Podcast Blog

Hear how happy employees can drive your bottom line 

Todd Wheeler heard me speak at a Vistage International talk I was giving on Blue Ocean Strategy®. While it was remote (I was in New York and he in Colorado), we hit it off. What we talk about today is his fresh approach to helping people see things that are all around them. We shared so many of the same ideas about what holds people back, their resistance to the unfamiliar and the new, and their attachment to things that no longer have much value. Todd thinks of himself as “The Architect.” I see him as both the architect and the builder, and when you listen in on our conversation, I bet you'll agree. Enjoy.

Hear how great execution is most often the key to growth

At times I have the pleasure of meeting interesting people who bring their breadth of experiences to share with our audience. Jim Cornehlsen is just that type of person. We met through a networking group and found our interests so overlapping that we kept our conversations going. What did we talk about? Everything. It was a splendid conversation about how helping others achieve their goals through innovative ideas and expert execution is a life well-lived. Come join in the conversation and share your journey.

Hear how even bad times can open the door to success

Melody Watts has an amazing story to share with you, but it was hardly a straight line. Rather, nine years ago she had a tsunami of tragedies confront her, pushing her in entirely new personal and professional directions. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease, was newly divorced, and lost her mother in a tragic car accident. Then something strange happened. While looking for a solution to her son’s chronic cough, she discovered doTERRA essential oils. The oils helped her son and equally important, opened her up to a new business. She joined doTERRA in 2013 and two years later was in the top 1% in sales. Talk about lemons into lemonade. Listen in and learn!

Hear what can take your idea from good to great!

Listen in today to a woman who had a client searching for an unmet need and who then helped him open up a new market, literally Blue Ocean Strategy® in action. Jennifer Brazer, my podcast guest, has a new book out that you really should read because it's a “how-to” guide for building a great business, Blue Ocean-style. (It actually happened to be her own business.) She explains how she went from a cubicle to a multi-million dollar bookkeeping service on the cloud, serving accounting firms across the country. And it all started when a client asked her how to manage the bookkeeping for his companies at an affordable price. 

Hear how to grow your big idea into a big success 

Please meet Gina Paoloni. Gina found me through her search for speakers for her upcoming virtual summit, “The Untethered Entrepreneur.” She herself is an exciting entrepreneur who is building her business to help others grow theirs. Entrepreneurs, as you know, have an amazing way of seeing what is possible and then making it happen. Is that you? Do you have a clever idea to solve a problem in a new way? As Gina describes herself, she is often the lifeguard at the side of the pool watching her clients thrashing around trying to find a way out of a conundrum — and splashing each other at the same time. Over time, she has found an approach to help them, and you, reframe the problem and see solutions that might have been there all along. Do listen in!

Hear how you can become a transformational leader!

In this week's podcast, I bring you Tony Martignetti: leadership coach, change agent and entrepreneur. In our conversation, Tony shares with us his approach to helping people and their organizations change. You can guess why we connected from the get-go. As a fellow culture change expert, I also help people and organizations change, either in the midst of a crisis or in order to avoid one. To find out where you are along your own leadership journey, try taking Tony's Leadership Assessment quiz. The answers might just surprise you! Enjoy.

Hear how to make time for strategic thinking and strategic growth 

Richard Medcalf describes himself as "what you get if you were to put a McKinsey consultant, a slightly unorthodox pastor and an entrepreneur into a blender." Richard is an executive coach and leadership consultant to CEOs and their leadership teams. What we hope you'll take away from our discussion is how to build your own career and amplify your story. Sometimes you need a mentor or a coach, and sometimes you are the coach. Both are hard. (I know; I currently have six mentees and it is hard.) For solutions, Richard has a number of big ideas to help you sharpen your listening skills and do things now, not just someday. Listen in, not a minute to waste!

Hear how to embrace change so you can soar!

As I have been working with women thought leaders and innovators, I've been struck by the number of them who are moving mountains during this pandemic and setting up new ways of life and work as we try to emerge from it. Kim Snyder and I met at Peter Winick’s Tuesday Thought Leader gatherings and enjoyed our off-line conversations. They were deep and she was full of fresh perspectives on what people are doing and how they are going to have to change as this new world we are in is changing, faster and faster. I know you will enjoy Kim as much as I do!

Hear how we can all have a positive impact on the world 

We often find that as we move through our lives, we come upon people who instantly become our friends, although we have little understanding of why or how this happened. Denise Meagles, Indrani de Silva and Angelia Allen are just these kinds of friends. Denise and Indrani were introduced to me by Todd Cherches, whom I met through a thought leadership group. At a virtual meeting with Todd, he suggested they read my new book, Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business. They were so excited about the book that they put together gift boxes of Wax Buffalo candles and other goodies and sent them to a dozen women entrepreneurs, encouraging them to keep growing their businesses and seeking a great purpose. Then Angelia Allen joined them and they became a threesome, with all types of interesting ideas and careers. I feel lucky to have met them and even luckier to call them friends. I think you will too. Enjoy.

Hear how to develop better leaders and better followers

Kris Baird and I have known each other for a long time. We have both been involved in the healthcare world for many years, and Kris has developed a new program which I am very interested in, particularly for my hospital systems clients who are realizing the need to develop their middle managers, their nurse managers, and their leaders. Plus, Kris and I direct several leadership academies for our clients. I am particularly excited to share this podcast with you because Kris has a brilliant way of developing managers and leaders, as well as those who work for them. She has so much to teach us; please listen in and then share with your teams! 

Hear what you can do to end hate and foster inclusivity 

Deborah Levine is an amazing woman. How excited I was to share her story with our listeners. Many people today are talking about the need to build a more accepting, diverse and inclusive society, not just in their business but all around them in their communities. How do you do that? And how can you make the value of diversity become a cultural norm that is embraced? Listen to Deborah tell you about her own journey, and how that has caused her to focus on these themes in her personal and professional life. Here is your chance to learn from a true star in the growing  movement to transform our society and our culture so we can build better lives together.

Hear how gender equity is really, finally, happening 

What an exciting podcast with Johanna Zeilstra. She has had a remarkable career as a business strategist and leader in start-ups and global corporations. Our talk was about her current passion: helping move the needle on gender equity in organizations through her platform, Gender Fair. Take a look at its website to understand the full scope of the movement which she is pushing forward. Gender Fair, of which Johanna is CEO, uses data analytics to determine an organization’s progress toward gender equality and diversity. Johanna and I are both active on the Women Business Collaborative, whose mission is to make gender equity a permanent reality in business and in society. Do enjoy this podcast. 

Hear how to understand your customers' needs, then fulfill them 

It is always so enlightening to learn from other consultants how they do their jobs and how I could enhance my own consulting practice—as well as help you do the same. I was interviewed by Michael Zipursky on his podcast and thought it important to reciprocate and bring his ideas to you, our listeners. Michael speaks about his own journey, and it is a journey. At times he was in foreign lands and unable to speak the language, but somehow figured out how to break through the communication barriers to engage with others and help them grow their businesses. You will enjoy his personal and his professional stories, as they are closely interwoven. Listen and share!

Learn how to craft a strategy that delivers the results you want

Remember, my job is to help you get off the brink. How do I do that? By helping you see, feel and think in new ways. As a corporate anthropologist, I go looking for people who can help you do just that: see in new ways the things you may have done the same old way for a long time. Carol Poore is one of those people. We met through our publisher, Greenleaf Book Group, and I learned that she has a new book coming out on business strategy. Since I’m a Blue Ocean Strategist, I was particularly interested in understanding her perspective and how it could add new meaning to the way we at SAMC approach strategy, and how you do too. How do you approach your strategy, both your personal one and your business one? It’s important to understand that in order to get to your destination, whatever your goal might be. Do take a listen!

Hear how to get diverse employees to value their differences

It was a great pleasure to interview Laura Kriska for our podcast, On the Brink. Laura is an internationally recognizedexpert in cross-cultural relations. She and I have a lot in common. As a corporate anthropologist, I too often work with organizations where the old culture and the new are in conflict, where Boomers and Millennials speak different dialects of English and have distinctly different habits, beliefs and ways of doing things. Add in the business environment around them, and today's companies have too little knowledge about how to “see, feel and think” in new ways and most importantly, how to use those differences to build better companies. Laura's wisdom is so needed right now — I know you will learn so much from her!

Hear why brand storytelling is the key to business success

This was a totally fantastic interview with Lisa Staff and Deevo Tindall. I had been on their podcast, Mind, Body, Business, and so enjoyed myself that I wanted to share them with you, our listeners. Lisa and Deevo are two terrific individuals who focus on connecting and collaborating. They also want to help you better deliver your messaging to build your brand with the right mix of imagery and copy. I think they are amazing, and I know you will too.

Learn why employee well-being is key to a company's success 

Mari Ryan and I met by chance through Peter Winick’s Thought Leadership roundtables and became immediate colleagues and virtual friends. She brings to you her inspiring passion for helping organizations and the folks in them become healthier. This is so important, today and really always. What Mari has developed is a strategic approach to help people not just wish to build healthier lives and better organizations, but to actually achieve remarkable results. We all need more well-being in our lives and workplaces. Enjoy.

Hear how to turn your great idea into a successful business!

This was a terrific podcast conversation with Carrie Peele. Her life’s journey has been one of twists and turns, testing her smarts and her ingenuity. A serial business owner, she started a luxury transportation company on three credit cards in 1989 and built the largest woman-owned car service in the Carolinas. She sold the company in 2014 and started The File Depot, a document storage, scanning and shredding company. As a successful businesswoman, her story is amazing. But what Carrie learned was how to help other women take ideas and turn them into successful businesses. Tune in, learn and share!

Learn how to find your voice and unleash your power

In this podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Kami Guildner. You will enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Kami believes that women have a strong voice and need to know how to use it. She is a storyteller, as we all are, but does it with passion and purpose. She is also a business coach for women. And, we delightfully have in common our love for horses. Kami tells the story of how her entrepreneurial journey came about through the “breath of a horse." This magical epiphany moment led her to discover her purpose of leading changemaker women to give voice to their most important messages and create a ripple effect of worldly impact. Enjoy!

Learn how to attract and retain the best staff for your business

In this podcast, I was so excited to speak with Kip Wright about the work he has been doing to help corporations and businesses find the right talent and retain them with great performance. Having been an executive in banking and healthcare organizations, I remember far too well the pain of attracting and retaining the right staff. If we went too far afield to find new talent, they often could not fit into the existing culture — even when we wanted to change that culture. If we found the "right" staff, we had to develop and retain them. It is not easy to run a business. Does this speak to you? Lots to learn here from Kit!