Rhythm with Ken Cahoon (#232)
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In this episode of The CUInsight Experience, hosts Randy Smith and Jillian Awakey welcome back Ken Cahoon, CEO of Signal Financial, to discuss the critical yet often overlooked concept of leadership rhythm. The conversation centers on how intentional daily routines, energy management, and strategic time-blocking enable leaders to stay grounded, effective, and aligned with their vision—especially during chaos. Ken shares his highly structured weekly rhythm, starting with a 4:30 a.m. workout, followed by strategic time blocks for one-on-ones (Monday), strategy (Tuesday), execution (Wednesday), stakeholder meetings (Thursday), and visionary thinking (Friday). He emphasizes that non-negotiables like team engagement and personal well-being must be protected, even when business demands shift. The hosts and guest explore how leaders often default to busyness as a proxy for productivity, and how stepping back to reconnect with purpose, values, and long-term vision is essential for real impact. Practical tools like the 'wheel of life' and calendar audits are recommended for leaders feeling out of rhythm. The episode closes with actionable advice: audit your calendar, reconnect with your 'why,' and protect time for high-leverage activities. Key takeaways include: 1) Protect non-negotiable time blocks—especially for team connection and strategic thinking—like Ken’s Monday one-on-ones and Friday vision days. 2) Use tools like the wheel of life to assess personal and organizational balance across key domains. 3) When out of rhythm, start with a full inventory—of time, values, and alignment with purpose—before making changes. 4) Say 'no' to low-value commitments that don’t serve your highest purpose. 5) Leadership rhythm isn’t about perfection but consistency, intentionality, and the courage to reset. The overall tone is deeply practical, encouraging, and affirming, with a strong emphasis on sustainable leadership through structure and self-awareness.
Protect non-negotiable time blocks for team connection and strategic thinking—these are foundational to effective leadership.
Use tools like the wheel of life to assess balance across life and organizational domains.
When out of rhythm, start with a full inventory of time, values, and alignment with purpose before making changes.
Say 'no' to low-value commitments that don’t serve your highest purpose.
Leadership rhythm is built on consistency, intentionality, and the courage to reset when needed.
Sponsorship & Introduction
The episode opens with a sponsorship announcement for Trelance Cooperative Holdings Incorporated, followed by an introduction to the hosts and guest. The core theme of leadership rhythm is introduced—how leaders structure their days, manage energy, and stay grounded amid chaos.
Ken's Ideal Leadership Day
“My Friday is my office time where I'm just kind of alone and looking, kind of replaying the tape of the week. You'll notice I'll probably go back to sports analogies because I love sports. But again, we got to go back and when you play a game or so forth and you play against the opponent, guess what? The next week you watch the tape.”
The Power of Non-Negotiables
“I can't skip weeks without having my one-on-ones with my team. And also they noticed that stuff. We didn't have our one-on-one, but you know, at Democracy, I think I negotiated that sometimes and I, oh, well, we'll have it next week. And that was the wrong thing to do.”
The Trap of Busyness vs. Intentionality
“You have to execute through your people. And I learned a lot going from being a VP to CEO. That was a big jump for me. But I'm like, oh, I can. That's no problem. I can take care of it. I'll just do the things that I did well here. And that was not the case.”
Intentional Reset & Cultural Change
“I felt very strongly that we needed to be together as a family, so to speak. And I know that might be a little dramatic and so forth, but I really felt that I had to start with the why.”
“When you are contributing at your highest value, the thing that your organization actually employs you to do, what are you doing? And most of the time people are like, well, I'm not checking my email or I'm not. Like that thing, you are the only person who can do it.”
“I felt very strongly that we needed to be together as a family, so to speak. And I know that might be a little dramatic and so forth, but I really felt that I had to start with the why.”
“You have to execute through your people. And I learned a lot going from being a VP to CEO. That was a big jump for me. But I'm like, oh, I can. That's no problem. I can take care of it. I'll just do the things that I did well here. And that was not the case.”
Hosts
Guest
Ken Cahoon
person
Jillian Awakey
person
Randy Smith
person
Signal Financial
organization
CU Insight Experience
media
Democracy Credit Union
organization
Trelance Cooperative Holdings Incorporated
organization
Wheel of Life
product
Opteri
product
Mike Tyson
person
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