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“You spend the first half of your life building up — and it's then a really interesting moment to let go of trying to prove things and figuring out what you're really capable of — just recognizing and reflecting.” Meredith Meyer is a people and talent leader — as CEO + Lead Consultant of Infinite Potential, LLC, where she provides strategy and talent consulting services. Meredith has also served as a fractional Chief Talent Officer at more than a dozen orgs - partnering with executives & HR teams to create strategic talent plans and tackle tough business problems. Meredith also served as VP of Global Workplace for Veeva Systems, a leader in cloud-based software for the global life sciences industry, and previously held senior roles from CMO to VP of Talent at KnowledgeWorks, a leader in personalized, competency-based learning for kids. Meredith started her career at Procter & Gamble in brand management on brands like Tide and Oral-B globally. You'll enjoy this insightful conversation between two old brand management buddies - focused on lessons learned from coaching people.This conversation is from P&G Alum Bob Gilbreath's podcast & newsletter “The Workaround” — Bob is a repeat startup founder with two exits. Bob's stories and conversations — from a career in tech startups and corporate innovation — are here to make you think, smile, and discover a shortcut to success or a trap to avoid. You can subscribe at behearty.substack.comThis is a feature of an Alumni Leader's frequently published thought leadership. Got an idea for a future “Learnings from Leaders” episode - reach out at pgalumpod@gmail.com

What do Spotify, Google Meet, and your expense report tool have in common? They could all delight your users—if you design for more than just function. In this episode, Dr. Nesrine Changuel breaks down the emotional motivators that transform average products into unforgettable ones. Overview What separates a good product from a great one? According to Dr. Nesrine Changuel, it's not just meeting functional needs—it's creating emotional delight. In this episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast, Brian Milner sits down with Nesrine, a former product leader at Google, Spotify, and Microsoft, to explore how emotional connection is the secret sauce behind the world’s most beloved products. They dive into Nesrine’s “Delight Framework,” reveal how seemingly mundane tools (like time-tracking software or toothbrush apps!) can create joy, and explain why delight isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a competitive edge. Whether you're a product owner, product manager, or just want to build better user experiences, this episode will change how you think about your backlog forever. References and resources mentioned in the show: Dr. Nesrine Changuel Product Delight by Dr. Nesrine Changuel Blog: What is a Product? by Mike Cohn #116: Turning Weird User Actions into Big Wins with Gojko Adzic #124: How to Avoid Common Product Team Pitfalls with David Pereira Join the Agile Mentors Community Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an Agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Dr. Nesrine Changuel is a product coach, advisor, and speaker with over a decade of senior product management experience at Google, Spotify, and Microsoft, where she led major consumer products like Chrome, Meet, Spotify, and Skype. She holds a Master’s in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Media Processing and Telecommunications and is based in Paris. Auto-generated Transcript: Brian Milner (00:00) Welcome back Agile Mentors. We're back for another episode of the Agile Mentors podcast. I'm with you as always Brian Milner and today I have a very special guest with me. I have Dr. Nesrine Changuel with me. Welcome in Nesrine. Nesrine (00:14) Hi, Brian. Thanks for having me. Brian Milner (00:16) I'm very excited to have Nesreen with us. I think this is going to be a really, really great episode for all of you product owners out there or product specialists, anybody who works in the product area. I think you're going to find this really interesting and you're going to want to bookmark this one. Maybe even come back to this a little bit. Nesreen is a coach, a speaker, particularly in the product area. She has previously worked at Google. She's worked at Spotify, at Microsoft, so no stranger to large enterprise, very high profile products that she's worked on in the past. She has a book coming out in May, so look for this book. It's called Product Delight. And that's really what we're going to be focusing on here is the concept of eliciting or generating kind of an emotional response to our product. I guess I'll start by, did you stumble upon this? What drew your interest to people's emotional response to products? Nesrine (01:19) Yes, so maybe I can share the story how I came to this topic and how I became so vocal about it. So in addition to being a product manager and leader over the last decade, I was always and I always enjoyed being a speaker. So I always wanted to go on stage and share insight. This is probably coming from my research background, because when I used to be a researcher, I traveled the world to go and present my research work and When I became a product manager, I kept this habit with me. So I always been on stage and I spoke about different topics like product discovery, product operation, different topics. Until one day I got reached out by a conference organizer and he said, Hey, Nisri, we want you on stage, but we have an idea for a topic for you. I'm not that used. Usually I come up with idea myself, but I said, okay, what do want me to talk about? And he said, Hey, Nusreen, you have been working for Spotify, for Microsoft, for Google Chrome and Google Meet, and we all admire those products and we consider them very successful products. What if you come and tell us what's the common thing that probably is there any common thing that made those products successful? Being an insider, being within those company, could you share with us something that you consider in common between those products? To be honest with you, I found it challenging at the same time interesting as an exercise. I was not, by the way, able at that time to answer the question, what's in common? So I sat down and I did the exercise myself and I started to think what was really in common? What made Skype Skype? What made Spotify Spotify and those Google products so successful? And I came to the following conclusion. I found that what made those products so successful is that they don't only solve for functional needs, but they also solve for emotional needs. So when we use a particular product, we use it for a certain functional need, but we also use it for an emotional need. And without even knowing that I have been doing it for more than 12 years, I came to the conclusion that, my God, during all those years, I have been focusing so much into users need from both angle, functional and emotional. So I came on stage and I spoke about that topic and from that day, I started to give it a name. I'm calling it emotional connection. I'm calling it product delight. And I'm here to share more about it as well. Brian Milner (03:50) That's awesome, yeah. I mean, I think we do hear a lot and we focus a lot on that functional kind of need, the way you differentiate there. think that's a good differentiation, functional and emotional kind of needs or motivators there. yeah, I mean, I've always heard, know, kind of that kind of general product advice is, you know, find the things that... people really, really have as huge needs, the things they would pay someone to do for them. And that's the key to success is finding those huge needs. But we're actually going beyond that to say, yeah, those are important. It's not to say that we should skip that, but it's when there's the emotional connection to a feature or to something that we do that really the light bulb kind of comes on for our customers. Is that kind of what your research is leading to? Nesrine (04:40) you're getting it right. Don't get me wrong. Of course you have to honor the functional needs and serve the functional feature, but the delight or the emotional connection happens when you go beyond exactly how you said it. Let me explain. If you serve only functional needs, you know what you get? You get satisfied users because they are asking for something and they are satisfied about what they are receiving. Now, Brian Milner (04:41) Okay, okay. Haha. Nesrine (05:05) If you surprise them by going beyond, by anticipating their need, by exceeding their expectation, you're not only satisfying them, you're surprising them in a positive way and delight is the combination of surprise and joy. Actually, the theoretical definition of delight is a combination of two emotions, surprise and joy. So going beyond, anticipate need and exceed expectation. is what we should aim for in addition to the functional needs. Brian Milner (05:35) That's awesome. Yeah, I use this example sometimes in, we use this example in the agile world to talk about, you know, the part of the agile manifesto that says customer collaboration over contract negotiation. And, you know, there's an example I use from my past where I used to work at a company that was very contract driven. And, you know, the thing that I always used to kind of take away from that was the very best we could ever do or hope to do. was to meet our customers' expectations. We could never, ever exceed it because we were only doing exactly what they told us to do. So I think this is a really important distinction here to make that just meeting the customer's needs, just meeting the minimal customer satisfaction bar, that's not going to keep you with loyal customers. That's not going to have repeat customers, or they're not going to tell their friends about, you know. That product did exactly what I hoped it would do. But it didn't really surprise me. It didn't really go beyond that. I know you talked about, because I've read your blog and a little bit of the discussion about this. So I know you talk about in the blog kind of the connection to Kano analysis. And I've always thought that's a really great way to try to determine things to target and go after. So talk to us a little bit about that, about Kano analysis and kind of what that uncovers and how that connects to what your research has shown. Nesrine (06:51) Yes. I love Kano by the way. I, I mean, that's one of the framework I have been considering throughout most of my product career. But this framework comes with a limitation and let me explain. So first of all, for those who are not very familiar with Kano, Kano is a visualization or categorization, let's call it. It's a categorization framework that allows to categorize features among different categories. One of them is must have. So these are the things that absolutely have to be in the product. Other that are performances, which are the more you have, the more satisfied users are, the less they less satisfied they are. And of course there are the delighters and delighters are those feature that when they are in the product, users are surprisingly happy. And when they are not, are not even the satisfaction is not even impacted. So the limitation of Kano is that it doesn't tell you how to achieve delight. Let me explain. I think we live in a world that everyone agree that we should delight our users. I mean, this, this concept is now globalized and everyone is talking about delighting users. The issue is that we don't know how to delight them. So we know category, there's a category that called delight, but we don't know how to. So the, the framework that I'm introducing and I'm calling it the delight framework is the framework that allows to first identify. So it's usually, represented into three steps. The first step is to start by identifying the emotional and functional motivators. So let me give you an example. I've been working at Spotify for about four years and as a Spotify user, imagine yourself, you are a Spotify user. You do have, of course, functional motivators. What could be the functional motivators? Listening to music, listening to podcasts, maybe listening to an audiobook. So all those are functional motivators. Now, what could be the emotional motivators as a Spotify user? It could be feeling less lonely. It could be feeling more productive because when you're working you need to listen to something. It could be about changing your mood. It could be about feeling connected. So all those are emotional motivators that drive users to use a product like Spotify. So what I encourage every product manager or every product team to do at first is to dig into identifying, of course, the functional need. And everyone is good, by the way, in identifying the functional needs. But also, while doing that exercise, pay attention to what could be the emotional motivators. So that's step number one is about listing the functional and the emotional motivators. Once you have those, Now we get to the second part of the framework, which is look at your backlog. And I guess you have a very busy backlog and take those features one by one and see for this particular feature, which motivator am I solving for among the functional ones and among the emotional ones as well. So the delight grid, for example, is a visualization tool that I came and created in order to allow product teams to visualize their backlog and see how many of my features are only solving for functional motivators. In that case, we call that category low delight. How many of my features are only solving for emotional motivators? These are very rare, but the best example I would call is, for example, I'm having an Apple watch and one month ago it was New Year Eve and at midnight I get fireworks popping out of my Brian Milner (10:35) Ha Nesrine (10:36) Apple watch and it was a happy new year there's nothing functional in there but it's all about creating some smile I call this surface delight and then how many of your features are solving for both functional and emotional motivators and I call this deep delight so maybe I deviated a bit from your question compared to canoe but it's actually about adding this dimension of connecting features to the real motivators of the users. Brian Milner (11:07) No, maybe a little bit, but you connected it to where we end up going anyway. So I think that's a great connection there. And by the way, for anyone listening, we'll link to all of this so that you can find this and follow up. But I like that differentiation between surface delight and deep delight. I know some of the examples that I've heard used kind of frequently in looking at Kano analysis and kind of trying to find those delighters. And that is kind of the area that it specifies there in Canoe, right? You're trying to find those things that are not expected, but when people find that they're there, they like that it's there, but they don't expect it's there. So if it's not there, there's no negative response that it's not there, but there's a positive response if it's there because they like seeing it. And my boss, Mike Cohn, tells this story about this Nesrine (11:59) Yes. Brian Milner (12:03) There's a hotel in California that became famous because at the pool, they have a phone that's by the pool that's the Popsicle Hotline. And you can pick up the phone and you can order a Popsicle to be brought to the pool. And it's the kind of thing where you're not going to go search for a hotel. Does this hotel have a Popsicle Hotline? I'm only going to stay at hotels with Popsicle Hotlines. It's not that kind of a normal feature. It's a delight feature because when you see it and you find out it's there, it's like, that's really cool. And it can be the kind of thing that says, yeah, I want to search that hotel out again next time I'm in this area because I really thought that was a nice little attention to detail and it was fun. But I think what I'm hearing from you is that might be more of what we would classify as a surface delight. It's not really meeting a deep need. Nesrine (12:35) Yes. Brian Milner (12:56) But it's fun, it's exciting, it's not expected, but it doesn't really cross that threshold into, but it also meets kind of functional delights. Is that kind of what you're saying there? Okay. Okay. Nesrine (13:08) Yes, actually I heard about that hotel story just to tell you how much viral it went. It came to me. So actually you get it correct that I consider that as surface delight and I have nothing against by the way, surface delight. You can add surface delight. The issue is you can end up doing only surface delight and that's not enough. So the idea is to do a combination and I do have two stories to share with you just to compliment on this hotel story. One is personal and one is professional. Brian Milner (13:21) Yeah. Okay. Nesrine (13:37) The personal one just happened to me a month ago. I went to Sweden and I went to Stockholm. That's where I worked for eight years. And I went there for business and I decided to meet some friends and some ex-colleagues. So we all gathered and went to a restaurant, a very nice restaurant in Sweden. And came the time where we had to say goodbye and to pay. And I guess you can feel it immediately when it's about paying and we are a large group and you start to get that anxiety about who's paying what and what did I order? What did I drink? What? I mean, I honestly hate that moment, especially in a large group where you don't necessarily have a lot of affinity with us. Like, should we split in 10? Should we pay each one paying its piece anyway? So that was a moment of frustration, of anxiety. Brian Milner (14:09) right. Yeah. Nesrine (14:28) And I loved how the restaurant solved it for it. You know how they solve for it? I mean, maybe it exists in the U.S., but for me, that's something I never seen before. The waiter came with a QR code on a piece of paper and you scan the QR code. And when you scan your QR code, you get the list of items that got purchased by the table. And all you have is to pick, and that happens automatically real time. Everyone is picking at the same time. You pick the things from the list and you pay. for the things that you order. You can even tip on the bottom. You can give feedback. Everything happened on that QR code. And you can guess how much that anxiety could be removed. So that's the personal story I wanted to share. The second story, which is more professional, I want to share how we try to improve experience at Google Chrome. So I've been the product manager at Google Chrome. Brian Milner (15:13) Yeah. Nesrine (15:25) And we started from the observation that people do have plenty of open tabs. I guess you are one of them, especially on mobile. Like on mobile, you go and check how many open tabs you do have on Chrome and you realize that they are have, we realized at least out of numbers, out of data that people do have plenty of open tabs. So it started as Brian Milner (15:32) You Nesrine (15:47) technical issue. Of course, the more tab you have, the heavier the app is, the slower the app could be, et cetera. So we wanted to reduce the number of unnecessary open tabs in Chrome. So we interviewed users and we started to check with them, why do they even leave their tabs open? So some of them leave tabs because they consider them as a reminder. I mean, if tab is open, it means that you need to finish a task there. Some people really leave tabs just for ignorance. mean, they moved from a tab to another and they completely forget about them. Actually, we realized that the fact of leaving tab open, the reason for leaving tab could be completely different from a person to another. And the other interesting observation, and when I say identify emotional motivators, you will realize that people feel a bit ashamed when they show to us that they do have plenty of open tabs. Some of them would say, sorry, I usually don't even have so many open tabs. It's only now. And I'm like, it's okay. But the point is, if you have this mindset of trying to track the emotional insight from your users, you will take note. And the note was anxiety, feeling ashamed, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And that was in introduction for in... Brian Milner (16:42) You Yeah, right. Nesrine (17:04) improving the tab management experience later on in Chrome. Brian Milner (17:07) That's actually a really good parallel, though. I think that's a good example because it reminds me, too, even going back, I remember one of the things, and I'm going way back here, but I remember one of the things about Gmail that was kind of a selling point initially was the concept there of you don't have to worry about maintaining an inbox. keep all your mails and search. And you can search through your mails and find whatever it is. And I remember prior to that, most people would use something like Outlook or something like that to have their mail, there was always this constant struggle of, I've got to keep it down. I've got to delete things. I've got to categorize things. And Google had this different approach of, don't worry about it. Just leave it. And that's a good, I think, example as well of kind of that emotional response of, Nesrine (17:48) Yes. Brian Milner (17:56) Gosh, I'm kind of anxious. I feel bad that my inbox is so big. And I know that's bad, but Google comes along and says, don't worry about it. You're not bad. It's OK. Yeah. Nesrine (18:05) Yeah, yeah. And by the way, I think Gmail is filled with plenty of deep delight features. One of them I can quickly highlight is, you know, when you send an email, we're saying attached file and the file is not there. And when you try to hit send, you get that pop up like a be careful or like a mind, there is no attached file inside. These are for me like very attached to the fact that You don't want to feel ashamed. You don't want to look stupid later on saying, Hey, sorry, I forgot the file. Here's the file. That's, that's a great example. And the other example that come to mind again in Gmail, you know, that smart compose when you're trying to answer an email and you can just hit tab, tab, tab to complete the sentence. I mean, the functional need is to write an email. The emotional need is to get it in a relaxed way. And the combination would allow for something like. Brian Milner (18:49) Yeah. Nesrine (19:00) Smart Compose. Brian Milner (19:01) That's awesome. Yeah, so I guess that leads to the question though, when we're talking about something like Spotify, mean, music intrinsically is emotional anyway, right? It's something that you have an emotional connection to and you feel a certain way when you hear music. But if my product is a, I don't know, expense reporting software, right? Nesrine (19:23) Mm-hmm. Brian Milner (19:25) I can just hear people out there kind of asking, know, and kind of thinking to themselves, yeah, but my product, right, my product is not that kind of, it doesn't elicit that kind of emotional response in people the same way music would. So does this apply to me as well? So how would you answer those people who feel like my products might be a little bit more bland or boring and don't really intrinsically have an emotional connection to them? Nesrine (19:47) Mm-hmm. So my answer is that if your product is boring, then it's even more priority now to focus on emotional connection. But let me elaborate. So that's one of the reflections that came to my mind while writing the book. So while writing the book, I wanted the book to be a storytelling book. So I was writing a lot of my stories, stories from Skype at the time, Spotify and all the Google product. But at some point I said, hey, hey, Nisreen, you need to get more insight from other people and other experiences. So I get to interview product leaders from completely different industries and completely different domain. I interviewed leaders from B2B like Atlassian or Intuit and so many other companies that I don't have so much insight from. I even interviewed people from hardware, like I interviewed someone from Dyson and I was, hey, what makes Dyson so emotionally attractive for me? Cause I love my Dyson vacuum cleaner. But let me get to your point because when I interviewed someone from Intuit, that person told me something super interesting. She told me that at some point she was working at a tool called Tsheet. And Tsheet is a tool that allows you to enter your time report. There is nothing more boring than that. I think I'm picking the one that you're looking for here because it's, it's as a user. The only reason I would use this tool is to report my time so I can get paid. Brian Milner (21:06) Hmm. Right. Yeah. Nesrine (21:19) There is nothing exciting, nothing emotional. And what I got out of that product leader who used to be the head of product at the time, she told me that they were completely aware about the fact that the product is not that attractive. And instead of living with that observation, they did all what they could do to make it even more attractive. So they added some fun. They made the messaging less aggressive and less about enter your time. report but rather into more playful and even the images are more playful. When you press the enter time report you get the congratulation and some confetti if needed. So they explicitly turned and that's a strategy. They turned that boring moment into something even more attractive and they had to do that otherwise the experience will keep on becoming more more boring and the perception of users toward the product will be even less, more and more gray, I would say. Brian Milner (22:22) Yeah, yeah, just that little dopamine kind of kick, right? Just that little bit of chemical reaction in your brain can make a huge difference. That's awesome. That's a great story and a great answer to that question. So I'm curious, we're talking about trying to find these things and trying to see, your matrix here, it thinks about the emotional motivators, the functional motivators, and trying to find those things that kind of cross both planes. Nesrine (22:24) Yep. Brian Milner (22:52) How do you verify at the end? Because if you're lining your features up and think, I think this solves this emotional thing. I think this solves this functional thing. Is there a way to follow up to ensure that it actually is doing that? How do you follow up to make sure it's really doing what you thought it would do? Nesrine (23:09) Yes, so let's imagine you did the exercise well, you filled in the delight grade and you observed that you do have plenty of low delights, which is most of the cases by the way. The very first thing I recommend is to see opportunities for moving or transforming these features into deep delight. And in the book, for example, I talk about the nine delighters. Nine delighters are ways that could be sometimes cheap even to introduce. in order to make those low delight features into more deep delight. This could be, for example, through personalization. We love when the features are personalized, and that's one of the reasons, for example, why Spotify is so successful, is through features like Discover Weekly or RAPT or these kinds of super personalization related features. It could be through seasonality. That's, for me, the cheapest and the most delightful feature you can or aspect of feature you can add to your product. So for example, when I worked at Google Meet, I've been working at the background replace features. So we have been, of course, introducing static image. We have been introducing video backgrounds as well. But from time to time, we always use seasonality to introduce what we call seasonal background. So when it's Easter, we introduce Easter background. When it's Christmas, we introduce Christmas background. Guess what? Even like for Olympic game, we introduce Olympic game background. When it's the Earth Day, we introduced Earth Day background. So there is always an opportunity to introduce some seasonality to the product. And guess what? We relate to those, especially if the product is global. We relate like last, when was it? Like last Wednesday. It was the new year, the Chinese new year. And I was checking when is exactly the exact date for the new year, the Chinese new day. And I put that and you know what happened in Chrome? It got these dragons and those like the celebration within the product, like within Chrome. These of course are surface delight, but you know what? Why not? You see? So there are some tools. Some of them are not that... Brian Milner (25:17) Right. Nesrine (25:22) expensive to introduce to the product. Some would require a bit more thoughtful and thought into it, but there are ways that I detail in the book in order to introduce more delight. And then if you want to validate through metrics, and I guess that's your question where it's heading to, then the good news, and that's something that I discovered recently because there's been a study that was conducted by McKinsey. And you know what they studied? They studied the impact of emotional connection on product adoption. So they actually studied over, I don't know how many industries die, like tourism, IT, energy, whatever. And they interviewed more than 100,000 users or whatever. So the conclusion that they found out of that very interesting study is that emotionally connected users will get you more twice as more revenue, twice as more referral, and twice as more retention compared to satisfied users. I'm not talking about the non-satisfied. So if you take two groups of users, those that you satisfy their needs and those that you go beyond and they are emotionally connected, those that are emotionally connected get you twice revenue, referral and retention. Brian Milner (26:19) Hmm. Nesrine (26:43) So this is just to highlight that for people who say, no, but this is the cherry on the top. This is just like the extra. It's not the extra, it's the way to stand out. I don't know any company that is standing out nowadays without investing into emotional connection, none. Brian Milner (26:54) Yeah. That's a really good point. Yeah, I mean, the example that comes to my mind when you talked about seasonality and other things like that, know, I love my, you know, they're not a sponsor, Oral-B toothbrush, you know, the electronic toothbrush, and you know, there's an app with it and it keeps track of, you know, did you get all the areas of your teeth and did you hold it there long enough and... One of the things I always love about it is when it gets to December, the opening screen when you open up the app starts having snowfall. It's kind of a funny little emotional response, but you look at that and you think, that's cool. Yeah, it is kind of that season where now it's time to get ready for Christmas and it's that special. It's only this month that it's going to be like that. It's going to go away at the end of the month. Nesrine (27:45) Yes. Brian Milner (27:49) feel little sad when it's gone, it's back to normal. But it's such a silly little thing. Does that make any difference in really brushing my teeth at all? Does it change how well I brush my Not really. It's just a fun little thing that when it pops up there. And think how little that took from someone to do that. It's a little animation that they just pop up on a loading screen. But that little tiny bit, think, again, maybe a little bit surface. Nesrine (28:10) Yes. Brian Milner (28:16) but it takes something that would have been routine. It takes something that would have been kind of boring otherwise, and it just added a little bit of fun to it, you know? And I think you're right, that emotional connection is really, really important in situations like that, yeah. Nesrine (28:21) Yes. Yes. Yes, yeah. And the thing that I'm very vocal about nowadays is the fact that this emotional connection is actually not a new topic. It's something that has been extremely popular among marketers. For example, if you think about the best marketing campaign, they are all very emotional. The most successful marketing campaign are. If you think about designers, there are plenty of resources about emotional design. There is a great book by Don Norman. It was called emotional design. Aaron Walter as well wrote something called Designing for Emotion. But you know, the problem is that among engineers and among product manager, we don't talk that much about that. And you know what happened when we are not informed about this topic? There is a gap between the language of marketers, designers, and the engineers and product manager. And that gap doesn't allow things to succeed. I'm trying to educate the engineers and the product world towards this well-known domain outside of the product in order to have this consistency and start making real impactful products. Brian Milner (29:40) Yeah, yeah, this is such a really deep topic and it just encourages me, think, even more to recommend the book there. It's not out yet, time of this recording it's not out, but it's going to be in May of 2025. That's when this book is coming out. And I know it's gonna have a lot of really good information in it. Again, the book is gonna be called Product Delight. by Nesrine Changuel, Dr. Nesrine Changuel. I should make sure I say that. But I really appreciate you coming on because this is fascinating stuff. And I think the product managers, the product owners that are listening here are going to find this really fascinating. So I appreciate you sharing your time and your insights with us, Nesrine. Nesrine (30:26) Thank you, it's my pleasure. I love talking about this topic. Brian Milner (30:29) Ha

Here's a summary with key insights from the LT Marketing and Leadership Show on 12 February 2025:Key Marketing Trends from Kantar's “Marketing Trends 2025” Report (Final Five Trends) 1. Inclusion Imperative (“Woke and definitely not broke”): • Brands ignoring diversity and inclusion risk losing relevance, especially with Gen Z, Millennials, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent individuals, and people with disabilities. • 89% of consumers in emerging markets value inclusivity, compared to 71% in developed markets. • The ‘Africanisation' trend (1 in 4 people will be African by 2050) presents significant opportunities for inclusive branding. • Inclusion is essential for future growth, requiring brands to go beyond token efforts. 2. Slowing Population Growth: • Population growth under 1% poses challenges for market penetration but offers stability in market share. • Changing demographics (delayed marriages, fewer children, smaller households) reduce spending but increase household numbers. • Brands must leverage accelerators like expanding audience reach, enhancing presence, and exploring new markets to sustain growth. 3. Stretching Innovation Limits: • Brands that find new uses or markets for their products double their growth potential. • Examples: Oreo and Ferrero in ice cream, Oral B in bathroom products, Samsung in retail stores. • Innovation requires balancing risk and opportunity, especially for larger brands aiming for incremental growth through category expansion. 4. Evolving Retail Media Networks (RMNs): • RMNs (retailer-operated digital ad platforms) offer precise targeting via first-party data. • By 2028, RMNs will account for 25% of US media ad spend, driven by personalised marketing. • Success depends on collaboration with retailers for data insights, tailored content, and addressing investment challenges like data access and measurement. 5. Livestreaming Growth: • Livestream shopping can boost brand assets by 10-15% (established brands) and drive 30%+ immediate interest (smaller brands). • China's success with platforms like Taobao Live and WeChat sets the trend, with Gen Z and Millennials as key audiences. • Focus on consumer sentiment, engaging narratives, and brand recall for long-term success.Key Takeaways for Marketers: • Embrace Diversity and Inclusion for competitive advantage. • Adapt to Demographic Changes by exploring new markets and enhancing brand presence. • Innovate Continuously by expanding product offerings and entering new spaces. • Leverage RMNs for precise, data-driven marketing. • Capitalize on Livestreaming for immediate engagement and long-term brand affinity.These trends provide a roadmap for future-focused marketing strategies, encouraging brands to anticipate challenges and drive growth through innovation, inclusivity, and digital advancements.Take a seat, tune in, and let's make positive change contagious.Learn more at www.kevinbritz.comhttps://www.kevinbritz.com/book/

「スマホで歯垢の磨き残しを手軽にチェックできるWebツール「歯チェックAI」が便利！」　P&Gジャパンのオーラルケアブランド『Oral-B by Braun』は、ブランドメッセージ「Perfect clean for all ～全ての人に最高の磨き上がりを～」の実現に向け、スマートフォン1台で手軽に蓄積した歯垢の磨き残しをチェックできる無償の新webツール「歯チェックAI」を2025年2月1日より公開した。

Stacy and Eric start the episode with some follow up from past episodes; but HOLD please, first they need to talk about Muzak, weepy dentist office music, the hunky-dancer-guy-with-a-dog movie, and fish tanks. They also workshop ideas for dentist office ceiling distractions and ponder why Oral B and not A? The episode is filled with convo bombs including Eleanor Rigby and Stitch as Elvis. Speaking of iconic performers, Eric talks about Battersea's recent show. Somehow Canadian snack talk leads to a Gilbert Godfrey impression and talk about Dil Pickles. Hear me out, it's a fun episode! Follow DAMTT on Facebook and Instagram @dontaskmetotalk. Email us at asking@dontaskmetotalk.com Next time: Spend or Save

Aujourd'hui à l'émission, Mario nous avertis: « Les signes que vous fréquentez un boxeur! ». On se raconte nos pires premières dates, Julibou tente de nous rendre moins niaiseux, Simon L'essouflé laisse sa femme jouer avec la brosse-à-dents Oral B d'une cliente dans le coup de 16h20 et dans le segment des révélations, une gang de boys viennent en aide à leur ami devenu récemment paraplégique!

The Oral B toothbrush has a major design flaw that you need to be aware of. For over 20 years, I've used a Sonicare toothbrush, but as I realized it was coming to the end of its life, I decided to see if the Oral B toothbrush was better. I liked the Oral B, but I noticed it had areas where water, saliva, and food particles could enter the toothbrush head. To improve dental hygiene, I meticulously cleaned it with water to prevent bacterial growth. However, when I placed the Oral B toothbrush head in a glass filled with hydrogen peroxide, I quickly discovered what looked like black mold! I believe this is a design flaw that needs to be fixed.   Black mold health problems are well known, and this should be particularly concerning for those with immune disorders or parents of children.   For mold prevention on your oral B toothbrush, I suggest regularly soaking the toothbrush head in hydrogen peroxide or switching to a toothbrush that does not foster internal mold buildup.   Supplement Facts Coffee Mug: https://joecannon.creator-spring.com/listing/supplement-facts-mug   Consultations  https://supplementclarity.com/private-consultations/     Get My Rhabdo Book   Education is the best defense against getting rhabdomyolysis. I've been teaching about rhabdo for over 10 years. If you are in the US, you can order my book directly from me. Purchase My Rhabdo Book Order on Amazon      Connect With Me Joe-Cannon.com SupplementClarity.com YouTube     About Me   For over 30 years I've been sorting nutrition facts from fiction, busting myths and helping people understand dietary supplements using clinical research as my litmus test.    I have an MS in exercise science and a BS in biology & chemistry. I've written several books, including Rhabdo, the first book about exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis.   Disclaimer   Episodes are for information only. I'm NOT a medical doctor. NO medical advice is given or implied. ALWAYS consult your physician for the best health advice for you. I participate in the Amazon Associates program which means if you click on a link to amazon and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.    

In deze aflevering van de Van Niets naar Iets Podcast spreken we met e-commerce en branding specialist Mohamed Halusi. Mohamed begon zijn carrière bij McDonald's en werkte zich via een studie Commerciële Economie op naar een Sales functie bij KPN. Toen hij daar niet meer in het team paste, koos hij zijn eigen pad. Hij startte een webshop met merken als Gillette en Oral-B, en behaalde 8 miljoen euro omzet per jaar. Later creëerde hij zijn eigen merk, dat miljoenen omzet genereert via Bol.com, Amazon en fysieke winkels zoals Zitmaxx Wonen en Leen Bakker. Met meer dan 10 jaar ervaring coacht Mohamed nu anderen via zijn platform Anders Ecommerce. Hoe heeft Mohamed dit succes bereikt en waar is hij tijdens zijn reis tegenaan gelopen? Welke kansen ziet hij en hoe bouw je in korte tijd een winstgevend e-commerce merk op? In deze aflevering geeft Mohamed antwoord op deze vragen en laat weten hoe hij zijn succes heeft bereikt. Beluister de aflevering en raak geïnspireerd!

Em 2024, Rafael Mike lançou seu primeiro álbum de estúdio, intitulado "Viver de amores é bem melhor". O nome do álbum surgiu no último dia de gravação no estúdio, como o sussurro de um anjo. Um anjo chamado Elza. Com ela no coração, no momento de fechamento desse projeto, Mike resgatou um áudio que trocou com ela há alguns anos. No meio do áudio, ela cravou: Viver de amores é bem melhor. Não havia dúvida que esse era o mote de tudo que ele havia escrito para o álbum. Nele, as love songs misturam um pouco de cada influência de Mike: rap, afro, reggae e funk. O álbum reúne dez faixas autorais, além de parcerias inéditas. Participam do álbum Priscila Tossan ("Boom"), Saluh ("Pra Ter Você"), Dame G ("Camurça Preta"), Soany ("Oral B") e Super Livre ("Sorte"). Neste episódio, Rafael Mike comenta todas as faixas do novo disco, que está disponível ⁠em todas as plataformas digitais.⁠

Mit einem globalen Mundpflegemarkt von über 30 Milliarden Euro und einem klaren Duopol, dominiert von Philips und Oral-B, stellt sich die Frage: Wie schafft es ein Startup wie Happybrush, sich hier langfristig zu behaupten? Inzwischen hat sich Happybrush mit innovativen, nachhaltigen Produkten als ernstzunehmender Mitbewerber etabliert und verkauft 20 Millionen. Stefan Walter, Mitgründer von Happybrush, gibt im Gespräch mit Digitale Vorreiter:innen Host Christoph Burseg spannende Einblicke in die Herausforderungen sowie Erfolge des Unternehmens über den Zeitverlauf und wie sich der Markt für Mundpflegeprodukte – u.a. durch die Innovationskraft von Happybrush – verändert. Welche Strategien wendet Happybrush an, um Kund:innen zu gewinnen, sich von den großen Platzhirschen abzugrenzen und langfristigen Erfolg zu sichern? Wie reagiert der Handel auf neue, nachhaltige Zahnbürsten? Welche Rolle spielt Nachhaltigkeit im Zahnpflegebereich? Zudem erklärt Stefan, wie Kundenfeedback und technologische Innovationen die Produktentwicklung beeinflusst haben, warum viele Verbraucher:innen zögern, trotz klarer Vorteile elektrischer Zahnbürsten, in hochwertige Produkte zu investieren und wie man hier mit u.a. stylischem, nicht-medizinischem Design und einer klaren, positiven Mission trotzdem überzeugt.

The one where Green Blooded Bastard watches World War Z.  This movie is about an alleged Zombie outbreak becuase of Joe Biden.

“The glass isn't half full or half empty, it's actually both, simultaneously…” Welcome back to The Marketing Hustle, the podcast that cuts through the BS to bring you unfiltered stories from start-up Founders of bold brands. This week, your host Lottie chats to the Co-Founder of SURI, Mark Rushmore. Every year over 4 billion toothbrushes end up in landfill or in our oceans. That's enough to circle the globe twelve times SURI may seem like the new kids on the electrical toothbrush block, but they are the highest rated toothbrush on TrustPilot… yes, surpassing Oral-B. Their journey began back in 2021 with a mission to develop products that bring joy to the rituals people live by, while continually pushing the boundaries on what it means to be sustainable. They really are transforming one daily ritual at a time… Tune in to discover Lottie & Mark discuss the ultimate power of product, focusing on consumer pinpoints and going back to business basics. Finally… if you enjoy the episode, please leave us a review, it helps more than you know. Now let's get stuck in! Chapters: [1:02] Throwback to the P&G days [3:58] Why SURI exists  [7:19] Their first customer service lesson [8:24] The key to SURI's scale: biz basics [14:55] The power of keeping things simple [20:26] Having a complimentary Co-Founder [22:48] Dealing with founder stress [31:00] The equation for building teams [38:30] Having a hustle mindset in startup world [42:03] The edge to look for in top talent [47:55] Staying on the sustainable path Connect with Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-rushmore-b1240a19/ Explore SURI: https://www.trysuri.com/ Follow your host, Lottie Unwin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lottie-unwin-she-her-7b577742/ Discover Up World + Brand Hackers: https://up-world.co/

Filenin Sultanları, Çin'i 3-2 yenerek tarihinde ilk kez Olimpiyat Oyunları yarı finaline kaldı. Yurt dışından siparişlerde alışveriş limiti düşürüldü, vergi artırıldı. Filenin Sultanları, Çin'i 3-2 yenerek tarihinde ilk kez Olimpiyat Oyunları yarı finaline kaldı. Yurt dışından siparişlerde alışveriş limiti düşürüldü, vergi artırıldı. Bu bölüm Oral-B hakkında reklam içermektedir. Yeni Oral-B 3D White Clinical Yoğun Beyazlık diş macunu, diş minesine zarar vermeden dişlerinizi ilk fırçalamadan itibaren hissedebileceğiniz şekilde beyazlatıyor ve anında etki gösteriyor. Oral-B 3D White Clinical Yoğun Beyazlık diş macununu buradan inceleyebilirsiniz. Aposto Gündem'e buradan ulaşabilirsiniz.

Guns & Roses-shirts bij H&M, Disney-tandenborstels van Oral B en de Dora de ontdekker-koekjes bij Albert Heijn, maar ook een samenwerking tussen The North Face en Gucci. Het zijn bekende voorbeelden van licensing. De markt is de afgelopen jaren enorm gegroeid. Toch hebben veel marketeers de kansen van licensing niet in het vizier. Waarom zijn consumenten bereid duizenden euro's neer te leggen voor een Omega Speedmaster-horloge met Snoopy op de wijzerplaat? Het draait volgens onze gast - een licensingman in hart en nieren - allemaal om merkwaarden en emotie: “Wat doet een merk met iemand?”, aldus Maarten Weck, die twintig jaar geleden de licensingwereld inrolde en inmiddels EVP Global Partnerships en Licensing is van Wildbrain CPLG, een licentiebedrijf - van onder andere Peanuts (en dus Snoopy) - dat actief is in 70 landen. Roger Verdurmen gaat met hem in gesprek over de ontwikkeling van licentiemarketing en de specifieke do's en dont's. Wanneer is het een goed idee om een personage of entertainmentmerk aan jouw product of merk te koppelen? Of omgekeerd, hoe bepaal je of het een goed idee is om jouw merk als het ware te verhuren aan een retailer of een ander merk? Kortom: wanneer moet je zeker over licensing nadenken? Brandkast verschijnt elke maand met een nieuwe aflevering in jouw favoriete podcast-app. Presentatie is in handen van Roger Verdurmen. Redactie door Maaike van der Ploeg.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gillian Howie, Consultant in Special Care Dentistry for Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), joins us to talk about the challenges of accessing dental care when you have a disability, as well as some of the joys she experiences as a special care dentist.Thank you to Oral B for making this conversation happen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show Notes:Anker Recallhttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/ohmtowndaily/f/d/anker-recalls-its-321-power-bank-due-to-fire-risk/Cheap Flightshttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/ohmtowndaily/f/d/were-in-the-golden-age-of-cheap-flights-so-why-are-americans-fed-up-with-ticket-prices/Oral B and Alexahttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/ohmtowndaily/f/d/oral-b-takes-alexa-feature-away-from-its-toothbrush-base-4-years-after-selling-them/Wholesome Directhttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/wanted/f/d/wholsome-direct-surprise-game-releases/Food Chainshttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/mobble/f/d/will-food-chains-break-as-seasons-become-more-unpredictable/Freighter Collideshttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/ohmtowndaily/f/d/a-freighter-ship-in-lake-superior-collided-with-something-underwater-coast-guards-says/Carbon Capturehttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/technologytoday/f/d/carbon-capture-breakthrough-cambridges-new-material-for-direct-air-co2-absorption/Apple's AIhttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/late-nite-geeks/f/d/apple-needs-to-focus-on-making-ai-useful-not-flashy/Hitman Filmshttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/the-continuity-report/f/d/10-hitmen-in-film-who-are-really-bad-at-their-jobs/Summer Gameshttps://www.ohmtown.com/groups/warcrafters/f/d/the-biggest-announcements-and-trailers-from-the-2024-summer-gaming-showcases/

The team discusses growing security concerns over Microsoft's new Windows Recall feature, a storm in a toothmug over Oral B's discontinued smart bathroom products, and Intel and AMD's latest salvoes in the unfolding TOPS war. As sometimes happens, our Hot Hardware candidate is actually a piece of software, namely the latest release of the free LibreOffice suite.

Gründlicher, sanfter zum Zahnfleisch und bequemer: Elektrische Zahnbürsten bieten viele Vorteile gegenüber herkömmlichen Zahnbürsten. Ein großer Nachteil ist aber der Platzbedarf für die Ladestation und der lästige Kabelsalat im Bad. Doch ein praktisches Gadget bei Amazon schafft Abhilfe – zumindest für Nutzer einer elektrischen Zahnbürste von Oral-B.

Wir servieren Euch eine frische Folge. Für den Spannungsaufbau hier mal der Inhalt in fünf Stichpunkten: ➡️ Regen im Urlaub auf Kos ➡️ Cooles Oral B-Event in Amsterdam ➡️ Akt-Shooting im Wald ➡️ OMR-Festival in Hamburg ➡️ Apache 207 Konzert in Köln Wer von uns was erlebt hat und wer dabei häufig kurz vor knapp am Ziel war, das hörst Du in Folge 51 von Mich bremst Niemand aus. Link zum neuen Award-Programm von Oral B, das barrierefreie und zugängliche Zahnarztpraxen in ganz Europa fördert https://pharmabarometer.de/news/the-big-rethink-oral-b-und-die-international-association-for-disability-and-oral-health-iadh-setzen-neue-massstaebe-fuer-menschen-mit-behinderungen/ Links zu mir und meinen Kanälen https://johannes-grasser.de https://instagram.com/theofficial_johnny/ https://facebook.com/theofficialjohnny/ Mail: hello@johannes-grasser.de WhatsApp: +49 176 62388937 Link zu meinem Buch: https://www.m-vg.de/riva/shop/article/23522-mich-bremst-niemand-aus/ Links zu Basti https://www.sebastian-messerschmidt.de https://www.instagram.com/sebastianmesserschmidt/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianmesserschmidt/

This month we've handed over to Bhavnisha Parmar (aka Bhav) to interview us both so you get to know us a little better. Bhav is an award-winning actress and voiceover artist. Among other things, she's appeared on-screen in Doctor Who Seasons 11- 13 and is currently the voice of Oral B and Nivea, is playing a range of roles in AAA games due to release in 2024, is the voice of Apple India, a resident Calm App narrator, and is the host of the Chill Show on BBC Asian Network.A HUGE thank you to Bhav for joining us! Find out more about Bhav here. The blog about the theme tune can be found here. The Goals for Girls animation is here. Your presenters are ⁠ ⁠Rob Bee⁠ and ⁠Helen Bee⁠.   For more information about The Voiceover Social visit: ⁠The Voiceover Social Website⁠ Email us ⁠listen@thevosocial.com⁠ ⁠Subscribe to our newsletter⁠ ⁠See which events are coming soon⁠ ⁠Find your closest VO Social group⁠   Find us online: ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠Facebook Page⁠ ⁠Facebook Group⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Twitter⁠     Podcast sponsored by ⁠B Double E⁠. Theme tune by Rob Bee. All audio production by Rob Bee. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevosocial/message

Der durchschnittliche Verbraucher sammelt bis zu seinem vierzigsten Lebensjahr Kabel, die von der Erde bis zum Pluto reichen. Von Henning Bornemann.

Unlock the secret to captivating your audience through storytelling! Dive in with me and special guest, Jenn Jouhseik, as we chat through how to craft story-based emails that turn readers into raving, brand-loyal fans eager to connect with (and purchase from!) you. Jenn Jouhseik is a personality-driven copywriter and brand storyteller with over 7 years experience in marketing. Working across a multitude of industries, she's emulated brand voice through ad campaigns for top brands like Uniqlo, Dunkin', Burt's Bees, and Oral B; developed brand stories for large organizations, personal brands, & small businesses; and crafted various types of copy across multiple channels. She specializes in working with 7-9 figure CEOs to position their brand irresistibly, turn their audience into brand-obsessed fans, and capture all the money leaking from their funnel. In this episode, Jessie & Jenn discuss: Jenn's background & story — what led her to becoming a personality-driven copywriter and brand storyteller The key to crafting a compelling brand story that resonates with your audience, turns them into brand-obsessed fans, and leads to sales Why every coach, creator, and online biz owner should prioritize email marketing How brands can effectively incorporate storytelling into their email marketing strategies What to do if you feel like you have no interesting stories to share with your audience What the top 2 common mistakes are that brands make when attempting to use storytelling in emails And more! People Mentioned: Daniel Throssel: https://persuasivepage.com/ Books Mentioned: Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks — GET THE BRAND ATTRACTION BLUEPRINT: Discover the EXACT step-by-step blueprint my clients are using to create magnetic personal brands that attract more aligned leads, book out their services, and get on the path to consistent $10k months (and beyond!) — https://www.jessie-christensen.com/blueprint — WORK WITH JESSIE 1:1: ⁠⁠Click here to schedule a clarity call with me.⁠⁠ — To connect with Jessie: Instagram: ⁠⁠@jessie__christensen⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠hello@jessie-christensen.com⁠⁠ Website:⁠⁠ jessie-christensen.com⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠linkedin.com/in/jessieachristensen⁠⁠ Pinterest: ⁠⁠pinterest.com/jessie_christensen/_saved⁠⁠ — To connect with Jenn: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jouhco_/ Website: https://jouhco.com/ Email list: https://jouhco.com/daily-storytelling/ Workshop (Use code “JESSIE” for a special discount!): https://jouhco.com/sp/story-selling-magic/

Heute spreche ich mit Anke Gembler.

 Anke ist bei Procter & Gamble als „Manager Professional & Scientific Relations DACH“ tätig und ihr "Baby" sind dir Webinare bei Oral-B Professional. Hier kannst du nicht nur Fortbildungspunkte erhalten, sondern bekommst auch dein Zertifikat, wenn du selbst an einem Webinar teilgenommen hast. Zu den Webinaren: https://www.oralbprofessional.de/s/webinars?language=de Oral-B Professionals: https://www.oralbprofessional.de/s/?language=de Muster für die Praxis bestellen: https://www.oralbprofessional.de/s/login/?language=de&ec=302&startURL=%2Fs%2FProdukte-Muster-Bestellen%3Flanguage%3Dde Du möchtest selbst einmal zu Gast in diesem Format sein, oder hast sogar selbst mal überlegt einen Podcast zu starten? Dann lass uns quatschen: https://calendly.com/dentalwelt_podcast/kennenlernen-dentalwelt-podcast?back=1

STACY GRAY left her home and family in Indiana for NYC, to pursue a degree in Nursing, and after a brief stint in healthcare, her creative side won out. She earned a spot on the world-famous Apollo stage as an Apollo model, and to make ends meet, she took a job at a beauty supply store on Harlem's bustling 125th Street. The access to hair weaves inspired her to take the initiative to become a self-taught extension specialist, became a Local 798 Union member AND an Award winning, Hairstylist/Make Up Artist & Male Groomer. Stacey is considered a mastermind behind countless creations with over three decades of experience in the beauty industry. Stacy's determination and creativity propelled her career, working with a clientele that includes Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Erykah Badu and Megan the Stallion and more. She's worked on countless commercials such as: Tide, Fisher nuts, Mercedes Benz, Oral B, Adidas, Essence, and television shows, such as: Empire and Saturday Night Live (SNL) and music video sets. Ms. Gray has worked with top photographers and publications such as IN STYLE, Vogue, Interview Magazine, Rolling Stone and Essence, reality TV and feature films. Check out her IMDB page, from 2005-present: with 30 credits for film, TV and specials as: key hair department head, key makeup assistant and make up. Stacy is a survivor of domestic abuse and homelessness. https://www.thestacygray.com/ IG: @iamStacyGray Stacy is a committed volunteer, offering her services to those in need, paying it forward. She is Celebrity Hairstylist, Make Up Artist & Groomer and Creative Director/CEO of all things Glam with her team and Agency, SGrayUnlimited - @sgrayunlimited_agency_staffing Stacy Gray is a survivor of domestic abuse and homelessness, who with perspective, strength and free will, has risen from the valleys to leap mountains. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ozzie-stewart/support

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for November 2, 2023.According to the National Weather Service Thursday will be mostly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high near 52 degrees. On Thursday evening there will be increasing clouds with a low of around 37 degrees.Red Star Yeast Company in Cedar Rapids has agreed to pay a $37,705 fine and buy local first responders $35,864 in equipment as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over hazardous waste violations.On Jan. 23, EPA inspectors visited the Red Star plant at 950 60th Ave. SW and found three 10,000-gallon tanks of hazardous waste, including one that held selenium-contaminated sludge and two others labeled as “hazardous waste,” according to the consent decree the EPA provided to The Gazette. Selenium is an ingredient added to nutritional yeast.The fire department and hazmat team prepared a list of equipment that would help in their responses to hazardous waste or other chemical incidents and Red Star submitted that to the EPA as part of a supplemental environmental project. Red Star has 60 days from Oct. 23 to purchase the gear.Oral-B Laboratories has agreed to buy Kirkwood Community College's Iowa City campus for $6.4 million — pending 120 days of performing “due diligence” on the deal.That pending sale, made Aug. 10 for the 6.3 acres at 1816 Lower Muscatine Rd., is about $625,000 under Kirkwood's asking price of nearly $7 million, according to a Realty.com advertisement promoting the property as a “hard to find” large parcel in “highly-sought after Iowa City.”In 2018, Procter & Gamble announced it would move its shampoo, conditioner and body wash product lines out of Iowa City — and eliminate hundreds of local jobs as a result. But then two years later, it said it would keep the product lines here after all. Its oral care lines, including Oral B, were not affected under the plans.In January, Kirkwood announced it was going to sell the 32-year-old campus Former Kirkwood President Lori Sundberg said the move was made to cut costs and consolidate offerings as community colleges face challenges in adapting to the changing educational landscape.Longtime Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz intends to continue coaching beyond the 2023 season, he clarified Wednesday evening on his weekly radio show.“I hope to keep doing this for quite a while,” Ferentz said. “I've always loved being here. … Until they tell me to sit down, I'll probably keep going.”The longtime coach's future came into question after interim athletics director Beth Goetz announced on Monday her intention to not retain offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after the 2023 season.Ferentz said on his radio show Wednesday he was “not trying to intentionally cause celebration for some people that would love to see me go start a stamp collection or go birdwatching.”“That was not the intent,” Ferentz said Wednesday. “The intent was to try to steer this thing back to what is important right now.”

Dr. Dana Van Elslande, DDS, MSc (D. Ortho), FRCD(C) Dr. Van Elslande is a Certified Specialist in Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics as well as a member of the Alberta Dental Association & College. Currently in private practice in Calgary and Okotoks, Dr. Van Elslande manages a dental study group in Calgary and has several publications in peer-reviewed literature. Dr. Dana Van Elslande has been in the private practice of orthodontics for 14 years in Calgary and Okotoks. A former graduate of the University of Alberta, she runs a study group for dentists that want to learn more about multidisciplinary care and occasionally helps teach with the University of Alberta Graduate Orthodontics Program, as well as the Clinical Auxiliary Orthodontic Module at SAIT. Dr. Van Elslande has lectured with Oral B for over 15  years, and has several articles related to proper oral hygiene practices while in Orthodontic treatment.

Hello and welcome to our 200th episode. We are so grateful for you guys. Thank you so much!! We want to celebrate a little by giving away some t-shirts and one lucky person will win an Oral B electric toothbrush. We will randomly select from the people that review us on our Facebook page or on Apple Podcasts. You have from April 1 to April 8th to enter. Thank you and good luck. Oh and go floss yourselves!! Have  a great rest of the weekend!  Love Carlos and Sandy Lee https://offyourflosser.libsyn.com TDCC info and tickets here: https://dentalculturecon.com  USE DISC CODE CARLOS to save 5% of your event ticket fee.  Emotional Intelligence with Carlos, https://www.carlosrdh.com Thru The Lens Event Photography https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090129523346 **DENTAL PROFESSIONALS ONLY** Use this link, Ambassador info: https://mailchi.mp/theautoflosser/oyf Join Our Facebook Page Here: https://www.facebook.com/offyourflosserpodcast Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTlSaKUhUITjRztbl8t-_qw For More OYF Info,Booking Information and Sponsorship Opportunities https://www.offyourflosser.com Use our discount code FREE SHIPPING 1 https://aflexxassistarm.com Dental Voice Podcast, by Zyris https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dental-voice/episodes/Wicked-Cheap-The-Cost-Of-Giving-Value-To-Your-Patients-e21e9js

Aujourd'hui, nous recevons Christine Cabon, Directrice Communication chez Procter & Gamble.Vous avez forcément déjà utilisé un produit provenant de Procter & Gamble. Le groupe est spécialisé dans les biens de consommation courante. Dans ses différentes marques, on retrouve notamment Ariel, Gillette, Venus, Always, Oral-B, ou encore Bion3 !Nous avons abordé avec Christine la question de l'adaptation. S'adapter à l'évolution des usages dans la société, des algorithmes qui changent sans cesse, s'adapter aux nouveaux moyens de communication, mais aussi s'adapter aux différents personnes pour remettre l'humain au centre des campagnes de communication. Si ce podcast vous plaît, prenez 30 secondes pour noter et laissez 5 d'étoiles sur Apple Podcast et Spotify, cela aide le référencement du podcast. Il me reste plus qu'à vous souhaiter une bonne écoute ! Pour échanger, retrouvez nous sur Instagram :Influence Corner : https://www.instagram.com/podcast.influencecorner/Pyar Agency : https://www.instagram.com/pyar_lab/Ou via hello@loupagency.fr ! Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

If there was one thing you think society should talk more about, what would it be?“Failure. I believe it's something to be celebrated. We get to learn, grow, skill up and better understand ourselves as a result of failure.” _____I met today's guest many years ago in Uluru when she came and ran yoga sessions for all the participants at a corporate conference I was attending. She was fantastic and her energy, practical approach and beautifully frank demeanour made me love her immediately. Lola Berry went on to do so many things since then - today she's an actor, TV host, podcaster, nutritionist and writer. Lola is a best selling author of 11 books and has worked in the media industry for over a decade. She's into her 5th year of studying acting and TV hosting and is currently living between Los Angeles and Byron Bay. Lola is a regular guest on TV shows and ambassador for Aussie household brands like Oral B, ANZ, Honda Cars, Campbell's and Grill'd burgers. Lola is also the co-creator of medicinal brain tonic coffee Lola Coffee. Lola has a podcast called “Fearlessly Failing with Lola Berry” where she interviews notable profiles about their failures and how it's the tough times that actually shape and help us to grow. Lola is passionate about inspiring and empowering others to look after themselves mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The podcast led to the release of her 11th book (!!) with the same title - Fearlessly Failing and is all about how to grow through challenges and embrace the lessons so-called failure can teach us. Lola's a “what you see is what you get” kind of girl. No bells and whistles, just the real deal and as you're about to hear…so bloody refreshing! It's also about how to spot the signs leading you towards your life purpose, how to achieve lasting personal growth as well as what our body can teach us about finding true joy and lasting health. For more information about Lola, check out these places;- Instagram: @yummololaberry Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lola-berry/Head to michellejcox.com for more information about the ONE QUESTION podcast, your host or today's guestsConnect with Michelle on Linkedin here:- @MichelleJCoxConnect with Michelle on Instagram here:- @michellejcoxConnect with Michelle on Facebook here - @michellejcoxAND, if you have a burning topic you'd love people to talk more about, or know someone who'd be great to come on the One Question podcast, please get in touch;- hello@michellejcox.com

Gary Cohen is a global CEO and board director. He is currently CEO of Qualitor Automotive,  Inc., a Wellspring Capital Management portfolio company. Qualitor is a leading diversified supplier of aftermarket safety and wear parts for the automotive industry. Through five global locations and two business units, Qualitor provides wiper blades and auto care accessories  (Pylon) and brake hardware and related components (International Brake Industries) to the automotive aftermarket. Prior to Qualitor, Gary was President and CEO of Timex Group, a  global manufacturer of watches, where he made significant improvements in expanding revenues of key product lines. At Timex, he was responsible for the Timex brand as well as licensed brands including Versace, Ferragamo, Guess, and Ironman.  Prior to joining Timex, Gary was Global VP/General Manager of Playtex, a business unit of  Energizer's Personal Care division. Among his achievements at Playtex, he helped acquire the  Hawaiian Tropic sun care brand and expanded its distribution internationally. Gary joined  Playtex in 2006 as part of a turnaround team that sold the business to Energizer Holdings.   Gary also held a succession of global marketing positions at P&G/The Gillette Company, each increasing in scale, scope of responsibility and complexity. By developing new products and focusing on transformational cost savings and productivity initiatives, he was able to deliver consistent profit growth in Gillette's Oral-B and shaving businesses.  Gary is a board director of Horizons National, a not-for-profit that delivers summer and after-school education and enrichment programs to low-income children across the country. He chairs the marketing communications committee and serves on the strategic planning and compensation committees. He is also a board advisor to PrideGear, a start-up that customizes athletic logo-wear for college and club sports teams.  A native of Massachusetts, Gary graduated from Brandeis University and earned his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Gary and his wife, Carolyn, have four daughters and reside in Westport, CT.

Quick heads up that there was a slight hiccup with this week's recording, but hopefully you can still soak up all our incredible recommendations. Remember to send us your ideas to our instagram @makingthecutpodcast.Andy Collins - https://twitter.com/AndyshowbizMd London - https://www.instagram.com/mdlondonSam Ryder - https://www.instagram.com/samhairwolfryderRestLess -https://restless.co.uk/James Dreyfus interview - https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/james-dreyfus-cancelled-from-dr-who-for-supporting-jk-rowlingGlenn Kitson - https://www.instagram.com/glenn_kitsonThe Elon Musk Show - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001d1n9Ffern - https://ffern.co/Oral B io Number 9 - https://www.oralb.co.uk/en-gb/products/electric-toothbrushes/oral-b-io-series-9-electric-toothbrush#color=black-onyx%20David Gray - https://www.davidgray.com/Bad Sisters - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15469618/The Watcher - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14852808/The Burnt City - https://onecartridgeplace.com/theburntcity/Get Baked - https://shop.get-baked.co.uk/Friendly Turtle Company - https://www.friendlyturtle.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HR Like a Boss is back! And we are so happy to be starting this new season off with Kristin Harper! On this episode, Kristin talks all about leadership and development, the importance of knowing oneself, and the future of flexibility at work. About Kristin Kristin Harper is the founder and CEO of Driven to Succeed, LLC, a leadership development company that provides brand strategy consulting, market research, keynotes on leadership and emotional intelligence, and career coaching for Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, and rising leaders. She's known for building brands and helping people accelerate their careers using head and heart. An award-winning businesswoman, Kristin went from college intern to a Global Vice President of a Fortune 15 company in her 30s. Throughout her career, she led global iconic brands including Crest®, Oral-B®, and Hershey's KISSES®. Now she and her team help brands uncover insights to drive growth through research, brainstorming, and innovation. Kristin is a wife and mother to three, and author of The Heart of a Leader: 52 Emotional Intelligence Insights to Advance Your Career and Love's Resurrection: A Spiritual Journey through Marriage, Divorce and Remarrying the Same Man. About HR Like a Boss HR Like a Boss centers around the concept that with the right passion to be and think different, HR and business professionals can do amazingly awesome HR. People who do HR like a boss understand business concepts, what makes people tick, and how to approach HR as more than a compliance or cost center. This podcast builds the foundation for John Bernatovicz's upcoming book, "HR Like a Boss." If you're ready to take your HR career to the next level, this is the podcast for you. Share any comments with bridgette@willory.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/willory/message

Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard are wearing their new Apple Watches (Series 8 & Ultra!) and are ready to take you through very helpful HealthKit apps for better sleep, temperature, teeth and more! Withings Health Mate Withings Sleep Analyzer Withings Thermo Smart Temporal Thermometer Beautyrest Sleeptracker Monitor KardiaMobile 6L by Alivecor Oral-B 7000 SmartSeries Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Measurements Apple Watch ECG News iOS 16.0.2 released to fix iPhone 14 Pro camera shake issue Mark Gurman thinks October Apple products could be announced via press releases instead of an actual event Shortcuts Corner Chris wants to feed his fish at lunchtime every "other" day, which prompts Rosemary to do some mathematical functions! Feedback & Questions Doug's iPhone 14 Pro Max is rebooting when charging, and he's not alone! Also featuring Linux & Chewie! Michael wants to use the Family Sharing feature but NOT share payment cards. How can he disable that? App Caps Rosemary's App Cap: Sticker Drop Mikah's pick: AirPods Pro 2nd Gen Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit You can contribute to iOS Today by leaving us a voicemail at 757-504-iPad (757-504-4723) or sending an email to iOSToday@TWiT.tv. Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard are wearing their new Apple Watches (Series 8 & Ultra!) and are ready to take you through very helpful HealthKit apps for better sleep, temperature, teeth and more! Withings Health Mate Withings Sleep Analyzer Withings Thermo Smart Temporal Thermometer Beautyrest Sleeptracker Monitor KardiaMobile 6L by Alivecor Oral-B 7000 SmartSeries Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Measurements Apple Watch ECG News iOS 16.0.2 released to fix iPhone 14 Pro camera shake issue Mark Gurman thinks October Apple products could be announced via press releases instead of an actual event Shortcuts Corner Chris wants to feed his fish at lunchtime every "other" day, which prompts Rosemary to do some mathematical functions! Feedback & Questions Doug's iPhone 14 Pro Max is rebooting when charging, and he's not alone! Also featuring Linux & Chewie! Michael wants to use the Family Sharing feature but NOT share payment cards. How can he disable that? App Caps Rosemary's App Cap: Sticker Drop Mikah's pick: AirPods Pro 2nd Gen Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit You can contribute to iOS Today by leaving us a voicemail at 757-504-iPad (757-504-4723) or sending an email to iOSToday@TWiT.tv. Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard are wearing their new Apple Watches (Series 8 & Ultra!) and are ready to take you through very helpful HealthKit apps for better sleep, temperature, teeth and more! Withings Health Mate Withings Sleep Analyzer Withings Thermo Smart Temporal Thermometer Beautyrest Sleeptracker Monitor KardiaMobile 6L by Alivecor Oral-B 7000 SmartSeries Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Measurements Apple Watch ECG News iOS 16.0.2 released to fix iPhone 14 Pro camera shake issue Mark Gurman thinks October Apple products could be announced via press releases instead of an actual event Shortcuts Corner Chris wants to feed his fish at lunchtime every "other" day, which prompts Rosemary to do some mathematical functions! Feedback & Questions Doug's iPhone 14 Pro Max is rebooting when charging, and he's not alone! Also featuring Linux & Chewie! Michael wants to use the Family Sharing feature but NOT share payment cards. How can he disable that? App Caps Rosemary's App Cap: Sticker Drop Mikah's pick: AirPods Pro 2nd Gen Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit You can contribute to iOS Today by leaving us a voicemail at 757-504-iPad (757-504-4723) or sending an email to iOSToday@TWiT.tv. Sponsor: itpro.tv/twit promo code TWIT30

GENE GRAHAM: After earning his B.S in Advertising and Marketing Communications with a 3.6 gpa in 2003, and an Activities and Societies Presidential Scholar, Gene began his editing journey at Alphamedica in Tarrytown, NY, as in-house video editor/producer, with duties such as: patient & HCP interviews/testimonials, sourcing crews, locations, travel, editing/finessing all digital, social and live events, working closely with marketing and writing teams. He created sizzle reels and manifesto videos for business development. Then in 2010 he began freelancing first at Razorfish, then at 360i and a number of large digital, traditional amd pr communication firms with the New York agency universe and worked on productions for Mercedes Benz, Ford, PNC Bank, Morgan Stanley, Oreo Cookie, Capital One, Oscar Meyer, Celebrity Cruises, Oral B, Allergan, Unilever, Pfizer, Warner Bros, HBO, Showtime, Telepictures, In Demand, Ralph Lauren, Macy's and more. He also worked on the Biden/Harris campaign, the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Announcement, the Education Writers Association and more. This is the backstory to his evolving into an award winning filmmaker which began in 2006 as Winner, BlockBuster Audience Award for Best Picture/Feature and Best Performance by Actor, Loretta Devine, Dirty Laundry from the American Black Film Festival which he edited and associate produced and was distributed by LIONSGATE; in 2007- Winner, Jury Award for Best Documentary and Winner, Emerging Filmmaker Award,The Godfather of Disco, from the Fire Island Film & Video Festival; in 2008- Nominated, Best Independent Film, Dirty Laundry, NAACP Image Awards and Nominated, Best Feature Film/Limited Release, Dirty Laundry from GLAAD Awards; 2018- Winner, Special Jury Recognition for Best Cast, This One's For The Ladies, from SXSW Film Festival and was acquired for worldwide distribution by NEON and released theatrically nationwide, and streamed on HULU and available VOD/SVOD platforms, as well as Nominated, Best Documentary, This One For The Ladies from both SXSW & IndieMemphis; 2019- Winner, Best Documentary, This One For The Ladies from NC Black Film Festival and Filmmaker in Residence, from Docs In Progress, Washington DC. In 2021, Gene wrote, directed and edited his short film, Jac On The Come Up, which is presently on 2022's festival circuit, while his new film Born Again Reject is about to be shot this summer. He enthusiastically looks forward to more in the feature realm within the near future. Great director to work with. Follow his journey at: https://determinedpictures.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ozzie-stewart/support

Alexandra Mircea este fondatoarea clinicii stomatologice Dentalist ( pe care a fondat-o în 2020, în plină criză epidemiologică), business clădit din dorința de a oferi pacienților o experiență diferită la medicul stomatolog. Alexandra își dorește ca toți pacienții clinicii și nu numai să fie informați cu privire la sănătatea dentară și să conștientizeze importanța acesteia. De aceea s-a folosit de social media, precum Tik Tok, Instagram si Youtube pentru a educa frumos, transparent si pe intelesul tuturor tot ceea ce trebuie sa stie despre sanatatea dentară. Acum a ajuns la peste 100.000 de urmaritori pe Youtube iar pe Tik Tok este plina de umor în timp ce explică simplu cum să te speli corect pe dinți. Si a reusit! Rezulatele si comunitatea pe care a creat-o a aratat că si medicii pot fi funny si pe intelesul tuturor.

Mr. Oral B, Slim Jim, and recovering cleptos. IG: @mortalenemiespodcast Music by: Petey Pablo

Take a look down the aisle of any high street chemist and the array of electric toothbrushes on offer is as dazzling as the teeth they promise to give you. You can pay upto £500 for the latest versions whiose myriad features include interactive apps that give you feedback on your brushing technique. The market is dominated by two big brands, both promising a ‘professional' clean: Oral B, whose iO brush has an oscillating action and Philips' Sonicare, which uses tens of thousands of vibrations every minute to clean your teeth. After having to pay a lot more for private treatment because she couldn't find an NHS dentist in her area, listener Holly got in touch to ask whether getting an electric brush might save her trips to the dentist in future. And wouldcould a more expensive brush really clean her teeth better than a cheaper electric one? Or even the trusty traditional (and far cheaper) manual one she currently uses?! Greg takes to the dentists chair to find out, testing both the Oral B and Philips brands as well as one of the latest trends – water flossing, which claim even better results than regular flossing with tape or interdental brushes. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? Or marketing BS? Greg guests this episode include a dental expert who's been studying electric brushes since their inception and the consumer group Which? who ranked electric toothbrushes in a recent consumer test of their own. This series, we're testing your suggested wonder-products. Seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there's any evidence to back up the claim? Tell us! Drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk . PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Take a look down the aisle of any high street chemist and the array of electric toothbrushes on offer is as dazzling as the teeth they promise to give you. You can pay upto £500 for the latest versions whiose myriad features include interactive apps that give you feedback on your brushing technique. The market is dominated by two big brands, both promising a ‘professional' clean: Oral B, whose iO brush has an oscillating action and Philips' Sonicare, which uses tens of thousands of vibrations every minute to clean your teeth. After having to pay a lot more for private treatment because she couldn't find an NHS dentist in her area, listener Holly got in touch to ask whether getting an electric brush might save her trips to the dentist in future. And wouldcould a more expensive brush really clean her teeth better than a cheaper electric one? Or even the trusty traditional (and far cheaper) manual one she currently uses?! Greg takes to the dentists chair to find out, testing both the Oral B and Philips brands as well as one of the latest trends – water flossing, which claim even better results than regular flossing with tape or interdental brushes. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? Or marketing BS? Greg guests this episode include a dental expert who's been studying electric brushes since their inception and the consumer group Which? who ranked electric toothbrushes in a recent consumer test of their own. This series, we're testing your suggested wonder-products. Seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there's any evidence to back up the claim? Tell us! Drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk . PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Allan Chochinov is an educator, writer, speaker, and advocate for the power and capacity of design. He is the Founding Chair of the MFA in Products of Design graduate program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and a partner of Core77, the design network serving a global community of designers and design enthusiasts since 1995. Allan has moderated and led workshops and symposia at venues from the Aspen Design Conference to the Rockefeller Center at Bellagio, and has been invited to speak on design at organizations from frog Design and SYPartners to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The New York Times, and the National AIGA. A frequent lecturer and critic, he has worked with students at schools including MIT, Yale School of Management, Columbia School of Business, RMIT, IIT, and Carnegie Mellon. Prior to SVA and Core77, his work in product design focused on the medical, surgical, and diagnostic fields (early work focused on HIV/AIDS, and later projects included work for Johnson & Johnson, Oral-B, FedEx, and Herman Miller). He has been named on numerous design and utility patents, and has received awards from The Art Directors Club, The One Club, I.D. Magazine, and Communication Arts. He has also served on the boards of the National AIGA organization, Designers Accord, Design Ignites Change, and NYCxDESIGN. Episode Mentions: Tanaka Kapec Design Group http://www.wedesigntosimplify.com/ Change Everything You Hate About Meetings With This One Single Word Follow Allan on Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn Show website link: https://mailchi.mp/designlabpod/allanchochinov This episode is sponsored by: Fortune Brainstorm Design, to be held May 23-24 in Brooklyn is a curated experience for passionate and successful design and design-minded professionals. Join Fortune and be inspired by diverse examples of design excellence, explore how design thinking and practice can be challenged and advanced, meet and network with high-level peers, and leave with concrete ideas and partnerships to drive transformation within your organization. Listeners of Design Lab with Bon Ku can use code “designlab” for a 20% discount on registration!  For more information or to register go to FortuneBrainstormDesign.com. More episode sources & links Sign-up for Design Lab Podcast's Newsletter Newsletter Archive Follow @DesignLabPod on Twitter Instagram and LinkedIn Follow @BonKu on Twitter and Instagram Check out the Health Design Lab Production by Robert Pugliese Cover Design by Eden Lew Theme song by Emmanuel Houston

The Mark B Perry Interview   Mark B Perry is the writer and producer of the new Dark Shadows Reincarnation series currently in preproduction.   Mark B. Perry grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, where his childhood love of Carl Reiner's The Dick Van Dyke Show inspired him to pursue a writing career-after all, doing what Rob, Buddy, and Sally did all day sure looked like a great way to make a living. Because the University of Georgia lacked a prestigious film school at the time, Mark cobbled his own degree together from film and TV classes in the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism, supplemented by studies in play-writing, acting, directing, and cinema in the theater department. Before graduating with a bachelor's in broadcast journalism, Mark won the Claude P. Callison Award (or "Claudie" as it was known back in the day) for excellence in filmmaking by a student. After a brief sojourn writing and producing industrials for the local newspapers and a variety of companies including Southern Bell, General Motors, and Oral-B, Mark moved to Los Angeles in 1986 where he worked as an office temp by day while churning out sample feature screenplays and television scripts by night. Two years later, a chance viewing of a new series called The Wonder Years changed his trajectory forever. Mark's spec script for that top-ten show led to a freelance episode and a staff writer gig where the highlight of his first day in the room was the announcement that his spec script, "Summer Song," was to be purchased and produced as the premiere of the 1989-90 season. After racking up eighteen writing credits on The Wonder Years, a Humanitas nomination for his Thanksgiving episode, "The Ties That Bind," and his first producer title, Mark went on to write, produce, and sometimes serve as show-runner on such diverse series as Northern Exposure, Picket Fences, Moon Over Miami, Law & Order (which still sometimes gets him excused from jury duty), Party of Five, Push (to this day a sensitive subject), Time of Your Life, Pasadena, First Years, That Was Then, One Tree Hill, Windfall, and What About Brian. After helping to successfully launch the second season of ABC's Brothers & Sisters in 2007, Mark was a co-executive producer on CBS's Ghost Whisperer, then an executive producer on the first two (and arguably best) seasons of ABC's Revenge, followed by a stint as executive producer on NBC's Heartbeat. In 2018-19, Mark wrote the first season finale of Netflix's Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, "Two Doors Down," an LGBTQ-themed episode starring Academy Award-winners Melissa Leo and Ray McKinnon and directed by Wendy Stanzler. As a writer-producer on the first season on David E. Kelley's Picket Fences, Mark shared an Emmy Award for Outstanding Dramatic Series. For his "Falsies" episode of Party of Five, Mark was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Achievement in Dramatic Writing. And for his writing and producing services on that same series, Mark shared a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama.   Opening Credits – Dark Shadows Theme – by Robert Cobert   Music Cues by Robert Cobert from Dark Shadows Catalogue   Closing Credits – Sorry For Writing All the Songs About You – by Clara Mae.  Taken from the EP Sorry For Writing All The Songs About You.  Copyright 2018 Big Beat Records   All Rights Reserved.   All Songs Available on Amazon

In a sea of competing brands and products, online stores and advertising wherever you go, how can you put your brand out there, to stand apart from the competition? That's the question today that I'll be answering “How can I stand out in a competitive market when other stores are selling similar products and brands? How can I be different?” Such a good question! And such an essential part of your business to consider.  As consumers we are faced with choices on which brand to choose nearly every single minute of the day.  Do we shop at Woolworths or Coles or do we shop at the local independent grocery store?  Do we brush our teeth with Colgate or Oral B or do we use an all-natural brand discovered through a friend? In every single category of products or industries, brands are giving consumers choices on how to spend their money and it's not all based on the price of their product. They know that they need to give their customers something else to care about so they don't have to compete with the ‘big names'. But the question is - how do you do that with your business? And so in this episode I'm going to dig in with examples of brands and industries who have done just that and have done so very successfully. I'll walk you through a step by step process on how to identify the areas that make you unique and can help your brand stand out from the crowd.  Listen today to find out how you can make your brand stand out from your competitors! 

Julie Breckenfelder, a certified professional coach, predominately spends her days nurturing the next generation of leadership. Her work goes much beyond the normal goal of executive presence and confidence. Both new and seasoned leaders find that her coaching style invokes an unexpected level of self-awareness, perspective, and mindfulness that impacts both work and life. She is kind, yet bold - an approach she attributes to her 14+ years as a Business-to-Business marketer in both the corporate and agency settings. Reach out and connect with Julie if you are (or know) an emerging leader eager to flourish in work and life with intention and impact.You can reach Julie at:Julie@jbcoaching.comhttps://www.jbcoaching.com***Christine O'Neill is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) whose is on a mission is to unleash human potential. While reaching outward success in her 18+ years of corporate leadership, Christine reached a point where it was vital for her to create a life of greater meaning, joy and freedom. She now helps leaders and entrepreneurs create their own impact in a meaningful and authentic way, WHILE ALSO enjoying a full life experience.Specializing in career transition, leadership performance, and stressed-out entrepreneurs, her services include transformative 1:1 and group coaching as well as corporate coaching and facilitation.You can reach Christine at:  ChristineOneillCoaching.comfacebook.com/christine.oneill.184linkedin.com/in/christineoneill***Dahlia Hanin has over 25 years of integrated communications management experience, spanning marketing strategy and execution, advertising and event activation for both B2B and B2C environments. She currently hold a dual role as a Managing Director for KUZMA& Creative Agency and an ICF certified Leadership and Development Coach. Dahlia loves helping individuals who seek more fulfillment and success within their current role… and beyond.Previously, Hanin held account management roles with Fusion92, Leo Burnett, Arc Worldwide, Frankel and Young & Rubicam, where she worked with clients such as AT&T, Diet Coke, Intel, Fifth Third Bank, Fiserv, IGUS, Raymond James, Oral-B, Scope, Tropicana and Equal Sweetener. Dahlia also spent five years working on the client side in financial services — but much prefers agency life.You can reach Dahlia at: https://www.coachdahlia.com*********************************************************************If you'd like to talk to Terry McDougall about coaching or being a guest on Marketing Mambo, here's how you can reach her:https://www.terrybmcdougall.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/terrybmcdougallTerry@Terrybmcdougall.comHer book Winning the Game of Work: Career Happiness and Success on Your Own Terms is available at Amazon. 

Join us live today with Joe Soto. Joe has helped companies such as Pearson Education, Oral B, and High Point University along with influencers like Tai Lopez, Jeffrey Gitomer, Harvey Mackay, and other New York Times bestselling authors and speakers have sought out Joe's expertise for online marketing. And we have him live so make sure to tune in as we discuss online marketing in today's world!

Julie Breckenfelder, a certified professional coach, predominately spends her days nurturing the next generation of leadership. Her work goes much beyond the normal goal of executive presence and confidence. Both new and seasoned leaders find that her coaching style invokes an unexpected level of self-awareness, perspective, and mindfulness that impacts both work and life. She is kind, yet bold - an approach she attributes to her 14+ years as a Business-to-Business marketer in both the corporate and agency settings. Reach out and connect with Julie if you are (or know) an emerging leader eager to flourish in work and life with intention and impact. You can reach Julie at: Julie@jbcoaching.comhttps://www.jbcoaching.com***Christine O'Neill is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) whose is on a mission is to unleash human potential. While reaching outward success in her 18+ years of corporate leadership, Christine reached a point where it was vital for her to create a life of greater meaning, joy and freedom. She now helps leaders and entrepreneurs create their own impact in a meaningful and authentic way, WHILE ALSO enjoying a full life experience.Specializing in career transition, leadership performance, and stressed-out entrepreneurs, her services include transformative 1:1 and group coaching as well as corporate coaching and facilitation.You can reach Christine at:  ChristineOneillCoaching.comfacebook.com/christine.oneill.184linkedin.com/in/christineoneill***Dahlia Hanin has over 25 years of integrated communications management experience, spanning marketing strategy and execution, advertising and event activation for both B2B and B2C environments. She currently hold a dual role as a Managing Director for KUZMA& Creative Agency and an ICF certified Leadership and Development Coach. Dahlia loves helping individuals who seek more fulfillment and success within their current role… and beyond.Previously, Hanin held account management roles with Fusion92, Leo Burnett, Arc Worldwide, Frankel and Young & Rubicam, where she worked with clients such as AT&T, Diet Coke, Intel, Fifth Third Bank, Fiserv, IGUS, Raymond James, Oral-B, Scope, Tropicana and Equal Sweetener. Dahlia also spent five years working on the client side in financial services — but much prefers agency life.You can reach Dahlia at: https://www.coachdahlia.com*********************************************************************If you'd like to talk to Terry McDougall about coaching or being a guest on Marketing Mambo, here's how you can reach her:https://www.terrybmcdougall.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/terrybmcdougallTerry@Terrybmcdougall.comHer book Winning the Game of Work: Career Happiness and Success on Your Own Terms is available at Amazon. 

Do you know your emotional resiliency? Knowing your weak areas allows you to become a stronger business owner and leader. Kristin Harper shares insights on personal improvement. www.bizsherpa.co www.driventosucceedllc.com Instagram: @bizsherpa.co Speaker 1: From his first job flipping burgers at McDonald’s and delivering The Washington Post, Craig Willett counts only one and a half years of his adult life working for someone else. Welcome to The Biz Sherpa podcast with your host, Craig Willett. Founder of several multimillion-dollar businesses and trusted advisor to other business owners, he’s giving back to help business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve fulfillment, enhance their lives, and create enduring wealth. The Biz Sherpa. Craig Willett: This is Craig Willett, The Biz Sherpa. Welcome to Episode 9 of our podcast. Today we have a special guest, Kristin Harper. Kristin is joining us from Ohio. Kristin is a third-generation entrepreneur. She has more than 30 years business and brand leadership experience from grassroots startups to global iconic brands. After spending over 20 years in corporate America successfully leading brands like Crest, Oral B, Hershey’s Kisses, Kristin ventured into entrepreneurship. She’s the CEO of Driven to Succeed, LLC, a leadership development company that provides brand strategy consulting, market research, keynotes on leadership and emotional intelligence, and career coaching for Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, and rising leaders. Kristin, welcome to The Biz Sherpa podcast. Kristin Harper: Thanks so much, Craig. So happy to be here with you. Craig Willett: Not only do you do this coaching and leadership consulting, one of the things that you’ve done is you’ve written a book called The Heart of a Leader. Tell us a little bit about why you wrote that book. Kristin Harper: Sure. I was going through a tough time at work. We were going through an acquisition. And if anybody knows about acquisitions, they are full of change. They’re full of uncertainty. You just don’t know what the future is going to hold. Having gone through other acquisitions throughout my career, I know that it’s a very emotional time. I know that as a leader, my emotions trickle down to my team, whether they’re positive or whether they’re negative. So having had an experience many years ago where my emotions weren’t so positive and they trickled down to my team, I knew that I needed to keep myself grounded, I needed to keep myself optimistic. So I started jotting down leadership principles that I’ve learned along my career within corporate America, and it turned into a book. Craig Willett: Oh, that’s great. I like how you said and shared with us how you worried and you noticed that your emotions flowed down to your team. Sometimes that’s for the positive and for the negative. And really, Kristin, how I met you was through an article written about your 20-question emotional resiliency test on CNBC Make It. I’m grateful that you’d be a guest here today because I took that quiz and quite frankly, I got below average. I wanted to see if I had average emotional resiliency and I started thinking for our listeners, one key to success in business is finding out where some of your emotional weaknesses are and how you can boost or strengthen them. So I’ve read part of your book and I realized that in your book, you really offer some solutions to areas where we might be deficient. As a business owner, if we are more emotionally resilient, we’re more likely to succeed. So I’d like to start out getting to know you just a little bit better today, and that’s the background of how we got to know each other. You started a business when you were 14 years old. Tell us about that. Kristin Harper: Yeah. So the business that I started was Krissy’s Cookies ‘n Stuff. Craig Willett: Sounds good. Kristin Harper: I wanted to buy some Christmas gifts. It was good. I wanted to buy some Christmas gifts, but I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have a job at that time, and I said, “Well, what are my skills?” I was walking to school one day—I used to walk about a half hour each way to school. I passed a grocery store, Big Bear, and I thought, “Hmm, I could bake.” So I created my recipes and identified what products I was going to make. I stopped by Big Bear one day on my way home from school and I priced out what I now know is cost of goods sold, so down to the teaspoon of salt and the tablespoon of butter, et cetera. I made a hundred dollars profit, which was good money as a 14-year-old. Craig Willett: That’s great. Kristin Harper: So that continued throughout high school. Shortly after that, my piano teacher called me over and she said, “Krissy, I need you to come right over.” So I rode my bike to her house and she said, “I’m actually pregnant, and I am 32 weeks pregnant.” Her doctor thought it was something else, but it was actually a baby! So she said, “I need you to take over my piano students.” So here I was at the age of 14 teaching piano students from age four all the way into the 80s. So I did that throughout—from eighth grade all the way through graduating high school. So those are my two introductions into entrepreneurship after working with my mom for many years, who is an entrepreneur as well. I loved the freedom, I love the sense of fulfillment, and I loved being able to create my own schedule, and I love making money. Craig Willett: Yeah. I think that’s great. Sometimes the emotional fulfillment of owning a business is even greater than any of the money that you can make. Now I’m impressed. As a 14-year-old, you went to the store—now my background is a CPA—you went to the store and you priced out how much your cookies were going to cost to bake? Kristin Harper: I did, ingredient by ingredient because I knew that I had to make a profit margin, right? Craig Willett: That’s right. So where did you get the money to buy your supplies for your first batch of cookies? Kristin Harper: That’s a good question, Craig. My mom used to pay me to write out invitations. So she—Princess House crystal for over 20 years and so she used to do in-home parties. When she was double-booked, I would actually do the parties for her. My dad would take me to the other hostess’s house and I’d be in front of a group of women and strangers talking about crystal. So I made money, $5 at a time, handwriting those personalized invitations. So it probably came from either my savings or from that money that I was able to earn from my mom. Craig Willett: Oh, great. I’m dying to know one other thing. What’s your favorite cookie flavor? Kristin Harper: Oh, Snickerdoodle. Craig Willett: Oh, wow. Kristin Harper: I love Snickerdoodles. Craig Willett: You would get along with my wife, Carol. She loves Snickerdoodle as well. I think it’s a great cookie, but I’m a little bit more partial to oatmeal raisin. Do you have a good oatmeal raisin cookie recipe? Kristin Harper: I do. For sure, for sure. Quaker Oats does it every time. Craig Willett: So how did you do it? How did you go from being a cookie entrepreneur and piano teacher to becoming a global vice president of a Fortune 15 company? Kristin Harper: Yeah. I will say, certainly a lot of hard work. Secondly, results. And that is one mistake that people often make is they confuse effort with outcome. So driving results and then documenting those results, so it’s clearer what my worth was. I will also say, Craig, taking risks and sometimes traveling the road less traveled. For example, when an executive recruiter called me, I was working at Procter & Gamble and had been there for almost nine years. An executive recruiter called me and mentioned The Hershey Company. Certainly, I’ve heard of Hershey’s chocolate, but never heard of The Hershey Company and certainly hadn’t heard of Hershey, Pennsylvania, a 10,000-person town that is the sweetest place on earth. Craig Willett: There you go. Kristin Harper: I took a risk, and I went to Hershey and had an amazing career there. I spent five years there in Global Innovation. My last assignment was Director of the Hershey’s Kisses brand and what an iconic global brand to have had the privilege of working on. So I will say hard work, results and outcomes, and taking calculated risk. Craig Willett: I think that’s great. Results and outcomes are really important because like you said, being a business owner, a lot of time people get into it—right—to make money, but they also do it so that they can have the freedom and flexibility. Sometimes, the flexibility and the freedom outweigh the effort and sometimes lose focus on the results. So I think I started a business because I wanted to be judged based on my results, not on the number of hours I spent doing something, because I felt I could be more productive or more innovative than someone else. So I think that’s a real key for entrepreneurship. I appreciate you sharing that with me. You’re kind of unusual to be an entrepreneur but also work inside a large company. What was that like to have the “I can start my own business, do my own thing,” but then, “I have to work within this corporate environment?” Tell me a little bit about what that was like for you. Kristin Harper: Sure. So throughout my time in corporate, I spent 20 years at Procter & Gamble, at The Hershey Company, and then my last six years at Cardinal Health, which is a Fortune 15 healthcare company that is global. So working in those industries, generally, I had some type of entrepreneurial endeavor going on many of those years—not every year—but the thing that I had early on was called Warm Spirit, which was basically a home party plan with self-care or wellness products. Similar to my mom selling crystal, I would go into women’s homes and sell lotions and sugar scrubs. It was a very uplifting environment and certainly the money was good, but what I got from it was building confidence, making new friends, meeting new people, and just the positive environment around being empowered. So balancing those two, one of the things I realized is there was a time when I was going for a promotion within that network marketing company. I worked my tail off that month, Craig. I did get the promotion, but I decided at that point—and this was many years ago—I don’t want to work that hard every single month. Of course, it’s not just about my results and my effort, it’s about motivating teams. I had a team of over 200 people across the country who were also selling these products. So it was fulfilling, but I decided, “I don’t think I want to work that hard anymore.” So I made a decision to focus pretty much exclusively on my day job, on my corporate job. So the bottom line is that it’s difficult to balance both a demanding full-time job as well as entrepreneurship. So now that I’m a full-time entrepreneur, it is very time consuming to be an entrepreneur. I don’t know what it is about time that’s different as an entrepreneur, but it’s probably because I don’t have all of those systems and supports set up and the infrastructure with other people. I certainly have an infrastructure and operations and support like a CPA, and an executive assistant, and a marketing team, and a publicist, but there are so many other activities that are required as an entrepreneur. So it can be difficult to do both and do both effectively. Craig Willett: I agree with you on that, but what I find with entrepreneurship is the freedom to do what you want to be doing. Sure, you may spend more time at it, but you’re doing what you enjoy. You have to admit in the corporate environment that often you’re doing things that they want you to do to meet their objectives, not necessarily what you think is the most productive. While you have support staff to delegate some of that to, at least you can say, as an entrepreneur, “I’m choosing today to spend, instead of working eight hours, I’m going to spend 12 because I enjoy it so well, and here’s the results that I’ll get from it.” So going back to what you said. Kristin Harper: Absolutely. One of the things that I don’t miss about the corporate environment is the organizational politics, which can be so exhausting. I don’t miss the slow decision-making. Sometimes working with clients, it’s a process to get from that awareness stage to the decision to purchase, so that can take some time. There are a lot of things I don’t miss about the corporate environment that I absolutely love about entrepreneurship, and that freedom is one of them and the purpose is another. Craig Willett: I totally agree. Well, when I read part of your book, it said that you say to people that they should accept the invitation. Now I have to admit to my listeners, I was really good at this at one point in time in my life. It led me to do all kinds of things, including testifying in Congress a number of times back in Washington, DC. But I got so busy and the business got so big, I stopped accepting a lot of invitations. Tell me why you tell—why you recommend to people they should accept invitations. Kristin Harper: Yeah. I’m going to say that at my core, I’m a marketer and I’m a Brand Builder. One of the things about marketing is there’s something called the customer journey. It starts with awareness and it ends with a purchase and then loyalty and repeat. To get from awareness all the way through repeat business, it requires multiple touch points, multiple points of engagement. So it’s all about building relationships and that’s where emotional intelligence can really make a difference. Actually, I had an aha moment about a week ago. A friend reached out to me and their company is interested in partnering with some historically black colleges and doing some career interviewing, and recruiting, and investing in scholarships, et cetera. So he knows that I serve on the board of Florida A&M, which is my alma mater, and he asked me to connect them. So I connected them, long story short. So I saw him about a week ago and he said, “Oh, do you want to join our call?” The person that I connected him with the VP had set up a call with deans, and all the different people that they wanted to talk to. I’m like, “Not really, I think you’re good.” So I could pick up the cues that he was imploring me to join the call. So I had— Craig Willett: Maybe he wasn’t as comfortable without your help. Kristin Harper: Exactly. So throughout the course of the conversation, I said, “You know what? No, send me the invitation. If I can join, I’d love to join.” That was an aha moment for me and it was because I was picking up those organizational cues and those cues from him that that was my reminder to say yes to the invite and find a way to say yes. Now to be clear, Craig, every—and here’s the other bit. I’ve pitched to him and his business some other opportunities. By connecting him with my alma mater, there’s nothing in it for me, but I pitched to him some other opportunities of how my business can serve his business. So I had to re-shift my mindset to, “This is a potential client. What’s the harm in me sitting on an hour long call to nurture that relationship?” So every person is not necessarily a potential client and doesn’t warrant that same level of investment, but if it makes sense, I’ve found that generosity usually yields a return on investment. So we can’t be too generous with our time, but where it makes strategic sense we should say yes to the invite. Craig Willett: Yes, and I found in my career that sometimes I’ve gone to some conventions or seminars and I get to meet other people. It’s amazing when you get to know them that often there’s times where you form a relationship and they call you later and say, “Craig, can you help me with this?” I found that to be very rewarding for me through the years. I can’t count on one hand. I know I can count on multiple hands the number of times that’s yielded business and returns to me just getting out and getting to know other people so that they know you and like you said, your personal brand and what you’re able to do to help people, and I think that’s great. Now you said something in your book that I absolutely love. You said, “Don’t dress for the job you have, dress for the job you want.” Now tell us why you recommend that, and I love it. I’m going to tell a brief story after you do, but I don’t want to steal your thunder. I love that quote. Kristin Harper: Yeah. So here’s the thing, Craig. Each person is a brand, and Chapter 1 of my book talks all about your personal brand. I use a metaphor of the Coca-Cola brand of how to apply those branding principles to you. First impressions are lasting impressions. Often, there’s the time when you have gotten to a place of competency, or people trust that your results are going to be good, okay, and that your performance is going to be strong. It’s not performance alone that helps you get to the next level. People have to see you at that next level. You have to operate at that next level. You have to have executive presence that you carry yourself at that next level and that includes how you dress. So it’s essential and it’s often one of those things that—that’s not going to show up on your performance review that you don’t dress the part. So you have to take it upon yourself and/or work with a coach or mentor, someone who can guide you so that you are positioning yourself for the next level. Craig Willett: I think that’s great, but I also look at it and apply it to the business-owner’s level. For instance, when I was a CPA, I had a client that came to me and he had a real difficult tax matter. In fact, he was so challenged he had to go through the tax court system to straighten it out. I referred him to an attorney and I went to meet with him to prepare for the tax court hearing. The attorney was wearing boots, jeans, and a t-shirt. When we walked in and my client looked at me—I’m in a shirt and tie—my client looked at me, “Are you for real, Craig? Are you taking me to this guy?” He was a very confident attorney, but partway through the conference in the preparation session, the attorney apologized to my client. I could tell that he could see at that point in time my client was questioning. He said, “Don’t worry. When we go to court, I’ll be wearing a suit and tie.” I thought, “We can’t apologize for how we look. We need to look our part.” Sometimes we think our part is only in the field where we think we’re on display, so to speak. For the attorney, it was in tax court. I say, anytime we’re in business, we’re on display no matter where we are, what we’re doing. People are observing you. You are a walking advertisement for your business when you’re a business owner. Kristin Harper: Absolutely, especially for entrepreneurs. Here’s the other thing that makes me think about, Craig, is your brand, and how you show up, and even your dress, that has a direct correlation to your worth. Craig Willett: Yes, definitely. Kristin Harper: So if you’re dressing the part, people will probably pay you the part. Craig Willett: Exactly. Kristin Harper: So there the correlation— Craig Willett: There’s a great correlation. Kristin Harper: … and trust. Craig Willett: Exactly. I’ve always said, “No one’s going to offer you more than what you think you’re worth.” You need to have that in your mind. You have to be the one that perceives you’re of high worth, but you have to deliver with the skills. You have to deliver and everything. I would add, dress how you are. I know I might be of maybe an older generation here. For some of our listeners that are following my podcast, I would say be careful what you post on social media and how you look and what you’re doing, because that’s also going to reflect on you. It can possibly have a negative, especially if you’re in business and someone that you do business with sees something. It might be funny, it might be humorous, but it may not cast you in the best light. Kristin Harper: Yeah. That’s why it’s important for individuals to manage your brand and that takes intention in order to manage your brands. So I have tools in the first chapter to help you be really clear about what your brand is about so that you can manage it well. Craig Willett: I love that because there’s a lot of words that you can go through to try to pick how to describe yourself, I think that’s great, and then how you want to appear. I think that’s a great book to work through, and it’s available on Amazon. That’s where I got it, right? Kristin Harper: Yeah, absolutely, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, a lot of different websites. Craig Willett: The Heart of a Leader. Kristin Harper: Perfect five-star rated, I have to say. Craig Willett: Well, I haven’t rated it yet, but I’m sure I’m giving it five stars. I’ve really enjoyed it. In fact, what brought us together was this emotional resiliency quiz. Like I said, I probably fared just barely above average. I thought usually on most quizzes that I do, I do pretty well. But on this one in being all honest with myself, I really identified some areas that I could work on. So how do you see being emotionally resilient as being helpful in starting a business? Kristin Harper: Entrepreneurship and starting a business is full of optimism and uncertainty. It’s full of plans and disruptions. It’s full of potential and it’s also full of challenge. And so resilience is critical when you’re starting a business and when you’re operating a business, because challenges will come. One of the biggest things that I’ve found as a leader—and it’s especially important for entrepreneurs—is to know your strengths and to know your areas of opportunity, and to hire and/or create a support system around what your areas of opportunity are. Because as a business owner, you probably believe like I do—that I can do, or I can learn how to do anything. Craig Willett: Sometimes it’s a big mistake. Kristin Harper: Absolutely. Time is so precious. And the definition of leverage is hiring experts so you can get to your destination faster. You stay in your lane where you’re an expert; hire other experts and you can get to your destination faster. So resilience is critical because there will be bumps and detours along the way. But if you have that strong belief that you have the work ethic to serve your clients or your customers, and you’re willing to pivot when necessary, that’s the definition of resilience for entrepreneurs and why it’s so important. Craig Willett: Well, I think that’s great. I’d never want to discourage anyone from starting a business. I think it represents the ultimate freedom of the Founding Fathers of our country. I think it represents all that America is based upon because it allows us to be individuals and to express our own worth to the world. And so I appreciate what you say. Now, when disappointment comes to a business owner, what do you recommend they do? Because sometimes you may have hired the experts to help, but sometimes you’re going to face disappointment or even failure and you may start looking at yourself and get discouraged. What do you recommend to help build some resiliency so that when those moments of disappointment or reality checks hit—how to bounce back and respond? Kristin Harper: Absolutely. I have lots of different strategies around how to not only bounce back, but also bounce forward. And I refer to it in my book as post-traumatic growth. That you can actually come out better than you were before. One is just mindfulness, being self-aware. How do you feel? Another is taking time to breathe, and taking time to slow down. As entrepreneurs and as business owners, we’re often so busy chasing that next deal, servicing our clients and customers. It’s important to stop and take a pulse check. So taking those moments to just think about things is really important. I would also say, when you identify one emotion, it can reduce that emotion’s power over you. So that’s another mindfulness strategy, and I call it emotional granularity. Like being granular with the emotion that you feel. I would also say that there is no such thing as failure, as long as you learn from it. So the example I just gave about saying yes to the invite, afterwards, I was like, “Oh duh, I should’ve said yes right away.” But I learned from it. So there is no failure if you’re able to learn from it. I would also say— Craig Willett: And you bounced forward with it because you accepted it— Kristin Harper: Exactly. Craig Willett: And now it’s leading to other opportunities. Kristin Harper: A better outcome. Absolutely. I would also say that sometimes the goals we’re pursuing, at some point, it may not make sense to continue to pursue those goals if we keep running into challenge and roadblock. And so you’ve got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. And I call that goal disengagement. Sometimes you have to disengage from a goal, create a new goal, and that new goal will bring that additional sense of optimism. The last thing I would share is gratitude—expressing gratitude. Because when you shift your mindset from what’s going wrong and what challenges you’re experiencing to what you’re grateful for or what you’ve learned; when you shift your focus, that’s what magnifies. Whatever you focus on is going to magnify. So those are a few strategies, and there are so many business owners who have faced substantial challenges, but they didn’t give up. They pivoted when it was necessary and they didn’t give up. Craig Willett: So I think it takes that. It takes some gut, it takes some fortitude to fight through that. But how do you know when you’re fighting against a losing cause? Because you said sometimes if you keep going up in bumping up against the same roadblocks, sometimes you can be deceived and think that, “Maybe I should give up,” when maybe fighting through might be the best thing. So do you have a way you recommend people take that gut check and step back? Kristin Harper: Yeah. So I would say, look at the scoreboard. Whatever is the scoreboard for your business, look at that. Whether it’s the revenue, whether it’s the profit, whether it’s your margin, whether it’s the number of people who have said “yes” to a capabilities presentation. So look at the scoreboard. And it’s important that we keep metrics, especially as business owners, because we could easily be deceived by a lot of activity, but activity doesn’t always produce results. So I would say, look at the scoreboard, number one. Number two, I would say solicit customer feedback—whether it’s your existing customers or clients, or whether it’s prospective customers or clients. And that takes a level of humility to ask for honest feedback, and then to put our guard down and our defenses down so that we can receive that honest feedback without being defensive. So those are the two ways that I would suggest determining if it’s worth moving forward or if you need to pivot. Craig Willett: Now, I know why we get along so well. You’ve just described to me what I call The Biz Sherpa scorecard. I suggest that people set a goal and objective, whatever it is for their business, and they spend 80% of their time—delegate the rest. In other words, the things that you can’t do well, give to someone else and focus on what you can do well. And the second thing is, measure every day your customers’ responses. And if you’re not getting anything, get on the phone and call them. And it gives you that opportunity to see, am I hitting my goals and objectives of my services, is my product resonating the way I would expect it to? Because that brings in and of itself an emotional reward to you that you’re not frustrated doing something that you could have delegated, number one. And then in the second instance on the scorecard that I say is to get the customer feedback. If you’re not getting it, you need to go out and get it. And that can be very rewarding in and of itself, or it can help you set the objectives you need to do so that you can score better with your customers. And I think that brings the success. The dollars and cents will take care of themselves after that, because you’ll be happy, you’ll be fulfilled, and your customers will be happy. So I’m glad that you and I can totally relate. And so when I read your 20 questions, I thought, “This is great. I can do better in a lot of areas,” which I’m grateful for because it identified what you call areas of opportunity. I’ll call them weaknesses for me, because I’m okay saying that. I recognize that I have them, and I need to recognize them probably more often. Now one of the things that I like to ask each of my guests is to pull off the mask for a second, not that you have one, but let’s just for instance be real. What is your greatest failure or challenge that you face? Kristin Harper: Gosh, I’ve had a lot of failures. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. One that I would say was a great failure is assuming that the same rules applied in one environment as it did another. So I’ll give you an example. I came from consumer packaged goods. In the CPG industry, it’s very typical to work long hours like 10, 11-hour days. I started my career when there were no laptops and used to stay in the office quite a long time. Once laptops were invented, I would take my laptop home and I would pick back up after dinner. So that’s what I was used to. When I transitioned to a different company, that environment was not the CPG environment around 10, 11, 12-hour days and then working at home. So I had been used to that for well over a decade, and I was using that same mentality. What I realized, through 360 feedback from my team, is that I was burning them out. Then I looked around and I realized, “Hmm, I’m the only one sending emails at 10 o’clock. Nobody else is sending me emails at 10 o’clock—not just on my team, but across the company.” Craig Willett: Did they recommend you read The 4-Hour Workweek, too? Kristin Harper: They didn’t, but that is a great book. Craig Willett: Anyway, I’m sorry. Kristin Harper: So I will say applying rules from a different context into a new context, so that’s why I believe so heartedly in getting feedback. It really is a gift that people don’t have to give you. Whether it’s asking for feedback from your customers, or clients, or your teammates, even your direct reports and contractors, that’s important. Everybody can teach and everybody can learn. Craig Willett: I think that’s great. Well, you not only shared with us your greatest challenge, but you shared with us what you learned from it, and I really appreciate that. Because I think in life, those are the greatest lessons that we have and those can really move us forward. If we get stuck and keep focusing on, “Why did I do that,” and expect ourselves to be perfect, we can put ourselves in a tough spot. In fact, I think in your book, you quote Michael Jordan when he says, “Look, I’ve lost this many games. I’ve missed this many shots,” but he was still one of the greatest athletes to ever play basketball and I think we have to remember that. Babe Ruth struck out so many times, but he still hit the most home runs. We have to really be able to accept that on the path to the top, there are a lot of challenges. There are stumbling blocks. There’s roadblocks, but it’s our ability to navigate those that lead us to greater fulfillment and greater happiness. Kristin Harper: Absolutely. Craig Willett: We can’t expect the smooth ride the whole time. Kristin Harper: Mm-hmm, not in business ownership. Craig Willett: Well, great. Kristin, is there any other wisdom that you would like to offer to our listeners today that you feel would help someone who’s starting a business? Kristin Harper: Yeah. I would just say that the biggest mistake I see people make who are starting a business is that they are enamored with a great idea and have that enthusiasm—which is so great and so characteristic of entrepreneurs—but don’t do the due diligence to make sure that their idea is solving an unmet need. And that is critical. That’s one of the many reasons why so many businesses don’t succeed. Over about 25% fail after year one and only about 50% last after five years. So I’ve put together a program called the Brand Positioning Blueprint Bootcamp. It’s a program that helps you methodically go from identifying your product, service, or idea, identifying who your target audience is, developing and executing some market research, which is essentially focus groups or one-on-one conversations. I’ll lay out the entire interview for you with all of the questions, and what this helps you to do in 60 days or less is validate that your product or service idea is truly meeting an unmet need. Kristin Harper: The worst thing that can happen is you invest your heart, your soul, your time, your money, your life savings into a business idea that the market rejects. That is heartbreaking. So it’s better to do the work upfront to get that into a really good place so that you can move forward with confidence or to say, “You know what? I thought it was a really good idea, but the market isn’t responding in the same way. So you know what? I’m going to think about the next idea instead.” Craig Willett: That is a great point. In fact, in our seventh episode of The Biz Sherpa, we talked about solving an unmet need or the problem, and who is your target audience, and then testing it. I think that’s really important to do, because like you said, it will prevent a lot of failures and it will give you the opportunity to not only find some ways you can do better at it so that when you do launch, you’re even more successful. So I think your bootcamp is a great idea, and I may just sneak you in on that and take a segment of this and put it in there, because I love your bootcamp idea. I think it can be very helpful to business owners. I think there’s two areas that business owners really need to focus on. One is that they’re emotionally prepared that they’re starting the business for the right reason and not the wrong reason. Then once they have that and make sure they’re personally prepared for the journey they’re about to take. It’s like trying to climb to the top of a mountain, but not packing the backpack, and not taking enough food, and not allowing for the contingencies. But if you pack well, you can meet any challenge that comes along the way. Then the second area really is in the nuts and bolts of the business—understanding finance, understanding your product, understanding your target market, understanding and testing it. So I really love your boot camp. That’s a great idea. Kristin Harper: Thank you. Yeah, and you can find out—your listeners can find out more on my website, driventosucceedllc.com. Craig Willett: Good. We’ll put that up on the screen as they watch the video, too, and probably provide a link if you’re all right with that on our website. Kristin Harper: Absolutely. Craig Willett: Well, that’s great. Kristin, it’s been a joy to spend time with you today. Kristin Harper: Likewise. Craig Willett: I am so grateful for your expertise and the way you’ve been able to, in a very succinct way in your book and through your programs that you do for leadership, be able to put into play some things that I think enhance the success of business owners. So I highly recommend Kristin’s book to our listeners, and I hope you go to our website. There’s a link to her 20-question emotional resiliency test. Keep in mind, I didn’t do so well, but you’re probably not surprised by that. Kristin Harper: We’re all a work in progress. Craig Willett: We appreciate Kristin joining us today. This is Craig Willett, The Biz Sherpa. Speaker 1: Be sure to go to our website to access the resources related to this episode at www.BizSherpa.com. If you enjoyed this show, tell your friends about us and be sure to rate our podcast. Craig would like to hear from you, so share your thoughts in the Facebook community @BizSherpa.co. Follow us on Twitter @BizSherpa_co and on Instagram @BizSherpa.co.

Craig Willett: This is Craig Willett, The Biz Sherpa. I’d like to welcome you to our three-part series on starting a business. What I hope to accomplish in our first part of this series is to give you some questions to think about to see your readiness to start a business. This is not meant to discourage you from starting a business, but actually to help you do what is best for you and give you a greater chance to succeed in business. People have asked me, “Well, why are you doing this podcast?” And I think to myself, “Well, that’s a great question.” But it’s really an opportunity for me to give back. A number of years ago when I had my real estate development business going full steam ahead, I told my assistant one day, “I’m trying to find another president to this company so that I can step back and do what I really want to do.” And she said, “Well, Craig, what’s that?” And I said to her, “Terry, I really just want to give back and help the next generation of entrepreneurs.” This is my opportunity to help launch the next generation of entrepreneurs. Small business—it means a lot to me. Not only did I have 700 small business clients as a CPA, but I also testified in Congress on tax legislation that benefits small businesses even to today, back in 1994. And so, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to Congress and testify in the House Small Business Committee, as well as the House Ways and Means Committee. And then showing you how naive I am, at one point I was testifying in the Senate Finance Committee and I was on the panel with three former IRS commissioners, and I didn’t even know it. I think had I known, I would have been really nervous that day. So I really have had a life of blessings and benefits from being a small business owner. My businesses have grown, have been wildly successful, and have rewarded me in great ways. But the most important way is that I built a number of relationships with a number of people that I cherish and will cherish for the rest of my life. One of the first things I want you to think about is, what are the virtues and benefits to business ownership? So if you could answer that question to yourself, I think that’s one place to start. As I consider that question, one answer to this could be—and there’s a million answers, so none of them are right and none are wrong, but it employs other people. You have the opportunity to be able to change the neighborhood where you live. When I was a business owner—a real estate developer—I had the opportunity to employ a lot of people. Not only those that worked for my development company, but the general contractors that we employed, the architecture firms, the engineering firms, and the cities that we got approvals, and we paid a lot of fees to employ people there as well. It was far reaching and had a great economic impact. Another thing to think of is an opportunity to express your creativity. Someone once said, “Creativity is the highest form of expression.” And I would like to have you think about what is unique to you? How can you come up with the product or service and deliver it in a way that is unique and that will bring about that expression of your creativity? You’ll be more successful as you can carve out that niche. The other part of it is, it can be emotionally rewarding. You have the opportunity to develop your own emotional currency. I’ve talked about that in my second episode of The Biz Sherpa podcast. And I really find that is a lifeblood of being a business owner. Many people will tell you, “You don’t need to start a business.” In fact, I had some people tell me, “Craig, this won’t be successful.” The business grew to be over a $700 million business when I had a few neighbors tell me that they didn’t think it would work, mainly because I think one of them had tried it a number of years earlier than I did, but did it at a time where probably the economic circumstances weren’t right for it. That emotional reward can bring benefit to you throughout your life. It will boost your confidence. Not only will it boost your confidence, but it will bring joy and happiness that go beyond the dollars and cents of business. The other thing that I really like about small business is that it’s the engine that drives the free enterprise system in our country. Small businesses employ over 47 and a half percent of the workforce. That would be businesses under 500 employees. In addition, they create 64 percent of all new jobs every year. I think this makes it the lifeblood of our economy. I want to encourage successful startups that have the best chance for success, so some of the things we’re going to talk about today will help you assess your readiness to start a business. Again, I don’t want this to be discouraging if you don’t pass the test. In fact, one of the tests that I’m going to recommend today—and our special guest that we’re going to host, she’ll tell you—I’ll tell you right now, I didn’t pass the test at a high enough level for me. I had to cheat to kind of get above average. So you want to ask yourself the question, “Why do I want to start a business?” Now, you may answer that question by saying, “Well, gee, I want freedom and flexibility. I get tired of the 9:00 to 5:00 job.” And while I think that’s a great answer that you’re tired of your 9:00 to 5:00 job, and that you want to do something more, I don’t think on its surface it’s sufficient enough. Because quite frankly, as a business owner, the business owns you for the first several years anyway, and you’ll be working much more than 9:00 to 5:00. Now, you may find that that’s okay. You may say, “That’s okay with me, Craig. I don’t mind working at midnight. I don’t mind having long hours on certain days, as long as I have the flexibility to do some of the other things that I like.” If that’s the kind of freedom and flexibility you’re thinking about, then you’re going down the right path. Some of you may say, “Well, gee, I have a creative idea, Craig.” And I think of Steve Jobs going out into his garage. And he had worked on a farm where they picked apples. And that’s where he came up with the idea of the Apple computer. Most of you today have been influenced by a lot of the products that came from that ingenuity and the innovative idea. So I would encourage you to continue down that path of figuring out how you can be innovative and how you can be unique. You may have industry experience, you may be working in a career that you’ve had for 10, 15 years, and you find that there’s a niche market that’s not being served. You’ve come up with an idea or a product that might fill that niche that other big companies don’t have the time to pursue. This is a great opportunity and a great reason to start a business. Some of you may say, “I really just want to control my future.” I think at the end of the day, that’s where I was. I wanted the ability to be in control and in charge, in charge of when I retire, even though that didn’t happen at the end of the day. Economic circumstances led me to wind down one of my businesses prematurely. But controlling your future allows you to eat what you kill. A lot of people say, “Gee, I just don’t get paid enough for what I do.” Well, go ahead and start a business and you’ll find out whether you get paid enough or not. Be careful. You could end up, with all the hours you work, getting minimum wage or less. But I would look at really, seriously how you can reap what you sow. That was a great desire of mine when I started my business. I wanted my extra effort, my hard work of going above and beyond, to really pay off for me and for my family and to get that extra reward. And I think that’s a valid reason to start a business, but not the only reason to start a business. Some of you may want to just have a second career. You’re coming to the end of your career, you’re looking at retirement and saying, “Gee, what am I going to do sitting around all day?” And you really want to ask yourself, “What would it be like? How long into retirement do I want to work? And what would this career look like?” I think it’s a valid reason, among many other reasons, to start a business. Another one is to create financial security. Well, that may sound a bit like an oxymoron in starting a business because quite frankly, when you start a business, you’re really starting financial insecurity for a little while. And we’ll talk a little bit about that today and how to manage through that. In the other two parts of my series, we’ll also touch on this in depth to help you with that very concern that you have. But financial security can be created as you build wealth independent of your business. And you’ve heard me talk about that in my third episode about building enduring wealth. And I think that’s an important aspect to follow. But you can create wealth inside the business too, have an asset to sell, you can create a unique set of circumstances that’s rewarding for you. So now I want to talk about some reasons why not to start a business. Now, we’re going to have a little bit of fun today on the podcast and on our YouTube channel. If you’ll bear with me, I’m going to change clothes a couple of times and come in and we’re going to role act or play act for you, some reasons not to start a business. And this is meant to be light and it’s not meant to discourage you, but it’s to help to put into perspective some things that I’ve observed through the years from people that have come to me with ideas to start a business, and I’ve been able to help them put that into proper perspective. So hopefully you’ll bear with me. Is it alright if I kick off my sandals? You don’t mind joining me for a cold one on the beach, do you? Starting your own business is not something you really can do on the beach. Yes, I’ve read The 4-Hour Workweek, but I’m not sure that it symbolizes all that it’s cracked out to be. There is the freedom and the flexibility in owning your business. But let me tell you, in the first couple of years of any successful business, it’s going to eat your lunch and require more of your time than you can imagine. So the number two reason not to start a business is freedom and flexibility. Don’t think you’re going to be on vacation all the time, or that you can go where you want when you want to. You may have control over some of the things that you do, like working till midnight on certain days so that you can make up for it by having fun doing something else, but freedom and flexibility by being at the beach every day—unless you’re a surfboard maker—probably not the idea of success. I’m so excited to have you join me on this podcast, especially about making money. A lot of times people ask me, “What’s the number one reason to start a business?” I usually turn it on them: “Why would you start a business?” And the answer I usually get is, “To make money.” I think that’s absolutely the wrong answer. The answer should be that you start a business to enhance the lives of others by delivering a product or service in a way that changes their life. When you do that, the money will take care of itself. So get rid of the dollars and cents and focus on the people and making a difference in their lives. Another word about the dollar signs. One time, I went to meet with a potential lender, and this was an unconventional lender—it was an owner of an insurance company. We had a rather unique project that we were trying to finance in the development business. And my CFO introduced me to this company. We went to interview them to talk to them about our project and their funding it. The owner of the insurance company came in wearing a pair of glasses, just like these. And it was funny at first and I kind of laughed, and then he took them off and we had a serious discussion about our project. But I could tell he was more interested in his return than he was interested in our success. And I think people sense that. When people know that you’re after their money more than you’re after making them happy and providing them a quality product or service and making a difference in their life, they’ll make the right choice too. So if you want your business to be successful, do like I did. Avoid the person that’s wearing these. And I also don’t think that we should run our businesses as if they’re hobbies. We’re there to make a profit, and so we need to be serious about it. And if it’s just a casual approach, it will be tough to be successful. There’s two reasons. Don’t make your hobby your business, and don’t make your business your hobby. Hopefully, you’re laughing with me and not at me, as you share some of those goofy vignettes with your friends. Now to get more serious, what does it take to start a business? What can I expect as a first time business owner? Well, I think one of the aspects that it takes is sacrifice. If you haven’t learned to sacrifice, you will soon learn as you start your business. But let’s talk about it. What kinds of things do you sacrifice? One of the sacrifices that comes first to my mind is time. A sacrifice of time, meaning you don’t control the hours in your day, if your customers or clients need you, you need to be there. Especially in the early days before you have a lot of employees, it’s going to take a lot and consume a lot of your time. And you need to be able to set aside maybe some other hobbies, or pursuits, or some of your other recreation to be able to do what it takes to invest in your future because that’s what I view it as. It’s an investment in your future to spend that time. The other sacrifice—and let me tell you, the sacrifice of time is rewarding in the future, but you have to pay the price today. The other sacrifice you may make is cash flow. Some of the initial cash flow from the business is going to be reinvested in other products, services, marketing that will help enhance the success and create long-term viability for your business. So you need to be prepared to live on less money. I remember the days when Carol and I lived on $25 a week in groceries. Of course, that was over 30 years ago. But you need to be willing to make those kinds of sacrifices if you really have a passion for your business, your product, your service, and for your customers. The other thing that you need to be prepared for as you start a business is ask yourself, “Do I have the confidence?” Often, we get beat up. I told you I had some friends tell me, “Craig, what you’re going to do won’t work.” And it ended up being a very successful business, my development business. And I really took it to heart for two reasons. One, when they told me that, it made me want to step up and prove them wrong. So you have to be able to have the inner confidence to reach inside yourself. Believe in what you’re doing and have a reasonable chance of success. And then put all your energies into it. But without that confidence, any first easy setback could make you fold the tent. And I don’t think you want to do that when you’re going to really step aside from a full-time job, a well paying job to go and sacrifice your time, and your commitment, and your efforts, and your energies. You need to also have the confidence that it will work out. It requires patience to do that. And so I want to talk about a list of questions you can ask yourself now of how well prepared you might be. One of the questions I think you should ask yourself is, “How much debt do I have?” Now, why would I ask that question? Aside from maybe the obvious, if I have a huge debt burden that the cash flow from the business isn’t able to sustain it, I might find myself having to deal with restructuring my personal finances all in the midst of having to spend the early days of my business focused on my clients. Something’s got to give. And in most cases it’ll probably detract from the business. What savings do I have? Or, how am I going to live during the initial months of my startup? Another question you may ask is, “What is my financial support? Do I have an investor? Do I have family money that I can turn to and rely on in the early days to help me get started?” When I started my CPA firm, I was lucky. I was very fortunate that even though Carol and I had put our last savings down on a new home, I was able to use some of the resources I had having painted houses during the summertime while I went to college, and I was able to use the money. That saved me to help me get started. I was able to buy a phone and a desk, second hand and cheaply. But instead of having a security deposit, I was able to paint at the first office. And I think you have to look at those resources and be willing to sacrifice and really dig deep into how you are going to be financially supported. You may ask yourself the question, “Where do I get emotional support? Do I have family or friends who believe in what I’m doing?” I still remember the day that my father-in-law when I told him why I was selling my CPA practice and going to move to Arizona, and my wife was by my side—his daughter. And he said to me, he goes, “Craig, you’re making a mistake.” And you know what? While I knew at that point in time I didn’t have his total buy-in, it gave me again the motivation to probably prove him wrong, although I love the man and I don’t really hold it against him. But, I knew I could turn to my wife because she had given me emotional support up to that point in the other business that I had started. My father-in-law is a good man, and I don’t blame him. Looking back at his age at the time, he was in his mid-60s, he was retired from a long banking career, having risen to the top as the chairman and president of the bank. I could see him looking at me as a young 30-something-year-old and saying, “You’re crazy. You have everything you want. You have a good business and your family’s comfortable. Why would you mix it up now?” But I think you have to have that passion, but certainly look at where you get your emotional support. Then you have to ask yourself, “What doubts do I have?” Have you ever considered what are the inner demons that haunt you in your mind? You may have been criticized by others over your lifetime and you know you have some habits that maybe aren’t the best. And so will those cause doubts and fears to creep into the equation? You need to have some strong, inner-emotional resiliency to do that. I’d like to introduce you to Kristin Harper. She will be our guest for Episode 9. So now we’re going to have a sneak peek. But before we do, let me share a bit of her bio. She’s a third-generation entrepreneur and has spent more than 30 years in business with brand and leadership experience from grassroots startups to global and iconic brands. After spending over 20 years in corporate America successfully leading brands like Crest, Oral-B, and Hershey’s Kisses, Kristin ventured into entrepreneurship. She is the CEO of Driven to Succeed, LLC, a leadership development company that provides brand strategy consulting, market research, keynotes, and leadership emotional intelligence and career coaching for Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, and rising leaders. I found Kristin recently on a CNBC article where she spoke about part of her book, which is The Heart of a Leader, and you can get that on her website or at Amazon, and her website, driventosucceedllc.com. Kristin has a 20-question test on emotional resiliency. I took that test and you know, I’m quite embarrassed to say, I barely got an above-average score. She’ll give you the ratings. She was kind enough to let us use this resource for our episode on starting a business. Now, mind you, I’m not trying to discourage anyone from starting a business. I think we should have all the tools at our disposal. I found her 20 questions very enlightening. It helped point out some areas that I need to work on to strengthen my leadership skills and strengthen my emotional resiliency as I press forward in my ventures each and every day. I find the tool very useful and we’re grateful for Kristin and sharing it. And now have a sneak peak with Kristin Harper. Kristin Harper: Thank you. Craig Willett: In fact, what brought us together was this emotional resiliency quiz. Like I said, I probably fared just barely above average. I thought usually on most quizzes that I do, I do pretty well. But on this one, in being all honest with myself, I really identified some areas that I could work on. So how do you see being emotionally resilient as being helpful when starting a business? Kristin Harper: Entrepreneurship and starting a business is full of optimism and uncertainty. It’s full of plans and disruptions. It’s full of potential and it’s also full of challenge. And so resilience is critical when you’re starting a business and when you’re operating a business, because challenges will come. One of the biggest things that I’ve found as a leader—and it’s especially important for entrepreneurs—is to know your strengths and to know your areas of opportunity, and to hire and/or create a support system around what your areas of opportunity are. Because as a business owner, you probably believe like I do—that I can do, or I can learn how to do anything. Craig Willett: Sometimes it’s a big mistake. Kristin Harper: That time is so precious. And the definition of leverage is hiring experts so you can get to your destination faster. You stay in your lane where you’re an expert; hire other experts and you can get to your destination faster. So resilience is critical because there will be bumps and detours along the way. But if you have that strong belief that you have the work ethic to serve your clients or your customers, and you’re willing to pivot when necessary, that’s the definition of resilience for entrepreneurs and why it’s so important. Craig Willett: Well, I think that’s great. I’d never want to discourage anyone from starting a business. I think it represents the ultimate freedom of the founding fathers of our country. I think it represents all that America is based upon because it allows us to be individuals and to express our own worth to the world. And so I appreciate what you say. Now, when disappointment comes to a business owner, what do you recommend they do? Because sometimes you may have hired the experts to help, but sometimes you’re going to face disappointment or even failure and you may start looking at yourself and get discouraged. What do you recommend to help build some resiliency so that when those moments of disappointment or reality checks hit—how to bounce back and respond? Kristin Harper: Absolutely. I have lots of different strategies around how to not only bounce back, but also bounce forward. And I refer to it in my book as post-traumatic growth. That you can actually come out better than you were before. One is just mindfulness, being self-aware. How do you feel? Another is taking time to breathe, and taking time to slow down. As entrepreneurs and as business owners, we’re often so busy chasing that next deal, servicing our clients and customers. It’s important to stop and take a pulse check. So taking those moments to just think about things is really important. I would also say, when you identify one emotion, it can reduce that emotion’s power over you. So that’s another mindfulness strategy, and I call it emotional granularity. Like being granular with the emotion that you feel. I would also say that there is no such thing as failure, as long as you learn from it. So the example I just gave about saying yes to the invite, afterwards, I was like, “Oh duh, I should’ve said yes right away.” But I learned from it. So there is no failure if you’re able to learn from it. I would also say— Craig Willett: And you bounced forward with it because you accepted it— Kristin Harper: Exactly. Craig Willett: And now it’s leading to other opportunities. Kristin Harper: A better outcome. Absolutely. I would also say that sometimes the goals we’re pursuing, at some point, it may not make sense to continue to pursue those goals if we keep running into challenge and roadblock. And so you’ve got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. And I call that goal disengagement. Sometimes you have to disengage from a goal, create a new goal, and that new goal will bring that additional sense of optimism. The last thing I would share is gratitude—expressing gratitude. Because when you shift your mindset from what’s going wrong and what challenges you’re experiencing to what you’re grateful for or what you’ve learned, when you shift your focus, that’s what magnifies. Whatever you focus on is going to magnify. So those are a few strategies, and there are so many business owners who have faced substantial challenges, but they didn’t give up. They pivoted when it was necessary and they didn’t give up. Craig Willett: So I think it takes that. It takes some gut, it takes some fortitude to fight through that. But how do you know when you’re fighting against a losing cause? Because you said sometimes if you keep going up in bumping up against the same roadblocks, sometimes you can be deceived and think that maybe I should give up when maybe fighting through might be the best thing. So do you have a way you recommend people take that gut check and step back? Kristin Harper: Yeah. So I would say, look at the scoreboard. Whatever is the scoreboard for your business, look at that. Whether it’s the revenue, whether it’s the profit, whether it’s your margin, whether it’s the number of people who have said “yes” to a capabilities presentation. So look at the scoreboard. And it’s important that we keep metrics, especially as business owners, because we could easily be deceived by a lot of activity, but activity doesn’t always produce results. So I would say, look at the scoreboard, number one. Number two, I would say solicit customer feedback—whether it’s your existing customers or clients, or whether it’s prospective customers or clients. And that takes a level of humility to ask for honest feedback, and then to put our guard down and our defenses down so that we can receive that honest feedback without being defensive. So those are the two ways that I would suggest determining if it’s worth moving forward or if you need to pivot. Craig Willett: Now, I know why we get along so well. You’ve just described to me what I call The Biz Sherpa scorecard. I suggest that people set a goal and objective, whatever it is for their business, and they spend 80% of their time—delegate the rest. In other words, the things that you can’t do well, give to someone else and focus on what you can do well. And the second thing is, measure every day your customers’ responses. And if you’re not getting anything, get on the phone and call them. And it gives you that opportunity to see, am I hitting my goals and objectives of my services, is my product resonating the way I would expect it to? Because that brings in and of itself an emotional reward to you that you’re not frustrated doing something that you could have delegated, number one. And then in the second instance on the scorecard that I say is to get the customer feedback. If you’re not getting it, you need to go out and get it. And that can be very rewarding in and of itself, or it can help you set the objectives you need to do so that you can score better with your customers. And I think that brings the success. The dollars and cents will take care of themselves after that, because you’ll be happy, you’ll be fulfilled, and your customers will be happy. So I’m glad that you and I can totally relate. And so when I read your 20 questions, I thought, “This is great. I can do better in a lot of areas,” which I’m grateful for because it identified what you call areas of opportunity. I’ll call them weaknesses for me, because I’m okay saying that. I recognize that I have them, and I need to recognize them probably more often. Now, let’s talk about some other questions now that we’ve had a good time with Kristin. And we appreciate her being here today and joining us on The Biz Sherpa podcast. I love having guests and especially guests as knowledgeable and as resourceful as she is. Something else I think each of us need to look at and consider, and it’s really relevant in today’s environment, and that is, “How is my health?” Now, some of you may say, “Well, if my health is poor, does that make me not a good candidate to be a business owner?” And I say no. In some circumstances that can play to your benefit. It may be the only other option you have. You may have employers who don’t tell you they’re not willing to hire you, but you don’t make yourself a good candidate for an employee. And so you’re able to have the freedom, the flexibility to work around your conditions and maybe some of your disabilities. So I wouldn’t say that that’s a gating factor, but you have to look at it. You have to look at, what do I do to engender good health? I’m fortunate. I think you heard my story about how I started my development business. It started one day when I got in a car accident and I had to really look at where I was going in my life and I started to get in better shape. And it taught me that I needed to really take care of my health. I was fortunate that I survived the accident, really. It was a very inconsequential accident, but it made me step back and start looking at what do I do on a daily basis to maintain my health. And so I think you have to look at eating habits, because when you start a business, you’re going to be grabbing the fast food, you’re going to be going for drinks that may be the energy drinks. I think you need to be able to have some discipline in those areas. I have a routine of running, or swimming, or yoga. And I recommend that you figure out what that routine is and you stick to it, even though the demands of business are going to be taxing demands on your time. It’s not an area you can afford to sacrifice. As you build up that health, you’ll have the resilience to withstand all the pressures of business, I promise you. You might want to ask yourself, how good am I at creating and organizing a structure, and being able to organize without a lot of direction? When you start a business, you’re starting from scratch. It’s a blank piece of paper. So you have to be able to have a vision. You have to be able to sell that vision. You have to be able to help others see that vision. You have to be able to paint it. You have to be able to take from thin air and create and organize a structure that will work for you and that will be a framework for your business. You might want to ask yourself, “What’s my tolerance for stress?” And I refer back to Kristin’s emotional resiliency, but I’d like to add a couple of things to that. What do I do to control my stress? And I would say, you should have a plan. You may say, “I have no stress.” And I’d like to meet you if you go around having no stress, because I’ve always been a ball of stress my whole life. And poor Carol, she’s had to deal with it every time that I’ve had to de-stress. So let’s talk about what I’ve found. I had a client early in my CPA career who said to me, he goes, “Craig, you’re going to burn out as a CPA someday.” And he was a house painter, so I don’t know how he knew I was going to burn out or could predict that. But he said, “You have to have a hobby.” And I said, “Well, what are your hobbies?” And he said, “Bowling, and I go golfing.” And Carol had been bugging me to join the country club and to learn to golf. She was a golfer. And so I actually took up the hobby of golfing and I didn’t take up bowling though, but I did take up golfing. And then I took up traveling. I do like to travel. And we’ll talk about that in a little bit. Before I started my CPA firm, I was working with another CPA firm and I had an experience one day that left a mark on me. A guy came in, he was a retired CPA. And here’s a great lesson. I’m finally hiring someone else to do my own taxes after all these years of owning other businesses and having retired from the CPA business in 1999. So that’s been a long time. He came in to pick up his tax return that our firm had prepared. And I was the one that got to take it out and sit down and meet with him. I hadn’t talked to him before. And as I handed him his tax return, he said to me, he said, “Let me tell you a story.” He said, “When I started my CPA firm—” And so this was a long time ago. So he was probably 40 years into his career. He said, “I went in and wanted to get a loan from a bank to help me so I had a line of credit to help me during the slower months, because when you do tax returns, you’d get a lot of cash flow during the months of March and April, typically.” He said, “I went in to the bank and I took out my business plan and I left it with them. And then I went back a couple days later to meet with the banker. And the banker told me, he says, I’m not going to make you the loan.” And he looked at him frustrated and he goes, “I had a great business plan. What’s wrong with it?” He said, “You had no line in there for expenses to take a vacation.” He said, “I’m not going to lend to you as a banker unless you as a CPA are going to take a vacation every year so that I know that you have the sharpness and that you’re not burning out.” And I thought to myself, “What a great lesson.” I don’t know why he shared it with me till today, but I took that to heart and I would always go on vacation. In fact, one of the last years of being a CPA, I did something I always wanted to do: go on vacation before April 15th. And I left a few days before. And it just so happens that when I went, the IRS showed up to do a surprise audit, but I was out on the golf course in Arizona, and they were at my office in Utah. I allowed them to proceed to do it, but I didn’t have to be there to put up with the pain of their surprise audit in my office. So I thought I actually scored on that one. So I do recommend that you have a plan. And my plan is to have a hobby and that you do it regularly, and to take vacation time. There’ll be certain times where you can’t because of the rigors and the demands of the business, but you need to set it aside. If you don’t, I promise you, you’ll struggle later on. And then the other question you need to ask, what is my tolerance for risk? If you can’t tolerate a lot of risk, you may do—There are some businesses that don’t require a lot of risk. In fact, I had one. It’s the CPA. It didn’t take a lot of risk. I didn’t have a huge capital investment and all I had was my education and my experience. And so the risk I was taking is that people didn’t like my personality, couldn’t find my office, or didn’t think I was competent to do their tax returns. But other businesses may be more complex. And you need to look at the type of risk tolerance it’s going to take, not only to be able to take the naysayers on, but also to be able to take on the inherent rigors of certain business types. And we’ll go into that more in another part of our series. And then probably last of all, something I want to talk about is plan B. I’ve never been one to have a plan B. So I can’t even believe I put this on my list today. But sometimes I think it’s good to have a plan B. What are you going to do if things aren’t quite working out with your business, or maybe your product? Maybe you have a different product or a different service that you’re gearing up so that you have something else to boost the potential for your success. I think it’s wise to always look for a plan B, not as a quick escape, but as a prudent step to ensure success of your business. Now, I hope that today, the questions that we’ve talked about will make a difference for you. And I hope you had fun with our little vignette and that you’re still laughing about that. And I hope you’re smiling because of Kristin Harper and the dimension that she added to it. I really recommend using her resource to test your emotional resiliency. And as you do, look at where you can build it up. Through my life, I’ve experienced greater success as I’ve looked at my weaknesses and tried to help them become my strengths. And I think that’s what it takes as a business owner. You’re not going to be without weakness. You’re not going to be without your failures. You’re not going to be without mistakes. If you’re a fan of my podcast and you’ve listened to it, you know what I mean. I’ve shared with you my failures. I’ve shared with you what I’ve learned from them. I’ve shared with you some of my successes. And in each one of them, we can gain strengths, both from our successes and from our failures. What we don’t want to do is that our failures are so big that they put us out of business. We can make small mistakes. You just want to have more successes than failures. So I look forward to you joining us for Episode 2. In Episode 2, we’re going to talk about pricing your product, marketing your product, finding your first customers. We’re going to talk about this cash flow versus profitability. We’re going to talk about finding your first customers. We’re going to talk about your cost structure. And we’re going to talk about financing your startup. I hope you’ll join me for the second episode and that you’ll share with others today’s video and audio podcast, that it may benefit somebody who’s looking to start a business. This is why I started this podcast. During the financial crisis, I sat back and my phone was ringing. A lot of people were calling me for help. They’re asking me if I could come help them. And I didn’t want to charge anyone. So I didn’t. I went and helped people get their PPP loans. I helped people stay encouraged to stay in business and figure out some plans, because I think no one plans for a pandemic and no one plans for a financial crisis, but we can plan for difficulties in that. And I hope today you’ve had some thoughts of what you can do. But during that time during the pandemic, I thought to myself, “How can I best help other people?” And I thought back to my dream that I had before it crashed down when I had to deal with the financial crisis, when I told my assistant, when I said, “Terry, I really want to help the next generation.” And I’ve done that by helping some of them start their business. But I want to have a more far reaching impact, not for me and not for notoriety for myself, but I want to go to bed each night knowing that maybe someone somewhere heard something that I said and it changed their perspective, gave them motivation, and gave them the courage to take the next step to start a business, and to experience the freedom and the rewards and the wealth-building potential that that has. That’s my dream. This is Craig Willett, The Biz Sherpa. See you for our second part in our “Starting Your Business” series next week. Speaker 1: Be sure to go to our website to access the resources related to this episode at www.BizSherpa.co. If you enjoyed this show, tell your friends about us and be sure to rate our podcast. Craig would like to hear from you. So share your thoughts in the Facebook community at BizSherpa.co. Follow us on Twitter @BizSherpa_co, and on Instagram @BizSherpa.co.

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