Hi Reader,

Think about the consultants, advisors, and vendors you work with. How many of them could tell you what your company's purpose is?

Not your revenue target. Not the scope of the project. Your purpose.

That question is behind one of my favorite moments in this week's episode 312 with Vistage Chair Joe White. Joe asks the CEOs in his Vistage groups to learn their clients' purpose, then tell those clients they're joining them on that mission.

Purpose is easy. Living it isn't. Joe White on the Life Fulfilled Podcast

Joe's point is simple. When someone says that to a business owner, it stops being a vendor relationship. It becomes a relationship. And if you've ever run a business, you know it can get lonely at the top. A partner who's invested in your purpose is special.

In our conversation, I added a "yes, and." When a client feels that valued, they trust you more. And trust shows up in the numbers. Forrester's B2B research found that buyers who trust a company are nearly twice as likely to recommend it or pay a premium compared to buyers who don't.

However, you can't join a client on their mission if you're not living in your own. Joe learned that twice, once when a shoulder injury ended his pro baseball career and again when a contract fight left him feeling he'd let everyone down. That's why he says finding your purpose takes about a minute. Living in it, especially when pressure hits, is the real work.

Joe has leaders draw the arrows that pull them out of their purpose, because you can't protect against what you can't see. The same is true in a sales conversation. If you don't notice when you've shifted from serving your client's purpose to chasing your own pipeline, your client will notice it first.

So here's my question for you: could you write your best client's purpose in one sentence?

If you sell your expertise as a consultant, coach, or business owner, that's exactly the kind of self-awareness I'll unpack this Friday, November 13 at noon Eastern in the free The Self-Aware Seller webinar. Can't make Friday? The same session runs again on December 4.

I'll unpack these five practices in a one-hour (free) webinar, delivered twice before the end of 2026.

In this webinar, I'll cover the following principles and practices:

Leading others. A simple way to recognize the people you serve at every level of their work, so clients and prospects feel seen, not sold to. Put it to work: pause before you prescribe, and recognize the work behind the deal.
Leading through change. How to handle price increases, client transitions, and uncertainty with conversations that build trust instead of avoiding them. Put it to work: when a client goes quiet, lower their risk.
The Trust Audit. Five questions built to surface what a client isn't saying, before it turns into a lost deal.
Customer signals you might be overlooking, and how to read them.
One question that will change how you walk into your next sales conversation.
Bonus: every client's favorite word, and how to use it in your favor.

This session is for you if:

You're a solopreneur, consultant, coach, or small business owner who wears a sales hat.
You sell B2B and want more influence in your conversations.
Your results are good, you sense they could be stronger, and you suspect the answer isn't another sales tactic.
You often present ideas that you want people to agree with.

This free webinar isn't a course on scripts, how to pitch, or closing techniques. It's about the person doing the selling. You!

Attend The Self-Aware Seller Webinar

Choose one of these two dates (same session):
November 13th, 12 PM Eastern
December 4th, 12 PM Eastern

Can't attend live? Register to get the replay.

Know someone who can benefit? Forward this to them!

You Can Catch This Week's Episode:

Listen on Apple
Listen on Spotify
Listen on Overcast
Listen on our Website
Watch on YouTube

How to Protect Your Purpose When Leadership Pressure Hits

Joe White was drafted by two Major League Baseball teams, the Cincinnati Reds and the Seattle Mariners, and signed with the Mariners to chase his lifelong dream of pitching professionally. Then he woke up from shoulder surgery to hear his surgeon say he couldn't play anymore, and that dream was over.

Joe White was drafted as a pitcher by the Seattle Mariners

Years later, as a teacher and coach, he lost his sense of purpose a second time, this time to a contract fight he couldn't win. Both times, he found his way back the same way.

Now a Vistage Chair, Joe makes a case that surprises most leaders: finding a purpose greater than yourself takes about a minute. Living in it, especially when the pressure is on, is the real work. In episode 312, he shares the simple visual he uses to help leaders see what's pulling them off course and protect what matters most.

Who This Is For

Leaders who feel pressure pulling them away from the people side of their job
CEOs and business owners who treat people growth and business growth as separate priorities
Anyone who's lost a role or identity they built their life around and is working to find their footing again
Managers who coach and practice well but hesitate to truly challenge their people
Consultants and service providers who want deeper, more trusted client relationships

Five Key Takeaways

Finding your purpose is fast. Living in it is the work. When Joe asks people to write their purpose inside a heart, one prompt (your purpose is greater than yourself) gets most of them writing within 30 seconds to a minute. Staying in that purpose day after day is the real challenge.
Identify the arrows coming at your purpose. Joe has leaders draw and label the arrows of daily noise that try to knock them out of their purpose, then surround the heart with a thick layer of memory foam so those arrows stick without getting through. Many of them won't matter a week or two later anyway.
Pressure can turn a people leader into a data leader. After winning a state championship, Joe got so focused on winning the next one that coaching became miserable for him and his players. Things changed only when he went back to leading people. As he puts it, the people give you the numbers.
When your people learn, grow, and progress, your business does too. Joe calls it LGP. Hire learners (ask what leadership book or podcast they've been reading or listening to), and consider replacing the performance review with a growth review.
Don't skip the challenge. Joe's CPC model asks leaders to coach it, practice it, and challenge it. Most leaders skip the last step because it means letting go of the outcome and allowing people to struggle before they succeed.