Think Big, Get Big: The Goal-Setting Strategy That Changes Everything | E362

Work-life balance is a complete myth for founders and CEOs. The experience myth keeps people pigeonholed. Goals should force your identity change, not the other way around. Eric Partaker—McKinsey consultant turned Skype early team member turned restaurant chain founder turned CEO coach with 1.2M LinkedIn followers—breaks down why everything you've been told about building a successful career and company is backwards. In this episode, Eric shares why he went from world's worst procrastinator (bought books in 2000, didn't read them until 2010) to super producer, why he lost everything when his restaurant chain went up in smoke during COVID, and why that experience made him a better coach. He also unpacks the cultural differences between US optimism, UK scepticism, and Norwegian Janteloven (the law that says "you shall not think you are anything"), and why the Vikings' entrepreneurial spirit somehow disappeared from modern Norway. What you'll learn: ⚖️ Why work-life balance is a myth—it's really about work-life satisfaction 🎯 Why going for 10X goals forces identity change (not choosing identity first) 🌍 How cultural attitudes toward ambition differ: US vs UK vs Norway 📈 Why 10X is easier than 10%—and how it fundamentally changes thinking 🏅 Why we don't question Olympic athletes chasing gold medals but judge business people 💼 Why star performers deliver 800% more output than average in complex roles Book recommendations: The Now Habit - Neil Fiore - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Lencioni/dp/0787960756 Built to Last - Jim Collins & Jerry Porras - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Built-Last-Successful-Visionary-Essentials/dp/0060516402 About the Guest: Eric Partaker is a CEO coach, mentor, and peak performance expert who built a 1.2M+ following on LinkedIn over the last couple of years despite being 50 years old and "not a social media person" three years ago. His career has been a chain of massive pivots: started as a consultant at McKinsey, joined the early team at Skype (back when people actually used Skype before Riverside), helped with the blitz-scaling that led to a $2-3 billion exit to eBay about 21 years ago, then did a complete pivot to build a Mexican restaurant chain called Chilango. He went from being the world's worst procrastinator (so bad he bought books on overcoming procrastination in 2000 and didn't read them until 2010) to a super producer after reading The Now Habit by Neil Fiore. He credits Five Dysfunctions of a Team for helping him optimise leadership teams (particularly around avoidance of conflict and artificial harmony) and Built to Last for optimising company performance. His current mission: helping founders and CEOs stop pursuing the myth of balance, go for 10X goals that force identity change, and just have the courage to do whatever that critical thing is they're avoiding right now. -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Scale To Win newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Eric's diverse career journey and background 06:02 10x goals and their impact on mindset 09:45 Cultural influences on ambition and success 12:35 Work-life balance vs. work-life satisfaction 18:01 Fascination with achievement and peak performance 22:38 Transition from McKinsey to creating a restaurant chain 28:03 Reflecting on debt and expansion mistakes 33:30 Building leadership teams and hiring strategies 38:43 Importance of reallocating resources and hiring stars 40:42 Understanding and addressing business constraints 42:28 Books that transformed Eric's personal and professional growth