Eben Pagan - Why We Fail With Money (\u0026 What To Do About It)
In this guest appearance, Eben Pagan shares insights on managing virtual teams and creating meaningful wealth through compassion-based business practices. He reveals how his 80-person virtual company operates using 90-day cycles and daily huddles, while discussing the shift from traditional wealth accumulation to creating abundance through relationships and collaboration.
Teachings 9
Hire drivers who show proactive behavior, result orientation, sense of ownership, and personal responsibility rather than just skilled workers
Eben defines drivers as people who say 'I want more' and take it, then deliver results. When something goes wrong, they take responsibility; when something goes right, they credit the team.
Structure virtual teams using 90-day cycles as the optimal planning timeframe because business changes too fast for longer planning periods
Eben's 80-person virtual company operates on 90-day chunks, matching Corporate America's quarterly system. He states there are only two timeframes in business today: 90 days and forever.
Implement daily huddles where virtual teams connect each morning to align on daily objectives and maintain team cohesion
Eben's company uses daily huddles where every team gets together in the morning to say what everybody is doing that day, which they've used from the beginning and are circling back to now.
Superstars work for impact rather than money and want to see the world change because of what they do
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, told Eben at a conference that after hiring top talent worldwide, Google learned superstars work for impact, not money. They want to see the world change because of their work.
Look for passion and a successful track record of driving projects to completion when hiring top performers
Steve Ballmer shared this hiring criteria with Eben at a conference, emphasizing the importance of both passion and proven ability to complete projects successfully.
When you teach someone something, you learn more about it yourself, how to teach, and how they learn, plus get gratification - it's additive rather than subtractive
Eben explains that teaching creates multiple benefits: you retain your knowledge, learn more about the subject, develop teaching skills, understand learning styles, and experience gratification from helping others learn.
Compassion, defined as proactive empathy, is possibly the most valuable and profitable business skill
Eben defines compassion as not just feeling what others feel, but actively seeking to understand where they're coming from. This builds rapport, trust, and helps meet others' needs.
Seek first to understand by asking questions like 'how do you feel, how do you see this, what's your perspective' without marginalizing anyone
Eben references Stephen Covey's principle and emphasizes practicing this with every person you interact with - customers, family members, friends - to build more rapport and trust.
Great leaders like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King experienced a shift where they stopped identifying with just themselves and started identifying with humanity as a whole
Eben studied their lives and identified a specific shift point where each leader realized the center of the universe wasn't themselves, recognizing that we're all cousins and brothers/sisters with the same great grandparents.
Perspectives 1
The New Wealth is about creating relationship, education, collaboration, and abundance in social and human realms rather than just accumulating money
Eben explains that wealth is transforming from extraction and accumulation to creating more relationships, education, and collaboration. This new wealth follows the 'candle lighting another candle' phenomenon where giving it away means you still have it.
Quotable Moments 5
“hire drivers”
— Eben Pagan“Superstars they work for impact not for money”
— Eben Pagan“possibly the most valuable and profitable business skill is compassion”
— Eben Pagan“when you give it away you still have it you actually have more of it”
— Eben Pagan“seek first to understand”
— Eben Pagan
How to Manage Virtual Teams Effectively
A framework for building and managing high-performing virtual teams based on Eben Pagan's 80-person virtual company experience
- 1
Hire Drivers
Look for people who are proactive, result-oriented, have sense of ownership, and take personal responsibility. Seek passion and successful track record of completing projects.
- 2
Implement 90-Day Cycles
Plan and organize work in 90-day chunks as the optimal timeframe. Business changes too fast for longer planning periods.
- 3
Use Daily Huddles
Have each team connect every morning to align on what everyone is doing that day and maintain team cohesion.
- 4
Focus on Impact
Show superstars and top performers how their work will change the world and create meaningful impact, not just financial rewards.
Questions Answered
How do you manage a virtual team effectively
“hire drivers and what else do you do to be able to manage that... work in 90day chunks of time seem to be kind of The Sweet Spot... daily huddles every team get together in the morning”
— Eben Pagan▶ 1:01
Use 90-day planning cycles, implement daily team huddles, hire drivers who take ownership and responsibility, and focus on impact rather than just money when motivating top performers.
What makes someone a good hire for a virtual business
“hire drivers... proactive result oriented has a sense of ownership... look for passion and a successful track record driving projects to completion”
— Eben Pagan▶ 0:30
Look for drivers who are proactive, result-oriented, have a sense of ownership, take personal responsibility, and have passion combined with a track record of completing projects successfully.
What is the New Wealth philosophy
“wealth now is about creating more relationship creating more education creating more collaboration creating more abundance... it's all the candle lighting another candle phenomenon where when you give it away you still have it”
— Eben Pagan▶ 4:07
The New Wealth focuses on creating relationships, education, collaboration, and abundance rather than just accumulating money. It follows the principle that when you give it away, you still have it and actually get more.
Why is compassion important in business
“possibly the most valuable and profitable business skill is compassion... proactive empathy where I don't just feel what you feel but I actually seek to understand where you're coming from”
— Eben Pagan▶ 6:13
Compassion, defined as proactive empathy, is possibly the most valuable business skill because it builds rapport, trust, and helps you understand others' needs so you can serve them better.
How do you motivate top performers and superstars
“Superstars they work for impact not for money... they want to see the world change because of what they do... show them the project that's going to change the world”
— Eben Pagan▶ 2:35
Show them projects that will change the world and let them see the impact of their work. Superstars work for impact, not money, and want to see the world change because of what they do.
What is the seek first to understand principle
“seek first to understand... ask question say how do you feel how do you see this what's your perspective... don't marginalize anyone really believe that they have the best intention”
— Eben Pagan▶ 6:46
It means starting every interaction by genuinely trying to understand the other person's perspective through questions like 'how do you feel' and 'what's your perspective' without marginalizing them.
Summary
Building High-Performance Virtual Teams
Eben shares his unconventional approach to managing 80 virtual employees, emphasizing the importance of hiring 'drivers' who take ownership and responsibility. He reveals how 90-day planning cycles and daily huddles create structure without sacrificing the freedom that makes virtual work attractive.
What Really Motivates Top Performers
Drawing from conversations with Google's Eric Schmidt and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, Eben explains why superstars work for impact rather than money. The key is connecting talented people with projects that change the world and showing them the meaningful impact of their contributions.
The New Wealth Philosophy
Eben introduces a paradigm shift from traditional wealth accumulation to creating abundance through relationships, education, and collaboration. This new form of wealth follows the principle that when you give it away, you still have it and actually get more - creating exponential returns for everyone involved.
Compassion as the Ultimate Business Skill
The most surprising business insight: compassion, defined as proactive empathy, may be the most profitable skill you can develop. By seeking first to understand others' perspectives without judgment, you build deeper relationships that transform both your business success and personal fulfillment.
Counterpoint
Claim: “Wealth comes from accumulating and extracting money for personal gain”
Reframe: The New Wealth comes from creating relationships, education, collaboration, and abundance that multiplies when shared
Eben explains that unlike traditional wealth, the New Wealth follows the candle lighting principle - when you give it away, you still have it and actually get more. Teaching, loving, and collaborating create exponential returns.
Claim: “Business success requires strict hierarchical management and control”
Reframe: Virtual businesses thrive with self-organizing teams of drivers who take ownership and responsibility
Eben's 80-person virtual company operates with non-hierarchical structures where teams self-organize, and success comes from hiring drivers who proactively take responsibility and deliver results.
Claim: “Top performers are motivated primarily by money and compensation”
Reframe: Superstars work for impact and want to change the world through their contributions
Eric Schmidt from Google shared that after hiring top global talent, they learned superstars work for impact, not money. They want to see the world change because of what they do.
Key Points 10
Hire drivers who show proactive behavior, result orientation, sense of ownership, and personal responsibility rather than just skilled workers
▶ 0:30Structure virtual teams using 90-day cycles as the optimal planning timeframe because business changes too fast for longer planning periods
▶ 2:04Implement daily huddles where virtual teams connect each morning to align on daily objectives and maintain team cohesion
▶ 2:04Superstars work for impact rather than money and want to see the world change because of what they do
▶ 2:35Look for passion and a successful track record of driving projects to completion when hiring top performers
▶ 3:05The New Wealth is about creating relationship, education, collaboration, and abundance in social and human realms rather than just accumulating money
▶ 4:07When you teach someone something, you learn more about it yourself, how to teach, and how they learn, plus get gratification - it's additive rather than subtractive
▶ 5:10Compassion, defined as proactive empathy, is possibly the most valuable and profitable business skill
▶ 6:13Seek first to understand by asking questions like 'how do you feel, how do you see this, what's your perspective' without marginalizing anyone
▶ 6:46Great leaders like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King experienced a shift where they stopped identifying with just themselves and started identifying with humanity as a whole
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Topics
Coaching Strategies
Business Frameworks