Awesome Office: Lead. Create. Inspire.

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Welcome back to the Awesome Office Podcast! This week, we welcome Michael Rabil, CEO and Co-Founder of the Premier Lacrosse League.

An entrepreneur nearly his entire professional life, Michael has learned a thing or two along the way. Although every entrepreneur’s journey is undoubtedly different, Sean and Michael dive into common themes among successful entrepreneurs and business professionals. Tune in to learn the necessary steps to take and how to separate yourself in the crazy competitive world of entrepreneurship.

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Calling all entrepreneurs...

You've got the ideas and the means, but not necessarily the funds. Raising capital is a necessary part of the process, and it can certainly be an intimidating one as well. Getting that meeting with a potential investor is difficult in itself, but have you ever wondered what's going through the head of that person sitting across from you?

This week on Awesome Office, Sean sits down with venture capitalist Rick Smith to give you just that insight. Founder and Managing Director at Crosscut, Rick is a huge player in the Los Angeles venture capitalist community. Tune in to this episode and learn what venture capitalists like Rick look for in a company, so that you can take that next step in raising money for your very own.

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On this episode of the podcast, we welcome a guest from one of the most exhilarating markets in Los Angeles. Where technology and Hollywood intertwine... the videogame market provides people with countless interactive worlds within worlds to escape to. "What sorts of people?" you may ask... and to that, our guest Grant Johnson (CEO at Interpret) could give you an answer.

Grant and his team at Interpret provide not only an understanding of client demographic, but also the behavior, trends, and attitude around the products and value they provide. Beyond video game publishers, Interpret works with social media platforms, esports leagues and advertisters, telecoms, consumer electronics firms, digital entertainment producers and distributors, advertising agencies, and media planning firms.

This week, join us as Sean and Grant dive into what it means to grow in experience and understanding, both as an individual and a company.

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Welcome back to the Awesome Office Podcast! Today, we welcome Larry Charlip, an industry superstar in Facilities Management and Workplace Experience. We are in the middle of a workplace and office revolution, with people just like Larry paving the way. In the past, companies simply payed attention to the "office space" they create. Today, it is imperative for companies to pay attention to the "office space before the office space" and everything in between, if they hope to even stay relevant. In this episode, Sean and Larry dive into exactly what that means and how to achieve it.

Tune in to listen to Sean and Larry in their element, talking about the past, present, and future of officespace experience.

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Heyo! You ever heard of Hiyo? Well in today's episode, we all have the pleasure of getting to know Hiyo's co-founder, George Youmans. Back in 2019, George took the leap of faith to move away from his then-current job and go full entrepreneur. How he did it? Well you'll just have to listen to find out!

Sean and George's relationship goes all the way back to high school, as do their aspirations for greatness. Tune in as Sean and George dive into the power of momentum and the steps to take in order to create that momentum and take control of your own destiny!

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Scott Alderton is both a laywer and an entrepreneur, imbedding his widespread influence from the likes of West Los Angeles.

Owner and Partner at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP, Scott advises clients across the board stretching from cyber security and life sciences to interactive entertainment and video games. Perhaps one of his more notable endeavors, the precellerator, assists in accelerating select early-stage startups at the Santa Monica office of SA&M.

This episode, Sean and Scott dives into everything an entrepreneur may run into on their journey should they choose to take that path, acknowledging the highs, lows, and hard questions one may have to ask themselves. Tune in and gain some insight into your own journey and "precellerate" yourself!

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This week on the Awesome Office Podcast, we welcome Executive Vice President of Business Development at Tangram Interiors, Mitchel Zelinger! Tangram is a full-service office furnishings and commercial interiors company that is certainly doing their part in helping companies create their own "awesome offices" across the globe.

Mitchel lives by his own catchphrase: "one more". You never know what incredible things could come from one more phone call... one more email... one more ounce of effort. And if you have a team of people living out the "one more" philosophy... (as they do at Tangram)... the compounded results put you worlds ahead of the competition.

So tune in! And learn a thing or two about networking, collaborating, and creating a fruitful office culture.

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One of the missions of the Awesome Office podcast is to redefine what "office" really means. It's not always your stereotypical corporate cubicle grid! The "office" can look and feel incredibly different (in fact, it should!) from company to company depending on their missions, goals, services, etc.

Shawn Gehle, Principal at Office Untitled, might be THE poster child for that mission. Since 2013, Shawn and his fellow "OUers" (fancy title for members of Office Untitled) have been helping companies create the right environment for their teams to flourish in. Tackling achitecture, interiors, and design strategy, Shawn and his team have truly become trailblazers in the latest renaissance of work environment.

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In an industry with plenty of demand for work, but not enough manpower to get it done, Troy Smith has been on an expedition to make accounting "sexy" again with his company, The Pandora Group.

Troy has dedicated years to helping his clients invest their money not only the "right" places, but the places that make the most sense for that individual. He breaks down the concept that there is no "one size fits all" approach to investing, and the importance of figuring out what that "size" is for you.

Tune in this week and learn a thing or two about what investing may look like for you!

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Welcome back to the Awesome Office podcast! Before starting the episode, think about this question: why do we listen to podcasts like this one at all? The answer is simple. To continue to learn.

This week's guest, Tangram CEO Joe Lozowski, would applaud you for doing just that by joining us today. In his book, you're doing the most important thing whenever you tune into a podcast, read a book, read the news, etc. The list goes on and on.

This week, we dive into the importance of continuing to educate yourself as well as how that concept has shaped the fruitful journey that Joe has come to know.

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Pro skateboarder turned entrepreneur turned city council member, Mikey Taylor is a jack of all trades and a master of... well, apparently all of them!

Join us as Sean and Mikey take us through the lifelong journey of one of southern California's most recognizable entrepreneurs. Everybody wants to make a living doing what they love, and Mikey certainly has and continues to embody that. This week, Mikey enlightens us with his very own methods of gaining and sustaining financial freedom as well as advice for those looking to take their first step. Not to mention, balancing that with being an incredible family man and going above and beyond for his community.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mikey Taylor.

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Boy it's great to have the Awesome Office podcast back! But who is this new voice? We all remember Sean, but now get to know...... Sean! Sean Spear that is!

Sean Spear, former co-host of the podcast, has taken it upon himself to return Awesome Office to its ever-lasting glory! Last episode, we all got to experience the passing of the torch from one Sean to the next. Now, before diving into a new wave of episodes with our impressive lineup of guests - both new and returning - we felt a deeper introduction was necessary.

In this episode, Sean shares with us the many truths and lessons he has uncovered in his journey to where he is today. So without further ado, here are the 34 Things Sean Spear has learned in his very own 34 years of life.

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Ladies and gentlemen... the moment you've all been waiting for...

The Awesome Office Podcast is back!

This episode, we are taking it all the way back to where we started with our guest: Awesome Office's former host Sean Kelly!

As many of you listeners know, Sean Kelly is a serial entrepreneur who in addition to starting and growing a number of his own businesses has taken it upon himself to inspire a whole new generation of entrepreneurs in building their own great businesses and lives.

In this informal "passing of the torch", Sean and Sean discuss what it takes to not only be a great entrepreneur, but to live a complete, fulfilling life as well. Believe it or not, you can have both.

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Reminder - we’re combining the Awesome Office and Brand Builder podcasts into one show. (Think of it as Awesome Office 2.0.)

What’s different? In a way, not a lot. We’ll still do culture-focused features and interviews every other Thursday, led by host Sean Kelly. But now they’ll be available in a different feed, so make sure to subscribe to Brand Builder in Apple Podcasts.

In addition, every Monday we’ll have new content focused on building your brand and scaling your business.

We just launched our first culture-focused Brand Builder, and here it is - a conversation with Traci Fenton, the CEO and founder of WorldBlu.

Have you ever worked in a fear-based environment? One where you spend every waking minute walking on eggshells? Where the wrath of a demanding boss is always top of mind, stifling creativity and innovation?

If you have, you know it's not fun.

In fact, it can be downright miserable for employees. And, ironically, it doesn't produce great results either. Instead of precise, high quality output, you're much more likely to see uninspired, unimaginative work - and an anemic bottom line to match.

So what’s the antidote to a fear-based workplace?

Today’s guest has something to say about that.

In our inaugural Culture Builder edition of Brand Builder, we speak to Traci Fenton, a globally recognized researcher, speaker, author, and the founder and CEO of WorldBlu.

Traci founded WorldBlu in 1997 and has helped spark and lead the global conversation around reinventing workplaces using freedom and organizational democracy rather than fear and control. She and the team envision one billion people living, leading, and working in freedom worldwide.

SnackNation CEO Sean Kelly spoke with Traci about what it takes to create a Freedom Centered Workplace, and the astounding results you can achieve within the WorldBlu framework.

Links

WorldBlu
Connect with Traci on LinkedIn

Have an idea for the show? Drop us a line! Brandbuilder@snacknation.com.

Brand Builder is a co-production of SnackNation and ForceBrands.

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Exciting news - we’re combining the Awesome Office and Brand Builder podcasts. Think of it as Awesome Office 2.0.

In addition to that, every Monday we’ll have new content focused on building your brand and scaling your business. Over time, we realized how interconnected these topics are, and consolidating these shows in one place just made sense.

To give you a feel for what you can expect, we’re bridging the gap between Awesome Office and Brand Builder with an episode with Tyler Merrick, the CEO and founder of Project 7.

Project 7 is a gourmet specialty candy brand dedicated to creating one of a kind customer experiences while giving back to 7 areas of need. Basically, Project 7 comes up with totally out there flavors – like birthday cake flavored gum or moscow mule flavored organic gummies – and then partner with non profits who are making an impact both in America and abroad.

We chose this episode because it gives you a good sense of the Brand Builder content that we think you’ll enjoy. It covers some familiar ground in terms of topics - and it’s just a great story.

We’ve combined a two part episode into one episode.

Takeaways

In social entrepreneurship, is your cause a lead actor or part of the supporting cast? Project 7 was founded on Tyler’s desire to bring more purpose to his life’s work. Finding the right way to position the causes he cared about involved a giant learning curve. Tyler shares how he found the balance that would allow the causes to shine and the business to flourish.
Stay lean. Think your business can’t reach the next level without hiring a bunch of CPG heavy hitters? Well, Tyler and Project 7 expanded to 12,000 stores with fewer than 10 full time employees. He shares a very specific tactic for figuring out whether or not you really need to make that next hire.
How to bounce back. One of the most interesting parts of Project 7’s success story… is that it could have easily ended. Tyler answers the question - how do you recover from the brink of failure?
If you really want to make a difference, lead with product and brand. It doesn’t matter how great your cause marketing is or how charitable your customer. At the end of the day, features and benefits drive consumer behavior. You need a thriving business before you can give back.
Hire smart. Not sure whether or not make that next hire? Only pull the trigger if you’re confident the revenue they bring in will be 2.5x their salary.
Let your sales numbers tell a story. Start with the buyers who are on board with your concept in order to provide proof of concept - show some momentum and you'll have a nice little velocity story to bring to the more skeptical buyers.
Practice Radical Responsibility. Tyler had to make some hard choices, and he maintained his credibility as a leader by shouldering some of the blame.
Innovate inside the box. You can diversify your product line without adding too much risk by innovating within limitations.

Links

Project 7
Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Brand Builder in Apple Podcasts.

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We’re currently experiencing a golden age for startup brands. It’s easier today to launch, build, and scale a consumer brand than perhaps any other time in history.

But that’s not to say it’s easy.

Startup brands still face obstacles, old and new, including how to stand out from the glut of new brands, how to adapt to the constantly shifting landscape of retail, and how to best leverage the wide array of data and tools now available at their fingertips.

Luckily for us, Courtney Reum is here to answer those questions.

Courtney and his brother Carter are the authors of the best selling new book Shortcut Your Startup, and he shares some of the top insights with us in this updated episode.

Courtney gives a glimpse into the book with a few of his shortcuts -

Role of brand in frictionless scaling.
How to make sure you don't miss out on a key insight.
Why it's important to know whether your brand is a “speedboat” or a “sailboat.”
The power of “heart-based” momentum.
Why success doesn’t necessarily equate to an exit.

Links

M13
Shortcut Your Startup by Courtney and Carter Reum
Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn

Like this episode? Then let us know! Subscribe, rate, and review the show in Apple Podcasts. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

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This week’s Awesome Office guest is a builder of disruptive brands.

We’re talking about Scott Painter, probably best known as the founder and CEO of both True Car and Cars Direct. He’s made a name for himself by launching and leading companies that anticipate consumer behavior and then capture huge markets.

This time out, Scott has his eyes on something no one has really done before - building a global brand around the concept of fairness.

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Today is Employee Appreciation Day, but this week’s Awesome Office episode is not about that. (Well, not really....)

Our focus this week isn’t how to appreciate your employees once a year - or even once in a while. It’s about creating a year-round culture of appreciation that permeates your organization - one that not only drives results, but that improves everyone’s quality of life in the office.

You see, while we think Employee Appreciation Day is a great thing, it’s also sort of like Valentine’s Day. If you only show your significant other that you care that one day of the year, you probably don’t have the strongest relationship.

And while Employee Appreciation is simple, it’s not easy. There are definitely some best practices and a few pitfalls to avoid. AO host (and SnackNation CEO) Sean Kelly has made appreciation a priority for a while, and shares his top dos and don’ts.

Here’s a recap of Sean’s tips:

Understand how those you lead want to be recognized - not everyone is the same.
Force moments of recognition (both personally and as an organization)
Always specifically call out why you’re recognizing someone AND be very careful about what you’re recognizing people for (I think you should always recognize people around company core values)
Write thank you cards - perhaps more powerful than any other form of recognition
Ensure you're recognizing people at all levels of the organization (especially if you’re a leader)
And of course show people you care by giving them the most phenomenal snacks that’ll actually improve their lives and make them happier and healthier

Don’t

Equate recognition to coddling
Only recognize people for results
Don’t recognize people inauthentically because you think you should - it’ll always backfire whether it’s your boss or anyone else
Push away recognition when it comes your way - accept it gracefully (at the same time understand you may not receive it when you deserve it)
Don’t recognize people only when they agree with you (in fact you should recognize people for dissension and going against you if you truly want to build a strong culture of innovation)
Don’t forget to recognize that you are good enough - without self love you simply won’t be a good appreciator or other people

Links

Joey Joyce teaches you how to create a Culture Committee at your organization.

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This week we dig into the Awesome Office archives to bring you one of our absolute favorite conversations.

From kid programmer in 1971 to Forbes cover story in 2003, Joy, Inc. author and Menlo Innovations CEO Richard Sheridan has never shied from challenges, opportunities, nor the limelight. His focus has always been around technology, but his passion is actually process, teamwork and organizational design, with one overarching goal: unlock the business value of Joy.

Strangely enough, it all began in 1967, when a ten year old Richard decided to surprise his parents by building a piece of furniture while they were away for the evening.

Hear his incredible journey to Menlo, and how culture became such a focus for Richard in this uncut interview.

Key Takeaways

Richard takes us back to one of the most formative experiences of his life, and explains why he credits this lesson as the inspiration behind Joy Inc.
Richard explains that, while he’s a technologist, his greatest innovation came in the way he thinks about people, organization design, and process.
Richard describes why we typically lose our sense of joy as we transition from childhood to adulthood, and why that’s detrimental to our businesses and our lives.
Richard opines why most managers fall into the trap of mimicking their predecessors, and how that has perpetuated harmful organizational cultures and management practices.
Richard explains how playfulness and productivity aren’t mutually exclusive, and how the TV show M.A.S.H. actually demonstrated that levity can exist in the midst of stressful or important work.
Richard tells us the utterly unique way that Menlonians schedule all-staff meetings, and how the company is able to conduct these meetings in under 13 minutes.
Richard explains why ear buds are forbidden at Menlo, and why he believes chatter helps fuel creativity.
Richard describes the Menlo hiring process, which actually involves no resumes and no interview questions whatsoever.
Richard tells us why he had to first rethink his own role in the organization before he could start to think about organizational change.
Richard shares the insight that his eight year old daughter gave him regarding his own leadership style.
Richard explains why low attrition isn’t necessarily the sign of a good company culture, and how some of the worst cultures he’s seen are ones in which no one ever leaves.
Richard explains how boomerang employees can be a source of fresh ideas and innovation, and why so many companies miss out on them.
Richard describes the tours he gives at Menlo, and how this daily story telling benefits himself and his team.
Richard tells us why he believes the most important breakthroughs won’t be technological, but will be based on the expanding concept of what it means to be human.
Richard shares why the biggest people-oriented crisis facing businesses today is a crisis of human energy - and why this represents a huge opportunity for organizations.
Finally, Richard enters the ring and takes on…the Minute of Magic.

Links

Menlo Innovations
Richard on Twitter - @menloprez
Richard on Instagram - @menloprez
Menlo Innovations on Twitter - @menloinnovation
Visit Menlo Innovations
Zingerman’s Deli

Recommended Reading

Joy Inc. by Richard Sheridan
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
The Practice of Management by Peter Drucker
In Search of Excellence by Thomas Peters
Megatrends by John Naisbitt
Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman
Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute

Like this episode? Then let us know! Subscribe, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

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Building an authentic, employee-led company culture is what most of aspire to. It can be the key to making your org a magnet for talent. Retention and engagement suddenly become a breeze.

The problem - it’s a lot easier said than done.

As always, we’re here to help. This week we’ve got Joey Joyce on the podcast to share the secret to creating a culture inspired by your values, but built by your employees.

Joey is a senior team member at SnackNation, and the president of SnackNation’s Culture Committee. His insights provide a framework for launching a Culture Committee at your organization.

That’s what we dig into in this interview - tactics for launching, scaling, and maintaining an employee-led culture committee at your company.

Here are Joey’s tips for launching a successful culture committee at your organization:

Select a Representative from each department. Every department has its own needs, challenges, and subculture. Your committee should give everyone a seat at the table, and work towards a culture that works for all.
Write a Mission Statement. Your committee should have a specific, culture-related purpose in sight. It might be to improve communication, make the office healthier, or to just make the day more enjoyable. Our Mission Statement was to live the company’s values, spread joy and optimism with events that the team would enjoy, and break down departmental silos and increase collaboration.
Chart a Roadmap. Once you nail your mission, work backwards to create measurable goals and a path to achieve them.
Capture and Incorporate Feedback. Some initiatives you’ll knock out of the park, others will require some adjustment before you get them right. You won’t know what works unless you ask your team. Field surveys… or better yet, just talk to people!
When times are tough, AMF (Always Move Forward). One of the biggest challenges with a Culture Committee is that it’s basically extra work for everyone involved. Each member has her primary job responsibilities, which always come first. In any given week you might have an engineer struggling to ship a product on time or a salesperson feeling the pressure to hit her goal. The key, according to Joey, is to find the right balance and always move cultural initiatives forward. If only two people can meet for ten minutes, meet for ten minutes. Just AMF.
Break out into subcommittees. Scale your committee as your company grows by creating specialized subcommittees.
Practice Radical Responsibility. Ultimately, your Culture Committee will only work if members hold themselves accountable.

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Is your company locked in departmental silos? Has communication stalled out? Is energy down, or morale dipped a little low?

A Company Summit might just be what the doctor ordered. Company Summits are a great way to unleash your creativity and tap into your team's collective brain power.

But let’s not beat around the bush - company summits can be expensive. On top of out-of-pocket cost for things like venue, catering, coffee, and snacks, there’s the opportunity cost of having your entire company away from the office for half a day or more. You have to be strategic in order to make your summit worth the investment.

So how do you make sure that your Summit is a hit and not a flop? AO host Sean Kelly has thrown a ton of these over his 12+ year entrepreneurial career. He's here to tell you how to design your next summit for maximum ROI.

Sean's Top Tips for Throwing an ROI-Positive Company Summit

Prepare. The old adage that failing to prepare is prepare to fail definitely holds true here. You need clear cut goals, a dialed itinerary, and quality presenters.
Determine the top problems you want your team to tackle. Figure out the biggest challenges your company faces, and unleash your team on them.
Choose a moderator or facilitator. You'll need someone MCing to keep the group focused and schedule on track. If you don’t have someone on your team who fits the bill, consider hiring someone.
Maximize cross department collaboration. Break up those cliques! Don't allow people to pick where they sit or who they team-up with. Instead, purposefully seat people from opposite sides of the house together for lunch and for break out sessions.
Solicit high quality, vetted presentations by your best speakers. Keep these in the morning, have lots of back and forth and audience participation, ad reserve afternoons for breakout sessions.
Put your teams of employees to work. Allow for teams to present their findings and compete with other teams to keep them accountable for putting in real work and presenting in a fun way
Slot in lots of breaks and movement. Jumping jacks and hi-fives help keep the mood and energy up.
Do NOT allow for a heavy lunch or energy-zapping snacks/food/drinks. (SnackNation can help you with all your snacking needs.)
Book an inspiring space that allows for breakouts. A good rule of thumb - the venue should be cooler than your office space! No hotel ballrooms or lame event spaces.
Provide alcohol at the end of the day. (But not too much.)
Don't make your summit too long! This should feel like intense work, but should not be massively draining
Take notes. Designate someone to capture the best ideas. Remember, you want to walk away with more than just good vibes!
Follow up. Make sure you connected with your leadership team afterwards and are aligned around expectations.

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By now you’re probably familiar with the concept of "work-life integration," which is rapidly replacing the outdated notion of "work-life balance."

Work-life integration simply acknowledges the reality that work is a major part of our lives. Most of us spend 8, 9, 10 or more hours at the office every day, so to pretend that there’s a distinction between “work” and “life” just isn’t on the level.

But acknowledging this reality is just the first step. For people-focused leaders, the next question becomes, how does this change the way we manage people? How do we manage in a way that acknowledges that work and life are one? In other words, how do we manage the whole person?

That’s one of several topics we explore in this week’s episode, featuring SnackNation President and COO Ryan Schneider.

As the President and COO of SnackNation, Ryan's job requires him to know how every single team member impacts the business. This not only requires a holistic understanding of the state of the business at any given moment, but a deep understanding of the complex factors that motivate employees both inside and outside the office. That's exactly what we mean by "managing the whole person," and Ryan's experience leading teams both in the startup world and at Fortune 500 companies has given him a unique perspective on this practice.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why Ryan personally interviews 98% of the people who interview at the company - no matter what the position.
The planning process Ryan uses to maintain a holistic understanding of the business at all times.
The risks involved with not managing the “whole person.”
How to transition from a “top-down” culture to one that’s led from the bottom up, and why that’s so important.

Links

Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn
Sapiens by Yuval Harari
The Axe Files interview with Joe Maddon

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In our last episode we focused on 2018 goal setting. Considering that health- and fitness-related goals account for nearly half of all New Year's resolutions, there's a good chance that a many of you are currently engaged in the noble struggle of eating healthier, getting active, or just dropping a few lbs.

Of course, New Year's resolutions are notoriously hard to keep. In fact, 92% of New Year's resolutions end in failure.

What differentiates the successful 8% from the rest? Knowledge and a game plan, for starters.

In that spirit, this week we have a presentation from Mark Sisson that’s all about helping you achieve your health, fitness, and nutrition goals.

Mark is basically THE guy when it comes to understanding Ketogenic diets. He’s a former endurance athlete turned health and fitness expert and a New York Times bestselling author of the books The Keto Reset Diet and Primal Blueprint.

Mark has a unique ability to make Keto accessible, and in this talk provides ideas and strategies to up your health and wellness game in 2018.

In this episode you'll learn:

The concept of metabolic flexibility, and why it's the lynchpin of health, performance and longevity.
The definition of ketonic, and the benefits of training your body to metabolize ketones.
The evolutionary science that explains our metabolic processes - and why they're not as useful for us as they were for our ancestors.
Some specific tips for living a more Keto-friendly lifestyle (without going full Keto).

Links

Mark’s Daily Apple
Mark’s books
Primal Blueprint

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The New Year has a way of sneaking up on us.

During the hectic months of November and December, we sprint like crazy to hit our Q4 goals. The next thing you know, it’s the holidays, and family obligations kick in. Blink, and it's January 1st... and we haven’t thought about our New Year goals once.

Better luck next year? Not so fast! It's not too late to get your 2018 goals back on track.

In our first Awesome Office episode of 2018, we present the procrastinator's guide to winning 2018.

In this episode you'll learn:

How to rapidly develop goals and begin integrating them into our routines
The ideal number (and best type) of goals to develop.
How to hold yourself accountable as you pursue those goals.
The cost of NOT setting goals.
Sean's top goal recommendation for 2018 for everyone, no matter who you are.

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According to a 2014 survey of 20,000 U.S. employees, only 36% of workers find meaning in their work.

In other words, nearly two thirds of employees don’t find their jobs meaningful at all.

If that statistic alarms you (it should), or if you find yourself amongst the 64%, there’s hope on the horizon. Because there’s a solution, and it’s called job hacking.

This episode is all about job hacking - the art of redesigning your role to provide greater meaning and fulfillment.

While the benefits of job hacking are clear - a more fulfilling life, progress towards your goals, and the energy boost that comes with a sense of purpose - pulling it off is a lot trickier. Luckily, Awesome Office host Sean Kelly is here to guide you.

Despite being a CEO and an entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience leading teams and building brands, Sean is still hacking his job to this day.

Because job hacking isn’t just for front line employees who hate their jobs. Anyone can benefit from job hacking - including managers, leaders, and even C-level execs.

In this episode you’ll learn:

What we mean by job hacking, and who can benefit.
How to discover the activities that give you work meaning and fulfillment.
How to minimize the time spent on the things you don’t enjoy so you can focus on the ones you do.
How to communicate to your manager that you want to redesign your job.
How to add to your workload without overburdening yourself - and burning out.
How leaders can take advantage of job hacking principles.
Why job hacking ultimately makes your more valuable to the organization.
Plus specific job hacks that you can deploy in your role today.

Recommended Reading

WSJ: Unhappy at work? Try hacking your job

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Josh Wand believes that entrepreneurs need to "find their magic."

What does that mean? Simply that entrepreneurs need to discover the things they do that nobody else can duplicate.

By all accounts Josh has found his. He's a master connector, providing massive value by connecting brands with the talent they need to really break through.

Josh is the founder and Motivator in Chief at ForceBrands, the consumer product industry's leading recruiting and staffing firm.

ForceBrands builds the teams that build incredible CPG brands. They're “people for a 'hire' purpose,” offering executive search services, board of director assembly, and industry-specific job boards ―BevForce, FoodForce, and BeautyForce.

As such, the ForceBrands story is often told through those of the brands they serve. But in this in-depth interview, Josh gives us a rare glimpse into his upbringing, business philosophy, and the journey he took to become CPG's most connected figure.

In this in-depth interview, you will learn:

Why story telling is at the heart of good recruiting.
A simple mindset shift that will help your team feel valued.
How to make your organization a magnet for talent.
How to find a good business partner.
Tips for CEOs to become more connected to their teams.

Links

ForceBrands.com
Josh on LinkedIn
Brand Builder, the CPG podcast co-produced by SnackNation & ForceBrands

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“Employer Brand” is a pretty buzzy word these days. It seems like it's on the lips of every recruiter, HR pro, and CEO as they try and figure out how to differentiate their workplace from the rest.

But is it just a buzzword, or something more meaningful? Better yet, should you even care about employer brand?

Well if hiring, culture, retention, or company performance are important to you, then the answer is a resounding yes.

In this episode, we break down the concept of the employer brand, and discuss how it can supercharge your culture and retention while providing some old fashioned brand marketing too. You will learn:

What “employer brand” really means and why it's important for CEOs and HR pros.
Who in the org is most responsible for employer brand - HR, CEO, or Marketing department.
How your employer brand can be your best form of brand marketing.
Whether employer brands are created or discovered.
How to ensure your employer brand stays consistent over time, even as your company changes.
The roles that hiring and onboarding play in employer brand.
The things that can threaten an employer brand, and how to safeguard against them.

Recommended Reading

Harvard Business Review: CEOs Need to Pay Attention to Employer Branding
Wade Burgess: Research Shows Exactly How Much Having a Bad Employer Brand Will Cost You

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Think about the one thing you love to do.

It could be a task you perform in your job, in school, or in your everyday life. This is the thing that energizes you when you think about it, and motivates you to get up every day. When you're doing it, time seems to fly by, and you walk away with more energy than when you started.

Now imagine doing that thing every day.

This is your unique ability, and designing your life (and work) to spend more time doing it is the secret to greater happiness and productivity.

In this episode, we break down the concept of unique ability in the context of our working lives. You will learn:

What we mean by unique ability.
How to discover your own unique ability.
How to align our work with our unique ability.
How to bring out unique ability in the people you work with.

BONUS EXERCISE: Love It / Loathe It

Here's Marcus Buckingham's quick and easy strategy for discovering your unique ability:

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side write “Loved It,” and the other write “Loathed It.”
As you go through your week, reflect daily on the things that you looked forward to, that made time speed up, that energize, or that may have made you a little tired, but that you want to do again. Those all go in the “Loved It” category.
Now think about everything you do that you put off, that makes time drag on, or that leave you completely drained and exhausted. Those go in the “Loathed It” category.
Before long, you’ll have a clear picture of your strengths. The beauty of this method is that it’s not abstract – these are actual tasks, functions, or activities that you actually perform during your week.
Now summarize your findings using specific action verbs (again, nothing abstract).
For Marcus, these words were “interview” and “mingle” – he found that he loved interviewing people, but absolutely loathed mingling.

Links

Dan Sullivan, Strategic Coach
Marcus Buckingham on the Awesome Office show

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You could say that FabFitFun is one of the more successful subscription box companies out there - and you wouldn’t be wrong - but I’m guessing that co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Broukhim might not totally agree.

That’s because he and his team see FabFitFun as less of a “box company” and more of an “un-boxing” company.

What’s the difference? Well not only is FabFitFun all about the joy of discovery that comes with unboxing their monthly (or quarterly) boxes filled with full size lifestyle products, but the FFF experience goes well beyond the box. The company provides exclusive content and products, community features, and even a proprietary augmented reality app.

And they’ve clearly struck a nerve with this “unbox” experience. Last year the company grew by 300%, while their headcount grew to 168.

Daniel sat with Awesome Office host Sean Kelly to discuss everything from the company’s origins as a content side project, to how Daniel’s leadership style has changed as he’s seen the company balloon from just a few employees to more than 160, and how his father’s entrepreneurial example (and tough love) have impacted the company that he co-founded with his brother.

Links

FabFitFun
FabFitFun's Augmented Reality App
UC Berkeley’s DeCal program
Daniel on LinkedIn

If you like this episode, subscribe to Brand Builder in the Apple podcast app, or where ever you get your podcasts.

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This week we’ve got an in-depth look at one of the most inspiring and authentic company cultures that we've ever come across - Deep River Snacks.

If you want to understand Deep River Snacks, look no further than their infamous tagline -

“Because we give a chip.”

The company makes small-batch, non GMO kettle chips, popcorn, and tortilla chips, but their mission is so much bigger than that. It's about using their amazingly successful, irresistible product as a platform for good.

It’s why they feature a different charity on every single variety of Deep River snacks. And not just any cause will do. They feature causes that they have a personal connection to. Whether it's breast cancer, Crohn's disease, or liver disease, these are issues that the people behind Deep River and those closest to them face every single day.

It's also why they've turned down some major distribution opportunities. If it doesn't feel right and isn't consistent with their mission and values, Jim and the Deep River crew just can't put their name on it (and vice versa).

That being said, the brand is about to embark on something entirely new (and a little scary for Jim) - opening up the conversation to their consumers by letting them decide which charity will appear on Deep River's new Black Truffle flavored kettle chips.

We got the scoop on what “Giving a Chip” is all about from founder and CEO Jim Goldberg. In its essence, it means caring about the people in your life, and doing something to make an impact.

Jim says it best:

“That’s what give a chip means - we do what we do because it’s the right thing to do. Period.”

This episode is a co-production of the Brand Builder podcast, our sister show that focuses on the people and stories behind some of the most successful brands out there.

In this conversation, you'll learn the following takeaways:

Be a fierce brand protector. Jim explains why authenticity is everything in CPG, and how to keep your brand identity true to you.
Never Lose the Bootstrap. Highly leveraged brands that shouldn’t fail often do - and it’s because they forget what it feels like to be bootstrapped. Jim tells us how he’s kept the bootstrap mindset at Deep River, even as they’ve taken on investors.
Culture = Brand. Culture is never really internal. Who you hire and how treat your employees has a direct effect on the brand you put out in the world.

Links

Deep River
Deep River’s Put a Cause on it Campaign
Deep River’s Honchos
Jim Goldberg on LinkedIn
@deepriversnacks on Twitter
@deepriversnacks on Instagram
Deep River Snacks on Facebook

If you like this epsiode, subscribe to Brand Builder in the Apple podcast app, or where ever you get your podcasts.

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For most people, it's scarier than dying.

Of course, we're talking about public speaking, the most dreaded of all workplace activities.

Despite the fear, public speaking is an incredibly useful skill for employees - and not just executives. It's an efficient way to communicate essential information, and it helps bring a company together. Most of us want to get better, but few know where to start.

That's what this episode of Awesome Office is all about - how to become a better public speaker at work.

In it, you will learn:

Why public speaking is important, even if you aren’t your company’s CEO.
The elements that make an effective speech or presentation.
Why the words you say are only the third most important part of a good presentation - and what the one and two most important factors are.
The importance of storytelling, and how to tell a compelling one.
Why vulnerability and confidence are equally important, plus specific tactics for projecting a sense of vulnerability to your audience.
The most common mistakes people make while speaking at work, and how to fix them.
Ways to get more employees to practice public speaking at work.

Quick Reference - Sean's Tips for Crafting a Masterful Presentation

Passion - you have to believe that what you are saying is important to your audience.
Stories - we connect and learn about the world through stories, so integrating storytelling is essential.
Teach - people want to be taught, so focus on one or two takeaways.
Conversation - don't talk at people, talk to them.
Surprise - the element of surprise makes for a more memorable and more effective speech.
Humor - there's no better way to endear yourself to your audience.

Links

Master public speaker Richard Greene
SnackNation’s Crush it Call (video)
The original Awesome Office interview with Hank Fortener on public speaking.

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Radical Candor is de rigeur in business these days.

It's a concept that pops up again and again - in business books, conference keynotes, and even, dare I say, podcasts.

But what is Radical Candor? And how do you pull it off with alienating people? (I.e. making people think you are a giant, insensitive weirdo.)

In this episode, SnackNation CEO Sean kelly breaks down the theory behind the practice, describes how it will benefit your business, and tells you exactly how to implement it at your organization at every level.

You will learn:

What Radical Candor is and how it will make your company better.
How to integrate Radical Candor in company-wide communications - risks and benefits.
How Candor and Culture intersect.
How Radical Candor extends to your brand.

Radical Candor Quick Reference Guide:

Radical Candor is all about respect.
It requires that you connect with people personally.
Make sure you get permission to use Radical Candor - especially with your boss.
If you're a leader, set the example - show your team you can handle the ugly truth.
Express feelings and fears - people want connection, growth, and authenticity.

Links

Radical Candor by Kim Scott
15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Dehtmer, Chapman, and Klemp
Self Determination Theory

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Have you ever wondered where the word 'company' comes from?

Most of us use it interchangeably with 'business,' but it's not quite the same thing. It's actually a lot simpler than that. The etymology tells us that company is a military term that simply means a body of people.

Company = people. Literally.

It's not a coincidence. Your product, brand, customer care, all that valuable IP - that's all created and managed by people. That makes people your most valuable asset.

So if people are everything in business, then it's absolutely critical that you hire well. In this episode, Sean gives you the hiring secrets that have served him over the last ten years-plus. You will learn:

The importance of hiring, and how it impacts culture.
How to break down the formality of interviews and get authentic answers instead of canned ones.
The single best question to ask in an interview.
One question you should get rid of.
The most important traits to look for when making a new hire.
How to recognize a hiring mistake, and how to quickly correct it.

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This week we’ve got something a little different. We’re debuting a brand new podcast called Brand Builder, and we’re giving Awesome Office listeners an exclusive first listen.

Brand Builder is a new podcast from the folks behind Awesome Office that brings you the people, stories, and lessons learned from the most innovative brands in the world.

What can you expect on Brand Builder? Fascinating entrepreneur stories, tactics you can use to grow your business and solve your biggest problems… and a few bad puns thrown in for good measure.

To kick things off, we’re sharing this episode with Caue Suplicy, the CEO and co-founder of Barnana.

Barnana is a Santa Monica-based company that has taken the snack world by storm with their bite-sized bags of banana deliciousness. Caue and Barnana proved that you can improve on perfection, all while promoting values like sustainability and healthier living. But it wasn’t always an easy road - far from it. Caue tells the story of Barnana’s beginnings, and how he kept things together when things got tough.

If you like this, subscribe to Brand Builder in the Apple podcast app, or where ever you get your podcasts.

Links

Brand Builder show notes.
Brand Builder on iTunes.
Brand Builder on Stitcher.

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These days, CEOs are kind of the new rockstars.

Our collective obsession with entrepreneurship and innovation has transformed the Zuckerbergs, Musks, and Bezos’ of the world into pop culture icons.

It can be easy to forget that Chief Executive Officer is a job - and a hard job at that. The role requires supreme efficiency, intense focus, and resolve. Every decision can have big consequences, and you need to be decisive in the face of uncertainty, criticism, and even self doubt.

So no matter where you are in your career, you can learn a lot by the way CEOs approach their work. But what does a typical day look like for a CEO?

Luckily, we happen to know one. In this episode producer Jeff Murphy talks with Awesome Office host and SnackNation CEO Sean Kelly to learn how he approaches his typical work day.

As you’ll hear, Sean breaks down how he approaches a typical day, shares the framework he uses to break up his week, and provides strategies for maximizing your effectiveness from when you wake up until your head hits the pillow. He also tells us his most important activities and responsibilities, and how those have altered as the business has scaled from less than 30 people to 150.

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At Awesome Office, we often say that your company is like a sports team, and I think after hearing this interview you’ll definitely agree.

This week we’re bring you a conversation with Reggie Bush

Yes, that Reggie Bush: Super Bowl Champion, two-time NCAA National Champion, and Heisman Trophy Winner Reggie Bush.

Not only is Reggie a great storyteller, but he’s a thoughtful guy with a pretty unique life experience and point of view. As you’ll hear in this episode, Reggie shares some of the lessons he’s learned in his decade-plus NFL career that we can all apply as we seek to achieve excellence at our own organizations.

Recorded live at SnackNation headquarters in Culver City, CA.

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This week on the podcast we’re featuring a recent presentation that I gave at the Human Capital Institute conference in San Francisco.

It’s all about transforming your company - not with things like new technology or processes or management techniques - but something a lot more fundamental to who we are. Human Connection.

As you’ll hear in a minute, I dig into the how and why of creating a NEW type of company - one where the goal is to help people become the best versions of themselves. That means your customers and your employees. (Especially the latter.)

I really wanted to share this presentation with you because it contains strategies, tactics, and stories that I haven’t told on this podcast before, but I know you’ll be able to apply at your company.

In this presentation I’ll tell you

The number one trait to hire for, and how to do it;
How to create forced recognition in the workplace, and why it’s so important;
And a super simple tactic for spreading recognition amongst your team.

Links

Human Capital Institute
Adam Grant
Simon Sinek
David Brooks

Recommended Reading

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe

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When we think about training for high performance, we usually think about training our bodies. We might even think about working our craft. But how often do we consider training our emotions?

Not very often, right? Well, if we care about performance, that’s actually a huge mistake.

That’s a big part of we explore in this episode with Dr. Glenn Fox.

Dr. Fox leads program design at USC’s Performance Science Institute, where he works with top athletes to devise strategies that optimize their abilities. He’s an expert on the ways that emotions - particularly gratitude and optimism - drive performance. According to his research, the ability to regulate emotions is the number one predictor of success in life.

This is just as true in the workplace as anywhere else. Since gratitude and optimism affect performance, companies who proactively foster these positive emotions via a culture of recognition have an automatic leg-up on those who don’t.

In this presentation, Dr. Glenn

gives us a functional definition of optimism and gratitude that you can use at your workplace (it’s not just rosy thinking and pretending everything is great)
provides the 3 core components of a Competitor’s Mindset
and walks us through a visualization strategy that top athletes often use, and that we can use in our own lives too.

Links

Dr. Glenn Fox - bio and publications
The Empiricist Blog
USC Performance Science Institute

Recommended Reading

Peak: Secrets of New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Poole
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

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Starting a business is hard. Scaling a business is much harder.

That’s one of the biggest takeaways from our interview with Brandon Weber, the co-founder and chief product officer of VTS.

VTS is the world's leading asset management and leasing platform, transforming an industry that until very recently has resisted the technological innovations that others have embraced.

With one foot in computer science and another in real estate, Brandon is the perfect person to bring this stodgy industry into the 21st century.

In this interview, Brandon walks us through this journey, including the trials and tribulations of scaling, and tells us why he and his biggest rival ultimately decided to join forces.

Plus, Brandon tells us why he believes an addiction to “Type 2” fun is one of the keys to entrepreneurial success in any industry.

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We all want to experience success. But how do you get there? Is it a straight line? When do you know to adjust course or make big moves away from your original strategy?

This episode will dive into all of this.

HUTCH is a Los Angeles company that boasts an innovative product, major funding from marquee investors, and has even appeared on the TV show Shark Tank.

If you weren’t paying attention, Hutch might look like an overnight success.

But when you dig a littler deeper, the real story is much more complicated.

Hutch’s story is really one of perseverance, and knowing when to pivot your business - even when doing so might feel incredibly scary.

In this interview, Hutch CEO and co-founder Beatrice Fischel-Bock dives deep into these topics and tells us how she and her team made the tough decision to change course midstream.

We also learn the philosophies behind Hutch’s one-of-a-kind company culture, how Beatrice and her co-founders have successfully mixed business and friendship, as well as her secret to crushing your next investor pitch.

Remember, if you like what you hear in this interview, we’ve got a ton more where that came from. Subscribe to us and never miss an episode, or tell a friend to spread the awesome.

Links

Hutch app
Hutch on Instagram
Beatrice on LinkedIn
Beatrice on Instagram

Recommended Reading

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
The 3G Way by Francisco S. Homem de Mello
Zero to One by Peter Thiel
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman

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At Awesome Office, we think that education is magic.

If you've heard the show, you know we're big on personal growth, and there are few things as crucial to growth as investing in yourself via education.

But our current system of higher education isn’t without its flaws - in fact it’s been in the midst of massive disruption for the last ten years or so.

And while a ton of ed-tech companies have sprung up to solve many of the challenges that our system faces, there’s one area that has remained largely untouched - the college admissions process.

(If you just shuddered thinking back to the stress of getting into college... we're right with you on that).

Luckily this week’s guest Avriel Epps is here to change that.

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Sometimes Virtual Reality gets a bad rap. Everything new is a little scary, and there’s a fear on the part of some that widespread adoption of VR means that we’ll somehow get “lost in the Matrix.”

But as this week’s guest James Iliff tells us, that isn’t likely. Why? Because virtual reality isn’t about cutting yourself off from the world, it’s about expanding your experience of the world, and enhancing our understanding of who we are as human beings.

James is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Survios, an “active VR” company based in Los Angeles. James and his team create groundbreaking interactive content powered by their cutting edge immersive technology. Translation - they make super fun VR games like Sprint Vector and Raw Data. And the best part - these games actually get you off the couch and moving.

In this interview, James provides a deep dive on the world of virtual and augmented reality, which he believes will massively change the way we live in the very near future. As he describes, gaming and entertainment are only the first movers for VR. The platform has the potential to transform a wide variety of fields, including education, psychology, real estate, and travel.

James also tells us about the genesis of Survios, the company’s awesome LA headquarters, and the unique culture that they’ve developed to support Survios’ groundbreaking work.

Links

Survios
James on LinkedIn
@Survios on Twitter
@Survios on Instagram
Ancient Aliens

Recommended Reading

The Alliance by Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha, and Chris Yeh
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
People Over Profit by Dale Partridge
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
People Over Profit by Dale Partridge
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin

Special Offer for AO Listeners – Try SnackNation Market for FREE

Introducing SnackNation Market.

For the past few years SnackNation has only been available to businesses, but now it’s available for homes and awesome individuals too.

We’ve secured a special offer for the listeners of this show: you can try SnackNation for FREE.

Just visit SnackNation.com/AO right now, and get your first box free (just cover shipping and handling).

That’s SnackNation.com/AO.

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Rafe Furst has a reputation for being ahead of the curve, a knack for identifying new technologies and consumer trends well before they become mainstream.

He also has the track record to back it up.

Since beginning his career in Silicon Valley in the 90s, Rafe has founded, invested in and advised dozens of startups, including Pickem Sports, Full Tilt Poker, and Crowdfunder. To date, his companies have generated over $1 billion in revenue and $450 Million in liquidity to stakeholders.

He also has the distinction of being the only Awesome Office guest to win a bracelet at the World Series of Poker.

But Rafe’s success hasn’t come without challenges, and his entrepreneurial path has taken him to some dark places.

Case in point - Full Tilt Poker, the gaming site that Rafe calls both his greatest success and biggest failure. In April 2011, Full Tilt came to a dramatic and public end, as the federal government seized the company’s domains, brought criminal charges against senior executives, and ran it and 11 other online gaming companies out of the country.

The ordeal was a source of debilitating stress for Rafe. At the end of that year, he (in his words) “crashed,” and his emotional and coping systems shut down to the point that he was briefly hospitalized. He spent the next month recovering in the care of his family.

Of course, this ending was really just the beginning of the next phase of Rafe’s remarkable journey. He went on to co-found the massively successful Crowdfunder, and today he’s the “Lead Insurgent” at COMMON, a creative accelerator and community that helps entrepreneurs build, launch and promote groundbreaking business ideas.

In this episode, co-host Sean Spear talks to Rafe about this extraordinary entrepreneurial journey, what being a professional poker player taught him about life and business, and how he bounced back from Full Tilt’s very public implosion.

We also take a look into the future, at the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, and how - according to Rafe - these will majorly impact society for years to come.

Links

RafeFurst.com
COMMON
Rafe on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

The One Thing by Gary Keller
The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson
The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

Special Offer for AO Listeners - Try SnackNation Market for FREE Introducing SnackNation Market.

For the past few years SnackNation has only been available to businesses, but now it’s available for homes and awesome individuals too.

We’ve secured a special offer for the listeners of this show: you can try SnackNation for FREE.

Just visit SnackNation.com/AO right now, and get your first box free (just cover shipping and handling).

That’s SnackNation.com/AO.

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The Giving Keys has put up some impressive numbers under president Brit Gilmore’s watch:

70+ employees. 1400 retail stores around the globe that sell their products. Half a million keys sold to date.

But there’s another, even more impressive number. 100 - that’s the percentage of the company’s production team that is staffed by people who are currently transitioning out of homelessness.

This week, co-host Sean Spear sat down with Brit Gilmore, the president of The Giving Keys a “pay it forward company” that makes necklaces from keys engraved with inspirational messages. Besides making beautiful hand-crafted jewelry, the company also works with local nonprofits to hire individuals who were recently homeless.

With 26,000 people living without a roof over their heads, The Giving Keys can’t solve the homelessness problem in LA by themselves. But they can provide a model for other companies to follow, and together make a huge impact.

In this inspirational conversation, Brit walks us through the origin of the company, the daily habits that have aided her success, as well as the challenges that have helped shaped who she is.

She also dispels some of the myths around homelessness, and explains how she and her team have developed a culture that supports the growth and development of all employees, regardless of their background.

Links

The Giving Keys
Brit on LinkedIn
@TheGivingKeys on Instagram
Chrysalis
First Place for Youth

Recommended Reading

Business of Fashion
Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan
Thrive by Arianna Huffington
Good to Great by Jim Collins

Special Offer for AO Listeners - Try SnackNation Market for FREE Introducing SnackNation Market.

For the past few years SnackNation has only been available to businesses, but now it’s available for homes and awesome individuals too.

We’ve secured a special offer for the listeners of this show: you can try SnackNation for FREE.

Just visit SnackNation.com/AO right now, and get your first box free (just cover shipping and handling).

That’s SnackNation.com/AO.

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By all accounts, LA’s Rareform was doing pretty well. They had a unique product that was clearly resonating with Millennial consumers - one of a kind bags and accessories made from repurposed vinyl billboards.

Then a little thing called “Shark Tank” happened.

In this week’s episode, co-host Sean Spear sits down with Rareform co-founder and managing partner Aric Avedissian. Aric takes us through the company’s early beginnings, telling us how his brother Alex came up with the idea while working with a non-profit in El Salvador, and why Aric first said “no” when he came to him with the idea.

He also describes the outsized impact that their recent Shark Tank appearance has had on Rareform’s business, as well as what it’s really like to pitch your idea to the likes of Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, and “Mr. Wonderful.”

Links

Rareform
Aric on LinkedIn
Contact Aric@rareform.com

Recommended Reading

The One Thing by Gary Keller

Special Offer for AO Listeners - Try SnackNation Market for FREE Introducing SnackNation Market.

For the past few years SnackNation has only been available to businesses, but now it’s available for homes and awesome individuals too.

We’ve secured a special offer for the listeners of this show: you can try SnackNation for FREE.

Just visit SnackNation.com/AO right now, and get your first box free (just cover shipping and handling).

That’s SnackNation.com/AO.

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If you ask Seth Epstein what his company, Los York, does, he could tell you that that they create "culture defining content" for top brands like Samsung, Motorola, and JBL. He could tell you that they're the creative agency of record for the Jordan brand and work with athletes like Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony. He might even tell you that they’ve been called Nike’s “advertising swat team” by Inc. magazine, and landed at #8 on the coveted Inc. 5000 list.

But he’ll probably tell you that they’re in the business of “Holy shit.”

That's because inspiring that visceral, emotional response - where the viewer literally pauses and says, “Holy shit...” - is the driving force behind everything that Los York creates.

In this interview, co-host Sean Spear sits down with the Los York founder and creative director in the company's beautiful office space in Santa Monica to learn about Seth’s journey from artistic surfer kid to purveyor of jaw-dropping multimedia campaigns.

Seth is a thoughtful, introspective leader, who (tellingly) draws equal inspiration from Shawn Stussy, Giorgio Armani, and Pablo Picasso. In this interview, he tells the story of his very first entrepreneurial endeavor upcycling vintage jeans, and how the failure of that business provided the "fuel" to launch the next stage in his journey. He also tells us one amazing story about early mistakes that led to a television executive threatening he’d never work in this town again… only to have that same executive ask for a job a few years later, and explains how a Zen parable helps inform his leadership style.

We’re think you’re going to like this one, we know we sure did.

Links

Los York
Los York multimedia reel
Seth on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

Transcending the Ego By Eckhart Tolle
The “emptying the cup” parable

Special Offer for AO Listeners - Try SnackNation Market for FREE Introducing SnackNation Market.

For the past few years SnackNation has only been available to businesses, but now it’s available for homes and awesome individuals too.

We’ve secured a special offer for the listeners of this show: you can try SnackNation for FREE.

Just visit SnackNation.com/AO right now, and get your first box free (just cover shipping and handling).

That’s SnackNation.com/AO.

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There's no doubt about it - big changes are coming.

New technologies like artificial intelligence and automation will fundamentally alter the way we work. But what will that look like, and how should companies adapt?

This week on the show co-host Sean Spear interviews Chris Rising, the Founder and President of Rising Realty. Chris is a 19-year veteran of the real estate business, and someone who’s always been ahead of the curve in terms of building spaces that support how the most innovative companies work.

We loved this conversation because it brought together so many of the big ideas that we care about on this show - everything from office space and its relationship to culture, to personal habits and productivity, to the big technological changes poised to transform our economy and the workplace.

Sean met with Chris at Rising’s dramatic HQ in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. In this episode, Chris dives into his personal journey - including the lessons learned from his Jesuit education and his experience as a college football standout at Duke University - shares his daily habits, and explains why he thinks offices aren’t going away anytime soon.

This one runs a littler longer than most, but be sure to listen to the end to hear a challenge that should have a big impact on your energy and performance.

Recommended Reading

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Flash Boys by Michael Lewis
The Third Wave by Steve Case

Links

Rising Realty
Chris on LinkedIn
LEED Certification
Kolbe Personality Test

Special Offer for AO Listeners - Try SnackNation Market for FREE Introducing SnackNation Market.

For the past few years SnackNation has only been available to businesses, but now it’s available for homes and awesome individuals too.

We’ve secured a special offer for the listeners of this show: you can try SnackNation for FREE.

Just visit SnackNation.com/AO right now, and get your first box free (just cover shipping and handling).

That’s SnackNation.com/AO.

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Is it better to bet on a company with a great idea but with a team of B-level players, or one stacked with A-level talent working on an average idea?

It’s a question that early-stage investors have debated for decades, but for this week’s guest there's no question about it - a great team beats a great idea, every time.

That’s according to Ronen Olshansky, the visionary CEO behind Cross Campus, a Los Angeles based on-demand workspace and business event venue that provides peak office experiences to a community of creative professionals.

Now if that name sounds a bit familiar, that's because Ronen is our first ever repeat guest on the Awesome Office show. After getting to know his story during our first interview (which we highly recommend listening to first), we knew we had barely scratched the surface with this insightful entrepreneur.

In this interview, co-host Sean Spear digs deep with Ronen to learn more about the philosophies that underlie his life and business. We learn some fascinating info, including an update on the Cross Campus business, Ronen’s take on leadership and fundraising, the industries that are poised to go mainstream in the next 5-10 years, and why right now Los Angeles is the best place in the world to do business.

Recommended Reading

The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
Onward by Howard Schultz
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright

Links

Cross Campus (visit them!)
Ronen on LinkedIn

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When you hear the word “company culture,” what comes to mind?

If you picture a whimsical work environment filled with highly social Millennial co-workers, cruising around on hoverboards and gathering around the company’s kegerator on Friday (or Tuesday) afternoons, you’re not alone.

According to this week’s Awesome Office guest, you’re also completely wrong.

In this episode, co-host Sean Spear talks to longtime friend and mentor Tony Knopp, the CEO and co-founder of InviteManager. Together with his co-founders, Tony has built the leading entertainment enterprise SaaS company, so he knows a thing or two about building high-performing teams.

Tony is a fascinating, driven entrepreneur who reads two books per week, and who brought a ton of juice to this episode. In our conversation, he shares stories from his early days at StubHub, explains why he decided to strike out on his own at the age of 27, and details why InviteManager has made “relentless recruiting” one of their core tenets.

One of the things we found most interesting was Tony’s take on company culture, and why he thinks most people miss the mark when it comes to building the right culture for their business.

Recommended Reading

“The Sure Thing,” by Malcolm Gladwell
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore
Mindset by Carol Dweck

Links

InviteManager
Tony on LinkedIn
@TonyKnopp on Twitter
Can’t Buy Me Love

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Today we’re fired up to introduce our brand new contributing host, Sean Spear of Hughes Marino.

Sean is one of my absolute favorite people. He’s someone who, like me, is fascinated with the intersection of personal performance, workspaces, and workplace culture, and how these things can make for better businesses and enhance all of our lives. He’s also someone with an endless curiosity and knack for stories, and he’ll be a perfect addition to the AO crew.

I’ll still be doing my share of interviews and standalone segments, but Sean will be adding to the interview side of the equation, tapping into his impressive network of leaders and cultural innovators.

In the coming weeks you’ll be hearing a LOT more from Mr. Spear, but for now I decided it would be fun to put him in the hot seat. In this episode, Sean tells us why he starts every day at 5 am, why he believes fortune favors the bold, and why you shouldn’t be afraid to, in his words, “fail epicly.”

Links

Sean Spear at Hughes Marino

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Tero Isokauppila radiates an undeniable energy. As soon as you meet him, you can tell he’s got an insatiable curiosity about the world around him.

This 13th generation family farmer has lived in eight different countries, served in the Finnish military, and is currently making plans to fly to the edge of space in a Russian fighter jet.

But his true passion is dealing ‘shrooms.

Tero is the founder of Four Sigmatic, a company whose mission is to make medicinal mushrooms - some of the world’s most researched superfoods - more accessible to everyone. They do this through their best selling mushroom coffee, mushroom elixirs, mushroom cocoas, and other fungi-based products.

As we discuss in the interview, mushrooms are pretty magical. There are mushrooms that can eat plastic, clean oil spills, and even thrive in irradiated environments.

As much as Tero is an innovator and an unconventional entrepreneur, he’s also seen firsthand how important people are to the process of making a great company. He talks to us about how key hires can help create a brand that people connect with, why he strives to never hold meetings, and the greatest challenge facing emerging CPG brands today.

Key Takeaways

Tero explains why he plans to fly to the edge of space in a Russian fighter jet. 3:21
The reaction Tero gets when he tells people he’s a “shroom dealer.” 7:40
How living in third world countries has affected Tero’s point of view. 14:36
How Tero’s relationship with mushrooms began foraging on his family farm in Finland. 15:30
The difference between entrepreneurship in Scandinavia and other parts of the world, and why Tero believes the U.S. is the best place on the planet to do business. 16:25
Why mushroom coffee is better for you than traditional coffee. 20:00
Why it’s important for Tero to go beyond the hype and “snake oil” perception traditionally associated with nutrition products. 21:20
Why mushrooms are so diverse and versatile. 23:00
The moment Tero knew he had something special with Four Sigmatic. 25:50
The greatest challenges facing emerging CPG brands. 30:30
Why, at the end of the day, your brand is your people. 32:45
Why Four Sigmatic tries never to hold meetings. 41:47
Tero describes Four Sigmatic’s cancer contribution program, and why he believes it’s better to have causes you believe in than a “pity product”. 46:10

Links

Tero’s site http://www.teroisokauppila.com/
Four Sigmatic https://us.foursigmatic.com/
Instagram @iamtero https://www.instagram.com/iamtero/
Mushrooms and Santa Claus
How to Nap on a Nail Mat
Stem Cell Therapy

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We’re doing a reboot of one of our absolute favorite episodes - our very first!

After surveying our listeners, we realized that many of our newer listeners had never heard some of our early episodes. To us, these early conversations are essential. Not only do we constantly reference the lessons we learned therein, but they really set the stage for the next year and a half of Q&A.

The Awesome Office Show is all about leading people, creating culture, and inspiring Awesome for companies of all shapes and sizes. So for the show’s very first guest, we went with someone who embodies the spirit of that mission; someone who has personally interviewed more than 1,200 candidates; someone whose passion for people and development permeates everything he does, and who has cultivated a culture of growth that helped transformed his company into the second fastest growing private company in America.

We’re talking about Quest Nutrition co-founder and Impact Theory founder Tom Bilyeu

Tom, along with his two partners, has completely reinvented the nutrition bar category in a periods of just a few years, and redefined what it means to snack healthy by creating healthy treats that taste like they’re bad for you, but actually are not.

Having grown up in Tacoma, Washington in a family that struggled with obesity, Tom felt a personal drive to segue into the health and fitness industry and help his loved ones and others like them revolutionize their relationship with food. As it would turn out, this new focus on something deeply personal and passion-based led him and his two partners to found Quest.

We expected Tom to drop some magic on our first episode, and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

One of the most fascinating things we learned about Tom is that he credits much of his success to a concerted effort to rethink — or even unlearn — the lessons of the past, including the fixed mindset and so-called “slave mentality” that plagued him early on in his career.

Tom had so much good stuff for us that we decided to give this conversation two episodes. So join us as we delve into the mind of Quest Nutrition’s Tom Bilyeu.

Key Takeaways

Tom discusses the “slave mentality” he held early in his career, and how he was able to recognize and break out of it.
Tom explains why it’s so important for leaders to be vulnerable, and why you shouldn’t confuse vulnerability with weakness.
Tom walks us through the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset, and explains why adopting a growth mindset has made all the difference in his life, his career, and his company.
Tom takes us through his belief in the importance of disciplined practice, and how he tricks his brain into working through moments of boredom or frustration.
Tom explains what he means when he says his job is to “free you from the matrix.”
Tom describes the utility in listening to criticism no matter who its from, and how the adoption of a growth mindset led him to that conclusion.
Tom describes the importance of culture, and why he made it an actual part of his job description.
Tom talks about why he ditched the standard mission statement for Quest in favor of his “25 bullet points that every human being needs to know in order to achieve every dream they’ve ever head.”

Links & Recommended Reading

QuestNutrition.com
InsideQuest.com
Tom Bilyeu on Twitter
The Quest Nutrition Belief System (25 Bullet Points)
Mindset by Carol Dweck

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Simon Cohen’s doctors thought it was a heart attack.

Back in 2006, the self-professed workaholic was on a business trip in China on behalf of Henco, the global logistics company he founded in Mexico at the age of 24.

But not everything was going well. Simon could barely eat, and only slept a few hours at a time. He spent his days meeting with his partners in Hong Kong, and stayed up all night working with the team back in Mexico.

On the last day of the trip, he felt a jolt of pain in his chest - so powerful that it knocked him off his chair at dinner. The next thing he knew, the 32 year old former Olympic-level swimmer found himself in the back of an ambulance racing to the hospital.

The experience was nothing short of life changing. As a high level athlete, Simon had taken his good health as a given. As it turned out, he had a rare heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW), and the intense stress of running Henco was threatening his wellbeing.

After taking some time to recover, Simon decided he had to make a change - and the results speak for themselves. Henco, a company in a notoriously stressful industry, has been named the sixth place to work in Mexico, and the number one logistics company to work for in Mexico six years in a row.

Simon told us how he achieved this amazing turnaround, as well as what he means when he says his goal is to treat his employees like “human humans.”

Key Takeaways

Simon explains why the key to creating high performing companies is happy people. 4:59
How Simon and his team have made Henco the 6th best place to work in all of Mexico, and the best place to work in the logistics industry six years in a row. 6:36
Why Simon thinks it’s important to make his employees feel like owners. 7:25
Simon explains what he means when he says it’s important to make people feel like “human humans.” 9:05
What’s different about catering your culture to Millennials, and why it’s important to do so. 12:00
How people who don’t have Simon’s mindset can embrace Henco’s management principles for their benefit. 12:42
Why there’s still stress at Henco, despite the high level of happiness and satisfaction. 14:22
Simon describes the moment that changed everything for him, and inspired him to make happiness a priority in life and business. 16:03
Why Simon decided to stop taking the pills to treat his stress and anxiety, and decided to change his lifestyle instead. 21:30
Why happiness is Henco’s number one competitive advantage. 24:34
Simon’s formula for a great relationship. 26:18
Simon on the importance of giving, and how it can be a multiplier for value. 31:46
Simon shares his biggest struggle today at Henco, and why happiness is like a muscle. 32:45

Links

Henco
Simon Cohen on LinkedIn
Richard Sheridan on Awesome Office

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In the CPG space, most entrepreneurs, start with a product. They might stumble upon some product innovation, and see their job as merely to figure out how to sell it. Things like brand and story are usually afterthoughts. Livio Bisterzo tried something different.

What if, he wondered, instead of starting with a product, you started with a brand proposition? What if you first built a story that your audience believed in? A big, powerful story, one that resonated with consumers, retailers - anyone who came across it? Something more akin to a tribe or a movement? What would happen?

Big things, it turns out.

This week our guest is Livio Bisterzo, the founder and CEO of Green Park Holdings, makers of the super popular Hippeas brand organic chick pea puffs. (If you’ve ever been to a Starbucks, you’ve likely seen their bright yellow, smiling packaging.) In just a year’s time, the brand has launched in 18,000 retailers - and the number is growing virtually every day.

Livio joined us in the Awesome Office / SnackNation HQ for a live interview in front of the team there. In the episode, Livio discusses the process of building the Hippeas brand from the ground up, and why a focus on story has made all the difference. He also explores the lessons he learned from his working class roots, why he believes there are no 9 to 5 entrepreneurs, and the link between brand and culture.

Key Takeaways

Livio takes us back to his roots in Milan, describing his working class background and sharing the top lessons he learned from his hardworking parents. 1:57
Livio describes the culture shock he experienced moving from Italy to England to attend University, and why he believes high-growth companies don’t happen in Italy 5:04
The difference between “sales” and “hustling.” 6:56
The traits that helped Livo survive and become a successful entrepreneur after early failures. 7:46
Why Livio decided to build a brand story rather than sell a food product. 9:14
Why it’s so important to focus on story and aspirational fit. 11:24
How Livio and his team built the Hippeas brand. 15:00
Why having a competitor or “nemesis” can both help or hurt a startup CPG brand, and why innovation in the natural foods ecosystem is always consumer led. 21:20
Why we’re currently experiencing the greatest change in the food supply since the 1950s. 23:20
The habits that most contributed to Livio’s success. 25:30
Livio’s biggest failures, and what he learned from them. 26:35
Why there are no 9-5 entrepreneurs. 28:30
How Livio’s changed since the lean years. 32:57
The importance of culture in the Hippeas brand. 35:20

Links

Hippeas
Livio on LinkedIn
JKR

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Seeing as February is the time of year most closely associated with love, we're shifting gears this month to focus on love, compassion, and empathy in the workplace.

For many, love in the workplace is still a bit of a taboo subject. It wasn't long ago that the office was a strictly unemotional place. Heavy emotions just weren't discussed, let alone celebrated or rewarded.

But times have changed. More and leaders have realized that a loving and giving culture doesn't just make for an enjoyable work life, but for a more profitable business as well.

This week Sean tackles how to create a more loving, giving, and profitable company, offering his top nine tips for making this happen.

Sean goes into much more depth of course, but here's a quick rundown of his suggestions:

Encourage people to share their fears and dissents. Remember, the only way we can create change is by engaging with people who think differently than we do. 10:22
Create forced moments of connection. Break open departmental silos to encourage greater empathy and understanding. 14:00
Openly integrate the practice of gratitude at your workplace. Gratitude makes it virtually impossible to feel angry or fearful. 16:48
Get real with a charity or cause you care about. All charitable giving is laudable, but get max value by having your team give in a hands-on way. 18:01
Integrate love, giving, selflessness or collaboration as a core value. Are these things important to your culture and business? Then make it official! 20:11
Hire for empathy, especially at the management level and above. Remember, you don’t need rockstars as managers; you need people who yearn to make other people rockstars. 22:25
Celebrate moments of selflessness, and build recognition around them. People have a funny way of doing the things you recognize them for. 27:20
Encourage your leadership and management team to deliver five “wow” moments per week. This can be as simple as writing hand written notes. 29:06
As a leader, put yourself first and encourage others to do the same. If you don’t care for yourself, you can’t take care of (or lead) others. 31:03

Links * Sean's Miracle Morning episode. * Jim Rohn

Recommended Reading * Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

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Each year, 190 CEOs from 40 different countries gather at Harvard Business School for an intense week of learning, teaching, and sharing. It's a truly special program organized by the Young President's Organization that brings together some of the best and brightest leaders around the globe.

Among them, AO's own Sean Kelly.

Sean's back this episode to give us his top learnings from another immersive week at HBS. And like year's past, the week was full of breakthroughs and surprises.

One of those surprises - the telltale signs when it's time for an employee to move on.

As we've said before on this show, effective leaders know that retention shouldn't be an end-all-be-all priority. High-growth businesses depend on individual growth - both personal and professional. Often, "graduation" out of a role - or even a company - is an inevitable outcome. But there are also instances when it's to both party's benefit if an employee simply moves on. This was a heated topic during the summit, and Sean lays out the telltale signs when this should happen.

That's not all. Sean also shares why good is sometimes the enemy of great, how to measure the potential growth in a new hire, and the best stories he heard from this phenomenal group of leaders and thinkers.

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This week we explore a phenomenon that few leaders understand, and even fewer take full advantage of, despite the powerful effects in can have on your company. We're talking about the office subculture. Sure, a lot of leaders are starting to come around on the idea of company culture. But what about subcultures? How do they work, and how might they have a place in your business?

What do we mean by subculture? We mean a distinct team or department culture within an already well-defined company culture.

We wanted to know how these smaller cultures develop, why they might be necessary in your organization, and how to go about shaping and defining them. To help us find out, I spoke to Chelsie Lee, the VP of Customer Success and Experience at SnackNation.

Think of this episode as a case study on office subcultures, and our subject is SnackNation’s Member Success Team (or MST), a team that embodies this idea more than any we've seen. Not only did we have Chelsie weigh in, we also had a chance to hear from her amazing team to get their take on how these ideas work in practice, and how this subculture affects their productivity, job performance, and overall wellbeing.

Chelsie and her colleague Clay Telfer also share the eye-popping employee rewards and appreciation program that they rolled out for 2017. Think of it as a video game achievements program made real - complete with custom-made badges for unlocking milestones and participating in team campaigns. It’s utterly unique, and in our opinion perfectly illustrates the identity and culture that this team embodies.

Huge thank you to the tenacious team builders on the Member Success Team, especially Chelsie, Clay, Kelsey, and Lexi for taking time out of their schedules to chat with me.

Key Takeaways

While your tactics might not always perfectly align, your department’s underlying values should never clash with your company’s values and culture.
A great recognition program inspires individual development, and helps foster a culture of teaching and learning.
Thoughtful is better than fancy when it comes to employee recognition.
Any recognition program you launch has to come from a please of sincerity… otherwise, it doesn’t stand a chance.

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For a lot us, the beginning of a New Year is all about change.

Our sights are set on changing our diet, changing our habits, changing our careers - changing our lives.

But as we explore in this week’s episode none of this change is possible unless we first change our beliefs.

Hold your beliefs constant and your life is guaranteed to stay the same.

Change your beliefs and… real magic can start to happen.

Sean explores this idea in much further depth in the episode, but here’s a quick rundown of the 3 new beliefs you can adopt to experience a better life in 2017.

Belief #1: The way others are around us is a reflection of ourselves, not them. When we start to take complete ownership of our surroundings it forces us to look at ourselves and see how we can improve.

Belief #2: The way we view the world says much about ourselves and very little about the world. As human beings we love to label people and things. That person is arrogant. That activity is stupid. But what do these labels, and these perceptions, say about us?

Belief #3: Those things that we resent in others is typically due to deficiencies or dislikes we see in ourselves. Think about a person you resent, or a particular trait of a person that you resent. Dig deep here. What does this resentment say about you?

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The New Year isn’t just a chance to hit the reset button on our individual goals, it’s also a great opportunity to start a new path for your company and its culture. At SnackNation and Awesome Office Inc., we’ve started 2017 in a brand new 21,000 square foot space, and it’s reenergized the entire company after a fast-paced year that saw growth in every aspect of the business.

But you don’t have to switch offices to give your culture - and your business - a transformative boost. There are things that you can do right now that won’t cost you a dime.

In fact, that’s exactly what this podcast is all about - the top 8 ways to transform your company in the new year without spending any money.

Here’s a cheat sheet to give you a quick rundown.

Make Vulnerability A Priority 4:45
Implement Individual Development Plans 7:05
Build-In FORCED Gratitude & Recognition 9:35
Create & Experience Frequent Company Challenges 11:45
Take a Day Off & Get More through Volunteering 14:38
Make Hand-Written Cards Part of Your Culture 16:08
Launch Your Own University 17:46
Mix-it Up with Newness 19:40

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Most leaders shy away from it. It makes people uncomfortable, and the mere mention of it can inspire off color jokes, or send grown men and women into fits of nervous laughter.

We’re talking about sex, of course. In the workplace.

Well, not sex exactly, but sexual energy. As author, coach, and expert Diana Chapman discusses in part two of this illuminating interview, to deny the existence of sexual energy in the workplace is to deprive your business of one of its most creative forces.

To be clear, we’re not talking about sex itself. In this context, sexual energy has more to do with creativity and an affinity for or attraction to ideas.

Like so much of what Chapman and her co-authors teach, the key is to recognize and acknowledge sexual energy dispassionately, as an objective fact, and to use the intelligence contained within it to your advantage.

Diana discusses this and a whole lot more in the conclusion of our interview.

Takeaways

The difference between blame and accountability, and why new knowledge should be the end result of every mistake. 1:37
A breakdown of the five primary emotions - fear, anger, joy, sadness, and sexual energy, and why sexual energy has more to do with creativity than sex. 4:47
Diana tells us about her completion process, and why her company goes completely offline every December in order to work on Commitment #6. 9:59
Diana shares her most surprising findings from twelve years of going through this completion process. 12:15
Why withholding saps people of energy, and why clearing resolutions to completion is so energizing. 15:48
How to integrate these practices for people who are new to your culture, and why curiosity is the key. 16:48
Why the way you view the world has more to do with you than it does about the world. 18:30

Links

Conscious Leadership Group
Diana on LinkedIn
Gay and Katie Hendricks

Recommended reading

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Chapman, Klemp, and Dethmer
The Power of Full Engagement by Tony Schwartz

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It's no secret that we’re huge fans of the book The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. Not only have we have offered a cursory breakdown of this awesome book in earlier episodes, but the entire leadership team at SnackNation HQ is currently going through it to become better in 2017. So you’ll understand our excitement when we found out that we landed one of the book’s co-authors, Diana Chapman.

Diana has been a trusted advisor to over 700 organizational leaders and many of their teams. Clients from Genentech to Yahoo! value her clarity, compassion, ferocity and playfulness, and she’s a well-respected facilitator for the Young Presidents Organization.

In this episode, Diana revisits some of the topics from our initial exploration of conscious leadership, but gives a much deeper understanding of both how to do it, and why it’s so important, both to our businesses and our lives.

Diana also sheds new light on the subject of stress, and explains how many of us are actually addicted to the adrenaline that comes along with it. It's why so many of us consider ourselves "always on," and wear the term "workaholic" like a badge of honor. Ultimately, Diana teaches us that all this stress is damaging our health and limiting our teams' ability to succeed.

Diana was an amazing interview, and it’s such a rare treat to read such a transformative book and then have the opportunity to go even more in-depth with the author herself.

Diana also brought so much magic to the table that we decided to release this one in two parts.

Top takeaways:

Diana explains the “Why” that drives her passion for helping people live more consciously, and explains why she and her co-authors focus on leadership. 3:56
The distinction between “content” and “context,” and why every problem in business can usually be solved by examining context. 4:12
What it means to be “above” or “below the line” - and what it means to be a “conscious leader.” 7:05
Why we are naturally below the line, and why reaching an above the line state takes work. 9:58
Why it’s inevitable that we sometimes do go below the line, and what that really means in terms of costs and benefits. 11:11****
Why we’re addicted to stress, and the harmful effect that’s having on our health and physical wellbeing. 12:35
Why conscious leadership is essential to managing Millennials. 15:00****
The three most important commitments on which leaders should focus. 17:13
What it really means to “feel all feelings” (the third commitment of conscious leadership), and why leaders should recognize that emotions are a form of information. 19:13
How stress manifests as physical pain. 20:30
Why we should listen to and learn from the wisdom in our emotions rather than either ignoring them or using them as justification for impulsive decisions. 23:05
The importance of vulnerability in this entire process. 25:25****
How the words “I feel” can help us communicate in a more objective, constructive way. 27:52
Why the stories we make up about the facts are the source of conflict and negative emotions, not the facts themselves. 30:21
The importance of asking “what if the opposite of my story is true.” 32:28
The most difficult commitment for leaders. 33:27
How leaders can rid themselves of the scarcity mindset and think in terms of abundance. 34:29****
The difficulty in making this mindset a habit, and why it requires constant proactive attention. 35:12

Links

Conscious Leadership Group
Diana on LinkedIn
Asana
Dr. John Sarno

Recommended reading

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

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If you’ve ever listened to the show, you probably know that we get FIRED UP around this time of year. And not just for things like holiday parties and time spent with loved ones.

We get amped by the fact that the holidays are the perfect time to reflect, reset, and look ahead to the coming year. It’s a chance to think about who we want to be and how we’re going to get there.

Yep, it’s the time for ANNUAL GOAL SETTING.

(Fired up yet??)

There’s a bit of an art and science to setting proper goals. In fact, the vast majority of people who set goals - as in 92% - never achieve them. And only 45% of people even set them to begin with.

In other words, if you can set and achieve your goals, you’re truly in rarified air.

In this episode, we present a peak inside the culture at SnackNation and Awesome Office Inc. HQ with Sean’s annual goal setting presentation to his team. Sean has spent more than a decade refining his approach to goal setting, and shares his top ten tactics and strategies for getting it right. He also dives deep into one of the most important (yet most under appreciated) aspects of goal setting: the emotional aspect.

Here’s a quick recap of the ten steps to become the best version of yourself in 2017.

Set a Theme
Only Set 5-10 Goals
Attach a Why
One Goal for Each Area
Ensure Goals are Compelling
Make Specific & Measurable w/ Deadlines
Don’t worry about the HOW
Write them Down, Keep Visible
Write the Next Action Step for Each Next Goal
Get an Accountability Partner (Or 2)

For more tips for setting yourself up for success in the New Year, check out episode 62 - How to Start Your Year with a Bang.

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If you’re anything like me, I’m guessing you grew you up with this familiar maxim:

As long as you set your mind to it, you can be whatever you want to be.

Now what if I were to tell you that this idea was flawed, and might actually lead you down the wrong path?

Still with me?

That’s exactly the idea that we explore in this week’s episode of the Awesome Office Show, which is all about helping you discover your life’s authentic purpose. And it's pretty important stuff, for it’s a sense of purpose that gives us a lasting sense of fulfillment.

As Sean uncovers, the key is to listen to the feedback that life gives us in order to discover our strengths and take the path that’s right for each of us. It’s not just about discovering your strengths and your passions, but pointing them towards something even greater - your authentic life’s purpose.

Sean recently gave a version of this presentation to a group of young investors in Mexico City, and thought it would be relevant to our Awesome Audience. Here are the main points.

Key Takeaways

Sean starts by asking you to consider that one of the fundamental axioms of childhood - that you can be anything that you want to be as long as you set your mind to it - actually starts with the wrong premise and leads us astray. 2:50
Sean breaks down why trying to find out who we want to be often prevents us from discovering where we’re supposed to be - and why listening is the key to it all. 3:15
Sean explains that while conventional wisdom teaches us that we’re all blank slates, this belief tends to ignore our unique strengths and abilities. 5:00
Sean explains what he means when he says that we need to “understand what crayons we have and where the lines are.” 6:13
Sean extolls the value of listening, and why it’s so important to listen to the right things. 7:30
Sean describes his own process of discovery, and the path that led him to find his life’s purpose. 8:05
Sean pinpoints the turning point in his own story, and describes how listening played a major part in transitioning from becoming a doctor to an entrepreneur. 12:11
Sean explains why understanding our lives as energy is essential to finding one’s true passion. 17:35
Sean provides a more useful definition of a “weakness,” and breaks down what distinguishes weaknesses from strengths. 19:32
Sean explains why authenticity is the foundation to this entire discovery process, and why it can be the key to finding your true purpose. 20:42
Sean tells us the purpose of life in his view, and how your unique purpose fits into the equation. 23:31
Sean shares an exercise to help you find your unique abilities. 24:10
Sean tells us why action does not come from inspiration, but rather the other way around. 28:29
Finally, Sean breaks down why purpose can give you the greatest state of fulfillment. 30:05

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If you’re a regular AO listener, you know that we’ve interviewed people from across the business spectrum - from first time entrepreneurs, to CEOs of hugely successful multinational brands, to scientists taking their cutting edge research to the market themselves. But there’s one business we just haven’t tackled yet.

The family business.

Thankfully Ginny Simon was kind enough to spend some time with us this week to tell us all about it. Ginny is the founder and CEO of GinnyBakes, a Miami-based company that makes gluten-free cookies and bake mixes, and that sees itself as a “gateway” to healthier eating. GinnyBakes is also a true family business, with Ginny’s son Michael and husband Steve playing integral roles in the brand’s daily operations and growth.

In the interview, Ginny sheds light on both the advantages and challenges of running a business with your spouse - both of which will probably surprise you - as well as what it took to finally convince her husband to wind down his law practice of 26 years and dive into GinnyBakes full time.

As Ginny tells it, their decision to join forces and bring son Michael into the fold is proving to be the right call. Today GinnyBakes has 35 employees, services more than 3,000 doors, and boasts deals with airlines and a thriving ecommerce business. Oh, and they also experienced 300% growth last year.

Ginny was a delight to interview - and we think you’ll agree that her “sweet” story is one worth devouring.

Key Takeaways

Ginny tells the story of going from a mother of four boys to the CEO of a natural products startup, and how being a mom prepared her for the demands of a growing business.
Ginny describes the moment that she knew she was onto something with GinnyBakes.
Ginny pinpoints the greatest challenge she has faced as an entrepreneur over the last six years, and how she has learned to overcome it.
Ginny also explains the biggest obstacle in the food business, and why part of her company’s mission is to fix it.
Ginny explains how (and why) she brought her husband and sons into the business, and lays out the challenges and advantages of doing so.

Links

GinnyBakes Website
Ginny on LinkedIn
Ginny on Instagram

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On the surface, feedback seems like an uncontroversial topic. Most of us probably agree that accurate, timely feedback is critical to our jobs, no matter if we’re a junior team member or at the top of the organization. But in reality, our understanding of feedback is mostly one-sided - especially when it comes to leadership.

While most leaders focus on techniques and strategies for providing feedback for others, only the top leaders focus on the right way to receive it.

Why? Because even for the most accomplished among us, feedback is scary.

When we receive feedback, often our first instinct is to put up our defenses. We are naturally averse to it. We bristle at the idea that we aren’t perfect, and believe that recognizing feedback will reveal our flaws and shatter our perception of ourselves.

But as this episode reveals, to deny feedback is deprive ourselves of one of the greatest gifts in life. Because while change might be inevitable, growth is optional. Growth is up to us, and much of it depends on our ability to receive the feedback the world is gifting us, in all its forms.

Yep, as it turns out, receiving feedback is an art unto itself. Here’s how to master it.

(This episode was recorded live in front of the team at Awesome Office HQ in Los Angeles.)

Key Takeaways * Why receiving feedback is just as - if not more - important than giving it. 5:05 * Why feedback is fundamental for growth, and the difference between change and growth. 5:30 * Why it’s so hard to receive feedback, and the first step to becoming open to it. 7:05 * The benefits of recognizing imperfection in ourselves, including the impact on relationships. 8:29 * Why it’s better to find the truth than to be right, and why teams who see reality for what it is are the ones who win. 9:27 * Only when you are not willing to change are you able to achieve great things, and why feedback that triggers your defenses is actually a gift. 12:28 * How to practice conscious listening. 15:31 * The importance of body language and posture when receiving feedback. 17:05 * Why it’s important for both parties to repeat the feedback. 17:42 * How to evaluate the feedback you receive. 18:56

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We're back with part two of our exploration of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a book that's full of powerful and practical prescriptions, and one that I find myself reaching for again and again. (Missed part one? Check it out here.) Commitments 8-15 build on the themes of candor, curiosity, and integrity that we talked about in part one. Some of the ideas might sound familiar. Commitment 8, for instance, bears a resemblance to several concepts from positive psychology, while Commitment 11 reminds me of the Stoic philosophy I discussed with author Ryan Holiday in a previous episode. I think that's one of the reasons that I love this book so much - it combines brand new insights with proven leadership advice, and packages it in a way that's useful and just makes sense. Here's a quick rundown... Commitment 8 - Express Your Zone of Genius

This commitment is all about finding that one thing that you do well and love to do. Similar to concepts like "unique ability" and flow state, your "zone of genius" is the area where you make the most valuable, creative contribution.

Commitment 9 - Remember to Play

Contrary to what most of us are taught earl in life, work doesn't have to be nothing but stress, misery, and toil. Play, laughter, and improvisation are vital to being productive and fulfilled. (Besides, what good is life without a little bit of laughter?)

Commitment 10 - Consider the Opposite of Your "Story"

We all have a "story" - it's the way we see the world, the assumptions we take with us when we approach problems. The idea here is to consider that the opposite of your story is as true or truer than your own.

Commitment 11 - Be Your Own Approval

Commit to being your own source of approval, rather than relying on it from others.

Commitment 12 - Recognize You Have Enough

How many times have you caught yourself saying "if only I had enough time. Enough money. Enough support. Enough space. Enough energy." This commitment reminds us that this imagined state of "enough" is never going to happen, and asks us to be satisfied in what we have now - and get stared solving problems!

Commitment 13 - See People as Allies

Whether or not you consider someone an ally or obstacle is largely a matter of choice. So which would you rather have, enemies or allies? Choose allies.

Commitment 14 - Win for All

Recognize that life is not a zero-sum game and commit to creating win-for-all outcomes.

Commitment 15 - Be the Resolution

Finally, the most important commitment - be the resolution the world needs. Stop being content with apathy and recognize problems as opportunities to step up and become the solution.

To see more of what the 15 Commitments look like in action, check out the Conscious Leadership Group.

Recommended Reading

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Klemp

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Ask yourself - as a leader, are you coming from a place of fear and uncertainty? Do you look for fault and blame in others, cling to an opinion and fixed worldview, and believe in scarcity over abundance? Or are you open to outside interpretations, curious about the world around you, and committed to learning more about yourself and those around you?

In other words, are you leading below or above the line?

That’s the topic of today’s special #SPKup episode as I explore the concepts contained in The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a fantastic read and a book that’s proven to be a true game changer for me.

As you’ll hear in this episode, the entire leadership team at Awesome Office HQ is currently reading (or re-reading) this amazing book, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share some of my learnings as I explore its valuable concepts yet again.

We only cover half the points in part one, and will pick up again in part two.

Here’s a quick recap of the points we Cover

Commitment 1 - Radical Responsibility

The idea with this first commitment is to locate the “cause and control” inside us, not in external events. This means we stop believing that the world should be a particular way, and instead believe that the world just shows up.
In the second part of this process, we move from rigid, closed mindedness to curiosity, learning and wonder (something that naturally occurs if the first shift happens.)
But most of all, radical responsibility is not about being right! Letting go of the need to be right is something all top tier leaders do.

Commitment 2 - Learning through Curiosity

Conscious leaders are passionately committed to knowing themselves (the basis of curiosity) and allow themselves to wonder.
Success here depends on approaching people with an unreasonable benefit of the doubt, especially those you manage. Be truly curious in what they say.

Commitment 3 - Feeling All Feelings

So many leaders stay in their head and don’t access their guts or hearts enough. To be an effective leader, you need to acknowledge all your feelings.
Emotions are just energy in motion. They’re neither good nor bad - they just are. The key is learning how to deal with your emotions and process them. Every feeling we experience is a way for us to grow and improve in awareness.

Commitment 4 - Speaking Candidly

According to the book, the team that “sees reality the best wins.”
So many people are scared to speak candidly, but when they do that they’re robbing themselves and other people from the natural flow of energy, from what really needs to be said.

Commitment 5 - Eliminating Gossip

Gossip is defined as anything said with harmful intent, that you wouldn’t say in front of the other person. While gossip is a manifestation of our species’ desire for deep social bonds, it no longer serves us, especially in business.
Here we break down why we gossip, and discuss strategies for reversing and avoiding our tendency to engage in this destructive behavior.

Commitment 6 - Practicing Integrity

Remember that integrity has nothing to do with being right or wrong, it’s all about being whole. (The root of integrity is integer, after all.)
We discuss the importance of not blocking the natural flow of energy, and the Four Pillars that help us maintain our integrity.

Commitment 7 - Generating Appreciation

For this commitment, we talk about what it means to give people the unreasonable benefit of the doubt and why leaders need first and foremost to pay attention.
Additionally, we dive into the various reasons why people don’t accept appreciation, and what masterful appreciation really looks like.

Again, that’s just part one. We’ll cover Commitments 8-15 in part two next week.

Recommended Reading

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Klemp
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When you get to know Dr. Joseph Antoun, you quickly realize that he’s deeply curious about the world in which we live. In fact, he’s a renaissance man of sorts. Dr. Antoun Holds a Master’s in Health Care Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins, and an MD and MS from St. Joseph University. On top of that, he holds four separate executive positions at places like the Health Systems Reform, the University of Chicago, the Journal of Health Systems Reform at the academic side, and the Global Healthspan Policy Institute. (I’m exhausted just typing that.)

But we were most interested in L-Nutra, the company for which he serves as CEO, and that’s poised to be the single most disruptive nutrition company in the 21st century.

It all comes down to the science of fasting. According to Dr. Antoun and his fellow researchers, fasting could hold the key to preventing many of the chronic illnesses that occur later in life. In fact, Dr. Antoun contends that it’s no coincidence that these conditions occur in our golden years. It turns out, most are actually symptoms of aging itself.

The key discovery is that when we fast, our bodies go into a protective, regenerative state, effectively reverse the process of aging, and therefore helping prevent and delay the onset of age-related chronic illnesses.

Building on these findings, Dr. Antoun and L-Nutra have developed a product called Prolon, meal kits that don’t register as food to the body. Prolon causes the body to enter a regenerative fasting mode, while still providing proper nourishment.

We dive into this and a whole lot more, including Dr. Antoun’s upbringing, his views on leadership, and why creating positive change means finding alignment in both the public and private sectors. Needless to say, this was a fascinating, illuminating conversation.

Key Takeaways

Dr. Antoun explains the science behind fasting, and how it has the potential to prevent chronic age-related illnesses.
Dr. Antoun explains why our healthcare system is broken - and why “sick care” might be a more accurate name for it.
Dr. Antoun explains the term “health span,” and why increasing our health span - not our lifespan - should be the goal.
Dr. Antoun makes the point that age related diseases come in series, and they might be better thought of as symptoms of aging rather than as illnesses in their own right.
Dr. Antoun explains how they developed Prolon, how it works, and why it has the potential to disrupt healthcare as we know it.
Dr. Antoun talks about his upbringing in Lebanon during the Palestinian occupation, and how years of struggle and hardship shaped his personality and forged his formidable drive.
Dr. Antoun recalls his early days as a cardiologist, and how he actually lost patients simply because they couldn’t afford healthcare.
Dr. Antoun explains how his journey from medicine to public policy to business is actually part of a three-pronged strategy to affect change.
Dr. Antoun explains his role in the war against aging, and why there has to be alignment between the public and private sectors.
Dr. Antoun explains how he is able to hold so many executive leadership positions, and shares his number one leadership trait.

Links

Prolon Website
L-Nutra Website
Harvard’s Know Thyself Course
Dr. Antoun on LinkedIn

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Andrew Blackmon knows that pain can be the genesis for amazing things in business.

That’s because The Black Tux - the high end suit and tux service he co-founded with longtime friend Patrick Coyne - was borne out of Andrew’s own frustrating experience renting his wedding tux back in 2011.

While stressful at the time, this pain point helped highlight a market rife for disruption, and he and Coyne haven’t looked back since. Together they launched The Black Tux in 2013, and today the company has more than 100 employees and rents approximately 15k suits per month.

As you’ll hear in this interview, The Black Tux is a little different than most high-growth startups. They have to deliver amazing experiences on the biggest day of their customers' lives (no pressure there), a feat that poses unique operational challenges. Even more interesting, it turns out these challenges have pushed the company to develop not just one, but two very distinct (albeit linked) company cultures.

We covered a ton of great topics with Andrew, and we think you’ll get a lot out of his stories and advice - we certainly did.

Key Takeaways

Andrew describes the genesis of The Black Tux, and how a negative experience at his own wedding changed his life forever. 3:01
Andrew tells us how most aspiring entrepreneurs go wrong when preparing to start a business, and shares his tips for the right way to incubate your idea. 6:50
Andrew describes the moment of validation for him and his team after their launch. 8:45
Andrew explains why pain in the market can tell you when you might be onto something with your company, and why bad feedback can be as valuable as positive validation early on. 10:01
Andrew walks us through his upbringing, and tells us why the surfing and skating lifestyle led him to think like an entrepreneur. 11:28
Andrew tells us the main thing he learned from his father growing up. 12:26
Andrew explains the pros and cons of investing in a first time entrepreneur (sage advice considering that he is one). 14:22
Andrew breaks down the number one challenge he and his business faces today. 17:48
Andrew talks about the challenges of scaling a business like his, with two distinct (albeit strongly linked) company cultures. 21:11
Andrew shares his secret to hiring for the right culture, and the one interview question that he makes sure to ask in every interview. 23:55
Andrew describes the greatest lessons he’s learned since launching the company. 25:35
Andrew breaks down how he finds the right balance between empathy and drive that it takes to coach people effectively. 30:21

Links

The Black Tux
@andrew_blackmon on Twitter
Andrew on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Men’s Journal: “A Better Black Tie Rental”

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Ronen Olshansky knows a thing or two about awe-inspiring offices.

That’s because Ronen is the co-founder and CEO of Cross Campus, a Los Angeles based on-demand workspace and business event venue that provides peak office experiences to a community of creative professionals. Each of the four Cross Campus locations is a highly designed, highly social experience where inspiration, productivity, and creativity thrive.

Cross Campus is one of those places you have to see to believe, and if you live in Southern California, we highly recommend visiting one of their locations in Santa Monica, Downtown LA, Pasadena, or the South Bay. Featuring flex work spaces, a bar, and even meditations rooms, they often feel more like a high-end luxury hotel than a co-working space.

We’re not the only ones who think CC is great - President Barack Obama chose the flagship Cross Campus Santa Monica location for his summit on LA’s Silicon Beach tech scene.

In the interview, Ronen takes us through his upbringing and his decision to attend Yale at age 16, explains why he left Wall Street for tech in the early 2000s, as well as the lessons he learned running a bar on an island off the coast of Brazil - lessons that he still applies at Cross Campus to this day.

Ronen also share the three things every office needs to create a thriving company culture, and why having a blast is the key to it all.

Key Takeaways

Ronen explains why it’s difficult for an entrepreneur to be successful without being obsessed with his or her idea, and why the real challenge is sustaining that intensity over the long haul. 3:24
Ronen takes us through his upbringing, including his trouble with authority, his undergrad experience at Yale, and his foray into Wall Street. 6:10
Ronen tells us why he left the financial industry to open a bar on Florianopolis island in Brazil, and how that experience informed the launch of Cross Campus many years down the line. 7:56
Ronen dives into his time as a carbon credit trader in Moscow. 12:05
Ronen explores the idea that Ivy leagues “handicap you,” and that while Yale was ultimately the right place for him, why elite universities might not be right for every aspiring entrepreneur. 17:00
Ronen explains why he sees himself in the hospitality business rather than commercial real estate space, and explores why some companies might better serve their employees by thinking about their own business this way. 19:10
Ronen dives into Cross Campus’ world class event curation, which has hosted everyone from Elon Musk to Tim Ferriss to President Barack Obama. 20:01
Ronen explains why we’re in the age of the Experience Economy, and why the only way to communicate a differentiator sometimes is to have someone experience your product for themselves. 21:05
Ronen tells us why Cross Campus DTLA installed a meditation room, and why it’s become the most requested feature for members at other locations. 26:24
Ronen walks through the three things every office space needs to support a productive culture, regardless of industry. 37:37
Ronen reveals the single best KPI for Cross Campus - and for any business. 41:37
As an angel investor, Ronen talks about the greatest indicator that a company is going to make it. 43:13
Ronen explains how to identify the A-players on your staff, and makes a case for only hiring them. 51:17

Links

Cross Campus (visit them!)
Ronen on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

Peak by Chip Conley.

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Imagine this: you’re a young, bright student at the top of your class with dreams of attending a top university. Up to this point, you’ve been able to earn excellent grades and handle life’s challenges with relative ease.

Suddenly, at age thirteen, you’re thrust into a brand new culture. You don’t speak the language, your classmates make fun of you for reasons you don’t quite understand, and you’re back to square one academically. You still dream of gaining acceptance to a world-class college, but you have just five years until you start applying.

That’s exactly the challenge that lay before Harrison Tang, the CEO and co-founder of Spokeo and today’s Awesome Office guest.

Despite the deck stacked against him, Harrison was able to quickly master English, gain acceptance to Stanford University, and launch Spokeo with his college roommates upon graduation. Today Spokeo is the leading people search engine, with more than 18 million unique monthly visitor, and $78 million in revenue for 2015. Spokeo is also home to a unique company culture, one reflected in its numerous quirky conferences rooms - including the bacon-themed meeting space where Harrison recorded our interview.

According to Harrison, those early experiences after immigrating to the U.S. from Taiwan were hugely formative, and helped him develop a process to tackle any challenges that arise - one that he still uses to this day.

With his engaging stories, inspiring journey, and practical advice, Harrison was a delight to interview. Through it all, Harrison hasn’t lost his trademark optimism, sense of humor, and work ethic. We think you’ll enjoy this one as much as we did.

Key Takeaways

Harrison explains why he and his co-founders chose to set up shop in Pasadena rather than Silicon Valley. 3:25
Harrison delves into the hiring challenges - and benefits - of being located a little bit off tech's beaten path. 5:30
Harrison takes us back to his upbringing, and shares his inspiring journey to Stanford University after coming to the U.S. at age 13 from Taiwan. 8:08
Harrison describes the unusual way he mastered English as a teenager. 8:54
Harrison tells us how this experience taught him to overcome the biggest challenges Spokeo faced as a business, and why optimism has been so important to his success. 11:03
Harrison explains why adversity is an asset, and what he means when he says, “When there’s a tiger chasing after you, you run for your life.” 14:26
Harrison tells us the greatest lesson he learned from his parents. 17:30
Harrison talks about the origins behind Spokeo, and walks us through the pivot that led to their massive success. 19:04
Harrison describes the advice he would give his younger self at the beginning of his entrepreneurial career. 26:02
Harrison breaks down his process for dealing with challenges and fears. 28:12
Harrison tells us the habits that help him optimize his work and be the best leader he can be. 32:56
Harrison explains why he insists on respecting people’s time and giving his own time to his employees and colleagues - even when it seems like he doesn’t have enough of it. 33:47
Harrison describes the impact that fatherhood has had on his leadership abilities. 39:22
Harrison tells us the origin of Spokeo’s infamous bacon room, and how it reflects the company’s unique culture. 40:53

Recommended Reading

Emma by Jane Austen
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck* by Mark Manson

Links

Spokeo
@spokeo on Twitter
@twhman on Twitter

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The end of the year brings with it that inevitable holiday lull, and it can be tempting to take your foot off the gas.

But the best companies and top performers know that those sleepy November and December months are a prime opportunity to generate momentum and slingshot themselves towards success in the New Year.

Here at SnackNation and Awesome Office HQ we’ve just wrapped up our Q4 quarterly planning, and after some reflection, we thought it would be a good opportunity to share our top tips for closing the year out STRONG.

That’s what this week’s #SPKup is all about - 9 ways to help you end your year with a bang, and start your new year off right.

Review your goals from earlier in the year.

Even if you aren’t on track to hit all your goals (you probably won’t be), look to create some momentum going into the new year by reassessing what you can do in the time remaining.

Use our 3x3x3 Matrix to track habits, objectives, and projects

Print these out and put them on your desk. Read them daily, and review and assess against them weekly. I like doing this on Sunday mornings.

Download our handy spreadsheet HERE.

Create your New Year’s goals now.

This is so important if you want to successfully crush your goals this year. There are many great ways to do this, but I love this format - the 5-4-3-2-1 model. That is:

5 things you need to do
4 things to STOP doing
3 new habits
2 people to hold you accountable (and yes, set accountability meetings now - can take some time)
1 new belief

Download our 5-4-3-2-1 worksheet HERE.

Don’t just create your goals, get started on them early!

Use November and December as a Training Ground for your goals without the pressure.

Make sure you give yourself a break between Christmas and New Year’s

This means thinking and planning ahead so you don’t have to catch up during this period of rejuvenation. Also make sure to take care of your self and be smart about your health.

Eat alkaline foods (all illness thrives in acidic environments)
Wash your hands like crazy, give fist bumps more than high fives, and keep Purell at your desk
Get sleep, especially during holiday party season
Take vitamin C (I take 1-2K mg in morning and during day)
If you’re attending holiday parties and drinking, take lysine
Don’t overindulge

Don’t start the New Year behind the eight ball! That’s not to say don’t indulge, but make sure you offset indulgences with healthy choices or activities.

Finalize all of your travel and plans in the first half of October

There is great freedom in commitment and knowing what you’re going to do over the holidays, which can turn very stressful if you’re rushing to do things.

Reset your clock

Ask yourself, how do the shorter days impact you? Maybe you’re like me, and prefer working out later in the day during the winter because it gives you an extra boost to close the day out. The point is, do what you need to do to adjust to the shorter daylight hours.

Go into the holidays with clear set personal objectives

This can mean creating meaningful connection with your friends and family. What’s more important than relationships? Than human connection? Than family? So why do so many of us not enter holiday weekends without objectives, when we have so many goals in the workplace.

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We’re back this week with another #SPKup episode, in which Sean answers the questions and breaks down the topics that you’re dying to know more about.

This time Sean focuses on a topic that he gets asked about all the time –

Negotiation.

For a lot of us, negotiation can be a bit mystifying, and as a result artful negotiation remains a drastically under utilized tactic. But the truth is, negotiation is a skill like any other, and anyone can master it.

What makes Sean an expert? Besides the countless deals he’s negotiated in more than a decade as an entrepreneur, he also took top negotiation honors at a recent Harvard Business School executive leader summit.

So whether you’re making the case for a better salary or making a million dollar real estate deal, here are the top ten tips that will help you come out on top of your next negotiation.

Top Takeaways

Sean shares why human connection is such an important part of negotiation.
Sean explains why you have to have the mindset that you are actually the least important part of the process, and tells us what he believes is the most important part.
Sean explains the importance of body language in negotiation.
Sean reminds us what “winning” really means in the context of deal making.
Sean shares why most deals don’t get done, and why preparation is the key to a fruitful negotiation.
Sean tells us why adding more items to a negotiation is a tactic to get what you want.
Sean explains how information creates trust in a negotiation, and why you should be willing to put more of your cards on the table, not less.
Sean relays the importance of intangibles.
Sean reminds us that money isn’t always the ultimate goal in a negotiation (even though most people assume it is).
Sean tells us why get those early yes’s are so important, and how to get them.
Sean describes the importance of making incremental progress, and why deadlines don’t work.
Finally, Sean explains why not thinking big enough is one of the most common mistakes people make in negotiations.

This podcast is brought to you by the good folks at Audible.com

Just for the listeners of the Awesome Office podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook download along with their free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service.

We personally recommend Mindset by Carol Dweck. It’s the one book that will change your life more than any other, and the one we think everyone should read.

And the cool thing is - you can download it for FREE by trying audible.com.

To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/AO.

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What’s up Awesome Officers, this week we’ve got a special episode featuring a talk that Sean gave at the recent SHFM National Conference in Arizona.

In it, Sean describes what he believes to be the single most important thing - not just in the workplace, but in life - that we must focus on in order to live happy, productive and fulfilled lives. And we’ll tell you right now, it’s probably not what you think.

As Sean admits, this episode is personal. In crafting this talk, Sean strove to be as vulnerable, open, and transparent as possible in order to connect with his audience. The talk was by all accounts a success in that regard, and we hope that you’ll connect with the ideas in this podcast too.

Key Takeaways

Sean explains why human connection is the most important thing in life, and details the evolutionary science that helps explain why this is the case. 3:46
Sean explores why gossip was actually a matter of life or death to our prehistoric forebears. 4:50
Sean explains why the common conception of the successful dominant “alpha male” isn’t quite right. 5:53
Sean points out a contradiction: why human connection is at an all time low, despite the fact that we live in the most connected age in human history. 7:00
Sean shares a personal story about growing up in Northern Michigan, and some choice advice from one of his mentors. 8:34
Sean takes a critical look at himself as an entrepreneur in his twenties, and why describes why he felt like it was him against the world. 9:29
Sean tells us how he learned he’d become something he’d never thought he’d be - a (biological) drug addict. 10:55
Sean breaks down the feel good chemicals that drive our behavior, and names the analogous street drugs that mimic their effects. 11:28
Sean describes the moment he realized he was addicted to selfish chemicals, and wasn’t focusing enough on the social chemicals the enable longer lasting happiness and fulfillment. 16:17
Sean identifies what he believes is the source of all suffering, and the quickest way to alleviate it. 16:30
Sean explains why Millennials are poised to bring about radical social change, and create a world that emphasizes social bonds and human connection. 16:50
Sean revisits the advice his mentor gave him, and modifies it in light of what he learned since he became an entrepreneur. 19:05

Links

@Seanpk on Twitter'
Sean on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
The Fourth Turning by William Strauss

This podcast is brought to you by the good folks at Audible.com

Just for the listeners of the Awesome Office podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook download along with their free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service.

We personally recommend Mindset by Carol Dweck. It’s the one book that will change your life more than any other, and the one we think everyone should read.

And the cool thing is - you can download it for FREE by trying audible.com.

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Awesome Officers, we’re back to answer your burning questions with another episode of #SPKup.

This time out, SPK focuses on entrepreneurship, and shares the top mistakes that early-stage entrepreneurs make, plus how to fix them. He also opens up about what he’s struggling with professionally, the new skills he’s trying to cultivate, and how to maintain the relationships within your professional network.

Again, we did this live smack dab in the middle of SnackNation HQ, so you can hear (and see in the video) some of our awesome team members taking care of business.

Keep those questions coming! Ask @seanpk via Twitter and use the hashtag #SPKup and Sean will answer it in the next edition of #SPKup.

This podcast is brought to you by the good folks at Audible.com

Just for the listeners of the Awesome Office podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook download along with their free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service.

We personally recommend Mindset by Carol Dweck. It’s the one book that will change your life more than any other, and the one we think everyone should read.

And the cool thing is - you can download it for FREE by trying audible.com.

To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/AO.

Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.

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Megan Miller wants to know… why aren’t you eating bugs yet??

And for good reason - evidence suggests that protein sourced from insects just might be the key to fixing the world’s global food system.

Luckily for all of us, the bugs in question come in the form of delicious BittyFoods snacks, which include chocolate chip cookies and Chiridos, their signature tortilla-style chips.

Megan Miller is a digital strategist turned food pioneer, and the co-founder of BittyFoods, a company that makes a bevy of snacks made with their signature high-protein cricket flour.

The environmental science behind cricket farming is fascinating, but what we loved about our conversation with Megan was hearing how her vision and fearlessness empowered her to create something, well… a bit crazy.

Megan launched the company from her kitchen, baking and mashing crickets she purchased from a local pet store. Since then, she and Bitty have come a long way. The company has earned accolades and attention from national media, and recently secured national distribution for their products. (They also use much higher quality crickets these days.)

Megan was a delight to interview as she described how she and her co-founder have staked a claim at the intersection of deliciousness and craziness. We think you’ll really like this one.

Key Takeaways

Megan tells us how she got into the whole cricket business in the first place. 4:35
Megan describes the taste of cricket flour for people who haven’t had it before, and explains how they sourced the original insects. 8:35
Megan breaks down the environmental advantage of cricket protein versus other types of protein. 10:15
Megan describes how regions of the world that eat insects helped inspire the flavors of some of their signature products. 15:02
Megan talks about the genesis of the name Bitty and considers the possibility of expanding to other insects. 16:05
Megan describes her real apprehension about becoming the “crazy cricket lady.” 17:00
Megan explains the process of sustainably raising crickets, and the possibility of certification for cricket farming in the near future. 19:43
Megan goes back to her Childhood and tells us an experience that shaped her personality and helped her developed her grit and resolve. 21:15
Megan talks about bootstrapping the company in its earliest days. 23:58
Megan describes the greatest challenges the business has seen, and how they overcame it. 25:55
Megan explains how she keeps her sanity while running a fast-growing business in such an unusual niche. 31:55

Links

BittyFoods.com
Megan on LinkedIn
Justin’s Nut Butters

This podcast is brought to you by the good folks at Audible.com

Just for the listeners of the Awesome Office podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook download along with their free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service.

We personally recommend Mindset by Carol Dweck. It’s the one book that will change your life more than any other, and the one we think everyone should read.

And the cool thing is - you can download it for FREE by trying audible.com.

To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/AO.

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The beautiful thing about innovation is that it almost always starts the same, humble way - with a person and an idea.

Our most impactful technological achievements - the printing press, the internal combustion engine, the iPhone - all started with someone who saw a problem and dared to envision a solution.

It’s what Chris Powell calls “the art of the possible,” and it’s what has sustained his passion for the HR space for the last two decades.

Chris Powell is the CEO of BlackbookHR, a software company that equips organizations to leverage workforce insights that impact productivity, performance, retention and culture.

Chris also represents a bit of a rarity in the world of HR tech - a founder who actually spent most of his career in HR.

Because while most founders in the space come from a software development background, Chris has spent 20 years in the trenches as an HR exec with companies like Marriott, Scripps, and Deloitte.

This means Chris has tackled people issues from every side of the equation, and for all types of companies, from major corporations with thousands of employees in offices around the globe, to nascent startups experiencing growing pains for the first time.

As you’ll hear in the episode, Chris took some time from a vacation on Martha’s Vineyard to share some of his veteran insight with us. We talked to him about why companies tend to know their customers and vendors better than their own employees (and why this is a problem), why human behavior doesn’t allow for stasis, and how to foster the art of the possible with your employees.

Of course, two decades in HR means that Chris has seen and heard it all, and he also shares his most outrageous story from the front lines of the HR desk. (Trust us, it’s a good one.)

Key Takeaways

Chris explains why he got into the HR space, and what inspired him to stay in the field for more than two decades. 5:09
Chris describes the “holy grail” that he’s been chasing in his career. 6:39
Chris breaks down why human behavior doesn’t allow for stasis, and why it’s therefore the wrong state to strive for in business. 7:39
Chris shares the #1 lesson he learned from his days selling cars to Ford dealerships that he still applies as a CEO and business leader. 9:07
Chris relates a story from his days as an HR exec at Scripps, and tells us why relationships are more important than competency. 11:34
Chris tells us about his childhood growing up in Memphis, TN, in a family with 7 siblings, and how that experience taught him how to deal with people. 12:45
Chris also shares a story about a family trip to Nashville that taught him a valuable leadership lesson that he carries with him to this day. 14:43
Chris explains why companies tend to know their customers and vendors better than their own employees, and what leaders can do to change that. 18:04
Chris explains the genesis of BlackbookHR, and the ways they surface insights for the companies they serve. 28:43
Chris tells us his craziest story after 20 years on the frontlines on the HR side of the house. 33:42

Links

BlackbookHR
@xrispowell on Twitter
Chris on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

The Power of Awareness by Neville Goddard

This podcast is brought to you by the good folks at Audible.com

Just for the listeners of the Awesome Office podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook download along with their free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service.

We personally recommend Mindset by Carol Dweck. It’s the one book that will change your life more than any other, and the one we think everyone should read.

And the cool thing is - you can download it for FREE by trying audible.com.

To download your free audiobook today go to audibletrial.com/AO.

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Joe Cross is an Australian entrepreneur and filmmaker whose “reboot” concept empowers business leaders to take control of their health by making simple lifestyle changes.

But before he was the picture of health and wellness and a beacon of hope for thousands across the globe, Joe Cross was on death’s door.

By age 40, Joe’s health was in disarray, despite a flourishing career as a day trader and investor. As Joe explained it to us, he was focused on “wealth and not health,” and while he wasn’t looking his weight ballooned out of control. 100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe was at the end of his rope.

Enough was enough.

Sick and tired of being sick and tired, Joe discovered that the power to change was within his control, and that he could “reboot” his health and his life by making simple lifestyle changes. He lost the weight, cured his own disease, and threw all the pills away.

And if he can do it, so can all of us.

Joe documented this journey from obesity and illness back to health and vitality in his first film, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, a runaway success that has been viewed by countless people around the world.

Joe was gracious enough to spend some time sharing his amazing story, as well as strategies that can help all of us improve our health, longevity, and vitality, and do the work we were meant to do.

Key Takeaways

Joe describes his reboot technique, and how it’s transformed his life.
Joe shares one simple change the average business leader can do to start living a healthier lifestyle.
Joe describes the “Two Rule,” a way to avoid sabotaging your health and nutrition goals while eating out at business meals.
Joe breaks down the 80/20 rule that guides his healthy lifestyle, and explains why maintaining a balance is so vital to your longterm health.
Joe shares a story about attending a rock concert in his youth that illustrates what a huge epiphany discovering a plant-based diet was for him.
Joe talks about the replacement vs. restriction dichotomy, and how replacement is the key to long term success when it comes to lifestyle changes.
Joe dives into his personal story, describing how he left high school at 17, became a courier for a merchant bank, and then a trader on the floor of Sydney’s Futures Exchange.
Joe descibes his life as a trader, and how he lost $200k on his worst day.
Joe explains how his obsession with work led to his ballooning weight and deteriorating health, and what he did about it.
Joe tells us why it’s so important to climb a tree and make sure we’re in the right jungle instead of blindly hacking away with our machetes (so to speak).
Finally, Joe tells us why he became a filmmaker, and the role that storytelling plays in enacting positive social change.

Links

Reboot With Joe
@JoetheJuicer on Twitter

Joe’s Films

Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead
Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead 2
The Kid’s Menu

Recommended Reading

Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

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How many emails do you have in your inbox right now? A hundred? A thousand? Twenty thousand?

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What is happening, Awesome Officers and purveyors of optimism? We’ve got a fresh new episode ready for your aural consumption that we think you will really enjoy.

This one’s a little different though. This is the first episode of a new format we’re calling #SPKup. It’s a Q&A with AO captain Sean Patrick Kelly (aka, SPK), and a chance for you, the listener, to ask Sean any question you want.

In this one, SPK tackles the top questions we hear from our awesome audience, covering all manner of topics, from business and leadership to life lessons and Sean’s greatest fears. No topic is out of bounds.

This was recorded live in the middle of our SnackNation headquarters (the original Awesome Office), so don’t be surprised if you hear a steady buzz of activity (and some aggressive high-fiving) in the background.

And fear not - we’re still producing epic interviews with today’s top business leaders.

Have a question for Sean? Then #SPKup! Ask @seanpk via Twitter and use the hashtag #SPKup and Sean will answer it in the next edition of #SPKup.

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Happiness. Does it really matter?

Ask most business leaders fifteen years ago, and you’d be hard pressed to find one who thought that happiness was a primary concern, especially within the organization.

Work is about results, and happiness is incidental. Or so the thinking went.

Then came along a little company called Zappos, with a visionary CEO named Tony Hsieh who realized that delivering happiness was a unifying theme throughout the business. Not only did delivering happiness sum up the ideal experience for his customer, but making happiness a primary concern internally actually drove results.

There’s no one in the world who understands the power of Happiness better than this week’s guest, Jenn Lim.

 Delivering Happiness CHO Jenn Lim.   Jenn is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, a consulting firm she founded with Tony Hsieh to inspire science-based happiness, passion and purpose at work, home and everyday life.

Jenn was a foundational team member at Zappos, and in 2010 she led the launch of Tony’s book Delivering Happiness, which has sold over 600,000 copies worldwide.

Jenn refers to Delivering Happiness as a book that became a company that became a global movement.

We caught up with Jenn on a Hawaiian “workcation,” and she digs deep in this interview, telling us about her upbringing, her days as an angst-ridden, Camus-reading teenager, and her own happiness journey, which includes stops at UC Berkeley, San Francisco tech, and Zappos. Eventually, this path led her to the principles of positive psychology that form the basis of Delivering Happiness.

Key Takeaways * Jenn takes us through DH’s happiness framework, and explains the difference between pleasure, passion, and purpose - as well as why a sense of purpose has the highest likelihood of creating sustainable happiness. 5:33 * Jenn walks us through her childhood, and explains how her experience as a first generation American shaped her perspective on what “success” and “happiness” mean, as well as how those constructs changed over time. 8:53 * Jenn describes one of the lowest moments of her life, and explains how this experience inspired her to focus more on discovering her own life's purpose. 13:37 * Jenn describes the life-changing events that led her to focus on positive psychology and the science of happiness. 21:22 * Jenn tells us about her introduction to Zappos, and the not-so-great first impression that CEO Tony Hsieh left on her. 22:25 * Jenn describes how her working relationship with Tony flourished, and tells us about the bonds that forged between them while scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro. 24:13 * Jenn walks us through the number one business case for workplace happiness, and lays out a strategy for creating values that actually mean something. 26:55 * Jenn tells us the story behind Zappos’ famous culture book, and how she brought the project from idea to launch. * Jenn shares a formerly-held belief about happiness that has since changed. 40:00 * Jenn describes how the world of work will be different ten years from now. 46:12

Recommended Reading * Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh * The Stranger by Albert Camus * The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand * On The Road by Jack Kerouac * The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

Links * DeliveringHappiness.com * Delivering Happiness on Facebook * @DHMovement on Twitter * Email Jenn directly: jenn@deliveringhappiness.com * UC Berkeley

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In a very literal sense, you’re about to have your mind blown. Or perhaps more accurately - this episode will blow your mind and then help you rebuild a better one. This week we have Dr. Robert Cooper, a bestselling author and researcher who holds a PhD in general psychology and neurology, and the proponent of a practice called “upwiring.” In this amazing interview, Dr. Cooper introduces us to the concept of “livewiring” - the idea that we’re constantly remaking the structure and function of our entire nervous system in realtime. The livewiring breakthrough led Dr. Cooper to the concept of upwiring - the practice of remaking your mind in a directed, purposeful way. The research has shown us that we all have the power to unlock hidden capabilities, push through obstacles, and generally perform better and lead richer, more fulfilling lives. And it's easier than you might think. Dr. Cooper isn’t just a respected researcher and performance coach - he’s a certifiable performance stud. He was an All-American swimmer at the University of Michigan, a U.S. Marine and jet pilot during the Vietnam war, and - oh yeah - he’s currently completing his second doctoral degree. The good doctor shared some incredibly simple yet effective strategies for practicing upwiring in our daily lives. We also cover stories from Robert’s upbringing that shaped his identity and inspired him to unlock the hidden potential in himself and others. Key Takeaways * Dr. Cooper tells us about his upbringing and the role played by his two grandfathers, who inspired him to always challenge himself and fully realize his potential. 4:45 * Dr. Cooper tells us how his experience as a Marine in Vietnam showed him how deep people can reach within themselves when confronted with extreme circumstances. 7:02 * Dr. Cooper explains how he became curious about how the best leaders use setbacks and difficulties as a catalyst to bring out more in themselves and their teams. 7:35 * Dr. Cooper tells us why being engulfed in information gives us the illusion that we’re actually learning, even though we’re not. 9:15 * Dr. Cooper talks about the expectations of having such accomplished mentors in his life as a young man, but how ultimately their influence led him down the path he continues on to do this day. 9:48 * Dr. Cooper explains why he believes that we only live in a tiny corner of our possibilities as human beings, and why our brains are hardwired to recognize the best of what’s common not the best of what’s possible. 11:26 * Dr. Cooper explains the phenomenon of cognitive tunneling, and how of very strengths are blocking us from developing. 13:40 * Dr. Cooper explains why he believes our biggest mission every day is to surpass the best we’ve ever been. 14:49 * Dr. Cooper introduces the concept of NFC, or "need for cognition” - a curiosity about the hidden capabilities within us - and why we need a moment of reflection before we can actually learn anything. 16:50 * Dr. Cooper reveals a strategy for inspiring curiosity in ourselves and others, and explains why we need to constantly ask ourselves the question, “Compared to what?” 19:00 * Dr. Cooper explains why he believes most of the people he works with (some of the highest performers in the world) are only at 10-20% of their capacity to shine - as well as why certain leaders pull away from everyone else. 21:35 * Dr. Cooper takes us through the fascinating world of neuroplasticity and the phenomenon of upwiring - the extraordinary opportunity we all have to remake ourselves for the better, everyday. 26:45 * Dr. Cooper relates an amazing story about studying with the famed psychologist Abraham Maslow, and explains why every morning you have to choose to face our fears, again and again. 34:10 * Dr. Cooper describes a strategy for upwiring, and why the greatest catalyst for positive growth is negative resistance. 38:09 * Dr. Cooper explains why those who can take a split second pause when faced with a challenge or confrontation have an advantage and will more successfully live up to their potential. 42:20 * Dr. Cooper explains why the first 22 minutes of every day are the most important. 49:35

Recommended Reading * Upwire by Dr. Robert Cooper * W. Edwards Deming * Abraham Maslow

Links * RobertCooperPhD.com * CooperStrategic.com * Upwire Podcast * Dr. Cooper on LinkedIn * University of Michigan football

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Liz Guthridge is a Charleston, South Carolina-based coach, consultant and trainer who specializes in employee engagement and creating high performing teams. She runs the award-winning management consulting group Connect Consulting, where she uses Neuroscientific insights to help organizations unlock their true performance potential.

Liz regaled us with some amazing stories - including the lessons she learned hawking peanuts at minor league baseball games that she carries with her to this day. She also gave us a fabulous strategy for improving communication and holding better meetings, an acronym called A.G.E.S. But mostly, she was a delight to interview, and she brought a ton of value to the show.

Takeaways

Liz tells us about her days as a peanut vendor for the Tulsa Oilers, a minor league baseball team, where she worked alongside baseball legend Satchel Paige.
Liz describes where she thinks the world of work will be in ten years, and why we’re just hitting the tip of the iceberg in terms of workplace flexibility.
Liz explains why schedule and location flexibility have to be a give and take, and why the face-to-face experience will never diminish in importance.
Liz talks us through the meaning of “brain-friendly work habits."
Liz explains why we often get our best ideas in the shower.
Liz breaks down A.G.E.S., a strategy for running better meetings and becoming a better presenter.
Liz walks us through what it takes to effectively create new habits.
Finally, Liz helps us understand what it takes to maintain our “cognitive edge” as automation takes its hold in the workplace.

Recommended Reading

Humans Are Underrated by Geoff Colvin
Could You Pass the "CGC" (Corporate Good Citizen) Test? by Liz Guthridge
Links

Connect Consulting Group
@lizguthridge
BJ Fogg

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Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.

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Awesome Officers, I hope you are having another fantastic week filled with presence, productivity, and rejuvenation.

We’ve done fifty episodes - that’s fifty great guests, fifty insightful conversations, and fifty interviews packed with actionable tips and insights to help your company create the culture it needs to thrive, and for you to excel as a leader and someone who just wants to get better.

It’s been fascinating to see the through lines in these episodes. A number of themes have certainly come up, some of them repeatedly.

That’s why we put together this “15 for 50” … that is, the top 15 takeaways from the first 50 episodes of the Awesome Office show thus far.

These are the things that surprised us, fascinated us...the things that really made us say “huh, thats awesome, I should change my thinking” or those things that just plain made us laugh.

We also have one bonus clip for you - one of the funniest answers we’ve heard on the minute of magic.

Key Takeaways

Jason Nazar sums up the changing nature of the employer-employee relationship. 3:25
Tom Bilyeu tells us why he sees all of life as disciplined practice. 7:40
Hank Fortener shares the secret to impactful communication. 9:57
Jane Buckingham explains why you should collaborate with - not fear - Millennial employees. 13:37
Vinnie Fisher tells us how to find the heartbeat of your business, and why it's so important. 18:51
Christopher Gavigan tells us why he still personally takes 30-50 customer service calls per week. 22:36
David Hassell describes what he calls "good discomfort," and why it's so important to high growth businesses. 24:58
Jason Weiss explains the "fail of the week" at Scopely. 27:16
Richard Sheridan explains why low attrition isn't necessarily the sign of a good company culture, and names a better KPI. 29:45
Marc Merrill tells us why Riot Games only hires gamers, and why they've stuck to this policy even as they've scaled. 33:13
Rob Bell explains why leaders are always leading, even when they think they're not. 38:18
Jaspar Weir explains why culture is TaksUs' #1 competitive advantage. 43:00
Marcus Buckingham shares a simple exercise for finding your strengths. 44:46
Mark Rampolla describes his darkest moment in the early days of ZICO, and the lesson that helped him get through it. 49:18
Bert Jacobs makes a business case for culture and engagement. 54:20
Bonus Clip - Sara Mailloux shares one of the funniest answers during the Minute of Magic.

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We are all drug addicts.

It might sound strange, but it’s true. We’re all addicted to the drug of distraction.

Our biology predisposes us to be addicted to the feel-good chemicals released by non-productive things like mindlessly surfing the web, living in our inbox, or worst of all, constantly looking at our phones.

The biggest downside of these euphoria-inducing habits is that they prevent us from being fully present in the moment. And what’s more important than this?

Being present empowers us to perform better, to be less anxious, and to be happier and more fulfilled.

In this episode, I’m bringing you directly into the SnackNation and Awesome Office headquarters to hear a recent talk (we call them Sensei Sessions) that I gave to our team. My goal here is to encourage a life of greater presence, tranquility, fulfillment and productivity with our team and all of you.

I share with my team how we can remove the #1 greatest distraction in our life with ease, and how the key to living a fulfilled life lies in just doing three simple things on a continual basis.

Key Takeaways

The difference between presence and focus, and why it’s important to be present in our daily interactions. 5:18
How the combination of being present, insightful, and helpful can have a powerful impact. 6:45
How presence leads to deeper and richer relationships. 7:35
Our biggest distractor, and strategies for eliminating it from our lives. 11:39
The evolutionary science behind distraction, and why addiction to certain brain chemicals is at the heart of it. 13:15
Why your phone is the #1 drug in your life. 19:31
Sean breaks down the strategy and tactics for breaking our phone addiction. 20:38
Why active rejuvenation is so important, and the flipside of presence. 25:04
Examples of bad rejuvenation, and why a positive mindset is so important. 26:16****
Examples of good rejuvenation. 29:50

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According to Ryan Holiday, there is an enemy within us.

This enemy has derailed the careers of promising young geniuses, decimated great fortunes, and run companies into the ground. It's made adversity unbearable and turned struggle into shame.

It's name? Ego.

Ryan Holiday is a media strategist, best selling author, and the former marketing director of American Apparel. He has been in the trenches building brands and designing media strategies, and today is one of the most highly regarded thinkers and marketers of his generation. But by his own admission, he hasn't been immune to the dangers posed by Ego.

In his new book, Ego is the Enemy, Ryan lays out a strategy for defeating the enemy Ego, and he was gracious enough to share some of this insight - and some incredible stories - with the Awesome Office audience.

In this interview, Ryan shares how luck played a role in his success, and why the stories we tell ourselves about our successes (and failures) are so important; how the schism that formed between Ryan and his parents after he dropped out of college at the age of 19 played an important role in his career development; and why we must embrace uncomfortable moments in order to become the best version of ourselves.

This episode also marks the first time we've recorded with a live audience, as we set up the mics in front of 70+ Awesome Officers at SnackNation HQ.

We captured the whole thing on video too. (We'll have that up here shortly.)

Key Takeaways

Ryan explains why the things you're most excited about are often the things that cause the most anxiety. 3:33
Ryan tells us about his childhood in Northern California, and how everything from his parents' professions to their decision to live in Sacramento affected his life's journey. 6:18
Ryan describes the moment he realized that education and schooling aren't necessarily synonymous. 8:02
Ryan talks about his decision to drop out of college at 19, and the fallout it caused with his parents. 9:49
Ryan relays how he became author Robert Greene's research assistant, and how it almost fell it apart before it began. 11:38
Ryan dives into the premise of his new book, explaining what he means by the phrase "Ego is the Enemy." 14:59
Ryan helps us distinguish the difference between confidence and ego, and why one serves us while the other hinders us. 18:35
Ryan shares a strategy for removing your ego when you receive constructive criticism. 20:38
Ryan tells us about the many times luck played a part in his success, and explains why the story we tell ourselves matters so much. 20:55
Ryan uses a story about Bo Jackson to illustrate why you need an "internal scorecard." 27:26
Ryan and Sean talk about the pitfalls of comparing yourself to others, and why it's ultimately a fool's errand. 30:30
Ryan breaks down the misconception that you need to "find yourself" before you can identify work that's meaningful to you. 31:40
Ryan shares a tactic for training people to derive satisfaction from the internal things you can control rather than the external things you can't. 37:15
Ryan makes a case for life as "continuous training." 42:40
Ryan explains why we need to embrace life's uncomfortable moments and not always try to "fill them up with stuff." 43:44
Ryan explains what we can do to minimize ego in the workplace. 46:18

Links

RyanHoliday.net
@RyanHoliday on Twitter
Ryan on Facebook
Buy Ryan's books

Recommended Reading

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday
Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday
Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American by B.H. Liddell Hart
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

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Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.

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In 2004, Mark Rampolla was sick of settling for low-hanging fruit.

Sure, he had a comfortable life, a six-figure income, and was poised to reach the top of a Fortune 100 company. But he knew there was more to life than making money.

Most of all, he was concerned about the example he was setting for his young daughters. Did he want their dad to be a corporate conformist, someone who settles for the status quo, or someone who could strike out on his own and change the world for the better?

That’s when he decided to reach for the high-hanging fruit.

A few months later he launched ZICO coconut water, a company that sought to transform the billion dollar global beverage industry by offering a healthier alternative to the sugar and chemical laden sodas that dominated the market.

And he never looked back.

After a successful exit from ZICO, Mark is now the co-founder and managing partner of Powerplant Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in plant-centric businesses. Together with his partners and portfolio companies, Mark’s goal is to revolutionize the global food system by offering the nutrition people need in sustainable and ethical ways.

Oh, and he’s also the author of the new book High Hanging Fruit.

Mark captivated us with his ideas and stories from his journey from Peace Corps volunteer, to entrepreneur and CEO, to venture capitalist.

Perhaps most fascinating is the fact that Mark has maintained his trademark optimism and grit throughout his long career, and is always challenging himself to learn and grow.

Buy Mark’s Book and Donate to Homeboy Industries

Mark’s new book is called High-Hanging Fruit: Build Something Great by Going Where No One Else Will. Use this link to purchase the book and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Homeboy Industries, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women.

Key Takeaways

Mark explains why he made the leap from entrepreneur to venture capitalist, and how he investing unexpectedly became a labor of love.
Mark tells us how he evaluates companies, and why the single most important factor is always the quality of the person (or team) leading the business.
Mark breaks down the difference between “experience” on paper and the story that an entrepreneur brings with her to a business.
Mark weighs in on the question of whether or not our culture has “entrepreneurial fever,” and explains why he usually discourages people from people leaving their job to start a business.
Mark describes the perils of becoming an entrepreneur in a left-leaning family, and tells us the amazing story of his entrepreneurial journey, which started off in the Peace Corps.
Mark explains how his days in Latin America with the Peace Corps working with local cooperatives and women owned businesses shaped his perspective on entrepreneurship, and helped lead to both ZICO and the high-hanging fruit concept.
Mark tells us why took on the challenge of managing International Paper’s (a Fortune 100 company at the time) business in El Salvador, straight out of business school.
Mark tells us how he discovered that the IP’s local CFO was cooking the books, and how that ultimately led to an acute familiarity with finance and balance sheets - something that serves him to this day.
Mark talks about the genesis of ZICO, which actually began as a side hustle while he was still with IP.
Mark explains why half of strategy is deciding what NOT to do, and explains some of the worst business ideas he came up with during the ideation phase prior to launching ZICO.
Mark describes how he evaluated these ideas not just with the typical business filters, but with personal and social filters as well.
Mark talks about the greatest challenge working with a giant company like Coca Cola back when they were a mere minority investor in ZICO.
Mark tells us the single most important lesson that he wished he knew back when he started ZICO in 2004, as well as the darkest moment throughout the entire ZICO journey.
Mark explains why the belief that “you’ve already won” actually enables you to do your best work.
Mark explains why he’s so bad at hiring.
Finally, Mark tells us what inspired him to write the book High-Hanging Fruit.

Books

High Hanging Fruit by Mark Rampolla (promo link: http://bit.ly/1TGJBsQ)
The Divine Right of Capital by Marjorie Kelly

Links

Purchase Mark’s book and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Homeboy Industries
Contact Mark: Mark@highhangingfruit.com
ZICO coconut water
Powerplant Ventures
Mark on LinkedIn

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What makes an Awesome Office? Is it the culture? The leadership? Is it the office space itself? These are the questions that we set out to answer on this podcast from day one.

You’d be hard pressed to think of a more qualified person to provide answers than this week’s Awesome Office guest, Sara Mailloux.

As Hulu's Director of Workplace Experience, it’s Sara's job to provide the company’s 1,300 Hulugans with an environment that supports their culture and empowers them to perform at their best, day in and day out.

While Hulu does have an incredible, open workspace, Sara contends that it’s the people in that - not the space itself - that make an office truly awesome. The office is there just to empower the people in it to do great things.

Sara was a delight to talk to in this episode. In it, she goes deep into the history of Hulu, and describes the ways she helps craft the right experience to keep the company on an upward trajectory.

Key Takeaways

Sara describes the transitions that the Hulu workplace has undergone since its inception nearly a decade ago.
Sara explains why she’s rarely at her desk, and tells us about the types of spaces she’s designed to encourage collaboration.
Sara tells us how she became the #2 employee at Hulu, and how an early foray in television production inspired a career-long love of experiential design and construction.
Sara relays the story of how Hulu got the name “Hulu,” as well as how Hulu employees came to be known as “Hulugans.”
Sara tells us the funnest thing about working at Hulu (which, it turns out, is also the most challenging).
Sara explains Hulu’s “60/40” rule, and why she believes employees must drive their own career development.
Sara explains what “Workplace Experience” means at Hulu, and why she’s dedicated her career to it.
Sara explains the dilemma between trying to design for the individual vs. creating experiences for the team in aggregate.
Sara names the types of spaces that she thinks every workplace should give their employees.
Sara explains the role of constant and consistent communication in workplace experience.
Finally, Sara tells us what companies can do to improve workplace experience, even if they don’t have a ton money to spend.

Links

Hulu.com
Sara on LinkedIn
Gensler Architects
Oregon Ducks Football

Recommended Reading

The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship by David Whyte

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Sometimes, our brains are our worst enemies.

It's true - our biology predisposes us to react emotionally and perpetuate negative self-talk. For leaders, this leads to self-doubt, tension, and dysfunctional teams.

So what’s a leader to do?

Simple: outsmart your brain.

That’s according to this week’s awesome office guest, Dr. Marcia Reynolds, a world renowned organizational psychologist and leadership coach, and the author of the books Outsmart Your Brain and The Discomfort Zone.

Dr. Reynolds has delivered workshops in 35 countries and has presented at the Harvard Kennedy School, Cornell University, Edwards School of Management in Canada and Moscow School of Management in Russia.

In our conversation, she lays out a strategy for circumventing our over-protective brains, and reveals how we can change the way we communicate in order to maximize every conversation we have with our teams.

Marcia also recounts an incredible story about a particularly impactful conversation she had during a brief stint in jail during her rebellious youth.

We’re so humbled that Marcia shared so much with us. We know you’ll get a ton out of this interview - we sure did.

Key Takeaways

Marcia explains why she thinks coaching is so beneficial, and the mindset that prevents a lot of business leaders from fully taking advantage of it. 3:58
Marcia tells us why training by itself doesn’t work, and why real behavioral change requires ongoing conversations and accountability. 5:45
Marcia describes the ideal cadence between a leader and a coach. 6:45
Marcia explains why the most significant conversations are about challenging people to do more. 11:35
Marcia explains the hazards of focusing on achievement and excellence in our upbringings, and what the missing piece for her was. 11:40
Marcia tells us her journey into leadership coaching - including a conversation during a brief stint in jail that changed her life forever. 12:45
Marcia explains how leaders can make deeper connections with their teams, despite the increased demands put on their time and energy, and why leaders should see it as an opportunity, not a burden, when team members come to them for advice. 14:24
Marcia explains why she titled her book Outsmart Your Brain, and shares the number one mindset shift leaders need to make to improve on a daily basis. 16:43
Marcia describes why curiosity is actually the most underrated emotion. 19:40
Marcia explains the fundamental premise behind her book The Discomfort Zone, and why it’s so important to challenge people to become the best version of themselves. 23:40
Marcia shares two stories about toxic cultures, and the approaches that each company took (to varying degrees of success). 34:20
Marcia explains why we need to treat employees as partners, not as cogs in the machine. 38:25

Recommended Reading

Outsmart Your Brain: How to Make Success Feel Easy by Marcia Reynolds, PsyD
The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations into Breakthroughs by Marcia Reynolds, PsyD

Links

OutsmartYourBrain.com
Contact Marcia: marcia@outsmartyourbrain.com
Steve Piersanti, President and Publisher of Berrett-Koehler Publishers

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There's no doubt that today, Marcus Buckingham is a master communicator.

The entrepreneur and best selling author of First, Break All the Rules and Discover Your Strengths is one of the foremost experts on the topics of employee engagement and performance, and is a sought after speaker on these topics.

You’d probably never guess that he grew up with a debilitating stammer.

It's true: for the first eleven years of his life, this master wordsmith and public speaker couldn’t speak.

So what changed?

That’s precisely what we dive into in this week’s episode - overcoming the challenges that hold us back from becoming exactly who we want to be. Marcus tells us the incredible story of how we was able to overcome his speech impediment, and the lessons that he carried with him throughout his life and work.

Marcus also shares a simple trick for finding your strengths, and why we should look more at our past successes than our failures.

Key Takeaways

Marcus explains how he came to be a public speaker, despite a childhood stammer.
Marcus shares how he overcame his stammer, and relays the lesson that he’s carried with him ever since.
Marcus points out that while failure can be instructive, you can only repeat and scale success by focusing on past successes.
Marcus explains why the more you realize how unique - and, ultimately, alone - you are, the more you can actually contribute to and connect with others.
Marcus describes the discipline he discovered that enables him to collect the feedback that life gives us, and where most people go wrong when it comes to this.
Marcus clarifies the distinction between “non-strengths” and “weaknesses,” and describes how our non-strengths actually become weaknesses.
Marcus shares a simple trick to help you find your strengths (see Love it/Loathe It bonus exercise).
Marcus describes the one thing he loathes more than anything else, and how to turn your strengths into weaknesses.

BONUS EXERCISE: Loved It / Loathed It

In today’s episode, strength-finding expert Marcus Buckingham shares a quick and easy strategy for discovering your strengths. It works like this:

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side write “Loved It,” and the other write “Loathed It.”
As you go through your week, reflect daily on the things that you looked forward to, that made time speed up, that energize, or that may have made you a little tired, but that you want to do again. Those all go in the “Loved It” category.
Now think about everything you do that you put off, that makes time drag on, or that leave you completely drained and exhausted. Those go in the “Loathed It” category.
Before long, you’ll have a clear picture of your strengths. The beauty of this method is that it’s not abstract - these are actual tasks, functions, or activities that you actually perform during your week.
Now summarize your findings using specific action verbs (again, nothing abstract).
For Marcus, these words were “interview” and “mingle” - he found that he loved interviewing people, but absolutely loathed mingling.

Recommended Reading

First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham
Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham
Other books by Marcus Buckingham
Just the Way You Are: How Heredity and Experience Create the Individual by Winifred Gallagher
An Intimate History of Humanity by Theodore Zeldin
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Links

The Marcus Buckingham Co. https://www.tmbc.com/
@mwbuckingham on Twitter
@marcusbuckingham on Instagram
Arsenal Football Club

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When you think of innovation hotbeds, you might think of places like Austin or LA. Ten years ago, maybe it was San Francisco or Brooklyn.

I’m guessing the words “Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada” don’t immediately come to mind.

Well, not yet, anyway. Especially if this week’s Awesome Office guest Daniel Matishak has anything to say about it.

Daniel is the co-founder and CEO of Mindable, a marketing optimization company that specializes in activating niche communities in the personal development space. The company has been able to grow into a massive, 8-figure marketing juggernaut based out of - you guessed it - Sherwood Park, Alberta.

How have they pulled this off? One strategy that has paid off is a mostly remote workforce, that enables the company to attract top talent not just from their own backyard, but from across the globe.

There are, of course, challenges that come with a dispersed team like Mindable’s. Namely - how do you maintain the right culture when more than half your staff never sets foot in the office?

That's really what this interview is all about.

Key Takeaways

Daniel talks about his entrepreneurial beginnings at age 19, and why he’s chosen to stay in Canada throughout his nine year career.
Daniel shares how went about building a business without an idea for one.
Why the business world is seeing more venture-backed internet marketing businesses - and will continue to.
Daniel shares Mindable’s competitive advantage, and it’s not what you might think.
How to maintain the right culture when the majority of your workforce is remote.
The advantages of starting a company in a place like Sherwood Park, Alberta.
Daniel walks us through the thought process behind his company’s newly redesigned office space, and shares the quirky features that have enabled Mindable to maintain a great culture.
Daniel explains why he feels culture is so important and relates a story about how Mindable overcame one of its lowest moments - when they lost roughly half their business.
Daniel talks about how he combats self doubt, and why he thinks egos kill companies.

Links

Mindable
Daniel on LinkedIn
@DanielMatishak on Twitter
Daniel on Instagram
Trello
Kolbe Score
Edmonton Oilers

Recommended Reading

The Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

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In our digitally connected, multi-screen world, where people hide their true selves behind layers of snark and our deepest emotions are expressed via emoji, conversation seems to be a lost art.

But as this week’s guest attests, conversation is one of the most important skills we possess, both in business and in life.

Michael Rothman is a digital entrepreneur, master conversationalist and storyteller, and all around fascinating guy. A founding employee at Thrillist, his latest venture is Fatherly.com, a lifestyle site for men entering parenthood - and a conversation in its own right (albeit of the digital variety).

Michael shares his point of view on how to create engaging dialogue, both face-to-face and through digital media, and even shares his notes from one of the best communicators in the world - Oprah Winfrey. Turns out, Oprah is a fan of Fatherly, and Michael has had the opportunity to spend time with her and her amazing staff.

On top of all that, Michael shares an amazing story about biking nearly 5,000 miles from New York to Los Angeles to raise scholarship money for his mentee and honor his beloved aunt. The grueling journey taught him a ton of lessons that still inform his life today, most of which were surprising even to him.
Here are a few photos from that epic trek:

 Michael's epic beard.       Michael and his pal Avi finally make it to the west coast.       Michael's view for 55 days.   **Key Takeaways**

Michael tells us how he got to know Oprah Winfrey, plus the most unexpected thing about hanging out with her. 3:35
How to become more disarming in conversations, and why that’s important. 6:17
Michael tells us who he is at his core, and why it’s important to know yourself. 8:23
Michael breaks down the art of conversation, and shares how to maximize your networking opportunities. 10:40
Strategies to drive past surface level questions and get to know people on a deeper level when you meet them. 14:40
Michael shares the origins of Fatherly, and how it evolved out of Thrillist. 16:30
Michael describes the “dudes to dads” cultural shift that inspired Fatherly. 17:20
Michael shares the experiences that qualified him to launch Fatherly despite the fact that he’s not a father himself. 21:10
Michael shares how he and his team developed the hugely popular piece, “The 50 Best Places to Work for New Dads.” 29:49
Why Michael biked from New York to LA, and what it taught him about himself and his ability to overcome major challenges. 33:41

Links

@MJRawth on Twitter
Fatherly.com
The Muse

Recommended Reading

"Bike That Sh*t: Or That Time I Lugged Myself 5,000 Miles Across America" by Michael Rothman
“The 50 Best Places to Work for New Dads” by Fatherly
"The 36 Questions that Lead to Love" (New York Times article) by Daniel Jones

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When faced with adversity, some people crumble.

Andres Izquieta is not one of those people.

Andres is a fashion designer, serial entrepreneur, and the CEO and co-founder of Five Four Club, an online men’s clothing subscription service.

In 2008, Five Four (then a retail and wholesale outfit) was on the brink of failure. The worldwide credit crisis that gave birth to the Great Recession was decimating the retail industry, and it looked like Five Four might not survive.

But Andres and his business partner had other ideas. They brought the company back into the black by pivoting to a men’s fashion subscription service.

The strategic shift paid off. Today Five Four Club has more than 70k active monthly subscribers, and is about to launch several new verticals before the end of the year, including a formalwear accessory line, an athletic wear label, and a shoe brand.

On top of that, Andres is the host of Weekend Fix on the Esquire network, and recently launched vegan eatery Fala Bar, which has two locations in Los Angeles, including one on the ultra hip Abbot Kinney Blvd.

In our interview, Andres traces this comeback story to the grit, determination, and drive to be the best that was instilled to him by his immigrant parents. The experience of being a first generation American both sparked his interest in fashion, and has given him an edge that, according to Andres, helps account for much of his success.

Andres’ fashion tips: what every professional male should have in his wardrobe.

White oxford shirt
Blue chambray shirt (long sleeve)
Black or blue raw jeans
Black or navy cardigan
Black or kaki bomber jacket

Key Takeaways

Andres shares the origin of the Five Four name.
Andres tells us why his nickname is “Pablo,” and why he considers himself more Picasso than Escobar.
Why Andres’ admires Allen Iverson, and why he feels AI is a bit misunderstood.
Why Andres believes that failure is the best force to shape you into the person you need to become.
How to make your relationship with your business partnership last through the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
What the experience of having immigrant parents instilled in Andres, and how this mindset has been an asset his entire life.
Why the feeling you get from dressing well is the key to understanding fashion.
What we lose from the “anti-fashion” Silicon Valley culture, and why emulating Steve Jobs isn’t always a great idea.
Andres’ shares his and his business partners’ lowest moment, and how they were able to pivot their model and find success.

Links

FiveFour Club
Fala Bar
AndresIzquieta.com
Weekend Fix
Views by Drake
Life of Pablo by Kanye West
Isse Miyake
Allen Iverson

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Are you optimizing every day to be the best that it can be? In today's fast paced world it can sometimes seem impossible to accomplish what you originally set out to with your day. Sean Kelly is here to help. In this episode of the Awesome Office Show the script is flipped as our host, Sean Kelly, answers the most common questions asked by the Awesome Office Community. From how to most effectively use your time, to the first thing you should do in the morning to guarantee productivity, Sean shares some amazing insight into how to experience a truly phenomenal day, every day.

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Vulnerability is a big theme on this show. Time and again, we’ve learned that leaders who are willing to be vulnerable are able to communicate more authentically and forge truer connections with their teams. No one embodies this idea quite like this week’s guest, ShipOffers partner Tony Grebmeier. As you’ll see in this week’s episode, Tony G is an open book. A recovering addict, he’s unafraid to talk candidly about his darkest moment, when he was moments away from taking his own life. But Tony has come a long way from rock bottom. Today, he focuses on being 100% fully aware and present in everything he does. And he does a lot. Tony hosts the Entrepreneur Unplugged podcast, and his company, ShipOffers, is a trusted source for elite marketers of health and beauty products, acting as strategic partners for direct response marketers in 43 countries around the globe. Tony shares the secrets to his amazing comeback story with us, including a little trick he’s learned to liberate himself from his inbox. (Yes, Tony G might have just solved email.) Key Takeaways * Tony shares what it’s like being in business with his two childhood best friends, and why sometime you can’t help someone just by giving them a job. * How the business evolved from selling stuff online to wholesaling for online retailers. * How a series of knee surgeries led to a debilitating addiction to pain killers and alcohol. * How Tony found a renewed purpose after being on the brink of suicide. * Why leading with a servant heart was so essential to Tony’s recovery. * The importance of asking for help, and why that’s a part of ShipOffers’ culture. * Why ShipOffers hires quickly and throws new hires in the mix to see what they can do. * How Tony freed himself from email. * How anyone can find their unique ability.

Links

Entrepreneur Unplugged Podcast

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When people in the food industry meet Robyn O’Brien for the first time, they often remark, “Funny, you don’t look like one of them.”

“One of them,” presumably being the stereotypical food or environmental activists.

And to be honest, they're right. (To wit, Robyn does not wear Birkenstocks or tie-dye, nor does she have dreadlocks.)

In fact, Robyn is a self-described “conservative Texas mom” raised in a military family, and admittedly, the last person you’d expect to be leading a crusade to reform the food industry. Yet she is at the forefront of a movement to fundamentally rethink what goes into our nation’s food supply.

As a financial analyst in the food industry, Robyn began to undercover undeniable links in the chemical pesticides, GMOs, and antibiotics in our food and troubling health trends like the explosion of childhood food allergies.

Through her writing and her now Famous TEDx Talk, Robyn triggered an allergic reaction in the food industry when she dared to asked: “Are we allergic to food or what’s been done to it?” Today, she is a sought-after advisor and speaker, inspiring organizations and individuals to engage in the “New Food Economy.”

Robyn was a delight to interview, and as usual, the conversation took some unexpected turns. What we found most fascinating was Robyn's insight into her journey from financial analyst to food warrior. Fear, she says, was the one thing holding her back, but how leading with love (something she learned from her mother as a child) has given her the courage and resolve to bring these important issues to light.

Robyn’s now famous TEDx Talk:

Key Takeaways

Why Robyn is optimistic for the future of the natural foods movement, and why the big food industry players are finally admitting that it isn’t a fad or a trend.
Why what we feed ourselves and our families directly impacts how we feel, live, and work.
Why “vegan” is no longer a dirty word.
How a conservative girl from Texas from a military family became a crusader for reforming our food supply.
How observing the exploding rates of food allergy in children inspired Robyn to dig deep and uncover the untold story of the food industry, and why accepting that this is her purpose has enabled Robyn to let go of the fear that has held her back from making a difference.
How and why everyone should listen to their heart in order to find their true purpose and be the person that we’re truly meant to be on this planet.
Why we should look at our lives like a novel.
Why our traits and emotions are like muscles, and why courage is just as easy to exercise as fear.
The origin behind Robyn’s now famous TEDx Talk, and why she didn’t want to do it at first.
Why making a difference isn’t about focusing on the naysayers, but being energized by the positive voices you see opportunity in the challenges ahead.
Why food is the next big “operating system” to be disrupted.
What you should do in the office to impact the health, wellness, and productivity of your team.
The foods you should avoid at all costs - and a few you should start eating today.

Links

Robyn on LinkedIn
Robyn on Facebook
@foodawkenings on Twitter
Robyn’s TEDx Talk
www.RobynObrien.com
Expo West

Books

The Unhealthy Truth by Robyn O’Brien
The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist and Teresa Baker

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

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Our guest this week is Scott Svenson, the co-founder and CEO of MOD Super Fast Pizza. MOD is the pioneer in the fast casual pizza market and is now one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the US, with 114 stores open today and plans to have 190 open by the end of 2016. Thats some serious growth.

There's no doubt that Scott is an accomplished leader - he and his wife have built multiple successful companies both in the US and UK.

But what impresses me most about it him is his calm demeanor, stoic nature and sense of confidence that he gives to others. He’s just got a really cool aura about him - like he is fully present and aware - and I know this is one of the many reasons people really love working with him, and why he has had so much success.

I had the fortune of meeting Scott at Harvard a few months ago, where we were both taking a leadership and executive management course that was developed through YPO, the Young President’s Organization. Scott’s company MOD Pizza was a case study for all of the 200 CEOs and business leaders there, and it was through this case study that I realized Scott and MOD have something really cool going on that we can all learn from.

What I found most fascinating - and what we talked about at length in this interview - is how MOD thrives with a business model that puts employee experience first.

Key Takeaways

Scott explains the importance of believing that human beings are inherently good, and how expectations often shape outcomes.
Why even though pizza is all that MOD sells, but it’s actually not the most important thing in MOD’s business.
Why when setting up guidelines for your team members, its all about creating "wide boulevards and high curbs."
Why Scott and his wife Ally founded MOD Pizza under the banner of "enlightened capitalism."
The surprising way that money can buy happiness (hint: it’s not how you think).

Recommended Reading

Mindset, Carol Dweck

Links

ModPizza.com
@MODPizza on Twitter, @MODPizza on Instagram
Scott on LinkedIn
Email Scott at scott@modpizza.com

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

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From day one, Riot Games has been about one becoming thing - the most gamer-focused studio in the world.

Co-founders Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck are both hardcore gamers, and from the outset, they’ve consciously built a culture that emphasizes player experience above all else - even revenue.

To preserve this ethos, the company only hires gamers, a practice they’ve continued even as they’ve scaled. Today, the company has more than 2,000 employees (or “Rioters” as they’re known internally), all of whom have firsthand knowledge of gaming and gaming culture.

The end result is an organization that is always in touch with its audience. And while Riot’s core consumer is sophisticated and at times demanding, Marc says these high customer expectations motivate Rioters to deliver superior gameplay.

By all accounts, this approach has paid off.

If you’ve never heard of Riot Games, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of their marquee title, League of Legends - aka, the most popular online game… ever.

What, exactly, does that mean? We’ll let the stats tell the tale.

67 million people play League of Legends each month
This translates to 3.5 billion monthly hours of game play
36 million people watched the League of Legend e-sports championship in 2015 - that’s twice the viewership of last year’s NBA finals

We visited the stunning Riot Games HQ in West Los Angeles to speak to Riot president Marc Merrill, and to learn exactly how they’ve managed to build their unlikely empire.

The campus itself was a sight to behold. The sleek-yet-whimsical Riot offices feature a world-class cafeteria, an outdoor basketball court, a Korean style PC-cafe, a gorgeous onsite coffee bar called Bilgewater Brew, and surprises around every corner.

Sean and Producer Jeff in the Riot HQ Lobby

Riot HQ at night.

A PC Cafe at Riot HQ

Bilgewater Brew at Riot HQ

Marc and his team were generous hosts, and we can’t thank them enough for sharing their perspective on what makes Riot such a powerhouse in the gaming world.

Key Takeaways

Marc explains why Riot only hires gamers, and spells out the advantages (and challenges) that come with this policy.
Marc tells us why he considers talent to be Riot’s greatest asset.
Marc relays an incredible story about their search for a new head of talent, and why it ultimately took two years.
Marc describes why managers who are both misaligned and credible can be so dangerous to your business.
Marc talks about why it was important for Brandon and him to create the most gamer-focused company in the world.
Marc explains why high customer expectations and an “infinite backlog of opportunities to improve” is actually a good thing, as well as why the main motivator for Rioters isn’t compensation.
Marc reveals the most important KPI at Riot (and it’s not what you think).
Marc breaks down what de-noobification means, and how it’s helped scale Riot’s amazing culture.
Marc takes us through the two scariest moments in Riot’s history, and how the company persevered.
Marc tells us why “not my job” doesn’t exist in the Riot lexicon.
Marc explains why they’d rather have empty seats in the org than the wrong person in a role.

Recommended Reading

Marc's Blog, Merrill's Musings http://tryndamere.blogspot.com

Links

League of Legends
RiotGames.com
@RiotGames on Twitter
RiotGames on LinkedIn
@MarcMerrill on Twitter
Marc on LinkedIn

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

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Life isn’t easy. Life isn’t perfect. But life is good.

That’s the motto that has propelled Life is Good - the lifestyle clothing brand that celebrates optimism - from a $200 initial investment in 1989 to a $100M company today.

This week, our Awesome Office guest is none other than Life is Good co-founder and Chief Executive Optimist Bert Jacobs. In the interview, Bert shares how he and his co-founder/brother John conceived of the company, and why placing optimism at the core of the brand has helped it reach millions of people.

As Bert tells it, before it was ever a company or a t-shirt, “Life is Good” was a spirit personified by Bert and John's mother, Joan, an eternal optimist who taught her children to turn the music up, enjoy the moment, and always remember to focus on the good things in life.

Ultimately, the pair took her message to heart, and made the spread of positive energy their lives work. In addition to the brand's uplifting message, Life is Good achieves spreads good vibes by donating 10% of net profits to the Life is Good Kids Foundation, and by holding events like the Life is Good music festival, which is set to return to Austin, TX in June of next year.

Bert was an incredibly honest, good-natured, and fascinating guest. He told us why he believes our disposition determines our happiness, why work/life is balance is an inherently flawed concept, and why the people who have the hardest row to hoe tend to gravitate toward the Life is Good brand the most.

Speaking to Bert put us in a great mood and taught us a lot about leadership and business, and we think listening to him will have the same effect.

Key Takeaways

Bert shares the origin of the company’s motto, and why “life is good” isn’t simply an appeal for blind cheerfulness.
Bert explains why optimism is like shooting foul shots (hint: it involves hanging out with American Ninja Warriors).
Bert describes the early influence of his mother on his and John’s outlook, and how her spirit inspired the philosophy that eventually became the Life is Good brand.
Bert relays a seeming paradox about the LIG brand - that the people who have the hardest road in life tend to resonate with the brand the most - and why he thinks that’s the case.
Bert explains why our disposition determines our happiness, not the other way around.
Bert demonstrates why work/life balance is a flawed concept, and makes a case for bringing what you love the most into the office with you everyday.
Bert posits that companies don’t have a responsibility to help employees find their purpose (or to be purpose-driven at all), but instead makes a business case for it.
Bert talks about why so many companies are scared to have fun, and why they should consider integrating more fun into their business.
Bert explains why a company’s growth is limited by its leader’s ability to get out of the way, and explains why leadership is more successful when they act more like grandparents than parents.
Bert describes how, in his view, organizations and businesses have a “natural rhythm," and what happens when businesses fall out of rhythm.

Recommended Reading

Life is Good: The Book by Bert & John Jacobs

Links

Lifeisgood.com
Life is Good on LinkedIn
@LifeIsGood on Twitter
@LifeIsGoodCo on Instagram
American Ninja Warrior

This is episode is brought to you by the snack geniuses at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

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One of the coolest offices you'll ever see in your life... is a contact center in the Philippines.

If you're skeptical, so were we. But then we talked to today's Awesome Office guest Jaspar Weir, and it started to make sense.

Jaspar is the President and Co-Founder of TaskUs, a company that provides outsourced customer care and back office support for some of the most innovative companies in the world, including Expensify, Groupon, and Tinder.

We knew going in to the interview that TaskUs had a great culture, but we had no idea that culture is actually central to their business. In fact, Jaspar actually cites their commitment to culture as their number one competitive advantage. As such, he and the team have managed to create a Silicon Valley-style atmosphere, not just at their HQ located in the heart of LA's Silicon Beach, but also at their five facilities in the Philippines.

The results speak for themselves. What began as a 5 person outfit in a tiny office in Manila has morphed into a company with more than 5,000 employees worldwide. Even more telling, more than 70% of their new hires come from internal referrals - compared to the industry standard of 30%. Simply put, TaskUs is a company where people are proud to work, and even more are dying to work for.

And if you needed proof, here are a few photos from "Chateau Ridiculous," their jaw-dropping, steam punk-themed office in Manila:

As you'll learn in this interview, TaskUs' stellar culture goes so much further than whimsical office spaces. At the heart of it is a commitment to open, honest communication, personal growth, and constant learning.

Jaspar really brought the magic - so much that this episode runs a little longer than most. And if you notice a slight lilt in Sean and Jaspar's voices, it might be because this conversation took place on St. Patrick's Day, and the two celebrated the occasion with a glass (or two) of Jameson.

Key Takeaways

Jaspar describes his first entrepreneurial venture with his business partner Bryce Maddock, an 18+ LA club night called "Club Access."
Jaspar takes us through the beginnings of TaskUs, the very first iteration of which was a frozen yogurt concept in Argentina.
Jaspar explains how his desire to create a global company, coupled with the popularity of Tim Ferriss' the 4 Hour Work Week, led to the creation of TaskUs as we know it today.
Jaspar relays the story of the first office they opened in the Philippines, which involved wiring their entire life savings to a complete stranger.
Jaspar explains the difficulties of scaling the 1:1 task outsourcing, and why the company eventually pivoted toward a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) model.
Jaspar lays out why he thinks culture is TaskUs' number one competitive advantage.
Jaspar talks about "Chateau Ridiculous," the company's amazing, steam-punk themed facility in the Philippines, and how it was designed.
Jaspar explains why TaskUs embraces a "work hard/have fun" ethos, and how that's different than "work hard/play hard."
Jaspar describes how to motivate employees to experience breakthroughs while still cultivating a culture of fun at the office.
Jaspar breaks down the company's biggest challenge scaling from 5 employees to more than 5,000, as well as his strategy for overcoming it.
Jaspar makes the case for "forced facetime facilitation."
Jaspar spells out why potential business partners should travel together before committing to a partnership.
Jaspar talks about the power of expectations, and why he thinks the idea that "no one will ever care about the business as much the founders" is a myth.
Finally, Jaspar shares his number one cultural tip for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Recommended Reading

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

Links

TaskUs
Washio
Jaspar on LinkedIn
Email Jaspar: Jaspar@taskus.com
Jameson Irish Whiskey

This is episode is brought to you by the fine folks at SnackNation.

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome.

Awesome Office: Lead. Create. Inspire.: Recent Episodes

Sean Kelly and Sean Spear. Similar to Entreleadership, HBR Ideacast, Tim Ferriss.