Paper Napkin Wisdom: A Leadership Podcast for Entrepreneurs
Ideas small enough for a napkin and big enough to change your world.
Every conversation on this show ends with the same question. What is the one piece of wisdom you would write on a paper napkin?
I have asked it more than 400 times since 2013. Founders, CEOs, authors and coaches have answered it. Some built billion-dollar companies. Some are hiring their first manager. Each one leaves you with a single idea you can use this week.
A podcast archive is not a library. An archive is a list of dates. A library is sorted by the problem you walked in with. This page is the library. Start with what is in front of you right now, and I will point you to the conversation to hear first.
Listen: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · RSS feed
LATEST
Latest Podcast Episodes
A new guest conversation comes out every Thursday, and a new Edge of the Napkin every Sunday. These are the six most recent. Each one has a full written companion you can read before or after you listen.
Edge of the Napkin
Your Business Got Bigger and Your Customers Got Further Away
Thirty-five years ago I stood outside an office at six in the morning in Ottawa and waited hours for five minutes with Bruce Firestone. He said yes, and that yes still matters. This is about what growth takes away from an owner, and what a conversation gives back that a dashboard can't.
Episode 407 · Guest conversation
You Don't Need More Time. You Need More Attention.
Mridu Parikh built a business while avoiding the one activity that would decide whether it survived. Her husband named it in four words on a Sunday morning. Here is what she changed, why the Power Hour works, and what a leader's attention teaches a whole team.
Episode 406 · Edge of the Napkin
When the Wall You're Hitting Is One You Built Yourself
At a scaling conference, entrepreneurs at $2M, $4M and $10M described the same wall in different words. Some of those walls are real. Some get built one approval at a time. Episode 406 of Paper Napkin Wisdom looks at the belief loop underneath a plateau, and one decision to hand over this week.
Episode 405 · Guest conversation
Why "Healthy Enough" Is the Most Dangerous Thing a Growing Company Can Be
Jim Brown had a heart attack two days after a bike ride through Central Park. He had figured he was healthy enough. Twenty years of advising CEOs and boards later, he names four risks that build inside successful companies long before anything shows up on a financial statement.
Episode 404 · Edge of the Napkin
Why Capable People Stall Right Before They Start
Experienced owners know the next move and still don't make it. More discipline rarely fixes it. This week's Edge of the Napkin looks at the step that sits between knowing what you want and doing something about it, and what Napoleon Hill, Andrew Huberman and procrastination research each help us notice about it.
Episode 403 · Guest conversation
When Ambition Starts Making Your Decisions For You
Hugo Brooks built, grew and sold businesses for more than 35 years before his wife asked him a six word question he couldn't answer. He calls the pattern ambition autopilot: getting so good at the work that you stop asking whether it's still the work you want. Here's how to notice it, and what to do once you have.
Recent guest conversations › Recent Edge of the Napkin episodes ›
Browse episodes by leadership topic › Explore the full article library ›
START HERE
Pick the problem you have this week
Each of these is the first conversation I would hand you on that problem. Every topic has nine more behind it.
Mindset
There's No Lock on the Cage: Zahra Al-Harazi on Limiting Beliefs
Episode 152 · Zahra Al-Harazi
The top 10 and all 19 episodes on mindset ›
Leadership
Focus, Align, Act: The Simple Leadership Framework It Took a Decade to Understand
Episode 300 · Edge of the Napkin
The top 10 and all 42 episodes on leadership ›
Scale
Why Your Business Gets Harder to Run as It Grows: Michael Walsh
Episode 247 · Michael Walsh pt 3
The top 10 and all 16 episodes on scale ›
Sales
How to Win a Client's Trust in One Call: Ari Galper on Selling
Episode 246 · Ari Galper
The top 10 and all 20 episodes on sales ›
Marketing
Strategy Before Tactics: Eric Keiles on Marketing That Works
Episode 14 · Eric Keiles
The top 10 and all 21 episodes on marketing ›
Hiring
How to Hire the Right People: Michael Walsh's Six Key Attributes
Episode 259 · Michael Walsh pt 7
The top 10 and all 10 episodes on hiring ›
Delegation
Stop Running Your Business Alone: Brandon Bagley on Peers and Trust
Episode 315 · Brandon Bagley
The top 10 and all 11 episodes on delegation ›
Culture
How to Build a Great Company Culture: Tristan White's Checklist
Episode 136 · Tristan White
The top 10 and all 22 episodes on culture ›
Finance and Cash Flow
Why a Profitable Business Runs Out of Cash: Alan Miltz
Episode 115 · Alan Miltz
The top 10 and all 9 episodes on finance and cash flow ›
Energy
Founder Burnout and Energy Management: Heidi Hanna on Strategic Recovery
Episode 77 · Heidi Hanna
The top 10 and all 16 episodes on energy ›
Time
How to Focus as a Business Owner: Dave Lakhani's 45-15 Method
Episode 40 · Dave Lakhani
The top 10 and all 18 episodes on time ›
Work-Life Balance
Strive for Life Balance, Not Work-Life Balance: Kevin Dee on Leading a Growing Company
Episode 38 · Kevin Dee
The top 10 and all 17 episodes on work-life balance ›
Resilience
How to Bounce Back From a Crisis: Toni Harrison on Being R.E.A.L.
Episode 260 · Toni Harrison
The top 10 and all 32 episodes on resilience ›
Exits, Freedom and the Second Stage
How to Get Freedom From Your Business: Michael Walsh's Three Levels
Episode 243 · Michael Walsh
The top 10 and all 31 episodes on exits, freedom and the second stage ›
EVERY TOPIC
More than 400 conversations, sorted into 23 Growth Hubs
Each hub opens with the ten to hear first, then lists every other episode on the topic. See them all on one page › Every episode, newest first ›
Mindset
Mindset (19) · Fear of Failure (17) · Self-Doubt (16) · Limiting Beliefs (16) · Take Action (16) · Purpose (15)
Leadership
Leadership (42) · Managing a Team (17) · Communication (15) · Calm Under Pressure (13) · Decision-Making (12)
Growing the business
Scale (16) · Sales (20) · Marketing (21) · Hiring (10) · Delegation (11) · Culture (22) · Finance and Cash Flow (9)
The owner
Energy (16) · Time (18) · Work-Life Balance (17) · Resilience (32)
What comes next
Exits, Freedom and the Second Stage (31)
HOW THE SHOW WORKS
Two kinds of conversation
Thursdays: a guest and a napkin
I sit down with a founder, CEO, author or coach and we work through the decision, belief or turning point that changed how they lead. At the end, they write their napkin.
Sundays: Edge of the Napkin
No guest. Just me, working through one idea about leading and building a business, so you can take it into your week.
YOUR HOST
I'm Govindh Jayaraman
I am a growth advisor and coach to founders, and I have hosted Paper Napkin Wisdom since 2013. Over that time I have collected more than 1,000 napkins, each one a single idea someone was willing to stand behind.
Most of the founders I work with have built something real. The question in front of them is not how to start. It is who they need to become for the next chapter. That question runs through almost every conversation here. Work with me › My books ›
WISDOM WEEKLY
Make the Wisdom Part of Your Week
A useful idea shouldn't disappear when the episode ends. Wisdom Weekly is my short weekly letter on leadership, growth and becoming the leader your business needs next. It comes from Substack, separate from this site.
WORK WITH ME
Bring These Ideas Into Your Leadership Team
If an episode starts a conversation your team needs to have, I can help you have it. I work with founders and their leadership teams through speaking, workshops, coaching and facilitated sessions.
Keynote speaking › Leadership workshops › Coaching: book a free discovery call ›
QUESTIONS
About the podcast
What is Paper Napkin Wisdom?
Paper Napkin Wisdom is a leadership and entrepreneurship podcast for founders and executives, hosted by me, Govindh Jayaraman. Each guest distills what they have learned into one idea small enough to fit on a napkin. There are more than 400 episodes, going back to 2013.
Where should I start?
Start with the problem you have this week. The Growth Hubs sort every episode by topic, from cash flow and hiring to self-doubt and selling your business, and each one opens with the ten conversations to hear first.
How often do new episodes come out?
A new guest conversation comes out every Thursday. An Edge of the Napkin episode, where I work through one idea on my own, comes out every Sunday.
Where can I listen?
On Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, or in any podcast app through the RSS feed. Every episode also has its own page here, with a written summary of the conversation.
Who are the guests?
Founders, CEOs, authors and coaches. Some built companies worth billions. Others are in the middle of their first hard year. What they share is that they have lived the problem they talk about.
What is Edge of the Napkin?
Edge of the Napkin is the solo side of the show. No guest, just me working through one idea about leading and building a business.