Josh Steimle

WSJ & USA Today bestselling author. Book coach, speaker, multi-entrepreneur. I'm here to maximize human potential.

I love starting businesses but I'm not good at running them, so I find partners who love running and growing businesses but don't love the risk of starting them. This allowed me to create Pando Partners, a holding company where I can do what I truly love, which is to start businesses, see them succeed, and see individuals learn and grow within those businesses as they maximize their potential. Right now, my primary project is MWI, the marketing agency I started in 1999. I recently bought out my partners there after 10 years and find myself back in the driver seat. However, there are a lot of other projects up and running or in early stages.

If you're interested in partnering with me, I am currently looking for partners in the following spaces:

- Self storage
- Public relations
- Marketing
- Book coaching
- Web and app development
- Design
- Streetwear/fashion
- Retail/online retail
- Education

I'm a husband, father, skater, Dinosaur Jr. fan, political news junkie, ultra trail runner, triathlete, adoptive parent and active advocate for adoption, aspiring academic researcher, and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Originally from LA, I lived in Utah from '98-'13, then moved to Hong Kong, and then to Shenzhen, China in 2016. In Jan, 2019, I moved to Boston, where my family and I lived on a farm with 21 horses, 3 guinea pigs, and 1 dog, before moving to Arizona in 2021, without the horses. 😥

I would LOVE to connect with everyone, but LinkedIn maxes out accounts at 30K. Sorry, it's not you, it's me (actually, let's blame it on LinkedIn). But please click that "Follow" button above so we can stay in touch!

Founder

I believe most people in the world are good and if I can help people become more influential, they'll use that influence to make the world a better place. That's the "why" that led me to create 7 Systems, a publishing, training, and events company that helps clients increase their influence using The 7 Systems of Influence framework.

The 7 Systems framework is used by executives, entrepreneurs, educators, marketing and PR professionals, parents, and government leaders to zero in on their objectives, identify their ideal audience, and create compelling content that moves their audience to action.

I'm helping a dental marketing company hire a junior Account Executive/Account Manager.

The company has been around 20+ years, has ~80 clients, and specializes in SEO and Google Ads for dental practices. Small team, stable business, good culture.

Looking for someone who can:

- Manage client relationships (monthly check-ins, reporting, being the go-to person)
- Understand digital marketing basics (SEO, paid search, social, web)
- Communicate clearly and build trust with small business owners
- Work independently in a remote environment
- Be proactive, not reactive
- Respond fast via email and phone

Nice to have:

- Experience with dental or healthcare marketing
- Agency account management background
- Hungry to grow

This is a full-time remote position. Denver-area is a plus but not required.
If this sounds like you, or you know someone who'd be a great fit, DM me or comment below.

Agency founder. Marketing for multi-location businesses (storage, hospitals, hotels, gyms, etc.). Maximizing human potential via entrepreneurship. WSJ + USA Today bestselling author. Trail runner. Skater. Husband. Dad.

Client: So it would cost me $8K for you to create copy for my new website?

Me: Yes, but if I were in your shoes I'd do it yourself with Claude, then send it to us to review. That will save you a few grand, at least, and I think you'll get better results because it will force you to be directly involved in the content creation.

Client: What about creating a video for our hero section of the website?

Me: If we sit down to map out the video you want, schedule a film crew, and shoot video, it's going to disrupt your entire day, your staff's day, and it's going to cost you tens of thousands of dollars for all that plus editing. Or you can pay a few hundred bucks and take a few hours of your time using Sora or Runway to try to generate the video yourself. Worst-case scenario, you'll have a much better idea of what you want, and even if we need to shoot video in the end, you may have a good concept video that could dramatically speed up filming and editing.

Client: Thanks! You just talked yourself out of lot of work we were ready to have you do.

Me: Maybe I did, but this is how we've always treated our clients at MWI and I think that's why many of them have stuck with us for 10+ years.

Need a marketing agency you can trust? DM me.

Bring Proactive Agility™ to Your Organization: Turn Uncertainty into Advantage.

Bring Proactive Agility™ to Your Organization: Turn Uncertainty into Advantage.

Media Recognized: Yahoo Finance,  Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Forbes,  SUCCESS, MSN.

Keynote Speaker | Workshop Facilitator | Executive Coach | Executive Search Consultant | M&A Deal Originator

Available globally from Seoul, South Korea & Charlotte, North Carolina.

My journey, shaped by extraordinary resilience from a life-altering accident at 14, fuels my mission to empower leaders with agility and purpose.

I served in senior leadership roles for 13 years at Adidas, Reebok, and other leading athletic companies.

With over 25 years of experience in executive search and leadership consulting, my approach combines hands-on C-suite experience with guiding transformation for organizations of all sizes. 

I help unlock proactive leadership and build cultures for lasting impact, whether inspiring ambitious start-ups or Fortune 500 giants across Asia, North America, and beyond.

New Book Publishing Q1 2026 :GLOBAL MINDSET: A Guide for Cross-Cultural Leadership Co-authored with Bryan McKinney, (My Son!) Director at McKinney Consulting.

If your organization values cross-cultural insights and transformative leadership, consider connecting about workshops or bulk booking events.

Services:
•	Keynote Speeches (Proactive Agility™, Leadership, Global Mindset)
•	Actionable Workshops
•	Executive and Leadership Team Coaching
•	Global Executive Search
•	M&A Origination

Clients have included world-renowned brands, SMEs, top leaders, and hundreds of executives over the past 25 years.

Ready to future-proof your organization or energize your next event? Let’s connect to explore how Proactive Agility™ can drive your organizational transformation, develop your leaders, or elevate your conference.

[Visit stevemckinney.com and mckinneyconsulting.com] for testimonials and speaking reels, or message me directly here to get started.

Steve McKinney

This week, every post pointed to one skill most leaders underestimate:
The ability to stay ahead of pressure, not just survive it.

Proactive leaders don’t wait for change, feedback, or opportunity.
They get ready for it.

They don’t wait for:

     * The market to shift
     * A crisis to hit
     * A performance review to “wake them up”

They build the habits and language to stay ahead:

     * Foresight: Designing better ways of seeing signals, not just reacting.
     * Coaching: Turning potential into presence by learning to lead  
        themselves first.
     * Global mindset: Moving from awareness to agility when “normal” looks 
        different.
     * Executive narrative: Owning their achievements clearly when the stakes 
        are highest.

Across all of these, the real differentiator wasn’t talent.
It was how leaders chose to see, think, and communicate when the pressure was on.

That’s what Proactive Agility™ looks like in practice.

Which of these four is your current edge to sharpen; foresight, coaching, global mindset, or executive narrative?

I've been the CEO of an executive search firm for 24 years, but there's one thing I've never really understood:

Why do so many companies hire internally without even browsing to see what talent is out there?

Walk into any boardroom discussion about recruitment, and you'll hear the same logic. "Let's ask around internally first," or "David knows someone who might be perfect." Agreed, there's some comfort in hiring people you know, I get it. I really do. But it's a convenient shortcut that limits your company's options and long-term growth.

This mindset is tough to crack because companies assume internal referrals are somehow safer. But they're far more volatile than you think.

Sure, you get convenience in the short term.

"Okay, we've filled the position. We've ticked the box. Job done."

I mean, giving the job to a friend or in-law feels harmless in the moment, but it's at the expense of your company’s growth.

“I've got a buddy who would do great in this role."

There are 8+ billion people in the world. What are the chances that your buddy is the best guy or girl for the role? You haven't searched the market yet. And I've seen first-hand what actually happens when you search it properly.

Professional search firms understand cultural nuances and manage expectations. When you work with them, they hunt in places you'd never think to look.

Where would they be?

Where would they be working?

What would they be doing?

Who would make sense?

Executive search firms find superstars who aren't even job hunting (but would transform your business almost overnight).

We look for the ideal Superman or Superwoman.

At my firm, McKinney Consulting | Kestria South Korea, we've watched exceptional hires change a company's trajectory. Because searching the market properly brings the kind of fresh thinking to your company that internal referrals simply can't offer.
The market is full of brilliant people you've never heard of. Sticking to your existing network guarantees you'll never find them, but your competitors might.

Your next real Super-hire is out there somewhere, waiting for you to scoop them up.

"Who's the best teacher you've ever had?"

For me, it was my first failed company.

I founded a company called “Bojams”, but it crashed and burned.

I had the right product, the production, and a proverbial blue-ocean market. But I made the mistake of bootstrapping instead of raising capital, which led to weak financial management.

If you’ve ever had a business failure, you'll know how this feels:

You're left questioning reality, "Oh my gosh. Me, a failure? I can't even say those words out loud." It goes against our pride as human beings.

But after enough reflection, I finally admitted it.

And with dignity.

The truth is, when you launch a start-up, you learn very fast what you're good at… And what you're not so good at.

It felt devastating at the time, but on the back of this "failure," Converse recruited me to develop their new Action Sports category.

They'd heard about my work in the footwear industry.

I'd spent years leading teams in R&D and production at Reebok and Adidas.

See, "Bojams" was an unknown name.

But Adidas & Reebok carried decades of status. Universal status. They were household names. Bojams wasn't. And once that sunk in, it changed my business outlook.

So when I launched McKinney Consulting | Kestria South Korea Consulting a few years later, I did things differently.

Because to really commit to something, there can be no turning back. You have to tell yourself, "I can't fail."

And this is why I love the metaphor, "Burn the boats." And it’s true.

I had to burn them.

I had money invested in the firm. I was in Korea. I'd already shipped some of my stuff back to America. I had no backup plan. So, instead of grand visions, I set small, achievable goals and let the compound effect do its thing.

And McKinney Consulting is still going strong 24 years later.

——

Truth is, when you fail, what you're getting is information.

“Okay, this thing didn't work. But it's helping me pivot. As long as I always keep moving forward, I'll be okay."

The only real failure is quitting.

Each setback gets you closer to knowing what works.

Most entrepreneurs give up too early because they see setbacks as proof they're not cut out for business.

In reality, those setbacks are exactly what separate successful founders from everyone else. They're willing to learn from the information and adapt. Others aren't.

An obstacle is only a true "obstacle" if you give up.

There's always a way to circumvent it.
If your organization is navigating uncertainty and needs leaders who don’t quit at the first obstacle, visit my website to learn how I can help: https://stevemckinney.com/

Most leaders today are not short on intelligence or effort; they are short on runway. Every week disappears into urgent escalations, shifting priorities, and surprises from customers, markets, or headquarters. Quick reaction used to be enough. It is not anymore. In 2026, the real differentiator is whether your leadership team can see around corners and move before the storm hits. That is where Proactive Agility™ becomes a genuine leadership superpower.​

From reacting fast to responding wisely Most leaders still define agility as “reacting faster to problems.” The result is a culture of permanent firef

Open article: Why Proactive Agility™ Matters: The Superpower Every Leader Needs by Steve McKinney • 3 min read

Why Proactive Agility™ Matters: The Superpower Every Leader Needs

I’ve spent over two decades working with global leaders, and there’s one pattern that still surprises me:

The biggest risk to global performance today isn’t slow markets or new competitors. 
It’s leaders trying to navigate a fast, complex world with a small, local mindset.

They talk about being “agile.”
They push their teams to “move faster.”
They demand “alignment across regions.”

But agility without cross-cultural depth doesn’t scale. It breaks.

You can’t rally a team in Seoul the same way you motivate a team in São Paulo.
You can’t copy‑paste one leadership style onto five continents and expect world‑class results.

The companies that consistently win now are led by people who:
1) Read cultural signals as clearly as financial reports.
2) Anticipate disruption before it shows up on a dashboard.

That’s Proactive Agility in action.

Not reacting to the storm.
Reading the weather early in every culture you operate in and moving first.

So here’s the real question for 2026:
Are you still leading with a local lens in a global world that refuses to slow down?

A few years ago, I spoke with a CEO who'd been searching for a CFO for 8 months - burning $20k monthly on interim costs while missing vital opportunities for growth.

He called executive search firms "headhunters." But a retained executive search firm is not a recruitment agency. Here's why this mindset costs companies millions (and how the smartest leaders think differently):

THE REALITY:

Retained executive search firms don't post jobs and wait for applications.

We map markets, identify passive talent, and assess cultural fit before candidates even know opportunities exist.

Yet some companies and clients still think we're:

     * Middlemen adding unnecessary complexity
     * Salespeople pushing whoever's available
     * CV collectors charging premium fees
     * Cost centres rather than profit drivers

This misunderstanding creates a vicious cycle:

Companies treat search firms transactionally → Get transactional results → Conclude executive search "doesn't work" → Waste months on internal hiring → Miss market opportunities whilst competitors move faster.

Our clients approach it differently:

     1. They brief us like strategic partners, not vendors
     2. Share real challenges, not sanitised job descriptions
     3. Invest time in market intelligence and competitor analysis
     4. Recognise that vacant C-level positions cost more than search fees
     5. Understand that quality candidates need compelling narratives, not just
         salary bumps

The CEO I mentioned... once he shifted perspective, we placed his CFO in 12 weeks.

Here's why it matters now:

Executive talent is scarcer than ever. The best candidates aren't actively looking. They're being approached by multiple firms simultaneously.

When you treat executive search like commodity recruitment, you get commodity results. When you treat it like a partnership, you access hidden talent markets.
——
The bottom line:

How you search determines who you find. It's about making unavailable candidates available, not just finding available ones. The best-fit hires weren't looking until the right opportunity found them. And that's the nuance. The companies that source the best talent invest in market positioning and candidate experience.

Every week, I hear how B2B sales are just about “closing deals.” But no one seems to talk about the reality:

When you need toothpaste, you go to the store and grab your favorite brand.

If they don't have it, you buy your 2nd favorite.

And you go home.

Unlike your favorite toothpaste, multi-step purchases involve:

Months of conversations
Multiple stakeholders
Investments that make a mortgage look modest

I've worked with Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and multinationals. And here's what catches people off guard:

Every corporate culture operates differently. Some clients obsess over individual leadership metrics. Others care only about team success.

Some are focused on ticking every compliance box imaginable. The mistake most people make is assuming one approach works everywhere. It doesn't. You have to listen and adapt without compromising your standards.

One client wants weekly progress reports with detailed breakdowns.

Another just wants results and finds updates irritating.

Miss these cues and you're stuffed.


EXAMPLE:

Let's use my company, @McKinney Consulting as an example.

I need to be ready when a client comes to us with an Executive Search project.

They may say, "I want to learn about your background and leadership."

Or they may say, “I want to talk about your team. Your success track record, your performance reports, etc.”

Or they may even say, “I want to talk about your processes. Do you follow best practices?”

Because they're trying to test us.

Sometimes they'll say the equivalent of, "I want you to sit there while we describe the Superman or Superwoman that we need for this role."

The money side trips people up, too.

Executive search project fees can be anywhere from $25K, $50K, or upwards of $100K.

Industry-standard fees for retained search assignments are 30% of the first-year compensation, split across three payments.

And most clients have never hired for these roles before.

A CEO might run a $50 million company but be unsure how to structure a hiring process for a senior role. And this is completely understandable. They've never recruited for it before.

Your job becomes part consultant, part coach, part project manager.

You're guiding them through decisions they're unsure how to make. You're delivering what they actually need, not what they think they want. The clients who succeed are the ones who admit they don't know everything and trust the process. We don’t know everything either, so together we’re better.


The companies that struggle with complex purchases usually think they can:

(1) Take shortcuts (2) Micromanage every detail

Complex purchases demand different skills, patience, and expectations.

There are no shortcuts to navigating them.

What works is understanding each client's world and adapting your approach to suit.

As the pace of change accelerates, the gap between reactive and anticipatory leadership is widening fast. In 2026, foresight has become one of the most essential leadership capabilities because what you see first, you can shape fastest.

The most resilient leaders don’t just brace for change; they build advantage from it. Those who anticipate disruption turn uncertainty into their grea

Open article: Are You Scanning for Signals or Waiting for the Storm? by Steve McKinney • 2 min read

Are You Scanning for Signals or Waiting for the Storm?

Complex decisions rarely fail because of strategy alone; they fail because leaders misread what’s really happening across cultures. When you treat a global, multi-stakeholder decision like a simple purchase, you overlook the subtle signals that determine whether you win trust, lose talent, or stall progress.

Not all “no’s” mean the same thing across cultures. In complex decisions, like hiring a senior executive, the biggest risk isn’t disagreement. It’s mi

Open article: Global Mindset in Action: How Cross-Cultural Leaders Make Better Complex Decisions by Steve McKinney • 3 min read

Global Mindset in Action: How Cross-Cultural Leaders Make Better Complex Decisions

When I was Production Manager at Reebok, I made a multi-million-dollar decision based on the opinion of a blue-collar factory line worker.

It was Reebok's largest factor at the time.

5,000-person workforce.

1.2 million pairs of shoes produced each month.

We were evaluating a new production design in the technical trials, which looked brilliant on paper.

Engineers were confident. Executives were excited.

But to me, something felt off with the design.

I wasn’t sure if it was possible.

But instead of trusting the leadership team's consensus, I did something unorthodox.

I said to my leadership team, “Okay, out of this 5,000-person factory, who is the ONE person that has the most knowledge on this part of the process?

Them: “We have 13 finishing lines where all the products come to finish. Mr. Kim, on line 1. He's our best operator.”

I said, “Okay, bring him up here. I want to talk to him.”

Them: “Why? He's blue-collar. He's a line worker.”

“It doesn't matter,” I said.

Them: “But he's not well educated. His English isn’t strong.”

I took a breath.

Then responded, “I'm about to make a multi-million dollar decision, okay? I need to know if this design can pass the trials. So, let's go to the production line. And talk to him.”

We went to the production line, asked him if this new project was possible.

In less than a minute, we had our answer.

“No. It will not work.”

Mr. Kim didn't have an MBA. He wore work clothes, not a suit. But he understood the specific machinery and process on the production line better than anyone else in the building.

Here’s why I trusted Mr. Kim’s judgement:

He executed this specific process on 3,000 pairs of shoes a day.

But you know what? We have 2 feet, a left and a right.

So he did it 6,000 times a day.

And we have 24 working days in a month.

So that’s 144,000 reps a month.

1,728,000 reps a year.

To me? That makes Mr. Kim a genius in his realm.

Within 30 seconds of explaining the design, he spotted the flaw.

He saved us from a multi-million-dollar mistake.

One that would've cost months of delays and damaged relationships with retailers.

Unsung heroes are in YOUR company, too:

So, if you’re leading a team through change, scale, or disruption (and want your leaders to learn how to unlock collective intelligence instead of overruling it):

I’m opening a limited number of keynote dates.

If you’re planning a leadership event, conference, or executive offsite, visit my website to see how I can help: https://stevemckinney.com/

This week, I realized something: leaders don't win by moving faster. They win by seeing further.

This week on LinkedIn, one story kept repeating in different ways:

Leaders and companies win when they combine Proactive Agility, a true global mindset, and world‑class executive search into a single way of operating.

From singer to CEO.
From “reacting faster” to “responding wisely.”
From “my buddy would be great” to “the best global talent available.”
From local thinking to leading across Seoul, São Paulo, and beyond.
From “headhunters” to strategic partners who unlock hidden markets of executive talent.

In a world that refuses to slow down, the real competitive advantage is simple:

See earlier.

Decide wiser.
 
Hire stronger.
 
Lead globally.

Swipe through the carousel for the 5‑day recap—and if you want 2026 to be a year of anticipation rather than anxiety, message me “2026” and let’s explore what Proactive Agility, global leadership, and executive search could look like for your team.

From Singer to CEO: Your Proactive Agility Recap

So many leaders leave a keynote speech feeling inspired, but nothing actually changes in how they work.

     * They nod along with the ideas
     * People feel energised for 48 hours
     * They quote the speaker in meetings
     * Then go straight back to the same behaviours

Same blind spots, same reactive decisions

I've watched this pattern for 25+ years, working with executives across Asia, Europe, and North America.

This issue has little to do with the quality of the talk.

Organizations just need better ways of seeing.

They struggle because they're reacting to change instead of decoding it.

That's why I don't approach keynote speaking as a “performance.”

A keynote, when done right, should:

     * Disrupt how leaders interpret signals
     * Give language to patterns they've felt but couldn't name
     * Create productive discomfort that follows them back into the boardroom

If people leave entertained but unchanged, the talk failed.

The work I share on stage didn't come from theory or trend decks.

It came from watching leadership decisions play out in real time (in global factories, executive searches, cross-cultural teams) and in moments where the cost of being wrong was very real.

My goal isn't validation.

It's this moment, weeks later, when a leader pauses mid-decision and says: "Wait… this is one of those moments."

That's when something actually changes.

If your organization is tired of reacting (and ready to build that kind of thinking into your leadership), we should probably talk.

Executives don’t fail because no one saw the problem coming; they fail because they never learned how to listen to the quiet signals that did.

Most senior leaders are not suffering from a lack of information. They are drowning in noise and starving for signals. Dashboards, reports, AI summari

Open article: Agile Listening: How Senior Leaders Turn Quiet Signals into Bold Decisions by Steve McKinney • 5 min read

Agile Listening: How Senior Leaders Turn Quiet Signals into Bold Decisions

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