170: JD Ewing & Cameron Brandis — Continuous Learning
Today’s show is all about continuous learning and improvement. Each person has a unique learning style, so how do you know what’s right for you? What will pique your interest and keep you striving to get better and better? We feature two guest CEOs to help shed some light on the topic.
JD Ewing is the President & CEO of COE Distributing. He grew up in the family business that his grandmother started in the late 40s and he has continued his education throughout the decades to create a sustainable and healthy business.
JD’s company has seen quite a few transitions until now from back when it first started. In 2006, his company reached 22 million dollars in revenue, which was 100X over the course of 20 years. He is currently on track to be 4X times bigger than in ’06.
JD shares his educational journey. Before he had started on this path, he had not read a book in over five years, but over the last 20 months, he has read 30 books thus far. With being introduced to the Rockefeller Habits, he understands the importance of continuous education both for him and his leadership team. He dives further on the specific examples he’s learned thus far on the show.
Today’s next guest is Cameron Brandis. Cameron is the Business Director and Owner at Brandis Industries, but he’s currently overseeing two other businesses on top of his current one. These two other businesses were created after a terrifying crash that happened in Cameron’s industry that resulted in him having to lay off several of his staff members.
When it comes to the educational piece, Cameron has been studying the Gazelles Growth Institute MBD (Master of Business Dynamics) program, which is a self-study course that offers practical hands-on advice for business owners looking to apply real strategies in their business right away.
As a university graduate, Cameron saw that there was still quite a bit of practical information lacking in his coursework and he wanted something he could grasp and apply. He’s been working through the coursework for the last 12 months and it has played a critical part to the success of one of his startup businesses. Cameron shares further about the course structure and what he’s learned so far within the episode.
Interview Links:
Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders, by Steven R. Shallenberger
The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues, by Patrick Lencioni
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
Resources:
Scaling Up Workshop: Interested in attending one of our workshops? We have a few $100 discounts for our loyal podcast listeners!Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshop: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops.
Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.)
