It's been said, "Everything rises and falls on leadership."

A critical key to business success but often overlooked in the pursuit of quick gains and flowing with the latest trends, is leadership.  Leadership matters.  It's the under-girding and visionary force that sustains and unifies.

In this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast I'm privileged to host Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion, and we dive into a topic that Marcus is passionate about, one that supercedes Inbound Marketing and Content Marketing, it's leadership.  Leadership in business and life is our focus.  It's important to take a step back from social media tactics and look at the deeper values and reasons why we all do what we do.  In this interview Marcus shares from the heart and delivers the goods on why leadership is so important to business and how it impacts life.

Listen Now:

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Subscribe:  Halftime Mike on iTunes  | Android users via RSS  | Listen on Stitcher.

Topics Covered:

•  Defining Leadership, and the gap in leadership in business today

• Leaders say what they believe and stand on it

• Planning for growth, even as a one person operation

• River Pools and Spas success story is more than a story of content marketing, it's a story of taking a stand and establishing a leadership mindset

• LeBron James (yes, a basketball player discussion!). LeBron's growth as a individual, leader, and ultimately showing his maturity by a move back to Cleveland, OH with a focus on serving Cleveland and leaving a legacy.  What we can learn from his journey

• Mistakes that Leaders need to avoid

• Legacy in leadership, what you leave behind is being built today!

 Key Tips and Nuggets of Wisdom:

• Marcus on leadership:  "The willingness to follow your gut even though it may not make sense to everyone else"

Click to Tweet > [inlinetweet prefix="Marcus Sheridan says " tweeter="on @Mike_Gingerich" suffix="via @thesaleslion "]Leadership is a willingness to follow your gut!"#HalftimeMike[/inlinetweet]"

• Those that over-analyze will be left behind.  The small business has an advantage here with an ability to be quick and nimble, to take action early and act decisively.

• Whether you are a business of 1 or 100, leadership matters. There is a void in business today, and it's in authentic leadership says Marcus Sheridan, otherwise known as The Sales Lion.

• You need to identify on your website who you are not!  Be a "Purple cow" (Be different!)

• Keep it simple on your blog..."They ask, you answer!"

• 3 Mistakes to Avoid in Leadership:
  • The Myth of Pursuing Perfection - Don't get sucked in, as Seth Godin says, "Just ship it!"
  • If you try to "Jack of all trades", you will be master of none! Don't go wide, go deep.
  • Embrace the niches.  "The riches are in the niches." Drill into a specific area and become the best in that area. Marcus launched his new "Hubcast Podcast" from this focus on the niche of serving HubSpot users.

More About Marcus Sheridan

Marcus hails from northern Virginia and is the author of 3 self-help books.  He launched River Pools and Spas in 2001, and after nearly failing, the pool company grew to be one of the largest of its kind in the world (due to his leadership with inbound marketing efforts and an incredibly popular swimming pool blog).

Because of the huge success teaching other pool professionals how to embrace inbound marketing, Marcus has become a very successful HubSpot Partner, training inbound marketers  and companies everywhere how to find success. With an incredibly entertaining and educational style, Sheridan has become a highly sought after speaker for many marketing and business conferences globally.

Resource Links:

Why the Halftime theme Mike?

I'm a Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport.  Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create a updated plan for the second half.  That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't.  The "halftime" is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.

That's what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your "business halftime" to help you find great success going forward!

Download:

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Subscribe via iTunes:  Halftime Mike on iTunes

Android users via RSS  | Listen on Stitcher.

Next Doable Task:

I'm big on your "next doable task". Take one point from today's podcast and make sure you go out and do it right away!

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