Chris Locurto: Entrepreneur, Leadership Coach, Life Strategy, Blogger

Hey leaders, what comes to mind when you think about growing your business? If you’re like most owners or leaders, then you might think in terms of strategies for increasing revenue, increasing your reach through innovative marketing, or restructuring for increased scalability. Those are great things to think about, but you may be overlooking your most valuable asset: your people.For me, it all started by looking at my leaders and saying, “If I don’t do something to grow you, then you’ll stay exactly where you are.” And that wasn’t acceptable. So then, I started growing people strategically, and by growing people I was able to step out of my day to day and into a higher level of leadership. That’s when real growth started to occur!Here’s the deal: growing your team = growing your business. If you don’t stretch the potential, capacity, and output of those who work directly for you, then you may not be ready for the more traditional “revenue related” growth that most leaders are searching for. Let me share a t

Well folks, we just wrapped up our 2021 Next-Level Leadership Live Event in Nashville, TN and I have to tell you that it was fantastic! It was so good to be back onsite, live and in person with you, our friends (who are also clients that we get to serve). This year we added a few fun surprises, making it a truly “Nashville” experience! On Thursday of the event week, during the lunch hour, we got our coaches up on stage to answer questions from the audience. It was powerful and we’re excited to share it with you on today’s episode.You’re going to hear from business leaders and owners just like you, asking questions about their teams, about hiring, KRA’s, and a few other topics. I think it’ll be thought-provoking to say the least!Enjoy this episode!Chris

416 | Managing The Numbers (So They Don’t Manage You)Hey leaders, if you’re not living in your numbers, then what are you basing your decisions on? A lot of leaders tend to shy away from their accounting processes, giving only an occasional glance to the bottom line. It’s tough to make well-informed decisions that affect the overall business without knowing the details of what’s happening in every area. I hear from clients all the time, “Sometimes I don’t want to see the accounting, because I’m scared of where we’re at.” But that’s precisely why you need to be in the financials on a routine basis, making well-informed decisions that are going to set you up for success.Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to managing your numbers and avoiding the pitfalls that so many leaders make. On today’s show, you’ll be empowered to win as I walk you through what you need to do in order to stay at the top of the numbers. Resources & Links:Related media: https://chrislocurto.com/budget-correctly-or-fail/

415 | Three Things Every Leader Must Do Before 2022, Part 2This topic is so important to you and your business that we’re spending two episodes to cover it all and cover it thoroughly. On today’s episode, I reveal the 3rd thing that I think every leader must do before this year is over. But, if you didn’t catch the first two points we covered, then I’d recommend pausing here and going back to listen to part one first.Ok, so to bring some focus here, I want to share a verse from the book of Proverbs with you. I’ll put it a few different ways so that we can really dig into the value of preparation:A sensible person sees danger and takes cover; the inexperienced keep going and are punished.The clever see trouble coming and hide; the thoughtless go on and pay the penalty.Be cautious and hide when you see danger— don’t be stupid and walk right into trouble.Wise people see trouble coming and get out of its way, but fools go straight to the trouble and suffer for it.Notice the words used to describe a person who ref

414 | Fostering Unity: Both at Home and at WorkIf unity is about coming together, then peace is about staying together. Einstein said, Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding. So, what does it take to come together in agreement and stay in a place of harmony?On today’s episode, we talk about the necessary ingredients to forging real peace in our homes and the workplace. Humility, vulnerability and understanding are all needed to foster a lasting unity. It’s going to be painful, it’s going to take time, but it’s going to be worth it!Someone might say, Well, Chris, you don't need to be vulnerable to be on a leadership team. Oh but you do - to be on a successful one. What’s the goal as a leadership team anyway? To lead the rest of the business to success. If I'm going to lead people well, I must be vulnerable. The same goes for parents: being able to admit when you’re wrong is strong leadership!You’ve got to be able to get down in the muck in the mire and help others out of it. Ri

413 | Guest MaryBeth Fortner: Her Journey As a Wife and MotherContinuing our focus on Taking the Lead in Parenting this month, I’m joined in this episode by long-time friend and former colleague MaryBeth Fortner. As you might’ve guessed, not only is she a good friend, but she’s also the wife of our Leadership Development VP, Joel Fortner! Around here MaryBeth’s claim to fame is being the ONLY person to ever make ME cry while I was leading them through our Next-Level Life process! :-)Today, we’ll dig into some of the tough topics that we brought up in the last episode, dealing with the baggage that we all bring into our leadership and parenting styles (e.g. things like self-worth, fear of failure, and taking personal responsibility for our families). We’ll build on the concept that we’re not just raising kids, we’re raising adults by:Becoming a more confident parent and spousePushing through inner struggles and insecurities Learning to be vulnerable with our kids ourselvesYou’ll take away more than just a few

Hey folks! There’s no one size fits all approach to being a parent at home or a leader in the workplace. But, these two roles actually have a lot in common. Both are focused on leading others to grow, stretch and become something more than they currently are.In today’s diverse, multi-functional work and life culture, we need all the help we can get to stay balanced and focused. The truth is that many parents have never been taught how to lead their family well. They struggle with root system issues, and end up making the same mistakes their parents did. How many times have you heard, or you may have been the person that says, "Oh, I'm not going to be like my parents. I'm going to be completely different than my parents." And then you know, 10, 20 years later, you say, "Oh, my gosh, I’ve become my parent." Likewise, leaders get promoted to a position over others, and follow in the same pattern they’ve been exposed to. In both cases, there are things we can change that’ll help us grow in our role. I’m going to

Q1 - Pause and Reflect (Vulnerable Learnings From Our Failures)“Vulnerable Learnings From Our Failures”Hey folks!We’re ending this first quarter of 2021 on a positive note. How’s that? We’re talking about failure. I can hear you now… “Chris, what’s so positive about failure?!” Here’s the deal, failure is a positive thing for those who learn from their mistakes and choose to improve. Where failure is concerned, “if we’re not learning, we’re losing the opportunity”. All of us fail; all of us make mistakes. But remember, you’re only a failure if you choose to be; that is, if you choose not to learn. Learning from other people’s failures is a best-case scenario: a real win-win-win!On this week’s episode, the coaches of the Poimen Group come together for a once-a-quarter discussion. This time around, they reflect on their own failures, mistakes and misfires of the first three months of this year.Today, you’ll discover the process of how Chris, Heather and Joel use failure to grow themselves, their teams, and their

410: John Lee Dumas: The Common Path To Uncommon SuccessHave you ever wished that the path to freedom and fulfillment was just a little more clear?My friend John Lee Dumas, host of the Entrepreneurs on Fire podcast, has interviewed over 3,000 highly successful people to find out exactly how they made their success happen. His new book releases this month explaining the common path that they took to their uncommon success, and today he joins us on the show! The book is called, The Common Path to Uncommon Success. [Click here to check it out.]John Lee says, I remember reading this quote from Einstein, “Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.” And I realized, Well, of course I’m not finding success; it’s because I’m not being valuable to others! That’s when things first began to change for me!You’ll gain insight as we discuss how to be a person of value to others, what all the struggle is good for as you head toward your dreams, and the benefits of persevering where oth

The Three Things Every Leader Must Do Before 2022!On today’s episode, you - the business owner and the business leader - are going to gain laser focus on what you need to have in place before the end of this year. Why? Well, how many of you remember 2020? It wasn’t that long ago, and it wasn’t much fun!Now, a lot of our clients, the overwhelming majority, did not get hit that hard in 2020. In fact, a few of them have said they had their best year ever! How is that? Because they were focused on the right things, and they weathered the Covid storm well, making only a few small pivots.I can’t tell you how the rest of this year is going to go. But, I can tell you what you need to have in place so that you don't get hit sideways, again, should COVID or something worse happen!This topic is so important to your business that we’re going to spend two episodes on this subject, and I want to hint at the first point right here: Leaders have to plan strategically. But, in order to do so, they first need to take an accura

Willpower is a limited resource that’s easily depleted. What can you do to replenish it? What fuels the self-control and gratification centers of the brain?Today on the show, you’ll discover what makes willpower tick, how it gets depleted and what you can do about it! But, consider this as we get started:Learning what my true worth is, learning how to actually handle situations when my worth is tanking, learning how to handle situations when I'm struggling with something, learning the tools to actually walk through those situations. That's what's going to change you, that's what's going to help you.When you lose self-worth, you are way more likely to lose willpower!When you are strong with your self-worth, your willpower is strong.When you know your worth, then you don’t have the same reactions - cognitively - to situations that would normally deplete your willpower.You may not have as much willpower as you might think, but you do have deeper resources to strengthen your resolve! Consider these things as you

407 | Guest: Mike Hyatt - Blog & BlastFeeling run-down and tired? Feeling stretched between your obligations at work and home? Can’t seem to find balance between the two? Then, today’s show is for you!“Win at work and succeed at life so you don’t have to throttle back your professional ambition, but you also don’t sacrifice your personal priorities.” - Mike HyattJoining me on The Chris LoCurto Show today is long-time friend and founder of Michael Hyatt & Co, Mr. Mike Hyatt! Today we’re talking about Mike’s new book, Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself From The Cult of Overwork. (2021 Amazon Affiliate Link)Folks, this is what we teach here, in our Next-Level events, our StratPlans, and on this podcast week after week. We teach how putting the spheres of your life into proper order and priority makes sure that what matters most in life stays healthy, protected and productive. “Success has got to be multi-dimensional in order for it to be sustainable.” - Mike HyattListen as Mik

Hey business owners and leaders, we’ve got what you need! You need a tool that helps foster greater accountability, clearer communication, and the results that you expect to see in each role on your team, without members being hounded, manipulated or controlled. On today's show, we're discussing the top tool that we use to make all our teams successful. As business leaders and owners, we know you want to see RESULTS from every position you hire! But, until team members understand AND take ownership of their roles, the results will be poor and sporadic.A KRA is a clarifying document that details the areas of responsibility and results expected for every position on your team. It helps every player take responsibility for their part of the whole strategy.On this episode we answer YOUR QUESTIONS about KRAs, and walk you through the results that you can expect by implementing this tool. But, first, here are some things for you to consider:When team members accept responsibility for their roles, the responsibility

405 | You Don't Have As Much Willpower As You Might ThinkWillpower is a limited resource that’s easily depleted. What can you do to replenish it? What fuels the self-control and gratification centers of the brain?Today on the show, you’ll discover what makes willpower tick, how it gets depleted and what you can do about it! But, consider this as we get started:Learning what my true worth is, learning how to actually handle situations when my worth is tanking, learning how to handle situations when I'm struggling with something, learning the tools to actually walk through those situations. That's what's going to change you, that's what's going to help you.When you lose self-worth, you are way more likely to lose willpower!When you are strong with your self-worth, your willpower is strong.When you know your worth, then you don’t have the same reactions - cognitively - to situations that would normally deplete your willpower.You may not have as much willpower as you might think, but you do have deeper resources

404: Replacing The Negative Influences In Your Life With The Right OnesWhat you don’t replace may come back to haunt you!Fact: we are creatures of habit. Our habits, thought patterns, and relationships all carry a massive influence on our hearts and minds. The negative influences in our lives must be replaced, not just edited or deleted. In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss how negative influences from these seven areas may be polluting you. Consider these the Seven Deadly Influences you need to get rid of right away!They could be holding you back from a healthier you by keeping you toxic! Learning to unfollow, mute and put up boundaries is important, but then think about where to redirect your attention.Internet ConflictNews FeedSocial MediaToxic RelationshipsNegative Self-TalkEntertainment StreamsFun DistractionsProverbs 4:23 says, “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” Ask yourself these questions about those 7 areas of inf

403: The Healthy VineyardHave you set yourself up for success this year? Most of us are really good at executing the exterior goals of our careers and passions, but few of us dig into the interior regions of life in order to assess where we’re stuck and need to grow.Coming off of a GREAT quarterly retreat last week with our Mastermind group, I’m excited to share with you some of the transformational material we covered. More than 30 clients from all over the country came together at our office event space to walk through one of our signature lessons that we call The Healthy Vineyard.If you’re already familiar with Next-Level Life, then you understand what I mean when I say things like “digging into your root-system”, identifying surface level responses, toxic behavior and - by contrast - what helps you cultivate a healthy vineyard. If you want to explore more of the Wine and Vine elements, then you can go to a previous podcast episode #198 entitled, What You Have In Common With Wine.But in this episode, we’re

401: The Leadership Success PathWe see a lot of business leaders and owners throughout the year. Many get stuck not knowing where they are in terms of a leadership process; the majority don’t know what to focus on next.Have you ever been there? You get thrown a book that has a 30,000 ft view of what leadership looks like, but there’s nobody coaching you along a path, no one walking with you step by step.Where there’s no comprehensive process, there’s usually something in the organization NOT getting addressed, and it causes leaders to stay at the same level - stuck in the very same rut.As a business leader, you’re probably looking to create change, and you’re asking things like:“Where should I focus that change”,“Where are my energies best spent?and “What should I be doing next?”In this episode, you’ll discover our Leadership Success Path as I unpack three crucial steps that every leader needs to take if they’re going to succeed in business. Where are you on the path?Resources and Links:https://chrislocurto.a

401 | Guest Serena Dyksen: A Journey From Broken to HealedHow is fear holding you back from getting the healing you need?Today on the podcast, we’ve got special guest Serena Dyksen with us. Serena is a published author, speaker, coach as well as a Next Level Life participant. She’ll be sharing her journey from brokenness to healing, the struggles that made her grow, and how She Found His Grace, the title of her latest book - is available on Amazon by clicking this link. In this episode, Serena and I talk about: Sexual assaultFear and painSelf-sabotageThe ChurchRedemptionFreedom[Tweet "For some of you, you may be holding yourself back from getting the help and support you need in order to find real healing because of fear. Fear actually plays a baseline role in us not moving from woundedness to wellness: fear of others’ opinions, fear of judgement, fear of risk, etc."]On today’s podcast you’ll discover the courage you need to move past fear and find freedom!

400 | Seth Godin InterviewJoining me on the podcast today is entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker Seth Godin. We have a GREAT conversation together that you won’t want to miss! You’ll discover some crazy-practical insight as Seth and I discuss:the cost of creativitythe value of good workand finding happiness in lifePart of the toxic myth is this thing about authenticity, which is, "Be who you are, do what you want, and things will follow." And that makes a really fine aphorism. But it doesn't actually hold up, if you examine it. In fact, the most reliable way to have a happy life is to make the commitment to like what you do.You’ll find our conversation inspiring, as well as thought-provoking, as Seth unpacks some of important life-learnings like: how he compares creativity to learning to ride a bike!Nobody's born knowing how to ride, and the art of learning to ride a bicycle is simply about sticking around long enough that you get over the falling part. I know today’s episode will shine a ray of li

How many of you were just itching to push the “reset” button on last year? Or maybe even “fast-forward” past 2020 altogether? Well, we’re finally here! While I can’t promise you better circumstances this year, I can tell you that your experience of life can definitely be better - if you want it to.On today’s podcast, we’re breaking down “perspective-gathering” to a practical level, so we can gain more clarity, enjoy deeper relationships, and actually enjoy our lives more. → What?! Chris, you’re saying that if I just change my perspective, I can enjoy a better life?! The short answer is YES! Why? Our attitude towards ourselves, other people, and circumstances all determine how we will experience those things. Here’s what I know to be true, the greater perspective that we have: the better decision-making we have, the better relationships we have, the less need for control, the less need for protecting ourselves, the less need for building up walls, the less need for feeling like somebody is on the attackIn this