Episodes

Today's podcast, "Powerful Requests" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony presents his model for, perhaps, the most important type of business conversation, the request. Much of what you accomplish, much of what people reward you for, much of the structure of our days can be understood as a complex network of requests and promises. By thoroughly understanding and applying the three components of a Powerful Request, you can get more done w...

Today's podcast, "Say Anything to Anyone in a Way that Works for Everyone" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony shares two tools to help with your most difficult and confronting conversations. 12 Steps for Difficult Conversations http://tiny.cc/12steps The Conversation Contract http://tiny.cc/ConContract Video, handouts, and other resources from this and other webinars are available for free at: https://TonyMayo.com/Tuesdays/ All of the w...

Today's podcast, "Breakdown vs. Problem" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony continues last week's discussion by reviewing the meaning of breakthrough, the environments that foster breakthroughs, and the foundational importance of our interpretation of events. We focus on a powerful tool for managing our responses to unwelcome or unexpected events. Declaring a "breakdown" instead of calling it a "problem," open powerful possibilities for...

Today's podcast, "Breakdown to Breakthrough" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony continues last week's discussion by reviewing the meaning of breakthrough, how to manage yourself and your environment to increase your chances of experiencing breakthroughs, and the foundational importance of taking control of our interpretation of events. Today's distinctions include: • Why are some coaching concepts called "distinctions"? • The holographi...

Today's podcast, "Creating Your Clearing for Breakthrough" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony continues last week's discussion by reviewing the meaning of breakthrough, how to manage yourself and your environment to increase your chances of experiencing breakthroughs. Today's distinctions include: • Interpretation: the thick, distorting filter between us and reality • The Foundational Practice for Breakthrough 1. I am interpreting event...

Today's podcast, "Criteria for Breakthrough" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony explains the meaning of a breakthrough, and discusses how to manage yourself and your environment to increase your chances of experiencing life-enhancing breakthroughs. Video, handouts, and other resources from this and other webinars are available for free at: https://TonyMayo.com/Tuesdays/ All of the webinars are available on YouTube here: http://tiny.cc/T...

Today's podcast, "Clearing for Breakthrough" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony explains the meaning of a breakthrough and discusses how to use the insights available from a breakthrough to dramatically accelerate your performance. Video, handouts, and other resources from this and other webinars are available for free at: https://TonyMayo.com/Tuesdays/ All of the webinars are available on YouTube here: http://tiny.cc/TwTtv You may part...

Today's podcast, "Be More Curious, Effective, & Empathetic" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony teaches a crucial skill for better conversations, smoother work relationships, and greater productivity. The key is asking more questions, even responding to direct questions not with a simple answer, but with genuine curiosity, asking "clarifying questions" to discover exactly what your employee, sales prospect, or best friend really want fro...

Today's podcast, "The Conversation Contract" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Tony teaches his all-purpose, 3-step process for making any conversation more comfortable, agreeable, and effective. He discusses applications to sales, supervision, and marriage. The Conversation Contract(tm) works for quick telephone calls, annual reviews, sales presentations, and week-long workshops. It is the way to get more done in less time with less stress...

Today's podcast, "Tough Talk: Conversations That Make A Difference" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. This program teaches Tony's 12 Step program for engaging with people on difficult topics, simple tools for resolving contentious issues, and a powerful approach to work and personal conversations that will bring you better results and stronger relationships. Video, handouts, and other resources from this and other webinars are availabe for ...

Today's podcast, "What is Executive Coaching?" is the audio from a webinar presented by Tony Mayo, The Business Owner's Executive Coach. Topics covered include: • What is Executive Coaching? • “My own best thinking” • “I now live in a different world, see different things, take different actions.” • Differences between coaching, consulting, mentoring, managing, therapy, training, and just plain friendship. • Basic logistics of what it costs, how much time it takes, how to know if it is working, ...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business …today. I have a one-question quiz to see if someone has real-world entrepreneurial experience. I thought of it while I was telling war stories with the owner of a very successful commercial plumbing business. His firm worked on new homes all over the Mid-Atlantic, hundreds at a time. He shared with me his memory from the first Christmas after he had finally earned enough from the new bu...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business …today. When the people I meet socially learn of my background starting companies and coaching business owners, many of them admit that …they’d love to have their own company. I offer my one question quiz… that shows whether he or she is an entrepreneur. I ask, “What is the -one- most important element for starting a successful business?” I hear answers like… a clever concept, a solid bu...

There is a certain breed of entrepreneur who creates results orders of magnitude beyond what typical business owners achieve. Before I tell you what makes them special, let’s review the origin of the word “entrepreneur” and distinguish my three types of business owner. The original entrepreneurs, back in the European Middle Ages, operated by bringing materials to workers in their homes. Cloth to sew into garments, for example, or wax and twine to mold into candles. As they rode around the countr...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business …today. Some senior executives once asked the head of their firm, “Why is it that, despite the years we have been learning and working with you, along with our own extensive experience and research, you always stay ahead of us, seeing new opportunities, starting new initiatives, inventing …new methods?” He replied, “The significant difference between us is simple. I’m willing to dwell in...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business …today. I’m an above average driver. You probably consider yourself an above average driver, too. Chances are that at least one of us is wrong. Why do I believe that? Because surveys show that almost everyone thinks their driving skills are above the average. Based upon what I see on the streets, the average skill level is pretty low. Still, half of us must be even worse than that low av...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. There's a phrase becoming more and more common that I'm starting to take as an insult. When -exactly- did it become a compliment to say to someone, "I know you're busy." How do I look busy? Do I seem harried, overwhelmed, am I dropping the ball? Am I not fulfilling on my promises and commitments? Do you think I'm incompetent, unable to do my job or cope with my life? What makes yo...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. A client told me that today’s coaching distinction had made every one of his business conversations more productive —and shorter. But first, this… The doctor says, “Your condition is terminal. You have less than a year to live.” The patient says, “I want a second opinion.” The doctor replies, “Okay. Your tie is ugly, too.” More about this in a moment… Much of what we say is opinio...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. Thales of My-LEE-tus is generally considered the father of western philosophy. He's also thought to be the very first scientist, perhaps the smartest person in the ancient world. A student once asked Thales two questions: "What is hard?" and "What is easy?" The sage responded, "What is hard is to know thyself." "What is easy is to give advice." And advice isn't just easy to give. ...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. There's a common situation in business. Well, in life, when someone has been tasked to deliver something at a particular time –and it's not ready. You've probably been in this situation many times. I'm sure you'll be in it many times again. We'll talk elsewhere about integrity, but for today, think about this, put yourself _in_ this situation. You walk to the person's desk, you as...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. One of the core concepts of executive coaching is that we, as humans, exist largely in language. Now, I know there's a real, physical world out there and if you bump up against it you could get hurt. Right now, I'm not talking about bricks and buildings. I’m talking about what makes us …human. I say that our humanity emerges from the words we use, both out loud to others and silen...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. I've spoken on other podcasts and videos about the defining importance of language to human life, to the quality of your life. One of my favorite techniques, a tip you can use several times a day, is to reduce how often you say, "I've got to do this." "I have to do that.", when the reality is, if you're honest with yourself, …you don't have to. You're not being compelled or forced...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. Have you noticed the epidemic we're in? It's a widespread infection called “overwhelm.” You may have caught it yourself. I know I've had it a few times. Today, I'm going to tell you the fundamental cause of overwhelm. This insight will give you the key to avoiding overwhelm. Still, I should warn you, …you're not going to like the answer. Let’s do it in “Bad News / Good News” forma...

Hello. I’m Tony Mayo, the Business Owner’s Executive Coach … with one quick idea you can use in your business today. When I take an executive team offsite to guide them through a strategic planning session –or, as I prefer to call it, an alignment exercise– there is a conversation that always seems to happen right after we finish articulating corporate values and vision, …during work on the mission statement. To write a mission statement we need to get clear about the company’s competitive advan...