Keynote Speaker on Sales, Marketing, and Building Trust...Author of They Ask You Answer...Ranked #1 LinkedIn Voices for Entrepreneurship...and a Dang Good Follow on LinkedIn

Called a “web marketing guru” by the New York Times, the Story of how Marcus Sheridan was able to save his swimming pool company, River Pools, from the economic crash of 2008 has been featured in multiple books, publications, and stories around the world and is the centerpiece to his best-selling book, They Ask You Answer, which has been named “One of the 5 Best Marketing Books of All Time” by BookAuthority and his follow up book, Endless Customers, was named a National Bestseller by USA Today.

Sheridan is a highly sought-after global speaker (averaging 50 keynotes yearly) in the digital sales and marketing space, working with hundreds of businesses and brands alike to achieve their potential in a rapidly evolving marketplace, ultimately helping them to connect deeper and become the most trusted voice in their respective industry.

Companies Marcus is a Part of: IMPACT, River Pools, Marcus Sheridan International, Question First Group, PriceGuide.ai

Keynote topics include:  Sales, Marketing, AI, Leadership Communication

Marcus Sheridan

First speaking trip of the year is in the books, and I already had a massive “W” by taking my wife and two youngest on the trip to speak in St. Pete to the Table of Titans Mastermind, put on by Tony Hoty.

There is just something so magical about showing your children what the world looks like out there.  And the fact that they’ve been accompanying me on these trips for 15 years now is one of the greatest joys of my life. ❤️

One of the most engaging keynote speakers on the planet—I create experiences that change how businesses sell, connect, and win | Author of Endless Customers and They Ask, You Answer | Entrepreneur | Master Storyteller

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Dear Marketers, 

Put the answer first.
Put the answer first.
Put the answer first.

Sincerely,

Humans & Answer Engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Etc.)

-------

(In other words, stop burying the lead with your content. If you want impatient humans to stick around, put the main answer FIRST. If you want your content to be found in the AI summary, put the main answer FIRST. And if you want LLMs to consistently source you, recommend you, etc. - put the main answer FIRST. I know for the last 20 years content marketing had lovely intros, build up, and lead-ins before giving the actual answer to the core question of the post, but that needs to stop. Yes, it's a total rethink of the way you write, but that's where we are, and that's what you now need to do.)

And here we go 2026! Off to the first gig of the year, and I have to tell you - I'm just as excited to start year 15 of speaking full-time as I was when this journey began in 2011. Why?

Because I'm doing what I feel like I was put on Earth to do.

And one of these days, when I'm able to meet my Maker, it's my hope He is pleased with my efforts. 

Of course, I have a long ways to go, and I fall short often, but the fire to be better (personally and professionally) burns brighter than ever.

So here's to you making 2026 an extraordinary year, and hopefully, if you're reading this, we'll cross paths in real life soon.

Let's do this. 🤜 🤛

Two things are becoming crystal clear to me when it comes to AI in business:

👉 #1: Stop marrying yourself to any single AI platform.

I don't care if it's ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.

The market is moving too fast. I'm watching ChatGPT lose ground to competitors that are flat-out better right now. And honestly? I have no idea who the "Google of AI" is going to be.

So stay flexible, friends. The leader today might not be the leader tomorrow.

👉 #2 And this is the bigger one...Stop saying "AI sucks at..."

Just last month, University of Michigan researchers released an AI model that can diagnose a complex heart condition from a 10-second EKG.

This same condition used to require advanced imaging equipment or invasive procedures.

10 seconds. Incredible.

Here's my point:

The moment you cement your opinion about what AI can't do, you've entered a very slippery, unproductive slope.

Why? Because by the time AI masters that thing you said it couldn't, you (or your business) will have moved on - completely missing the opportunity.

This is why, if you're not careful, your business systems, workflows, and very assumptions as to what is possible can easily become outdated faster than we've ever seen. 

So here's what I'm asking you to do:

Have short memories when it comes to AI capabilities.

Stay skeptical of permanence.

And stay open to what's next.

Agree? Disagree? What say you?

My commercial fishing company did something online that has never been done before a few days ago, and the story is a wild one. Here's what went down:

During commercial bluefin tuna season (which happens to be right now) we (Speechless Sportfishing) go LIVE on Facebook whenever we hook up with a fish.

This means viewers get to see EVERYTHING - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Our successes, our failures - all of it.

Well, a few days ago with hooked up with the biggest tuna fish of our lifetime (not an exaggeration), and we fought it LIVE on Facebook for 8.5 hours (see photo below).

That's right, 8.5 hours, with many viewers watching the ENTIRE experience.

By the end, as the fish finally crested the surface of the water and we were just about to bring it in the boat, over 1,100 devices were watching the event LIVE. 

Many people said they were watching with their entire family or friend group, cheering us on.

My best estimate is about 2,500 people were enthralled with this epic battle.

It was a magical experience...until at the last second, when the line snapped just before we were to land the fish.

Absolute, total heartbreak.

Yes, it's the ultimate story of "the one that got away."

Here's the beauty though - Yes, we lost the fish.

But we gained legions of fans in the process, with hundreds of "keep your heads up" and "you guys were amazing" messages flooding our inboxes.

And let me repeat - Many of these people watched THE ENTIRE 8.5 HOURS.

We always hear that no one these days has the attention span to consume long-form content.

Well, I'm here to tell you this is simply not true.

People, more than ever, will watch and consume your content...but only if they have a REASON to stay.

And why did these viewers stay? Why did the numbers grow throughout the day?

It comes back to AUTHENTICITY my friends.

A real boat, with real crew and a real monster fish...with real heartbreak to top it all off.

All of this led to thousands of people being *emotionally invested* in the outcome at the end.

My point here is simple:

Show what others in your space are not willing to show.

Be more authentic than others are willing to be.

Let them fall in love with your imperfections.

By so doing, you may not always catch the biggest fish, but you will gain fans and customers for life.

And that, my friends, is what it's all about.

😀 🎣 🐟

Dear Sales Professional,

If you would like to lose a ton of deals you should have closed, keep attempting to resolve concerns over text messages instead of calling the person directly and having a real conversion.

Sincerely,

A Friend Who Wants You to Hit Quota

🙂

Life Tip (that took me years to learn): 

If you don't know *why* you’ve been invited to a meeting, don't go.

Let's translate the "why":

👉 "To hear updates" ...That's an email.
👉 "To give input" ...That's a shared doc.
👉 "To be in the loop" ...That's a CC.

Are you picking up what I'm putting down?

Your calendar is NOT a public park. It’s private property.

Protect your time. Protect your energy. Protect your sanity.

My team and I have reviewed over 1,000 sales conversations over the last year and one thing has become very, very clear:

👉 Companies over over-indexing on "product training" and grossly under-indexing on "people" training.

It's wild to watch it over and over again, but let me give you two classic examples:

A SaaS company has someone in engineer deliver a demo who is technically 100X smarter than any potential client about the product's ins and outs yet has zero ability to ask thoughtful discovery questions, build rapport, and create an excitement and energy for the product.

Another example:

A manufacturer does a two-day training with their dealer reps and 100% of the conversation is about product knowledge and competitor comparison, with 0% spent on helping the reps learn to ask better questions, make deeper connections, and be truly LOVED by the prospect.

Do you see the issue here?

Yes, product knowledge is very, very important, especially as consumers and buyers are becoming more and more informed.

But when sales training becomes all about the product and not about the power of human connection, it loses its soul, which ultimately kills the sale and stagnates the entire organization. 

Balance my friends, balance.

Important Reminder for All Marketers: 👇 

Yesterday I was chatting with a client (boat retailer) that told me they wanted to focus more on their LinkedIn efforts.

My response: Why would you put your energy on a B2B platform when you're selling high end boats to consumers?

Their answer? "Because some of our potential customers may be there."

Here's the thing. Sure, they *may* get a few leads on LinkedIn but there are MANY other platforms that would be a better use of their time and produce a stronger ROI (as a B2C company).

Here's what we have to remember:

👉 1. Just because a platform *might* generate you leads doesn't mean you *should* focus on that platform.

👉 2. You're better off being GREAT on one platform than being incredibly average on multiple platforms.

👉 3. And finally, every minute you spend on one platform is another minute you won't spend on another. 

Focus, friends, focus.

A business owner told me this week, "Yep, we're ranking well in ChatGPT. I've run a bunch of tests."

My response was not what he wanted to hear. I said:

"Well, the truth is, ranking doesn't even exist with ChatGPT.  Furthermore, you're looking at biased results anyway, only made for you. The rest of the world is seeing something very different."

He was shocked and disappointed. 

This, of course, is because he (and so many others) are still treating AI-Visibility like Legacy Google - linear/binary thinking - "Do I rank or do I not?" - and not understanding that the days of "ranking" are coming to an end (outside of legacy Google).

Remember:
LLMs do NOT give set answers.
There is no “page one.”
There is no universal result everyone sees.

Every response is shaped by:
👉 the individual user
👉 the specific LLM
👉 context, history, inputs
👉 and countless other variables

So can you *roughly* test how likely AI is to recommend you?

Yes...to a degree.

But only if you disable saved memories (like I’ve shown here). That’s the only way to get closer to an “unbiased” view of what others might see.

Even then, it’s still just one possible outcome among many.

That’s the shift my friends. 

So stop obsessing over “ranking.”
And start obsessing over trust and authority.

The sooner we let go of the old mental model, the better we’ll all perform in the new one.

How to Learn Your AI Visibility without Bias

I just walked off the keynote stage for the JobTread Software Connect Conference and my goodness that was fun! 1400 leaders in the trades coming together to improve their businesses and raise the bar for the entire industry.  

So much of the credit goes to the amazing guy standing next to me here, their CEO and Founder Eric Fortenberry. This is a man of the highest integrity and vision, who truly wants blue collar businesses to succeed.  

What an honor it was to be a part of the movement!! 😃

Tomorrow I'm doing something I've never done before:

Putting on a FREE, 90 Minute Sales Kickoff (SKO) for ANYONE that wants to dramatically improve their sales skills and mindset for 2026 - B2B, B2C, sales leaders, soloists, this is for you.

Even better, there will be no "pitch", no "offer", and no "first 100 people that sign up for X" to have to listen to at the end.

Just the best sales class you've probably experienced in a long time. (Yes, I'm serious, which is why it's called a "Level 5" SKO.)

That's my personal promise.

The plan is to do this at the beginning of every year for the foreseeable future for any person or organization that wants to attend. 

Your job is simply to show up with an open heart and open mind. 

You'll also get a powerful workbook to follow along, 2 free sales tools that I've developed, the Level 5 SKO Checklist, and more. (see the link in the comments)

Sound awesome? Well, it will be, and I hope to see you (or your team) there. 

Again, whether you're B2B, B2C, a manager, a soloist, etc...whatever you call yourself, you'll walk away with a plan, action items, and immediate takeaways.

Simply put, you will be better at your job and you will SELL MORE in 2026 by attending.

Link is in the comments below.

I hope to see you there. 😀

The 3 Hardest Skills to Teach in Sales (From 2,000+ Hours of Coaching) 👇 

After two decades in the trenches and thousands of hours coaching sales professionals, I’ve realized that the "mechanics" of sales are (with the right coaching) easy. It’s the *psychology* that’s difficult.

If I had to rank the three hardest skills to instill in a seller, they would be:

👉 1. The Audacity to Walk Away
Most sellers operate from a place of scarcity, not abundance. Their internal dialogue is: "I have to close this." The problem, of course, is that this creates a sense of desperation on the part of the seller. It manifests as pressure, which crushes their authority and plants seeds of doubt in the buyer’s mind. Turning "walking away" into a superpower is the hardest thing to teach because it isn't a tactic. Instead, it's 100% mindset. It requires the confidence to realize that you're not a fit for everyone...and that's a good thing.

👉 2. Radical Situational Fluency
Average sellers have a "mode." Great sellers have a "dial." Stay with me here, because this one really matters. They don't just bring high energy, they bring the *right* energy. They can read a room in seconds and adjust their presence (turning it up to inspire or dialing it back to build empathy) without it ever feeling inauthentic. This requires an extreme level of presence and situational awareness that most people simply haven't developed and is VERY hard to coach.

👉 3. "Straight-Line" Inquiry
Anyone can ask discovery questions. Very few can ask the one question that cuts through the noise and hits the core of the issue instantly. Asking questions in a straight line means removing the fluff and having the courage to take a buyer where they haven’t gone before. It’s about making them think in ways they haven't yet considered. This skill only comes after years of reps and a refusal to settle for surface-level answers (see skill #1).

These are the skills that move the needle the most, yet they are the rarest to find. In fact, think about your sales team for a minute. How many truly have all three of these? If more than 10% of your team have these skills, you can consider yourself world-class. They are that rare.

I’m curious, for those of you in the sales arena: Do you agree or disagree with these three? Any you'd add to the list? Fee free to share your honest thoughts below. 👇

Most CEOs didn’t start out feeling stuck. But the weight of leading builds quietly until one day you realize you’re carrying too much alone. The decisions get harder. The conversations get safer. And the people who used to challenge you now just wait for direction.

I know that place. I lived it for years.

I founded and led Applied Educational Systems for 36 years. Built it. Scaled it. Made mistakes that cost me. Had wins that taught me even more. And for too long, I thought I had to figure it all out myself.

That changed in 2003 when I joined Vistage. The group didn’t let me hide. They asked the questions I was avoiding. Gave me the accountability I didn’t know I needed. That shift helped me lead differently. We earned five straight years on the Inc. 5000, and I exited on my terms in 2022.

Now I privately coach business owners and chair a private Vistage group for CEOs and business owners in Central Pennsylvania.

I don’t coach strategy alone. I coach the whole person, because the business only grows as far as the leader does. I ask the questions no one else will ask—the ones that get below the surface, the ones that make you stop and rethink what you thought you knew.

This isn’t for everyone. It’s for CEOs who know they’re the most important hire in their company. Who are willing to invest in themselves. Who want real feedback, not validation. Who are curious, open-minded, and brave enough to be vulnerable in a room of peers who get it.

I limit my coaching clients and my Vistage group to the right fit. It has to be right for you and for the group.

Married 40 years. Five kids. Still asking better questions every day.

Jim Schultz

She was one of our best. Then I promoted her.

Reliable. Sharp. Got things done.

A few months in, she was floundering. One of her direct reports wasn't engaged and she knew she had to address it.

When we talked about the conversation she needed to have, I saw it. Fear.
That's when I realized I didn't promote her. I set her up to fail.

I never prepared her for what the role actually demanded. I saw an opening, she was capable, and I made the move.

That was my mistake.

Great individual contributors and great managers require very different skills. Execution isn't leadership. Getting things done isn't holding people accountable.

I've made this mistake more than once. Talented people lost confidence in roles I put them in without giving them what they needed to succeed.

If you're a CEO or founder, ask yourself: When you promoted your last manager, did you set them up to win or just fill the seat?

#Leadership #CentralPA #BusinessGrowth

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12.31.25

'I'll start Monday' is rarely about Monday. It's about avoiding the hard thing. We tell ourselves we need more time, more information, more readiness. Usually we just need to start.

1.2.26

One question worth asking yourself: Do the people closest to you get your full attention or what's left after work takes its share?

Inbound

Helping Business Owners and CEOs Lead with Clarity, Purpose, and Courage

After founding and leading Applied Educational Systems (AES) for over three decades — and guiding it through a successful acquisition by a global private equity firm — I started Felix Enterprises to focus on the work I find most meaningful: helping CEOs and business owners grow through honest reflection, intentional leadership, and deep personal insight.

At Felix, I work exclusively with CEOs and owners of companies ranging from $5M to $500M in revenue, primarily in Lancaster and the surrounding region. My approach is rooted in one-on-one coaching — no groups, no noise — just focused, candid conversations that lead to real clarity and deliberate action.

This work is not about offering quick fixes or recycled advice. It’s about asking the right questions — the ones no one else dares to — and creating space for leaders to think more clearly, act more intentionally, and grow with greater confidence.

The lessons I bring to this work were forged over 36 years of real-world leadership — scaling AES, earning a place on the Inc. 5000 list five years in a row, and navigating everything from growth and complexity to succession and exit. Much of that journey was shaped by my 19-year membership in Vistage, which provided me with a peer group and framework that profoundly impacted both my business and personal growth.

Now, through Felix Enterprises, I aim to pay that forward — helping growth-minded leaders thrive in their business and in life.

Founder & President

Everything we do at AES is about believing in life-long learning. We believe that life-long learning sets people free.  We empower lifelong learners by developing digital curriculum systems that easily saves time for a teacher, promotes interaction, is simple to use and current. We make great interactive eLearning curriculum systems that give teachers the time to develop relationships with students.

AES achieved the Inc 5000 list for five years (2018-2022). In addition, AES was honored as one of the Best Places to work in PA.

In October 2022, The Riverside Company, a global private investor, acquired Applied Educational Systems (AES), a digital career and technical education content provider for K-12 schools and career centers. AES is an add-on to Riverside’s iCEV platform, a leading developer of SaaS-based digital curriculum, instructional materials, and industry certifications.  Read more here:  https://www.riversidecompany.com/currents/aes-news-release/

After the acquisition in October 2022, I helped with the integration of AES and iCEV as a consultant.

Founder & CEO 

I served as an advisor and, since 2013, as a Board of Director member. Cargas offers a rare and unique employee ownership culture called Shared Success. Creating a winning environment for owners, employees, customers, partners, and the community is simple.

My contribution from experience focused on sales, marketing, strategic development & planning, and process improvements.

During that time, Cargas, an employee-owned company, accomplished the following:

Sales Grew - 5x
Profits Grew - 20x
FTE Growth - 4x
Best Places to Work in PA - 10x
Inc 5000 list - 4x
Private Company "Board of the Year" Award

Member Board of Directors

Vistage brings together business leaders from diverse businesses and backgrounds to coach and advise each other to drive better decisions and achieve better results.  I was a member of Rick Oppenheimer's, then Shaun Balani Central PA Vistage Executive group 349.

Member of CEO Group

Member of the Board of Advisors

I was responsible for executing an annual sales plan within the United States by working with independent sales representatives to help open, manage and close sales opportunities in the career education and technical training market.  I provided outside sales support for independent sales reps as needed, including making sales presentations to potential customers, using selling techniques to assist the independent sales reps in negotiating sales, exhibiting and presenting at shows and conferences, and training new and current independent sales reps on Link's Simulation Systems products and sales processes.  The work also included developing close working relationships with independent sales reps.

Vocational Sales

Entrepreneur & Exited Founder | Supporting CEOs Who Scale Smarter, Build Legacy, and Create Life Beyond Business

2019 Entrepreneur of the Year 

Association Career and Technical Education

Exited Founder | Guiding Business Owners Through Growth, Transition, and the Hard Calls In Between

Dan Weber

Thirty years as a founder. Thirty years of doubt. Then someone nominated me for Entrepreneur of the Year.

My first thought? Who the hell nominated me?

Turns out it was Jen Strobel, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, MSOCL. Barely knew her. She said she'd watched me coach her son's youth wrestling team.

That's it. She saw me coaching kids. And nominated me for Entrepreneur of the Year.

She wasn't watching me run a company. She was watching me get down on one knee with a nervous 8-year-old. Apparently, that's where she saw leadership.

The Lancaster Chamber interviewed me. I sat there thinking: Maybe it was one bad year and I just repeated it 30 times.

During the interview, I broke down and cried.

Michael DeBerdine was on the committee. I knew Mike. Embarrassing. But later he told me that's just who I am.

I told them about pivoting our business and watching sales go from $10 million to zero. Losing $3 million over two years. Going from 35 employees down to four.

Things got so bad, our HVAC broke and we got rejected for a $15,000 line of credit. Too much debt.

So I called my oldest son. Fresh out of college. Working in New York City.

"Alex, can you lend us $15,000?"

My son loaned his parents money to fix the heat.

Our two younger sons went to West Point. I think they knew the financial burden college was going to be for us.

I won the award. That night, they played my interview video for 2,000 people. There I was on the big screen, breaking down talking about my sons.

Not some slick entrepreneur telling a polished success story. Just me. Crying.

Afterward, everyone wanted my advice.

I kept thinking: You want my advice? I've been grinding for 30 years. No magic formula. No hack. No playbook. Grit.

The outside never matches the inside.

People see the award. The stage. The success.

They don't see the rejection letters. The phone call to your kid asking for money. The nights wondering if you should just shut it down and get a job.

We're all more broken than we let on. And that's okay.

What would it take for you to stop discounting the hard thing you built?

PS: My wife and two of my kids at the Lancaster Chamber award night. They knew the real story.

Our fourth grandchild arrived last week.

Our first girl.

Three grandsons prepared us for chaos and energy. Now a granddaughter adds something new to the mix.

Watching our family grow makes me think more about the future. About what we're building. About what lasts.

What makes you pause and appreciate the generations ahead?

Tracy Schultz

Retired- Human Resources at Applied Educational Systems

We'd been running EOS for about a year when somebody on my leadership team said in a meeting, "I think I'd be a better person to run the L10 than Jim. Let's discuss."

I shut them down.

Didn't ask questions. Didn't try to understand where they were coming from. I got defensive, pulled rank, and killed the conversation.

"No, we're not making that change."

Internally, I was thinking: I'm the founder and CEO. I can do this.

Six months later, I handed them the meeting.

For the next four years, they ran it at a level I never could have. It played to their strengths. We gained real momentum from that one change.

But here's what still bothers me.

I was running a meeting literally designed to surface issues. And when someone surfaced an issue about me, I couldn't hear it.

That's the trap. You think you're open to feedback because you've built systems for it. But the moment feedback threatens your identity as the leader, you stop listening.

So here's my question.

When's the last time you shut someone down because the feedback threatened how you see yourself?

#CentralPA #Leadership

Your leadership team is waiting for you to leave. They won't say it. No one will. So I will.

Seneca wrote of the lawyer who dies at court, still seeking approval from strangers in old age. He called it disgraceful.

We all know a version of this person.

The legend in your industry. The founder still running things in their 80s. Everyone is too polite to say what needs to be said.

They're not brave. They're scared.

Their business became their identity. The only thing they have. So they hold on because letting go means facing a question they've been avoiding for years: Who am I without this?

Here's what it costs. They stop building and become caretakers. They don't have the energy they had in their 40s or 50s. And worse, they're stunting their people. Their leadership team can't grow because there's no room.

I decided early I was building something that didn't need me. I knew at some point my value in scaling and growing the business would diminish. I didn't want to be a caretaker for 20 years.

But that required reflection. Preparation. And letting people hold up a mirror to me and ask the hard questions.

Most business owners won't do that. Fear stops them. We get together and make excuses for each other instead of challenging each other.

So here's the question: Are you still building... or just protecting what you built?

"Son, you need to understand the first rule of holes. Stop digging."

A business owner told me this story this week.

When he was in middle school, he'd done something wrong. He didn't think his dad knew yet.

His dad sat him down and delivered that line.

His dad was an entrepreneur. He wasn't just talking about whatever dumb thing a 13-year-old did.

I broke this rule many times as a founder.

I held onto a wrong-fit leader for two years. I kept a product line that produced great revenue but dragged down our margins. I defended decisions long after the evidence said otherwise.

Founders dig a lot of holes:
➡️ Bad hires we keep defending
➡️ Strategies that aren't working
➡️ Difficult relationships we tolerate
➡️ Customers who don't fit

The problem? We often can't see we're digging.

That's what peer groups and coaches are for. Not to hand out advice or solutions. To point out the obvious blind spots you're too close to see.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴?

I was a terrible CEO for years.

Skipped lunch to finish proposals.
Took calls on vacation because "it'll just be five minutes."
Worked "one quick hour" after dinner that ended at 2am.
Never set up coverage when I traveled.

"You're so dedicated." - Everyone said it like a compliment.

Meanwhile, I wasn't dedicated. I was trapped.

I'd designed a company that couldn't run without me. And I called it success.

Now I work with founders and business owners of companies between $5M and $300M. The exhausted ones aren't lacking discipline. They've designed their lives to guarantee exhaustion.

One client told me, "I'm playing defense. I just can't control it."

He hadn't been in his office for two weeks. Handling fires from his phone while traveling. His team waiting on decisions only he could make.

But he could control it. Not the fires. The structure.

Everyone is out there relying on willpower.

Grinding through.
Pushing harder.
Staying later.
Answering faster.

But I learned something different.

The shift didn't come from more discipline. It came from building systems that removed future decisions from my plate.

Structure beats willpower. Every time.

Here's my challenge: Pick one structural change this month. Make it small. Not some grand plan. Not something that takes hours. Just one thing you can control.

Name someone who can actually make decisions when you're out. Put your phone in another room after 9pm. Block Friday afternoons and protect it like a client meeting.

What's one small structural change you could make?

Your business network isn't your friendship network. Or is it?

We flew to Florida last week.

Not for the beach. For friends who've known each other 35 years.

We met when our kids were in diapers. Same neighborhood. Young families figuring it out together. Then life scattered us. Midwest. East Coast. All over.

No "how's business?" No career updates. No shop talk.

We talked about our kids becoming parents. About faith. About the hard seasons we've walked through together. We laughed.

Thirty-five years of trust buys you something rare: friends who don't care what you do. They care who you are.

Are all your close friends connected to your work?

Do you have people in your life who couldn't care less about your business and love you anyway?

"Every time you solve a problem your team could have solved, you rob them of growth."

In my 20s, 30s, and 40s as a founder, I didn't understand this.

I was intense. Grinding. Willing to do anything to get stuff done. When an employee had a problem, I jumped in with solutions. I told them what to do.

It took years of coaching and hundreds of reps to change. To stay calm. To ask questions instead of answering them.

The last five years at Applied Educational Systems were the most enjoyable of my 36 years.

Less stress. I finally worked ON the business. And I got to watch people grow.

A-players started coming to me with options they'd already evaluated and the one they were picking. We built a framework that gave them clarity on which decisions were theirs to make.

Some people got frustrated with my questions. A few self-selected out. That was okay.

Now, coaching CEOs and sitting in a #Vistage CEO group for 21 years, I see the pattern everywhere. The itch to solve is strong. Especially for founders under $20M still in the doing phase.

It takes practice to sit with the discomfort. To ask instead of answer.

How much growth are you stealing from your people by being the one with all the answers?

I made three successful leadership hires over five years. Then I got a little too big for my britches.

The next hire didn't work. And it was my fault.

Peter Drucker once wrote that one of the most important questions an employee can ask is: "How will I know I've done a great job?"

I never gave them the chance to ask it.

I never clearly described what great work looked like in that role. I expected them to guess. How can someone do great work if they don't know what great work looks like?

I knew I had to make a decision to honor the company and our customers. I let them go.

That failure reinforced something I now believe deeply: get the work in the role correct before any interviews. No more generic job descriptions that say nothing. Describe the work in detail. Make it safe to ask Drucker's question.

Now, as a CEO coach, I see this pattern constantly. A business owner gets frustrated with a leadership hire. The anger is directed at the person. But when we hold up a mirror, it almost always comes back to the same place.

Lack of clarity. Not the employee's fault.

When's the last time you asked yourself: Does this person actually know what great work looks like in their role?

I used to have conversations FOR my employees. The ones they were avoiding.

A deadline at risk? I'd work into the night to solve it myself.

I told myself I was helping.

I wasn't.

I chose fixing instead of solving the core issue.

Here's what made it worse. When you rescue someone:

They don't understand what just happened.

And you never ask the questions to understand where they're actually struggling.

That second part is the hard work. You have to dig in. The first thing they're going to do is get defensive. So how do you create safety while also getting to the truth about what's not working?

Most of us skip that. We fix instead.

I've learned this coaching CEOs and business owners: The leaders who love fixing problems often struggle with confrontation and accountability. Not because they don't care. Because they care too much about being helpful.

But rescuing isn't helping. It's robbing your people of the reps they need to grow.

Clear is kind.

The conversation you're avoiding? It's usually a relief for both of you.

What problem are you solving that's actually a conversation you need to have?

Nobody's coming to save you on the mat.

I was 10 when I watched Dan Gable dominate the 1972 Olympics. Years later, I learned it myself.

No teammates to hide behind. No excuses. Just you. Own every outcome.

Entrepreneurs need that same grit. If you don't bring it, you're in trouble.

What early experience built your grit?

P.S. Met Dan Gable in 2008 with two of my sons. Still one of my favorite memories.

Two months. Four funerals. All people I know who were active and healthy. Two in their sixties. Two were business owners.

Here's the irony.

Business owners fear the exit. What comes next? Who will I be without my company?

But death doesn't ask permission. It doesn't wait for your succession plan.

We tie our identity to our business. We tell ourselves we'll figure out "life after" later.

What if later never comes?

The Stoics called this memento mori. Remember you will die.

Not to be morbid. To be awake.

If you never think about what matters beyond your business, how can you plan for it?

What would change if you got a diagnosis tomorrow?

Six years into building my company, I was 31 years old. Raw. Intense. Convinced I had all the answers.

I was still doing all the sales work myself.

Some years I traveled 200,000 miles. Spent over 125 nights on the road. My wife was home alone raising three kids under six.

I missed first steps. Missed bedtimes. Missed so much.

And for what? Because I told myself I was the best at sales. That I cared about customers the most. That no one could close like me.

The truth? I was young and dumb. Too proud to admit I was drowning. Too scared to spend money on someone who might be better than me.

Then I finally hired a really capable salesperson. Someone who cost real money. Someone I wasn't sure I could afford.

Within months, I realized he was 10 times better than I ever was.

All those nights away from my family. All that grinding. And this guy walks in and outperforms me without breaking a sweat.

My first thought? Why didn't I do this three years ago? How stupid was I?

I see this same fear in business owners now. We keep saying "we just need a little bit more, then we'll hire that person."

That's not strategy. That's fear dressed up as patience. And it costs us more than money.

What capable person are you putting off hiring right now? And what's it really costing you?

"Can you say that again? I wasn't listening."

Tracy Schultz heard that from me more times than I want to admit. I was at the dinner table but solving a cash flow problem. At the soccer game but drafting an email in my head. Physically present. Mentally gone.

She's a patient woman. Thirty-nine years of marriage patient.

Recently I sat in a peer group of business owners and CEOs. The topic came up: at what point does professional success stop being the priority and life success take over?

The room got quiet. Heads nodded.

Most of us spent our 20s, 30s, and 40s telling ourselves "later." Once we fix this. Once we hit this number. Once we get through this year.

Then somewhere around 55, you realize "later" has a shelf life.

I've talked to enough founders to know I'm not alone in this. The business becomes your baby. You pour everything into it. And one day you look up and wonder what you missed while you were building.

What are you telling yourself you'll get to "later"?

What would your spouse say if you asked: "Am I present enough?"

He had decades of experience. He didn't ask a single question.

Fourteen years ago, I was in trouble. We'd gone from $10 million to almost zero. Eighteen months of free fall.

I'd bet everything on a pivot - ditching our legacy solution for 100% recurring subscriptions. Everyone thought I was crazy.

So I sat down with someone I respected. A coaching legend. I figured he'd help me think it through.

He listened for a few minutes. Then gave his verdict: "No prayer."

That was it. No questions. No curiosity. Just dismissal.

Here's what I didn't realize until years later: he never asked me a single question. Not about our customers. Our runway. My conviction. Nothing.

He just told me what he thought.

Ultimately, I proved him wrong. The pivot worked.

Now that I coach business owners and CEOs myself, I think about that conversation. It taught me what not to do.

The best coaches don't have answers. They don't give clichés. They don't give advice. They have questions. They listen. They dig to the bedrock.

When's the last time you asked instead of told?

Two questions on a 3x5 card taped to my monitor. I asked them every day for three years. Should have started twenty years earlier.

Every week I'd walk into Applied Educational Systems thinking: What do I want to work on?

Marketing felt important. I understood it. I was decent at it. So I kept doing it.

Meanwhile the business needed me somewhere else entirely.

Peter Drucker wrote about this in The Effective Executive. Two questions that forced clarity on what my actual job was:

What needs to be done?

And then: What should I be doing versus what do I like to do?

Those are not the same question.

When I finally gained clarity, the business needed me to stop running marketing. To hire people better than me in that area. To step back and think about strategy instead of staying busy.

I see this pattern every week now. A common thread across the business owners and CEOs I coach.

One reviews every detail because they need them to make decisions. Really they're avoiding the harder work of developing people who can own those details.

Another spends hours on content and social media while the sales manager hire that would unlock their next stage has been dragging for months.

Another avoids spending time in sales and with customers. Doesn't like it. But at under $5 million, his company needs him there.

We do what we want. The business waits for what it needs.

Drucker's questions lead to one more: Chris Marr taught me this question: What's the single thing you could do that makes everything else easier or unnecessary? That's probably not what's on your calendar today.

What does your business need from you right now that you've been avoiding because it's not what you like to do?

"This year, I'm going to delegate more."

I've heard this from dozens of business owners and CEOs over the years. I've said it myself.

It sounds decisive. But here's the problem:

It means nothing.

What are you delegating? To whom? By when? What does success look like?
Without answers, "I'm going to delegate more" is just noise. An emotional release disguised as a decision.

I see this every January. Business owners return from the holidays with bold declarations:

"I need to work ON the business, not IN it." 
"I'm going to hold my team more accountable." 
"This is the year I get my life back."

The feeling is real. But feelings aren't plans. And goals aren't systems.

James Clear nailed it in Atomic Habits: we don't rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems.

When a CEO tells me they want more accountability, I ask: what's the system?

Weekly check-ins? A structure for feedback? A habit of addressing issues within 48 hours instead of letting them fester?

If the system doesn't exist, the goal won't either. It'll just be a declaration you make again next January.

Business owners and CEOs who actually change don't just set goals. They build systems that make those goals inevitable.

What system is missing from your biggest goal this year?

"Life success over professional success."

A member said this in our #Vistage CEO peer group this week.

He is not even 50 yet.

But he is already asking the question most founders never ask until it is too late.

Here is the formula most of us live by:

Professional success leads to life success.

Work hard. Build the company. Hit the numbers.

Life will follow.

Somewhere between 50 and 55, the formula flips.

And nobody warns you how disorienting that flip will be.

I sold AES in 2022 after 36 years.

I wish I had a coach who asked deeper questions.

I wish I had peers who talked openly about what comes after.

Most peer groups slap you on the back after you sell.

Nobody asks the harder question.

What is your purpose now?

Not playing golf.

Not staying busy with hobbies.

Purpose.

Why did you start this business?

What will matter when you are on that porch at 75?

When the company is no longer there, you will be adrift.

And if your identity is tied to your business, you will not even see it coming.

Nobody questions successful founders and business owners.

They just celebrate your wins.

But what actually happens when you are alone and thinking about things?

You can tell yourself this will come later.

If you are younger, that is true.

The earlier you start reflecting, the more time you have to learn and adjust.

Or you can decide to work and die at your desk.

The choice is yours.

What is the one thing that will matter to you when the company is no longer there?

Are you building a life or just a business?

Most coaches warm people up. I skip straight to the hard part.

"If you had to choose right now, what would you do?"

Sounds harsh. But it works.

If you have aging parents, you've lived this. Mom or Dad hits their 80s. Living alone. The family wants them closer. But they're terrified of becoming a burden. And terrified of being alone if they stay.

Two fears. Both feel real. Neither wins. So nothing happens.

Tracy and I have had these conversations in our own family. Gut-wrenching.

I see the same paralysis in business owners.

Scared to let go of control. Scared to hold on tighter. Same issue circles back week after week. Month after month. No decision. No progress. Just spinning.

That's the real cost. Not the wrong decision. The no decision.

After three years coaching business owners, I've learned to skip the surface questions. I call them bedrock questions. They get past the excuses. Past the "I need more information." Straight to what you already know but won't say out loud.

Clarity creates decisions. Decisions create momentum. Momentum builds on itself.

Sometimes the answer is "not now." That's fine. Park it and move forward. But you have to move.

What decision keeps circling back because you're afraid both options might be wrong?

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The Battle

Marcus Sheridan

Jim Schultz

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