Mark Thompson is a CEO coach and author of CEO Ready. Born and raised in Silicon Valley and now working across emerging tech hubs, Mark prepares leaders for the leap from elite operator to enterprise chief. He’s worked with CEOs ranging from Richard Branson and Evan Sharp (co-founder of Pinterest) to Dr. Jim Yong Kim (former president of the World Bank) and Dave Chang (founder of Momofuku).

Most executives assume the CEO seat is the natural “next step” for the highest performer. But Mark argues you earn readiness twice: first by delivering results, and then by winning belief outside your swim lane. In other words, performance gets you shortlisted—but it doesn’t get you selected.

In this episode, Mark lays out the seven stakeholders who decide your fate as a CEO candidate (the board, investors/owners, peers, employees, customers, the current CEO, and you). We talk about what each group actually wants, how to build trust across the enterprise, and why the best CEO candidates develop “conversational fluency” across functions so they can lead beyond their lane.

In this episode we cover:
•Why “elite performance” only gets you halfway to CEO—and what earns belief the second time
•The seven stakeholders who decide CEO readiness (and how to build a plan for each one)
•How to show up to the board as more than a functional expert
•Turning peers into partners (before the role forces the shift)
•Building fluency across functions so you can lead the whole enterprise—not just your function

Episode Timeline:
00:00 Introduction to Outthinkers Podcast

01:23 Meet Mark Thompson: CEO Coach and Author

02:06 The Seven Stakeholders of CEO Success

02:42 Mark's Unique Coaching Methods

04:10 Personal Insights and Strategy Definition

06:30 The Reality of Becoming a CEO

08:58 Navigating Board Dynamics

20:57 Interacting with the Board: Key Strategies for Aspiring CEOs

21:28 Listening and Broadening Your Perspective

22:44 Understanding the Role of Strategy Officers

26:36 Navigating Peer Dynamics and Leadership Transition

33:03 Building Relationships with the CEO

35:44 Engaging with Investors and Owners

39:56 The Importance of Customer Influence

44:17 Final Thoughts and Resources for Aspiring CEOs

Additional Resources:
•Mark Thompson: Chief Executive Alliance — https://chieexecutivealliance.com

Watch now on Youtube: https://youtu.be/wuh4Rn7erxU

Thank you to our guest, our executive producer Zach Ness, our editor James Pearce, and the Outthinker team. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.

Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast

Bill George is one of the most influential leadership thinkers of our time. A former CEO of Medtronic and long-time Harvard Business School professor, he’s served on the boards of Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, Novartis, and the Mayo Clinic. His books including True North and True North: Emerging Leader Edition—have shaped how thousands of leaders approach purpose, values, and character.

When performance pressure rises, it’s easy for leaders to drift from their values chasing quarterly metrics, external validation, and “style” over substance. Bill argues the opposite: sustainable performance springs from purpose, self-awareness, and a culture people believe in. We explore how to stay grounded as expectations, visibility, and success scale.

You’ll learn how authentic leaders make the hard calls without becoming “nice at the expense of necessary,” choose metrics that drive meaning (not gaming), and build teams that keep you honest, learning, and aligned.

In this episode we cover:
•Authentic leadership: what it is and isn’t
•Purpose-first strategy
•The Medtronic metric: measuring outcomes people feel, not just inputs
•Making tough people & portfolio decisions without losing your values
•Building your leadership circle for honest feedback & growth
•Short-term vs. long-term: preventing KPI gaming and hollow wins

Episode Timeline

00:00 Introduction to Outthinkers Podcast
00:35 Bill George on Medtronic's Impact
01:40 Bill George's Leadership Journey
05:00 Defining Strategy and Purpose
10:32 Authentic Leadership Explained
12:45 Challenges and Examples of Leadership
16:04 Personal Growth and Leadership
20:53 Developing Self-Awareness as a Leader
22:15 Facing Crucibles: Overcoming Tough Times
23:47 Exercises for Self-Discovery
25:33 The Power of Small Groups
27:32 Long-Standing Support Systems
29:28 Assessing Leadership Values
33:01 Effective Metrics for Leadership
39:56 Engaging with Bill George

Additional Resources
•Bill George — Website: https://www.billgeorge.org
•LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamwgeorge/
•Book: True North: Emerging Leader Edition
•Book: True North
•Kaihan Krippendorff: https://www.outthinker.com

Thank you to our guest, our executive producer Zach Ness, our editor James Pearce, and the Outthinker team. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.

Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast

Meet Jon Levy — behavioral scientist and author of Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius and the NYT/WSJ bestseller You’re Invited. Jon has spent years studying human behavior and leadership mechanics, advising companies on how to build teams that actually perform—beyond leadership myths and buzzwords.

We often hire “A-players,” roll out values, and assume great leadership traits will carry us. Then reality hits: strategy doesn’t execute itself—teams do. Jon explains why the smallest unit of performance is the team, why stacking stars backfires, and how culture and language shape what people actually do. If you’re trying to align leaders who don’t buy the data, this one’s for you.

You’ll learn how to engineer collective intelligence—the practical habits, roles, and rituals that raise a team’s game, how to recruit and empower “glue players,” and how to make strategy felt when spreadsheets won’t persuade.

• Culture as operating system: the sayings, status cues, and rituals that drive behavior (Apple’s “surprise and delight,” LEGO’s “fireside”).
• Bursty communication: why teams should “work together, then work apart” to boost problem-solving.
• Glue players: high-EQ, team-first multipliers (and why too many stars tank performance).
• Make the implicit explicit: roles, skills, and “player cards” that speed decisions.
• Trust, not traits: honesty, competence, benevolence—and dealing with the dark tetrad at work.
• When data won’t convince: crafting a narrative that makes people feel the better future.

00:00 Introduction

00:36 Coming Up...

01:47 Unpacking Team Intelligence with John Levy

02:47 Insights on Leadership and Team Dynamics

05:13 The Role of Culture in Organizations

13:49 The Impact of Language on Behavior

16:54 The Concept of Glue Players

18:14 The Key to Predicting Success in Basketball

19:02 Characteristics of Glue Players

21:25 The Importance of Team Dynamics

23:49 The Antwerp Diamond Heist: A Lesson in Teamwork

27:52 Making Implicit Knowledge Explicit

29:36 The Dark Side of Team Dynamics

31:29 Understanding Trust in Teams

34:06 The Role of Emotion in Strategy

35:02 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

• Jon Levy — Website: https://www.jonlevy.com
• Book: https://www.jonlevy.com/team-intelligence
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonlevytlb

Thank you to our guest, our executive producer Zach Ness, our editor James Pearce, and the Outthinker team. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.

Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast