Often, our biggest barriers don’t come from a lack of effort, but from a lack of perspective.
It’s easy to get trapped by our own blind spots, making it really difficult at times to see the disruptive possibilities that are right in front of us.
Today’s guest, Mike Maddock, is a serial entrepreneur who has launched seven successful companies.
For years, he’s been an internationally recognized innovation consultant for many Fortune 100 companies, is a best-selling author and the founder of Flourish Advisory Boards.
In this conversation, Mike explains in great detail how to build a peer group that really challenges you.
We walk through the exact framework for choosing the right people to surround yourself with and the radical shift from simply giving advice to sharing real, world experience.
“You can never change anyone else’s behavior. You can only change how you are showing up in that relationship. And when you change how you are showing up, they change how they’re showing up.” – Mike Maddock
In This Episode, You Will Learn
- Why expertise can become a trap that prevents you from seeing disruptive possibilities.
- The “Gestalt methodology” of sharing experience instead of giving advice.
- How to engineer a peer group with different “lenses” to help you see around corners.
- The specific questions you need to ask to get to the core of any business or personal issue.
- Why being more human and authentic is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage in an AI, driven world.
- Plus much more…
What We Discuss:
- 0:00:00 – Episode Opener and Introduction to the Podcast – Mike Maddock
- 0:00:58 – Podcast and Guest Intro
- 0:02:13 – Why Peer Groups Matter
- 0:04:24 – Engineering Great Groups
- 0:05:24 – Uncompromising Friends
- 0:07:22 – Advice Versus Experience
- 0:09:03 – Accountability Done Right
- 0:12:44 – Challenging Someone Must Be Earned
- 0:17:19 – Building Trust Equity
- 0:19:31 – Curiosity Question Framework
- 0:23:27 – Framing Safe Conversations
- 0:30:04 – Avoiding Echo Chambers
- 0:31:55 – Finding The Right Mix
- 0:33:51 – Peer Group Mirror Moment
- 0:35:58 – Origins And Early Career
- 0:40:57 – Loss, Grief And Gratitude
- 0:43:47 – Wealth Is Being Present
- 0:44:51 – Look For Strawberries
- 0:46:59 – Distraction At Universal
- 0:49:28 – Quiet Time For Ideas
- 0:52:23 – Hopeful Tech Signals
- 0:59:26 – Peer Groups Versus AI
- 1:03:01 – Training The Brain Trust
- 1:05:23 – Wisdom Beats Intelligence
- 1:18:14 – Humanity As Advantage
- 1:22:34 – Authenticity In Peer Groups
- 1:25:01 – Build The Right Peer Group
- 1:27:11 – Rapid Fire And Wrap Up
About Mike
Mike Maddock is an entrepreneur, a keynote speaker, an executive coach and a best-selling author.
He calls himself an Idea Monkey because he loves to solve problems with disruptive ideas. This passion for problem solving led him to establish Maddock Douglas, Inc. in 1991. Maddock Douglas has become an internationally recognized innovation consultancy that has helped more than 25% of the Fortune 100 create and launch new products, services and business models.
Mike has launched seven successful businesses – most recently Flourish Advisory Boards. Flourish Advisory Boards is an invite-only growth advisory board engineered to help company leaders respond to quickly changing business environments.
A doodler, turned cartoonist, turned author, Mike has been using words and pictures to get laughs and build ideas his entire life. Today, Mike is a contributor to Forbes and Inc. Magazine, and author of four bestselling books: Free the Idea Monkey…to focus on what matters most!, Brand New: Solving the Innovation Paradox and Flirting With the Uninterested, Innovating in a Sold, Not Bought Category. And finally, Plan D––his latest book about Disruptors. His forthcoming book, Your Seat at The Table, will be released in the fall of 2026.
He also co-chairs the Gathering of Titans Entrepreneurial Conclave at MIT, and he is past Chapter president of Entrepreneurs’ Organization and Young Presidents’ Organization, both chapters located in Chicago.
Show Notes
Connect with Mike Maddock:
- Flourish Advisory Board Website
- Mike Maddock’s Website
- Your Seat At The Table Podcast LinkedIn
- YouTube
Resources Mentioned:
