Outlearn the Competition: How Personal Development Accelerates Growth | Spencer Gore

Send us Fan MailHow much are you prepared to invest in becoming the leader your business will need next?Many founders invest in marketing, technology and recruitment while neglecting the one asset that influences every important decision: themselves.In this episode, Peter Boolkah speaks with entrepreneur Spencer Gore about personal development, continuous learning and why business owners must keep expanding their knowledge if they want their companies to grow.At the time of this conversation, Spencer had grown EMJ from himself and two interns into a company employing 45 people. It was working with the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies and reaching nearly half a million doctors.Spencer explains why coaching, business events, books, peer groups and purposeful learning helped him accelerate that progress.You’ll discover:Why founders must continually move beyond their comfort zonesHow Spencer developed a love of learning after struggling with formal educationWhy taking notes is not the same as implementing ideasSpencer’s method for selecting three actions from every eventHow coaching accelerated his company’s growthThe difference between working repeatedly and purposeful learningWhy spending time with more accomplished entrepreneurs expands your frame of referenceHow dyslexia can encourage founders to see opportunities differentlyWhy working hard is no longer enoughWhat it means to outlearn the competitionARCHIVE UPDATESpencer has put these principles into practice since this conversation was recorded.EMJ continued to expand its international reach and was subsequently recognised in The Sunday Times 100. Spencer received further recognition through the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and the LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders.He has also built Gorely Group, launched his own Gold with Gore podcast and become the majority owner and chairman of Chelmsford City Football Club.That subsequent progress gives this episode something particularly valuable: evidence of what can happen when a founder consistently applies the principles being discussed.PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND FOUNDER DEPENDENCYA company cannot continue growing if its founder’s capabilities remain unchanged.When the business outgrows the founder’s knowledge, leadership or decision-making abilities, the founder becomes the glass ceiling. They may work harder and longer, but the business remains constrained by what that one person knows.That is another form of The Hamster Wheel Trap®.Personal development only becomes commercially valuable when learning is converted into action. Spencer’s practice of identifying three ideas and implementing them provides a simple way to turn education into business improvement.CONNECT WITH SPENCER GOREWebsite: https://www.spencergore.groupLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencergoreEMJ: https://www.emjreviews.comCONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAHWebsite: https://www.boolkah.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boolkahInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pboolkah/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoolkahX: https://twitter.com/boolkahABOUT PETER BOOLKAHPeter Boolkah is a business coach, author and speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that do not depend on them for everything.He is the creator of The Hamster Wheel Trap® and author of Your Business Sucks: Build a Business That Works Without Destroying Your Life.Peter works with founders and leadership teams on the issues that ultimately determine whether a business creates freedom or becomes another job: leadership, founder dependency, people, profit, execution, scaling, exit readiness and enterprise value.His approach is direct, practical and built around one simple question:Do you own the business, or does the business own you?Learn more at https://www.boolkah.com