#71: Brian Hooks—How to Build a Team Around People's Strengths
The StoryBrand Podcast
StoryBrand.com
4.7 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 11 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's easy to give up on people when they disappoint us, miss expectations, or don't seem to fit the role they're in. But great leaders know people are rarely just "good" or "bad" at work. More often, they're either understood or misunderstood, positioned well or placed poorly. What would change if you started looking for people's potential before writing them off?
In this episode, host Donald Miller talks with Brian Hooks, CEO of Stand Together and co-author of Believe in People, about how leaders can unlock more value by helping people discover and use their gifts. They discuss building stronger teams, solving social problems from the bottom up, and why believing in people may be one of the most practical leadership decisions you can make. Listen in to learn the secret to putting people in the right role so they can do their best work.
Brian's book is out now, get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Believe-People-Bottom-Up-Solutions-Top-Down/dp/1250200962
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You co-author a book called Believe in People. People say, are you kidding me? Have you met people? |
| 0:07.1 | Our experience is as difficult as it can be if you organize your life around this principle, |
| 0:13.1 | this idea that when we believe in people, we get big things done, you're going to be more successful, |
| 0:19.0 | you're going to be happier, and you're going to find more meaning in your life. You're going to be more successful. You're going to be happier. And you're going to find more meaning in your life. |
| 0:23.8 | You're listening to The Storybrand podcast based on Donald Miller's best-selling book, Building a Story Brand. |
| 0:30.4 | The Story Brand framework is made up of seven key elements. All of them anchored in one powerful idea. |
| 0:37.3 | Your customer is the hero and you are their |
| 0:40.2 | guide. Each week on the podcast, you'll get exactly what you need to craft clear messaging that |
| 0:45.2 | connects with more customers and grows your business. Now let's dive in with your host, Donald Miller. |
| 0:57.1 | Brian Hooks, good to have you on the show. |
| 0:59.3 | Great to be here, Don. |
| 1:00.7 | You and I are friends because, gosh, how many years ago now, |
| 1:04.0 | five, six? |
| 1:05.8 | Is it longer? |
| 1:06.7 | Yeah, probably about six years. |
| 1:08.7 | I recorded you and Charles Koch on a podcast. |
| 1:11.8 | You guys had released a book called Believe in People. |
| 1:14.3 | I read the book. |
| 1:16.3 | I loved the book. |
| 1:18.2 | And then I actually booked a ticket to D.C. and got 20 minutes with you. |
| 1:22.5 | I was saying 20 minutes turning to about two and a half hours, I think. |
| 1:25.7 | It might have been. |
... |
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