John Corcoran is a recovering attorney, an author, and a former White House writer and speechwriter to the Governor of California. Throughout his career, John has worked in Hollywood, the heart of Silicon Valley, and ran his boutique law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, catering to small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Since 2012, John has been the host of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, where he has interviewed hundreds of CEOs, founders, authors, and entrepreneurs, including Peter Diamandis, Adam Grant, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Marie Forleo.
John is also the Co-founder of Rise25, a company that connects B2B businesses with their ideal clients, referral partners, and strategic partners. They help their clients generate ROI through their done-for-you podcast service.
Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Hear:
- [2:01] John Corcoran recommends Connection Expansion for building high-value connections
- [3:13] Tips on networking without being self-serving or transactional
- [6:41] The importance of documenting business systems and processes
- [7:27] John shares his experience using PandaDoc for e-signatures and contract management
- [9:31] The concept of “swallowing the frog” – tackling unpleasant but necessary tasks
- [12:35] John discusses overcoming procrastination by addressing tough conversations head-on
In this episode…
Facing difficult conversations, building genuine connections, and tackling unpleasant tasks are everyday struggles in both business and life. Whether it’s avoiding friction, procrastinating on necessary work, or feeling inauthentic while networking, these challenges can hinder personal and professional growth. How can individuals push through discomfort and develop meaningful, value-driven relationships?
John Corcoran, a seasoned entrepreneur and podcast host, shares practical strategies to overcome these obstacles. He emphasizes the importance of authentic networking, offering tips on providing genuine value to others rather than being self-serving. He also introduces the concept of “swallowing the frog,” which encourages tackling unpleasant but necessary tasks head-on. To streamline business operations, John recommends using tools like PandaDoc for efficient contract management and highlights the value of documenting systems to enhance productivity.
Tune in to this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast as Chad Franzen interviews John Corcoran, Co-founder of Rise25, about effective networking, productivity, and overcoming professional hurdles. John shares insights on building meaningful connections, using digital tools for efficiency, and developing resilience through difficult conversations. He also discusses impactful books and insightful podcasts, offering valuable lessons on raising well-grounded children and mastering effective business systems.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Special Mention(s)
- Connection Expansion: You Are One Connection Away From Massive Success In Your Life And Business by Devin Sizemore
- “Chris Sacca — How to Succeed by Living on Your Own Terms” on The Tim Ferriss Show
- “Systems Simplified Hosted by Adi Klevit”
- PandaDoc
- Second Bite Podcast
- Todd Taskey on LinkedIn
- Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
Quotable Moments:
- “Networking is a dirty word, but it’s something everyone needs to do — call it connecting or relationship building, but it’s essential.”
- “Find a way to do something small, something genuine, and it doesn’t have to be a gift.”
- “We use PandaDoc for contracts and agreements; it’s cool because it integrates with tools like Slack and Zapier.”
- “Our brains have a great way of rationalizing. Sometimes you just gotta take the thing you don’t want to do and do it.”
- “I’ve tried to move myself to a place where if there is something that needs to be said, I say it.”
Action Steps:
- Embrace genuine networking over self-serving connections: Focus on building authentic relationships by offering value without expecting immediate returns. This approach fosters trust and creates long-term, mutually beneficial connections.
- Tackle difficult tasks head-on: Practice “swallowing the frog” by addressing uncomfortable but necessary tasks early in the day. This reduces procrastination and alleviates lingering anxiety, boosting productivity.
- Use digital tools to streamline business operations: Implement platforms like PandaDoc to manage contracts, signatures, and payments efficiently. Automating these processes saves time and reduces administrative errors.
- Prioritize documenting business systems and processes: Clearly defined systems improve efficiency and ensure consistency, even as teams grow. This reduces operational chaos and makes onboarding and scaling smoother.
- Adopt a mindset of direct and honest communication: Practice being straightforward while maintaining empathy, even in tough conversations. This builds trust, strengthens relationships, and resolves conflicts more effectively.
Sponsor: Rise25
At Rise25 we help B2B businesses give to and connect to your ‘Dream 200’ relationships and partnerships.
We help you cultivate amazing relationships in 2 ways.
#1 Podcasting
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We’re a professional podcast production agency that makes creating a podcast effortless. Since 2009, our proven system has helped thousands of B2B businesses build strong relationships with referral partners, clients, and audiences without doing the hard work.
What do you need to start a podcast?
When you use our proven system, all you need is an idea and a voice. We handle the strategy, production, and distribution – you just need to show up and talk.
The Rise25 podcasting solution is designed to help you build a profitable podcast. This requires a specific strategy, and we’ve got that down pat. We focus on making sure you have a direct path to ROI, which is the most important component. Plus, our podcast production company takes any heavy lifting of production and distribution off your plate.
We make distribution easy.
We’ll distribute each episode across more than 11 unique channels, including iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Podcasts. We’ll also create copy for each episode and promote your show across social media.
Cofounders Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran credit podcasting as being the best thing they have ever done for their businesses. Podcasting connected them with the founders/CEOs of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars, YPO, EO, Lending Tree, Freshdesk, and many more.
The relationships you form through podcasting run deep. Jeremy and John became business partners through podcasting. They have even gone on family vacations and attended weddings of guests who have been on the podcast.
Podcast production has a lot of moving parts and is a big commitment on our end; we only want to work with people who are committed to their business and to cultivating amazing relationships.
Are you considering launching a podcast to acquire partnerships, clients, and referrals? Would you like to work with a podcast agency that wants you to win?
Rise25 Cofounders, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran, have been podcasting and advising about podcasting since 2008.
#2 Our Comprehensive Corporate Gifting Program
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At Rise25, thoughtful and consistent gifting is a key component of staying top of mind and helps build lasting business relationships. Our corporate gift program is designed to simplify your process by delivering a full-service corporate gifting program — from sourcing and hand selecting the best gifts to expert packaging, custom branding, reliable shipping, and personalized messaging on your branded stationary.
Our done-for-you corporate gifting service ensures that your referral partners, prospects, and clients receive personalized touchpoints that enhance your business gifting efforts and provide a refined executive gifting experience. Whether you’re looking to impress key stakeholders or boost client loyalty, our comprehensive approach makes it easy and affordable.
Discover how Rise25’s personalized corporate gifting program can help you create lasting impressions. Get started today and experience the difference a strategic gifting approach can make.
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You can learn more and watch a video on how it works here: https://rise25.com/giftprogram/
Contact us now at [email protected] or message us here https://rise25.com/contact/
Episode Transcript
John Corcoran : 00:00
All right. Today we are turning the tables, and I’m going to be interviewed in this episode. And we’re going to talk about a book that I’ve read recently that I recommend, a podcast that I recommend to you, someone in my network that has impacted me, that I think you should know about, a tool that we are using today in our company, and a topic affecting our industry. And my interviewer today is Chad Franzen. I’ll tell you more about him. Second, he’ll tell you more about me. So stay tuned.
Intro: 00:26
Welcome to the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, where we feature top entrepreneurs, business leaders, and thought leaders and ask them how they built key relationships to get where they are today. Now let’s get started with the show.
John Corcoran: 00:43
All right. Welcome, everyone. John Corcoran here. I’m the host of this show. And you know, every week we talk to smart CEOs, founders and entrepreneurs from all kinds of companies.
We’ve had Netflix and Grub Front, Grubhub, Redfin, Gusto, Kinkos, Activision Blizzard, LendingTree, and many more. And you can check out those in the archives. And before we get into this interview, this episode is brought to you by rise 25 and rise 25. We help businesses to give to and connect to their dream relationships and partnerships. How do we do that?
We do that by helping you to run your podcast. We are an easy button for a company to launch and run a podcast. So we do three things. It’s a three legged stool strategy, accountability, and full execution. On the production side, in fact, we invented what some are calling the Wix of B2B podcasting.
It’s our platform podcast Co-Pilot. If you want to learn more about all these things, you can go to our website, Rise25.com or email our support team at [email protected]. And with that, I shall turn it over to you Chad, and look forward to following your lead.
Chad Franzen: 01:40
Yeah, absolutely. Great to be here. Thanks so much, John. As you mentioned today, we’re going to talk about a book you have recently read, a podcast you recommend, a little known tool that you use, someone in your network who has impacted you and an issue in your industry. So let’s kick things off with a book. What’s a book that you might recommend or that you’ve recently read.
John Corcoran: 02:01
Yeah, the first one is an author that I know you’ve interviewed before, and I haven’t had the pleasure of interviewing him. Although we cross, we have a lot of connections in common. His name is Devin Sizemore and the book is called Connection Expansion. And the book is really all about how to identify and cultivate high value connections, which is something that resonates with me because that has brought such joy to my life. And networking is a dirty word, but it’s something that everyone needs to do.
Call it business development. Call it relationship building, call it connecting, whatever you want to call it. But everyone needs to do it. Especially entrepreneurs, especially if you have your own, your own business. And so that this book, which I’m just getting into now, I haven’t finished yet, is about creating a framework for how to do that in a predictable and consistent way to get referrals into your business. So Connection Expansion by Devin Sizemore is my pick for the book.
Chad Franzen: 02:57
Let me ask you this about networking and developing high-value connections. How do you do it without being obviously self-serving? Like how I want to connect with people on a personal level. And I’m not going to do this to use the person in the future or something like that.
John Corcoran: 03:13
Yeah. So I think that it starts with your mindset to approach it, I’m not doing this for selfish reasons. I’m doing this to create a genuine value connection between me and this other person and see whatever way I can, you know, help that person. And I’ve told this story many times before, but, you know, I often tell this story of when I was leaving the Clinton White House, it was the very tail end of the Clinton administration. I was in the Oval Office with my father and my family, and we were there because I was leaving, and we had this last chance to participate in an event and, meet the president, shake his hand and say thank you.
And we ended up giving him a gift, a tiny little gift of some DVDs for a movie, a movie that we thought he would like. And it was such a subtle little moment, but he ended up stopping and having this long conversation with us while all these people in line waiting behind us were like, why is this guy in the Oval Office? Why is the president talking to this guy? Who is this guy? You know, and I think that the reason that it was genuine was because, you know, it was just honestly, like, I heard that he liked these movies.
And so we gave it to him as a gift, as a little parting. Thank you. And so we ended up having a nice conversation around it. And so I if I can do that in that scenario, in that situation, in the heart of power with me being a nobody, you know, handing something to the leader of the free world and just approach it out of a genuine sense of, I just want to say thank you for serving in your administration, you know, kind of a parting thing, then you can do it in your industry with whoever that successful person is, whoever that high value connection is, find some way to do something small, something genuine, and it doesn’t have to be a gift. It could be a gift.
It could be just wisdom. It could be sharing some advice. It could be a resource. It could be something like that. So I think that it’s really just approaching it philosophically with, you know, a conviction that you’re seeking to connect with someone and to deliver value to them in their life.
Chad Franzen: 05:18
Okay. Yeah. Hey. Great insight, great story. Hey, next topic: a podcast that you might recommend that you’ve listened to recently.
John Corcoran: 05:25
Yeah. So I just listened to an episode with Chris Sacca on The Tim Ferriss Show. I had not listened to any of Tim’s podcasts in quite a while. So I, you know, I’ve gone through it over the years and figured I’ll go back to it. And Chris Sacca is this very successful investor who worked in the startup world and then became a venture capitalist and has had a bunch of successes.
But what really resonated with me is that he moved his family actually away from Silicon Valley and is now raising them, I believe, in Montana and was talking a lot about, you know, wanting to raise kids that are not entitled. Around all this wealth that he has and how to do that in a way that, you know, allows his kids to be grounded. That is very top-of-mind for me. It’s something that I think about. I don’t have anywhere near that kind of wealth.
Like, I don’t know why I’m even comparing myself to him, but I do think about with my kids, how do you raise them in a way that they have grit and determination and they don’t have entitlement? Because I really resent that. When I see people that are like that. So I would recommend that episode for people, especially for parents.
Chad Franzen: 06:39
Okay. Very nice.