In this episode, we go "under the hood" of the most complex machine in the known universe—the human brain. Ken Eslick is joined by guest Dominika Staniewicz (known globally as Coach D). Dominika is a world-renowned elite neuro-encoding specialist who has advised the President of Poland and trained under the legendary Dr. Daniel Amen.

If you’ve ever felt like you're fighting yourself—knowing exactly what to do but unable to make yourself do it—Dominika explains why your biology is working against you and, more importantly, how to fix it. From overcoming a 40-year battle with epilepsy to debunking the "myth" of willpower and exploring the science of neuro-feminine leadership, this conversation is a masterclass in turning evolution into personal and professional excellence.

• [00:00:52] – The Elite "Brain Ninja": Meet Dominika Staniewicz, the specialist helping global leaders across six continents rewire their minds for peak performance.
• [00:01:37] – Tragedy as a Catalyst: How personal loss shifted Dominika’s focus from getting her own needs met to realizing the fragility of life. [00:04:12] – The Price of Integrity: Choosing exile over political compliance in Poland and the journey from government advisor to separating hangers in a U.S. warehouse. [00:09:55] – Healing the "Unhealable": How Dominika utilized brain health practices to become 10 years seizure-free after decades of full-blown epilepsy. [00:12:54] – The Identity Trap: Why we often wrap our identity into a disability or negative state as a learned way to get love and attention.
• [00:14:18] – The Mirror Neuron Glitch: Why "people-pleasing" is often a drive to relieve your own brain's pain centers rather than a purely selfless act. [00:17:26] – The Willpower Myth: Why willpower is fleeting and how to change neural pathways so desired behaviors become an automatic part of your personality. [00:21:35] – The Biological Foundation: Why you cannot achieve permanent neuroplasticity without the proper building blocks like sleep, iron, and magnesium.
• [00:24:45] – Neuro-Feminine Leadership: Exploring the structural advantages of the female brain—including enhanced white matter connectivity and pattern recognition.
• [00:37:00] – Connect with Coach D: Insights on the "Business Her Way" event and using neuroscience to adapt sales and leadership styles.

• Connect with Ken on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keneslick/
• The Leaders Lab by Ken Eslick: theleaderslab.co

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikastaniewicz/
• Website: https://yourbraincoachd.com/

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In this episode of The Playbook Podcast, host Ken Eslick sits down with Dr. Ginny Baro, a Fortune 500 executive coach, bestselling author, and CEO of ExecutiveBound. Ginny shares her powerful immigrant journey, arriving in the U.S. from the Dominican Republic at age 14 without knowing English, fueled by a dream to break the cycle of poverty.

She discusses her 26-year corporate career in technology and financial services, her transition into entrepreneurship, and her "CARES" framework for leadership. Ginny also dives into the "acclimation" process required for leaders to step into new identities and the critical role of AI in modern business transformation.

• The Power of Identity: How viewing yourself as an "underdog" can fuel resilience and the drive for education.
• Acclimating to Success: Why leaders must "acclimate" to the oxygen at new heights and bring their identity along for the climb.
• The "Lions and Cats" Mirror: Understanding your unique value proposition and recognizing the "superpowers" you often take for granted.
• AI as a Leadership Tool: Why AI adoption is no longer optional and how it is being driven by end-users rather than just IT departments.
• The Mastermind Effect: The importance of surrounding yourself with people who have already achieved what you are striving for.

Timestamps:

00:00:29 – Introduction: Ken Eslick introduces Dr. Ginny Baro as a Fortune 500 executive coach, bestselling author, and CEO of ExecutiveBound.

00:01:00 – The Immigrant Journey: Ginny shares her background moving from the Dominican Republic to the US at age 14 with a dream to break the cycle of poverty.

00:02:40 – Early Hardships: She reflects on the "hardest 14 years" of her life, including being separated from her mother for two years before arriving in America.

00:03:52 – Identity and Education: Ginny describes her "underdog" identity and how she used high school as a foundation to learn English and the "rules" of her new culture.

00:05:00 – Corporate Ascent: While working full-time at Prudential, Ginny pursued multiple degrees, eventually earning a PhD in Information Systems to reach the "top" of her field.

00:11:04 – Selective Leadership: Ginny advises that leaders shouldn't say "yes" to every opportunity unless it aligns with their unique value proposition and makes them excited to work.

00:12:34 – The Fork in the Road: In 2017, following a divorce and an unsustainable four-hour daily commute, Ginny decided to leave corporate life to reinvent herself as an entrepreneur.

00:14:19 – Acclimation and Calibration: She explains the concept of "acclimating" to new levels of success, bringing one’s identity along as if climbing a mountain.

00:17:00 – Building Credibility: Ginny discusses publishing her first book, Fearless Women at Work, and establishing her CARES coaching framework.

00:30:49 – Innovating the Mastermind: She explains how she adapted the "Mastermind" concept for corporate leaders, creating six-month cohorts to provide a safe space for growth.

00:38:15 – Embracing AI: Ginny emphasizes that AI is no longer optional; leaders must learn to "swim" with it to do their jobs smarter and faster.

00:41:00 – Connecting Through Story: In her closing remarks, she encourages leaders to use their personal stories to build human connections that technology cannot replicate.

• Connect with Ken on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keneslick/
• The Leaders Lab by Ken Eslick: https://www.theleaderslab.co/
• Connect with Dr. Ginny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginnybaro/
• ExecutiveBound by Dr. Ginny: https://executivebound.com/

Discover how we help founders and executives unlock clarity and lasting impact: https://calendly.com/theleaderslab/meeting

#LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #DrGinnyBaro #LeadersLab #CareerGrowth #WomenInLeadership #EntrepreneurMindset #Resilience #CorporateStrategy #AIRevolution #SuccessMindset

In this episode, Ken Eslick sits down with "the scale-up guy," Nick Bradley, to pull back the curtain on the world of private equity (PE) and business exits. With a career spanning from starting a personal training business at 18 to serving as a CEO four times under investor backing, Nick shares the "investor-grade" playbooks that help founders stop leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table.

They discuss the vital shift from running a lifestyle business to building a wealth-creation asset, the importance of "exiting the operation" before you exit the company, and why the current market is hungrier than ever for profitable, professionalized B2B and home services businesses.

• The "Investor-Grade" Mindset: Many founders view their business through a lifestyle or income lens; shifting to a wealth-creation mindset allows you to build a transferable asset rather than just a job.
• The Power of the Multiple: Increasing profit is only half the battle. Moving from sub-million EBITDA to the $5M range opens a massive marketplace of thousands of PE firms, which significantly drives up the valuation multiple.
• Exiting the Operation: To achieve a high-value exit, the business must run without the founder. Nick highlights that "owner dependency" is a major risk that devalues a company during an acquisition.
• Execution Over Strategy: In the PE world, execution is "almost military". Operating in 90-day sprints with clear priorities is what truly drives a step-change in company growth.
• The "Buy and Build" Strategy: Private equity often buys a "platform" business with strong leadership first, then "bolts on" other companies to create a larger, high-value group.

• [00:02:36] Nick’s journey from selling a fitness business for $3,000 to working for Rupert Murdoch and eventually leading 600 redundancies to prep a company for sale.
• [00:07:38] The "Unapologetic" Truth: Why PE is focused on "value creation"—turning assets into 300% to 500% returns within a 3-to-5-year window.
• [00:12:44] Transferable Value: How small risks—like key person or customer dependency—can knock 2 to 5 points off your valuation multiple.
• [00:19:14] The Three Big Mistakes: A lack of wealth-asset awareness, owner dependency/ego, and poor execution discipline.
• [00:25:36] Scaling Milestones: Why the $1M EBITDA mark is the first major "interest" threshold, but $5M is where the marketplace truly opens up.
• [00:28:47] The "Boring" Business Boom: Why PE has fallen in love with recurring revenue in "unsexy" industries like HVAC, landscaping, and commercial cleaning.

• Connect with Ken on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keneslick/
• The Leaders Lab by Ken Eslick: https://www.theleaderslab.co/
• Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realnickbradley/
• High Value Exit by Nick Bradley: https://highvalueexit.com/

Ready to Transform Your Leadership?

Discover how we help founders and executives unlock clarity and lasting impact: https://ken-2xppm4iy.scoreapp.com/

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge." — Simon Sinek