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Absolute Advantage Podcast

The Absolute Advantage is about learning from some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, leaders, and achievers at the top of their game. When chasing your dreams, a lot of times there isn’t a need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, shorten your path to success by learning from the stories, strategies and concepts shared by our guests. Then shorten it even further by learning about amazing resources (books, webinars, tools, software, events, coaching, etc.) that should be on your radar. You are not alone in the challenges you face! It's my mission to help you walk away with at least one idea you can apply each episode and to offer content that inspires, encourages and helps you grow and progress QUICKLY both professionally and personally.
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Now displaying: 2017
Jul 20, 2017

Kevin Harrington has been a successful entrepreneur for over 40 years. He is an original member of the cast of ABC’s hit, Emmy Award-winning TV show, “Shark Tank.” Also known as the “Inventor of the Infomercial” and pioneer of the “As Seen On TV” label, he co-founded the Electronic Retailers Association (ERA) and the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO). Kevin has launched over 20 businesses now worth over $100 million in sales, been involved in more than a dozen public companies, and launched over 500 products generating more than $5 billion in sales worldwide with iconic brands and celebrities such as Jack Lalanne, Tony Little, George Foreman, and the new I-Grow hair restoration product on QVC.

Kevin got his start as a young entrepreneur in the early 80’s when he launched Quantum International with $25,000. Entrepreneur Magazine has called him, “one of the top entrepreneurs of our time.” As a business thought leader he is often featured and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, CNBC, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, Fortune, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, The View, Squawk Box, Fox Business, and more. He is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and Inc.com and has published acclaimed books like, “Act Now! How I Turn Ideas Into Million Dollar Products,” the best-seller, “Key Person of Influence,” and “Put a Shark in Your Tank.”

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How Kevin became the inventor of the infomercial through smart media buying
  • Strategies you can use to build a winning team
  • What Kevin did to build many of the best-known brands in consumer products
  • Raising your own profile to leverage your expertise into marketing opportunities
  • Why a balanced approach to marketing covers many channels
  • How to raise capital by making the right impression on potential investors
  • One simple habit of the most effective managers and leaders
  • Long-term planning strategies to grow your business the smart way
  • What you can do every day to maximize your potential

Ways to contact Kevin:

Jul 18, 2017

Drew McLellan is a 25-year marketing veteran who helps clients create authentic love affairs with their customers. In 1995, Drew started his own agency — McLellan Marketing Group that he still actively runs today. He also helps other agency owners learn how to take their business to the next level through the consultancy — Agency Management Institute.

Drew is also one of the world’s top marketing and branding bloggers, according to AdAge’s Top 150 index. He’s written the book 99.3 Random Acts of Marketing and co-edited the Age of Conversation series of books.

Drew often appears in publications like Entrepreneur Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Agency Post, AdAge, CNN, BusinessWeek, and many others. The Wall Street Journal calls him “one of 10 bloggers every entrepreneur should read.”

Drew also hosts the brilliant Build a Better Agency Podcast.

He also speaks at leading agency conferences and is often cited in agency centric content for his expertise in the industry.

When he’s not hanging out with clients or agency owners and their staff, Drew spends time with his daughter and cheering for the Dodgers.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • The best practices you need to take your business to the next level
  • Failing forward by learning from past mistakes with business partners
  • What Drew means when he says he’s an “accidental entrepreneur”
  • Why you need to help your people grow even if it is away from you
  • The simple truth behind thinking like a child to foster creativity
  • How scaling your business also means scaling your recruitment
  • Having a relationship-focused approach to business and management
  • Why one-on-one meetings are vital to retaining and developing your people

Ways to contact Drew:

Jul 13, 2017

Amy Norman knew in the 4th grade that she would become a dentist. She began dental assisting at the age of 16 and worked her way through college as an assistant in various dental specialties. Dr. Norman has worked in the dentistry field for 31 years. Amy received early acceptance to dental school at the University of Washington and was dubbed Doogie Howser by her team. Later, she studied and taught at the prestigious Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies with an emphasis on Cosmetic and Neuromuscular Dentistry.

Over the last 18 years, Dr. Norman’s office has come to be known for excellence in complex cases including worn-down teeth, headache and migraine patients, multiple missing teeth, and bite problems. She also provides cutting-edge services such as non-extraction orthodontics and Fountain of Youth Dentures. Her office is also known for its amazing, highly-skilled and healthy team with virtually no turnover.

Dr. Norman is attracted to Dentistry because of its unique nature combining art and science while routinely changing lives. The rush of giving someone a new smile or relieving a lifetime of pain from TMJ, headaches or migraines, is magical and addicting. She is one of the lucky ones because her hobby is her job.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How to set up the environment in your workplace to maximize productivity
  • Why customer experience is the number 1 differentiator in business today
  • The importance of being proactive and not reactive in every aspect of your business
  • What you can do to be more flexible and retain more employees
  • How to balance the personality types in your business to ensure synergy
  • The simple trick for keeping employees longer and pushing them to be better
  • What airline pilots have to teach us about running our businesses
  • Why being an early riser gives you more time for yourself

Ways to contact Amy:

Jul 11, 2017

Robert (Bob) Glazer is the founder and Managing Director of Acceleration Partners and the founder and Chairman of BrandCycle. He is a serial entrepreneur with an exceptional track record and passion for growing revenue and profits for B2C-based companies. In demand by top brands and investment firms, he has extensive experience in the consumer, e-commerce, retail, online marketing, and ad-tech industries partnering with brands such as Adidas, ModCloth, Reebok, Target, Tiny Prints, Gymboree, and Warby Parker.

Bob is a regular contributor to numerous outlets, writing about performance marketing, strategy, and culture. He is the recipient of the Boston Business Journal 40 under 40 award, the SmartCEO Boston Future 50 award, and a finalist for the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in New England, among other accolades. A sought-after speaker, Robert presents to global audiences and serves as an advisor to high-growth businesses.

Bob strongly believes in giving back. He serves on the Board of Directors for BUILD Boston, is a global leader in Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO) and founded The Fifth Night charitable event (www.fifthnight.org). He previously served on the boards of the Performance Marketing Association and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mass Bay and participated in the annual Rodman Ride for Kids for a dozen years, raising almost $100,000 for charity.

In his spare time, Bob is an avid writer, skier, traveler, cyclist, and serial home renovator.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why Bob says, “My job is to fire myself,” and what it means to lead authentically
  • How you can inspire your people to be a little bit better every day
  • The importance of hiring for your culture and how to do it
  • A simple solution for defining your core values so well they are always on your mind
  • What Bob gained from “a book’s worth of mistakes in hiring”
  • Why you need to interview against aptitude and outcomes, not experience
  • What hiring an “up and comer” versus an “old hand” can do for your company’s future

Ways to contact Bob:

Jun 29, 2017

Nitin Chhoda is an immigrant who arrived in the US penniless in 2002, in a post 9-11 world. Delivered pizza, slept in his car, and didn’t have money for winter clothes, but always a hustler. Became a licensed physical therapist, entrepreneur, author and public speaker in 2007. Now owns and runs several multi-million dollar companies with 30+ employees worldwide.

He is the author of “Total Activation: The 5 Step Fitness Mantra”. It is a dynamic new approach to weight loss and personal wellness. It is a system modeled in three stages of change: Identity, Compare, Integrate (ICI) which has 5 components: Emotional, Physical, Social, Spiritual and Intellectual (EPSSI).

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How and why to change your relationship with money
  • The truth behind the philosophy of Total Activation
  • Simple steps you can take to find your balance as a business person and human
  • How to get out of a poverty mindset and into a wealth mindset
  • Why it is so important to own only what you need and make your money truly work
  • The value of a horizontal structure in your organization and empowering your people
  • How to activate the best version of yourself
  • What it takes to grow with Eastern and Western philosophies and cultures
  • Why remote teams work and how to find the right people

Ways to contact Nitin:

Jun 27, 2017

Matt Miller spent the first 9 years of his career as an Air Force pilot, before entering the private sector to work in both the medical device and advertising industries. While a top performer in the corporate world, his long-term desire was to be his own boss. A good friend one day mentioned the gumball machines he and his young daughters owned, and that conversation began a 10-year business quest that has brought Matt’s company, School Spirit Vending, to the cutting edge of both the vending and school fundraising industries. Today, School Spirit Vending’s franchising program provides a proven and profitable business system for busy professionals and their families looking to develop secondary income streams with a limited time commitment.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How Matt went from being turned down for a payday loan to owning a $5 billion business
  • What to do with your “entrepreneurial itch”
  • Why multigenerational entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of Matt’s business
  • The power of empathy to inspire associates and franchisees
  • A tried-and-true method for earning passive income with minimal time investment
  • What it takes to lead by example
  • Why your company needs an internal podcast and how to produce one
  • The reason Matt franchised his company and what he gained from that experience

Ways to contact Matt:

Jun 22, 2017

Bill Prater, business owner, entrepreneur, publisher, author, speaker, consultant, and coach. He is best known for long-term success enabling business owners and leaders to quickly eliminate personal barriers, rapidly reach their current dreams, and to embark on a journey of business mastery.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How to be a leader by being the Chief Dreamer
  • Bill’s path from technology at IBM, to finance, and finally to top-flight business consulting
  • The #1 thing all business schools do not teach their students
  • How hundreds of businesses have benefitted from Bill’s knowledge and strategies
  • The 3 things that separate the best from the rest in the business world
  • How to navigate the 7 phases of dynamic growth
  • What every elite company shares
  • Why you need to dream outrageously to lead charismatically
  • One simple daily practice to achieve your vision and live your mission

Ways to contact Bill:

Jun 20, 2017

Peter Winick is the Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage, a company that helps thought leaders turn foundational ideas into thriving businesses. He is an entrepreneurial-minded director who leverages the power of internal and external relationships, accelerating the growth of aspiring thought leaders and exponentially increasing the value of their intellectual property.

For over twenty years, Peter has worked with thought leaders to monetize their content by developing products and solutions applicable to large enterprises. Further, his accomplishments with start-ups, turnarounds, and M&A (in the b2b services sector) have equipped him with the ability to drive results using practical strategy, focused execution, and a disciplined method of cost control.

As an information junkie and avid reader of business books, he is capable of taking great content and creating a platform to best support it through a combination of art, science, logic, focus, passion, and creativity. Peter knows that visionaries, whether speakers, authors, corporate leaders, or just really smart people, need help with moving beyond one-book-one-gig. He’s here to bring you solutions.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • What thought leadership is and how to apply your business savvy to leverage it
  • How to stand out in the sea of information available today
  • The most productive way to think about your conversation and what you add to it
  • What elements of thought leadership are the most overlooked and how to use them
  • Why the content you create and the modality you use to get it out matters
  • Where to focus your time and avoid wasting your most precious resource
  • How to find your focus and take advantage of the “age of the long tail”
  • What you need to do to build your content to suit your audience
  • Why becoming a thought leader is so easy today and how to avoid the common pitfalls

Ways to contact Peter:

Jun 13, 2017

Rochelle Lisner’s mission is and has always been to energize, inspire, and educate business owners to achieve productivity, profit, and peace. Since 2007, she has worked with family-owned businesses and entrepreneurs resolve their sales, internal communications, and business growth headaches.

Rochelle brings an interactive and practical approach to sales and scaling key talent, borne out of dealing with diverse industries, crisis management, multicultural clients, and demanding customers.

Rochelle’s deep understanding of how to communicate powerfully in a noisy world (both internally and externally) supports business owners and their teams engage in Story Telling, not Boring Telling for the consistent and powerful verbal branding needed for greater focus and profits.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Every business matters: why Rochelle shifted her focus away from travel and tourism and towards helping business owners
  • Never give up: how this lesson from her mother has guided Rochelle throughout her life
  • How isolation kills success and why you need to regularly evaluate your team so they don’t become complacent
  • Tackling fear inside your business
  • Creating a winning culture by recognizing and appreciating your team
  • Hiring for skills — not positions
  • The impact of a bad onboarding system
  • Why you need to look at character when hiring
  • The four things every leader needs to be able to do
  • Surrounding yourself with an amazing team that complements you in areas you’re not strong in

Ways to contact Rochelle:

Jun 13, 2017

Evan Hackel, creator of the concept of Ingaging Leadership and author of “Ingaging Leadership,” is a successful businessman who has started more than 10 companies. During his tenure at CCA Global Partners, he ran a $5 billion division. One of his signature achievements was turning around a bankrupt business in four years, more than doubling system-wide sales to exceed $2 billion. As CEO of Tortal Training, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm that specializes in developing and implementing interactive training solutions for companies in all sectors, Evan is a leader in the training field. He is also Founder and Principal of Ingage Consulting, a consulting firm headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. He is recognized as a thought leader, speaker, and author on leadership.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Two life experiences that had a profound impact on how Evan leads and manages
  • How to live your company’s identity and purpose beyond the ‘plaque’
  • Creating a culture of training within your company
  • How a higher level of engagement leads to explosive growth
  • Evan’s book, “Ingaging Leadership,” and how it helps companies to become more successful
  • Practical ways to master the art of engagement
  • The benefits of having a hierarchical management style
  • The importance of treating people with high degrees of respect and responsibility
  • How focusing on the good things that are happening around you can shift your mindset
  • Using specific praise as a powerful management tool
  • Creating a shared, common vision amongst everyone in the company

Ways to contact Evan:

Jun 8, 2017

Corey Jahnke is the Chief Imagineer at Mind*Star Academy, a Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Coach, Community Pharmacist, Lifelong Learner, and Enthusiastic Dog Lover.

Corey has devoted his life to helping people reengineer their confidence levels so that they can explode their businesses, expand their influence, and live the kind of magical life that he gets to live on a daily basis.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why it’s vital to understand your own value, especially when you’re in a leadership role
  • The key to getting your employees to work hard for you
  • As a leader, why you shouldn’t be afraid of sharing your weaknesses
  • What to do if you’re struggling to see your value
  • Surrounding yourself with people who lift you up and make you feel like the best version of yourself
  • Keeping a sense of humor and maintaining your perspective
  • What your #1 job is as a leader
  • The importance of caring about your employees and their lives
  • Why a leader needs to focus on managing the emotions of their team
  • Corey’s free 12-week group coaching program for leadership & personal development

Ways to contact Corey:

Jun 1, 2017

David is the Founder and President of Website Properties. After graduating from UBC with a Bachelor of Commerce and Major in Marketing, he traveled extensively through parts of Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, and Central America. It was during his travels that he made various contacts and connections that would lead him to start his first entrepreneurial venture. He created a business importing hammocks and selling a wide variety of styles via mail order, trade shows and wholesale. Soon thereafter he expanded operations establishing an online presence that eventually became Hammocks.com and would later be sold to the billion dollar company, Hayneedle.com Over the next six years, David personally developed, bought and sold Strollers.com, Drums.com, Unicorns.com and over 60 website businesses in multiple niches and of various business models.

During this same time period, the e-commerce market was growing rapidly and while there were many business brokers assisting with brick and mortar businesses, there were none that specialized in the sale of internet businesses. Identifying the need for a business broker with e-commerce industry knowledge and experience selling online businesses, he started down the path of his next entrepreneurial venture. David established Website Properties as the first online business brokerage specializing in selling established and profitable Internet-based businesses. From 2002 – present, he continues to enjoy and draws great satisfaction from bringing buyers and sellers together to complete a transaction that is a win, win for both parties.

With his industry knowledge, years of experience, and successes, David Fairley is considered an expert in online business marketing, appraisal, and sale. He is often retained as a consultant for companies seeking to maximize their exit strategy or by companies looking for strategic website opportunities to grow their business through acquisitions. He has been invited as a panel member and speaker at various domain name industry conferences, cited in DN Journal for a number of high profile domain name sales and interviewed by Domainsherpa, The New York Times, and local radio shows for his expertise in the sale of online web based businesses.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Internet businesses: why they’re so attractive to buyers and why the market is really robust right now
  • How to value an online business
  • Choosing the right business to purchase
  • What to do when you want to sell your business
  • The relationship between brand and higher valuation
  • Should you worry about your brand being tied too close to you (the individual)?
  • Giving your team the ability to use their talents and rewarding them accordingly
  • Things to consider before making the change towards running your company virtually

Ways to contact David:

May 30, 2017

Heather Picken is The Entrepreneur Catalyst and renowned success and business coach, Bestselling author with her third book, "Woman On Fire Entrepreneur: How to Own your Power Profit from your Passion and create Prosperity." She leads teams and entrepreneurs worldwide on how to create a global impact through her brand, La Dolce Vita: The Formula For Fabulous Living™, which teaches the science, psychology, and philosophy of living the sweet life.

Heather combines the latest technology from neuroscience to online marketing in helping her clients create massive visibility with their product, service, and mission. She has appeared on many TV & Radio stations including ABC, FOX, and Hay House Radio.

Heather also hosts a national show called La Dolce Vita: The Formula For Fabulous Living™, where she interviews entrepreneurs and leaders across the world in demonstrating that there is a unique formula for life and business mastery, and each person on this planet has the ability to unleash their own creative genius. Heather says with this formula you can create your fabulous vision, mission, and purpose and live an inspired life.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • The relationship between getting clear on your purpose and achieving success
  • Creating strategies for balancing your emotions and not getting bogged down with the negative
  • Focusing on up to (and no more than) four vital priorities a day
  • How to start and end your day
  • Delegating away tasks you shouldn’t be doing
  • Measuring your money metrics
  • Why you need a coach/mentor to help you excel in the areas you want to excel at
  • How to negate the imposter syndrome by embracing who you are as a person
  • Understanding what your highest values are
  • The danger of setting “fantasy goals”

Ways to contact Heather:

May 25, 2017

With 30 years of leadership experience, Guy Neal serves as President of PBS Engineering and Environmental, recognized as a Top 500 Engineering Firm by Engineering News-Record. Guy’s engagement with the firm began 24 years ago as one of PBS first civil engineers. His unique background blends engineering with environmental science, assisting clients with the challenges of meeting regulatory standards as they expand. He later became Principal of PBS Engineering Division, overseeing environmental, geotechnical, and civil engineering services.

As President, Guy’s leadership has played an important role in assuring the growth of PBS amidst an economic recovery which heavily impacted the engineering design industry. Now in its 35th year, the firm has emerged as one of the Northwest’s premier engineering and environmental practices, with a well-diversified client base and expanding geography. Guy leads the firm’s efforts to reinvest in the local community through sustainable practices, environmental volunteerism, and participation in STEM education programs that support a new generation of engineers.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Guy’s focus on giving back and ushering in the next generation of engineers
  • The importance of diversifying your client base
  • The benefits of a culture where your team always asks “why?”
  • PBS’ formal feedback process every employee goes through
  • Quality: why this must be top of mind for engineers entering into a leadership role
  • Filling your team with quality people
  • How “A Players” inside PBS define themselves
  • Strategies PBS uses to retain their talent
  • The challenges of keeping up with new technology (like PBS’ recent use of drones)
  • Why you need to spend more time with your team

Ways to contact Guy:

May 23, 2017

Kathleen Trotter is the author of “Finding Your Fit.” Kathleen has been a personal trainer, Pilates specialist, and fitness writer for over fifteen years. Kathleen writes for publications including the Globe and Mail and Huffington Post, makes regular TV and media appearances, is the featured trainer in the Globe and Mails Fitness Basics video series, and blogs for Flaman Fitness. Kathleen holds a Master of Exercise Sciences from the University of Toronto and a nutrition diploma from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Just making one change: the secret towards starting your path to fitness
  • The relationship between working out and improved mood
  • Combatting the overwhelmed feeling when beginning fitness
  • Setting the right health goals for setting yourself up for success
  • The three Cs: convenience, consistency, and clarity
  • Moving towards exercise bliss
  • Figuring out your exercise why
  • Why mindfulness + preparation = success
  • Sleep: why it really is so crucial and why you can’t afford to be sleep deprived
  • Analyzing the things that you’re certain of because certainty is the opposite of growth
  • Putting yourself in other people’s shoes
  • Kathleen’s book: “Finding Your Fit”

Ways to contact Kathleen:

Kathleen's articles:

May 18, 2017

Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages, and hundreds of companies.

As founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world. Based on a mix of modern philosophy, science, and nearly thirty years coaching top executives, Lolly’s perspective on leadership continues to break new ground and produce exceptional results.

Of her many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Experts by Inc 100 Great Leadership Speakers for Your Next Conference and Speakers at your next event by Inc. magazine. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others.

Lolly’s proprietary insights are the subject of her new book, “The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness.”

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Lolly’s journey that led her to become a leadership guru
  • The difference between someone who fixes problems and someone who navigates through them
  • Lolly’s upcoming book: “The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness”
  • The traits/archetypes we need to get to the next level and the gaps that are keeping us from them
  • How to fill those leadership gaps
  • RETHINK: the seven archetypes that are all about rethinking who you are
  • The truth-teller archetype and why its archetype is the deceiver
  • The best ways for leaders to build trust
  • Why the imposter syndrome is real and lives within the rebel archetype
  • The difference between virtue and skills and why the difference will make or break a leader
  • Why every single person has what it takes to be a great leader — and — what it takes to stand in your greatness
  • Tailoring the questions you ask the people you lead need to be tailored to the individual
  • Meditating on the things that went well and not taking them for granted

Ways to contact Lolly:

May 16, 2017

Tara Christopher has been in the health industry for 30 years. She started as a competitive AAU swimmer at the age of 5 swimming five days a week and completed her first swim-a-thon at age 9. She continued swim-a-thons annually to raise money for different nonprofit organizations. At 12 years old was the first 20-mile walk-a-thon. The understanding of the power of her own body to help others and be grateful for health began at a very young age.

Tara began teaching Aerobics and was part of a team that opened a health club at the age of 17. While opening the new health club McDonald’s was trying to incorporate the veggie burger and Tara hosted the McDonald’s commercial to launch the idea of a healthier choice. Always one that was up for the challenge, she did her first sprint triathlon at 21 years old. She was featured on the cover of Triathlon program as the cyclist.

After moving locations to teach weight training and classes she was invited to speak at the corporate office of Anheuser-Busch inspiring a room full of upper management and executives to educate them on exercise and better nutrition. This was the first of many engagements to teach health and wellness.

After she received her degree from Hunter College, she launched a successful career at a highly demanding gym on 57th street in NYC. Her strategy was to develop a roadmap for individuals to reach their goals based on their own health needs. With her rapid growth and success, she launched her own business on 57th street at Lift gym NYC. In the process of launching her business, she finished the NYC marathon. Since then, she has completed many endurance events including the Ford Ironman.

Throughout her career she was featured in many national publications, was in an exercise layout in fitness plus, wrote a TV clip for Life Time Live and featured in the episode, was chosen to represent a book Baby to Bikini traveling to many news morning shows. In 2012 she was on Dateline NBC as the coach, After the showing, the clip was featured on TMZ and the O’Reilly factor. With social media and the changing format, Tara was inspired to reach to many people with her message. This lead to her passion for spreading the word Just Keep On Movin!!!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Tara’s story and how she caught the health and wellness bug at a very young age
  • Health: why it’s just as important for the mind as it is the body
  • Why what you define as success for yourself has to include your health
  • Just Keep On Movin!!!: Tara’s campaign for living a healthier life
  • Shifting your entire psychology around health and wellness
  • The importance of using repeatable systems
  • Hiring people to fill in the gaps of what you don’t know
  • Ways to get out of ruts so that you don’t spend too much time in a low point
  • The massive impact of meditation
  • Why you need to be uncomfortable to grow as a leader

Ways to contact Tara:

May 11, 2017

Eric Miller grew up in Everett, WA. When he was 6 he was diagnosed with a serious case of ecoli-0157, and through that experience became very close with his pediatrician and the process of medicine. From then, Eric became obsessed with the human body and how using science, testing, and insight can cure illnesses. He set his sights on becoming a doctor.

Fast-forward 12 years, Eric went to University of Washington to pursue a career in medicine. He made it through the Pre-Med undergrad curriculum with a degree in Medical Anthropology & Global Health. During that time, he was working for the eye-bank as a tissue harvesting as well as volunteering in a research lab gaining the experience he needed for the next step: Medical School.

However, as much as his brain loved science and systems, it was also equally creative and imaginative. Art has always been a huge part of Eric’s life, so when he picked up a video camera in high school, that unknowingly put the rest of his life’s plans of becoming a doctor in somewhat of an existential crisis. While pursuing his degree, Eric would film snowboarding, music videos, weddings, and short films. What started as a hobby turned into a burning passion. So when Eric graduated college, he made the difficult decision to put Med School on hold for one year, to see where video could take him.

It’s been 6 years since, and he hasn’t looked back. Vidbotz is a culmination of his science and art background — systematizing the production process, much like the scientific method.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • When to take the leap of faith in starting a business like Eric did with Vidbotz
  • Lessons that Eric’s learned in the early stage of his startup like boosting productivity by blocking time on the calendar
  • Being mindful of who you are today vs who you want to be tomorrow
  • A great resource for getting free mentorship from seasoned business veterans
  • Collaboration, communication, systemization, and delegation: how to exploit the power of people and technology to make your business efficient
  • Why video is so essential for both your marketing efforts and internally
  • How Vidbotz strips away the complexity for their customers so they don’t have to worry about the technological challenges of video
  • The importance of regularly checking yourself on being the best you can be
  • Not falling trap to the sunk cost fallacy
  • Networking strategies that the young entrepreneur needs to know

Ways to contact Eric:

Resources:

May 9, 2017

Rob is President and Co-Founder of imageOne, a Document Lifecycle Management company. Rob’s journey began in ninth grade when he and his current business partner, Joel Pearlman, launched their first business selling blow pop candy out of their school lockers. Rob and his partner realized early on that their passion for delivering an extraordinary customer experience would be key to their success. It is this passion that has become the driving force behind imageOnes success. Rob has completed 14 marathons and is an avid meditator and loves spending time in Northern Michigan with his family and friends.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Out of the basement to 52 employees: how imageOne was built
  • Defining core values: an absolutely crucial exercise for every business
  • Leadership lessons from Ari Weinzweig that shaped how Rob runs imageOne
  • The importance of putting the right person in the right seat when it comes to hiring
  • The challenges Rob has faced scaling salespeople and how he’s met those challenges
  • “What are you doing that’s uncomfortable?”: why you need to regularly ask your team — and yourself — this question
  • Getting out of the office to get feedback from your team
  • Building out your schedule so that you prioritize tasks that help you achieve your goals
  • The huge positive impact meditation can have on your life
  • What Rob does with imageOne: a Document Lifecycle Management company

Ways to contact Rob:

May 4, 2017

David Covey is the 3rd son of Stephen R. Covey, author of the groundbreaking book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” David was the chief operating officer of FranklinCovey. He then left Franklin Covey to start his own company, now called SMCOV. SMCOV works with the best intellectual property content experts on the planet and helps distributes their content globally through licensees. David loves working with impactful IP and setting up distribution systems around the globe.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why David co-founded SMCOV with Stephan Mardyks
  • Leading by modeling the behavior you want to see in other leaders and extending trust to others
  • Struggling through the challenges unique to entrepreneurship
  • David and Stephan’s new book “Trap Tales: Outsmarting the 7 Hidden Obstacles to Success”
  • The four characteristics of a trap
  • How viewing your problems and challenges as traps will assist you in getting through them
  • The seven types of traps and how to avoid them
  • Turning a negative trap into a positive result
  • Why you will relate to the protagonist in “Trap Tales”
  • Epiphany Breakthrough: the unconventional approaches given in “Trap Tales” to help you get out of the traps that you fall into
  • Why most people don’t change until they’re forced to (and why you cannot wait that long)

Ways to contact David:

Apr 27, 2017

Mo Gawdat is the Chief Business Officer at Google’s [X], an elite team of engineers that comprise Google’s futuristic dream factory. In the past ten years, he has made happiness his primary topic of research, diving deeply into literature and conversing on the topic with thousands of people in more than a hundred countries. He is also a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded more than twenty businesses. He speaks Arabic, English, and German. In 2014, motivated by the tragic loss of his son Ali, Mo began pouring his findings into his first book, “Solve for Happy.”

Here are some words from Mo on his book:

“This book is my attempt to fulfill the task assigned to me by my happiness idol, my wonderful son, Ali. My hope is that by sharing his message, his peaceful way of living, I may be able to honor his memory and continue his legacy.” – Mo Gawdat

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Mo’s background
  • How his life was impacted by the loss of his son
  • 10 Million Happy: happiness initiative he started after the tragic loss of his son
  • Why we all start out happy, why that changes over time, and what we can do about it
  • The six grand illusions and what they mean about life
  • Why happiness exists inside yourself
  • Your brain’s blind spots
  • Why you need to focus on the present moment and live in the now
  • The ultimate truths of life
  • Mo’s belief that the universe is a product of meticulous design
  • Committing to make the changes that will make your life happier
  • Using technology in a way that aids in your happiness

Ways to contact Mo:

Apr 25, 2017

Kelly Hatfield is co-founder of Enginuity Advantage, Advantage Staffing Group, Enginuity Virtual Recruiter and Impact Real Estate Real Estate Group based in Everett, Washington. She has been in the recruiting and HR field for over 20-years and loves serving others. Kelly and her business partner have built three successful companies with the purpose of helping others succeed and delivering remarkable results. Kelly and her team strategically align themselves as “The Partner of Choice” with clients and strive to be the first place clients call when they are looking for extraordinary service, quality, and reliability. The resulting outcome has been an outstanding referral network that has built and continues to build their companies.

As Co-Founder and Owner of Enginuity Advantage, Advantage Staffing Group and Enginuity Virtual Recruiter, April (together with her amazing partner) has created and developed three successful businesses aimed at matching exceptional talent with the top organizations. With 17 years in the human resources and staffing realm, April has experience, knowledge and a love for people and aims to offer solutions to all who are served. Being a natural problem solver, she prides herself on developing and leading a team of recruiting professionals whose mission is focused on connecting people to opportunity. Through creative and exhaustive methods, the Enginuity Group successfully matches the right talent with the right businesses each and every day.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why feedback from your employees is so important
  • Building a culture where your employees feel safe giving feedback
  • Why not getting feedback from your employees will leave a bigger impact than you realize
  • Why you can’t say you will do one thing and do something else
  • Why you must express gratitude and take action when you receive feedback
  • Why you need a planned meeting for employee feedback (and how to prepare for that meeting)
  • How to respond to feedback you don’t see coming

Ways to contact Kelly:

Ways to contact April:

Apr 20, 2017

David Winter is the American Council of Engineering Companies Engineer of the Year. David is CEO of Hart Crowser. He has been with Hart Crowser for nearly 27 years total and steadily worked up through the ranks as a staff engineer, project manager, market leader, officer, and now President and Chief Executive Officer. Through those many years he has organized and led many company initiatives, targeted and overseen expansion into new geographic regions and into new technical disciplines, negotiated and integrated acquisitions, and mentored young staff in business, project management, and client development.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • David’s background
  • Hart Crowser’s culture where team members feel the freedom to try new things
  • Some of the biggest lesson David’s learned in his career from mentors like his cousin, his stepfather, and John Crowser
  • Why you need to get good at writing proposals
  • Why young engineers need to pay attention to those around them early in their career
  • The importance of not being afraid to try something new
  • A story of a time when Hart Crowser lost a lot of money on a project that they bid way too low and how that turned out well in the long run
  • Identifying the team members that you need to keep and creating a career path for them
  • Why expanding through acquisition is a strong strategy
  • What both successful and unsuccessful acquisitions look like and how to make sure your acquisition is one of the successful ones
  • How Hart Crowser has created a culture of stay and community and how they make sure their business isn’t just a job for employees
  • Some of the biggest economic factors that Hart Crowser competes with
  • Some of the biggest challenges that David is facing and will face

Ways to contact David:

Apr 18, 2017

It’s Steven’s job to set and execute GoDaddy’s vision of providing elegant, end-to-end technology solutions for their more than 14.5 million small business customers. He also heads up the Online Bookkeeping and WorkSpace teams.

Steven brings over a decade of experience from Intuit, where he built solutions to help small businesses use the Web to grow and run their stores. He also has small business experience as the founder of a Web company that simplified shopping for insurance. Steven earned an M.B.A. from Stanford and a B.A. in physics from the University of North Carolina.

After hours, Steven serves as President of the Board of the Bay Area Glass Institute, a non-profit glass studio, and enjoys spending time with his wife Allison and their son, Jackson, at many sports and arts events.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Steven’s background
  • Why you need a sense of urgency so that you solve problems today
  • Why you need to constantly ask yourself what your objective is
  • Why you need metrics to measure success by
  • What you need to think about when considering having someone acquire your company
  • Why you need to start from the customer’s point of view
  • Why you need to bring your whole self to work
  • Why Steven left Posit Science when he decided that he wasn’t the right fit for CEO of that company
  • Why — when you start a firm — it’s not about you
  • Why you need to spend your time in the right way
  • Questions that you need to ask your team members to further their career
  • Why you need to define why people would work for you
  • How to eliminate biases in your hiring process
  • How GoDaddy is tilting the world’s economy towards small business
  • What GoDaddy’s “A Players” look like
  • Why you must stay current with your industry and with yourself

Ways to contact Steven:

Apr 13, 2017

Lee Caraher is the CEO of Double Forte PR & Digital Marketing; an acclaimed communication strategist, she’s known for her practical solutions to big problems. Her company works with some of the top consumer and technology brands in the country. Lees the author of Millennials & Management based on her experience with failing and then succeeding at retaining Millennials. Her next book, The Boomerang Principle will be published in April 2017.

Lee has a reputation for building cohesive, high producing teams who have fun together at the same time. She is a straight talker who doesn’t hold too many punches, although she does her best to be pleasant about it. Her big laugh and sense of humor have gotten her out of a lot of trouble.

Lee is active in the community and currently serves on three nonprofit boards. A graduate of Carleton College with a degree in Medieval History, which she finds useful every day, Lee lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two sons, and a blind cat.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Lee’s career journey and how she came to found Double Forte
  • Double Forte’s four metrics for business
  • What Lee learned when she decided to hire millennials for the first time and all six of them left
  • Lee’s book “Millennials & Management: The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work”
  • Why you need a strong personal brand
  • Lee’s new book “The Boomerang Principle: Inspire Lifetime Loyalty from Your Employees”
  • Why you can’t feel like employees that leave your business are dead to you
  • How “alumni” employees can bring back enormous benefits to your business
  • Why leaving is sometimes the most loyal thing an employee can do
  • Finding the words that people of different generations have different definitions for and peeling them back until you find pain points that arise
  • How to communicate to millennials that they’ve dropped the ball
  • The impact of showing your team that they’re appreciated
  • Why your first customers are your employees

Ways to contact Lee:

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