It doesn’t take a genius.
Employee engagement, customer experience and more from two business coaches. Mike and Mark turn business trends, research and theory into practical actions you can apply at work.
Employee engagement, customer experience and more from two business coaches. Mike and Mark turn business trends, research and theory into practical actions you can apply at work.
Episodes
2 hours ago
2 hours ago
36 min
The closest English translation is probably self-reflection.
But that definition doesn't really do it justice.
Hansei isn't sitting around thinking about your feelings. It isn't beating yourself up about something you did wrong. And it definitely isn't the corporate ritual where everybody sits around a conference table after a bad month trying to figure out who screwed things up.
Hansei is much more powerful.
It is the discipline of looking honestly at what happened, examining your role in the outcome, and deciding what you will do differently next time.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Aug 11, 2026
Why you must use care and candor
Aug 11, 2026
Aug 11, 2026
19 min
We all tend toward one or the other. If you emphasize both, you share a skill with some of the best leaders.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Aug 4, 2026
Aug 4, 2026
14 min
A roofer's watermelon trick ... a game for high-school juniors ... what do they have in common?
Something that goes back at least to Aristotle. And it's something that can help just about every area of your thinking and interacting.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Jul 28, 2026
5 Responses to Change: Caring for Your Navigator
Jul 28, 2026
Jul 28, 2026
26 min
Change fatigue is real!
In our continuing series, we discuss how even skilled Navigators can burn out when change is constant, incomplete or poorly supported. Sustaining the healthy response requires systems and personal practices that protect energy and dignity over time.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Jul 21, 2026
5 Responses to Change: The Leader as Navigator
Jul 21, 2026
Jul 21, 2026
33 min
You've seen these responses to change in your workplace or home.
Change creates uncertainty, and people tend to respond as a Victim, Critic, Bystander, Charger or Navigator.
When change shows up at work, who do you become? And how can you respond to the others?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Jul 14, 2026
Jul 14, 2026
43 min
A simple test helped Mike realize he was one of perhaps only 4 percent of the world's population. Since his youth, he had turned it into a superpower. Do you have any in your workplace?
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Jul 7, 2026
Jul 7, 2026
42 min
Mark coding with AI--without any experience?
Getting clarity about professional successes worth celebrating and professional opportunities for more fulfillment, balance and satisfaction?
Yes to both!
Take the Self-Assessment here.
(Adapted from Co-Active Coaching (3rd ed.) © 2011 by Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House and Phillip Sandahl--fourth edition sold here.)
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Jun 30, 2026
Jun 30, 2026
26 min
One of the foundational stories of our civilization spells out how the ancients thought about honor.
And as our culture changes, these stories will give you insight into how your employees and coworkers think about honor.
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Jun 23, 2026
How employees can sabotage, CIA-style
Jun 23, 2026
Jun 23, 2026
45 min
Did you know the precursor to the CIA gave people a manual for turning workplaces in enemy countries into a living, breathing "Office Space?"
Are you prepared to protect your workplace against them?
Part 3 of 3, where we finally get to the subject of employee sabotage. Spoiler: Office workers get their own entire section in the OSS manual. ...
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.
Jun 16, 2026
The spy's guide to being a dysfunctional leader
Jun 16, 2026
Jun 16, 2026
42 min
Did you know the precursor to the CIA gave people a manual for turning workplaces in enemy countries into a living, breathing "Office Space?" Are you prepared to protect your workplace against them?
Back by popular demand, this is now part 2 of 3: How to sabotage your workplace as a manager!
Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We'd love to hear from you! Email Mike and Mark.



