Fast Leader Show | The Show for the Customer-centric Leader: Recent Episodes
Guests share stories and leadership quotes with inspiration from John C. Ma
Become the leader everyone wants to follow, including your customers. Meet some of the world's brightest minds with customer-centric leadership authority Jim Rembach to uncover thought-provoking dynamic strategies to engage employees and customers.
Jim is the developer of Call Center Coach and Editor in Chief of CX Global Media. The Fast Leader Show impacts thousands of people each week by unlocking the power in guests' perspectives, expertise, and experiences.
The show explores how businesses can create dynamic customer experience strategies, improve employee engagement, and develop more human-centric leaders with practical advice that you can use immediately.
Today’s customers want dynamic customer experiences, and doing so requires improving your creativity and within your organization. Learn how to move onward and upward faster and join in the Hump Day Hoedown.
In this insightful episode, Dina Denham Smith dives deep into the intricacies of leadership, creativity, and emotional intelligence in the modern workplace. She shares her journey from classroom to boardroom, offering a unique perspective on how her equestrian passion parallels her leadership philosophy. Through engaging anecdotes and expert advice, Dina reveals the transformative power of rest and mindfulness in unlocking creativity and enhancing decision-making.
The conversation delves into the dynamic nature of brain networks, highlighting the delicate balance between focus and creativity. Dina emphasizes the importance of buffer zones to maximize productivity and the need for leaders to embrace fallibility, fostering genuine connections through sincere apologies. She explores the art of insight, showcasing how introspection and retrospective engineering can propel individuals and organizations toward their goals.
Throughout the episode, Dina provides practical tips for leaders to navigate the complexities of the modern workplace, from managing multiple projects effectively to setting boundaries and saying no when necessary. She advocates for subtraction as a powerful tool for success, urging listeners to let go of non-essential tasks and projects to make room for more impactful endeavors.
Listeners are encouraged to embrace a growth mindset, viewing setbacks as opportunities for learning and growth. Dina's wisdom from experience resonates throughout the episode, offering valuable insights into effective leadership and personal development. Tune in to The Fast Leader Show to gain actionable strategies for enhancing your leadership skills and fostering a more creative, empathetic workplace.
In this enlightening episode, Jim Rembach interviews John Fisher, delving into the heart of leadership and the transformative power of embracing personal change for organizational success. Fisher, with his rich background in psychology and business coaching, shares invaluable insights into the journey from self-doubt to self-discovery, underscoring the critical role of personal growth in driving effective leadership and fostering a conducive environment for change.
The conversation illuminates the intricate dynamics of leadership in the modern workplace, emphasizing the necessity of understanding individual motivations and the impact of personal identity on resistance to change. Fisher’s narrative is a compelling testament to the transformative potential of self-awareness and adaptability in navigating the complexities of organizational leadership.
In an inspiring exchange, Jeff Eschliman shares his journey from the idyllic landscapes of Fortuna, California, to becoming a visionary leader in the construction industry. His story, woven with the values instilled by his family and the wisdom gained from his military service, unfolds a compelling narrative on leadership, teamwork, and personal development. Eschliman delves into the pivotal moments that shaped his career, from early beginnings on construction sites to his transformative military experiences driving an armored vehicle in Iraq. These experiences not only honed his leadership skills but also instilled a profound belief in the importance of preparation and teamwork.
Jeff discusses the significance of integrating core values into one's life and career, emphasizing the transformative power of a one-page plan. This strategic tool, he explains, is not just about setting goals but about aligning one's actions with their deepest values and competencies. Through personal anecdotes and professional insights, Eschliman inspires listeners to reflect on their own paths, encouraging them to craft a fulfilling journey that resonates with their true selves.
But it's not all about looking inward. Jeff's narrative is a testament to the impact of leadership on others, comparing the joy of mentoring to watching his children grow. He underscores the importance of self-care, continuous learning, and setting intentional goals as cornerstones of effective leadership.
This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of personal and professional growth. Jeff's journey is a powerful reminder of the resilience, dedication, and strategic planning required to lead a fulfilling life and make a lasting impact on those around us.
Don't miss out on this profound conversation. Tune in to discover how you can apply Jeff Eschliman's insights to your own life and leadership journey.
In a riveting conversation with Joshua Freedman, a luminary in the emotional intelligence arena, listeners are treated to profound insights on how emotional intelligence shapes leadership, influences organizational culture, and catalyzes personal growth. Through the lens of the world's largest study on emotional intelligence, Freedman unpacks the critical role of emotional intelligence in enhancing workplace dynamics, fostering meaningful connections, and driving effective leadership.
The dialogue delves into the nuances of emotional intelligence, revealing its pivotal role in navigating the complexities of modern work environments. Freedman emphasizes the tangible benefits of emotional intelligence, from improved employee engagement to heightened innovation, underscoring the importance of cultivating these skills within organizations and individuals alike.
Key moments of the podcast illuminate the transformative power of emotional intelligence in redefining leadership paradigms, advocating for a more empathetic, connected approach to managing teams and solving problems. Freedman's personal journey and his visionary work with Six Seconds offer an inspiring narrative, highlighting the actionable steps listeners can take to elevate their emotional intelligence and contribute to a more emotionally intelligent world.
This episode is not just an exploration of emotional intelligence but a call to action for leaders, professionals, and individuals to embrace emotional intelligence as a fundamental component of success and fulfillment in the digital age. Whether you're seeking to enhance your leadership skills, foster a more cohesive team environment, or embark on a journey of personal development, this conversation with Joshua Freedman offers invaluable insights and practical advice.
Diving into the heart of modern strategic planning, this special episode explores the challenges and opportunities in today's complex, VUCA environment. As we explore this landscape, we'll see why traditional strategic planning tools may no longer be sufficient in such a dynamic setting.
This episode shines a light on the "UNLEASH method," a groundbreaking approach that navigates through the volatile marketplace. This method integrates neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and positive psychology, offering a fresh perspective on goal attainment and strategy development. It questions the efficacy of quick fixes and emphasizes the need for thorough, well-considered strategies.
Our discussion will focus on the relevance of neuroscience in enhancing leadership and decision-making. By understanding biases and employing backward thinking, we aim to fortify our approach to business challenges. This session is an invitation to transition from dated methods to innovative, scientifically-backed planning techniques.
Beyond theoretical concepts, we're here to provide practical insights. The significance of regular strategic planning, continuous innovation, and engaging in a network of forward-thinking professionals will be highlighted, underscoring their importance for both personal and professional advancement.
Join us as we navigate the intricacies of the VUCA world, aiming to equip ourselves with the tools necessary for success. This session is an opportunity to transform your approach to strategic planning, embracing the future with insight and innovation. Let's embark on this journey together, stepping into a new era of business strategy and goal achievement.
Dive deep into the complexities of leadership with Adam Bryant on the Fast Leader Show! Discover the art of extracting every lesson from life's experiences, akin to wringing out a wet towel. Bryant unpacks the delicate balance leaders must strike between contradictory traits, shrewdly adapting to the uncertainty of our times. Learn why post-2020 leadership demands a keen ability to simplify complexity and ask pivotal questions in a world rife with volatility.
Reflect with Bryant on the necessity of pausing for introspection despite the relentless pace of modern leadership. Explore the insightful "due to say" ratio, a testament to a leader's trustworthiness, and navigate the nuances of managing upwards with brutal honesty. Gain perspective on personal growth as Bryant shares his journey from The New York Times reporter to a leadership maven, emphasizing the significance of authentic networking and understanding your unique leadership path.
Adam's candid discussion reveals the heightened demands on leaders today, urging aspiring managers to embrace the thrill of steering through rapid changes. As he reflects on his personal choices and the nature of ambitious leadership, Bryant challenges us to ponder the fundamental question: "Why do you really want to lead?"
Embark on this thought-provoking episode with Jim Rembach and Adam Bryant – it's an invaluable session for anyone looking to lead with insight, self-awareness, and authenticity.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Dr. Laura McGuire shares her insights on a range of topics, from emotional intelligence and inclusion to stress management and leadership development. She emphasizes the importance of consent, trauma-informed care, and human connection in fostering a positive work environment. Dr. McGuire also discusses the need for accountability and responsibility in addressing others' needs, as well as the challenges of bridging the generational divide in leadership.
One key takeaway is the significance of personalized communication in effective dialogue. Dr. McGuire highlights the importance of contextualizing and differentiating in order to achieve goals and foster understanding. She also shares her personal and academic goals, including pursuing a master's degree in Divinity and a doctorate in educational leadership for change.
Another key theme is the power of compassion and overcoming self-doubt in effective leadership. Dr. McGuire encourages leaders to embrace change and break free from cognitive dissonance, unlocking the potential of AI and other transformative technologies. She also emphasizes the value of building trust and connection in the workplace through effective communication and understanding emotional cues.
Overall, this episode offers valuable insights and practical tools for leaders looking to enhance their emotional intelligence, embrace change, and cultivate interconnectedness. Tune in to the Fast Leader Show to hear Dr. Laura McGuire's wisdom and learn how to unleash your leadership potential.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Jim Rembach welcomes Nicole Kyle, an expert in the contact center industry since the 1990s. Nicole seeks to understand the current challenges in the industry and explores three seismic challenges facing contact centers. While skill development has been a focal point, Nicole emphasizes the importance of career development and how the majority of agents now view their role as a long-term commitment.
Nicole introduces a competency model for leaders consisting of seven competencies, with a mix of hard and soft skills. This model emphasizes the significance of how leaders engage with their teams and work together, rather than just following processes. Their company offers certifications in these competencies, recognizing their value in developing effective leaders.
Flexibility is crucial in structuring career development, and Nicole's company uses a segmentation model to categorize employees based on their motivators. This enables them to tailor career development programs to individual needs. Moreover, Nicole expands on flexibility in the workplace, encouraging leaders to consider not only work location but also the type of work and distribution of tasks to prevent burnout and foster engagement.
Agent engagement and retention are major challenges for customer contact leaders due to the ongoing shift in the labor market. These challenges revolve around effective management dynamics, operationalizing flexibility, and offering flexibility that meets personal needs. Nicole's insights on leadership competencies, personalization, motivation strategies, and operationalized flexibility provide valuable guidance for industry professionals.
Tune in to this episode of Fast Leader Show to gain valuable insights on navigating the current challenges in the contact center industry and learn how to maximize agent engagement and retention. Get ready to rethink leadership and career development strategies for a future of flexible work.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Jim Rembach sits down with guest Tom Schmitt, CEO of a multi-billion dollar transportation company. Together, they dive into the valuable lessons learned from the past few years and how they can be applied in the business world. From the importance of flexibility and empathy to the role of ambition and passion, Tom shares insightful wisdom that can help listeners achieve re
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, we are joined by Oded Netzer, a Columbia Business School professor and Amazon Scholar. Oded, an expert in data-driven decision making, discusses common biases like overconfidence, availability, and confirmation bias that can hinder our use of data.
He introduces the powerful IWIC (I Wish I Knew) tool, which focuses on identifying key questions rather than complex statistical analysis. We delve into the concept of quantitative intuition, emphasizing the value of precision questioning, contextualizing data, and synthesizing information for decision making.
Oded reveals the importance of combining data with intuition and building teams that understand both business and data science. He also discusses his book, "Decisions over Decimals," which promotes starting with a decision and embracing uncertainty.
Finally, we examine the role of context in data analysis and the dangers of data without context. Join us as we navigate the nuanced world of data-driven decision making.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, we're excited to have Chuck Mollor – executive coach, consultant, and author of The Rise of the Agile Leader. Chuck shares various insights on the importance of leadership adaptability, understanding oneself, and teamwork in navigating complex challenges and change. He also discusses employee engagement, identifying cultural champions, and the need for leadership accountability.
Chuck emphasizes the relevance of having a strong company culture foundation, which can impact financial performance and differentiate the brand. He also delves into the topic of categorizing employees into various groups and emphasizes the importance of retaining top talent. Lastly, we touch on Chuck's book and its valuable insights for leadership. Tune in to this thought-provoking episode that will equip you with practical tips and strategies for effective leadership.
As leaders, we must recognize the power of data-backed insights when implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Understanding the unique needs of our organizations is crucial, and we can't simply rely on what has worked for others. By conducting listening sessions, refining career planning, and offering mentorship programs, we can promote DEI without needing a Chief Diversity Officer or extensive content.
When it comes to leadership growth, introspection and humility are key. We should focus on our personal journeys, learning from others outside our immediate circles, and striving to improve. Embracing this mindset allows us to better tackle systemic issues and foster a more inclusive environment.
A great example of effective education for leaders can be found in online leadership academies, particularly those geared toward frontline supervisors. They emphasize community building and quality learning while ensuring that the return on investment is taken into account. This holistic approach to training can help develop well-rounded leaders who value diversity and inclusion.
In the marketplace, diverse teams are essential for driving success and innovation. We should particularly admire and learn from women leaders, especially women of color, who bring unique perspectives and experiences to the table. By providing real-world solutions to executives' challenges and creating safe spaces for open discussions, we can cultivate a workplace that thrives on diversity and inclusion.
In summary, embracing data-backed insights, focusing on personal growth, and offering effective education are vital for leaders seeking to implement successful DEI strategies. By doing so, we can foster a diverse, inclusive, and productive work environment.
Resilience and leadership play vital roles in organizational success, with true leadership focusing on empowering others to be their best selves while pursuing a noble goal. In this episode, our guest Mike Watson delves into the habits and values that foster resilience in teams, emphasizing the importance of cultivating a culture of accountability and individual resilience.
Drawing on examples from the sports world, Mike highlights the significance of fostering a sense of belonging, accountability, and support. He also investigates the impact of childhood experiences on shaping one's resilience and character, offering insights into personal growth and understanding.
In this episode, gain valuable knowledge from Mike Watson on the connections between resilience and leadership, and learn how to nurture these qualities through intentional habits and values. By understanding the critical role of accountability and building an inclusive, supportive culture, you and your team can unlock your full potential and thrive in the face of adversity.
In today's fast-paced and ultra-competitive world, being a good leader is more important than ever. But how do you become a better leader when the competition is fierce and the stakes are high?
According to Lee J. Colan, author of Healthy Leadership: How to Thrive in the New World of Work, there are several key traits that great leaders possess. Here are a few tips to help you become a better leader:
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Develop a clear vision: A good leader has a clear idea of what they want to achieve and can communicate that vision to their team. This helps everyone stay focused and aligned towards the same goal.
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Build a strong team: It's important to surround yourself with talented and motivated people who share your vision. As a leader, your job is to inspire and empower your team to achieve great things.
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Communicate effectively: Clear and open communication is essential for any successful team. Make sure you are regularly communicating with your team and actively listening to their feedback.
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Lead by example: Great leaders set the tone for their team. By modeling the behaviors and values you want to see in others, you can create a positive and productive work environment.
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Embrace change: In today's world, change is constant. A good leader is adaptable and able to navigate through uncertainty and change with confidence and agility.
By developing these key traits, you can become a better leader and help your team thrive in an ultra-competitive world. Remember, leadership is a journey, and it takes time, effort, and commitment to develop these skills. But with the right mindset and a willingness to learn and grow, you can become the leader your team needs to succeed.
In this episode, Lee Colan shares his insights on how to become a better leader in today's ultra-competitive world. He discusses key traits of great leaders, including developing a clear vision, building a strong team, communicating effectively, leading by example, and embracing change. Join us as we learn from Lee's extensive experience and expertise in leadership development.
When companies don't foster open communication and establish regular, open conversations, they may experience inconsistency in customer experiences, decreased productivity, missed opportunities, low employee morale, and decreased customer satisfaction. These issues can negatively impact the success and growth of the business.
In this episode, David Avrin stresses the importance of regular, open conversations among team members to ensure consistent engagement with customers. He suggests that the purpose of these conversations is not to agree with each other, but to explore scenarios and come to a consensus as a company. This consensus helps create a consistent customer experience and sets a clear standard for how the business interacts with its customers. By fostering open communication and establishing a strong team culture, these conversations empowers businesses to create a positive and memorable customer experience.
The importance of emotions in attracting and retaining top talent in the workplace cannot be overstated. According to research, employees are more likely to stay with a company that encourages and values positive emotions, such as gratitude, appreciation, and hope, and is more likely to attract them to the organization. Employee satisfaction can be improved as a result of these emotions, which can result in a positive work culture.
The opposite effect can be achieved, however, when negative emotions are present, such as fear, anger, and anxiety. In the presence of toxic work environments characterized by negative emotions, high turnover rates and difficulty recruiting and retaining employees can occur.
As an organization, it is crucial to establish a positive work environment that fosters positive emotions and maintains a healthy work-life balance in order to attract and retain top talent, which leads to an increase in productivity and profitability.
In our latest episode, Dan Hill discusses the role of emotions in attracting and retaining top talent. Explore how cultivating positive emotions such as appreciation and gratitude can enhance employee satisfaction and create a positive work culture. Additionally, we examine the negative effects of emotions such as fear and anger on employee retention, as well as how to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Discover how to attract and retain top talent using emotions in our episode with Dan Hill.
Delivering great customer experiences is essential for any business that wants to be successful. In order to do so, it's important to focus on meeting and exceeding customer expectations, providing high-quality products and services, and building strong relationships with customers.
One way to deliver great customer experiences with less effort is to use technology and automation to streamline processes and improve efficiency. This can include using customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage customer interactions, automating routine tasks, and using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide personalized experiences. Additionally, investing in training and development for customer-facing employees can help ensure that they are equipped to deliver great experiences.
In this episode, Bill Price shares how to deliver great customer experiences with less effort. Learn how frictionless organizations create products and services that work so well, their customers never need to contact them for the wrong reason, reducing costs, increasing revenue, and creating loyal fans.
Persuasion and influence are essential skills for leaders to succeed in their professional lives. There is no doubt that every organization will face challenges, but with every challenge comes the opportunity to influence outcomes. When you need to win business, win support for a proposal, or persuade clients to sign a contract, it's your persuasive skills that will help you achieve your goals.
But how can you master such a skill? What is at the heart of it? What does it take to acquire and build influence and persuasion to the point where you are able to effectively use it to take your organization to the next level and shift from being a decent leader to being an exceptional one?
In this episode, Stephen McGarvey shares with us how you can ignite a shift to achieve greater results. He shares his experience and knowledge with regard to influence and persuasion and how you can effectively apply it to become an even better leader today.
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YouTube Copy Every leader has a story to share - successes, failures, life lessons, and humps that they have to go through. Each story takes them to different turning points in their lives that ultimately define the history and legacy of their life. While the scope and the definition may vary, every leader wishes to go through the pathway of success and fulfillment. After all, who doesn’t want to live a life in such a manner?
To those that may be starting out in their leadership journey, or even to those that are seasoned veterans, there is always a lesson to be learned from the path of another leader who has gone through many challenges in their life - who have gone through many events, many experiences, and many pathways.
In this episode, Steve White shares with us his remarkable journey from the housing projects to the board room and how he has come to the 7 pathways to success and fulfillment.
The topic of purpose is everywhere these days. People are talking about purpose. As passionate advocates, we’re delighted to see all the interest. Yet we’ve observed that many organizations are merely scratching the surface. They’re missing the full potential of the nature of purpose that can transform.
In this episode, Dianne will discuss the content of her book, ADAPT.
Assess - The journey starts and ends with external and internal assessment in an unending loop. Your ability to succeed is grounded in your ability to listen and discover.
Define - The definition phase is a company's moment of truth. Do you have a purpose statement, a campaign concept or a holistic approach to leading with purpose within your company?
Amplify - This section addresses the elephant in the room- "no one remembers my purpose." It is the planful guide to authentically aligning stakeholders and believably communicating your purpose story.
Perform - Performance is easily the most debated topic amongst purpose influencers, challengers and thought leaders. We review the growing body of research and give you practical next steps.
Transcend - Purpose is a competitive advantage - achieved and sustained through the very highest level of purpose consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to stakeholders and to transformative outcomes.
The capability to engage employees is one of the most vital components for business success, especially today when globally distributed workers are embracing multi-functional working structures. Through employee engagement, businesses are able to attract and retain more talent as well as increase corporate commitment to their goals.
In this episode, Steve addresses job functions, job essence, and how to make core values a part of these functions so that they are sustained, evolving, and progressing towards achieving these goals.
Racial disparity is more than just a hot topic on social media. Employees constantly face threats of social injustice and racial inequality at work, and leaders need to understand that in order for their organization to thrive, they must bolster their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and provide a safe space for their employees to talk about race at work.
In this episode, Kelly McDonald shares leadership insights on how to talk about race at work and what your organization can do to have conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion with your employees.
2021 has been a rough year for most of us. The world is just coming out of a pandemic, and the majority of leaders are facing a new reality. There are new challenges to face and the things done before may no longer apply today. In this episode, shares some of the lessons he’s learned from various leaders in faith, athletics, business, and life. He hopes that these stories will help inspire and challenge you to become the better leaders that God has designed you to be in 2022 and the year beyond.
Media consumption preferences have changed over the past few years. People want to consume information faster on their own terms. Traditional learning programs and long-form content is being replaced with quick, bite-sized information. With the next generation of leaders on the rise, equipping and enabling first-time leaders has become a challenge.
The wisdom to lead is buried in the minds of experienced leaders. The knowledge is hidden in books and scientific papers. With first-time leaders not knowing what they need, how do you fill the gap in leadership development?
In this episode, Darja Gutnick shares what first-time leaders need to know and the mindset shift to microlearning.
Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to achieve a common goal. Compassionate leadership is the type of leadership that takes into account the feelings and emotions of others. It is based on the idea that if we can understand and feel what others are feeling, then we can better lead them.
Compassion is a feeling of love or sympathy for others. We can show compassion towards others by doing things like being understanding and nonjudgmental, listening attentively, providing emotional support, and offering practical help.
Compassion is a vital ingredient for strong leadership, and it should be at the forefront of our minds whenever we make decisions that affect other people. The best leaders make everyone around them better — they help individuals reach their full potential, and they create an environment where innovation and creativity thrive.
Compassionate leadership has the potential to create a ripple effect on not only the local community but also on the world at large. When leaders take care of themselves, individuals, teams and organizations thrive. This type of environment creates less tension and more safety, support and challenges which can be stimulating to all parties involved.
Compassionate leadership is important because it creates a more positive and productive work environment. When employees feel that their leaders care about them and their well-being, they are more likely to be productive and feel appreciated. Compassionate leaders are also more likely to be successful because they have a team that is willing to go the extra mile for them.
In this episode, Donato J. Tramuto shares more about compassionate leadership and how you can lead with compassion.
Change is the only thing constant in the world. No matter what you do, change is inevitable. It can happen externally – out of your control – but it can also happen internally – within your control. But no matter what form change may take place, the question is, what are you going to do about it? Will you remain stagnant or will you take the opportunity to allow change to make you better? Remember, progress is optional.
With the change brought about by the pandemic, the majority of people have been forced into working at home. While working at home offered a solution to allow employees to work despite the lockdown, it has also brought about problems regarding work-life balance, or what Mark puts it, work-life blending.
The problem with working at home is that the line between work and home is often blurred. It has caused problems with remote workers and the majority has not found a solution for it. No boundaries have been set and oftentimes employees end up overworking and hurting their work life and home life. So, how do we deal with this problem? How do we create a healthy work-life balance without the lies and secrets of today?
In this episode, Mark Briggs share about the butterfly impact and how one small positive change you make internally can have a massive ripple effect externally. Similar to the butterfly effect, the butterfly impact is all about minor internal changes causing external significant results. The butterfly effect is about allowing you to achieve the work-life balance you are looking for, thereby allowing you to thrive and flourish in your personal life and excel in your professional life. Listen in as Mark shows you how.
We live in a world of infinity. We have an infinite amount of things we can do at any one moment. As responsible individuals, we try to take care of all the opportunities and requests that come our way. Try as we might, there is a point where there are no more hours in the day and we just hit this ceiling of complexity. What do you do when you can’t go any further when you can’t go any faster? Do you just spend your life jammed up against this ceiling of complexity? In this episode, Richard Medcalf shares how you can change your mindset and learn how to pause and approach things differently. As he says in the podcast, you can’t change gears when your foot is on the accelerator. Learn how to take a different approach.
We've heard the saying, "let's address the elephant in the room." These large, significant things that we deliberately ignore, but must be addressed. We certainly give importance to them because they are, of course, significant.
However, there are certain things in life that are smaller, more insignificant, and more subtle that we sometimes don't notice or just deliberately ignore. We think they won't make a huge difference in our lives, and little do we know that those small things add up and make a huge impact later on. And unless we deal with them now, we won't be able to control the consequences later. As the saying goes, we must "nip it in the bud."
So, how do we identify these seemingly small, insignificant things? How do we address the mice in the room? Listen on.
In this episode, David Wood helps us address the mice in the room.
Are you struggling to meet your revenue goals? Are you trying so hard to sell your products and services?
Chances are, you’re pouring more time, money, and effort into sales and marketing. And although it’s not necessarily wrong, it doesn’t have to be that hard - there is an easier and better way.
Instead of focusing on acquiring new customers focus on retaining your current ones and delivering a remarkable customer experience. And your leadership is important in creating really wonderful customer experiences.
As Dan says in the podcast, it's similar to a leaky bucket. If most of your customers leave the moment they buy your product or service, your sales and marketing have to do double the effort to replace the lost one and acquire a new one.
In this episode, Dan Gingiss shares more about how you can create a remarkable customer experience for your customers that not only makes them stay, but also share your company with others.
Misalignment is one of a company's biggest sicknesses. It constantly drags down results and reduces profitability. Instead of just accepting the symptoms of misalignment, you could have sustained results. All it takes is to align your company's strategy, culture, and operations.
The key to success is to change team mindsets, measure team outcomes, and monitor progress. That's all there is to it.
In this episode, Wayne Washington shares his experience on how your company can apply these changes and achieve proper alignment to reach strategic goals.
Every human being has the potential to become their best selves. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the control system limits our potential. It is very important for every individual to develop their own internal motivation in order to realize their full potential.
In this episode, Judy Ryan shares her responsibility-based approach in the human system where people are intrinsically motivated to develop their true selves and unleash their full potential.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). These three words pop up almost everywhere. Every modern workforce has a discussion revolving around these three words, but what exactly is the difference between diversity, equity, and inclusion? What does it mean?
If you are an executive leader, you have to understand that the workforce today faces a huge problem with regards to psychological safety, and how a business handles diversity, equity, and inclusion may directly affect its bottom line.
Listen to Omar L. Harris as he shares his thoughts on DEI and how you can be more inclusive
What do effective leaders do when they’re at their personal best? Our guest today has done all the research, and he outlines five exemplary leadership practices that leaders display when they’re at their personal best:
- Model the way
- Inspire a shared vision
- Challenge the process
- Enable others to act
- Encourage the heart
In this episode, Jim Kouzes sheds light on the five exemplary leadership practices and how leaders can use them to overcome the most difficult challenges.
The goal of transformative influence is always to make other people better. However, there is a void in trust in the marketplace today - people no longer trust each other. Employees don’t trust management, employees don't trust the board, and investors don't trust the employees and the board. As a result, transformation is almost impossible.
As a leader, if you want to build trust, you need to understand that it’s not about you. It’s about the influence you have on other people. It’s all about trying to make other people better.
If you can make them better, you’ll be surprised to see that they will actually perform for you.
In this episode, Walt Rakowich shares his experience on transformative influence and the steps you can take to transform your team and make your organization better.
The CEO Test is a list of 7 questions written by Adam Bryant to help you reflect and evaluate yourself in how well you are performing in your current leadership role. Let’s face it, being a top leader is a tough job. There are lots of pressures, challenges, and responsibilities that you carry alone. From time to time, we need to reevaluate ourselves whether we are staying competent and effective in our current roles.
Adam Bryant shares the many different challenges that top CEOs face and how you can face these challenges and navigate through them. He's interviewed over 600 CEOs, and you'll be surprised to know that these challenges are hardly unique to top executives.
If you're discouraged and disengaged, I want to help you to be hopeful. I'd like to encourage you to learn from the wisdom and experience from these top executives and how you can learn from them and apply them in your current leadership role.
You may be running a company right now and you're calling yourself an entrepreneur. That's great, but do you have an entrepreneurial mindset?
What's the difference between the two you may ask?
Depending on how you think, you might be running a business that simply earns the least possible margins on a transactional basis, or a business that knows how to leverage the true worth or value that its products and services bring to the market. Read on and I'll explain more.
Let's start with defining what an entrepreneur is. An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business.
An entrepreneurial mindset is a set of skills that enable people to identify and make the most of opportunities, overcome and learn from setbacks, and succeed in a variety of settings.
In short, "entrepreneur" is a title that easily gets thrown around by anyone. Being entrepreneurial is an attitude. It's the behavior that separates out the ones who are truly successful, and it's being entrepreneurial.
I don't care what your title is right now, but you need to start to be entrepreneurial.
You need to develop this entrepreneurial mindset in order to build a highly profitable, fast-growth company. And Kent Billingsley, helps you do that.
According to a study by KPMG, 53% of executives do not realize sustainable value from business transformation. I assume the reason for this is that they focus so much on changing the business and the operational model that they forget the one thing they can change - self. If you want to see a breakthrough happen in your business, then you must change within and not force it on others. Transformational leadership is all about changing yourself and inspiring others to change.
Customers are becoming smarter and wiser, and their behaviors and expectations are the most influential source of insights. As leaders, you must change and become more empathetic and understanding of their needs. According to Nick Jankel, it's not just about your clever product. Change is about empathy, connection, trust, and customer-focus. You must develop a culture that is adaptive and quick to respond to the changing customer and their needs. If you cannot solve a pain that people cannot solve for themselves, you do not have a business.
We have all heard the maxim, “The customer is always right.” Top companies like Amazon lays the foundation of their success on customer-centricity and customer-focus. We believe that a happy customer is the heart of any organization. But how do you make them feel valued? Most of the time, it relies on your people leadership – your employee experience.
According to a report by Gallup, a global analytics firm, engaged workers have significantly higher productivity, profitability, and customer rating than disengaged workers. There is no doubt that leadership is important in creating wonderful customer experience.
In this episode, Jonathan Raymond shares how you can lead your people and develop that people-centric culture in your organization.
With most of our audience working in the customer experience industry, I asked Cheryl China some of her best tips and advice for leaving behind an unforgettable legacy in CX and how to be happier and more successful in the workplace.
Some leaders have been working in the customer experience industry for years and have not left a positive legacy to their team members and employees. They leave behind negative thoughts and memories and retire miserable and unhappy.
I understand that work can be toxic, and we can get lost in the moment, but it is important that we detach ourselves and reevaluate our career paths sometimes. Where are we headed and what are we working for?
These career advice not just apply to the overall leadership, but also to employees as well. Some of these things might sound cliché, but you’ll be surprised to know that not many people actually do them:
- Be willing to move sideways in your career.
- Don't hesitate to take risks.
- Don't let perfection hold you back.
- Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions.
- Learn from your mistakes but don't wallow in them.
- Always represent and protect your brand and your reputation.
- Engage, network, and build relationship.
- Know that what you say and do matters.
- Be kind to others.
There is no doubt that a successful organization runs on inspired and positive people. As a leader, it is your job to make sure your team members are inspired and that you are a positive influence to them. Team members that are positive can serve customers better and create a more wonderful customer experience.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Glenn Parker shows us how you can have that positive influence on others. Positive influence leaders see the good in someone else. They help them become better and position them for success.
According to Glenn, there are four types of positive influence leaders:
- Supportive positive influence leader
- Teacher positive influence leader
- Motivating positive influence leader
- Role Model positive influence leader
You might be a mix of either one of them, but the most transformational one will encapsulate all of them and inspire positive change.
Have you ever wondered why geese fly in a V-formation? Scientists gives us two explanations, and we can actually learn a lot important collaborative leadership lessons from them!
First, it's about energy conservation. Each geese fly just a little bit above the bird in front of him in order to reduce wind resistance. They each take turns being in front and fall back whenever they get tired. This allows them to fly longer distances without stopping to rest.
The second is that it allows them to keep track of everyone. The V-formation allows each bird to communicate and coordinate with each other, which is also the reason why fighter jets also fly in this formation.
These are the secrets in why geese are able to successfully migrate from one place to another, and if you apply them in your organization, you can be surprised how positively it can impact your customer experience strategy.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Dr. Edward Marshall expounds on this more and shares other important leadership skills for you to apply in your strategy and organization.
They may not be in the frontlines talking directly with the customers, but a leader's influence to the team impacts the way an agent performs and how they deliver the customer experience, which is why leadership is important. According to Dr. David Arrington, "Everything a leader does impacts the organization. It all trickles down. If you have solid leadership at the top and set those priorities that the customer is important from that perspective, people from that organization will follow that line."
Playing at work have been traditionally unacceptable in the workplace. As adults, we think playing is childish and working meant being serious all the time. However, based on what we see from top performing companies in the world today, play has been an important aspect in their success. Play has led to innovation of products like Gmail, Google Meet, and many others. So, if you are a call center executive or have a call center business, should you allow or encourage playing at work? Does play make a positive impact in your customer experience strategy?
Listen as Jeff Harry helps you rediscover your play. Playing is not merely having fun at work and wasting time and reducing productivity. Playing encourages fun and allows your employees to feel positive, thereby leading to enhanced creativity and a more positive customer experience.
Character Development in CX is one of the foundations for being able to deliver the best possible experience for the customer. People never forget the way they are treated by others, and each person wants to be treated with respect, dignity, and truth. Every single customer wants and deserves to be treated with integrity. And integrity only comes from someone with a healthy spiritual character.
So, what is character? How do you develop character in your agents and from within your call center? In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Jim Loehr shares how to do that. Listen as he expounds on how to lead with character.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Dennis Geelen shares his insights on the importance of customer-centric innovation and why you should apply it in your call center or business today. According to research, 75% of businesses don't make it past year 15. Dennis Geelen believes that the cause for this is that companies are too inward-focused and are too stubborn. In order for a call center or business to survive and thrive, they must become outward focused or customer-centric, and they must deal with their stubbornness by being innovative. Listen to this episode as Dennis Geelen shares more about customer-centric innovation.
In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Nir Bashan shares his knowledge and insight in how to be more creative in your contact center and help fill the creativity gap in your customer experience strategy. Leaders and executives today struggle to find new and innovative ideas to meet the customer's needs because they focus too much on the analytical side and forget to be creative - this is the creativity gap that we are trying to solve. According to Nir, being creative is one of the most important aspects if you want your agents to perform better and be more empathetic to the customer. Listen as Nir shares more of his insights in how to have the creator mindset!
Coaching for leaders and managers is essential to drive peak performance for your call center and business. According to Bill Eckstrom, the most effective leader behaves more like a coach. So, how exactly do you behave that way and what do great leaders do to increase sales, enhance performance, and sustain growth? In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Bill Eckstrom lays out the strategies and tactics for you to apply coaching for leaders and managers. Learn how you can become more comfortable with discomfort and its importance in your call center and team's growth.
A good strategic plan is never enough unless you are able to drive results from them. Any call center or business can develop a good strategic plan, but not everyone can drive results and execute on them. So, how do you exactly develop a good strategic plan that drives results? How do you take action and get those gears in place and get your strategic plan from strategy to execution to results? In this episode of the Fast Leader Show, Sean T. Ryan of WhiteWater International Consulting, shares his actionable advice on how exactly you can do that!
The goal of a creative leader should always be to drive innovation for business. However, innovation for business is something very difficult to do on a consistent basis. Where do you get the inspiration? How do you exercise your creativity muscles that enable you to drive consistent innovation for business? In this episode of the Fast Leader Podcast, Cliff Goldmacher shows you a way to stay creative using principles in music and songwriting! Cliff shares the similarities between songwriting and innovation and how it applies for your business.
What is Organizational Health? What does it do and how does it positively impact an organization? In companies today, the focus has mostly been on being smart and being more intelligent. Everything is about technology and streamlining processes and tasks. However, according to Greg Ablett, that is not the only factor that contributes to a company's overall performance. Organizational health is important because it allows the company to operate without politics and confusion. It allows the company to perform better and helps team members become smarter therefore outperforming the competition.
Listen to this episode as Greg Ablett shares more about organizational health and its practical benefits and importance.
Tom Connally was struggling with his work and he realized that he needed to change and bring his performance with his values. In order to do that, Tom started writing and journaling and doing small, incremental changes that eventually led to where he is now and made him a better person.
When Dr. Quinn was in the 6th grade, there was a popular boy in school who was good at basketball and almost every cute cheerleader loved him. Due to certain circumstances, he had to leave the school, and Dr. Quinn, wanting to be loved by the cheerleaders as well, saw it as an opportunity to replace him and become the best basketball player he could be. After working really hard, Dr. Quinn didn’t see any results, as even though he became the best basketball player, the cheerleaders still didn’t love him or notice him. But something else happened for the first time in his life. He realized he could set a goal and pursue it and turn into somebody new. And from his role as a point guard, he learned that it’s about making everyone else better. Although he never achieved his goal of becoming loved by the cheerleaders, Dr. Quinn learned something even more profound in his life.
Dave McKeown was about to speak on one of his first workshops when he was faced with the dilemma of not having enough money to pay the hotel bill. Not wanting to borrow money from his girlfriend (now wife), Dave put together his very first webinar where he was able to earn enough money to cover for his hotel bill. From that experience, Dave learned to always invoice his client 50% upfront and that whatever challenge he faced, there will always be an answer out there.
Nathanael Zurbruegg has been chronically ill since he was 3 years old. He has been through 3 failed kidney transplants, over 4300 Dialysis treatments, and 3 lung infections. Doctors have said he shouldn't be alive for 6 times by now!
Having been through this many challenges in life, Nathanael shares his strategy of having a victorious mindset in life and having an attitude of never giving up. No matter how hard life may get, there is still hope. It's important not to focus on the negative, but instead focus on the positive. Listen to this episode as Nathanael Zurbruegg shares how we can have a victorious mindset that can overcome life's greatest challenges.
Patrick S. Frazier was working in IT when he got promoted into Operations. Filling in the new seat, Patrick experienced many struggles in leadership, specifically in delegation. He tried to delegate, but the result was a bad employee experience. His boss visited him and spent some time with him to share some wisdom regarding having the courage to let others fail. Through this experience, Patrick learned a valuable lesson in leadership which he now carries on to this day in his coaching practice.
Ty Montague had a career in advertising before getting into the business transformation business. He was doing very well in that job and was finding great success, except for the fact that he hated it. For Ty, the day-to-day activities was not satisfying and it seemed like he was just adding more problems to the world. He was able to get over the hump when Ty faced his fears of leaving the company and starting his own business and making positive change for other people.
Ryan Coon’s company was facing a major decision in choosing which part of their market they wanted to focus on. There was a great divide between them, and it was a great challenge to try and fix it. In order to resolve this situation, Ryan Coon got over the hump by talking to the customers and getting feedback from them and simply using that feedback to drive the company forward.
Dan Bruder was asked to start a bank during his early 20s. He didn't have any experience yet, but he didn't back down to the challenge either. In order to accomplish this, he needed to work harder than anybody else. He didn't have any idea about multiplicative leadership where he could do more with others, and he only focused on how he could do things better by himself. While working on this role, Dan realized the potential of success through the help of others when he hired a second-in-command that was really talented. However, after a year, this person quit. Her reason was that the role was not challenging enough. Dan was putting on too much of the responsibility to himself making her job too easy and squashed her potential and inhibited her ability to be great. From that experience, Dan got over the hump and learned a very valuable lesson in delegating and helping others activate their own potential.
David Wachs was working for a venture capital firm back in 2004-2005 when he got fired by his boss for allegedly losing some stocks. Not having any money left, David moved back to his home in Arizona and started his first company, Cellit, which quickly became a huge success. It was initially a struggle to launch the company at first, but David got over the hump by trusting in himself and working hard, which eventually resulted to the company’s success.
Jan-Benedict Steenkamp was doing very well in the academe when he hit a hump in his life. He was regularly writing many academic publications but became dispirited and demotivated when he was not able to see how his publications could move the needle in someone else’s life. Through reinventing himself, JB started writing business books where leaders and managers could read what he wrote and make a positive impact in their lives. Despite facing opposition from others around him, JB continues to do what he loves and make a positive impact to those around him.
Nate Regier was trying to sell to a particular CEO who kept poking holes in everything he was saying. Nate was trying to backpedal and explain but things just kept getting worse and worse. Finally, the CEO pushes Nate to the point where Nate decides not to compromise any further because it would no longer make him feel any integrity in the work that he provides.
After seemingly being kicked out from the office, Nate was surprised when the CEO called him and says he's hired. The CEO appreciated his conviction to stand up for what he truly believed in. From that experience, Nate learned that if he wants to be a top leader, he needs to be able to go toe to toe with the worst and to have the backbone to never compromise with his beliefs.
After the IBM Watson team won the Jeopardy challenge, Neil Sahota was fighting for the ecosystem model to try to open up the platform. A lot of the people was trying to engage the tech people, but Neil was trying to target the businesspeople. According to Neil, the businesspeople understood the problems more, they were on the ground, and if they were trying to build solutions, they were the people that need to be at the table with the technologists. Neil initially lost that fight, but he never gave up.
Neil convinced them that if they had five of the best technologists in the world then they would be thinking about self-driving cars and missions to Mars, but if they had five of the best doctors in the world then they would be thinking about curing cancer. What if they were to put them together?
During that epiphany moment, people realized the amazing impact that technology can bring across every sector if they were to join together business and technology. This amalgam between business and technology became one of Neil's biggest humps that he was able to overcome.
While he was in college, Jeff DeGraff had a whole series of events that would change his life forever. Every time his life blew up (whether it was having no place to live or not having any money) Jeff would start looking around to what was available to him and to do everything he can with what he had. He realized that he didn't think or act like other people did and had to do things a bit differently and creatively. It was from his mistakes that he learned to accept the various things he was naturally good at and to consider them as gifts and to stop trying to become somebody he was not.
Aaron McHugh was experiencing a lot of difficulties in his life, particularly with his career, his kids, and his daughter's health. During that time, one of his buddies came and said to him, "You might not be able to change your circumstance but you can own your atmosphere." It completely changed him and made him take this idea of taking ownership of the atmosphere of his life. Aaron learned that it's about starting small and taking 2° changes that will eventually build up and lead to somewhere else.
Gregg Ward was working with a colleague who he became best buddies with. They would hang out, party, and spend time together, but after some performance slip-ups, Gregg (who was the leader of the organization) was put in a position where he needed to deal with the issues that his friend was having at work. Because their relationship was not based on respect, his colleague did not agree with his decision and things went ugly from there. From that mistake Gregg realized how important respect is between any relationship whether personal or professional.
Alan Willett was employed in a corporation and felt miserable about the job. Then, he came to a realization that all the work that he was doing was actually for himself and the greater good. Having shifted his mindset, Alan Willett returned to his work having the ability to say no and not just doing everything they wanted him to do. Alan took ownership of his job and the results went really well. He was now happier in his work.
Louis Carter was working for a group of people who locked him in an office to do all of their work until three in the morning. He tried to escape, but the door was locked and there was an alarm in the way. He didn't have a key and didn't know the code. He was able to get out with a little help from the police. Through that experience, Louis vouched to never work again for somebody like that. He confronted them and left the group and was able to get over the hump.
Lolly Daskal shares her insights on the many ways a leader can lead from within. Throughout her career, she experienced many humps to overcome, and although leading from within may not be easy, there are certainly many tools and techniques that can help your life more meaningful and memorable.
Luis Pedroza was in a foreign country facing challenges in growing a product from an established brand. The company he was working with was seeing the competitive environment in an outdated way and growth was not that easy anymore. By showing them a new future or having them look at a new lens, Luis was able to reframe the company's perspective and eventually lead them to success.
Amy Posey had an opportunity to talk and meet with a tech startup team. In order to spark them up and make them think, Amy experimented working with weird cutouts and novel items that left the people stunned and confused. Coming in with these weird and ridiculous items, the items became memory triggers and anchor points for the listeners. Because of how different and weird it was, it made her more memorable than anyone else and her talk stuck into her listener's minds.
David Dye experienced the lowest moments of his leadership when he was first promoted in a middle-level management position. During one team lunch, the things he was communicating to his team was falling on deaf ears as the things he was asking did not feel relevant to them. After realizing his mistake, David learned that he was executing his own vision and did not ask the team what their vision was. It was his wake-up call. He learned that it's not just about his own vision, but about their vision together as a team. It helped him get over the hump of needing to engage his people. Today, David is sharing his experiences to help other leaders become better versions of themselves and teaching them that together they are able to build something much stronger and much more cohesive.
The arrival of David Finkel's children was a complete shock to him. He never changed a diaper, never fed a child, and totally had no idea what to do. He was very busy being a father. At the same time, he was still owning a business. Not wanting to miss those precious moments with his children, David realized that he needed to make a change in the way he ran his business. He needed to run the business more intelligently. This led to the creation of the freedom formula. Applying what he has learned from this experience, David is now able to successfully manage his time and energy. As a result, David is able to achieve better business success and at the same time have a better life.
Peter Economy previously managed a small group of around 12 people. After being placed to a new position, he was suddenly required to manage around 400-500 people. The task was very daunting at first, but after realizing that he had key people working for him to help manage the other people, he realized he was able to delegate most of the tasks and not have to micromanage everything. His job was easier because of it and he was able to get over the hump.
Going through this current pandemic, Tim Clark learned that a crisis has the unique ability to liquify the status quo. There is always an opportunity in the calamity. Take advantage of the current state we're in and shift the culture now while it's in a fluid state.
Vince Molinaro experienced a defining moment early in his career when he saw a respected colleague and mentor succumb to cancer that she believed was the byproduct of a stressful, toxic work environment. That was a defining moment for him, and as a result, he has made it his life’s work to boldly confront mediocre and unaccountable leadership.
Kevin Vallely was travelling with his family at the McKenzie River, when a lone wolf suddenly approached their tent. Surprised and afraid, Kevin fired shots at the wolf to make it go away. After a few shots, the wolf did go away, leaving his family unscathed. The surprise encounter with the wolf left them a frightful impression, and they questioned whether to stop their adventure or not. They ultimately decided to continue on their journey. They recognized why that wolf acted the way it did, and through that process, brought experience and empowerment to their family. Because of that experience, they have learned the importance of pushing through and becoming stronger for it.
About 5 years ago, Karin Hurt had everything in her life crash all at the same time. Karin had just left her executive role at Verizon to start her own company. In trying to run her startup, Karin invested a lot of money into it but did not really get the clients or returns she needed. There was a massive learning curve and it required a lot of courage and energy to make everything work. In the midst of all that, her mother got extremely sick and died. Everything in her life seemed to be falling apart. Not willing to quit, she courageously moved forward one day at a time. Today, Karin and her husband are the founders of Let’s Grow Leaders, a leadership training and consulting firm in Maryland. Recently named on Inc’s list of Most Innovative Leadership Speakers and American Management Association’s 50 Leaders to Watch, Karin Hurt helps leaders from around the world achieve breakthrough results without losing their souls.
Patrick Schwerdtfeger has made plenty of mistakes in his life, and a majority of those mistakes happened because he tried plenty of different things in his life. Yet, despite his many failures, Patrick never stopped and continued coming back. Patrick learned that if you truly want to be successful in business and life then you must be willing to try new things and be willing to accept the risk of failure. You must be willing to be a bold leader and stand up for what you believe to be right, especially during these times.
Doug Conant was recruited to work as the General Manager for a division in RJR Nabisco. After a rough first meeting with the chairman, Lou Gerstner, which turned out to be a test, Doug discovered how important it is to have the courage of your convictions and with all humility just stand up and be counted.
With the current pandemic going on, Annette Franz goes through this difficult situation with the help of her two teenage boys who lives together with her and shares some quality time with each other.
Tamara Ghandour was faced with a business challenge that needed the perspective of others. Focused on the outcome, Tamara was unable to generate a lot of ideas from the team members. She instead focused on rewarding the behavior of giving ideas, no matter how ridiculous the ideas were, and was able to come up with more innovative solutions.
Steve Brown was unsure where to go next in his career. Being given the advice to follow his passions and do the thing that he loves, Steve started his own company, Possibility and Purpose. Today, Steve is doing the things he is most passionate about helping businesses understand how the technologies of today can lead to a better tomorrow.
Chuck Swoboda was working in a big company that was supposed to be an innovator. Seeing the bureaucracy and the senior leaders not really upholding the company's core values, Chuck became frustrated and left the company. He went on and worked in a smaller company, eventually becoming the CEO, and did everything opposite of what a big company would do and found success through innovation.
Paul Pagnato was working in the financial industry when the financial crisis hit. With the lack of transparency in the industry, people no longer knew if it was all going to work out for them. Unable to stand this lack of transparency, Paul took the courage to leave the industry to become an entrepreneur and bring transparency to the financial world.
Mark W. Johnson spent his beginning days trying to drive disruptive innovation for organizations, but the innovation they were trying to drive never really took root in their own organization. After a long time, he realized that innovation without a strategy behind it is going nowhere, and for a strategy to be successful, it requires a long-term, holistic approach to leadership, strategy, and innovation.
John Eades did not feel excited about his work. Having a passion for professional development, he started his own learning technology company, but failed when his leadership weaknesses were exposed. Despite his failure, he transitioned his business to focus less on technology and more on elevating others to success. Now, John Eades leads a company that develops leaders and creates healthier places to work.
JT McCormick didn't have a great place to grow up. He was surrounded by poor role models and was given every reason to give up. Despite almost every odd stacked against him and nothing to bolster his success, he found a pathway out that very few explore. Now, his organization is known for delivering an exceptional customer experience and being a great place to work and JT shares his story to inspire others how to get there.
Chester Elton got over the hump when he began to assume people had positive intent and became even more grateful for the things he had.
Dan Hill is a facial decoder that has experienced times when he’s not been able to practice emotional intelligence as much as he would like. But Dan is a master facial coder and uses his skills to detect opportunities to exceed customer expectations, build rapid rapport, and to see opportunities that most people are blind to.
Ryan Gottfredson came to appreciate his deep learning about mindsets because it’s much more fulfilling and rewarding than learning about them due to being in crisis. Now he’s spreading the word about mindsets to help enlighten others.
Pam McLean came to realize that being a good coach or a good leader is not enough to coach anyone. Today, we need great coaches and leaders that can navigate complex issues and ambiguous situations and, most importantly, be adaptable. And it all starts with their internal landscape.
Alex Castro found that ninety percent of his clients were not in a position of readiness when he was brought in to help with growing and transforming their businesses. As a result, he started to leverage a readiness assessment as part of the onboarding process that helped to avoid strategic debacles.
Emilia DiMenco is making a bigger impact in smaller ways. After completing a 30-year career as an executive vice president for a large commercial bank, she now serves the capital, loans, programs, and services that support and accelerate women's business ownership and their impact on the economy.
Stan Silverman learned so much working for his tyrant, more so had he not worked for him. Luckily for others, Stan persevered this experience. Eventually, he was promoted above his tyrant, and within three weeks of his promotion, he had cause and terminated him.
Rishad Tobaccowala stepped back from the brink of data overload by developing practical tools and frameworks that assisted his organization to properly put data in its place. He now teaches others to combine their emotional intelligence with their data intelligence and to focus beyond the short-term tendencies that many businesses fall victim to.
Susan Fowler shares new research on the science of motivation. When she shared these findings with the CEO of one of the world’s largest financial institutions and John Calipari, University of Kentucky Men's Basketball Coach, they immediately changed how they led their people.
David McCourt was with two other Irishmen in a bar. But there was no joking around when he began whining about not getting paid for some contracting work his company did. His friends told him to stop whining and to go do something. David has spent the rest of his life doing a lot and is now pushing people to blow up their model and do a total rethink.
Colin D Ellis gambled everything to launch a new business. As he struggled with clients not signing up, he lost his confidence and started to lose belief in his vision. Deciding to never give up he found a way to motivate himself and now helps others to invigorate their teams and transform their organizations.
Gleb Tsipursky and his wife set out to start a non-profit. But quickly they began to experience a lot of conflict trying to move things forward. Determined to successfully collaborate, they work to finally realize they had very different viewpoints and prospective on how to solve their problems. And they also came to realize they both had issues with judgement errors. Now they help others to avoid their own decision-making disasters.
John DiJulius, III looked back on mistakes and regrets and found a pattern. He’s always been the underdog, and when he takes that chip off his shoulder and feels he deserves the recognition he’s received; he ends up in a bad place.
Darren Gold decided to forgive his mother, but she did nothing wrong. Thankfully, he realized how unfair and unjust he had been and how holding a grudge was disserving. He was learning how to master his code.
Mary Lippitt was trying to influence her bosses and was rejected. When she was able to finally meet with the top executive, she realized she needed to open her mind and to recognize that her facts contained many gaps and she needed to adjust her thinking.
Jack Modzelewski had to be the advocate for what had to be done and the counselor, but also a peacekeeper in the room when the CEO turned combative and argumentative. It was time for speed and reassuring the public and customers they were going to do the right things.
Jono Bacon started his journey of building communities as a fledgling young rock star in the UK. As a result of living up to his parent’s expectations he now provides expertise and advice in this latest era of business. As an expert in community strategy, management, and collaboration Jono works with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and governments across the globe.
Liz Bywater learned how to pivot her career after reflecting on her strengths and opportunities. She now teaches others how to slow down so they are able to speed up and move onward and upward faster.
Scott Warrick had a client that all of a sudden stopped communicating with him. After several attempts to connect without response, Scott learned he said something that offended someone during a workshop. After losing a lot of sleep, he resolved himself to the fact that he needed to take care of himself to move forward.
Joe Dunlap had an old-school training mindset and found himself in an organization that was losing to its competition. That’s when Joe challenged himself and his team to “stop training” and to start gathering insight into ways they could add value to employees and meet them where they are in their learning and development journey.
Omar L Harris coasted on his own individual talent early in his career. The first time he led a team, he began to carry the performance of the team on his shoulders. This caused him to be hospitalized and suffer from panic attacks. Finally, he realized he needed to trust his people and put them in the right place to win.
Charles Conn used a really simple tool to solve the problems for a company with thousands of employees. It was this humble beginning which now finds Charles on a quest to solve the problems of the world.
Risto Siilasmaa led Nokia in one of the most successful and largest corporate transformations ever. He creates Paranoid Optimism in keeping the organization out of bankruptcy to thriving in a rapidly changing marketplace.
Elise Keith found herself leading teams that fell apart. As part of her efforts to improve she learned she needed to spend more time connecting in meetings instead of being impatient and direct. Now, she teaches others systems and practices to conduct more successful meetings.
Chris Griffiths sold his company at the age of 26 and thought that he had the knowledge to turn anything into gold. After losing his home and several cars he learned that it’s not knowledge that creates success, but instead it’s the ability to improve your creative thinking skills.
Tamra Chandler had just bought into a partnership and lost all of her equity when the firm experienced a forced closure. Tamra responded by building a successful organization elsewhere and has continued positively impact the lives of colleagues and clients. She’s now on a mission to reboot feedback.
Jeff Grimshaw, author of Five Frequencies, was treating his life like a dress rehearsal for the real thing. He finally realized this and it became the catalyst for him to put things into perspective, make some tough decisions, and do something different.
Lonnie Wilson was working with a client on a culture transformation and was staring failure right in the face. Then he received a piece of advice from his Pastor that enabled him to step back and work on guiding the transformation at a much smaller scale to move forward faster.
Steve Coughran came into a 50-year old organization with a lot of systems and legacy things in place. Needing to innovate, Steve began to break things down into small pieces, executing on them and gaining team confidence and repeating the process.
Andrew Tarvin tries to look at any situation differently. From being the teacher’s pet to becoming the corporate humorist at Proctor & Gamble, Drew has worked to continually hone his skill of bringing humor to work and helping others to make the workplace more engaging, one smile at a time.
Leslie Peters was testing herself to be perfect and realized she needed to be on her own quest. She reminded herself not to set expectations that keep her from doing things but instead have a sense of possibility.
Steve Pacinelli was in a rut for the first several years in his career. Then he began to work with a leader that showed him that is was possible to get “the numbers” and do it in a more compassionate, kind and friendly way. His career really started to skyrocket when he learned to care more about people and less about the numbers.
Chris Duffey started as a content creator and creator of digital customer experiences and he witnessed first-hand the power of the intersection of human creativity amplified by artificial intelligence. But nothing prepared him for the moment when the publisher asked for the next chapter and all he had was a blank page.
Claudette Rowley was in a toxic workplace that caused her to undergo a lot of soul searching and a career change. She was so impacted by her experience that she now coaches organizations to create their own cultural brilliance.
Nicolaj Siggelkow thought technology was an important in connected strategies until he realized the more important factor was that organizations trying to be customer centric required customers to stitch together their experience with different organizational departments.
John Ngo was a first responder, emergency room supervisor and gun battle survivor that learned how to get a small ounce of respect daily. All of his experiences have led him to better understand the power of relationships in the customer experience and finding the balance with automation.
Jim Harter was able to focus and achieve his doctoral degree while working full time. Today, as the Chief Scientist, Workplace for Gallup he leads organizations to be more successful with the changing demands of the workforce.
Lee Colan didn’t shut up. He thought he was a good listener, but a friend shared with him after a meeting that he didn’t really hear what people had to say. That’s when Lee realized he had to work on his skillset and his mindset. Now he shares this insight in helping others be more positive coaches.
Karen Martin had well more than fifty-percent of her revenue tied up in one industry back in 2008. When the economy went into shock she did as well. Fortunately, she was a saver and she survived. Since then, she has written numerous books and her most recent reveals how smart leaders and organizations achieve outstanding results through clarity.
Doug Hall has an inherent fundamental curiosity within him and he stumbles along the way. He is always pulled to wonder, what if. It comes from within him and he loves it. All of his successes are because he wondered - if he could figure it out.
Alan Stein Jr. spent most of his life with qualities that weren’t so endearing. But now he works hard on his self-awareness and clarity and to be coachable and open and to help others to raise their game.
Samuel Knickerbocker was showing up one way as a leader, but not the way he perceived himself. That’s when he decided to make a shift on how he interacted with people and to learn how to lead out of love. Now Samuel teaches others to leave a legacy love, forgiveness, gratitude and self-confidence.
Mark Brody was very focused on his team and wanting them to excel. Unfortunately, he realized it was because he wanted to have the recognition for himself and that he was failing to consider the larger ecosystem. In becoming a better leader, he made the mind shift to focus on everybody in the contact center being successful.
Fred Halstead’s positivity can drive people crazy, including his wife. But as a coach Fred knows he needs to empathize with others that are not like him. They may have regrets and need to work through their challenges before they can move forward.
Douglas Gerber was a Vice President at Pepsi when one of his regional managers gave him some terrible news. He was leaving for Coca Cola. Douglas found out he left because he felt he was not really part of a team. Douglas vowed to never again let that happen
Samuel Bacharach was a new professor at Cornell and was called out for not following procedures by an office administrator. Initially, he refused to listen but then apologized for his behavior. A year and a half later, this woman helped him to negotiate a salary bonus. From then on, he built his career on the interpersonal stuff.
Jessica Hartung is driven to build more mission-driven leaders. The things that are happening in our communities that are the fabric of our lives, are more often led by people who are self-interested and don’t have a healthy relationship with power. And our institutions and communities are suffering as a result. We need to change the way we think about work to lead our communities forward.
Sean Minter had a client that was extremely customer experience oriented. But when he observed his staff trying to deliver a great customer experience on his client’s behalf, he realized they were eager but didn’t have the tools to do a good job.
Stacey Hanke was doing introductions for speakers early in her career and her boss said she needed to be recorded for feedback and coaching purposes. Stacey reluctantly complied and upon reviewing the taping, she shockingly realized she had a huge disconnect between how she felt and what everyone else experienced. Now Stacey helps others grow their positive influence Monday to Monday®.
Maryann Karinch had a mountain climbing experience that was beautiful and satisfying. Not a real mountain climbing experience, but a figurative one. Along with her partner Jim they fought a common enemy in Maryann’s cancer. It was life and relationship saving experience.
Marcia Daszko didn’t know what she didn’t know. Now, she’s a catalyst for challenging leaders to think differently to realize results never before achieved. A protégé of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, she’s co-founded two Deming User Groups, is a co-founder of the non-profit In2In Thinking, and assisted at 20 of the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming's renowned 4-day seminars.
Rick Miller has turned around businesses during a dot com bomb and lead organizations that had to deal with real bombs. And all he did was apply the great lessons his dad taught him at the kitchen table, decades earlier.
Kory Angelin was like many kids with parents that divorce. But unlike others key values were instilled in him that led to excelling in sales by emphasizing the customer experience. From fitness to finance, Kory teaches organizations to sellout out what they sell.
Cheryl Strauss Einhorn grew up trying to investigate and get to know her father to develop a deeper relationship. This led her to develop the AREA Method that gives people a systematic approach to solving big problems leveraging perspective-taking and investigation.
Chris Westfall wrote down his desired salary on a napkin and the CEO accepted it. He started his new job but only a few weeks later, the CEO ended it. Chris moved his family to a new town for a job that no longer existed. Yet Chris thanks that CEO for the conversation.
Nathan Jamail was given orders from his boss and like so many other leaders he tried to get his people to buy-in to the direction. But he learned that what every leader has been taught about buy-in was all wrong and he lost the trust of his people.
Ed Muzio was running an industry forum for the first time. While he followed the advice he received he missed a few key elements and the meeting went off the rails. Ed was the one that needed to fix it but he didn’t know how.
Amy Radin (RAY-DIN), was used to getting organizational resources to innovate and drive change. Then she met Drew and gained a new perspective that caused her to never again complain, or tolerate complaints from others, about not having resources.
James (Jamie) Millar needed a different professional platform. He looked around and was unable to find what he wanted to do, the way he wanted to do it. So, he created his own firm that leads executive peer networks to help executives enjoy the insights and relationships they need to succeed.
Ajit Nawalkha used to have a constant dialogue of self-doubt. Coming from a background that was not very abundant, Ajit fought social comparison and feelings that he was not good enough. But over time with constant re-programming, he’s been able to have more dialogue of “I can” and to help others LIVE BIG.
Michael Pace built the first social customer service team and became recognized as an industry expert. He used this fame to launch his own customer experience consultancy and then the reality of running a business that must deliver an exceptional customer experience became his personal challenge.
Karen Chaston tragically lost her son Dan and she went straight back to work. She knew how to be a CFO, not a grieving mother. Eventually, she learned that his passing was meant for her to wake up. She now knows that you can have that career, but it doesn’t have to come at a cost to you.
Joseph Michelli now helps organizations deliver extraordinary customer and employee experiences. But in his early twenties he was all about himself until he began a journey that taught him about commitment, the power of teams and building a greater legacy.
Matt Beckwith considered leaving his contact center job because he felt bogged down by the things he didn’t like about the job. He almost left, and then his boss asked him some very insightful questions that helped him find clarity almost instantly.
Nick Friedman started to franchise his company, College Hunks Hauling Junk in 2008, and then the economy collapsed. Nick and his partner struggled to move on. Then he found the confidence to keep going through a peer community of other leaders battling the same challenges.
Hamish Knox had the worst 20-minutes of his life. He was on a prospecting call with a senior vice president of a chemical company and he failed miserably. He knew all of the content he needed to know, but that was not good enough. Hamish realized he stopped learning and was unable to add value.
Steve Farber had a moral dilemma with the business that he owned. So, he got out. But he had nothing to go to. Eventually, he flipped his radical leap into a 30-year career of helping leaders to move onward and upward faster.
Before becoming a social media expert, Dan Gingiss decided to join a friend in taking the GMAT. On standardized tests he typically does better on the math side and struggles on the verbal side. But during the test Dan got stumped on a question that caused him to not complete the math portion of the exam. That left him with only one choice.
Brannon Beliso had no choice when he was a child, he was a victim. At some point Brannon the man had to make the better choices in his life that have led to greater self-discipline and founding one of the most successful schools in the martial arts industry.
David Hiatt had friends that convinced him to enter a speech contest. He did it half way but soon realized that when he got into it, he was really good at affecting people and helping them to do better in their life. That’s when he decided to do something of excellence.
Bill Gessert was a highly successful sales rep and was then promoted to become a disastrous sales manager. Bill eventually realized he was not a bad person, he just didn’t have the skills sets to be a leader. But he learned them and went on to be a leading expert in sales, customer service and customer experience.
Alessandra Cavalluzzi planned an event where her company was going to give back to their local community. She planned for a huge turnout but it was disappointing at best. Instead of giving up, she learned and succeeded and now she helps organizations develop Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs to create a culture of giving that engages employees.
Glenn Elliott was trying to grow his company by building a sales team. He had six false starts, received tons of advice and counsel, hired a guru that nearly bankrupted him just to find out that the answers he was seeking could be found by falling flat on his face.
Phyllis Weiss Haserot shares the leadership skills she has had to lean on as her husband’s Parkinson’s disease rapidly progressed while she is passionately pushing forward her work in cross-generational conversation at work.
Aaron Edelheit was grossly over-worked, over-whelmed and way too connected. He found himself becoming less and less productive despite investing more and more time. Not only was work suffering so was his family and friends. Finally, Aaron decided he was going to turn off.
Simone Vincenzi decided to quit his job and go to school to learn how to run his own business. Tragically, his grandfather pasted away and Simone decided to travel back to his hometown in Italy from London every two weeks to comfort his grieving mother. Quickly, his savings was exhausted, but he continued to travel home to his mother and made the choice to become homeless.
Pete Williams built a company selling phone systems but gradually learned he was not getting any repeat business. That’s when Pete and his team began to discover and implement the seven levers that companies use to create a cadence for business growth.
Ralph Welborn was working on a wicked problem with the Department of Defense, CEO’s, and Chief Security Officers of many different organizations. He had to get them all to be in service to fight the bad guys. Ralph now takes the lessons he learned to move beyond customer-centricity to ecosystem engagement.
Brad Deutser had a business partner for many years and he finally realized that the partnership didn’t work for him. He kept giving and giving and finally let go of the circuit breakers and the things that were holding him back - he embraced clarity.
Howard Partridge had the vision for a turnkey business. What he did not realize was that his strong out-going task-oriented, demanding, direct, defiant personality was really turning everybody off. That’s when his bookkeeper took him aside and shared with him some words of wisdom.
Whitney Johnson was a star analyst working on Wall Street and she had a fantastic year, except when she got the feedback from all her peers. It was really bad. So, she got a coach and turned it around. And after 15-years she’s still learning lessons from that experience while helping others to avoid the same mistakes.
Danita Bye and her husband decided to buy a snowmobile sleigh manufacturing company. Then El Niño moved in and stayed for three years. Danita was angry at everyone. Then a mentor told her to stop playing the blame game. That’s when she developed the catalyst question.
Connie Malamed wrote a book about visual language for instructional design to achieve quick and effective communication - but she had to speak about it. Considering herself more of a writer and not a speaker, she was terrified of public speaking. Eventually, she found a tactic that helped her to move onward and upward.
Jack Bergstrand was a young executive at Coca-Cola working on changing the distribution network to gain efficiency and lower costs. But his plan negatively impacted manufacturing, which he was not in charge of. Jack had to go head-to-head to make headway.
Art Combs overcame being labeled as lazy and stupid to becoming a CEO. Along the way he started several businesses, wrote a few books and traveled the globe as a contact center expert. He now starts companies focused on customer service problems that he faced as an operations manager.
Jonathan Low worked 80 hours a week for two and a half years. Then his body collapsed and he began to doubt himself. It took him an entire year to recover and learn to change his perspective on what is success, how to fail and to be a happy person and to find gurus to inspire you.
Chris Dyer quit his job and started a business in 2001, just two months after the biggest terrorist attack in American history. He took inspiration from tragedy. He rented every room in his house to pay the mortgage, created a backup plan and took the risk.
Greg Young needed to make changes quickly and radically to prevent losing market share. But he was ending each day with beating himself up because he was not completing his to-do list and it was getting longer each day. That’s when he realized that he needed to reframe his day.
Jeff Piersall was in a 14-year business relationship with who he thought was a good friend. But it ended in a betrayal. Despite another partner betrayal later in his career, Jeff holds on the belief that ethical capitalism is what the majority of the world believes in, desires and practices.
Olga Mizrahi knows that reviews are part of the gig economy and the future of work. So, after reading a negative review about her book she had three choices that we all can choose to take. After much contemplation, she decided to respond publicly in a way that’s surprising and bold.
Eric Kish was placed in an oil refinery to turn it around. Overloaded with debt and crippled by equipment that had failed inspection, Eric thought he had no option but to go bankrupt. That’s when in desperation, Eric’s work to make a major cultural shift paid off and it fueled a historic turnaround.
Dave Mattson had the opportunity to buy into an established business but was unable to secure the funding he needed. After being rejected by several bankers and taking a hit to his self-esteem, he thought all was lost. But without his knowledge, Dave’s parents put everything they had on the line for him.
Cash Keahey was facilitating strategic planning for corporate executives when he realized he wanted to try leading people. He was placed in an operations role and was seen as a corporate outsider to many on his new team. Listen as Cash describes the tactics he used to move onward and upward faster.
Jim Knight was asked by his CEO to deliver on a project with an extremely aggressive timeline. Despite all of their effort of working 18-20-hour days and on the weekends, Jim began to realize the task was larger than first assessed. So, Jim reported to the CEO and ultimately learned a vital lesson about transparency.
Doug Sandler was hired to be a DJ at a party hundreds of miles from his home. He was feeling on top of his game but within 15-minutes of the four-hour event, he realized why he was really hired sight unseen. He also realized that everything he had done in his career to that point was just about being lucky.
Lori Bocklund and her husband lived in the Washington DC area during 9/11 and then the anthrax scare and the DC sniper. She was living in constant fear. Despite loving where they lived, they decided to move. But they didn’t know here they wanted to live. After finally figuring that out, she took an even bigger risk which paid off in her becoming one of the leading authorities on contact center technology.
Michael Gale owned a number of trademarks on journey mapping when they built the methodology 14 years ago. But now he has to admit it’s no longer relevant because you can’t fit a journey map into a world of moments. With organizations now needing to digitally transform and customers being in complete control, Michael explains you must think and do things differently.
Jennifer Moss had two young kids when she founded her company and then her husband became almost fatally ill. They thought he would never walk again, but after a six-week recovery where he focused on gratitude, they realized they found a new passion that changed their narrative.
Ian Golding felt like he beat his head for 17 years working in an organization as a champion for the customer. Over the past 6 years he has traveled to over 60 countries and worked with organizations to help support those that thrive on the customer experience to be heard, recognized and supported. Listen as Ian shares insights on the future of customer experience as a discipline and profession.
Gabe Alves was working on a project that was going to digitally transform the way a hundred-year-old company managed its workforce. After weeks of presenting, Gabe finally got approval. Just prior to going live a vital component didn’t arrive. That’s when Gabe learned an age-old lesson that saved the day.
Heather Younger was leading the entire client facing team for a company that was going through a big merger. After about a year into the merger the company culture took a nosedive. Heather went to the head of HR, even though she was leading the customer experience, about making changes to improve the employee experience. Heather ended up being responsible to managing the experience for both.
Jillian Medoff was a business consultant with a passion for being a novelist. After having sold a few novels she was unable to sell her next manuscript. That’s when the editor of her first novel gave her some advice that she thought was crazy. But it paid off and Jillian is now following her passion of writing about corporate life.
Tal Shnall was promoted to managing a staff that was more than double the size of his previous role. But Tal did not realize that he was missing a lot of manager and leadership skills that would allow him to be successful. Tal struggled and paid the price. Eventually he found his way forward and now helps others from repeating his experience.
Debi Mongan decided to take a break from her career to raise her daughter. After five years had passed Debi decided to go back to work. She thought she was going to re-enter where she left off. Once she realized that wasn’t going to happen she took a step back, which helped her to take a leap forward.
Jenny Dempsey was working more than 50 hours per week, she rarely took breaks, and had the highest amount of vacation in the entire company. She kept stuffing her emotions down and wore a smile. Then one day she had an anxiety attack. A few years later, it happened again. Finally, Jenny realized that she had to make changes.
Dean Lindsay had a client that hired him for sales training. Everything went great and participant feedback was high. But once the client learned that Dean had some minor roles as a professional actor, he terminated the remaining sessions. This caused Dean to make some changes that had some unintended consequences.
Steven Keith was hired by a creative agency to build their digital consulting practice. As Steven began to build his team, he was hiring people and managing the team in a culturally different way than the legacy business. It wasn’t working. The CEO sat Steven down and told him he needed to fix it fast. Ultimately, Steven found success by getting the entire agency to focus on this one thing.
Christine Comaford fell to the ground and her body couldn’t stay standing. She had just found out that her step son died unexpectedly at college. While trying to cope with this tremendous loss, she had to fulfill numerous professional obligations. But she was unable to function. That’s when she found something that she had never realized before that has allowed her to experience an entirely new existence.
Jeffrey Shaw was tops in his class and returned home to launch his new business. Ready for success, Jefferey spent three long years moving down the path to failure. After he gave his best sales pitch ever, he realized how off he was trying to promote the message of his business. He was unable to speak the lingo of his customers. That’s when Jefferey launched his transformation and went from overlooked to overbooked.
Darrin Poole was challenged as a leader. He had to engineer a mindset shift. He suspended the normal drills and implemented a game changing tactic that dramatically changed their performance and helped everyone get over the hump.
Andy Swann was at a barbeque when he congratulated a guy who said he was at his job for 10 years. The man said he hated it. Andy realized he was that man and decided to make a resolution to do something about it. Now, Andy helps people to be rescued from the same fate.
Kimberly Davis had an anxiety attack. Days before she was to give a TEDx talk about being brave she lost her brave. She began to fear the spotlight, failing to connect to her audience and missing out on capturing her opportunity. But Kimberly knew what do to squash her own anxiety. She retrieved her brave.
Peter Lisoskie bet his job on a new idea. After numerous failures, Peter finally obtained 7 patents for his effort. Since then, Peter has focused his innovation on artificial intelligence and emotionally connected user interfaces to create interactive conversational brand experiences to shape customer experiences for companies and their customers.
Kumar Mehta experienced a culture shock. After working for Microsoft for many years, he became the CEO of Blue Ocean Market Intelligence. The same people that used to respond to his emails and phone calls when he was at Microsoft, now would not talk to him. His calls and request became less important without the Microsoft brand. That’s when Kumar learned a hard lesson about innovation.
Vicky Oliver was working at an advertising agency on September 11, 2001. After that day, Vicky decided to do a career redirect. She set upon a path to use her skills in a different way that ultimately led her to write about Bad bosses, Crazy Co-Workers and Other Office Idiots.
Rick Brinkman knew he had to get better at presenting. While presenting to a large group, he was unable to understand why everybody began to laugh hysterically. But he learned one thing that has helped him to move on to delivering hundreds of successful presentations since.
Shawn Vij was just out of business school and he was given the responsibility of the accounting for a project. He spotted something shady in the books and began to ask questions. He must have asked too many questions because his boss terminated him. That’s when Shawn’s outlook took a turn for the worst.
Sean Hawkins worked for a company that had been acquired twice in a short period of time. Sean had to navigate the delicate balance of being transparent where he could while upholding his responsibly to the organization. Sean learned that one investment he made really paid off in the end.
Erik Seversen had a horrible string of hiring the wrong person. That’s when he needed to do something different. He decided to totally change the interview process and his leadership style. Erik started focusing more on using emotional intelligence to move forward and applying it to his new English as a second language startup.
Tim Perek carried his journey map and personas into a c-suite meeting with all of his research and data. He walked them through all of the ideation and through the prioritization. Then his moment of truth came when an executive asked a key question. That’s when Tim learned the key to delivering value with his customer experience program.
Steven Stein started a small business with his wife. He was responsible for doing many of jobs necessary to grow the company. But to grow, Steven had to learn a valuable lesson. He did and today they employ more than 170 people throughout the world and he’s become a leading expert on psychological assessments and emotional intelligence.
Jeff McManus started a new job in a new town and was trying to understand and learn everything. One night while driving home after his night class, Jeff wrecked his car after falling asleep at the wheel. In the hospital, he realized things needed to change. That’s when Jeff came to realize that he must totally shift his thinking. That’s when he enabled himself to move onward and upward faster.
Brian Biro was down on himself. He had a drive to be the best at whatever he did. He was very intense and was no fun to play with. That’s when he decided to change one word and it helped him to move onward and upward faster.
Josh Seibert was a successful sales professional. He was promoted to a sales manager and all he had to do was teach people to be like him. Josh then proceeded to take a mediocre sales team and turn them into a failing sales team. That’s when he learn his most valuable lesson ever.
Andy Molinsky really believes in the stuff that he does. He sees that it really helps people. But not steeping outside of his comfort zone was keeping him from making a difference. Listen how he had to learn how to be his own advocate to get over the hump.
Serena Smith was 31-years old. She was shepherding a huge transition at work and a lot of people were looking to her for comfort and stability in the change. And her superiors were looking for results. That’s when she found a lump on her neck – it was cancer. Listen as she shares how she got over the hump.
Edwina Cowell and her team began to work with a developer for their website. She began to witness the developer being disrespectful, defensive, and angry. But she ignored those signs and the situation began to escalate. She did finally get a website out of it that needed to be replaced in six months.
Kendall Lyman was a new consultant working in the oil industry. He was a strategist working with executives looking at the market and competitive analysis. As Kendall worked to implement change, he continually ran into problems at the individual level. That’s when Kendall analyzed something different that helped him get over the hump.
Jill Konrath was working with two big companies, consulting on product launches. Within three months, both of the companies eliminated outside consultants, due to pressure from Wall Street. Jill lost 95% of her work and after six months waiting for the work to return, Jill needed to get new clients. But Jill was unable to book any appointments. She lost faith in herself, lost her value proposition, and then she finally realized something that helped her to get over the hump.
Cort Dial was working with the leaders on a capital project in Saudi Arabia. 3 years and 8 million man-hours where required to build this project. Cort asked the supervisors to go all in and sign up to build the project without harming anyone. After months of being told no, Cort had a break through and got over the hump.
Keith Pearce was a young manager working for a company that was in decline while living in Europe. He was given the corporate script to read as he told employees they no longer had a job. He practiced his speech and then he had to look people in the eye. That’s when his plan required a change.
Kelli Barabasz had the best team with the most sales. Then her manager asked her why her team performs. Kelli was shocked to hear her say that they perform in fear of her and not for her. Kelli refused to believe her and then she learned the truth. Listen to how Kellie was awakened and learn to move onward and upward faster.
Jonathan David Lewis and his company made the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list. And as soon as they made the list, their growth stopped. They went backwards. Over the next three years they experienced almost 98% client turnover. But there was something valuable that came from it that allowed them to get over the hump.
Sophie Wade’s daughter complained that she never saw her. That’s when she decided to do research on how others managed being able to work less. She discovered that she could spend a year or more trying to persuade someone to give her the job she wanted, or she could just create it herself. That’s when made it her work instead of how she worked.
Dianna Booher found herself with only 10 days of cash flow. She made a huge investment in developing people and was now faced with making a decision to lay them off. She was able to avoid that decision and shares what she learned and how to prevent it from reoccurring.
Diana Oreck is a recovering type-A person that was so obsessed with work, that her body started breaking down. She went for extended periods of only getting 3-4 hours of sleep per night and it thrust her into the hospital with dehydration and lack of sleep. All because she was obsessed with work. Diana discovered the cause and her remedy that helped her get over the hump.
Michele Borba was in Rwanda distributing backpacks to deaf kids. Her transformational moment was when a sobbing child keep reading a hand-written note. If there’s any need for empathy, that child was sharing it; it was human connection. Listen to Michele share her story about how we can move onward and upward faster with our current global empathy crisis.
Judd Hoekstra got into a downward spiral. He got to the point where he was putting emphasis in the wrong area. It created a huge negative cycle for him and he didn’t even want to show up. That’s when Judd decided to reframe the negative thoughts running through his mind. Listen as Judd shares how you can get over the hump.
Nat Greene has become a bit disillusioned by the direction of the country. The reason is because he has not been able to find reasonable people to find a reasonable discussion on things. People can’t pause and have a decent discussion and think about problems and work through them. He finds they have already dug in on a position without really looking into the problem.
Dr. KH Kim was assigned to write and report the meeting minutes for her group faculty meetings. Not being experienced in spoken English, she struggled with slang and acronyms. She recorded and transcribed meetings, and even asked her children to help her. Finally, she gave up. She felt stupid, got even more self-conscious and depressed. And then she was reprimanded for being lazy. Listen to how she got over this hump.
Dorie Clark found her dream job. She thought it was going to last a lifetime. It lasted for only a year. As a journalist, the entire industry contracted and she had to adjust. Dorie was forced to master the skill of resiliency and it led her to write her first book about career reinvention and how to adapt to career change. Listen as Dorie shares how she was able to get over the hump…and help others.
Bernie Swain was facing gargantuan competition to be the lecture agency that would represent President Ronald Reagan. He was certain that he would lose out to a more experienced and larger firm. When Bernie got the call, he prepared for the worst. Listen to Bernie share his story of how wining helped him to move onward and upward faster.
Mark Babbitt was always the man behind the curtain. He was the engineer in back that figured out how to get stuff done. But then his role changed. He had to blog and be vulnerable. He had to take a stand. As the guy who would vomit before public speaking., Mark had to get over the hump fast.
Ilene Marcus was a manager in a large bureaucracy that had a cost of living dispute with its labor union. The workers went on strike and Ilene needed to go to work. As she planned to cross the picket line, she worried about the confrontation and what would happen. But as she walked towards the picket line, she knew exactly what she needed to do. Listen to what Ilene did to get over the hump.
Claire Brooks moved to Detroit, Michigan and found a senior role with an advertising agency. During her first meeting, she met with the brand manager for an American car brand and she began to mixing up the names of car parts. After a moment, the brand manager asked ask what was she talking about. Claire, felt she failed with her attempt to impress. Listen how she turned this moment into a global empathy opportunity.
Tracy Goodwin was a Freshman in college and was cast as the lead in a play. The young man playing opposite of her began to beat her as part of a scene. The intensity increased over time and Tracy asked the play Director if it could stop. The director refused and threatened to replace her. Tracy was devastated. Listen to Tracy’s story of how she was able to get over this hump and move onward and upward faster.
Christine Porath decided to take the non-traditional path. She wanted to make a difference and it wasn’t what they were looking for. As a result, she had to make a move and it set her back. And she would do it all over again. Listen as Christine shares why she made her choice.
Simon Blair was a new call center team leader and instructed to increase sales by 400%. But as the new kid on the block he inherited the old school long-term employees that were resistant to change. After months of trying different tactics and failing time and again he finally found out how to get over the hump.
Dov Baron was at the top of his career. After a long speaking tour he took a few days off and decided to go hiking with a friend. Instead of hiking, they decided to go free climbing. At 120 feet Dov reached for a rock that dislodged a bigger rock which knocked him down and sent him crashing to the bottom. But it wasn’t the fall that changed his life. Listen to Dov and learn how to move onward and upward faster.
Ron Carucci was at a place in his career where he was very discouraged and scared. He never thought he would be able to build a brand new set of muscles at a very seasoned part of his career. But that’s when he got a dose of his own medicine. Listen to how he got over the hump so you can move onward and upward faster too.
Joshua Spodek wrote a book and his friends said it sucked and was difficult to read. So he turned it all around and rewrote it. Every time he received feedback no matter how terrible it was there was always something to learn. He finally realize his approach needed to change and it was much more effective. What Joshua learned will help you to move onward and upward faster.
Kathleen Peterson was in the midst of a large training project when she clashed with the project manager. She was right and she chose to fight. This episode sent Kathleen on a journey of discovery and learning. Listen to learn where she went and how she ended up learning that being right is useless.
Nancy Porte was in customer service and knew that many of the problems they were reacting to should have never happened in the first place. So she decided to take on new job responsibilities with no additional pay increase to prove her point. The light bulbs came on above executive’s heads when she revealed her findings and it’s something she can never forget.
Ashish Bisaria was leading a transformation team that needed to take thousands of people on a change journey. But one of his peers struggled with being able to take a large strategic vision and turn it into tactical steps. That’s when Ashish did two important things that helped the organization to get over the hump.
Marc Allen tried several things to make a living, but he was unable to make money at anything. When Marc turned thirty he had no money and was a total poverty case. That’s when he decided to play a little game. This game resulted in Marc launching what eventually became a successful publishing company. Listen to Marc’s unorthodox way of moving onward and upward faster.
In 2000 Bill Munn was soaring financially. But he was not focused on what he was best at. So Bill turned his business around and he lost of lot of clients and a lot of savings. Just before he got to the brink things started taking off. Listen to Bill share his story of how he got over this hump.
Brian MacNeice was working for a large advisory service firm. Brian began to worry as he reviewed the impact of his work. He realized that many of the clients he worked with were not interested in implementing what was recommended. That’s when Brian made a life altering change.
Dayna Steele had a very successful career as a radio disc jockey. Then she decided to quit her job and move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. After nine months she moved back home without a career in acting. But she never failed. Listen to what she actually did.
Neal Topf got his first job in New York City at the age of twenty-five in a large direct marketing agency. The boss that had hired him was wonderful during his interview, so Neal was excited to get going. But this same boss turned into Neal’s nightmare. She made his life so miserable that if he met her today he would hug her and thank her. Listen and learn why Neal is so grateful.
Carey Azzara was filled with grief as a youth. His sister passed away at a young age and Carey was deeply affected by the loss and from witnessing the grief of his parents. Fortunately for Carey he had an amazing grandmother that helped him to get over the hump.
Wendy Keller was not physically able to sit up because of the terrible injuries from the car accident that claimed the lives of her two young children. That’s when she decided to get involved with Tony Robbin’s Personal Power program. She did exactly those actions recommended in the program. Listen in as Wendy shares what happened.
Charles Vogl served in the US Peace Corps in Northern Zambia. In a place very foreign to him than what he knew in Southern California. Charles lived in a mud hut with a grass roof and a mud floor. And he learned a cherished lesson of how the bravery of others can change people’s lives.
Al Hopper was getting beat physically and mentally. His entire team was down in the dirt. That’s when Al learned about the power and magic of words. When you need to rally the troops and things are going the way you don’t want them to, what do you do?
Nate Regier made a significant leadership blunder. Until he made a bigger one. Nate published a story about a client and didn’t get permission from the CEO. He also wrote the story in a manner which came across arrogant and self-serving. Listen to how Nate is STILL working to get over this hump.
Michael Beck was the executive director of a 500-person law firm. But his operating philosophy of listening to people’s concerns and eliciting their input was not matched by the attorney’s in the firm. After butting heads with the micro-managing and dictatorship, Michael decided he could make a greater impact in a different way.
Allison Smith was busy pursuing theater acting but was finding the hours and the income intrusive to her family life. That’s when Allison realized that doing voiceover allowed to her to be creative and gain control. 25 years later, Allison is one of the most recognized IVR voice talents in the world.
John Lee Dumas was all ready to push publish on his podcast and then all of a sudden fear took over. He pushed back his launch one week, then two, then four, then five. Finally his mentor intervened and he published his podcast and all was well in the world. But fear lurked in other places that John soon found.
Steve Mariotti went out for a jog and was mugged by a bunch of young men with knives. Experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, Steve was taught to change the sentences in his mind. As part of his ongoing therapy he became a teacher and he found out that he enjoyed helping people achieve their life through entrepreneurship.
Michael Teoh was working on growing his business and he was getting results. Michael kept pressing forward thinking he could motivate his staff to meet client demands. But his staff pushed back. That’s when Michael learned a valuable lesson.
Roberta O’Keith found a fellow co-worker on the floor, non-responsive and barely breathing. As the person responsible for handling employee complaints about work, she knew stress finally took her down. That was Roberta’s wake up call.
Paul Larsen was promoted into a manager role. He wasn’t up for it so the authority went to Paul’s head. After a short period of time, Paul found himself all alone. One Thursday night, all of Paul’s direct reports went out to celebrate a birthday and he wasn’t invited. That’s when Paul realized he needed to make some changes to get over the hump.
Steve Goldstein was thrilled to escape the cold of Chicago in February for a speaking engagement in Miami. As an executive at Sears, Steve loved to visit the stores on trips. But this time Steve thought he was hallucinating when he saw snow blowers in Miami. Listen to how this experience led to Steve moving onward and upward.
Kristy Powers was 16 years old and had to move away from home. As an honors student Kristy was determined to finish school. Needing to support herself, Kristy was able to find a source of income and food. Listen to how she was able to get over this adult sized hump at such a young age.
Mark Nathan built his young career as an actor and being in the film world. As he entered into the entrepreneur world it was difficult for him to let the film work go. That’s when Mark found a new perspective that helped him to move onward and upward.
Winnie Brignac Hart and Lorrie Brignac Lee lost 75 percent of their business in a weekend. Being based in New Orleans when hurricane Katrina hit, overnight they became a crisis communication firm. Immediately they learned what it meant to truly help people in a different way. Through this experience they were able to align what was important to them and move onward and upward faster.
Wade Fransson was a junior in High School and spent ten months living in a tent through the Alaskan winter. Having to endure the cold winter by using a portable stove served to be too much for Wade when the stove blew up in his face. Listen to Wade tell his story of surviving and making a greater impact.
Bob Burg is not a technical person by nature. He even built a business that did not depend on technology. Despite several people warning him that he needed to learn technology, he got complacent, even cocky and his business suffered for several years. Listen to Bob tell how he was left behind and how he got over the hump.
Doug Woodard was new to his company when he had to terminate a long tenured employee. Doug faced a lot of fear in letting her go and facing the team. While wanting to take ownership of the decision Doug was not able to be transparent with the details. Listen to Doug’s story of how he was able to get over the hump.
Jocelyn Davis got a splash of cold water in her face. Being an executive at a consulting firm she was easily published by Harvard Business Press. But when she tried to get her next book published after departing from her firm she learn a sobering lesson. Listen to Jocelyn tell the story of her journey of getting over the hump.
Roy Atkinson grew up as a privileged kid. Then Roy found himself needing to work his way through high school and college while his mother tended to her ailing mother and Roy’s father. Roy had to get over several humps to move onward and upward. But one of Roy’s most valuable lessons came later.
Ann Parker was in her twenties and had become a shrunken version of herself. She lost confidence in herself and lost her identity. Her world and her future came crashing down and that’s when she reached inside and climbed out. Listen to Ann tell her story of finding new strength.
Bob Tiede had an Executive Vice President volunteer to fund raise for the organization he worked for. After two years he resigned. Shortly after that Bob learned the reason he resigned. It was because Bob was a benevolent teller. Listen to Bob’s story of how he learned a new way to move onward and upward faster.
Brian Sullivan worked for an organization that would bring together an executive committee to make decisions on business they wanted to pursue. Because of all of their political agendas, the system wasn’t serving the company or customers very well. That’s when Brian pioneered a more customer-centric approach to sales that helped them to win better deals and avoid pursuing the bad deals.
Mike Wittenstein had not acted since his junior high school play. But he decided to take an acting class and it helped him to grow his business. Listen to Mike tell his story of how he discovered a way to improve the customer experience by using the fine art of acting in a whole new way.
Megan Constantino decided to go on national television to share one of the most un-cool, un-sexy things you could think about. Being completely driven by God, she and her husband Frank decided to go on the Steve Harvey to share their struggles with infertility and it made all the difference for them. Listen to Megan’s story of courage and getting over several humps.
Bill Dann was working for a native Alaskan run organization. The Board of Directors put a lot of pressure on Bill to replace himself with an Alaskan native, since it was the purpose of the organization. Bill hired a young leader and unfortunately he was put into a situation that he was not prepared for. He got creamed. Bill has never forgiven himself for that. Listen to Bill talk about the lesson he learned and how it can help you to move onward and upward faster.
Paul Maskill was doing all of the busy admin work in his business. Paul was working 60-80 hours per week but was not leading his business. He was failing to take his business to the next level. That’s when Paul made a decision that ultimately led him to become the leader that generated the business growth that led him to an even bigger business opportunity.
Curtis Kopf has a point of view on what he wants to do and he just wants to go do it. But when Curtis encounters someone with differing opinions he has had to learn how to prevent himself from dismissing them and pushing them out of the way. Listen to Curtis as he shares how he gets over this hump.
Bob Anderson started his career in the family business making hog food and dog food. One evening, while cleaning out a rail car full of feed ingredients, Bob said something out loud that sent him on a life long journey. Listen to Bob tell his story of how he got over the hump.
Adam Dorrell had been made redundant three times in his career. The first time he had small children. The most recent time he had another set of small children. Listen to what happened to Adam and how he was able to move onward and upward.