Eric’s Approach.
How Eric Chow works, in decisions, in the firm, and in life, as it reads from three and a half years of his podcast and from his essays rather than from a résumé.
This page is written from the outside in. It is an observer’s account, drawn from Eric’s episodes, essays, and his part in Mashman Consulting Group, of the patterns that show up across them. Where he is quoted, the words are his.
Gates Before the Trigger.
Isaac Mashman describes himself as the one more likely to pull the trigger immediately. Eric is the other half of that partnership: academic in his approach, leading with logic, slower and more calculated. His method for a decision is a sequence of gates, which he set out in episode 66 while explaining how he decided to bring his podcast back.
First, knowledge: does he know what he needs to know, or can he definitely find it out? Second, input, weighed by who it comes from. A poll of his followers was unanimous, but he gave the real veto to two people who understood his priorities: Isaac, and his mentor. Third, a definite decision, followed by the work of making it the right one.
“You want to make sure you’re judging the fruit on the tree, understanding what is their relevant expertise and how important is their opinion and what is their understanding of your big picture.”
“Make a definite decision.”
Preach What You Practice.
Eric turns a familiar saying around. Practicing what you preach means believing an idea because it sounds good, then trying it. He prefers the reverse: share only what has already worked, for him or for people he knows.
The same caution runs through how he gives advice. He listens first, checks that advice is wanted before he offers it, and tells listeners plainly that it is their job to decide whether it fits their life.
“I think people should preach what they practice.”
“I try to make sure my advice is actually wanted before I give it.”
Empower Yourself First.
The Eric Chow Empowers Podcast began, by his account, as a way to give himself room to speak. Only after he had done that could he offer the same room to guests. He shared vulnerable things on his own show first, so that the people he interviewed would trust it.
He applies the rule beyond the microphone. Caring for others is a strength, he writes, but only if you keep your own fire burning; you cannot pull someone up a ladder from the rung below them.
“If I can’t trust my own platform to feel like a safe space to share my story, then how can I expect this guest to come on my show and share their story?”
“I have to make sure I’m on a higher rung of the ladder before I can help somebody else climb the ladder.”
The Front Row.
Back in a lecture hall after the pandemic’s online classes, Eric sat in the first two rows and found he learned far more. He drew a general rule from it: rather than waiting to feel motivated, arrange things so that the right choice is the easy one.
It is an operator’s answer to a motivational question. Willpower comes and goes; an environment stays put.
“Instead of waiting for motivation, instead of waiting for inspiration, put yourself in a position to win.”
“Can you design your life in a way that is motivating and inspiring?”
Structure Over Slogans.
Eric is wary of advice that stops at think positive. His alternative is structure: decide what you value, check whether your life reflects it, and change the arrangement until living those values is natural.
His favorite example is small. When something exciting is always close enough to look forward to, a canceled recording or a lost client does not ruin the week, because the next thing is already lined up.
“We have to decide what is important to us.”
“What if you can structure your life so that you automatically think positive?”
Own the Outcome.
Eric took the idea of extreme ownership from the book by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin and made it personal. When a team project fails because of someone else’s mistake, he looks for his own share: unclear directions, a step not checked, the wrong person chosen.
The point is not guilt. Blame hands the power to change things to someone else; ownership keeps it.
“We let our egos take the hit, and in doing so we are able to change things and accomplish the mission”
“My friends, take ownership of your life, create your own power, and achieve your goals.”
Quantity, Then Quality.
Eric describes himself as less extroverted than some of his friends, and he still treats relationships as something to work at deliberately. His equation is simple: meet more people, interact more with each, and the quality relationships follow.
He backs it with habits: calling a few contacts out of the blue every couple of months, saying hello to strangers, and walking into every conversation convinced the other person is fascinating.
“Quality equals quantity plus interaction.”
“I’ve had enough conversations with enough people to know everybody is interesting.”
Pass It On.
In 2015, Eric asked a friend how he could ever thank him. The answer was to pass on what he had learned. Eric names that sentence as the reason for the tutoring, the articles, and the podcast.
It also explains the tone of his work. He rarely presents an idea as his own invention; he credits the book, the speaker, or the friend it came from, and then adds what is specifically his.
“My podcast started because I wanted to pass on what I was learning.”
“When I suggest an idea, I believe it is true. It is right for me, but it is your job to determine if what I am saying is right for you.”
The Operator.
Read together, these are procedures more than slogans. Each one turns a feeling or an aspiration into something he can do on an ordinary Tuesday: a gate to check, an environment to arrange, a call to make.
That is the role he plays at Mashman Consulting Group. Isaac carries the vision in public; Eric is the operator who works it through and carries it out.