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Results-driven executives know their companies are capable of exponential growth. But…
Articles by Nathan
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Want to Achieve Great Results at Work? Be Candid.
Want to Achieve Great Results at Work? Be Candid.
"I'm going to be honest with you," my client told me. We were having a conversation about a complex project that my…
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4 Benefits of OKRs
4 Benefits of OKRs
The wrong growth focus for a business leader: organizational growth comes from an ingenious marketing campaign, an…
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What I Learned about Delegation from a Hotel Concierge in the Philippines
What I Learned about Delegation from a Hotel Concierge in the Philippines
I was staying at nice hotel in the Philippines. Nice hotels have nice smells.
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A Lesson in Prioritization from the Lowly Pothole
A Lesson in Prioritization from the Lowly Pothole
The most consistent challenge of my career: what are the most important actions I can take right now to benefit my…
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Just Finish
Just Finish
In track races, a photo finish is exciting, but have you considered the excitement of watching who finishes last? You…
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Why the World Needs Another Podcast
Why the World Needs Another Podcast
There are currently over 1,000,000 podcasts. We added one to the list last month (let's call it the 1,357,634th…
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A Simple Trick to Improve Your Presentation by Removing Boring Bullet Points
A Simple Trick to Improve Your Presentation by Removing Boring Bullet Points
You and I see dozens of presentations a year, maybe hundreds. And 94.
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You Should Ask More Questions: Here Are 5 Ways to Get Started
You Should Ask More Questions: Here Are 5 Ways to Get Started
My young sons ask a million questions. It is impressive, this seemingly never ending flow, like an irrepressible river.
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Activity
3K followers
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Nathan King shared thisMost career regret comes from risks you didn't take. That's what I find inspiring about Alice Rolli's choice in 2023 to run for mayor of Nashville. It was decidedly NOT a safe career pursuit. She finished second and called herself "the most publicly unemployed person in Nashville." I was so excited to talk to her on the podcast about that decision and the lessons she learned from it. What sort of internal mental combustion was happening that propelled her to take on such a big challenge? What's it like to deal with self-doubt when you're on the public stage? And after finishing second in a crowded race where she was outspent 10 to 1 by other candidates, what's it like to move forward? One piece of wisdom I get from Alice's experience: The people stuck in jobs they hate optimize for safety. Alice optimized for growth. Thank you Alice for the great conversation! The link is in the comments.
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Nathan King shared thisAlice Rolli was in campaign mode, running for mayor of Nashville. The work was intense. The idea of "work life balance" was a joke. She faced a tough moment. Was the problem the work itself or the story she told herself about the work? She had an important conversation that didn't change work, but it changed the meaning. This is a clip from my podcast interview with Alice. The episode releases next week.
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Nathan King shared thisMost executives know they should spend time on strategic work. But when the moment comes, they fold: Of **course** you should handle the client escalation. The customer comes first. Of **course** you should investigate the budget variance. Fiscal discipline matters. The aggregate effect is devastating: you spend all your time on problems that already exist and none on opportunities that could transform your business. The solution is one unwavering commitment to a strategic goal. Otherwise, you become a prisoner to events.
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Nathan King reposted thisEntrepreneur Kristen Nicholson left a 22-year corporate career to build Urban Sweat Sauna Studio, a luxury wellness studio offering infrared sauna, red light therapy, and cold plunge. The decision built over years. What pushed her over the edge was when in 2022, "I heard three times in one day that I should bet on myself.” She later acquired a multi-site sauna studio and also co-founded Comfort Imaging, a center delivering non-compression, gravity-based breast CT for pain-free, high-clarity imaging. We discuss the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship (why it feels like a cold plunge), the discipline and meaning that replaced her old “safe” paycheck, and how she hires, empowers, and leads. We dig into sleep as a keystone for health, proactive wellness vs. sick-care, and why she’s betting big on a more dignified approach to women’s imaging.
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Nathan King shared thisIt's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Kristen launched Comfort Imaging's pain-free, fast, easy way to have a breast scan. This is one of two entrepreneurial endeavors we discussed in our recent podcast interview. It's inspiring to see an entrepreneur start multiple business that make living a healthy life more accessible than before.
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Nathan King shared thisI'm grateful to Krista Miller, MPS, SHRM-CP and SHRM Hopkinsville for the chance to dig into the challenge of effective feedback at their monthly chapter meeting. Annual feedback cycles guarantee one thing: the feedback will arrive too late to use. A team member struggles in February. The manager notices but waits for the review cycle. By December, the issue has compounded, trust has eroded, and the conversation feels punitive instead of helpful. This pattern repeats across organizations because feedback is hard to deliver and its effectiveness is hard to measure. Standardized feedback systems prioritize documentation over development. They don't teach managers how to have timely, growth-focused conversations. They teach them to wait, document, and score. Growth feedback breaks this cycle. In our conversation we discussed techniques to build the skill of candor. When leaders provide effective feedback for growth, the productivity gains show up fast. Results matter, and productivity delivers them. And improved productivity comes from growing the people on our teams through effective feedback.
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Nathan King shared thisEntrepreneur Kristen Nicholson left a 22-year corporate career to build Urban Sweat Sauna Studio, a luxury wellness studio offering infrared sauna, red light therapy, and cold plunge. The decision built over years. What pushed her over the edge was when in 2022, "I heard three times in one day that I should bet on myself.” She later acquired a multi-site sauna studio and also co-founded Comfort Imaging, a center delivering non-compression, gravity-based breast CT for pain-free, high-clarity imaging. We discuss the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship (why it feels like a cold plunge), the discipline and meaning that replaced her old “safe” paycheck, and how she hires, empowers, and leads. We dig into sleep as a keystone for health, proactive wellness vs. sick-care, and why she’s betting big on a more dignified approach to women’s imaging.
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Nathan King shared thisWhen you’ve built a business from scratch, it's your baby. So, when it’s time to delegate, it feels different. You’ve poured every ounce of energy into it. The person you’re handing it to doesn't own it like you do. That’s where most entrepreneurs get stuck: → Letting go without losing control → Trusting others with what matters most → Finding people who truly care What Kristen Nicholson knows after 20+ years of leading teams: - You can’t delegate vision, but you can share it - You can’t demand passion, but you can attract it - You can’t fake buy-in, but you can build it The key is to bring people into _why_ you do it, not just _what_ you do. When your team sees the mission behind the work, they start to own it like you. The next podcast episode, featuring Kristen's entrepreneurial journey, arrives next week!
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Nathan King posted thisEarly in my career, I brought an exciting but messy project to my manager. Options everywhere. Lots of uncertainty. He listened as I explained the options (I was too tentative to recommend one) and said, “This is such a rich opportunity; I hope I don’t screw it up.” Pressure left the room. I felt free to collaborate, and even risk a mistake with off-the-cuff ideas. I started offering tradeoffs and suggestions. If he could risk a mistake, maybe I could help, and I wouldn’t get burned for trying. Many managers fear that showing uncertainty will dent their credibility. Ironically, the opposite is true. Naming the unknown signals good judgment, invites input, and builds trust. That line modeled how effective leaders open the door to higher commitment and better ideas by offering vulnerability to their team. The next time you’re participating in a high stakes conversation with a subordinate, try opening the conversation by showing your own vulnerability: - “I might be missing something here. What would you do in my shoes?” - Tell a (brief) story of a similar situation in your own career that went poorly, and what you learned. - “What am I not seeing that would make this better?” Go first. You’ll get more candor from your team, more ownership, and better ideas.
Nathan King commented on a post
1mo
Excellent share, Mats. In a climate where anyone can use a chatbot to create a (seemingly) fully-baked business plan in minutes, I increasingly ask the question about various interactions, "is this real?" Trust has always been important, but now is even more so. You emphasized consistency, which is important. It reminds me of the mental model of the relational bank account. We make deposits and withdrawals with every interaction. Which one will it be?
Nathan King commented on a post
2mo
"The bottleneck" is one of the concepts that has most contributed to my own approach to developing products and services since first encountering The Goal at Darden almost 20 years ago. The "theory of constraints" does not sound exciting but you can build a differentiated business that delights customers by using its reasoning.
Your article points out that AI can remove the prototyping bottleneck, which is glorious since we all used to just accept it as a fact of life. And The Goal "prophesies" that removing one bottleneck reveals the next one that we can figure out how to solve.
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Nathan King liked thisNathan King liked thisExactly 20 years ago, Jane and I moved our family to Nashville for a job with Healthways. The plan was to stay 3-5 years before heading back "home" to North Carolina. Welp...you can guess how that went. The job was awesome. We fell in love with the city, made great friends, and raised our kids in a tight and warm community. My 14 years at Healthways were some of the most rewarding of my career - meaningful work and relationships I'll treasure for a long time. Four years at AllianceBernstein added to that, where I got to help the firm navigate the Covid years with a small but mighty team. Together, those experiences gave me the foundation to launch Avinger Consulting in 2024. And two years in, I couldn't be more fulfilled by the work and the impact with clients. Earlier this year, Jane and I started wondering: is it time to go home? Funny what becomes "home". After 20 years, Nashville is filled with both professional and personal milestones, and it's the only hometown our kids (now 27, 26, and 23) have known. And, the tug of family - parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins - is strong. So, we did it. After 20 amazing years, we're back in NC. Greensboro, to be exact. Nashville will always be special (another "home"). Professionally, it's where my career took hold; it's where Avinger Consulting got its start; and it’s where I have a deep and strong network of friends. While moving to NC is a significant change, what is not changing is my continued commitment to building this business and delivering value for my clients - wherever home is. Here's to new chapters!
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Nathan King liked thisNathan King liked thisOver the weekend I achieved a lifelong goal: attending a World Cup match! Playing soccer from first grade into college, playing on a semiprofessional adult team, and coaching youth, soccer has been an important aspect of my life. With Houston hosting matches, it was finally my chance. Thank you to my high school classmate and friend of over 35 years, Rob Welch, we attended Germany 🇩🇪 v Curacao 🇨🇼 on June 14. Having seen two matches at the 2024 Euros in Germany, my bucket list is complete for national team tournaments ⚽️🥳🏆
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Nathan King liked thisBringing greater awareness. It was such an honor to collaborate with my colleagues to present at the research conference at the UWI School of Nursing, Mona JamaicaNathan King liked thisCongratulations to International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning Caribbean RIG Chair Shaulene Stanley presenting The University of the West Indies, Mona conference! Day 2!!! So great to see our RIG colleagues Sheryl Garriques-Lloyd Jascinth Lindo Katie Vanderzwan DNP, APRN-FPA, ACNP-BC, CHSE ! Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Pamela Jeffries Kristina Thomas Dreifuerst PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN
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Nathan King liked thisNathan King liked thisSeveral faculties at the University of Bremen already collaborate with the College of Charleston in South Carolina, USA. Morgan Koerner, Associate Professor and Director of German Studies, recently visited the University of Bremen to deepen the partnership. At the University of Bremen, Koerner met with Silke Prangemeier, Coordinator for Non‑European Partnerships at the International Office, and Professor Delia González de Reufels, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, who coordinates the cooperation. “At the College of Charleston, our partnership with the University of Bremen is very important to us. Many of our students are interested in studying in Germany – especially since around 200 German companies are based in South Carolina,” said Morgan Koerner. “We are excited to further strengthen our ties, particularly in Public Health and the Social Sciences.” Delia González de Reufels added: “Right now, it is especially important for universities to open up to one another and give students the opportunity to study abroad and experience different academic cultures.” The two institutions already collaborate in the training of psychology students. Dr. Iris Stahlke coordinates an exchange program in which students from Charleston and Bremen visit the partner university for research internships. In the future, the universities aim to expand their cooperation to include the Social Sciences, Public Health and the English-Speaking Studies programs as well.
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Nathan King liked thisNathan King liked thisThis is the most useful sentence I’ve used after 38 years of building presentations: “What they need to hear is more important than what you want to say.” Most people build a presentation in this order: 1. What do I want to tell them? 2. How do I say it? But a more effective approach is: 1. Where are they right now? 2. What’s on their mind? 3. What do they need to hear to move? Use Empathy. Then you go from there. But most of us don’t do this. We walk into the room already attached to our message. Our framing. Our story. And then when it doesn’t land, we wonder why. It didn’t land because we never asked what it would take to land. Try this before your next high-stakes conversation: Picture the person you’re talking to. Mentally draw a thought bubble above their head. What’s actually in it? Then speak to what’s on their mind. #PresentationSkills #BusinessCommunication #ExecutivePresence
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Nathan King liked thisNathan King liked thisOne day I think I'm gonna buy Goldman Sachs. Like, the whole damn bank. And if I do, it'll be thanks to Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and the amazing people who've made it happen and made it special. To be at the Goldman headquarters in Manhattan this week for our final wrap-up is incredible. This program has been 12 weeks of breaking bad habits (painful), embracing growth (exciting, yet daunting), and soaking up all the knowledge and love from my faculty, business advisors, and fellow scholars. Now we're all together to close this chapter in our entrepreneurial journeys and pen the opening lines of the next one. The connections you forge with other entrepreneurs through 10KSB have been my favorite part. You should've seen the bear hugs and heard the joyful outbursts as we met in-person for the first time at last night's opening reception. My section of 40 badass business owners is diverse, driven, and destined for greatness. From a matchmaker in San Francisco to a manufacturer in North Carolina…from a candle company in Seattle to a gem of a jewelry store in Chicago…from a pediatric practice in Maryland to a selfless silversmith in Denver—these are people who are going places and changing lives, including my own, along the way. I'm incredibly grateful to the Goldman Sachs Foundation, Babson College, and every single person who I've met and learned from. I’ll call out the scholars of my beloved Section 2-5-2, but any omissions are my own and solely to blame on sleep deprivation and the food truck that fed me yesterday's lunch (scratch that, the lunch was delicious). Can’t wait to laugh, learn, dance, dine, and grow in The Big Apple with all of you! Rachel Snider, MPH Charday Oldacre Laura Rubio Michael Bell, PMP, CSM Audrey Blair, PCC Nubia Younge Susie Penner Danica L. Brenda Ruiz Ryan Swensen James Mauler Wali Gauvin, M.D. Sue Coelho Cari Syron Bernadette Birch, MBA Kevin Latner Alex Koller Donna Sheler Erica Kersey Amariah Murdock ☀️Nakiea Cook, MBA, CFEI®, DBA(c) Rhaea Goff, LCSW, LCSW-C Diana Taylor Tina Brown Kaisha Smith Laura Manthey Dmitriy Zverev Jessica McMillan Colina Bruce Casey Wilson Amanda Klingenberger Josh Zeldner Cassindy Chao Ryan Schwabe Marianne Boules Dana Mitchell Elsa Roman Jagdeep Singh, CPA (Inactive) Jennifer McCollum
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Nathan King liked thisNathan King liked thisWe spend enormous time talking about strategy, transformation, technology, and innovation, but far less time discussing the one thing that determines whether any of it actually works, trust. This article explores why trust has become the defining currency between leadership, employees, customers, investors, and communities, and why sustainable transformation only happens when people experience that your success is aligned with theirs, not built at their expense.The Trust Deficit: Why Most Transformations Fail, and How to Fix ThemThe Trust Deficit: Why Most Transformations Fail, and How to Fix Them
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Education
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University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
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Activities and Societies: • Co-founded Darden alliance to develop entrepreneurs in Nicaragua with Agora Partnerships; organized two student teams to evaluate and improve business plans for selected entrepreneurs.
* Wrote strategy business case titled "Acquisition of Axia by Healthways."
* Appointed Honorary Executive Visiting Lecturer. Lead a class discussion in a strategy course taught by Professor Jay Bourgeois. -
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Languages
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Spanish
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Organizations
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ProductCamp Nashville
Co-founder
-ProductCamp Nashville is an unconference focused on product marketers, product managers and entrepreneurs who develop and launch products and services. There are ProductCamps in over 20 cities around the world, including Austin, Silicon Valley, Washington DC, Atlanta, Seattle, Sydney Australia, Amsterdam and London. ProductCamp Nashville launched its second ProductCamp on August 11, 2012.
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Jeffrey Hayzlett
In a world full of noise, the most powerful leaders project calm. The President & CEO of SHRM, Johnny C. Taylor Jr., joins me to talk about why emotional discipline, clarity, and integrity are leadership superpowers — especially when everything feels unstable. Also, the 2026 trends every CEO (and CHRO) needs to pay attention to. Brand this brand-new episode of "All Business" on C-Suite TV: https://lnkd.in/gvqTBk3Y
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