Why do smart CEOs prioritize alignment over conflict when the stakes are highest?

Every major negotiation — with investors, employees, customers, partners, or acquisition targets — shapes the long-term health of your business. But too many leaders still approach negotiations as a battle to win rather than an opportunity to build trust, expand the pie, and create better outcomes for everyone involved. In this episode, Jim Schleckser sits down with negotiation expert Stan Christensen to unpack why the smartest CEOs focus on fairness, relationship management, and strategic preparation rather than pressure tactics and positional bargaining.

By listening to this episode, you'll learn how to:

• Build stronger long-term business relationships by approaching negotiations as collaborative problem-solving instead of zero-sum conflict
• Avoid costly emotional decisions by using pauses, preparation, and strategic thinking to stay in control during high-stakes conversations
• Create better outcomes in salary discussions, M&A deals, and everyday negotiations by uncovering what truly matters to the other side

Play this episode now to discover why the CEOs who consistently get the best deals are the ones who prioritize alignment over conflict in every important negotiation.

Check out:

• 08:45 — Stan Christensen explains why the best negotiations focus on fairness, relationship management, and expanding the pie instead of treating negotiation as adversarial conflict.
• 27:10 — A powerful discussion on how CEOs should approach compensation, ownership, and aligning incentives for long-term wealth creation and leadership growth.
• 45:20 — Stan shares a fascinating real-world negotiation strategy used in a car-buying scenario that completely changes the game and shifts leverage back to the buyer.

Mr. Christensen is currently the host of "All Things Negotiation," a popular negotiation podcast. He was a co-Founder of Arbor Advisors, a boutique investment bank in Silicon Valley, which he ran for 20 years. Previously, he worked as a mediator and negotiation advisor at Conflict Management Group. In this capacity, he worked in over 75 countries, negotiating transactions and mediating conflicts. He is a former Kellogg Fellow and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has taught Negotiation at Stanford University for over 20 years. His BA is from Brigham Young University, and he has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Are you losing customers because AI marketing is changing faster than your business can keep up?

If you're trying to grow your company in a world where ChatGPT, LinkedIn algorithms, YouTube, and AI-powered search are reshaping how buyers discover brands, this episode gives you a practical roadmap to stay visible and competitive. You'll hear how modern companies are using AI marketing to win attention, dominate search results, improve customer acquisition, and build trust across multiple platforms before competitors even know what changed.

What You'll Learn:

• How AI marketing is transforming search visibility — and why ranking #1 on Google no longer guarantees customers
• Ways to reverse engineer AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, LinkedIn, and YouTube to increase authority and attract better leads
• Practical strategies for creating authentic, high-performing content that drives engagement, retention, and long-term business growth

Play this episode now to discover how AI marketing can help you attract higher-value customers before your competitors figure out the new rules of digital growth.

Check out:

• 08:45 – Gilad breaks down how AI marketing is changing search forever and explains why ranking on Google alone is no longer enough to win customers.
• 19:20 – A fascinating look at how LinkedIn's algorithm now rewards authentic, value-driven content while punishing AI-generated "filler" posts.
• 34:10 – The conversation shifts to YouTube, influencer marketing, and how AI tools can turn hours of content into actionable business insights and growth opportunities.

About Gilad Bechar

Gilad Bechar is the visionary founder and CEO of Moburst, a world-renowned, mobile-first digital agency that has become a trusted growth partner to some of the most recognizable tech brands on the planet. Over the last eleven years, Gilad has scaled Moburst into a global powerhouse, working with industry leaders such as Google, YouTube, Uber, Discovery, Robinhood, Playtika, Dropbox, and Samsung to unlock breakthrough results in user acquisition, retention, and mobile innovation.

With more than 14 years of hands-on experience in brand management, media strategy, consultancy, and startup ecosystems, Gilad is a force in digital marketing. He combines creative ingenuity with deep technical insight. His approach to full-funnel mobile growth is comprehensive, encompassing strategy and creative content as well as performance marketing, product optimization, and growth hacking.

What if the biggest barrier to your leadership effectiveness isn't your strategy or team but the emotional patterns you developed long before you ever became a leader?

If you've ever struggled with delegation, micromanagement, conflict avoidance, or the pressure to constantly prove yourself as a leader, this episode will hit close to home. You'll discover how your attachment style quietly shapes the way you lead, communicate, build trust, and respond under pressure, and why improving your leadership effectiveness starts with greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and psychological safety.

What You'll Gain From This Episode:

• Learn how secure leaders create trust-filled environments where teams feel safe to innovate, collaborate, and perform at a higher level.
• Discover the hidden connection between childhood attachment patterns and leadership behaviors like micromanaging, people-pleasing, or avoiding vulnerability.
• Understand practical ways to strengthen emotional intelligence, improve self-awareness, and intentionally change leadership habits that may be limiting your growth.

Ready to become a more self-aware, emotionally intelligent leader? Play this episode to uncover the mindset shifts that can dramatically improve your leadership effectiveness and transform the way your team responds to you.

Check out:

• 08:45 – Dr. Jaime Goff explains the two core questions that shape leadership behavior: "Am I worthy?" and "Are other people trustworthy?" — a foundational moment for understanding leadership effectiveness.
• 24:10 – The conversation dives into how insecure attachment styles show up in leadership through micromanagement, lack of trust, and difficulty delegating.
• 41:30 – Jim and Jaime discuss how leaders can actually rewire unhealthy leadership patterns through self-awareness, emotional regulation, and intentional behavioral change.

Dr. Jaime Goff is the founder of The Empathic Leader, LLC, where she specializes in helping leaders unlock their full potential through executive coaching, insightful workshops, and thought-provoking keynotes. With her unique blend of expertise in psychology and leadership development, Jaime helps individuals and teams navigate their toughest challenges, build resilience, and achieve transformative growth.

In addition to her coaching and speaking, Jaime serves as the Director of Leadership Development for an international healthcare system, where she designs and leads innovative programs that inspire leaders to thrive. Her career began in higher education as a professor of Couple and Family Therapy and later as an academic dean.

Dr. Goff's thought leadership has been featured in academic journals and industry magazines. She shares her insights regularly on her blog and LinkedIn, where she engages a thriving community. A seasoned speaker, Jaime has delivered presentations and workshops at more than 30 professional conferences.