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People tend to fall into two categories as decision-makers. The first group is maximizers, those who strive to make choices that will return the maximum benefit. Then there are the satisficers (made-up word blending satisfy and suffice), those whose choices are determined by more modest criteria and nothing more. In this episode, we look at both approaches' ramifications and reflect on critical decisions we've made in our own careers.In this episode:“The Paradox of Choice”Why maximizers struggle to enjoy the journeyParalysis by analysisWhat type of questions do you ask yourself when making a big decision?The concept of “mental accounting”Do the results of our decisions correlate with satisfaction?Where do famous CEOs fall on this spectrum?

Careers are not linear. We might feel societal pressure to make every move based on real or perceived progress, but is that realistic or even rational? In this episode, we look at multiple scenarios where taking a step back or down is the best move for your long-term career. Frank and Ian discuss the times when they made non-obvious decisions that set up much bigger moves down the road. In this episode:· What if your industry is changing/shrinking?· How to spot a rocket ship and when to jump on one· What it means to take a job to get "close to the sun"· Choosing pay over fancy titles· How a step back could restore your career· Do you work in a department with upside?· The role of ego in career decisions· A 10-year decision looks very different than a 10-month decision· What's your driver?o Powero Knowledgeo Payo Purpose

In this two-part episode, Frank Cava and Ian Mathews break down every detail from a $10M real estate project involving 75 single-family homes in Richmond. This is our first podcast episode where we film together in the same room, using Frank's paparazzi film crew and editors. We share every granular detail of how we identified, negotiated, funded, executed, and celebrated a deal that was incredibly profitable to us and the investors who helped us fund the deal. In this episode:· The power of patience when working in real estate,· Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered,· Caring about your investor's money more than you care about your own,· The best way to get a second deal is to perform well on the first, and· Why you should stop to celebrate a big win appropriately.

In this two-part episode, Frank Cava and Ian Mathews break down every detail from a $10M real estate project involving 75 single-family homes in Richmond. This is our first podcast episode where we film together in the same room, using Frank's paparazzi film crew and editors. We share every granular detail of how we identified, negotiated, funded, executed, and celebrated a deal that was incredibly profitable to us and the investors who helped us fund the deal. In this episode:The power of persistence and follow-up to find great deals,How a great partnership drives an equation of 1 + 1 = 3,How the deals you close are closely linked to your ability to execute,Profits are made when you buy, not when you sell,How to raise private capital from wealthy investors,What happens when a profitable deal gets hit with a pandemic, andHow to communicate to investors when a deal starts to go sideways.

We're breaking tradition and interviewing our very first guest! Given the meager budget for this fledgling operation, we searched for a future star that we could afford today. Yoni Katz is a 12-year-old entrepreneur and a big fan of our podcast. He is starting several businesses and wanted to get our insight. Little did we know that Yoni would teach and inspire us more than we could help him! In this episode:· Building a personal brand at any age· How to price your first products/services· Small business guerrilla marketing· How to work referrals· Playing to your strengths· The difference between features and benefits· Pricing based on the value you provide· Investing at a young age

We continue to follow the meteoric rise of Jeff Bezos and his growing juggernaut of a company. This second part of our series starts with Barnes & Noble threatening to crush Bezos if he doesn't sell out. Like most decisions Bezos makes throughout his career, he calmly rejects that offer and doubles down on his belief that Amazon can change the landscape of American business. From tech startup to the largest company in the world, we dive into the growing pains and changes Amazon needed to make with people and strategy to create a business that changed the world.

We're suckers for a good "rags to riches" origin story of a scrappy founder stepping out into the abyss. What makes the story of Jeff Bezos and Amazon so intriguing is how comfortable Bezos had it when he went all-in on this company. In this first part of two episodes, Frank and Ian work through the early days of Amazon and find dozens of parallel lessons for any ambitious person looking to build a career.

Frank recalls the story of Owen Meany, a character in a book he read as a young man that somewhat imperfectly explains how hidden talents emerge when you least suspect them. In this episode, we talk about the importance of practice and repetition to master any skill professionally or personally. In this episode:· Past behaviors are an accurate predictor of future performance· Skills translate across industries and from company to company· Go where a company values (and pays) for your specific skillsets· Your performance certainly won't speak for itself (you need to be a marketer)· Get results, but do it in your unique way· You can't expect to catch much fish with only one hook in the water

"No enemy is worse than bad advice."~Sophocles In a culture where anyone can publish anything with no more experience than an internet connection, certain platitudes are taken as gospel. With thousands of "life coaches" posting advice, the same tired advice gets repurposed ad nauseam. In this episode, Frank Cava and Ian Mathews take a contrarian stance on some commonly accepted wisdom.In this episode:· Maybe you shouldn't "follow your passion"· Hard work alone has a ceiling· Translating what a manager really means when they say you should "be patient"· What goes unspoken when someone tells you that "you can be anything you want to be"· Why balance is only a function of your ambition· How to explain a short stint on your resume· If you don't toot your own horn, who will?· No one wants to hear how things were done in your old company

When you need to be productive, what type of music does it for you?Ian bangs out hip hop while Frankie hee-haws along to the banjo. This argument has gone nowhere for years but that all changes with this episode!Your fearless co-hosts each pick five of their favorite songs for career inspiration. Two men enter this podcast, but only one emerges victorious. Follow along as they break down classics from Biggie, Charlie Daniels, Tupac, and Alan Jackson, pulling career lessons from classic lyrics.

 "Our ego is our silent partner--too often with a controlling interest."~Cullen HightowerThe mere mention of the word ego conjures images of self-loving, selfish maniacs who would stop at nothing to bolster their own self-image. Here we make the clear distinction between ego, a person's self-esteem, and an egotist, a person wholly consumer with self-importance. Without the ego, there would be no success. What would drive us to fight through resistance, to risk failure, to persevere? We look at how a person can use their ego aspirationally without letting success get to our heads.In this episode:Why parents act like fools at youth sports gamesThe absurdity of big egos in large companiesWhy ego tends to show itself once you've had successLeaders who say "I" when things go poorly and "we" when things go wellWhy sacred cows exist in organizationsThe higher up you move in an organization, the fewer pats on the back you should expectHow Frank knew he wasn't getting a big tip at Outback SteakhouseHow to convince yourself you are still the underdogWhy we still freak out about posting videos onlineA lack of ego can be just as a big of a problem as an ego out of control

The coach of an NFL football team hired a strength and conditioning coach, and all hell broke loose. Frank Cava and Ian Mathews break down how this questionable decision went horribly wrong and play Monday morning quarterback on what the Jacksonville Jaguars and head coach Urban Meyer could have done differently.

"Fredo, you're my brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever."~Michael Corleone This is the climactic conclusion of our leadership series on the most famous crime family in cinematic history. We bring this trilogy home in style, all the way up to Michael's big finish during the baptism. In this episode:· The cold truth about getting a new manager· Only fools (like Moe Greene) get emotional when negotiating· Has your mentor been through enough battles to be your "Consigliere?"· The one time a manager won't ever give you a second chance· It is easy to let power go to your head· All new leaders want to put their personal stamp on a business

"I don't like violence, Tom. I'm a businessman. Blood is a big expense."~SollozzoAct II of our homage to an all-time classic is filled with drama, suspense, and succession planning! Frank and Ian continue to pull lessons from the Corleone family business in Part 2 of our podcast trilogy.In this episode:How to reject someone with dignity like Don Corleone"Leave the gun, take the cannoli" and "Happy wife, happy life" go hand in hand"It's not personal, it's strictly business" ... but is it?Great salespeople do take it personallyPayback can be a great motivator

We dig into the mania behind the Reddit mob fighting against Wall Street short-sellers and compare it to other bubbles and manias. In particular, we see a close connection with the dotcom bubble and real estate crash of 2007.

“Leave the gun, take the cannoli.” ~Clemenza It would be fair to assume that Frank Cava and Ian Mathews started a podcast just for episodes like this. While most see The Godfather as a gangster movie, Frank and Ian see a masterclass in business. In true Godfather fashion, they recorded so much content that they needed to break this episode into a three-part trilogy that Francis Ford Coppola would be proud of. In this episode, they discuss key concepts, such as asking for favors, the only thing a manager wants to hear when they delegate something, your star performers might not make great managers, and losing your temper quickly loses its effect when overused. They also touch on taking advantage of downtime in your career – it is okay to “go to the mattresses!” as well as how Frank used an interviewer’s ego to win his first VP promotion.

"If I go there will be troubleIf I stay it will be doubleSo you gotta let me knowShould I stay or should I go?"~The ClashIt's that time of year when people get the itch to find a new company. Frank and I take an objective look at the biggest of career decisions.In this episode, we cover:Why January is "quitting season"Everyone can be replacedHow you are only one regime change away from being replacedThe misguided thinking of blind loyaltyIf you are living for Friday, pack your bagsIf you don't want to do it for 20 more years, why do it one more year?A bad boss in a great company can be an opportunityHow to use the interview process to understand a company's cultureWhy life gets better right after the worst of a company's turnover problemHow to leverage your experience for a big paydayQuestions to ask yourself before deciding to leave

“If you are afraid of confrontation, you are not going to do very well.”—Bill Parcells, Hall of Fame football coachThink of any mentor you've had in your entire life. Whether it was a parent, teacher, coach, or manager, they probably had a special way of getting under your skin. They coached hard, not mean-spirited, but demanding in a way that convinced you to raise your personal standards. Tough coaching gets a bad rap today, but Ian Mathews and Frank Cava make a case for a style that got the most out of us:Also, in this episode:· "You can't be tough on Millennials" and other nonsense myths.· You have to earn the right to be tough.· The problem with emulating famous coaches· There is a time to be tough and a time to back off.· Managers who mask their insecurities with "toughness."· What it means to be "pleased, but not satisfied."· You can be tough and still be likable.· Criticize in private, protect in public· You can be tough on any generation.· Passive-aggressive is not the same as tough; it's the opposite.· How to praise a star in public

Leading a team takes patience to connect with all kinds of individuals, which means dealing with the bad apples. Managing the so-called assholes within a group is never an easy task for leaders, but work attitude will always be more valuable than results. Ian Mathews and Frank Cava look back on their own experiences as employees who dealt with bullies and jerks themselves and how they handled such people when they rose as leaders, a task that required tough skin and courage. They dive into the challenges that come when firing people, the right way to tell and motivate an employee who needs improvement, and how the entire team will be affected if a problematic member is either removed or ignored.

 In this episode, Frank and Ian can hardly contain their man-crush for legendary investor and CEO, Warren Buffett. Only the truly dedicated will invest $5,000 and an entire weekend in Omaha to listen to Warren opine for six hours at the "Woodstock for investors." We talk about the day we spent at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting and all of the other lessons we've learned from our hero.In this episode:Ian gets shamed by a sweet, but very rich, old lady in OmahaHow your earliest jobs can form who you become in your careerIt has never been easier to start a side gigNo one will invest in you without a track record or skin in the gamePatience is an underrated strategy for building wealthWhy Warren is either lavish in his praise or dead silent - a lesson in motivationYou cannot build a career when you are overly focused on your image"Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding. Lose one shred of our reputation, and I will be ruthless."Buffett's approach to delegation is next levelWhy Buffett does not set limits on compensationHow to raise private capital like Warren Buffett