Visit our FacebookVisit our InstagramVisit XVisit our LinkedInVisit our YouTube channel

Episode 200:

How to Scale Success with Graham Weaver | Win the Day
August 20, 2024
Graham Weaver is a lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and founder/CEO of Alpine Investors with $16 billion in assets under management.
Watch the Video
In this episode of Win the Day:

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” – Jim Rohn

Welcome to Episode 200 of the Win the Day podcast! Thank you for your continued support. To celebrate this milestone, I’ve brought in a very special guest – someone I’ve admired for a long time. 

Graham Weaver grew up in suburban Ohio, where he would listen to self-help cassettes while mowing lawns. They obviously worked because, today, he is the founder and CEO of Alpine Investors, with USD $16 billion in assets under management.

Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm that invests in software and services businesses. Graham founded Alpine based on the belief that exceptional people create exceptional businesses – a PeopleFirst philosophy that guides the firm’s choices.

Graham Weaver and James Whittaker in the Win the Day podcast studio

When he’s not inspiring growth at Alpine, Graham teaches a top-rated strategic management course at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

He has an MBA from Stanford University and a BS in Engineering from Princeton University, where he graduated with highest honors and was also captain of the national championship lightweight crew team.

On a personal note, what I love about Graham is how he successfully integrates career, mindset, health, and family. He is the epitome of Win the Day.

In this episode:

  • The shift in mindset that put Graham at the helm of a billion-dollar business.
  • How to stay motivated to do the boring reps.
  • What your metric of success should be at the end of each day.
  • Why life is suffering – and how to choose something worth suffering for.

Before we begin, the right bit of inspiration can completely change the trajectory of someone’s life, so if there’s a friend or loved one who needs to hear this episode or could use some help to Win the Day, share it with them right now.

Let’s WIN THE DAY with Graham Weaver!

Timestamps

0:15 Who is Graham Weaver
2:18 How ‘Think and Grow Rich’ changed Graham Weaver’s life
3:49 Owning the identity of success
6:08 How writing out goals can change your life
8:35 Should goals be realistic
9:58 Is rowing a good high school sport
10:54 How to find the gift in failure (power of persistence)
12:50 Make sure you’re playing a winnable game
14:10 How to achieve your biggest goals
15:29 The moment when Graham Weaver decided to start his own business
18:38 Why failure can be the best thing for your business
21:48 How habits propel your success
22:34 How to make smart decisions when you’re in a rut
24:11 How to manage someone who is underperforming
25:46 Download your FREE Win the Day Action Plan
26:36 How to attract the right people to work for your company
28:12 Offense deck vs defense deck
29:30 How to pitch investors (the frequency of wealth)
30:51 The best strategies for business growth
33:54 Why most people are disengaged at work
35:05 The will to win
38:02 How to find your North Star
39:08 How to raise successful children
40:28 How to motivate someone
41:38 How to stay motivated to do the boring reps
42:58 Focus on ‘winning’ rather than ‘not losing’
45:32 What does it mean to Win the Day
47:05 Why people fail with their goals
48:01 How to set (and achieve) goals
51:18 Graham Weaver goal-setting framework
52:20 How to assume the identity of success
54:20 The best advice for parents
57:45 The best advice for raising teenagers
59:24 How Graham Weaver built his social media following
1:04:15 Affirmation
1:04:52 Rocket Round

 

Resources / links mentioned:

🎯 Download your FREE Win the Day action plan

⚡ Graham Weaver website

📈 Download Graham Weaver’s goal-setting template

📷 Graham Weaver Instagram

🌎 Graham Weaver LinkedIn

📱 Graham Weaver TikTok

🎤 ‘How to Live an Asymmetric Life’ by Graham Weaver

🎬 Subscribe to Win the Day YouTube channel

💚 Give the Win the Day podcast a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

🙏 Give the Win the Day podcast a 5-star rating on Spotify

Inspiring quotes in this episode:
  • “I would write out my goals three times a day. It put those things so deeply into my subconscious that I just started working toward those.” – Graham Weaver
  • “When you take action, you're making a vote for your identity as that person.” – Graham Weaver
  • “What came to me from that experience was this mindset that if you just give me enough time, I'm going to make it. It was not about me being really fast out of the gates. It was like The Terminator, just taking one step forward over and over and over.” – Graham Weaver
  • “You ask any investor what their edge is. They all say the same thing. "Oh, we have a long-term perspective." But you don't really have an edge because every single person says the same thing.” – Graham Weaver
  • “A problem shared is a problem halved.” – Graham Weaver (quoting Katie M. John)
  • “You have 20 quarters to hit that 5-year goal. We usually hit it in 2.5 years.” – Graham Weaver
  • “You want to see performance, ideally. But if someone is not performing, you want to see effort, communication, and candor.” – Graham Weaver
  • “Why do you have to hire the best people, treat them awful, and use 1% of their capacity? The real win is when you can hire people and help them use 90% of their capacity.” – Graham Weaver
  • “I've learned that attributes are way more important than experience. The number one attribute that we look for is this will to win.” – Graham Weaver
  • “To get the best people, ask yourself: If I was that person, why would I want to work at this firm? Have I made this firm a place where that person should want to come to work?” – Graham Weaver
  • “Selling is just transferring your conviction to the other person.” – Graham Weaver
  • “70% of people are working in jobs where they’re disengaged.” – Graham Weaver
  • “The answer is always in the room.” – Graham Weaver
  • “Going through the depths of hell is why we could ascend to the level that we did.” – Graham Weaver
  • “Play to win. Don’t play to not lose.” – Graham Weaver
  • “How is the killer of all great dreams.” – Graham Weaver
  • “Almost every obstacle you can imagine can be overcome within five years.” – Graham Weaver
  • “Being right here right now is the best use of my time.” – Graham Weaver
  • “A genie comes out of a magic lamp and grants you a wish that whatever you throw yourself into with your career and your life, it's going to be unbelievably successful. What would you wish for?” – Graham Weaver
  • “You have to ask yourself the question: what do I want?” – Graham Weaver
  • “Vince Lombardi, coach of the Green Bay Packers, said, "The Green Bay Packers never lost a football game, but on a few occasions we ran out of time." That quote has had more impact on my life than any other quote, because that's how I just think about myself. If I'm not winning, the game's not over.” – Graham Weaver 
  • “Being the person that I want to be has been the best thing I could do as a parent.” – Graham Weaver
  • “Put your kids where they're likely to meet kids who share their same values.” – Graham Weaver
  • “When you want to set a big goal: 1. Decide what you want. Look at least 5 years ahead. 2. Don't worry about the how. 3. Ask yourself: ‘what would you do if you couldn't fail?’ 4. Write down all obstacles and limiting beliefs. 5. Make a list of 30 items and actions. 6. Write down what 3 actions you’ll do today.” – Graham Weaver
  • “I started changing my identity by moving in the direction I wanted to go.” – Graham Weaver
  • “Life is going to present itself to you as an external game, but it's an internal game.” – Graham Weaver
Download Full Episode Transcript
Enjoying the show?

Share:

Is there a friend or loved one who could use some help to Win the Day? Share this episode with them.

Feedback:

Drop a comment on YouTube with your favorite takeaway so our guest knows they made a difference in your life.

Review:

Give the podcast a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts and / or Spotify.

Subscribe:

Hit “Follow” or “Subscribe” on your favorite platform and get access to episodes as soon as they are released.

Upgrade:

Want to supercharge your success, with me guiding you every step of the way? Enroll in the Win the Day Accelerator.

Recent Episodes

1 2 3 … 16
View all Episodes

Introducing

Win the Day Accelerator

The most comprehensive program for unlocking your full potential

Are you ready to take control of your life, supercharge your success, and create a future that aligns with your true potential? Welcome to the Win the Day Accelerator, a comprehensive, 8-part personal development program designed to help you achieve extraordinary results, both in your career and personal life.
Enroll now

Ready to win the day®?

Get actionable tips from James and the world's leading experts. Delivered straight to your inbox ?
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram