Welcome to the everyday founder podcast with James Farnfield 👋🏽
James chats with everyday founders and ask them questions across a range of serious and lighthearted topics.
It’s time that we celebrate those everyday founders doing incredible things. Celebrating their successes, learning from their journey and supporting their future.
Enjoy 🚀
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to the everyday founder podcast with James Farnfield 👋🏽
James chats with everyday founders and ask them questions across a range of serious and lighthearted topics.
It’s time that we celebrate those everyday founders doing incredible things. Celebrating their successes, learning from their journey and supporting their future.
Enjoy 🚀
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What does it take to stay relevant as the world changes around you?
In this powerful episode, I sit down with Steve Cockram — co-founder of GiANT and co-author of Five Voices — to explore how leadership is evolving in the digital age. From delivering a keynote in Abu Dhabi (after Bill Clinton and Bill Gates!) to building a leadership platform used by 250k+ people, Steve unpacks his journey with radical honesty.
We talk:
- The real cost of being a founder
- How to avoid becoming an “oxbow lake” in your industry
- Why most co-founder relationships fail — and how his didn’t
- And how self-awareness is the unfair advantage in leadership and life
Chapters:
00:00 - The age of AI & changing leadership
01:23 - Meet Steve Cockram: from pastor to keynote speaker
02:54 - Giving a speech after Bill Gates (and without a script)
04:09 - Why failure makes you relatable — and valuable
05:42 - Reinventing leadership tools for the 99.9%
08:04 - Five Voices: the leadership personality system
11:10 - Superpowers of each voice: pioneer, connector, creative, guardian, nurturer
13:28 - The imbalance of voices in leadership — and why it matters
14:39 - Are personality types fixed?
20:16 - Why nurturers make amazing founders (once they believe it)
22:51 - Founders are the product — and the pressure is real
25:29 - Lessons from the early days of GiANT
30:20 - Why luck often looks like generosity
31:02 - Leadership must evolve with tech
33:14 - How to stay relevant by investing in younger talent
34:31 - Introducing Pulse: AI-powered relational intelligence
36:37 - The future of leadership is communication
39:04 - Remote vs in-person: the hybrid debate
41:29 - Can anyone become a great leader?
46:38 - The one trait every founder needs: integrity
49:00 - Co-founders: the hardest and most important relationship
53:33 - Lessons from 32 years of marriage
57:17 - How to build a family as a founder
01:01:23 - Leading with the end in mind
01:06:47 - Why most CEOs are lonely — and how to fix it
01:10:05 - Who really helps founders grow
01:13:01 - Advisory boards to AI hacks
01:15:32 - Talent or luck? What really matters
01:19:28 - Where to find Steve
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.