Donnie Boivin is the CEO and founder of Success Champion Networking, five-time bestselling author, and founder of the Badass Business Summit.

Donnie argues that traditional networking fails anyone selling high-value services. Too many people spend their time collecting business cards from people who will never buy from them instead of building relationships with people who can open the right doors.

In this conversation, Donnie explains why the best networkers focus on helping others grow before asking for anything in return, why collaborating with competitors can create opportunities neither side could win alone, and how consistently investing time in relationships leads to bigger deals than chasing referrals ever will.

If you're looking to build a stronger network, close larger opportunities, and create lasting business relationships, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for doing it differently.

Find episode 521 on The Leadership Podcast, on YouTube, channel @theleadershippodcast, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Watch this Episode on YouTube | Donnie Boivin on Why Traditional Networking Is Broken

https://bit.ly/TLP-521

Key Moments

[04:01] How Donnie fell into networking almost by accident

[05:32] The Home Depot story that changed his whole approach

[09:17] The biggest mindset shift networking actually requires

[12:52] Why salespeople stay behind their laptops instead of networking

[15:46] How Success Champion curates chapters for real fit

[22:02] Leading well when everyone around you is in transition

[24:52] Why influence matters as much as relationships

[27:06] The case for showing up completely as yourself

[29:53] What AI means for the future of relationships

"I define networking as building other people's businesses."

"Your clients are not networking. The people who are in the rooms you have access to can't buy your stuff."

"If you can't measure it, it's very hard to find success with anything."

"The more you try and be your authentic self, the more you're going to enjoy life."

"It's the five people you surround yourself with, but it's also the five prospects you're going after, the five clients you currently have, the five people you're networking with."

"Be a hell of a lot more mindful about the people you are surrounding yourself with."

"Effective networking isn't a result of luck. It requires hard work and persistence."

Explore the full archive at www.theleadershippodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts!

Resources Mentioned

• The Leadership Podcast | theleadershippodcast.com

• Sponsored by | www.darley.com

• Rafti Advisors. LLC | www.raftiadvisors.com

• Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | selfreliantleadership.com

• Donnie Boivin Website | https://donnieboivin.com

• Donnie Boivin YouTube | www.youtube.com/@donnieboivin

• Donnie Boivin Twitter | @donnieboivin

• Donnie Boivin Facebook | www.facebook.com/donnie.boivin

• Donnie Boivin LinkedIn |www.linkedin.com/in/donnieboivin

• Donnie Boivin Instagram | www.instagram.com/donnie.boivin

David Gray is the CEO of FedUp Foods, a values-driven beverage company serving major retailers. His purpose-driven leadership has earned national recognition, including being named one of the MO 100 Top Impact CEOs, an annual ranking of purpose-driven business leaders, and receiving the Pros to Know Award.

David believes the best leaders never force a choice between empathy and accountability. In times of uncertainty, people need both. Connection creates the trust that makes accountability possible.

In this conversation, David explains how leading through Hurricane Helene reinforced the importance of putting people first while communicating clearly through uncertainty.

He shares the practical crisis leadership framework that guided his team through Hurricane Helene, explains why values become even more important as organizations scale, and reflects on what changed his mind about leadership: people really can grow when leaders take the time to understand and develop them.

Whether you're leading through change or simply trying to build a stronger culture, this conversation offers a practical framework for balancing compassion with accountability while staying true to your values.

Find episode 520 on The Leadership Podcast, on YouTube, channel @theleadershippodcast, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Watch this Episode on YouTube | David Gray on Empathy Without Lowering the Bar

https://bit.ly/TLP-520

Key Moments

[03:17] How profit sharing and gardens shaped your culture

[05:31] Do values activate, or do people?

[06:16] Leading through Hurricane Helene and what it taught and what leaders need to think differently in disruption

[10:22] The four-point crisis playbook

[13:38] We've had 20 years of stability—is this the new normal or the regular normal?

[15:47] How to lead through slow-drip crises, not just hurricanes

[21:19] Protecting your mission as a for-profit company

[23:49] The push and pull between profit and purpose

[27:09] Dividend model vs market cap model—which works better for values-driven companies?

[31:58] What leadership belief did you finally unlearn?

[33:56] Your one main thought for leaders listening

"If you don't have the right values, then you can't nurture a culture."

"We need to create a culture that's ground up, not top down."

"You need to understand where your people are at. You need to know if they're safe and you need to understand what their needs are."

"You don't have to have all the answers, but you're keeping people abreast of the work that you're going."

"We are doing more with less. That's just the reality and that the strategies that we put in place can be disrupted at any time."

"We have never had to compromise in a way that takes away from our mission."

"If you don't connect, I guess that accountability piece could probably feel like harassment."

"We have the privilege and the responsibility to develop our people both personally and professionally because they spend probably more time with us than they do with their friends and their loved ones."

Explore the full archive at www.theleadershippodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts!

Resources Mentioned

• The Leadership Podcast | theleadershippodcast.com

• Sponsored by | www.darley.com

• Rafti Advisors. LLC | www.raftiadvisors.com

• Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | selfreliantleadership.com

• FedUp Foods Website | www.fedupfoods.co

• David Gray LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/david-gray-ab33b02a

• FedUp Foods Instagram | www.instagram.com/fedupfoods.co

Patrick Ryan is the author of "The Moral Market: Adam Smith and the Promise of Virtuous Capitalism."

Patrick argues that capitalism was never intended to be separated from morality. Modern business leaders often treat ethics as a compliance issue or a reputational concern. Adam Smith saw it differently. He believed markets only function when they are built on justice, reciprocity, and trust.

In this conversation, Patrick explains how shareholder primacy reshaped leadership thinking, why leaders should measure success beyond short-term financial performance, and how Smith's concept of the impartial spectator can help leaders make better decisions when competing interests collide.

For leaders trying to balance performance, responsibility, and long-term value creation, this conversation offers a practical framework for making decisions that are both effective and principled.

Find episode 519 on The Leadership Podcast, on YouTube, channel @theleadershippodcast, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Watch this Episode on YouTube | Patrick Ryan on The Leadership Idea We Missed for 250 Years

https://bit.ly/TLP-519

Key Moments

[04:20] What have leaders fundamentally misunderstood about capitalism as a moral system?

[08:44] How does the duty of care in law connect to Smith's impartial spectator concept?

[12:40] What practices should leaders adopt to institutionalize the impartial spectator?

[15:53] Performative leadership versus legitimate storytelling.

[21:14] Where does the rules and system play versus personal responsibility in leadership?

[25:25] Where have you personally struggled between what's profitable and what's just?

[28:53] For busy leaders without time to reflect—what's your closing advice?

"Morality is not a friction. It's actually the lubricant that makes markets work."

"Prosperity without justice is mere plunder."

"He believed that economic exchange was a way of creating trust, which is quite interesting really, using capital, an early form of capitalism, using competition, using economic exchange as a way of creating a commonality as opposed to splitting people apart."

"Morality and respect, and that level of reciprocity is the oil that generates everything. It's not extractive, it's value additive."

"If a leader that performs integrity creates a culture that performs integrity, rather than a leader that is and has integrity. The tone from the top. It's vitally important."

"Legitimate storytelling is the honest description of something that's actually happening. It's not a dishonest description of something you would like to happen."

"The majority of us want to live a happy, healthy life where we have created value for our companies, we've created happiness in our families, we've done good works for our communities, and we're able to point to that and be proud that we've made that difference."

"You should neither be rewarded nor penalized for moral luck. You should be rewarded or penalized for the actions that you took yourself and the effect that you had in creating value."

Explore the full archive at www.theleadershippodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts!

These are the books mentioned in this episode

Resources Mentioned

• The Leadership Podcast | theleadershippodcast.com

• Sponsored by | www.darley.com

• Rafti Advisors. LLC | www.raftiadvisors.com

• Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | selfreliantleadership.com

• Patrick Ryan LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/patrickryan