Clear expectations and consistent feedback are foundational to healthy leadership—but they're also some of the most overlooked management practices. In this "Simple Ideas, Big Impact" episode, Keith and James revisit the timeless lessons of Ken Blanchard's The One Minute Manager, exploring why leaders often assume expectations are understood without ever communicating them. They discuss the power of setting clear expectations, affirming success, coaching with clarity, and why even CEOs can miss the mark when it comes to feedback. If you want to build stronger teams and eliminate unnecessary frustration, this simple leadership habit can make all the difference.

In this episode, James is joined by longtime Table Group Principal Consultant Rick Packer and former Principal Consultant and bestselling author Jim Brown to discuss Jim’s new book, The Imperfect CEO. Together, they explore why great CEOs don’t need to have all the answers, but they do need the humility to go first, admit limitations, build trust, and create the conditions for true collaboration.

The conversation centers on Jim’s four peaks of organizational health: collaborative culture, leadership accountability, strategic momentum, and talent magnetism—and how each one depends on a leader’s willingness to embrace imperfection, model vulnerability, and guard the health of the organization.

In this episode, Keith and James explore one of the most important mindset shifts leaders can make: to see yourself as a victim of circumstances or as an agent of change.

The conversation centers on three simple but powerful questions: What is our current reality? What needs to change? And what is my responsibility in making that happen?