Choices Create Change — Episode 12: Chess, Not Checkers (Playing the Long Game in Leadership)

Most leaders play checkers — fast moves, quick reactions, immediate gratification. The best ones play chess. In this episode, Bobby Mink of Choice Consulting and Management unpacks the book Chess Not Checkers by Mark Miller and Randy Gravitt, and shows you how to stop reacting and start leading the long game. Bobby walks through the five moves that separate chess leaders from checkers leaders: bet on leadership, act as one, win the heart, excel at execution, and it's your move. Along the way he digs into setting the pace for your team, hiring the heart (not just the résumé), building your bench before a crisis hits, creating real clarity, celebrating the 90% that's going right, and surrounding yourself with the right people in the right seats. Whether you're running a company, leading a department, or guiding a family, you'll walk away with a more intentional, more thoughtful way to lead — plus plenty of practical questions to ask yourself this week.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Chess Not Checkers

00:31 Bet on Leadership

02:25 Building the Leadership Team

04:08 Setting the Pace as Leaders

08:00 The Importance of Serving

12:16 Growing the Organization

17:01 Act as One: Creating Clarity

22:07 Building Community and Culture

24:59 Winning the Heart of Employees

25:28 Excelling at Execution

27:54 It's Your Move: The Right People in Your Life

In this episode: • Why great leaders play the long game instead of chasing quick wins • Setting the pace with HEART — Hunger, Expectation, Accept responsibility, Respond, Think • How to "hire the heart" and build your bench before you're in crisis mode • Creating clarity so everyone knows what winning looks like • Focusing on the 90% that's going right, not just the 10% that's wrong • Winning the heart of your people to build an unstoppable culture • Getting the right people in the right seats — and when it's time to let someone go "When you get the heart, you get the whole person." — Mark Miller

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Choices Create Change — Episode 11: Clarity, Accountability & Trust Clarity, accountability, and trust — three things that quietly make or break every team, family, and organization. In this episode, Bobby Mink of Choice Consulting and Management breaks down all three. Bobby unpacks why so many problems start with simple confusion — "they should have known," "we always do this," "everybody knows" — and how those assumptions cost us at work and at home. From there he gets into what real accountability looks like (and why it has to start with you), and closes with an honest conversation about trust: passive-aggressive habits, emotional maturity, and learning to assume the best in the person across the table. Whether you're a business owner, a manager, a parent, or a spouse, you'll walk away with practical questions to ask yourself and your team — plus a little homework to put it into practice. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Clarity, Accountability, and Trust 07:21 Understanding Accountability in Organizations 11:57 Building Trust in Relationships In this episode: • Why a lack of clarity is usually the first thing to break down • How to know your people actually understand what's expected • What accountability really means — and why it starts with you • Building trust by leading with the right heart and attitude • Emotional intelligence: setting your "baggage" aside to have hard conversations • Taking the high road and assuming the best in others "Consistency, simplicity, and repetition is what it's all about." — Jack Welch Learn more about Choice Consulting and our services at ChoiceConsultingMan.com/Podcast. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and invite a friend to check us out.

Choices Create Change Podcast - Episode 10 Fundamentals of Great Managers

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