect nothing, you’ll appreciate everything. 

Appreciate everything… and everything will appreciate.

For years, tax season turned me into someone I didn't recognize.

I'd sit at my desk, grumpy and resistant, snapping at my family while preparing documents for my accountant. The work itself took maybe three hours. The resistance lasted weeks.

Then a coach said something to me that completely shifted it: "You don't actually have to do your taxes. There are just consequences - fines, jail time. But it's always a choice."

Suddenly I saw it. I wasn't obligated. I was choosing it because I want to live freely in this country without legal trouble. The moment I owned that choice, the resistance disappeared.

The same three hours of work became... no big deal. Just something I chose to do.

Most founders burn out not from working hard, but from working hard while resisting what they're doing. We tell ourselves we "have to" fundraise, "have to" do admin work, "have to" manage difficult conversations.

But obligation is always an illusion.

When you shift from "I have to" to "I'm choosing to because...," the work might stay the same but your energy toward it transforms.

Your startup demands enough real energy - don't waste it fighting what you've already decided to do.

You can't receive what you won't let in.

For most of my life, I felt like my dad didn't love me unconditionally. Couldn't feel his love. It felt more like judgment, like I had to earn it by being successful, polite, perfect.

Until one day, after years of inner work, I realized something profound.

I just wasn't letting it in.

His love didn't come in the exact form I thought it should. So I blocked it. Protected myself from it. Somehow convinced myself that resistance was safer than receiving.

But one day he said something simple: "Dave, you know how you feel about Ben and Brody?" (my two boys) "That's how I feel about you."

It finally cracked open and I felt his love for the first time – not as an idea, but as an actual felt experience. The love was always there, I just hadn't been willing to receive it.

This is the same pattern I see with founders everywhere.

We resist appreciation. We deflect acknowledgement. All because it doesn’t fit in the exact way we want to be recognized. Someone tells us we did great work and we immediately point to what could be better. We're more comfortable with criticism than compliments.

We might think we're being humble, but we're actually just being closed off.

And when you’re closed off to appreciation from others, you are teaching them not to appreciate you. 

This then gives you evidence that others do not appreciate and love you to confirm your beliefs. 

But this whole pattern boils down to you not loving and appreciating yourself, which keeps you from feeling comfortable letting it in from others. It’s a reflection of your own self judgment that then creates it as an experienced reality. 

Your team wants to appreciate you. Your family wants to love you. But if you're not open to receiving it, it can't land and won’t exist in your world.

The question isn't whether love is available.

The question is: Are you willing to let it in? First from yourself and then from others.

I recently coached a founder who felt completely stuck.

He was trying to buy out a former cofounder who’d stopped contributing years ago – but still wanted a hefty payout.

“I did all the work,” he said. “He wants more than is fair. It’s infuriating.”

We’d all been there: wrapped in resentment, spinning in our heads, rehearsing the same righteous monologue.

So I invited him into an exercise I learned from the Conscious Leadership Group that’s changed my life and the lives of many of my clients.

It’s called the "recipe," or “teach the class,” exercise.

And it starts with one radical question:

What if you’re a master at creating what you don’t want?

If you had to teach a class on how to create the exact problem you're experiencing… what would the lessons be?

Click below to read the full newsletter ⬇️

View newsletter: Inner Game of Entrepreneurship

I recently coached a founder who felt completely stuck. He was trying to buy out a former cofounder who’d stopped contributing years ago – but still w

Open article: The Recipe That’s Keeping You Stuck – How to Step into Creator Consciousness by Dave Kashen • 3 min read

The Recipe That’s Keeping You Stuck – How to Step into Creator Consciousness

There's a conversation you've been avoiding for weeks. Maybe months.

You know exactly which one I'm talking about – that thing you need to say to your co-founder, that boundary you need to set with a client, that feedback you need to give an employee.

Every time you think about having it, your stomach tightens. So you don't.
And every day you don't, the resentment builds a little more.

Here's what's really happening: You're not avoiding the conversation because you don't want to hurt them. You're avoiding it because you don't want to feel what you'll feel when they react.

The anger, the disappointment, the guilt. Your mind is protecting you from emotional discomfort by keeping you silent.

But here's the cost: That avoided conversation is slowly poisoning your relationship and your leadership.

Because unexpressed boundaries don't disappear – they turn into resentment. And resentment always finds a way out, usually in ways that damage relationships far more than the original honest conversation would have.

So here's how to set boundaries that actually work...

Click below to read the full newsletter ⬇️

There's a conversation you've been avoiding for weeks. Maybe months. You know exactly which one I'm talking about – that thing you need to say to your

Open article: How to Set Boundaries That Actually Work by Dave Kashen • 5 min read

This is amazing. Novak Djokovic gives a master class on the power of feeling your feelings all the way through instead of trying to “stay positive”. 

https://lnkd.in/gxKfaKce

Open video: Djokovic says Mental Toughness is “Not a Gift” 🧠 on youtube.com

Djokovic says Mental Toughness is “Not a Gift” 🧠

Most leaders think they're in control.

But they're actually operating in victim consciousness – blaming circumstances, making excuses, and giving their power away.

I worked with a CEO who seemed to have everything: vision, talent, capital, team. But every conversation was a list of reasons why things weren't working.

When I asked her one question, everything shifted: "How are you creating this?"

Here's how to make the shift from victim to creator consciousness:

1. Notice the victim voice
Listen for blame ("They're the problem"), complaints ("This isn't fair"), and defensiveness ("It's not my fault").

2. Ask: "How am I creating this?"
Reflect on how your actions, inactions, or mindset contribute to the situation. This isn't meant to lead to self-blame but to self-awareness.

3. Take ownership
Identify one action you can take to move forward – reframing your mindset, having a tough conversation, or accepting what's outside your control.

Life doesn't happen to you. It happens by you.

As a founder, your consciousness sets the tone for your entire team. When you operate as a creator, they follow your lead.

Where in your leadership are you operating as a victim by giving your power away?

A lot of founders treat their startup like a whipping room. A form of punishment in order to get themselves to perform.

I told Andrew in one of the Heart of Entrepreneurship episodes something that initially sounds impossible: "You already are whole, perfect, and complete. All the voices that say you need to be better, more visionary, more something – that's just noise. At your essence, you literally are already everything you need to be."

The fear comes immediately: "But if I believe that, won't I stop improving? Won't I get complacent?"

This is the trap most leaders live in. They think their pain and sense of lack is what drives them. They've convinced themselves that feeling "not good enough" is the engine of achievement.

But here's what I'm seeing with founder after founder: there's a completely different way to create results. Instead of the constant effort, hustle, and grind, there's flow.

One of my clients reported: "I'm having investors reach out to me. I'm getting speaking opportunities from nowhere. This used to be really hard work where I felt like I had to hustle. Now these things are just happening."

It's almost scary to trust. We're so addicted to familiar suffering that when things start flowing, we don't know how to receive it.

The conditions we learned to survive become the conditions we think we need to keep surviving. If grinding got you here, your nervous system believes you need to keep grinding to stay here.

But what if there's another way? What if connecting with your essence and operating from love creates even more extraordinary results all with less effort?

I've watched billion-dollar companies get built this way. Not through desperation or proving, but instead from a place of flow and co-creation with life itself.

Your soul knows what's best for you. Maybe it's time to trust that.

Try to attain the experience of quiet with your mind. 🤯

There are two ways to build a company:

From the one who needs security, control, and approval.

Or from the one who is beyond wanting these things.

The first founder thinks: "When this startup succeeds, I'll finally be worthy. When I raise the Series A, I'll feel secure. When people respect me as a CEO, I'll be enough."

Every decision carries the weight of their identity. Every setback feels like evidence of their inadequacy. The company becomes a referendum on their worth.

The second founder operates from a different place entirely. They welcome the part of themselves that wants approval without being run by it. They acknowledge their desire for control while focusing only on what they can actually influence.

They build from curiosity instead of desperation. From play instead of proving.

Both founders might achieve similar external outcomes. But their internal experience is completely different.

One is constantly trying to fill a hole that can't be filled. The other is creating from overflow.

One is attached to every outcome. The other is present to every moment.

One is running from their inadequacy. The other is relaxed in their inherent completeness.

When you stop building to prove your worth and start building to express it, success stops being something you chase and starts being something that flows through you.

The mirror in your bathroom shows you exactly what's there.

Not what was there yesterday. Not what might be there tomorrow. Just what's actually there right now.

You don't argue with mirrors. You don't try to convince them to show you something different. You just look, see what's true, and decide what to do from there.

Leadership would be so much simpler if we treated feedback like mirrors.

Instead, most of us treat feedback like those wavy, distorted funhouse mirrors by interpreting what we see through our belief systems. This creates made up stories based on who's giving it, how they're saying it, or how it makes us feel.

The investor who passed becomes a reflection of our worthiness. The employee who's struggling becomes proof we can't hire. The customer who churned becomes evidence we built the wrong thing.

But feedback is simply information. Not about your value as a founder, but about what's actually happening right now.

The most powerful leaders I work with have developed the ability to recognize this, pause, and separate the facts and the made up stories.

"Our churn is up 15% this quarter." That's just information.

"We're terrible at building products people want." That's a story creating distortion.

When you can receive feedback without making it mean something about your identity as a leader, you become incredibly efficient at course-correcting.

You stop defending against reality and start working with it.

Mirrors don't judge. They don't have opinions. They don't tell stories about what they're reflecting.

They just show you what's there so you can get curious and decide what to do next.

Most founders think culture is something you build.

But what if it's something you cultivate?

I've been thinking about this after watching how some leaders approach team building like construction projects - assembling pieces, installing systems, measuring outputs.

But the most magnetic leaders I know approach it differently. They think like gardeners.

A gardener doesn't build soil - they enrich it. They don't manufacture growth - they create conditions for it. They understand that you can't force a seed to sprout faster by pulling on it.

The founder who gardens their culture asks different questions:
 • Instead of "How do I get my team to perform?" they wonder "What conditions would help them flourish?"
 • Instead of "How do I build engagement?" they ask "What's blocking the inherent aliveness within ?"

I saw this play out in one of our  community calls. A founder shared how she'd been exhausting herself trying to fix her team's energy. Then she shifted - she started paying attention to her own presence first. When she showed up with genuine curiosity instead of hidden judgment, her entire team’s energy  changed.

The gardener knows you can't force growth. You can only tend to the conditions that allow it.

What would change if you approached your team like a gardener instead?

In one of our early IGE community calls we did a counterintuitive exercise to help founders solve their problems…

And by counterintuitive, I mean, we didn’t give any solutions.

One of the founders shared his current challenge – an underperforming team member with potential but low follow-through. He had ideas, but none felt right so he wanted support.

Now, here's where most groups would jump into advice-giving mode. You know how it goes: "Have you tried setting clearer expectations?" "Maybe switch to weekly check-ins?" "Just fire him."

But we did something completely different.

We asked him questions... and didn't let him answer a single one.

And what happened next shows why most of our conversations actually miss the mark entirely.

Click below to read the full newsletter ⬇️

In one of our early IGE (Inner Game of Entrepreneurship) community calls we did a counterintuitive exercise to help founders solve their problems… And

Open article: A Counterintuitive Way to Solve Problems: How One Simple Exercise Expands Your Awareness by Dave Kashen • 4 min read

A Counterintuitive Way to Solve Problems: How One Simple Exercise Expands Your Awareness

It has felt a lot more powerful to directly experience something than to believe a story that somebody else wrote. 

For me, spirituality is this practice of really looking at my direct experience of what's occurring. It's almost like the opposite of mythicism – if I let go of believing all the things that I've been believing, what do I directly experience?

Identity is itself a thought. Even if I let go of that, this thought that I'm this Dave Kashen guy with this history, what do I directly experience? 

For me, that's been the path to spirituality. It's a sense of what's here when I let go of all the stories and all the thoughts. 

What's left over?

There's an experience when my mind goes quiet. 
There's something that feels really profound about having that experience.
and there's a depth of peace and aliveness and love that I feel. 

Because I've touched that through meditation, I have that touchstone, and I can bring it with me into my everyday life more and more.

The more I meditate, the more I'm able to come from these states of presence and love when I'm interacting with people. 

That to me is a real benefit to going into the meditation gym.

Watch the full Heart of Entrepreneurship episode to dive deeper into this conversation – https://lnkd.in/gSHVwq3U

There's a scene that plays out in most founder’s minds every day.

Success arrives. The deal closes. The team performs well. Revenue jumps.

And instead of celebration, there's an immediate voice: "This won't last. What's the next problem? What did I miss?"

We call this "staying grounded." Being "realistic." Avoiding complacency because we’ve all heard that only the paranoid survive. 

But what's actually happening is more insidious.

It’s an addiction to the familiar suffering. It’s not that the pain is enjoyable, but most founders simply learned how to survive within it.

Joy? Success? Flow states where everything feels effortless? That's uncharted territory so the nervous system doesn't trust it and feels scary compared to the familiar suffering..

This leads to unconsciously sabotaging the good feelings. Hunting for problems and reminding yourself why you can't relax yet.

But there's a difference between being prepared for challenges and being unable to receive joy and success.

I've watched billion-dollar founders who can handle any crisis but can't sit still when someone genuinely appreciates them.

They deflect. They redirect to what needs fixing. They literally cannot metabolize the positive.

But I can tell you from my experience coaching some of the best founders in the world…

The leaders creating the most extraordinary results aren't the ones grinding hardest and constantly looking for what’s wrong.

They're the ones who've learned how to stop making their emotional state dependent on having problems to solve.

Because your capacity to receive good is your capacity to create it.

"How can I tell the difference between healthy self-questioning and destructive doubt?"

So many founders think doubt means they're not cut out for this. They believe that people like Elon Musk, Sam Altman or Brian Chesky felt confident all the time, knew what they were doing, and never questioned themselves.

So when doubt shows up, they either fight it or make it mean something terrible about their worthiness as leaders.

What I've noticed is that doubt itself isn't the problem. Doubt alone isn’t destructive. It's believing that having doubting thoughts is somehow bad or wrong or means that you're less powerful and effective.

There's something almost recursive here. You doubt your vision, then you doubt yourself for doubting, then you feel shame about the doubt. Some founders think "I can't imagine Elon or Brian experiencing this, so I must not be like them, so I can't do what they did."

But the most successful founders building billion-dollar businesses and unicorns - they all have those same doubting thoughts. There's nothing different between you and them if you're experiencing doubt, whether it's self-doubt or doubt around your vision and whether it will really work.

When you can welcome the doubt as totally normal human experience, something shifts. You stop judging yourself for being human. You can look honestly at what you're doing that's going great and working really well, and ask "How could I be even better?"

That's where healthy self-questioning comes in. Because we're always learning and growing, and there's always opportunities to improve. When it becomes genuine inquiry from a place of curiosity instead of an identity thing where you make it mean something about your worth, the whole dynamic changes.

You'll still have doubting thoughts. Welcome them, then ask your actual question from curiosity instead of fear.

What doubts are you carrying that you've been making mean something about your worthiness to lead?

There's this quintessential example of DFS, which is John F Kennedy in 1960. We will put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the decade.

And in that moment, that seemed impossible. Technology didn't exist to invent the technology needed to actually make that happen.

And it happened, 1969, moon landing.

I bring it up because a lot of leaders will go, well, I don't know how to get there. How can I credibly tell the team we're gonna get there when I don't know how to get there? How can I be so bold as to declare, we're gonna build this billion dollar company? We're gonna get 10 million in EBITDA.

And what I often say is the creative tension is a big part of the how. So if you're not willing to create the creative tension because you're scared because you don't know how to get there, you might—it's actually the creativity that is how you get there.

So I think that's a really important point. That's what I see the best leaders do. They're willing to declare a future and believe it even when they don't know all the steps to get there because they recognize that just declaring it will generate that creativity in themselves and their team that will make it possible.

It's not a guarantee, but it becomes possible. So that's some of the how.

And you really only have to know the next step. The path is made by walking.

Watch the full episode of The Heart of Entrepreneurship where we dive deeper into creative tension and leadership: https://lnkd.in/gSHVwq3U

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