The Leaders Lab presents The Playbook with Ken Eslick
The Leaders Lab Presents "The Playbook with Ken Eslick" is your weekly guide to building world-class teams, scaling your business with confidence, and maximizing enterprise value for a successful exit. Hosted by Ken Eslick — a former Tony Robbins Trainer, Fortune 500 executive, and Founder of The Leaders Lab - with more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning military service, entrepreneurship, corporate leadership, and executive coaching. Ken has been directly involved in 1,000+ executive placements and 75+ successful acquisitions, contributing to over $1 billion in enterprise value creation. Along the way, he’s served as COO of the M1 Mastermind Group, Head of Coaching for James Blackwell’s Agency Blueprint, and Board Member for Nick Bradley’s High Value Exit, while collaborating with some of the world’s leading business voices. Together with co-host Onika Kwatsha and a roster of expert guests, Ken dives deep into the three pillars every business leader must master: Hire, Scale, and Sell. Expect actionable leadership insights, proven strategies for business growth, and insider perspectives from founders, executives, and thought leaders who have scaled and exited successfully. Previously, Ken hosted The Leaders Lab Podcast (ranked in the top 5% of podcasts worldwide), where he interviewed top voices like Mike Michalowicz (Profit First) and John Warrilow (Built to Sell). His work has earned recognition as a Rotarian of the Year, finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and recipient of multiple Fortune 500 awards for sales and operational excellence. Whether you’re a founder, CEO, or emerging leader, The Leaders Lab Presents the Playbook delivers the frameworks, strategies, and inspiration to power your leadership journey — and help you build a business that thrives, scales, and sells.
Episodes
In the fiercely competitive "war for top talent," many founders are losing before the battle even begins because their interview process exposes a fatal flaw in their business. The truth is, the hiring system acts as a mirror. What it reflects back to a top candidate is a precise preview of what working for your company—and working for you—will truly be like. If your process is plagued by time delays, poor communication, or a lack ...
Most leaders use DISC as a personality test. But what if you’re missing its real power? In this episode, Ken Eslick and Onika Kwatsha reveal how the DISC assessment can become your secret weapon for building stronger teams, improving communication, and leading with precision.
Forget surface-level labels—this conversation dives deep into what each style (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness) actually looks like i...
In this episode, strategist and author Jonathan Bennett—advisor to CEOs, boards, and founders—breaks down exactly how and when to stand up an advisory board, why founders should hire a chair first, and how structure and accountability pull leaders out of isolation. The conversation covers paid vs. unpaid advisors, what to do when disagreements arise, and how quarterly decks become an early-warning system for both risk and opportuni...
Stop trying to be indispensable—the business grows the moment you aren’t.
You don’t scale by doing more—you scale by replacing yourself in the right seats. In this episode, Onika and I unpack the uncomfortable shift from “I do everything” to “I build the team that does everything,” including the identity and ego traps that keep smart leaders stuck.
We walk through the practical side: how to decide who should take the wheel (sales, ...
In this episode of The Playbook, presented by The Leaders Lab, Ken Eslick and co-host Onika Kwatsha go deep into the question every great leader must ask: Who am I, and why do I lead?
They break down how your inner drivers define your company’s culture, growth, and eventual legacy — and why leadership isn’t about control or charisma, but contribution, clarity, and connection.
Topics covered...
In this very first episode of The Playbook, presented by The Leaders Lab, host Ken Eslick shares the story behind the show and why it exists. After a five-month break since The Leaders Lab Podcast, Ken opens up about his own journey—from military leadership to entrepreneurship, from corporate executive to diving deep into mergers and acquisitions, and eventually back to entrepreneurship and the world of self-development.
That path ...
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