Podcasts about xerox corporation

This episode was made possible by the community! ❤️ Get early access to podcast episodes, participate in exclusive Q&As, and more! ➡️ jaychristteves.com/support Get FREE resources and tools by visiting jaychristteves.com/resources or shop online courses at JournyAcademy.com “Figure out what these people are doing that are so successful in the industry and model after them. There's a saying that you're the average of 5 people you spend the most time with.” In episode 111 of #TDLS, I sat down with Geoffrey Kent. Geoffrey is a serial entrepreneur (having launched 20+ entrepreneurial ventures over the last 5 decades), who took his last tech venture (Cognis IT) from launch to successful exit in 6 years over a decade ago. In addition to an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, I have been an executive at Xerox Corporation, AT&T, the Erving Group (a holding company owned by NBA Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving), and Deloitte Consulting, have taught entrepreneurship at Lincoln University, have judged Drexel University's annual business plan competition, and have served on multiple corporate boards of directorships. In this episode we talked about: - His successful entrepreneurial journey - How he was able to launched 20+ businesses in his entire entrepreneurial career - Actionable insights on how to start the right way in scaling your business to $1M and beyond - How to build fundable plans that get the money they need to grow their business and exit when and how they want to - Interesting thoughts that's we really needed to ponder about AI Tools - And much much more… Books Recommendations from Geoffrey: - Science of Everything: How Things Work in Our World You can connect with Geoffrey by visiting thinkbigwithgeoffreykent.com. If you found this episode helpful, please let Geoffrey know by following him on LinkedIn @thinkbigwithgeoffreykent. Visit the podcast today at thedesignlifeshow.com to get all the episodes 100% FREE. Have a question in mind? Submit your question to be answered on the podcast. Send your questions via email (at least 2-minute audio clip) at podcast@jaychristteves.com There are a ton of people asking me about how to support this podcast so here's how: 1. You can follow or leave a short & honest review on Apple Podcasts so in that way you can help me to reach more people and make the podcast more discoverable within the ecosystem. 2. You can take a screenshot of this podcast and share it with your friends, colleagues or to anyone that might be interested in this kind of content. 3. Feeling generous today? You can support the podcast monetarily by visiting jaychristteves.com/support or patreon.com/jaychristteves. 4. Shop courses and tools online to design the life you really deserve by visiting JournyAcademy.com. 5. By listening to all the podcast episodes, you already support my message, and that's more than enough and it means the world to me. So, thank you! 6. Schedule a strategy session with my team about Assisted Intelligence to empower your business at https://ai.thinkdigitalph.com The podcast is available on any of your favorite podcasting apps including: Website: thedesignlifeshow.com Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3OzMLDx Spotify Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/TDLSonSpotify Google Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/TDLSon-GooglePodcasts SoundCloud: https://tinyurl.com/TDLSonSoundCloud Amazon Music (via Web or Audible app): https://tinyurl.com/TDLSonAmazonMusic Alexa Podcasts: (Just say “Alexa, play The Design Life Show on Apple Podcasts”)

Robert Moment was born in Virginia and basically has spent his entire life there except for college which took him to Maryland. Robert received a degree in Business and, after college, he went to work in corporate America. He worked for a number of large corporations including Xerox in the 1990s. He tells us some of his experiences in the corporate world and how they eventually caused him to shift gears and start his own coaching and consulting business.   Today he is a recognized authority and he has authored several books. His newest one coming out shortly is "Believe in Yourself You Got This".   What I like about talking with Robert is his down to earth direct manner of presenting ideas. As he says fairly early in our discussion, his parents taught he and his brother to believe in themselves. Robert discusses with us this concept of self belief and how it differs from ego. As he says, his father taught him that “ego” stands for “edging God out”. Pretty clever. Robert gives us a number of practical tips and lots of advice we can put to use in our daily lives. I hope you will like what Robert Moment has to say.       About the Guest:   As a sought-after authority in leadership development, Robert Moment draws upon a wealth of Fortune 500 experience and certified coaching expertise to unlock the extraordinary in leaders and organizations. 1. Leadership Development Authority: Robert Moment is a leading authority in executive coaching and leadership development. Leveraging over 15 years of experience and deep insights from Fortune 500 environments, he empowers individuals and organizations to reach new heights. As an ICF Certified Executive, Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Career, and Peak Performance Coach, his expertise spans diverse leadership domains. 2. Startup Success Catalyst: Robert holds unique expertise in nurturing cybersecurity, healthcare, fintech, and critical infrastructure startups, guiding them through scaling challenges to achieve revenue growth. His tailored approach fosters sustainable success for these firms within competitive markets. 3. Peak Performance and Emotional Intelligence Focus: Specializing in peak performance coaching, Robert works with CEOs, executives, and high performers, empowering them to lead empathetically with high emotional intelligence. This creates collaborative and thriving work environments. As a certified practitioner, he utilizes the Social + Emotional Intelligence Profile-Self (SEIP) ® Assessment to facilitate targeted development plans. 4. Author and Comprehensive Coaching Methodology: Robert's books, including "CEO Coaching for Cybersecurity Growth" and "Believe in Yourself You Got This," offer practical strategies for professional growth. His comprehensive coaching methodology uniquely blends experience with modern assessment tools for results-driven, transformative experiences. 5. Executive Development and Career Coaching: Robert collaborates with executives and rising leaders to refine leadership skills and drive organizational success. He assists individuals at various career stages through fulfilling transitions. By identifying strengths, clarifying goals, and aligning values, he ensures informed decisions for long-term career satisfaction.   If you're ready to unlock your potential, achieve peak performance, and create the leadership legacy you envision, Robert Moment is the coach to guide you there.   Ways to connect with Robert:   Robert@LeadershipCoachingandDevelopment.com The Moment Leadership Coaching Group 2200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 102, #158 Arlington, VA 22201 LinkedIn  https"//www.linkedin.com/in/robertmomentleadershipcoach      About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hello to you all, wherever you happen to be, I am your host, Michael Hingson, and this is unstoppable mindset. We're really glad that you joined us today. Our guest is Robert moment, and Robert is a sought after authority and leadership development he's written a number of books. He's a coach, and all sorts of other kinds of things. Talking to coaches are is always really kind of fun. I learn a lot. I got all this free coaching. What can I say? It's It's always interesting and relevant to hear different points of view and get to put everything in perspective. So I'm really glad to have the opportunity this time to talk to Robert, and he does a lot of leadership development, and interested in getting into that and talking about him as well. So enough of that, Robert, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Robert Moment ** 02:15 Well, thank you, Michael for the opportunity. I'm excited.   Michael Hingson ** 02:20 Well, we're really looking forward to talking with you and learning a lot. I hope Tell me a little bit about the early Robert, kind of growing up. And let's start with that just kind of where you came from and all that stuff. Well,   Robert Moment ** 02:33 the early Robert, I grew up about 30 minutes outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, and I graduated, really, I would say I'm a country boy at heart humble beginnings. And my father, he was ex military, and one of the things he taught my brother and I, I'm two years younger than my brother, was self disciplined, and to always believe in yourself. That's something that my parents ingrained in us, you know, early on, and that's something, you know, it's like, it's in my DNA, and that's what I communicate to my clients. And even when I was in corporate America, I was in corporate America for over 20 years working for Fortune 500 companies, like your Xeroxes of the world, Citigroup, manpower. And then then I transitioned into leadership and executive   Michael Hingson ** 03:21 coaching. So where did you go to college? I   Robert Moment ** 03:24 went to college. Now it's called Washington at Venice University. It's about, I would say, 20 minutes outside of Washington, DC, in a place called Takoma Park, Maryland. And my degree is in business administration. But   Michael Hingson ** 03:39 you're mostly stuck in a rut, aren't you? You've lived in Virginia basically all your life.   Robert Moment ** 03:43 Yes, I have now. I've traveled globally, but yes, my, my my home base is, yes, Virginia. Now   Michael Hingson ** 03:52 I have to tell all of you listening that before we started this, Robert was saying that he loves the spring and summer and is not a winter person. So I'm not quite sure I totally understand the paradox, but there you are. But no, it's it's fine. You could be further north in Massachusetts and Maine and New Hampshire, and get a whole lot more snow than you get in Virginia. You   Robert Moment ** 04:16 know what, Michael, when I see when I watch TV, whether it's, you know the weather channel, or CNN, and I see the snow in Boston, upstate New York and Rochester and Syracuse. I am glad I'm in Northern Virginia.   Michael Hingson ** 04:31 Boy, it was interesting, if you remember from the Weather Channel, last year here out in Southern California, we had crazy, crazy weather in Mammoth and some of the areas around here, they had, you know, overall, more than, like, 50 feet of snow, and it eventually went away. But we had incredible amounts of snow in Tehachapi and Wrightwood, the snow was so high that a. Cover the roofs, and some roofs collapsed because they couldn't take all of the snow, and the roads were blocked so people couldn't get in and out, which also made it very interesting. And we here in Victorville, were down in a little valley. We're about 20 850 feet above sea level. We had two or three inches of snow one Saturday afternoon, and that   Robert Moment ** 05:23 was it. Wow, I did see that. I saw that. And I said, you know, I couldn't believe it. Yeah, it was, it was dangerous, treacherous. Yeah, it really paralyzed a lot of people, because they couldn't leave the house, homes.   Michael Hingson ** 05:38 Yeah, they couldn't at all. And the the thing is, like mammoth, I think it was mammoth didn't even close their ski season until last August. Well, this year, it's different. They're closing Sunday. Still, it's a while. Well, it is, it is, yes, so you said you worked for a lot of corporations for quite a while. So you started that, I assume, right out of college, because you had the business background, and what did you do for them?   Robert Moment ** 06:07 Well, I was like, for instance, corporate executive, sales, business development, account manager, a lot of titles, but I learned a lot, especially back then, like Xerox Corporation, you went through a lot of training, yeah, and that training that really, I was able to leverage it and, you know, transfer to other corporations. And one of the things I learned, it really wasn't so much that when I transferred to other organizations, because that was in telecommunications. I was in insurance. Manpower is more about human development. It was really about building people skills. Yeah, people skills, and then business acumen, because you can learn the products and the services, but to be able to build relationships. That was really my, one of my strongest suits.   Michael Hingson ** 07:04 Well, Xerox information systems, back a long time ago, in part, began because they acquired a company. I worked for Kurzweil Computer Products. So I I was sort of assimilated into Xerox, because I worked for Kurzweil, and then Xerox bought Kurzweil. They wanted the technology, though, they didn't really have as much interest in the people as demonstrated by the fact that within a couple of years, all the salespeople who worked for Kurzweil pre Xerox takeover were all invited to leave. And you know those those things happen, and I think it's a serious mistake when companies do that, because they lose all the tribal knowledge and all the information and the background that people have. And like you talk about the fact that you learned so much about people skills and interpersonal dynamics as you went along. And I think the companies really lose a lot of that when they buy a company and they assimilate it, and then they get rid of the people,   Robert Moment ** 08:10 you know, I'm glad you wanted you touched on that, because I'm working with a potential client and they want to buy the smaller cybersecurity startup. And when you do that, a lot of times, you know, you gotta look at the culture, and when you mention that, they let people go, you know, a lot of times good people who've been there, whether it's, you know, five years, 10 years, you know, that's a lot of intellectual property that's walking out the door, and a lot of times, for instance, they know that customer is better than the person who's acquiring them. Why do companies do that? You know, sometimes you know they want to cut costs, but cutting costs sometimes is not good business sense, because usually the company who takes over is the one who's going to let the existing employees go in, right? Because they want to bring down people. But when I want to talk to the CEO, you know, if he becomes they become a client. That's something I want to warn and caution, caution him, you know, don't go into, oh, I want to clean house and want to bring all of my people in, because this company does have some major business with several major hospitals, and you know, that's relationship building. And that relationship building took years for them to when I say years, maybe about, I think they said five or six years. So, yeah, go ahead. So that's important. You know that relationship, the existing company has that relationship, and I told him, I would tell him, you want to make a smooth transition.   Michael Hingson ** 09:57 Well, and the reality is, it's. Some point, you can bring your own people in, but you're going to have to hire people to replace the people you you move and other things. At some point, it would make a lot of sense to really evaluate people and their skills and look at what they bring to the company before you just let them go. I was the last sales guy to be let go from Kurzweil and I had been relocated, actually, in late 1981 from Boston. Well, I lived in Winthrop and we worked in Cambridge. Then I was relocated back out to California because I knew that area better and and it was pre Xerox takeover, but the discussions had begun. But in 19 late, 1983 into 1984 was clear that Xerox had had taken the company, and some people were leaving. I was the last of the sales guys to be let go. I don't know whether that had to do with blindness or whether I was just so far remote because I was cross country, but they did it nevertheless. And I think that they made a serious mistake by losing, if you will, so many people, it just isn't a bright idea to do.   Robert Moment ** 11:25 You know, it isn't, because even when I was there, Michael Xerox was losing a lot of market share. Yeah, yeah. When I was there, they was losing when I went, when were you there? I was there like in in 1992 and they was losing a lot of market share to,   Michael Hingson ** 11:46 it's canon, yeah, and IBM.   Robert Moment ** 11:49 IBM, yes, they was losing a lot of market share. And, you know, they got became complacent. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 11:58 they did and and didn't, and probably never really had a clue about why they were losing so much market share. But nevertheless, it happened, yeah,   Robert Moment ** 12:08 I mean, Xerox was, I mean, in terms of, I mean, too top heavy, in terms of, I mean, it seems like every quarter they was hiring people, but in terms of market share, yeah, they was losing market share. And then a company called OSE came in Rico, the Japanese, the Xerox almost went under, yeah, yeah, yeah. I   Michael Hingson ** 12:37 one of the reasons I was asked to relocate to California. And like I said, they just started the discussions, but because I had spent time on and lived on the west coast for most of my life, the other thing they wanted me to do was to interface with the more technical parts of Xerox. Namely, they had a facility called Park Palo Alto area Research Center. Yes, I wonder if that's still there. Do you know? Yeah, I don't know. You know, yeah, I don't either. But I, I did a lot of work to integrate some of the information from Kurzweil into Park, which is part of what I did. And it was, it was fun. Got to meet a lot of and know a lot of the people there, and I would have thought that they would have been a little bit smarter about how they how they dealt with me, but and other people, but it, you know, it goes the way that it goes. I hear it a lot in the broadcast industry. Somebody comes in and they buy a radio station or a television station, and they phase out all the people who are already working there, which is so crazy.   Robert Moment ** 13:46 Yeah, it, yeah, I've heard that. I've heard that too, and I've actually here, I can't think of what, what station, but yes, I've heard that, and that's consistent, I think across the board, yeah, it is   Michael Hingson ** 14:03 well, and I think it's a little bit different, not necessarily totally, but a little different, because what they're doing is they're probably changing formats and other things, and they want to bring in people who are familiar with but I also Do think that they don't look at the value that, if you will, tribal knowledge, even in a radio environment, can play. So what do you do? Well, you said something earlier, interesting. You said that your parents brought you up being very self assured, self confident, and so on. I think that's that's an important feature and skill that we ought to have. Do you? Do you ever find, though, that you're too self confident, and it go in a kind of transitions over into arrogance, as opposed to just self confidence?   Robert Moment ** 14:55 You know, one of the things my father, you. Taught us you have to be careful about ego. Because he said, ego, you know that can be blind, blind confidence and blind confidence. You know that's tied to external validation, you know. And he said, you know, really, self belief is about trusting, you know, trust in your inner knowing. And not only trusting your inner knowing, it's you know your instincts and and just know deep down, you know you are capable of overcoming challenges and achieving goals. And you know, he even taught us, even said this, and I don't know he didn't invent this, but he said, you know, ego is edging God out, and you want to focus on just trust and believe yourself. You're going to have challenges, but you really have it's a fine line, that ego confidence is great, but that ego that goes beyond confidence, that you know sometimes you don't even really look at reality like you feel like you're invincible. And I think when you think you become invincible, that's when arrogance and ego come in.   Michael Hingson ** 16:17 If you're really invincible, you don't have to show it. It is just the way it goes. Well. Have you ever had a time in your life when you experienced something that really caused you to face a major challenge and doubt yourself, and how did you deal with that?   Robert Moment ** 16:37 My first corporate executive position that inner critic came up. An inner critic is, do I have what it takes? Am I good enough? And how I acquired my inner critics? And it is still comes up, sometimes even now, with opportunity, but I have to say to myself, I have to take inventory. Look at your past successes, look at your past wins, and look at the skills that you bring to the table. And those skills are transferable, whether it's a client that I'm coaching now or a future client, bigger client, but just because sometimes you know, when the opportunity comes, we excited. We get excited about the opportunity, Michael, but then, like I said for me, that inner critic is like, Okay, are you ready for this? And I have to remind myself, Yes, you are you. You have more than enough. You are enough, and you can do this.   Michael Hingson ** 17:39 So what really happened that caused a lot of self doubt with that first job,   Robert Moment ** 17:45 the responsibilities, the revenue that I needed to generate, that I had never had that kind of revenue before, and and the people who I was going to manage, but at the end of the day, you know, I said, You know what? They would not have given you this position, and if they didn't think you could do it. And then look at your look at the skills that you have. And once again, I took audit in terms of the skills, my transferable skills, and I was able to succeed. But still, that inner critic, inner voice that happens even now as a coach, how do you   Michael Hingson ** 18:24 how do you get past that inner voice? Doing that,   Robert Moment ** 18:28 I created an acronym. An acronym is B, line, B, E, L, I, E, and it starts with I begin self awareness and I understand my strengths and I understand my weaknesses. And then E, I embrace my imperfections, and because everyone has them, but what makes me unique? And then L, I learned from my setbacks. I know there's obstacles and opportunities for growth. And then I invest in self care, I prioritize my physical and mental well being, and in E I empower that inner voice to silence any negative self talk, and I just focus on the positives,   Michael Hingson ** 19:11 one of the things that we talk about on unstoppable mindset. And I've said it a number of times, so I hope people don't get too bored, but I think it's important to say, I used to always say, I'm my own worst critic. I listen to speeches when I give them. I did it some when I was program director at the campus radio station at UC Irvine K UCI. I've done it a lot of times. I listen to myself, and I always used to say, you know, I'm really hard on myself. I'm going to be harder on myself than anyone else. Anyone else, because I'm my own worst critic. And actually, only the last over the last year have I realized wrong approach. I'm not my I'm not my own worst critic. I do believe in, and have always believed in the kinds of things that you're talking about, introspection on. Self analysis and so on. And what I realized is that, in reality, no one can teach me anything. They can provide the information, but I'm the only one who can teach me, and I've changed from saying I'm my own worst critic to saying I'm my own best teacher. And the reality is that just totally reshapes the attitude, and I will will tell you that it also helps in dealing with that inner voice. Because when I start to think about that, I think about, okay, how do I teach me? Well, it goes back to self analysis. It goes back to introspection. What worked today? Why didn't that go as well as I thought that it should, and it could be I was just too, too confident, and I've got to be open enough to acknowledge that, and okay, so what do you do to make sure that doesn't happen again? So I love the approach of I'm my own best teacher, because it's such a a positive and more constructive way of helping to guide you into introspection and real self analysis.   Robert Moment ** 21:06 You know, I love the concept, you know, I would say, Isn't that owning your power? Sure, yeah, I would say that's Michael, that's owning your power. It   Michael Hingson ** 21:17 is owning it's owning, well, it's owning your power, and it's owning your actions and what you do, and when you acknowledge that, then you can sit back and look at it and go, Okay, so let's discuss brain what happened. But that's exactly right, and I would rather look at things with something that will really move me forward. Rather than saying, let's criticize other people can criticize me, but then ultimately, I have to go back and listen to and look at what they say and decide, okay, where's the merit they're saying it, maybe there's something to it, but is there really, or how much? And take it to heart, but come to a decision and move forward. You   Robert Moment ** 22:11 know that, you know, I call it, I would, you know, reframe it, and that that was a, that's a major pivot shift in terms of your mindset and your thought process. Yeah, because, you know, a lot of times people, we can be our own worst enemy, and, like you said, our own worst critic. But how you're reframing it from a positive more so than a negative because most people want to, they start with the negative instead of the positive. Yeah, yeah. So I like how you're reframing that. Because just like this is that self talk, you know, you can say, you know, I'm not good enough. Well, say I am good enough, just that slightly framing, because I always words have power, and you continue to repeat something, you will believe it,   Michael Hingson ** 23:09 and you can also say, How can I get better? Yes, and take the time to really analyze it, because I believe that ultimately, when we look at ourselves, we can, if we practice it and develop that mind muscle, we really know the answers, but we have to listen to get them to come to the surface so we can deal with them. The fact of the matter is, we know a lot more than we think we do. We underestimate ourselves. And so often something comes up, and suddenly we think of an answer, but we go, oh, no, that's too easy. Or no, that can't be it. And we go back and, yeah, you see what I'm saying. And we go back and overthink it, and then come up with what turned out to be the wrong answer, because we wouldn't listen to ourselves with the right answer. You   Robert Moment ** 24:05 know, I feel as though the universe is always talking to us, and sometimes we have to be still. And for instance, you know, if I'm coming up with a book title, like you said, if it's too easy, it's like, well, that's too easy. Well, no, that's probably the book title that you need, yeah, or the article title. You know, a lot of times we think, if it's too easy, that's not the solution. But here's something that was, I learned in corporate America, we would, here's an example, a client had a problem. Let's say it could be any problem. And we, you know, meet with the client. The client, they have five people, you know, representing our company, and maybe we have three or four, and they said, you know, they've had this problem. Six. Months, and I'm listening to the client, and I said, you know, this is the solution. And I remember telling a VP, I wasn't at the VP level yet. We we had a debrief, you know, like in the lobby after the meeting, and I said, this is the this is a solution. This is the solution to the client problem, and this is what he said. He said, That's he said, No, that's to he said, not. The meeting lasted maybe almost almost two hours, and he said, No, that. He said, You know what a client, we can't go back to the client and say that's the solution because they had the problem. He said, for over six months, and what we want to charge the client, we got to drag this out. And I said, Why drag it up? They got a problem. And he said, they will not believe that we solve this problem within two hours. So I you know he was a VP, yeah, Michael, it we went through, I want to say this is years ago, five or six meetings and the solution, it was this, right solution, six meetings, and then finally, we tell the client, okay, we have come up with the solution. And that's when I think I said, you know, I don't think I'm going to be in corporate America too long after that,   Michael Hingson ** 26:35 you know? And I've, I've talked about it a few times after leaving Kurzweil because I was dismissed, as it were, or Xerox. Actually, at that point, I couldn't find a job because people wouldn't hire a blind person. And it's still way all too often the case, the unemployment rate is, you know, incredibly high. Depending on where you are. It could be 60 65% significantly higher, and I was looking for a job and wasn't finding one. And so what I eventually did was I started my own company selling computer aided design systems to architects, a blind guy selling cat systems. Why not? You know, I didn't need, I didn't need to work the system, but I did need to know how to work the system so that I could describe it to people. Well anyway, as we started working with architects and so on, they would say, well, we can't as much as this system works and all that we can't take on this system because we charge with our by our time, with our with our effort and our time, and if we use the CAD system, we'll get done in a fraction of the time, and so we'll not make as much money. Well, you know, my response was, you are looking at it all wrong. You're bringing in new technology. You're bringing in so much more capabilities, because you could bring a customer in, and you can do walk throughs and fly throughs and show them exactly what it looks like looking out a window from inside a building and all sorts of stuff. They can say they want to change something, and they can make the change, or you can make the change as they suggest it. You're not charging for your time anymore. You're charging for your expertise. You don't need to charge less, but you're charging for all the expertise and the skills and the added value that you bring to the sale. And the architects who got that, and there were some who did and some who didn't, but the architects who got it really began doing extremely well, because they could also then go off and look for more customers more quickly, quickly, yeah, and we, we really, we really need to remember that there are, on a regular basis, new and better solutions coming up, and it's hard to keep up with everything. But by the same token, if we can be aware of what we need to do to make everyone's lives better with whom we work, we're going to do better, because they're going to do better.   Robert Moment ** 29:20 I totally agree. Because, you know, when I'm working with clients, even if the first two sessions, I have a solution, I'm not going to say, okay, you know what? Hold on to this solution until coaching sessions. In six months into the coaching session, you know that? You know, yes, for me, it's integrity. That's one, but two, I want all my clients to succeed as fast as quick as possible. And you know, I remember, gosh, when I started out this client, he's I said, one of the questions I was asked, have you. Ever had a coach before? And he said, Yes, I had a coach before. And I said, Well, how did it work out? And he says, I felt as though he had solutions or could help me, but he dragged out the process. And I said, Okay, that's not gonna happen with me. Because then I thought, you know, I thought back in my experience when I was in corporate America, yeah, when you have the solution, but, you know, I think I really want to coach him for another six months, not for two days, or, you know, two weeks. So, yeah, well, you   Michael Hingson ** 30:35 could coach him for another six months. It's just that you're going to evolve and go in different directions, if that makes sense to do, yes, yes. And if it doesn't, you're going to have a very happy customer who's going to tell other people about you. Absolutely   30:51 yes. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 30:54 I want to get to your transition, but first, just following up on something we talked a little bit about, how do you really tell the difference between overconfidence, or what you call our inner critic and or whatever, and the whole real issue of healthy self evaluation? How do we really make those differentiations?   Robert Moment ** 31:16 I would say, in terms of, like I said, ego is self validation. I'm sorry, self validation, or external validation, when you're talking about self belief, that's trusting, that's a inner knowing, that's your inner being, your core. And I think that's the difference, and because when you're talking about self belief, you begin with self awareness. I don't know anybody who has a huge ego focuses on self awareness. They don't understand. They not want to talk about understanding our strengths, understanding our weaknesses, ego. They just don't but when you talk about self belief, self awareness, and then they embrace their imperfections, to me, that's, that's, that's very, very important. And then I can say, when you talk about investing in self care, you do prioritize your mental well being and also your physical well being. You take, really, you take inventory of self   Michael Hingson ** 32:21 as you should, and it's something that you, if you're doing it right, probably do on a regular basis. Yes,   Robert Moment ** 32:29 that's one thing I tell clients weekly. There's five questions I might give them depending on the individual to do what I call a mental coaching, self, self, mental coaching each and every week, because mental health, you know, it's, it's prevalent, and especially the higher you are as an executive, the pressure and self audit. Because even myself, I, you know, yes, I'm a coach, but coaching people, they said, well, that mental health, that's yeah, I have to still go out my mental health as well. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 33:10 well, and there's nothing wrong with asking yourself, did I really do that? Right? What can I learn? How do I move forward? But even just the whole concept of, did I do it right? Did I do what I really should do? Asking yourself that helps so much to assist you in becoming more self aware, because if you ask that with an open, curious attitude, you're going to get the right answers, and then you can use it to move forward.   Robert Moment ** 33:45 You know, you're right about one of the things coaching. As a coach, you I always say to myself after every session, did I asked the right questions, was I curious enough? And did I go deeper? Because sometimes a client might give me a response, and I try to make sure I don't gloss over that response. And I want to say, you know, what? Can we go deeper? And then sometimes, you know, I ask for permission. Can we go deeper? Because Francis, our client, a couple weeks ago, he's had some leadership challenges. And I said, How does transparency, how does empathy and how does trust show up in your leadership style? And he said he gave me some examples. And I said, Well, can we go deeper? And he said, Well, I just gave you some examples. And he said, Well, why do you want to go deeper? I said, I'm here to help you, because with the examples he gave me wasn't it didn't have a lot of substance. And you know, after the session. You, he did say this, and you know, I don't need someone to pat me on the back. But he said, You know what? Now, I appreciate you as a coach, because he said, You know what, these three things. So I said, journal this week, how does those three things show up in your leadership style? And I want to see examples on next session, and that's what I want to be curious. But also want to go deeper,   Michael Hingson ** 35:22 do you record your sessions?   Robert Moment ** 35:24 Yes, I do. Yes, yes, and, and. So   Michael Hingson ** 35:27 the reason for asking that question is, then, do you go back and listen to them as a learning experience for you as well? Yes, I do. Okay, yes, which is, which is the which is the point, yeah, because you're your own best teacher, yes, but it sounds like that that person had some definite trust issues and probably needed to show a little bit more empathy and vulnerability than than they were showing.   Robert Moment ** 36:00 Yeah, you know, one of the things I did tell him, I said, you know, vulnerability, it's not a weakness. And and then, you know, one of the things when I said, when I have to dig deep, a lot of times when clients, it's not just about coaching them on how to become the best executive, but a lot of times it's about the story that the story that personalized, because a lot of times, for instance, here's an example about this. Is after COVID, this company called me and they said, Well, this executive we bought on board. He's a high performer on paper, but he is creating a toxic environment here. And I said, Well, you know, I was talking to the Chief Human Resource Officer. I said, I'm not understanding this. You said he interviewed. Well, he was a high performer. He has a great track record, but why is he calls it a toxic environment in your organization. And she said, Well, we gotta one or two things that's gonna happen. One, if he doesn't turn things around, we don't want to put him on any kind of corrective action, but we will have to, because two people have threatened to leave, and they've been here longer than him. So long story short, they said we're going to offer him coaching. If he doesn't accept coaching and doesn't turn things around, then yes, we're going to put him on corrective action and we'll terminate him. And he accepted coaching. And the one thing the second session that we had, and that's why I always said, Yeah, I have to go deep. And I said, they said, you know, when you are in meetings that you are not able to accept constructive criticism and and he says, that's that perception. So I said, well, but these are some examples that they gave me, and he said, and I said, Well, what kind and I don't know, Michael, something said to me, and sometimes, like I said, it's your intuition, yeah, instinct. I said, What kind of relationship did you have with your father? And this is what he blurted out. All of my life, he's been critical, criticized. I could never do anything right in his eyes. And I said, Can we go deeper? And I said, right now today, what kind of relationship do you have with your father? He said, I haven't spoken to my father in over seven years. And I said, would you what? Could you tell me why? So he told me why. And I said, Well, would you believe this statement that I'm about to make. And I said, you've had this all in your life, not just at this company. And he said, Yes, he has. And I said, not able to be able to take constructive criticism. And I said, here's things. I said, I can help you on two levels. I can help you on a professional level and I can help you on a personal level. So you said, Well, I told him how I could help him on this professional level. But I said the personal level, that's optional, because the company is paying for the professional the personal, I want to help you on a personal level. And I said, one of the things are you willing to take this major step that I'm about to ask you to take, and that's to forgive your father? Mm, hmm. And he said, first he he resisted. And I said, you're going to have this problem you're in. Entire life. And long story short, he forgave his father. I walked him through the process. I spoke to his father. Actually, we all and his father had never seen his granddaughter. And his granddaughter, I think, was four or five, and he saw for the first time that year, that Thanksgiving, and   Michael Hingson ** 40:22 I assume that the client ended up hopefully doing okay, and stayed with the company.   Robert Moment ** 40:30 He stayed with the company. He turned things around. Now this is what I'd say to not just the listeners, even myself. That's why, that's one of the reasons why coaching is my calling. It's not just the results the business results. I want them. I want every client to be the best version of themselves, not just in a professional but also that personalized. And you know that to me? You know that probably made my coaching year, not how many clients I coach, but just that made my coaching year for for a grandfather to see his grand. Now his his wife have seen her granddaughter, but his father had never seen only, only pictures.   Michael Hingson ** 41:25 Well, I'm glad that the the father and son made peace, and that that is so important. I think there is a whole lot of of connection between the professional parts and the personal parts. One of the reactions I had when you started the story was that, in reality, the professional part isn't going to really improve unless the personal part does.   Robert Moment ** 41:48 Yes, you're absolutely right. And I like i i tell my client, you're going to have this your entire life until you resolve it and forgive your father and you know, when I talked to the Father, Michael, his father was like that, so the cycle was never broken. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 42:11 it so often happens in so many different ways, doesn't   Robert Moment ** 42:14 it? Yeah? And, you know, and you're talking about a father, you know, life is short, and you're talking those many years without speaking to your father, not seeing him. And you know, you know the worst thing, it didn't happen. But if he would have lost his father, yeah, I was just   Michael Hingson ** 42:33 thinking that, yeah, if he would have lost his father, man, what a blessing. That didn't happen. Yeah, yes,   Robert Moment ** 42:38 absolutely. And then, not only that, your granddaughter would have never saw her grandfather, grandfather, right? Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 42:47 Well, now let's, let's talk about you again a little bit. So you talked earlier. You told the story of what happened in corporate America, and you said that was kind of one of the things that started you to transition what, what finally was the the last straw, if you will, that led you to decide to leave corporate America, and how did you decide to go in and transition to just being a coach and, well, not just being but being a coach and starting your own business,   Robert Moment ** 43:15 we went, I can't think of, Wow, gosh, it was the year. It was a year where we was having, there was a lot of recession, was a recession and a lot of layoffs, and I had gotten tired of the politics, and I said, you know, I want something new, different, but I don't know what, but I want to become an entrepreneur. Because I was selling Christmas cards when I was like, in the fifth grade, you could get engraved personalized. I had a lawn a landscaping business sold T shirts. So I've always been an entrepreneur at heart, but I just didn't know what I needed to do to make that transition. So what happened was a lot of people colleagues were getting laid off, and they said, Well, can you help me find a job? I'm like, Well, I don't know if I can help you find a job. I don't have any connections like that, because the companies that I know they are laying off to Yeah. And they said, Well, you know, maybe you can help me interview. I'm like, okay, I can help you interview. Because I interview very well. I think because I got the copies I've worked for, I went through three or four interviews. So I started helping people get hired for jobs I wasn't charging. It was just, you know, pro bono. And I said, well, they said, you to get hired expert. And I said, not to get hired. They said, Yeah, because you I started getting referrals, and I wasn't. And I said, well, they said, Yeah. Know such and such. Said, you can help so and they said, you know, you're coaching us. I'm like coaching. Okay, I don't see myself as a coach. But then I realized I was coaching, I would mentor when I was in corporate America. So this is how, this is how I started to get paid, though, as a coach, a colleague referred this executive to me, and he said he had been with this company like for 15 years, and he said he doesn't know he really needs to help on job search interview, and he said he's going to give you a call. And I said, he said, Because I told him, You can help me, because you helped me get a job. So, long story short, he calls me up, and this is what he said. He said, I need your help, and I want to hire you as a coach. How much do you charge for years of coaching? I want you to help me find a job. Help me to interview. I need your help. And when he said, charge, I didn't know what this I said, Well, charge. I almost said, I've been doing this for free.   Robert Moment ** 46:27 Yes, Michael, and you're absolutely right, my friend. So I said, I threw out Michael. I threw out a number man for one year. I just, I don't know where that number came from. So I threw out the number, and this is what he said. He said, Well, how do how do I pay you? Do I pay you my check credit card? I didn't have no business account set up or anything, my personal checking accounts or money market. And I said, check. And he says, Well, how do you want me to mail you to check? And he's then he said this. He said, I am going to the bank because I'm getting my severance I gotta work things out. I'm getting my severance package, and I wire you the money. I said, Sure, you can borrow the money. So I gave him my account, long story short, and then when the money, I couldn't believe it. I said, you know, what did I charge? Did I overcharge it?   Michael Hingson ** 47:26 Yeah, you always ask that, or under charge, right, under   Robert Moment ** 47:29 charge. I said, because that was that. That was that transaction was too quick, too fast. And then I realized, after I did some research, I didn't overcharge and but then, you know what happened? When we came close to the first session, I said, Oh, my God, can I do this? Because this man has given me X number of dollars, and this is my first paying client, and that's when the inner voice came like, you know, this man may be asking you for a refund, so don't spend this money, you know, just put it aside in this account. And even I open a bit, and then I did open a business account, don't even touch this money. And you know what? Two months go back, and then, you know, I got past that point because I was telling my father. I said, Dad, I feel like the sessions are going great. And he got me, actually got hired, probably within four months, he had two offers. And then he said, I want you to coach me throughout for the year, of course. And I did not touch that money, Michael until I felt comfortable, maybe about six months. I moved it into, I think, I bought some stocks, and I said, you know, okay, but I, you know, I had some limiting beliefs that I had to get past. Yeah, I did.   Michael Hingson ** 49:06 Well, it was a new adventure. It was new all the way around for you. You had to discover that the Earth really is round and not flat, so it's fair.   Robert Moment ** 49:18 Yeah, you know, when you, you I tell even new coaches, when we all going to have, you know, limiting beliefs, and you have to, you have to fight through it. Yeah, you have to fight through it, because that, you know, like I said, my biggest fear was, don't spend the money, because he might ask for a refund. And, you know, I've had clients. No one has ever asked me for a refund. But that first client, I was kind of like, like I said not. I was confident in coaching him. But then I was that in a critic saying the. Spend that money because, you know what? Not that I needed to spend it. But then after that, I started to get more clients because referrals. And I said, You know what? Now is the time to make the leap. There you go. And I made the leap, yeah, and,   Michael Hingson ** 50:19 and and you've been doing it now. What about 20 years? Yeah, about 20 years. You know, I, I find it interesting. As a speaker, I was approached by someone who has an event coming up in June, and I quoted a number that I thought was high. But I also say I work with people in their budgets, which I'm I'm willing to do because the World Trade Center happened for me. And excuse me, in reality, while I do earn my living largely with it and speaking, I also want to be out there, inspiring and helping and educating so we negotiate. But I had this one customer, literally just this week, and they I quoted a number, and I figured it was high, and they came back and they said, Well, we really looked and that's a lot higher than we expected. We've actually had some comedians that we've been looking at possibly hiring, and they're quoting, like, maybe 20% of what you're quoting. And I said, I will work with you, but let me point out that I have the visibility, and you're hiring me for the inspiration that I bring in the expertise that I bring, as opposed to local comedians, and we'll see what happens, you know, and what's interesting is it's, it's a company that deals with the law. Lawyers don't negotiate a whole lot. Most of the time. They charge an hourly rate. You know, it's just interesting how people work at things.   Robert Moment ** 51:58 You know, one thing always feel as though my father said this. He said, communicate the value. If you communicate the value and they can see it, price does not become an issue. Yeah. And he said, you know, communicate the value up front as much as you can, and then price doesn't become an issue is when you don't, they don't see the value, then all of a sudden, you know, I gotta think about it. Let me talk to you know is this, but when they can see the value, and then, you know what? My coach told me this. One of my first coaches told me this. He said, you know, a lot of coaches want to charge just, just to get a client, they want to charge low fees. And he said, those will be your worst clients.   Michael Hingson ** 52:48 Yeah, absolutely, always will be your worst.   Robert Moment ** 52:52 He said they will probably. He said they will be, I've wanted you don't do it. They're   Michael Hingson ** 52:58 going to suck up your energy. They're going to do so much, many things, and they don't pay you for it, which is one of the reasons I'm resisting. We'll see what happens with this one. It isn't settled yet, and it'll work out. Yes, I have had other customers that I know didn't have big budgets. They're nonprofits and things like that. But again, we come to an agreement, both in terms of time and what's expected, as well as the money, and that's okay, but, but yeah, it is, you know, because not everybody is going to be able to pay what some bigger corporations will pay. That's okay, yeah, yeah. But the other thing that I actually always ask in my speaker contract is, if you like the speech, I want a letter of recommendation, and I want you to refer me to at least two other people. And   Robert Moment ** 53:59 that works, yeah. I love that. I love that strategy. It works pretty   Michael Hingson ** 54:03 well. Well, tell me, what are some practical techniques do you use to boost your self esteem and self belief, especially in difficult times? How do you psych yourself up in a good way? Well,   Robert Moment ** 54:19 one of the things self talk. It's, you know, to me, self talk is, you know, you can do this. I believe in you, you know, I look at and also, not only that, I look at my whether it's a big win or small wins. I look back over my life too. And I said, you know, 10 years, five years, even two days, you was able to do this and and then I surround myself with very supportive people. Mm, hmm, that's, that's key, because I believe, you know, they believe, not only do they believe in me, but self. Belief in self is contagious.   Michael Hingson ** 55:01 Yes, it absolutely is. Yeah, it's contagious   Robert Moment ** 55:03 and and how I challenge, like I said that inner critic is, I love how you reframe things. Is self talk, positive self talk, and focus on your accomplishment and celebrate small wins. It don't have to be big wins. It'll be small wins. But celebrate and then remember this too. I tell whether it's clients, colleagues, self belief, it's a journey. It's not a destination. It's like you. Every year you're building, like building muscles, your self belief muscles, whether it's five years, six years, but every year, you're building through life, lessons, failures, setbacks, but you're still building that muscle. Yep,   Michael Hingson ** 55:50 and when you understand that, that also will help give you the insight to continue to do it.   Robert Moment ** 55:56 Yes, because you know when you learn from setbacks, even obstacles or opportunities for growth. And you know, when you have a growth mindset, you realize through self awareness, you give a chance to learn and continue to grow. And then you know one of the things to you know, your dreams deserve a chance. It doesn't matter how big or small, but all of our dreams deserve a chance, and we all have unique talents, and just, you know, focus on your strengths and let them shine. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 56:39 what would you tell listeners who believe their self belief is at all time low. Where do they start?   Robert Moment ** 56:46 Well, first of all, you want to take inventory of the skills that you currently have and be grateful for what you have, because we all have unique talents, skills, abilities and gifts. And a lot of times I think what happens people underestimate what they already have, and start to take inventory of, like I said, the skills, the talents that you have, and embrace your own uniqueness and also your own imperfections. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 57:19 because if you don't recognize them, then you're never going to be able to deal with them. If you do recognize them, then you can deal with them   Robert Moment ** 57:26 absolutely and like I said, once again, give yourself credit for your small victories. You don't have to be big victories, but give yourself credit, because, see, when you give yourself credit for your small victories. Michael, that continues to build momentum.   Michael Hingson ** 57:43 Yep. Can you give me an example of someone who you believe has unwavering self belief and what we can learn from them? Yes,   Robert Moment ** 57:52 I do. I want to share this story. My name is Barbara Corcoran. She's the real estate for the Shark Tank. Yes, you know her boyfriend and business partner. She was in real estate. He left her for her secretary, right? And but you know what that split, what it did for her, I know it was devastating, but it was a catalyst for her success, because what it did, it fueled her determination to form her own company, which was a corporate group. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, she sold it for about $66 million so that, to me, resilience in her situation was key. She embraced a new beginning, and she looked at failure as a stepping stone, which   Michael Hingson ** 58:46 makes a lot of sense. I believe that we should get rid of the word failure from our vocabulary anyway. Failures are not failures. They are simply things that didn't work out as they should. And what are you going to do about it, right? It's we gotta get the negativity out of so much of it. Yeah, you   Robert Moment ** 59:05 know we do. We do because, you know also what I and her. She believed in herself fiercely, man, because she feel as though, you know, she had something to prove. I get that. And guess what she did.   Michael Hingson ** 59:22 You have a new book coming out entitled believe in yourself. You got this. Tell me about that.   Robert Moment ** 59:27 This is about I want the reader to really take inventory in themselves. This book is a coaching book. It's going to be real. It's real simple, but it's going to have questions where they take inventory and really focus on believing in themselves, and not only just believing But accepting themselves. You know you can believe in yourself, but I want them to really accept who they are and and know that worth, know that value. You and know that they have something to bring and add to this world.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:04 Well, if you could leave our listeners with one final thought about self beliefs, what would that be?   Robert Moment ** 1:00:10 Own Your Power. Own Your Power, and don't let any one hold you back and take control. Take control of your destiny. And then also remember that self belief is a journey and not a destination.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:27 I love that. If people would like to reach out to you and maybe talk to you about hiring you as their coach, or just learning more about you and your books and all that, because you've written several books actually, how do they do that?   Robert Moment ** 1:00:39 They can reach me at Robert at leadership coaching and development.com or they can connect with me on LinkedIn.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:48 And what's the LinkedIn? Do you know your LinkedIn? Uh, yes, it'll be Robert moment leadership coach, okay, and what was the website? Again, website   Robert Moment ** 1:00:57 is leadership coaching and development.com.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:01 Leadership, coaching and development.com. Great. Well, I hope people will reach out. This has been insightful in a lot of ways, I will say, validating for some of my beliefs, but also very educational. And I said at the beginning, I always love speaking to people who coach, I learn a lot, and I've always believed that that I'm not doing my job unless I'm learning at least as much as anybody else who listens to the podcast. So I really appreciate your time today. So Robert moment, thank you, and I want to thank all of you for listening. I hope that you have found this helpful if you want to really become a better leader. Robert has lots of ways clearly that he probably can help you, and it's worth exploring with him. So I hope you'll reach out. I'd love to hear from you. Please give me an email. You can reach me at speaker at Michael hingson.com Michael hingson is m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, O, N, just like it sounds actually speaker at Michael hingson.com love it. If you'd go to our podcast page, if you would, www, dot Michael hingson.com/podcast can listen to all of our episodes there, but wherever you're listening or watching, I would really value it greatly. If you would give us a five star rating and review us. We really appreciate people who do that. So any of that that you can do, I would really appreciate it. And as I've said many times on these podcasts, if you need to find a speaker to come and inspire and motivate. I'd love to talk with you about that. Email me at speaker@michaelhingson.com love to talk with you about that. And Robert, for you and everyone listening and watching. If you know of anyone who you think ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, please let us know. We'd love to meet people who want to be guests. So Robert, thank you again. I really appreciate you being here. This has been a lot of fun and definitely continued great success. Michael,   Robert Moment ** 1:03:08 thank you. I'm truly grateful and continued success to you as well.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:18 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

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In this episode, Eric sits down with philanthropist, entrepreneur and patron of the arts… Bernard Kinsey. They discuss his early life; having been raised in a middle class family in West Palm Beach, Florida. The loving environment that fostered him and instilled in him strong values. His experience of growing-up in a segregated state, attending Florida A&M University and meeting his beloved wife Shirley. His illustrious career in the corporate world, followed by his entrepreneurial ventures… to eventually retiring and devoting his energies to his philanthropic efforts and the Kinsey Collection. They explore how he developed an interest in uncovering the story of African Americans, his passion for spotlighting the African American culture and the role that they have played in making American what it is today. His dedication to honoring the African American heroes along with their stories and his mission to change the narrative, reshape how we think about and remove the “cataracts” that blind us from seeing and understanding American history in its entirety… in hopes that this will inspire a respectful, level-eyed conversation. They delve into the many facets of his collection; that ranges from two and three dimensional art, to photography, rare books, records, artifacts and more that document the African American experience from the 16th century until the present. Sourcing the material that tells how this story came about. How his son Khalil has taken an active role in stewarding the collection and what's in store for the Kinsey collection in the future..!  Guest Bio: Bernard Kinsey is a Los Angeles philanthropist and entrepreneur with a passion for African American history and art of the 19th and 20th centuries. He and his wife, Shirley, have been called "one of the most admired and respected couples in Los Angeles." They are known for espousing two life principles, “To whom much is given much is required" and live “A life of no regrets”. The couple have one son, Khalil, who is the general manager and curator of The Kinsey African American Art and History Collection and foundation.Born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida and attended Florida A&M University. There, he met his wife Shirley. After graduating from Florida A&M University he was hired as the first African American sales representative for Humble Oil Company. Kinsey was immediately successful and quickly became Humble Oil's number one sales representative. In 1971, Kinsey joined Xerox Corporation. During that same year, Kinsey and a group of African American Xerox employees protested the promotion of a less qualified white employee over an African American with supervisory experience and a college degree. Xerox promoted the African American employee. This action resulted in the creation of the Xerox Black Employees Organization, which Kinsey co-founded. Kinsey became a vice president of Xerox within ten years. Kinsey also worked to create a program for bringing African Americans and other minorities into the company and training them for jobs with opportunities for advancement. In 1992, he became the chief operating officer and co-chairman of Rebuild Los Angeles. RLA's mission was to bring jobs, economic opportunities and pride to the area that had been devastated by the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Kinsey succeeded in generating more than $380 million dollars in investments for inner city Los Angeles. The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection travels the globe as an award-winning museum exhibition – lead by the stewardship of Bernard, Shirley, and Khalil Kinsey. The exhibition celebrates the achievements and contributions of black Americans from before the formation of the United States to present times.

SummaryDr. David Cooke shares his experiences growing up and entering the business world. He discusses how he stumbled upon Transcendental Meditation and became a teacher of it before transitioning into a sales role at Xerox Corporation. He reflects on his journey in the imaging industry, including his time at Canon and Konica Minolta, and the challenges and successes he faced. Dr. Cooke emphasizes the importance of listening to customers, building a company that cares, and engaging employees through social causes. The conversation with Dr. David Cooke explores the power of creating a connected and caring culture within an organization. Dr. Cooke shares stories of how treating employees and customers with respect and compassion can lead to increased engagement and loyalty. He emphasizes the importance of values in driving business success and highlights the need for leaders to make decisions based on moral and ethical considerations. The conversation also touches on the challenges and opportunities presented by remote work and artificial intelligence.TakeawaysTranscendental Meditation helped Dr. Cooke sort his life out and inspired him to become a teacher of it.Dr. Cooke's sales career began at Xerox Corporation, where he learned the importance of listening and asking questions.He spent many years in the imaging industry, including stints at Canon and Konica Minolta, and faced challenges and successes along the way.Dr. Cooke's approach to leadership focused on building a company that cares, engaging employees through social causes, and listening to customers. Creating a connected and caring culture within an organization is powerful and can lead to increased engagement and loyalty.Treating employees and customers with respect and compassion is essential for building strong relationships.Values should guide decision-making and should not be compromised for short-term gains.Remote work can be a valuable option, but a hybrid model that includes in-person interactions can help reinforce culture.Artificial intelligence presents both challenges and opportunities, and it is important to build moral and ethical considerations into AI systems.Learn more about David and his leadership philosophy in his new book: Kind Business

Geoffrey Kent, Founder and CEO of Think Big with Geoffrey Kent. Geoffrey is a serial entrepreneur (having launched 20+ entrepreneurial ventures over the last 5 decades), who took his last tech venture (Cognis IT) from launch to successful exit in 6 years a decade ago. In addition to an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Geoffrey has been an executive at Xerox Corporation, AT&T, the Erving Group (a holding company owned by NBA Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving), and Deloitte Consulting, has taught entrepreneurship at Lincoln University, has judged Drexel University's annual business plan competition, and has served on multiple corporate boards of directorships. Key Moments [05:11] Leaving corporate America for successful entrepreneurial journey. [07:38] Visited 5 professors for startup advice. [10:00] Simplify business explanations to avoid confusion. [14:02] Develop thick skin, be humble, seek guidance. Find Geoffrey Online https://www.thinkbigwithgeoffreykent.com/ https://www.alignable.com/bryn-mawr-pa/think-big-with-geoffrey-kent https://www.linkedin.com/company/think-big-with-geoffrey-kent/ https://www.facebook.com/thinkbigwithgeoffreykent https://www.instagram.com/thinkbigwithgeoffreykent/ https://thinkbigwithgeoffreykent.quora.com https://twitter.com/think_big_wgk If you're enjoying Entrepreneur's Enigma, please give us a review on the podcast directory of your choice. We're on all of them and these reviews really help others find the show. GoodPods: https://gmwd.us/goodpods iTunes: https://gmwd.us/itunes Podchaser: https://gmwd.us/podchaser Also, if you're getting value from the show and want to buy me a coffee, go to the show notes to get the link to get me a coffee to keep me awake, while I work on bringing you more great episodes to your ears. →  https://gmwd.us/buy-me-a-coffee Follow Seth Online: Seth | Digital Marketer (@s3th.me) • Instagram: Instagram.com/s3th.me Seth Goldstein | LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/sethmgoldstein Seth On Mastodon: https://s3th.me/@pch Seth's Marketing Junto Newsletter: https://MarketingJunto.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover the transformative power of diversity and inclusion as we sit down with Dr. Yetta Toliver, Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Xerox Corporation. With a legacy spanning 37 years, Dr. Toliver unravels the rich tapestry of her career, from her origins with the company to spearheading initiatives that carve paths for equity in the workplace. In a candid reflection on Black History Month, she sheds light on Xerox's trailblazing efforts in creating the first employee resource groups (ERGs), revealing how these platforms have become crucial in shaping policies and nurturing a sense of community and strategic business acumen.Embark on a journey through the corridors of Xerox's corporate culture where allyship and mentorship intersect, giving rise to programs like 'manbassadors' and an AI-driven enterprise mentoring program set to redefine professional relationships. Dr. Toliver shares how executive sponsorship and ERGs contribute to employee retention and engagement, painting a vivid picture of the company's commitment to fostering growth and inclusivity. She underscores how data, paired with the art of storytelling, convincingly communicate the tangible benefits of investing in a diverse workforce, from talent retention to bolstering corporate prosperity.Finally, step into the heart of Xerox's ethos where leadership and culture blend seamlessly, creating an environment where every employee is encouraged to bring their authentic self to work. With initiatives promoting psychological safety and open dialogue on topics like menopause, Dr. Toliver illustrates the extensive yet often unquantified return on investment in people-centric programs. She provides poignant insights into the importance of a diverse leadership team, drawing inspiration from personal mentors and icons like Maya Angelou, to foster a legacy of belonging that resonates throughout the organization and beyond.

Those in the workplace whether it be an office, department store, fast food, or corporation should never have to fear for their safety. From the time you clock in, to the time you clock out, there should be no worry about getting back to your homes and families unharmed. Unfortunately, those who worked at the Xerox Corporation of Honolulu, Hawaii in 1999, would never feel safe at work again after an employee walked into the building with a loaded semi-automatic weapon tucked under his shirt.SOURCES: 1) State v. Uyesugi (hawaii.gov)2) Man Opens Fire in Xerox Office, Killing 7 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)3) Byran Uyegusi | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers4) The Chilling Story Behind The Worst Mass Shooting in Hawaii | by The True Historian | Lessons from History | Medium5) Massacre's 20th Anniversary: Lessons from the Xerox Murders | Hawai'i Public Radio (hawaiipublicradio.org)6) The Xerox Murders — Examining Workplace Homicide — Crime Library7) Delusional Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment (clevelandclinic.org)8) Honolulu Star-Bulletin Local News (starbulletin.com)9) Peter Brent Mark (1953-1999) - Find a Grave Memorial10) John Keiji Sakamoto (1963-1999) - Find a Grave Memorial11) 20 years ago, a killer shattered the morning calm and changed Hawaii forever (hawaiinewsnow.com)

“Making improvements is challenging. But we can't give up and we've got to learn how to do it better.” “Speak, engage, help, be helped. Be part of society. Be an optimist towards the fact that people can change, that people can learn.” John Pepper, P&G's former CEO, and Ursula Burns, Xerox's former CEO, sit down for a candid conversation on race, understanding and our discourse with each other. This is a conversation the two longtime friends have been having for years - alongside many of us. While John needs no introduction to many, Ursula's impressive career is worth sharing... Ursula M. Burns is the Retired Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation and VEON Limited — and among the first Black women to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Ursula is also a founding partner of Integrum Holdings, Non-Executive Chairman of Teneo Holdings LLC, and the Executive Chairman of Plum Acquisition Corp. At Xerox, Ursula served from 2009-2017, having joined as a summer intern in 1980, after which she rose through the ranks across corporate services, manufacturing and product development. Ursula also serves on several corporate boards, including Uber Technologies, Exxon Mobil, Endeavor Group Holdings, Waystar and Hear.com Ursula's also involved in leadership counsel for the Ford Foundation, MIT, the Cornell Tech Board, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mayo Clinic, among others. From 2009-2016, President Barack Obama appointed Ursula to lead the White House national program on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Ursula also led the President's Export Council from 2010 - 2016. In February 2022, Burns joined the U.S. Department of Commerce's Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Ursula is a mechanical engineering alumni of Columbia University and NYU - and she's a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the G7 Gender Equity Advisory Council. This is a replay of a past episode, originally recorded on February 25, 2022. This is an important conversation we hope will make many think and feel more deeply. While each of our guests are part of some great organizations who support the sharing of our views, these are the views of our guests alone. Got ideas for future deep dive topics with past and future guests? Reach out to pgalumpod@gmail.com

Janet Peterson is Diversity Lead at iRelaunch, and like many on the iRelaunch team, Janet is a relauncher. Prior to her five-year career break, Janet held leadership roles in sales, marketing, and training and advocacy at Johnson & Johnson, and at Xerox Corporation. She served as board member for the American Diabetes Association and was a liaison for the National Urban League, NAACP and La Raza. Janet currently serves her community through Mocha Moms, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Women's Ministries. Janet discusses the initiatives, events, and programming that have made the biggest impact in diversifying the iRelaunch pool. Employers, relaunchers and others interested in impactful diversity measures - this episode is for you.

Many of the core technologies behind Generative AI are not exactly brand new. For example, the "Attention Is All You Need" paper, which described and introduced the Transformer model (the "T" in ChatGPT), was published in 2017. Diffusion models—the backbone of image generation tools like StableDiffusion and DALL-e—were introduced in 2015 and were originally inspired by thermodynamic modeling techniques. Generative adversarial networks (GANs) were introduced in 2014.However, Generative AI has seemingly taken the world by storm over the past couple years. In this episode, Graham and Jason discuss—in broad strokes—what Generative AI is, what's required to train and run foundation models, where the value lies, and frontier challenges.Fact-Checking And CorrectionsBefore we begin...At around 36:16 Jason said that the Pile was compiled by OpenAI or one of its research affiliates. This is not correct. The Pile was compiled by Eleuther.ai, and we couldn't find documentation suggesting that OpenAI incorporates the entirety of The Pile into its training data corpus.At 49:07 Jason mentions "The Open Source Institute" but actually meant to mention the Open Source InitiativeApplied Machine Learning 101Not all AI and applied machine learning models are created equally, and models can be designed to complete specific types of tasks. Broadly speaking, there are two types of applied machine learning models: Discriminative and Generative.Discriminative AIDefinition: Discriminative AI focuses on learning the boundary between different classes of data from a given set of training data. Unlike generative models that learn to generate data, discriminative models learn to differentiate between classes and make predictions or decisions based on the input data.Historical Background TLDR:The development of Discriminative AI has its roots in statistical and machine learning approaches aimed at classification tasks.Logistic regression and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are early examples of discriminative models, which have been used for many years in various fields including computer vision and natural language processing.Over time, with the development of deep learning, discriminative models like Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have become highly effective for a wide range of classification tasks.Pop Culture Example(s):"Hotdog vs. Not a Hotdog algorithm" from HBO's Silicon Valley (S4E4)Image recognition capabilities of something like Iron Man alter ego Tony Stark's JARVIS (2008)**Real-World Example(sAutomatic speech recognition (ASR)Spam and abuse detectionFacial recognition, such as Apple's Face ID and more Orwellian examples in places ranging from China to EnglandFurther Reading:Discriminative Model (Wikipedia)Generative AIDefinition: Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence that is capable of generating new data samples that are similar to a given set of training data. This is achieved through algorithms that learn the underlying patterns, structures, and distributions inherent in the training data, and can generate novel data points with similar properties.Historical Background TLDR:The origins of Generative AI can be traced back to the development of generative models, with early instances including probabilistic graphical models in the early 2000s.However, the field truly began to gain traction with the advent of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) b y Ian Goodfellow and his colleagues in 2014.Since then, various generative models like Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) and others have also gained prominence, contributing to the rapid advancement of Generative AI.Pop Culture Example:The AI from the movie Her (2013)Real-World Example(s):OpenAI's GPT family, alongside image models like StableDiffusion, and Midjourney.Further Reading:Deepgram's Generative AI page in the AI Glossary... co-written by Jason and GPT-4.Large Language Model in the Deepgram AI Glossary... also co-written by Jason and GPT-4.The Physics Principle That Inspired Modern AI Art (Anil Ananthaswamy, for Quanta Magazine)Visualizing and Explaining Transformer Models From the Ground Up (Zian "Andy" Wang for the Deepgram blog, January 2023)Transformer Explained hub on PapersWithCodeTransformers, Explained: Understand the Model Behind GPT-3, BERT, and T5 (Dale Markowitz on his blog, Dale on AI., May 2021)Further Reading By TopicIn rough order of when these topics were mentioned in the episode...Economic/Industry Impacts of AIHow Large Language Models Will Transform Science, Society, and AI (Alex Tamkin and Deep Ganguli for Stanford HAI's blog, February 2021)The Economic Potential of Generative AI: The Next Productivity Frontier ( McKinsey & Co., June 2023)Generative AI Could Raise Global GDP by 7% (Goldman Sachs, April 2023)Generative AI Promises an Economic Revolution. Managing the Disruption Will Be Crucial. (Bob Fernandez for WSJ Pro Central Banking, August 2023)The Economic Case for Generative AI and Foundation Models (Martin Casado and Sarah Wang for the Andreessen Horowitz Enterprise blog, August 2023)Generative AI and the software development lifecycle(Birgitta Böckeler and Ryan Murray for Thoughtworks, September 2023)How generative AI is changing the way developers work (Damian Brady for The GitHub Blog, April 2023)The AI Business Defensibility Problem (Jay F. publishing on their Substack, The Data Stream)Using Language Models EffectivelyThe emerging types of language models and why they matter (Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, April 2023) Crafting AI Commands: The Art of Prompt Engineering (Nithanth Ram for the Deepgram blog, March 2023)Prompt Engineering (Lilian Weng on her blog Lil'Log, March 2023)Prompt Engineering Techniques: Chain-of-Thought & Tree-of-Thought (both by Brad Nikkel for the Deepgram blog)11 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level (David Nield for WIRED, March 2023)Prompt Engineering 101 (Raza Habib and Sinan Ozdemir for the Humanloop blog, December 2022)Here There Be DragonsHallucinationsHallucination (artificial intelligence) (Wikipedia)Chatbot Hallucinations Are Poisoning Web Search (Will Knight for WIRED, October 2023)How data poisoning attacks corrupt machine learning models (Lucian Constantin for CSO Online)Data Poisoning & RelatedData Poisoning hub on PapersWithCodeGlaze - Protecting Artists from Generative AI project from UChicago (2023)Self-Consuming Generative Models Go MAD (Alemohammad et al. on ArXiv, July 2023)What Happens When AI Eats Itself (Tife Sanusi for the Deepgram blog, August 2023)The AI is eating itself (Casey Newton for Platformer, June 2023)AI-Generated Data Can Poison Future AI Models (Rahul Rao for Scientific American, July 2023)Intellectual Property and Fair UseMeasuring Fair Use: The Four Factors - Copyright Overview (Rich Stim for the Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center)Is the Use of Copyrighted Works to Train AI Qualified as a Fair Use (Cala Coffman for the Copyright Alliance blog, April 2023)Reexamining "Fair Use" in the Age of AI (Andrew Myers for Stanford HAI)Copyright Fair Use Regulatory Approaches in AI Content Generation (Ariel Soiffer and Aric Jain for Tech Policy Press, August 2023)Japan's AI Data Laws, Explained (Deeplearning.ai)PDF: Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law (Congressional Research Center, September 2023)Academic and Creative "Honesty"How it started. New AI classifier for indicating AI-written text (Kirchner et al., January 2023)How it's going. OpenAI Quietly Shuts Down Its AI Detection Tool (Jason Nelson for Decrypt)AI Homework (Ben Thompson on Stratechery, December 2022)Teaching With AI (OpenAI, August 2023)Human Costs of AI Training (Picking on OpenAI here, but RLHF and similar fine-tuning techniques are employed by many/most LLM developers)Cleaning Up ChatGPT Takes Heavy Toll on Human Workers (Karen Hao and Deepa Seetharaman for the Wall Street Journal)‘It's destroyed me completely': Kenyan moderators decry toll of training of AI models (Niamh Rowe in The Guardian, August 2023)He Helped Train ChatGPT. It Traumatized Him. (Alex Kantrowitz in his publication Big Technology, May 2023)https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/technology/chatgpt-rlhf-human-tutors.htmlBig QuestionsOpen questions for AI engineering (Simon Willison, October 2023)Adam Smith and the Pin Factory

Tina Maria White, a prodigious talent from the outset, entered the renowned HBCU, Florida A & M University, at just 16, eventually securing a B.S. degree in print journalism before diving into a commendable career that began with a standout role at Xerox Corporation. In our upcoming episode of [Your Podcast Name], we navigate through Tina's remarkable journey from winning “Rookie Salesperson of the Year” at Xerox to carving out spaces where few women, especially Black women, have ventured in the tire and energy sectors. White, the visionary founder of TINA'S TIRES and TINA'S Green Energy Solutions, didn't stop at business: she extended her passion into social impact with Black Girls Rolling Tires, her non-profit aimed at guiding young females from underserved communities into the $400B tires and electrification industries. Her ventures uniquely intertwine commerce and community, especially within her home city of Riviera Beach. Join us as Tina helps us explore opportunities in the energy sector. Contact: linkedin.com/in/tina-white-145256186 | Website: tinasgreenenergysolutions.com/  __________________________________________ NABWIC's Vision: The Vision of the National Association of Black Women in Construction (NABWIC) is to build lasting strategic partnerships with first-rate organizations and individuals that will provide ground-breaking and innovative solutions for black women in construction and their respective communities.| NABWIC.ORG  

Join us, Thursday,June 22nd, 2023 as we speak with Dr. Jonas Gadson, DTM about upcoming events and how to master your message. Dr. Jonas Gadson, DTM, known as “Mr. Enthusiastic!” is an International Motivational Speaker, Corporate Trainer, Radio Personality, Best Selling Author and Expert Communication Coach. He is president of Partners For Purposeful Living LLC. He worked 30 years for two Fortune 500 companies, Xerox Corporation and Eastman Kodak Company. At Eastman Kodak he trained over 8,000 employees from 69 countries some of whom were presidents, vice presidents, managers, team leaders, engineers, salespeople, human resource representatives, executive secretaries and manufacturing employees and he earned the “Trainer of the Year” Award! When he delivered a motivational message to the Professional Women's Engineering Group at Delphi Automotive, a manager came in and heard the last ten minutes of his speech and was so impressed that she hired him on the spot! He spoke at the Women Tech Virtual Summit in London, England, the Worldwide Summit reaching professionals from six continents! Among some of his speaking engagements in 2021 he was a featured speaker at Unleash Your Voice In Atlanta, Georgia, Speakercon Conference 2021, Building Wealth Together Summit, and the Women Entrepreneurs' Conference in Detroit, Michigan. He was featured in Powerhouse Global Magazine in London, England, Tap IN online magazine, and on the cover of Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine. He is a Distinguished Toastmaster, a graduate of Dale Carnegie and earned a Doctorate Degree in Theology. He was inducted into the Beaufort High School Alumni Hall of Fame for distinguishing himself in profession, leadership and service! He was nominated two years in a row for the Beaufort Chamber of Commerce Civitas Lifetime of Leadership Award.Dr. Gadson was featured this April 2022 in Speakers Magazine Corporate Edition. He was interviewed on a variety of podcasts on social media and television broadcasts; "Don't Stop Won't Stop " with Mr. Donald Toldson, Carolina Women on WHHI-TV(Hilton Head, SC), and "Soul, Light and Body!" podcast which reached people in Ireland, Australia and Africa just in March and April 2022 alone. He was a featured speaker in the Igniter Summit "Step Up, Speak Out and Execute!" reaching over 500 people internationally! He is author of the book, “How To Fly Like An Eagle With Wings Like A Wimp!” It teaches you to “Take A Chance! Take Charge! And Take Control of your life!” He has a chapter in these four Amazon 2021 Best Selling books: Make It Matter, I Am A Victor, You Are Enough and Unleash Your Undeniable Impact! Bonus From Jonas: “If You Cheat Yourself In Your Preparation It Will Show Up In Your Presentation!” His Motto Is: “Since Greatness Is Possible Excellence Is Not Enough! Go For Greatness!” jg@jonasbonus.com (585) 703-9547. To get your FREE gift Go to: www.jonasbonus.com. To be a guest on our show, visit www.tinyurl.com/keeversplacebooking. Connect with our host, Keever Murdaugh, at www.Linktr.ee/KeeverMurdaugh.

In this podcast episode Nermine Zakhary and Sherif Samaan share their experiences and insights on playing to one's strengths, identifying strengths, mental fitness, effective communication, and leadership. The guests emphasize the importance of discovering one's strengths, reflecting on past experiences, and setting one's vision. They also stress the significance of mental fitness, effective communication, and experiencing pain, uncertainty, and chaos to grow as a leader. This conversation is relevant for c-suite leaders navigating their next move and anyone in transition looking to understand their strengths and bring them forward.   Nermine Zakhary: Nermine Zakhary is a Certified People Acuity Coach™ & Positive Intelligence (PQ) Coach, specializing in helping others strategically apply their strengths to accelerate their performance, energy, relationships, and results.As a PQ Coach, Nermine adds the important layer of helping clients grow their mental fitness (the capacity to handle life's challenges with a positive mindset), the next step in ensuring lifelong application of strengths.Nermine coaches individuals and small groups. She also facilitates workshops to teach strengths strategies to clients so they can define their optimal zones -- and thrive there.Nermine comes to Strengths & PQ coaching with 15+ years of experience in the training industry at Highland Hospital and Xerox Corporation. She holds a Master's Degree in Education, specializing in Instructional Design for Online Learning.   Sherif Samaan: Sherif Samaan is an IT executive in the higher education sector with over 25 years of experience in leadership and strategy. Sherif has led projects across the globe, including New York City, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. Sherif has also served as Associate Vice President and Deputy CTO supporting and leading enterprise application strategy across the local and global NYU campuses. In recent years, Sherif became an ICF certified independent executive coach; working with and helping to transform IT leadership and their staff at several higher education institutions,enabling them to think more strategically while improving their communication, leadership, and collaboration skills with their campus communities; as well as helping them create their career roadmaps while creating more effective IT team structures. Sherif currently works for CampusWorks as the Director of Enterprise Applications at Drew University in New Jersey, where he is building out a leadership program for all IT staff and student workers.   Company websites: www.Strengths-Edge.com  www.businesstransformationtech.com   Linkedin: Nermine:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nerminezakhary/Sherif:https://www.linkedin.com/in/silverfox62/   Whether you are a C-Suite Leader of today or tomorrow, take charge of your career with confidence and leverage the insights of The CEO's Compass: Your Guide to Get Back on Track.  To learn more about The CEO's Compass, you can get your copy here: https://amzn.to/3AKiflR    Other episodes you'll enjoy: C-Suite Goal Setting: How To Create A Roadmap For Your Career Success - http://bit.ly/3XwI55n Natalya Berdikyan: Investing in Yourself to Serve Others on Apple Podcasts -http://bit.ly/3ZMx8yw Questions to Guarantee You Accomplish Your Goals - http://bit.ly/3QASvymSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's always an honor to chat with my Rabbi.  Here's a little bit about Rabbi Jim:Rabbi Jim Appel has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Shema Yisrael since 1996 and a Jewish follower of Yeshua since 1977. He is ordained by the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues.Rabbi Jim previously worked for Xerox Corporation in Webster, N.Y., for 24 years as an optical engineer and engineering manager. He holds more than 45 patents in the areas of copier imaging systems and laser printing. Rabbi Jim received a bachelor's degree in optical engineering from the University of Rochester in 1967 and a master's degree in physics from the University of Southern California in 1970.Rabbi Jim decided to follow Yeshua after a long spiritual search. He grew up with parents who taught him that God did not exist and organized religion deceived and oppressed people. In 1967 after completing college, Jim became disillusioned with life as an atheist. He rejected his parent's teachings and began his search for spiritual reality. This search took him into the world of mind-altering drugs and yoga meditation, and ended with a dramatic encounter with Yeshua the Messiah, who revealed himself to Rabbi Jim in the privacy of his bedroom without the assistance of any other person.In this broadcast we discussed the miracles surrounding our purchase of our beautiful new building, miracles in his life, and the meaning of Shavuot.

Every one of us needs to be coached at one point or the other in our lives. Be it the ones who are already successful or the ones that have just started the journey of success, we all need some guidance. Today we have with us Bill to talk about his methods of coaching. About Bill Cornwell He is an author and also the owner of Cascade Consulting. He is the author of the book Activate the 3rd Space. He has worked for Xerox Corporation. He has been in the manufacturing industry and hospitality industries as well. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tbcy/support

ITI's President and CEO Jason Oxman speaks with Michele Cahn, Vice President of Global Government Affairs, Sustainability, Citizenship and Compliance at Xerox Corporation on sustainability initiatives and the role the technology industry can play in mitigating climate change. 

Guest Bio: Rita McGrath is a best-selling author,  sought-after advisor and speaker, and  longtime professor at Columbia Business School. Rita is one of the world's top experts on strategy and innovation and is consistently ranked among the top 10 management thinkers in the world, including the #1 award for strategy by Thinkers50.  McGrath's recent book on strategic inflection points is Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019). Rita is the author of four other books, including the best-selling The End of Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013). Since the onset of the pandemic, Rita has created workshops, strategy sessions and keynotes, applying her tools and frameworks to strategy under high levels of uncertainty to specific issues organizations are facing.  As Rui Barbas, the Chief Strategy Officer for Nestle USA said, “You were incredibly insightful and, despite the virtual setting, there was lots of engagement and comments from leaders sharing eye-opening observations and building on your examples throughout. You delivered the inspiration and illustration desired and it was exactly the right focus and challenge for this team. Appreciate your time throughout the process to align on content and delivery. The future-focus theme was the perfect close to our leadership summit.” Rita's work is focused on creating unique insights.  She has also founded Valize a companion company, dedicated to turning those insights into actionable capability.  You can find out more about Valize at www.valize.com. McGrath received her Ph.D. from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and has degrees with honors from Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. She is active on all the main social media platforms, such as Twitter @rgmcgrath.  For more information, visit RitaMcGrath.com.   Social Media/ Websites: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ Twitter: @rgmcgrath Instagram: @ritamcgrathofficial Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rgmcgrath Websites: https://ritamcgrath.com and valize.com Rita's Newsletter/ Articles Substack: https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Medium: https://rgmcgrath.medium.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/thought-sparks-6787762418471755776/ Books Seeing Around Corners by Rita McGrath https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeing-Around-Corners-Inflection-Business/dp/0358022339 The Entrepreneurial Mindset by Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian MacMillian https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entrepreneurial-Mindset-Continuously-Opportunity-Uncertainty/dp/0875848346 The End of Competitive Advantage by Rita Gunther McGrath https://www.amazon.co.uk/End-Competitive-Advantage-Strategy-Business/dp/1422172813 Disrupt Yourself by Whitney Johnson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disrupt-Yourself-New-Introduction-Relentless/dp/1633698785 Humanocracy by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanocracy-Creating-Organizations-Amazing-People/dp/1633696022 Reimagining Capitalism by Rebecca Henderson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reimagining-Capitalism-Business-Save-World/dp/0241379660 When More is Not Better by Roger L. Martin https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-More-Not-Better-Overcoming/dp/1647820065/ Being An Adult by Lucy Tobin https://www.amazon.co.uk/Being-Adult-ultimate-getting-together-ebook/dp/B07GQ1KRTC/ Only The Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove https://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Paranoid-Survive-Andrew-Grove/dp/1861975139  Ula Ojiaku: My guest today is Dr. Rita McGrath. She's a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker and advisor and consistently ranked among the top 10 management thinkers in the world, including the #1 award for strategy by Thinkers50. In this episode, Rita talked about the concept of inflection points from her book ‘Seeing Around Corners' and how as leaders, we can train ourselves to spot these inflection points and act on the information we receive. She also talked about making complex things simple for the people we work with. I learnt a lot speaking with Rita and I'm sure you will find this conversation insightful as well. Thank you again for watching! It's an honor to have you on the show, Rita McGrath. Many, many thanks for joining us. Rita McGrath: Well, thank you Ula. It's a pleasure to be here. Ula Ojiaku: Great. Now, can you tell us about yourself? How did the Rita, Dr. Rita McGrath we know today evolve? Rita McGrath:  Well, it would have to start with my parents, of course. I mean, all great stories start with your parents. And so, my parents were both scientists. My mother was a Microbiologist, and my father was an Organic Chemist. And so, I grew up in a house where, you know, (if) a question couldn't be answered, you went and got the reference book and figured it out. And both, (had) incredible respect for science and for diligence. And, you know, the house was always full of books and lots of emphasis on learning. I wouldn't say we were, financially all that well-off – we weren't poor by any means. But it was, you know, there wasn't like a lot of money to spare, but there was always money for books, and there was always money for, you know, educational experiences and that kind of thing. So, that's the household I grew up in. So, my parents, when I was born, were both on the staff at the Yale Medical School. So, they were both researchers there. And then my dad in the late 60s, got an offer to go join this upstart, fledgling company that was at the cutting edge of all kinds of things in his field and that was Xerox Corporation. And he was very conflicted about leaving academia, but went off eventually to Xerox. So, we moved the family to Rochester, New York. So that's where I did most of my growing up. And my mother at that time, decided to stay home, more or less. And then she started a scientific translation business. So, she moved into an entrepreneurial career more than her scientific career. And then when it came time to go to college, I went to Barnard College in the City of New York. I'd always thought New York was an amazing place and was accepted there. So, went off to New York, did my Bachelor's and my Master's in Political Science and Public Policy. I was very interested in public policy and matters of social contract and those kinds of things. And then my first job was actually with the City of New York, I ran purchasing systems for government agencies. It doesn't sound very glamorous. But today, we would call it digital transformation. It was the very first wave of companies taking their operations in a digital form. And it was very exciting and I learned a lot. Then I got to the end of… the thing about public service is when you start, there's (this) unlimited sort of growth that can happen for a few years, and then it really just levels off. And you're never going to go beyond that. So, I kind of reached that headroom and decided to do something different. Ula Ojiaku:  Was it at that point that you decided to go for your PhD? Rita McGrath:  And that was one of the options I was considering. And my husband basically said, ‘look, if you get into a top five school, it's worth doing and if you don't, it's probably not.' But you have to think in that time, MBA programs were just exploding, and there'd been a lot of pressure on the administrators of MBA programs, to put PhD accredited faculty in front of their students. The big knock against the MBA at the time was, oh, they're just trade schools. You know, we've got some guy who ran an entire company comes in and talks and that's not really academically suitable. And so, there was a huge pressure for schools to find PhD accredited people-  that still exists (but) the market pressures has changed a lot. But when I was doing my PhD, it was pretty sure I would get a job if I managed to complete the degree. So that that gave me that extra input to do that. Ula Ojiaku:  Did you already have like children when you started the PhD? Rita McGrath: Yes Ula Ojiaku:  And how did you cope? Rita McGrath:  Our son was, how old was he? He would have been nine months old when I started my PhD program. Yeah. Ula Ojiaku: Wow, 9 months old. Rita McGrath: Oh, yeah, it was a real challenge. And I guess everybody manages those kinds of challenges in their own way. But yeah, it was a struggle because, you know, typical day would be you know, get up, get the baby to daycare or wherever and then do school or whatever I had to do that day. And then it was sort of pick them up. By the time I had a second child it was pick them up, get them dinner, get them bedtime, get them story, and then I'll be back at my desk at nine o'clock at night, trying to do what I needed to do. So, it was a new turn. It was tough. It was difficult years. I mean, joyful years though but it was just hard to fit everything in. Ula Ojiaku:  I can imagine. I mean, although I'm thinking of starting my PhD (studies), my children aren't that small but I do remember the time (they were), you know, I was still working full time. So, the challenge is you'd go to work and then come back to work. I mean, to another type of work. And then when they go to bed, the work continues. Yeah, it's interesting. Rita McGrath: Quite exhausting. Ula Ojiaku: You can say that. I'm so glad they're not in diapers anymore. So, it's baby steps, we are getting there. So, can we go on to your book, “Seeing Around Corners, How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen”. I'd like to start from an unusual place in the book. I started from the dedication page, and you know, reading everything, and I noticed that, you referred to a conversation, one of the last conversations you had with your mother. Could you tell us about that? Rita McGrath:  Oh sure. She was well, at the time, she was quite ill, she had sarcoma in her lung, and she was quite ill. It's a horrible disease, and we haven't got any real treatments for it. So, the recommendation is you do chemo and that really knocks you out. So, she was quite ill and sort of migrating between the chair and the couch and the chair and the couch. And in one of those conversations, she just said ‘I want you to know I'm proud of you. And I've had a good life and I'm prepared for whatever comes next.' And I thought that was lovely of her to say and I thought in that moment to pass it on to all these other women. And you know you bring up motherhood and being a working woman and all those complicated emotions that come with that because there seems to be guilt around every corner you know, if you're not at home full time, oh you're a terrible mom. And if you're not at work full time, you're a terrible worker. I just I think so many of those things are just designed to twist us up into little balls. And when I look at my own mother's experience - she was a working woman… I grew up but I think I'm third or fourth generation working woman so it never even occurred to me that wouldn't be possible. But I think what often is missing is this validation, you know that for women who are trying to you know make their way professionally and be great, responsible parents and do all these other things that often there's a sense of a lack of self-worth you know, ‘oh, I'm not doing enough.' The more I hear that… Ula Ojiaku:  I feel like that some… most days I feel like that… Rita McGrath: Believe me, you are doing enough Ula Ojiaku:  Sometimes I ask my children, am I a good mom? Rita McGrath:  I think part of it too is we, and when I say we, I mean baby boomer mothers and maybe a little younger. We got ourselves all tangled up in this if it's not like organic, hand-processed  lima beans with you know, organic succotash, mixed in you know, it's not good baby food. Honestly, Gerber's exists to provide perfectly nutritious food for really young babies and they've been doing it for decades and you can trust that and if it makes your life easier, go with it. Ula Ojiaku:  Thank you! Rita McGrath: You know, I think we I think we get ourselves all tossed up in like, what does good mean? I mean, honestly, the kids don't mind you know? I mean, they'd celebrate if it was chicken finger night. Ula Ojiaku:  Let's go to the book. You know, because in your book you said you it's about how to spot inflections before they happen in business. Can you give us examples of, you know, businesses that had these inflection points occur, and they failed to recognize it and what was the impact? Rita McGrath:  Sure, let's take one that is quite sad to me, which is Intel. And Intel built its, well, Intel went through a major inflection point, in fact, the originator of the concept was Andy Grove, who was their former CEO. And he talked about his inflection points in his book, Only the Paranoid Survive, which is really a brilliant, brilliant book. And one of the reasons I wrote my book was that very little had been done since his book on that topic. And Grove built this incredible company, Intel. And they were making microprocessor chips. And they were very, very powerful, very fast chips. And so, the assumptions inside Intel's business model was, what customers were going to pay for was faster, faster, faster, more computation power, more and more powerful. But what they didn't really think about was energy consumption. And as the world went more mobile… so the Intel product is the PC, and the PC, the desktop PC remains firmly plugged into the wall. And then later, we make PC chips that maybe have slightly lower power consumption to power PCs, but it's still that notion of power, you know, and I think the inflection point that caught Intel by surprise, to some extent was, this movement towards mobile, where the vast majority of chips being made were these completely different architecture chips by  companies like ARM and you know, and companies like that, which, from their inception, recognized that low power was the way to go. Then they weren't very powerful in the sense of speed, which is what Intel was driving its business towards. But they were powerful in the sense of ubiquitous low power, long battery life, that kind of thing. And I think that's an example of the kind of assumption that can cause a company to get into trouble, when the underlying shift in the business environment says, ‘wait a minute, this thing you've been building all this time may not be what is needed by the marketplace.' Ula Ojiaku:  That's interesting. So, it brings me to the point of, the points you made about, you know, the indicators, the early warnings, and you mentioned the concept of you know lagging, current and leading indicators. And there was an emphasis in your book on, you know, leading indicators. Could you tell us a bit about that? Rita McGrath:  Sure. Well, so leading indicators are today's information about tomorrow's possibilities. And what we unfortunately rely on a lot in business is lagging indicators - so profits, performance, you know, ROI, all those things are lagging some kind of decision that you made a long time ago. So, the concept of leading indicators is to try to get business leaders to think about what would have to be true, you know, before I was able to make a certain decision, what are the leading indicators? So, an example would be back in the 90s, computer scientists all over the world realized that come the year 2000, from the turn of the millennium, that the way computer programs had been programmed, was only two digits for the year. And so, when the year went to zero-zero, computers, were going to think it was 1900 and this was going to be terrible. Because they all get out of sync, you know, and planes would drop out of the sky. You're gonna become unstable, and you'll all need to move to Montana and stuff … I don't know if you can remember this. Ula Ojiaku: Yeah, the Y2K bug… Rita McGrath: Oh my goodness…! Ula Ojiaku: It was a big sensation. Yeah… Rita McGrath: Apocalyptic – remember?! And yet, when the big moment came the year 2000. What happened? Well, nothing happened. Why did nothing happen? We looked at that early warning, and we said, whoa, if that happens, it's bad. And then so companies, prodded by their accounting firms, prodded by other security considerations invested billions in correcting that flaw. And so, that's an example of an early warning. And there are a couple of things to understand about early warning. So, the first important thing is, the measure of a good early warning is not, did it predict what happened. The measure of a good leading indicator is, did it help you prepare for what might happen? And so, I think that's a really important distinction, because we oftentimes, oh, you that didn't predict this or that. But that's not the point. The point is, did it help you think more broadly about what might happen so that you could be prepared? So, I think that's the first thing. The second thing to remember about leading indicators is they're often not quantitative in the way that we like to think about quantitative things. They're often qualitative. They often take the form of stories. And they often come from what are called unrepresentative parts of your mental ecosystem. So, you know, it's that person on the loading dock (saying to themselves), ‘this is, well, that's weird, a customer never asked for that before', or the person answering the phone, you know, in headquarters going, ‘Well, I don't understand why they need that information…' You know, it's those little anomalies or things that depart from business as usual, that are often the weak signals that you need to be paying attention to. Ula Ojiaku:  So, can you give us an example where you mean, I mean, of how we can go about choosing good leading indicators? Rita McGrath:  Well, in the book, I describe a technique that I use, which is you take a couple of uncertainties and juxtapose them on each other. And that gives you four or more you can do this for as many as you like, stories from the future, possibly a future that we could live in. And then depending on which one you want to think about, you say, ‘okay, I'm gonna write a headline as if it came from a newspaper story about that scenario. And I'm gonna work backwards and say, what has to be true for that headline to emerge.' So, take an example that's playing out right now, chronic and accelerating decline in birth rates in the United States. People are just deciding not to enlarge their families or not to start their families at all. And for very good reasons, you know, the level of social support for families is very low. Mostly women are bearing the burden. And very often women are the ones that make a large part of the decision about whether the family is going to grow or not. And so, we're facing a real baby bust. Well, if that's true, and we follow that along, well, what are some things that would be early warnings or indicators of what that world will be like? Well, you'll see a decline of working people relative to retired people, or people needing assistance, you'll see, you know, fewer kids with more resources to support them. So, the kind of baby Prince phenomena we saw in China. There are lots of things you can kind of work through. But once you say, ‘okay, I see a world with a million fewer children three years from now, than we would have expected well, okay, what now working backward? What does that tell us we need to be paying attention to today? Ula Ojiaku:  Yes, yes. That's a great example. And I wonder, though, so given all, you know, the research that has led to, and your experience as well, consulting with, you know, most of these large organizations, the case studies, you've come to witness and all that, what would you, what would be your advice to leaders of such organizations, you know, in terms of how they can better prepare themselves or equip themselves to recognize these inflection points, and lead effectively? Rita McGrath:  Well, I think the first principle is you have to be discovery driven. In other words, you have to be curious about what's going on. And if you're the kind of leader who (when) someone brings you a piece of information, and instead of treating it like a gift, you're like, oh no, you don't understand that's wrong. That's not the way the world works. If you're dismissive of information people are bringing you that's very dangerous. Because the information you need is not going to come from your lieutenants at headquarters, it's going to come from that guy on the loading dock. So, I think you want to think about establishing some kind of information flows, that go directly from where the phenomena are happening to your desk. So, as an example, a company I really admire is the German metal services company Klockner. And their CEO, Gisbert Ruehl was taking them through a digital transformation. And his big concern was not that they meant it, right? But that his lieutenants, his middle manager, cohort, would be so expert, and so experienced at the way business was, that they would just shut down these digital efforts. And he was very, very concerned about that. He said, well, I need some way of making my message heard directly to the people that are on the frontlines and I also need a way of hearing from them what's going on. So, he implemented Yammer, called non-hierarchical communication. And the deal was anybody in the company that had something he needed to know should feel comfortable sending him a note. And I'm told, I don't know this for a fact that I'm told that at headquarters, he had his instance of Yammer set up so that the lower the hierarchical level of the person, the higher it came in his newsfeed. Ula Ojiaku: Oh, wow. Rita McGrath: So, you know, I can talk to my lieutenants, anytime. Information I need is in the, you know, 24-year-old person who's just joined us with an engineering degree, who's looking at our manufacturing process for screwdrivers and saying, ‘Why do you do it that way? There must be a better way of doing this…' That's the information I really need and he set up a whole system to try to get that information to him, to himself. Ula Ojiaku:  Would you say there's a typical kind of leader with, you know, some certain characteristics that's best equipped to spot the inflection point, and you know, kind of lead the charge and get the organizations in line? Rita McGrath:  You know, I think it's more of the behavior, it's not the characteristics. So, I've seen charismatic, attractive, you know, movie star type CEOs be good at this. I've seen people you look at and you go ‘Really? He looks kind of like he slept in his clothes all night.' I've seen those people be good at it. So, you know, I think the differentiation is this, this hunger for new information, this curiosity, this relentless… ‘tell me again…' and ‘why was that and why was that?' It is this urgent need to really learn what's going on. And then and then putting yourself in the, in the context. So, one of the people I'm working with right now is a brilliant retail CEO, and everything. And one of the things he would do before hiring anybody into his senior team, is he would spend a day or two walking the stores, you know, and in his explanation to me was, ‘I want to see how they react to the stores. I want to see how they treat the people working in stores. I want to see what they notice, you know, I want to see if they notice that there's a thing out of array and I want to see how they are with me, like if they spend their whole two days in store visits, sucking up to me - that's not somebody I need, you know. And so, I think the best leaders along those lines are people who are relentlessly curious, bring people around them who are diverse, you know, you don't just want echo chambers of themselves. Ula Ojiaku:  True, true. You don't want ‘yes' men if you really want to make an impact really. Yeah, and how can I, as a person, train myself to also recognize these inflection points. Rita McGrath:  Well, it depends what the inflection point is. So, if it's a question of, you've been making nice steady progress in your career, and now you've hit some kind of ceiling and you just feel you're not growing or developing any more, then that choice is really okay, I need to… the way Whitney Johnson would put this, she's written a great book on this, “Disrupt Yourself”, right? You go up this S curve, then you need to make the decision if you're going to take on the J curve, right, which is the part below the S curve before you get into the next round of learning. So, that's a personal decision, really only you can make a decision like that. Then there are the cases where inflection points are thrust upon you. So you lose a job, your spouse has some setback, a family member has an urgent need that makes whatever you were doing before impossible. I mean, there's all kinds of outside things that can happen to you. Ula Ojiaku: Yeah… Rita McGrath: And I think the best way to try to look at those is. ‘is this a slingshot to a better future, potentially?' And you know, how many people have you talked to who got fired, and some years later say, ‘that was the best thing that ever happened to me, it shook me out of my complacency. It made me think differently.' And so, I think a lot of times, you know, we, it's very comfortable (staying) stuck in our ruts. And sometimes it takes a bit of a jolt to get us out of that. Ula Ojiaku:  That's a great one. Can I just ask you about so it's not really about your book, Seeing Around Corners, but this one is about the Entrepreneurial Mindset? Just one quick question. Because there's a quote, in your book, that book that says, you know, “the huge part of becoming an entrepreneurial leader is learning to simplify complexity, so that your co-workers can act with self-confidence.” That quote, it made me kind of be more conscious about, am I really making things simpler for my co-workers instead of, you know, rather than to enable us, you know, achieve the best that we could as a group? So why did you, make that quote and associate it with an Entrepreneurial Mindset? Rita McGrath:  Well, because if you make things complicated for people, there's maybe three responses, right? One is they'll start on whatever they start on, which is kind of random. And maybe they finish it, and maybe they don't, but it's really now you're leaving it to chance. Because if you give people more to digest than they can manage, you're going to get back some fraction of it. So that's one thing. Second thing that happens is, if it's too complex, a lot of times people will pick what they want to do, not have anything to do with the agenda that you want to set for the organization. And the third thing is there's just a laziness that comes from having things be complex. I know for myself, when I've had to do strategy statements for myself, or my business, it takes a long, long time to get it done into a few simple things. And each word has to mean something. So, as an example, some years back, I started a sister company. It's called Valize. And the strategy really is to its mission, its purpose for me, is to help organizations create innovation and transformation capability as the basis for shared prosperity. And that sounds really simple. That sounds really kind of ‘duh, that's not so grand, but I mean, the hours it took to get to that simplicity of statement. And then once you've got something like that, you can go back and you could say, okay, well, here's the thing that I'm being asked to do or think I'm thinking of, does it build capability? Yes. No. Does it build shared prosperity? Yes, no. Does it help organizations to help themselves? Yes, no. And it sorts out a lot of stuff means a lot of stuff we could do. But there are only a few things that really fit into that sweet spot of shared capability. So, having that simplification allows you to clear out a lot of the …, there are always wonderful options that you got to do things, right? And it's a question of abundance, you've usually got more great options than you could possibly exercise. So, picking the best ones is the challenge. Ula Ojiaku:  Wow, wow. I'm going to listen to this part again. You've mentioned some books already, like Andy Grove's, Only the Paranoid, I mean, Only the Paranoid survive. And you've mentioned the book, Disrupt Yourself… In addition to these books, and your wonderful suite of books, what other books would you recommend to the audience that you believe have influenced you that you'd recommend to the listeners that would help them you know, learn more about this topic? Rita McGrath: Oh, that's hard, because there's so many. Well, I love Safi Bahcall's Loonshots. I think that's a brilliant, brilliant book. And it really gets to the heart of how innovation actually happens rather than how we think it happens. I rather like Gary Hamel's and Michele Zanini's book, Humanocracy which has the basic question, you know, if you look at Instagram, or Twitter or any of these social platforms, you see these people who are just brilliant. I mean, they're creating incredibly creative stuff. And then we put them inside companies. And we insist that they do things by the rule, and we block all the creativity out of them. So, why do we do that? You know, I think that's a really great one. I'm very taken with Rebecca Henderson's, Re-imagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. Very, very brilliant. Roger Martin, When More is not Better. Just recently had a Julie Lythcott-Haims on my fireside chat program, which is and she's got a book called Your Turn, How to be an Adult”, which is, on a personal level, absolutely fascinating - really good book. I like Peter Sim's, Little Bets. You know, they're just so many I mean, I wouldn't even know where to where to start. Those are the ones that are sort of top of mind at the moment. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. scribbling away as you're talking, and yeah, these all these would be in the show notes with the links to them. So that's great. Now, how can the audience reach you? If they want to, you know follow your work. Rita McGrath: The best place to start is my website, which is really ritamcgrath.com, that's easy. I have columns that I write for. They're currently going up on substack and medium. If you just search my name and or medium, you'll find me there. I do weekly, LinkedIn post, which goes to subscribers on LinkedIn. Also, that's all sort of good places to start. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. Are you on social media? Rita McGrath:  Oh, yes. So yes. I'm on Twitter @RGMcGrath. And I'm on LinkedIn. Okay. I'm not on Facebook so much. But I have put things I post there, but I'm not really on it very much. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. All right. That's, I mean, thanks for those. Now, let's wrap up any ask of the audience first? Rita McGrath:  I think we're in a remarkable moment, right now, you know, we've had so many of our previous habits and assumptions disrupted, that I think it would be a shame to lose, to lose all that and just go back to the way things were. So, I think it's an opportunity to reflect and to really think about, what kind of future do we want to build now that so many of our assumptions and institutions have been challenged, and we learned whole new tricks, we learned whole new ways to do things. Let's not just snap back to the way it was, let's think about inventing better. Rita McGrath:  Really, I think there's going to be great opportunity coming out of this current crisis and those who are thinking ahead will benefit from it. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay, great. Well, Rita, thank you so much for your time, and it's been a pleasure again, having you on the show. Rita McGrath: Thank you very much.  

The first known diversity statement was published in 1987 by Xerox Corporation which declared its commitment to diversity and its belief that a diverse workforce was essential for business success. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, companies rushed to create DEI statements that were posted on their websites, career pages and social media accounts.Listen in to learn why studies show that your company DEI statement could actually be turning candidates off from your company. Drink of the week… Black Girl Magic Wines from the McBride SistersIf you liked what you heard today, please leave a review and subscribe to the podcast. Also, please remember to share the podcast to help it reach a larger audience.Click to BUY MY BOOK!CLICK TO DOWNLOAD CHAPTER ONE AUDIO FREEClick to BOOK ME AS A SPEAKERClick to SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTERJulie Brown: WebsiteInstagramLinkedInYoutube

How did the first Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company manage to balance her skyrocketing career and her growing family? In this refreshingly candid and thought-provoking episode from the archives, Ursula Burns, former CEO of Xerox Corporation, tells Carol why this is the wrong question for young parents to ask, and explains how and why work-life balance issues should be reframed and analyzed. She shares the lessons and perspectives that helped her stay true to herself and her parenting goals during her rise to the top and takes us on a deep dive into how parents should redefine their parenting goals and practices. Ursula begins by sharing a loving recounting of her single mother's masterful parenting, explaining how her wise counsel and great instincts guided Ursula's own parenting journey.   Follow us at @GroundControlParenting and on groundcontrolparenting.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to Nok Nok CEO Phillip Dunkelberger on digital technology that, he promises, will finally kill the online password. Phillip Dunkelberger has broad experience resulting from more than 30 years in technology. Prior to becoming CEO of Nok Nok Labs, Mr. Dunkelberger served for 8 years as co-founder and CEO of PGP Corporation, the leader in the Enterprise Data Protection market, until acquired by Symantec in 2010. He has significant experience in SaaS infrastructure and enterprise software, having served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Doll Capital Management (DCM), President and CEO of Embark, and COO of Vantive Corporation. He has also held senior management positions with Symantec, Apple Computer, and Xerox Corporation. Mr. Dunkelberger has served on several boards of directors and advisory boards. He is currently on the board of directors at Northland Control Systems and is a non-executive director at MyPinPad.  He is a founding board member of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA). Mr. Dunkelberger holds a B.A. in Political Science from Westmont College and is a member of the school's Board of Trustees. Name as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2249 Science Without Sight (Dec. 7, 2022) Show Notes As many of our listeners know, despite being born blind, co-host of Eyes On Success Peter Torpey enjoyed math and science as a youth and went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics and work as a research scientist at Xerox Corporation. This week Marie … Continue reading 2249 Science Without Sight (Dec. 7, 2022) →

In today's episode, we will be talking with our good friend, Phillip Dunkelberger. Phillip Dunkelberger has broad experience resulting from more than 30 years in technology. Prior to leading Nok Nok Labs, Mr. Dunkelberger served for 8 years as co-founder and CEO of PGP Corporation, the leader in the Enterprise Data Protection market, until acquired by Symantec in 2010. He has significant experience in SaaS infrastructure and enterprise software, having served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Doll Capital Management (DCM), President and CEO of Embark, and COO of Vantive Corporation. He has also held senior management positions with Symantec, Apple Computer, and Xerox Corporation. Mr. Dunkelberger has served on several boards of directors and advisory boards. He is currently on the board of directors at Northland Control Systems and is a non-executive director at MyPinPad. He is a founding board member of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA). Mr. Dunkelberger holds a B.A. in Political Science from Westmont College and is a member of the school's Board of Trustees. For more information visit https://www.noknok.com. At Tech & Main, we want to be YOUR technology partner. Let our 20+ years of expertise help you achieve the outcomes that are best for your business: cloud, SD-WAN, data center, security or anything else. We have engineers and project managers available to assist you. Call our office at 678-575-8515, email us at info@techandmain.com or visit us at www.techandmain.com. Thanks for listening! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/techandmain/message

“Making improvements is challenging. But we can't give up and we've got to learn how to do it better.” “Speak, engage, help, be helped. Be part of society. Be an optimist towards the fact that people can change, that people can learn.” John Pepper, P&G's former CEO, and Ursula Burns, Xerox's former CEO, sit down for a candid conversation on race, understanding and our discourse with each other. This is a conversation the two longtime friends have been having for years - alongside many of us. While John needs no introduction to many, Ursula's impressive career is worth sharing... Ursula M. Burns is the Retired Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation and VEON Limited — and among the first Black women to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Ursula is also a founding partner of Integrum Holdings, Non-Executive Chairman of Teneo Holdings LLC, and the Executive Chairman of Plum Acquisition Corp. At Xerox, Ursula served from 2009-2017, having joined as a summer intern in 1980, after which she rose through the ranks across corporate services, manufacturing and product development. Ursula also serves on several corporate boards, including Uber Technologies, Exxon Mobil, Endeavor Group Holdings, Waystar and Hear.com Ursula's also involved in leadership counsel for the Ford Foundation, MIT, the Cornell Tech Board, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mayo Clinic, among others. From 2009-2016, President Barack Obama appointed Ursula to lead the White House national program on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Ursula also led the President's Export Council from 2010 - 2016. In February 2022, Burns joined the U.S. Department of Commerce's Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Ursula is a mechanical engineering alumni of Columbia University and NYU - and she's a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the G7 Gender Equity Advisory Council. Originally recorded on February 25, 2022 - this is an important conversation we hope will make many think and feel more deeply. While each of our guests are part of some great organizations who support the sharing of our views, these are the views of our guests alone. Got ideas for future deep dive topics with past and future guests? Reach out to pgalumpod@gmail.com

MoxieMoments brings you Greg Galiette, President of Louisville Bats Baseball Club, Inc., telling us about his biggest triumph. Since Sept. 1984, Greg has served 35+ years with the Louisville Redbirds, Louisville RiverBats, and now Louisville Bats. He has held roles as diverse as now Senior Vice President, Assistant General Manager, Marketing Director, Sponsorship Sales Director, Promotions Director, Sales Manager, Group Sales Manager, Redbirds Ticket Manager, Redbirds Public Address Announcer & Director of the 1991 & 2008 AAA All-Star Games held in Louisville. During this time frame, Greg even did a stint as the Louisville Riverfrogs Hockey Club's Assistant General Manager & owner from May 1995 to May 1997. Before his career in professional sports, he was an Account Executive with the Xerox Corporation from 1983-1984. In 1983, Greg received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Louisville, with a major in Marketing, is a 1978 graduate of Eastern High School in Middletown, KY. Greg is married to his lovely high-school sweetheart Kelly, & they have two beautiful twin children, Erika & Anthony; & as of this interview, Erika is with the Cincinnati Reds, & Anthony is with HUMANA working as a Cyber Security Analyst.

With nearly 2 million students not returning to schools and educational institutions after COVID, David and Andrew explore the question "how do we create quality education systems so students are excited to come to school - and stay there?" TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.8 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz, and I'll be your host, as we continue our journey into the teachings of Dr. W Edwards Deming today. I'm continuing my discussion with David P. Lanford, who has devoted his life to applying Dr. Deming's philosophy to education. And he offers us his practical advice for implementation. Today's topic is, "Quality is not your problem, it is the answer to your problem." David, take it away.   0:00:30.4 David P. Lanford: [laughter] Thank you, Andrew. It's good to be back again.   0:00:32.6 AS: Great to be with you.   0:00:33.8 DL: So and thinking about this topic, we want to think about what is quality in education and just some of the stats that are coming out in the United States alone, something like 1.3 million students have not returned to the school systems after the pandemic. So.   0:00:56.2 AS: That's unbelievable.   0:00:58.0 DL: The public school systems.   0:01:00.4 AS: Right.   0:01:00.5 DL: And, the stat I heard in the universities is they're down 600,000 students from where they were two years ago before the pandemic. So...   0:01:09.4 AS: So we're talking about almost 2 million students not coming back?   0:01:13.9 DL: That's right. So there's the pandemic caused a lot of systemic shifts. Some of them good, some of them not so good, but it also pointed out a lot of glaring issues that were going on and... In trust in the system, so to speak. And when parents started to find out what was going on with these Zoom meetings online and what a class was like, and the quality of the education and what was going on, many of them just started to make decisions about why should I keep sending my child [laughter] to a school like that if that's what they're gonna do. I was listening to a sports channel just a couple of days ago, and there were just the two guys that were on the channel, discussing sports in the morning. Well, one father was really upset because he said it's the last week or week and a half of school, and all my child is doing is watching movies in almost every class.   0:02:20.4 DL: And granted that it's the end of the school year and they're wrapping up and they're doing things at the end of the school year. But when the kids come home and mom or dad says, "Hey, what did you do at school today?" And they say nothing, which is a very common answer. We tend to think, "Oh, it is just... Oh, they're just kids, they are just kids and just can't remember," etcetera, but that's really not the case. In a lot of cases, there is nothing going on. And so when parents figured out that, okay, I could either do homeschooling. I could send my child to private school. I could go to a charter school, there's a whole lot of the other options there that I can explore and we could actually make this happen.   0:03:15.2 DL: And is that a better experience? Is it a better quality experience? So the topic today about so many schools are not worrying about the quality of what they're doing and they want to start just trying to force parents to get kids back into schools or the same way at the universities, not making a shift in what it is they're doing and just expecting that, oh, well, these students are just gonna come back. But another shift, I think systemically since this is about Deming and education and the system, is that a lot of students during the pandemic didn't go to college and they found out there's some really high paying jobs out there now [chuckle], and you don't need a college degree. And why would I... And since college is attached to debt now, so why would I incur a huge amount of debt and end up with a job that pays less than what I could make if I don't go to college? So that...   0:04:19.5 AS: It's a world turned upside down. It seems like, and one of the questions I had too about this was that, what is the aim of the public education system? Because on the one hand the people who can abandon the public system and do homeschooling or do a charter school or a private school or whatever. Yeah. I mean, they're not gonna worry about those people that can take care of themselves, but majority of people do not have the means to do that. And so it makes me think, what is that aim and how does quality come into play here?   0:04:58.2 DL: Well, another shift that's happening, especially in the United States is that all of a sudden these parents started coming to school board meetings and showing up in droves, and starting to demanding changes. And it's really interesting that the public education system especially is not used to having customers, right. And so they... When I first started doing training in education, especially with talking about Deming principles, etcetera, etcetera, I actually got a lot of pushback, well, we don't have customers and we don't have this. And even just using that word in education kind of still drive some educators crazy. Like I even had people come up to me and say, I got into education, so I wouldn't have to have customers.   [laughter]   0:05:53.9 DL: So that whole thinking, and if you think about a systems diagram from a Deming perspective about inputs into the system, the system itself, and then what the system produces and how that affects, and then the innovation that you get on the upside and that cycle of continually going through that, so much of the education system, especially public education right now is just lagging behind and the longer they wait to get on board and really to understand Deming principles on how to actually transform a system, the longer it's gonna take them to actually sort of catch up with what's happening.   0:06:40.4 AS: And when you talk about that systems diagram, Dr. Deming outlined that in, Out of the Crisis as is one of the places, I remember that, seeing that diagram when I first started studying Deming and it was interesting, but what was very interesting about it was that there was a feedback loop through the customer and the sales and marketing that then came back into the system, and I wonder if that feedback loop has been broken in public education, and as you said, with the parents coming in to the... Give the feedback.   0:07:12.5 DL: Well, I've spent 30 years teaching school districts how to proactively go out and find out what do parents want, and especially what do students want instead of just thinking that, "Oh, I'm just gonna decide and I'm gonna tell you what you want." And you have no other options. So this is... You're just gonna have to put up with it, and that's the way it is. But when you actually go out and it's the same thing that happened with corporations when they started understanding Deming and starting out to actually ask customers what they want. "What do you want in your automobile, or what do you want in your copy machine or... " I remember an executive for Xerox Corporation said that when they met Deming, they thought they had a shelf life of about two years left, or they were gonna go out of business because the Japanese were making and selling copy machines at a profit cheaper than what Xerox could make them. So you don't have to have much math, maybe about a third grade math degree to figure out that if we keep doing what we're doing, we're not gonna be here someday, and I think that the education system is in the same place as well.   0:08:41.7 AS: And when you talk about this idea that quality is the answer, tell us more about what is that answer. How would you describe that answer?   0:08:51.7 DL: Well, we talked a lot about the other in the previous podcast about joy in learning, and when you start concentrating on the quality of what you do and how that affects people, then you get a much different feeling, or end user experience for people. You really think about what's going on with that and following that all the way through. So what are you gonna do in the school system when that child comes home at dinner and mom and dad says, "What did you do at school today?" Are they gonna have an answer for that and are they gonna be excited about it? And if they're all of a sudden really excited about it and say, "Oh, today, we got hit by lightning at science class. It was so awesome studying static electricity and this is what we did and... " Or you don't even have time to ask that question because they're just kinda bubbling over about their experiences and what they did in school that day.   0:09:56.2 AS: Right.   0:09:58.4 DL: That's a different level of quality learning experience. So you think about the purpose again. We have talked about the purpose of education is to create learning experiences for youth in its day or its future in order to add value to society. So is what's happening at school really translating into students being more productive and more capable and being able to go on and to do things at a much higher level? Well, any system that's concentrating on that level of quality, you're not... You're gonna be able to attract students because the word of mouth would just be unbelievable.   0:10:45.2 AS: Right. One of the things that I... One of the fun things about Deming is that you can read the same material and go deeper every time, and one of the things that I started to really go deeper on a while ago was just this idea that in some ways I felt... I didn't really feel or understand it completely, but it was just this obsession that if you could consistently improve quality, it's like you would solve almost every other problem. Now, he's not talking about quality by some objective standard. He's talking about quality in relation to the customer's desires and needs and demands, but if you could continue to improve quality with the customer as the focus, it would solve pretty much everything else and that, I just kind of didn't get. I got the idea when I was younger. Like, change the way you think and systems thinking is up, but this obsession we're just continually improving was something that I just didn't catch. How does that apply to education... And am I right in what I'm saying, first of all? And number two is how do you see that for education as we wrap up on this idea about talking about quality as the answer to the problem?   0:11:56.8 DL: Well, I'll never forget one of the first times I went to Argentina and I was doing a breakout session at some conference that they had there, and they had a lot of educators, both from the university level and from the public schools and staff were in the audience and everything. And so I was just talking out to them about just what you're saying, this idea about continual improvement, and I'll never forget this guy that spoke English pretty well. He said... He just stood up all of a sudden and said, "All you Americans, you're always trying to improve things. Why don't you just leave things alone?"   0:12:35.5 DL: And I was just, I just was just stunned by that. I always thought you came to a conference on improving the quality of education, but you wanna argue for doing nothing. In a system that's clearly failing your country and it, so this deep seated attitude and, and it is a hard thing, continual improvement to think about, oh, I have to continually keep thinking about this. [laughter] Kind of a weird concept when you think about it, right. That you sort of think about. So when you apply it to the education, I remember when I first became a teacher, some, one of the veteran teacher said, "Oh, you're gonna have kind of the... Pretty rough couple of years, maybe three years, the first three years till you get all your lesson plans figured out and all of your tests and everything else. And then after that, it's pretty easy."   [laughter]   0:13:34.9 AS: After that you can coast.   0:13:36.4 DL: Right. And that's a pretty common thing that went on in schools and stuff that... I remember a story, one time, of a university that the students in a sorority or a fraternity, I think it was, had been swiping all of the tests from professors at this university for a period of something like 12 to 15 years. And they finally found this one professor that after like 12 years started reusing some of the tests from 12 years ago. And they, they were so smug that they now had the answers to this guy's test. They'd never been able to... They knew he was gonna repeat at some point, but [laughter] and I think that's a really interesting example of people that are not in a continual improvement, adaptive mode.   0:14:33.0 AS: And I think that, one in, in my kind of wrap up of this to think about the answer to your problem, that quality is the answer to your problem, I think about the inspiration that continual improvement brings. To see yourself bringing more value to your customer, or to your student and developing that and improving that, and testing that, to me is joy in work. So maybe you can wrap this up by summarizing what you feel like the audience should get away from this concept of quality is not your problem, it is the answer to your problem.   0:15:12.4 DL: Well, when you concentrate on that than the quality of... If learning is the aim in a school system, and you're concentrating on how do we create the highest quality learning possible? So then you start to think about, well, how do I become a better teacher? Well, if my mode of operation is, you know, lecture kind of thing, and kids taking notes, and so what am I gonna do? Am I gonna go learn to talk faster so I can cram more stuff in quicker? And that's where neuroscience comes in and tells us no, that you're just gonna put more people to sleep. And, but you might come out of that experience feeling really good, like you actually did something, but did they actually learn something? Was there... Was the quality of their learning better just because you became more efficient at what you did? I mean, you were able to flip through your slides faster in that process... So thinking about the quality of education, you have to think about, well, what does that mean? And what am I gonna do? I wanted students to have maximum ownership in everything that they did. From the time they came in the door till the time they left, we were maximizing their ownership, because what... When you have that control, you also have that learning that goes deep within your brain. And it's not just here today and gone tomorrow.   0:16:50.0 AS: Fantastic. Well, on behalf of everybody at the Deming Institute, I want to thank you again for this discussion, and that concludes another great discussion. I want to remind everybody to go to deming.org to continue your journey. This is your host Andrew Stotz, and I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming."People are entitled to joy in work."

In 1999, a man working at the Xerox Corporation in Honolulu, didn't like the changes that were happening at his job. However, when he was told he must change to keep his job... he let his frustration show in the worse way. 90s Crime Time Official Website- https://www.90scrimetime.com/Follow 90s Crime Time on Social Media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/90scrimetime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/90scrimetimeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/90scrimetime/This podcast's music comes from Epidemic Sound- https://www.epidemicsound.com/News Sources1. Honolulu Star Bulletin-  https://www.newspapers.com/image/273372855/?terms=jason%20balatico&match=1- http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/09/news/story1.html#jump - http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/02/news/story1.html#jump5 2. Honolulu Advertiser- https://www.newspapers.com/image/266166230- https://www.newspapers.com/image/266165053-  https://www.newspapers.com/image/266161763/- https://www.newspapers.com/image/266166414- https://www.newspapers.com/image/266159621/?terms=Byran%20Uyesugi&match=1 3. NYT- https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/04/us/few-clues-to-gunman-s-rage-in-hawaii-killings.html 4. The Independent-  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/honolulu-killer-was-the-loner-from-easy-street-1123344.html?r=757275. Hawaii News Now-  https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/11/01/hawaii-looks-back-worst-mass-murder-its-history-xerox-shooting/6. KHON2- https://www.khon2.com/xerox-murders/ 7. Mirror UK-  https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/workers-who-kill-colleagues-university-11231926 8. Movato- https://www.movoto.com/guide/honolulu-hi/life-in-honolulu-19-reasons-every-day-in-honolulu-is-the-best-day-ever/ 9. Hawaii Tribune Herald- https://www.newspapers.com/image/556943867/?terms=Byran%20UYESUGI&match=1

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk to the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at UPS, Kevin Warren. Kevin takes us through his journey in business, starting from his time as a salesperson in Xerox to where he is now at UPS. Kevin talks about constant improvement and ensuring that you are learning new things to keep up with dynamic markets. He applies this mantra even at UPS, where he took on the enormous challenge of elevating the established company marketing and brand strategy to adjust for modern times and new markets. Additional Resources:UPS Blue Horizons Minority Incentive Program | https://bit.ly/3PhYnvEGeorgetown Scholarship | give.georgetown.edu/LucyWarrenScholarshipMaking the Most of Every Lead: Key Questions to Help Sales and Marketing Alignment | https://forc.mx/3uPZSHFMore about Force Management | https://forc.mx/3waMDDSHIGHLIGHTSHow a sales job led to an Executive VP and CMO positionConstantly assess and update your personal skill set The importance of a mentor-mentee relationship The journey from Xerox to UPSShifting industries, learning the language and gaining credibility Partnerships and relations are everythingProtecting a well-established brand in a dynamic industryGUEST BIOKevin Warren is the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at UPS. In this role he's responsible for U.S. and International Marketing, The UPS Store, Digital Channels, Revenue Enablement, Business Planning, Forecasting & Pricing, Digital Marketing, Customer Experience, Brand Relevancy, and the company's Ware2Go subsidiary. His highly developed perspective on data-centric business and non-traditional engagement channels is driving change at UPS and setting new standards in digitally enabled customer experience. As the e-commerce business era takes shape, Kevin is shaping those critical aspects of UPS strategy that will deliver the business of the future.Most recently, Kevin served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Xerox Corporation, where he was responsible for marketing, worldwide channel strategy, salesforce effectiveness, and global client engagement for the company's diverse portfolio of hardware, software, and services.Previously, Kevin served as president of Global Growth Opportunities, responsible for accelerating revenue growth outside the United States. In addition, he had strategic oversight for two Xerox operating units, Global Imaging Systems and Xerox Canada, as well as leading the company's 3-D printing strategy.He also led the integration activity surrounding Xerox's $1.5 billion purchase of Global Imaging Systems. In 2007, he was named chairman, president and chief executive officer of Xerox Canada and in 2010, was named president of U.S. Client Operations. Kevin joined Xerox in 1984 as a sales trainee in Washington, D.C.Kevin is a board member for Fiserv, Georgetown University, and the UPS Foundation. He is also a current member of the Executive Leadership Council and a founding member of the Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA). Previously, Kevin served on the board of Illinois Tool Works and the national board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.A native of Washington, D.C., Kevin received his Bachelor of Science in finance from Georgetown University and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, having completed the Advanced Management Program.QUOTESKevin: "Because the industry is changing, that means your skillset's got to be changing, you've got to be changing faster. So the 2022 version of Kevin has got to be better than the 2021. It's the same sort of thing as far as looking at your skills and competencies and what you're bringing to the table." Kevin: "It was almost really a race of me gaining internal credibility and learning the industry in the company at a depth level deep enough so then I can leverage my commercial knowledge and see things from fresh eyes to get the benefit of that different experience." Kevin: "The marketing function led-effort worked well with our communications function to come up with our purpose statement, which is 'Moving our world forward by delivering what matters.'"Kevin: "If you're in an industry that's dynamic, that's moving more to digital and you've got new players and wannabe disruptors, it's good; you gotta have that trust. But you also have to, an exam question on momentum is 'Is this a company that's on its way up, or are its best days behind it? Is this a company that's agile and innovative? Cool, digital? Is this a company that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion and thinks the environment is important?"Check out John McMahon's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Michael Schoettle has forty years of experience working with people managing their careers. As a Partner of Heidrick & Struggles, a leading global executive search firm, he placed executives in client organizations. He then created and co-managed a course and career coaching program for Executive MBAs at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. In addition, he volunteered for five years at the non-profit Chrysalis,  teaching  “Job Prep” to felons recently out of prison. Earlier in his career, he worked in sales and marketing for five different business units of Xerox Corporation.His experiences taught him how people get jobs and the importance of relating well to the people and culture of the organization and concentrating on the moment and not something in the future.Book  & WebsiteLinkedinAbout Sarah K. RamseyJoin Sarah's  FREE Facebook Group “Finding Love & Success After A Toxic Relationship” Before trying Sarah K Ramsey's programs her clients were super embarrassed because on the outside these women appeared to have it all.  However, these women had a secret...they still felt mentally chained down by their toxic partner or parent.Most women think talk therapy is the only way to heal!  Unfortunately, these women waste years trying to figure out how codependency works or rehashing their past in an office week after week trying to pick apart their childhoods.  But, Sarah's clients aren't “most people.”  They know overachievers aren't just looking to talk about their problem, they are looking for an action plan to SOLVE their problems!Check out this FREE Presentation where Sarah reveals how she does it! Check out what others have said about SarahContact Sarah

Darrin Todd Thomas and his former partner Gerry McCants founded Thomas-McCants Media, Inc., in 1991 to promote minority businesses through Black Pages USA, a print and Internet reference guide, and Black Expo, a series of forums and exhibits that build awareness of minority-owned business products and service among consumers in five southeastern markets. As president of Thomas Media Group, LLC, Thomas oversees five offices in the Southeast and continues to focus on publishing Black Pages USA directories and hosting Black Expos in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree in Marketing and Management at the University of South Carolina, and is a former marketing representative for Xerox Corporation in Greenville, South Carolina.

In this HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Michael MacDonald about learning to listen in a world of talkers. See the video here: https://youtu.be/AX5Gd4PveVg. Michael MacDonald retired from Medifast in 2020 and has served as non-Executive Chairman of the Board since January 2018. Mr. MacDonald previously served as Executive Chairman of the Board from November 2011 until December 2017. He was promoted to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in February 2012. Prior to this role with the company Mr. MacDonald was Executive Vice President of OfficeMax, from August to October 2011, overseeing the Contract Division, a $3.6 billion division of the OfficeMax Company. Mr. MacDonald spent 33 years in sales, marketing, and general management at Xerox Corporation prior to joining OfficeMax. Among his most significant roles was leading the turnaround in North America from the years 2000-2004 as President of the North American Solutions Group, a $6.5 billion division of Xerox. In addition, Mr. MacDonald was President of Global Accounts and Marketing from 2004 to 2007, where he led the re-branding of the Xerox Corporation. Mr. MacDonald also has international experience in marketing, sales, and operations with both Xerox and OfficeMax. He resides in New Jersey and Florida with his wife of 44 years, Jean MacDonald. Together they have three children and five grandkids. Please leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts! Please consider supporting the HCI Podcast on Patreon. Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Ranked #5 Workplace Podcast Ranked #6 Performance Management Podcast Ranked #7 HR Podcast Ranked #12 Talent Management Podcast Ranked in the Top 20 Personal Development and Self-Improvement Podcasts  Ranked in the Top 30 Leadership Podcasts Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 592296) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®).

If the past couple of years have proven anything, it's that change is inevitable, especially in a field as dynamic as treasury. So, how do you build a career that will last through both good and tough times? Larry Tolep, VP of the North American Regional Treasury Center, and VP and Treasurer for Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. joins this episode to give us the lowdown. He joined Volkswagen Group of America in 2005 as the Assistant Treasurer for the company and many of its subsidiaries. A year later, he became the Treasurer. Prior to working at Volkswagen, Larry had multiple treasury and financial management roles at both Kmart Corporation and Xerox Corporation. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, the company has approximately 8,000 employees in the United States and sells its vehicles through a 1,000-strong dealer network. On the podcast we discussed… How Larry discovered finance and transitioned to treasury What influenced Larry's choice to move from retail to automobiles Why CTP is one of Larry's passions The importance of knowing the right people How to help others achieve their career goals Why team leaders should embrace an honest approach Why you should approach interviews as a two-way street How Larry handled challenges that popped up in the course of his career The importance of being an approachable team leader What Larry sees in the future of treasury You can connect with Larry on https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-tolep-47636b4/ (LinkedIn).

lovethylawyer.comA transcript of this podcast is available at lovethylawyer.com. In collaboration with the Alameda County Bar Association, Love Thy Lawyer presents an interview with:  Hon. Stuart Hing. Judge Stuart Hing was appointed to the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, in July 2008 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Before his appointment, he was a Deputy District Attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office for 23 years and a Senior Marketing Representative with Xerox Corporation where he attained #1 in sales for the U.S. western region. He and his wife, Rhoda Hing, are active in the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association including its voter project, Women Lawyers of Alameda County where he was the only male board member, Charles Houston Bar Association, Centro Legal de la Raza, BALIF, Alameda County Bar Association, St. Vincent de Paul, and their own 501(c)(3) outreach program. He also grew up in a housing project and played lead guitar in a band that opened for Earth, Wind & Fire. Alameda County Bar AssociationThe Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA) is a professional membership association for lawyers and other members of the legal profession. The ACBA provides access to ongoing legal education; and promotes diversity and civil rights in the Alameda County legal community. Our mission is to promote excellence in the legal profession and to facilitate equal access to justice. Louis Goodman www.louisgoodman.com louisgoodman2010@gmail.com 510.582.9090  Special thanks to ACBA staff and members: Cailin Dahlin, Saeed Randle, Hadassah Hayashi, Vincent Tong and Anne Beles. (https://www.acbanet.org/) Musical theme by Joel Katz, Seaside Recording, Maui Technical support: Bryan Matheson, Skyline Studios, Oakland Audiograms & Transcripts: Paul Robert genievirtualassistant@gmail.com  We'd love to hear from you.  Send us an email at louisgoodman2010@gmail.com. Please subscribe and listen. Then tell us who you want to hear and what areas of interest you'd like us to cover.  Please rate us and review us on Apple Podcasts.   

If you're facing a transition, how do you know what to do next? In this episode, Erica and I have a conversation with Nancy Lopez, a Professional Leadership and Career Transition Coach and REALIFE Process Certified Facilitator™. Nancy shares how she coaches people facing transition through four key areas: Void: What's missing? Vacancy: What will I do next? Vision: How do I get there? Velocity: Where do I start so I can see an impact right away? She also shares how she uses the framework of the REALIFE Process® to give her clients language to name what matters most. Whether you are going through a transition or coaching others in seasons of change, this episode will help you see the power of getting off the treadmill long enough to see what's next. To connect with Nancy, visit her website to learn more. About Nancy Lopez:Nancy is a former C-Level executive who worked for Xerox Corporation for over 25 years. She has a diverse background in Human Resources and is a Certified Professional Leadership and Life Coach through the Professional Christian Coaching Institute and a REALIFE Process Certified Facilitator™. She has a reputation as a trusted partner and confidant who is approachable and credible. Nancy helps leaders catch their breath so they can get clear on what matters most to confidently navigate the challenge they face. REALIFE Resources:If you're ready to discover what matters to you, download our FREE Intro to REALIFE Needs and Values Assessment. You'll gain clarity on what you uniquely need to create a life and career you love. This is one sample of the content we provide for exclusive use by our REALIFE Process Facilitators™. REALIFE Process Facilitator Network™The REALIFE Process Facilitator Network is open for applications! If you're looking to go deeper personally in your REALIFE and have the desire to serve others and multiply your impact, check out how to be certified as a REALIFE Process Facilitator™! Support the Podcast–Leave us a ReviewAre you growing as a result of listening to the podcast? The greatest compliment you can pay us is to share it with a friend and leave a review on iTunes. Click here and scroll down to Customer Reviews to leave a word on what you've found to be helpful as you're listening in! Connect further with the REALIFE Process®:Join the FREE REALIFE Process® Community - continue podcast topics discussions with Facebook LIVEs and guest interviews Connect with your host, Teresa McCloy on:Facebook- The REALIFE Process® with Teresa McCloy Instagram- teresa.mccloy LinkedIn- teresamccloy About Teresa McCloy:Teresa McCloy is the creator of the REALIFE Process®, an ACC Executive Coach, and an IEA Accredited Enneagram Professional who helps entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders discover and live out their best REALIFE! She has worked with clients from all over the world to help them bring clarity to their REALIFE and joy to their REALWORK!

Brian is responsible for managing all aspects of the firm's strategic development and operations. He is a member of the MJP Wealth Advisors Investment Committee, which develops the firm's investment strategies and portfolios.Brian has an abiding passion for helping clients address all the relevant areas of personal finance — including investments, retirement planning, insurance, taxes and education planning — to create a truly comprehensive financial plan. He takes the time to learn about his clients' lives and families and is physically present when they need him.Brian is a General Securities Principal and holds Series 7, 24, 51, 63 and 65 securities registrations, as well as a life and health insurance license. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of Connecticut and holds a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation accredited through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Brian also holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) Designation demonstrating that he has a fundamental understanding of the principles of fiduciary duty.Brian has over 20 years of experience in the finance and accounting industries. Prior to joining MJP, he worked for Xerox Corporation, a venture capital firm and a “Big 4” public accounting firm. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a major in accounting and a minor in economics from Bucknell University.Brian has established himself as a trusted wealth advisor through his expert, integrated approach in meeting the needs of investors. For the past four years (2018-2021), Brian has been recognized on the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list, which highlights the top wealth advisors across the country. He is currently ranked #33 in Connecticut for high net worth advisors. In 2016-2019, Brian was named “Best Financial Advisor” in the Best of Hartford Readers' Poll. Brian was also named “Best Financial Advisor” in the Wilton Magazine Readers' Choice awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020.Brian has been a guest contributor and provided commentary to numerous media outlets, such as Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, TheStreet, Reuters, and Cheddar News. In addition, Brian has been a member of several advisor panels focused on maximizing efficiency to build business growth.Outside of MJP Wealth Advisors, Brian serves on the Board of Directors for Family & Children's Agency, a non-profit organization that provides services to children, adults, and seniors. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, running half-marathons, and spending time with his wife, Michele, and their two children.Learn More: https://www.mjpwealthadvisors.com/Influential Influencers with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-vendig-cpa-aif-president-of-mjp-wealth-advisors

Brian is responsible for managing all aspects of the firm's strategic development and operations. He is a member of the MJP Wealth Advisors Investment Committee, which develops the firm's investment strategies and portfolios.Brian has an abiding passion for helping clients address all the relevant areas of personal finance — including investments, retirement planning, insurance, taxes and education planning — to create a truly comprehensive financial plan. He takes the time to learn about his clients' lives and families and is physically present when they need him.Brian is a General Securities Principal and holds Series 7, 24, 51, 63 and 65 securities registrations, as well as a life and health insurance license. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of Connecticut and holds a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation accredited through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Brian also holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) Designation demonstrating that he has a fundamental understanding of the principles of fiduciary duty.Brian has over 20 years of experience in the finance and accounting industries. Prior to joining MJP, he worked for Xerox Corporation, a venture capital firm and a “Big 4” public accounting firm. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a major in accounting and a minor in economics from Bucknell University.Brian has established himself as a trusted wealth advisor through his expert, integrated approach in meeting the needs of investors. For the past four years (2018-2021), Brian has been recognized on the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list, which highlights the top wealth advisors across the country. He is currently ranked #33 in Connecticut for high net worth advisors. In 2016-2019, Brian was named “Best Financial Advisor” in the Best of Hartford Readers' Poll. Brian was also named “Best Financial Advisor” in the Wilton Magazine Readers' Choice awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020.Brian has been a guest contributor and provided commentary to numerous media outlets, such as Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, TheStreet, Reuters, and Cheddar News. In addition, Brian has been a member of several advisor panels focused on maximizing efficiency to build business growth.Outside of MJP Wealth Advisors, Brian serves on the Board of Directors for Family & Children's Agency, a non-profit organization that provides services to children, adults, and seniors. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, running half-marathons, and spending time with his wife, Michele, and their two children.Learn More: https://www.mjpwealthadvisors.com/Influential Influencers with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-vendig-cpa-aif-president-of-mjp-wealth-advisors

In this episode, Heather sits down with Dr. Yetta Toliver, Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Xerox. Dr. Toliver is a native of Baton Rouge, LA. Initially, she first obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, then her master's degree in Business Administration from Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, TX, and finally, a doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Walden University in Minneapolis, MN. She is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB). Dr. Toliver joined Xerox Corporation in 1987 and has held multiple management and Director positions.   She is now the Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB). In her role, she leads the DIB strategy and roadmap to help Xerox drive change and build a more diverse community within the company and the communities they serve. Dr. Toliver considers herself a servant leader at heart, which is why she established the Journey of Leadership Institute, a leadership program that empowers individuals to advance in leading themselves, others, and organizations.

The pandemic altered not only the way in which we work, but also the relationships we have with coworkers. Now more than ever, both leaders and their teams crave deeper connection and more authentic relationships. But how can organizations accomplish this lofty goal — particularly knowing that it will require a reset of how leaders and teams interact? Leaders and team members must embrace a new mindset. They need to acknowledge that the leader-team relationship is more than a one-way service-oriented arrangement. Both sides need support equally if the relationship and what they do together is to be successful. Creating a new paradigm of partnership is possible through the development of a workplace covenant — consisting of vital behavioral and attitudinal promises that both partners agree to hold themselves to as a matter of personal and professional integrity. This process enables essential dialogue and engagement, which in turn helps create and continuously improve empathy, respect, trust, alignment, and — ultimately — partnership.   Since 1998, Dr. Silver has been the principal of Silver Consulting, Inc., an independent consulting practice, where he has worked with such diverse clients as: Alcoa, Alfred State College, Alstom, American Red Cross, Bausch & Lomb, Bosch Security Systems, Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU), Cannon Industries, Canterbury Woods Senior Living, Cape Cod Healthcare, Charter One Bank, Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, Genesee Regional Bank, Government of Jamaica, Harris RF Communications, Jewish Senior Life Nursing Home, Klein Steel, Manulife Financial, Ontario County Government, Pactiv Manufacturing, Rochester Catholic Diocese, Toshiba Business Solutions, Ultralife Batteries, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), University of Rochester Medical Center, and Xerox Corporation, to name a few. His work has included consulting to senior management on such topics as cultural change, employee engagement, and customer loyalty; working with leadership teams to increase effectiveness and performance; providing clients such services as executive coaching, strategic planning, and organizational diagnosis; and teaching employees professional skills and strategies for workplace success.   Topics During this interview Seth and I discuss the following topics: Why meaningful partnership is important in the first placeHow leaders can have the difficult conversation of figuring out how to establish a two-way communication streamHow leaders can use the ERTAP model to level up their relationshipsThe impacts of  poor alignment on the organization as a wholeHow organizations who value meaningful partnerships are able to weather crises better For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://movingforwardleadership.com/197

Guest Bio: Rita McGrath is a best-selling author,  sought-after advisor and speaker, and  longtime professor at Columbia Business School. Rita is one of the world's top experts on strategy and innovation and is consistently ranked among the top 10 management thinkers in the world, including the #1 award for strategy by Thinkers50.  McGrath's recent book on strategic inflection points is Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019). Rita is the author of four other books, including the best-selling The End of Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013). Since the onset of the pandemic, Rita has created workshops, strategy sessions and keynotes, applying her tools and frameworks to strategy under high levels of uncertainty to specific issues organizations are facing.  As Rui Barbas, the Chief Strategy Officer for Nestle USA said, “You were incredibly insightful and, despite the virtual setting, there was lots of engagement and comments from leaders sharing eye-opening observations and building on your examples throughout. You delivered the inspiration and illustration desired and it was exactly the right focus and challenge for this team. Appreciate your time throughout the process to align on content and delivery. The future-focus theme was the perfect close to our leadership summit.” Rita's work is focused on creating unique insights.  She has also founded Valize a companion company, dedicated to turning those insights into actionable capability.  You can find out more about Valize at www.valize.com. McGrath received her Ph.D. from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and has degrees with honors from Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. She is active on all the main social media platforms, such as Twitter @rgmcgrath.  For more information, visit RitaMcGrath.com.   Social Media/ Websites: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ Twitter: @rgmcgrath Instagram: @ritamcgrathofficial Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rgmcgrath Websites: https://ritamcgrath.com and valize.com Rita's Newsletter/ Articles Substack: https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Medium: https://rgmcgrath.medium.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/thought-sparks-6787762418471755776/ Books Seeing Around Corners by Rita McGrath https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeing-Around-Corners-Inflection-Business/dp/0358022339 The Entrepreneurial Mindset by Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian MacMillian https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entrepreneurial-Mindset-Continuously-Opportunity-Uncertainty/dp/0875848346 The End of Competitive Advantage by Rita Gunther McGrath https://www.amazon.co.uk/End-Competitive-Advantage-Strategy-Business/dp/1422172813 Disrupt Yourself by Whitney Johnson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disrupt-Yourself-New-Introduction-Relentless/dp/1633698785 Humanocracy by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanocracy-Creating-Organizations-Amazing-People/dp/1633696022 Reimagining Capitalism by Rebecca Henderson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reimagining-Capitalism-Business-Save-World/dp/0241379660 When More is Not Better by Roger L. Martin https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-More-Not-Better-Overcoming/dp/1647820065/ Being An Adult by Lucy Tobin https://www.amazon.co.uk/Being-Adult-ultimate-getting-together-ebook/dp/B07GQ1KRTC/ Only The Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove https://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Paranoid-Survive-Andrew-Grove/dp/1861975139  Ula Ojiaku: My guest today is Dr. Rita McGrath. She's a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker and advisor and consistently ranked among the top 10 management thinkers in the world, including the #1 award for strategy by Thinkers50. In this episode, Rita talked about the concept of inflection points from her book ‘Seeing Around Corners' and how as leaders, we can train ourselves to spot these inflection points and act on the information we receive. She also talked about making complex things simple for the people we work with. I learnt a lot speaking with Rita and I'm sure you will find this conversation insightful as well. Thank you again for watching! It's an honor to have you on the show, Rita McGrath. Many, many thanks for joining us. Rita McGrath: Well, thank you Ula. It's a pleasure to be here. Ula Ojiaku: Great. Now, can you tell us about yourself? How did the Rita, Dr. Rita McGrath we know today evolve? Rita McGrath:  Well, it would have to start with my parents, of course. I mean, all great stories start with your parents. And so, my parents were both scientists. My mother was a Microbiologist, and my father was an Organic Chemist. And so, I grew up in a house where, you know, (if) a question couldn't be answered, you went and got the reference book and figured it out. And both, (had) incredible respect for science and for diligence. And, you know, the house was always full of books and lots of emphasis on learning. I wouldn't say we were, financially all that well-off – we weren't poor by any means. But it was, you know, there wasn't like a lot of money to spare, but there was always money for books, and there was always money for, you know, educational experiences and that kind of thing. So, that's the household I grew up in. So, my parents, when I was born, were both on the staff at the Yale Medical School. So, they were both researchers there. And then my dad in the late 60s, got an offer to go join this upstart, fledgling company that was at the cutting edge of all kinds of things in his field and that was Xerox Corporation. And he was very conflicted about leaving academia, but went off eventually to Xerox. So, we moved the family to Rochester, New York. So that's where I did most of my growing up. And my mother at that time, decided to stay home, more or less. And then she started a scientific translation business. So, she moved into an entrepreneurial career more than her scientific career. And then when it came time to go to college, I went to Barnard College in the City of New York. I'd always thought New York was an amazing place and was accepted there. So, went off to New York, did my Bachelor's and my Master's in Political Science and Public Policy. I was very interested in public policy and matters of social contract and those kinds of things. And then my first job was actually with the City of New York, I ran purchasing systems for government agencies. It doesn't sound very glamorous. But today, we would call it digital transformation. It was the very first wave of companies taking their operations in a digital form. And it was very exciting and I learned a lot. Then I got to the end of… the thing about public service is when you start, there's (this) unlimited sort of growth that can happen for a few years, and then it really just levels off. And you're never going to go beyond that. So, I kind of reached that headroom and decided to do something different. Ula Ojiaku:  Was it at that point that you decided to go for your PhD? Rita McGrath:  And that was one of the options I was considering. And my husband basically said, ‘look, if you get into a top five school, it's worth doing and if you don't, it's probably not.' But you have to think in that time, MBA programs were just exploding, and there'd been a lot of pressure on the administrators of MBA programs, to put PhD accredited faculty in front of their students. The big knock against the MBA at the time was, oh, they're just trade schools. You know, we've got some guy who ran an entire company comes in and talks and that's not really academically suitable. And so, there was a huge pressure for schools to find PhD accredited people-  that still exists (but) the market pressures has changed a lot. But when I was doing my PhD, it was pretty sure I would get a job if I managed to complete the degree. So that that gave me that extra input to do that. Ula Ojiaku:  Did you already have like children when you started the PhD? Rita McGrath: Yes Ula Ojiaku:  And how did you cope? Rita McGrath:  Our son was, how old was he? He would have been nine months old when I started my PhD program. Yeah. Ula Ojiaku: Wow, 9 months old. Rita McGrath: Oh, yeah, it was a real challenge. And I guess everybody manages those kinds of challenges in their own way. But yeah, it was a struggle because, you know, typical day would be you know, get up, get the baby to daycare or wherever and then do school or whatever I had to do that day. And then it was sort of pick them up. By the time I had a second child it was pick them up, get them dinner, get them bedtime, get them story, and then I'll be back at my desk at nine o'clock at night, trying to do what I needed to do. So, it was a new turn. It was tough. It was difficult years. I mean, joyful years though but it was just hard to fit everything in. Ula Ojiaku:  I can imagine. I mean, although I'm thinking of starting my PhD (studies), my children aren't that small but I do remember the time (they were), you know, I was still working full time. So, the challenge is you'd go to work and then come back to work. I mean, to another type of work. And then when they go to bed, the work continues. Yeah, it's interesting. Rita McGrath: Quite exhausting. Ula Ojiaku: You can say that. I'm so glad they're not in diapers anymore. So, it's baby steps, we are getting there. So, can we go on to your book, “Seeing Around Corners, How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen”. I'd like to start from an unusual place in the book. I started from the dedication page, and you know, reading everything, and I noticed that, you referred to a conversation, one of the last conversations you had with your mother. Could you tell us about that? Rita McGrath:  Oh sure. She was well, at the time, she was quite ill, she had sarcoma in her lung, and she was quite ill. It's a horrible disease, and we haven't got any real treatments for it. So, the recommendation is you do chemo and that really knocks you out. So, she was quite ill and sort of migrating between the chair and the couch and the chair and the couch. And in one of those conversations, she just said ‘I want you to know I'm proud of you. And I've had a good life and I'm prepared for whatever comes next.' And I thought that was lovely of her to say and I thought in that moment to pass it on to all these other women. And you know you bring up motherhood and being a working woman and all those complicated emotions that come with that because there seems to be guilt around every corner you know, if you're not at home full time, oh you're a terrible mom. And if you're not at work full time, you're a terrible worker. I just I think so many of those things are just designed to twist us up into little balls. And when I look at my own mother's experience - she was a working woman… I grew up but I think I'm third or fourth generation working woman so it never even occurred to me that wouldn't be possible. But I think what often is missing is this validation, you know that for women who are trying to you know make their way professionally and be great, responsible parents and do all these other things that often there's a sense of a lack of self-worth you know, ‘oh, I'm not doing enough.' The more I hear that… Ula Ojiaku:  I feel like that some… most days I feel like that… Rita McGrath: Believe me, you are doing enough Ula Ojiaku:  Sometimes I ask my children, am I a good mom? Rita McGrath:  I think part of it too is we, and when I say we, I mean baby boomer mothers and maybe a little younger. We got ourselves all tangled up in this if it's not like organic, hand-processed  lima beans with you know, organic succotash, mixed in you know, it's not good baby food. Honestly, Gerber's exists to provide perfectly nutritious food for really young babies and they've been doing it for decades and you can trust that and if it makes your life easier, go with it. Ula Ojiaku:  Thank you! Rita McGrath: You know, I think we I think we get ourselves all tossed up in like, what does good mean? I mean, honestly, the kids don't mind you know? I mean, they'd celebrate if it was chicken finger night. Ula Ojiaku:  Let's go to the book. You know, because in your book you said you it's about how to spot inflections before they happen in business. Can you give us examples of, you know, businesses that had these inflection points occur, and they failed to recognize it and what was the impact? Rita McGrath:  Sure, let's take one that is quite sad to me, which is Intel. And Intel built its, well, Intel went through a major inflection point, in fact, the originator of the concept was Andy Grove, who was their former CEO. And he talked about his inflection points in his book, Only the Paranoid Survive, which is really a brilliant, brilliant book. And one of the reasons I wrote my book was that very little had been done since his book on that topic. And Grove built this incredible company, Intel. And they were making microprocessor chips. And they were very, very powerful, very fast chips. And so, the assumptions inside Intel's business model was, what customers were going to pay for was faster, faster, faster, more computation power, more and more powerful. But what they didn't really think about was energy consumption. And as the world went more mobile… so the Intel product is the PC, and the PC, the desktop PC remains firmly plugged into the wall. And then later, we make PC chips that maybe have slightly lower power consumption to power PCs, but it's still that notion of power, you know, and I think the inflection point that caught Intel by surprise, to some extent was, this movement towards mobile, where the vast majority of chips being made were these completely different architecture chips by  companies like ARM and you know, and companies like that, which, from their inception, recognized that low power was the way to go. Then they weren't very powerful in the sense of speed, which is what Intel was driving its business towards. But they were powerful in the sense of ubiquitous low power, long battery life, that kind of thing. And I think that's an example of the kind of assumption that can cause a company to get into trouble, when the underlying shift in the business environment says, ‘wait a minute, this thing you've been building all this time may not be what is needed by the marketplace.' Ula Ojiaku:  That's interesting. So, it brings me to the point of, the points you made about, you know, the indicators, the early warnings, and you mentioned the concept of you know lagging, current and leading indicators. And there was an emphasis in your book on, you know, leading indicators. Could you tell us a bit about that? Rita McGrath:  Sure. Well, so leading indicators are today's information about tomorrow's possibilities. And what we unfortunately rely on a lot in business is lagging indicators - so profits, performance, you know, ROI, all those things are lagging some kind of decision that you made a long time ago. So, the concept of leading indicators is to try to get business leaders to think about what would have to be true, you know, before I was able to make a certain decision, what are the leading indicators? So, an example would be back in the 90s, computer scientists all over the world realized that come the year 2000, from the turn of the millennium, that the way computer programs had been programmed, was only two digits for the year. And so, when the year went to zero-zero, computers, were going to think it was 1900 and this was going to be terrible. Because they all get out of sync, you know, and planes would drop out of the sky. You're gonna become unstable, and you'll all need to move to Montana and stuff … I don't know if you can remember this. Ula Ojiaku: Yeah, the Y2K bug… Rita McGrath: Oh my goodness…! Ula Ojiaku: It was a big sensation. Yeah… Rita McGrath: Apocalyptic – remember?! And yet, when the big moment came the year 2000. What happened? Well, nothing happened. Why did nothing happen? We looked at that early warning, and we said, whoa, if that happens, it's bad. And then so companies, prodded by their accounting firms, prodded by other security considerations invested billions in correcting that flaw. And so, that's an example of an early warning. And there are a couple of things to understand about early warning. So, the first important thing is, the measure of a good early warning is not, did it predict what happened. The measure of a good leading indicator is, did it help you prepare for what might happen? And so, I think that's a really important distinction, because we oftentimes, oh, you that didn't predict this or that. But that's not the point. The point is, did it help you think more broadly about what might happen so that you could be prepared? So, I think that's the first thing. The second thing to remember about leading indicators is they're often not quantitative in the way that we like to think about quantitative things. They're often qualitative. They often take the form of stories. And they often come from what are called unrepresentative parts of your mental ecosystem. So, you know, it's that person on the loading dock (saying to themselves), ‘this is, well, that's weird, a customer never asked for that before', or the person answering the phone, you know, in headquarters going, ‘Well, I don't understand why they need that information…' You know, it's those little anomalies or things that depart from business as usual, that are often the weak signals that you need to be paying attention to. Ula Ojiaku:  So, can you give us an example where you mean, I mean, of how we can go about choosing good leading indicators? Rita McGrath:  Well, in the book, I describe a technique that I use, which is you take a couple of uncertainties and juxtapose them on each other. And that gives you four or more you can do this for as many as you like, stories from the future, possibly a future that we could live in. And then depending on which one you want to think about, you say, ‘okay, I'm gonna write a headline as if it came from a newspaper story about that scenario. And I'm gonna work backwards and say, what has to be true for that headline to emerge.' So, take an example that's playing out right now, chronic and accelerating decline in birth rates in the United States. People are just deciding not to enlarge their families or not to start their families at all. And for very good reasons, you know, the level of social support for families is very low. Mostly women are bearing the burden. And very often women are the ones that make a large part of the decision about whether the family is going to grow or not. And so, we're facing a real baby bust. Well, if that's true, and we follow that along, well, what are some things that would be early warnings or indicators of what that world will be like? Well, you'll see a decline of working people relative to retired people, or people needing assistance, you'll see, you know, fewer kids with more resources to support them. So, the kind of baby Prince phenomena we saw in China. There are lots of things you can kind of work through. But once you say, ‘okay, I see a world with a million fewer children three years from now, than we would have expected well, okay, what now working backward? What does that tell us we need to be paying attention to today? Ula Ojiaku:  Yes, yes. That's a great example. And I wonder, though, so given all, you know, the research that has led to, and your experience as well, consulting with, you know, most of these large organizations, the case studies, you've come to witness and all that, what would you, what would be your advice to leaders of such organizations, you know, in terms of how they can better prepare themselves or equip themselves to recognize these inflection points, and lead effectively? Rita McGrath:  Well, I think the first principle is you have to be discovery driven. In other words, you have to be curious about what's going on. And if you're the kind of leader who (when) someone brings you a piece of information, and instead of treating it like a gift, you're like, oh no, you don't understand that's wrong. That's not the way the world works. If you're dismissive of information people are bringing you that's very dangerous. Because the information you need is not going to come from your lieutenants at headquarters, it's going to come from that guy on the loading dock. So, I think you want to think about establishing some kind of information flows, that go directly from where the phenomena are happening to your desk. So, as an example, a company I really admire is the German metal services company Klockner. And their CEO, Gisbert Ruehl was taking them through a digital transformation. And his big concern was not that they meant it, right? But that his lieutenants, his middle manager, cohort, would be so expert, and so experienced at the way business was, that they would just shut down these digital efforts. And he was very, very concerned about that. He said, well, I need some way of making my message heard directly to the people that are on the frontlines and I also need a way of hearing from them what's going on. So, he implemented Yammer, called non-hierarchical communication. And the deal was anybody in the company that had something he needed to know should feel comfortable sending him a note. And I'm told, I don't know this for a fact that I'm told that at headquarters, he had his instance of Yammer set up so that the lower the hierarchical level of the person, the higher it came in his newsfeed. Ula Ojiaku: Oh, wow. Rita McGrath: So, you know, I can talk to my lieutenants, anytime. Information I need is in the, you know, 24-year-old person who's just joined us with an engineering degree, who's looking at our manufacturing process for screwdrivers and saying, ‘Why do you do it that way? There must be a better way of doing this…' That's the information I really need and he set up a whole system to try to get that information to him, to himself. Ula Ojiaku:  Would you say there's a typical kind of leader with, you know, some certain characteristics that's best equipped to spot the inflection point, and you know, kind of lead the charge and get the organizations in line? Rita McGrath:  You know, I think it's more of the behavior, it's not the characteristics. So, I've seen charismatic, attractive, you know, movie star type CEOs be good at this. I've seen people you look at and you go ‘Really? He looks kind of like he slept in his clothes all night.' I've seen those people be good at it. So, you know, I think the differentiation is this, this hunger for new information, this curiosity, this relentless… ‘tell me again…' and ‘why was that and why was that?' It is this urgent need to really learn what's going on. And then and then putting yourself in the, in the context. So, one of the people I'm working with right now is a brilliant retail CEO, and everything. And one of the things he would do before hiring anybody into his senior team, is he would spend a day or two walking the stores, you know, and in his explanation to me was, ‘I want to see how they react to the stores. I want to see how they treat the people working in stores. I want to see what they notice, you know, I want to see if they notice that there's a thing out of array and I want to see how they are with me, like if they spend their whole two days in store visits, sucking up to me - that's not somebody I need, you know. And so, I think the best leaders along those lines are people who are relentlessly curious, bring people around them who are diverse, you know, you don't just want echo chambers of themselves. Ula Ojiaku:  True, true. You don't want ‘yes' men if you really want to make an impact really. Yeah, and how can I, as a person, train myself to also recognize these inflection points. Rita McGrath:  Well, it depends what the inflection point is. So, if it's a question of, you've been making nice steady progress in your career, and now you've hit some kind of ceiling and you just feel you're not growing or developing any more, then that choice is really okay, I need to… the way Whitney Johnson would put this, she's written a great book on this, “Disrupt Yourself”, right? You go up this S curve, then you need to make the decision if you're going to take on the J curve, right, which is the part below the S curve before you get into the next round of learning. So, that's a personal decision, really only you can make a decision like that. Then there are the cases where inflection points are thrust upon you. So you lose a job, your spouse has some setback, a family member has an urgent need that makes whatever you were doing before impossible. I mean, there's all kinds of outside things that can happen to you. Ula Ojiaku: Yeah… Rita McGrath: And I think the best way to try to look at those is. ‘is this a slingshot to a better future, potentially?' And you know, how many people have you talked to who got fired, and some years later say, ‘that was the best thing that ever happened to me, it shook me out of my complacency. It made me think differently.' And so, I think a lot of times, you know, we, it's very comfortable (staying) stuck in our ruts. And sometimes it takes a bit of a jolt to get us out of that. Ula Ojiaku:  That's a great one. Can I just ask you about so it's not really about your book, Seeing Around Corners, but this one is about the Entrepreneurial Mindset? Just one quick question. Because there's a quote, in your book, that book that says, you know, “the huge part of becoming an entrepreneurial leader is learning to simplify complexity, so that your co-workers can act with self-confidence.” That quote, it made me kind of be more conscious about, am I really making things simpler for my co-workers instead of, you know, rather than to enable us, you know, achieve the best that we could as a group? So why did you, make that quote and associate it with an Entrepreneurial Mindset? Rita McGrath:  Well, because if you make things complicated for people, there's maybe three responses, right? One is they'll start on whatever they start on, which is kind of random. And maybe they finish it, and maybe they don't, but it's really now you're leaving it to chance. Because if you give people more to digest than they can manage, you're going to get back some fraction of it. So that's one thing. Second thing that happens is, if it's too complex, a lot of times people will pick what they want to do, not have anything to do with the agenda that you want to set for the organization. And the third thing is there's just a laziness that comes from having things be complex. I know for myself, when I've had to do strategy statements for myself, or my business, it takes a long, long time to get it done into a few simple things. And each word has to mean something. So, as an example, some years back, I started a sister company. It's called Valize. And the strategy really is to its mission, its purpose for me, is to help organizations create innovation and transformation capability as the basis for shared prosperity. And that sounds really simple. That sounds really kind of ‘duh, that's not so grand, but I mean, the hours it took to get to that simplicity of statement. And then once you've got something like that, you can go back and you could say, okay, well, here's the thing that I'm being asked to do or think I'm thinking of, does it build capability? Yes. No. Does it build shared prosperity? Yes, no. Does it help organizations to help themselves? Yes, no. And it sorts out a lot of stuff means a lot of stuff we could do. But there are only a few things that really fit into that sweet spot of shared capability. So, having that simplification allows you to clear out a lot of the …, there are always wonderful options that you got to do things, right? And it's a question of abundance, you've usually got more great options than you could possibly exercise. So, picking the best ones is the challenge. Ula Ojiaku:  Wow, wow. I'm going to listen to this part again. You've mentioned some books already, like Andy Grove's, Only the Paranoid, I mean, Only the Paranoid survive. And you've mentioned the book, Disrupt Yourself… In addition to these books, and your wonderful suite of books, what other books would you recommend to the audience that you believe have influenced you that you'd recommend to the listeners that would help them you know, learn more about this topic? Rita McGrath: Oh, that's hard, because there's so many. Well, I love Safi Bahcall's Loonshots. I think that's a brilliant, brilliant book. And it really gets to the heart of how innovation actually happens rather than how we think it happens. I rather like Gary Hamel's and Michele Zanini's book, Humanocracy which has the basic question, you know, if you look at Instagram, or Twitter or any of these social platforms, you see these people who are just brilliant. I mean, they're creating incredibly creative stuff. And then we put them inside companies. And we insist that they do things by the rule, and we block all the creativity out of them. So, why do we do that? You know, I think that's a really great one. I'm very taken with Rebecca Henderson's, Re-imagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. Very, very brilliant. Roger Martin, When More is not Better. Just recently had a Julie Lythcott-Haims on my fireside chat program, which is and she's got a book called Your Turn, How to be an Adult”, which is, on a personal level, absolutely fascinating - really good book. I like Peter Sim's, Little Bets. You know, they're just so many I mean, I wouldn't even know where to where to start. Those are the ones that are sort of top of mind at the moment. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. scribbling away as you're talking, and yeah, these all these would be in the show notes with the links to them. So that's great. Now, how can the audience reach you? If they want to, you know follow your work. Rita McGrath: The best place to start is my website, which is really ritamcgrath.com, that's easy. I have columns that I write for. They're currently going up on substack and medium. If you just search my name and or medium, you'll find me there. I do weekly, LinkedIn post, which goes to subscribers on LinkedIn. Also, that's all sort of good places to start. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. Are you on social media? Rita McGrath:  Oh, yes. So yes. I'm on Twitter @RGMcGrath. And I'm on LinkedIn. Okay. I'm not on Facebook so much. But I have put things I post there, but I'm not really on it very much. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay. All right. That's, I mean, thanks for those. Now, let's wrap up any ask of the audience first? Rita McGrath:  I think we're in a remarkable moment, right now, you know, we've had so many of our previous habits and assumptions disrupted, that I think it would be a shame to lose, to lose all that and just go back to the way things were. So, I think it's an opportunity to reflect and to really think about, what kind of future do we want to build now that so many of our assumptions and institutions have been challenged, and we learned whole new tricks, we learned whole new ways to do things. Let's not just snap back to the way it was, let's think about inventing better. Rita McGrath:  Really, I think there's going to be great opportunity coming out of this current crisis and those who are thinking ahead will benefit from it. Ula Ojiaku:  Okay, great. Well, Rita, thank you so much for your time, and it's been a pleasure again, having you on the show. Rita McGrath: Thank you very much.

Michael MacDonald retired from Medifast in 2020 and has served as non-Executive Chairman of the Board since January 2018. Mr. MacDonald previously served as Executive Chairman of the Board and was promoted to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in February 2012. Michael MacDonald spent 33 years in sales, marketing, and general management at Xerox Corporation prior to joining OfficeMax. Among his most significant roles was leading the turnaround in North America from the years 2000-2004 as President of the North American Solutions Group, a $6.5 billion division of Xerox. https://frombenchtoboardroom.com/Dr. LaRoque is the founder and president of Mansfield Hall, an innovative residential college support program for diverse learners. Before returning for his doctoral work, Dr. LaRoque worked in an assisted-living care facility for adults with intellectual disabilities and taught special education in several public schools. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and University of New Hampshire and as an Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at Potsdam. https://perrylaroque.com/

Sim Sitkin is a Founding Partner of Delta Leadership Inc. Delta is a leadership development organization that offers educational programs and materials, including those based on the Six Domains of Leadership™ Model.   Sim also serves as Michael W. Krzyzewski University Professor of Leadership, Professor of Management and Public Policy, and founding Faculty Director of the Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics (COLE) at the Fuqua School of Business, and Director of the Behavioral Science and Policy Center at Duke University. Sim's research focuses on the effects of leadership and organizational control on trust, risk-taking, experimentation, learning, and innovation. His most recent books are Organizational Control (2010), The Six Domains of Leadership (2016), and Routledge Companion to Trust (2017). He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and the Society for Organizational Behavior. He is Co-Founder and Co-President of the Behavioral Science and Policy Association.   He has extensive consulting, coaching, and executive education experience with organizations around the world, including American Airlines, Cisco Systems, Compaq Computer, Corning, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutschebank, Duke Medical Center, Ericsson, Glaxo, General Electric, IBM, Lenovo, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Red Hat Software, Siemens, State Farm Insurance, U.S. Dept of Justice, Xerox Corporation.   Connect with us! WEBSITES: Speaking: https://www.cbbowman.com/ Coaching Association: https://www.acec-association.org/ Workplace Equity & Equality: https://www.wee-consulting.org/ Institute/ Certification: https://www.meeco-institute.org/ SOCIAL MEDIA: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbbowman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/execcoaches Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CB.BowmanMBA/ YouTube - https://bit.ly/3iQP5Z3 Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/3skrfIi

This week on the Sales Hacker podcast, we speak with Mike Feldman, President of the Americas Operations and Global Document Services for Xerox Corporation.Effectively communicating your professional successes can feel self-indulgent at times but can help your superiors recognize your personal growth & build standards for the rest of the company. Thinking of helping the collective can stave off the feeling of over-confidence and position yourself for promotion.Subscribe to the Sales Hacker PodcastWe're on iTunesAnd on StitcherShow Agenda and TimestampsShow Introduction [00:09]Mike's Baseball Card [4:11]Advice to the Younger Workforce [11:29]How to Advocate for Yourself [17:01]The Importance of Skills, Grit, & Will [20:00]Can you Train the Desire to be Great? [23:23]Mike's Biggest Influencers [25:06]Sam's Corner [27:44]

In this episode, Mike Hannigan shares his background and experience in building a value's aligned business model and how that carried over to his investing strategy. Mike was born in Pensacola, Florida. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy from U.C. San Diego and his M.A. in Criminology from U.C. Berkeley. He began work for the Xerox Corporation and built his career in management for business products companies for the next decade until starting GSB.

#MyInvestingStory showcases the Investing Story of Successful Long-term Investors, who are everyday people. Ann and Ionnie McNeill, are both Lifetime Members and Volunteers of BetterInvesting, a non-profit focused on Investment Education for Individuals and Investment Clubs. Each week we interview a Special Guest, shining light on their investing story, lessons learned, words of wisdom and resources to aid you in starting your investing journey. La-Vaughn Graham Starks earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from Bethune Cookman University (major Business Administration, minor in Mathematics) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Clark Atlanta University (major in Finance with minor in Decision Science). La-Vaughn retired from Xerox Corporation, after over 23 years of service, she held many positions, some of the last positions were “Project Manager”, and Product Technical Specialist. La-Vaughn currently lives in 2 states, Florida and Georgia, traveling to & from Atlanta, to manage her AIR BNB home and service her accounting clients. In Florida, she is a REALTOR and an ACCOUNTANT. La-Vaughn learned early in her life the importance of Generational wealth. During the 23 years of employment with Xerox Corporation, it was important to La-Vaughn to pay herself. She did this by investing 20% of her salary, participating in the Corporate match program, ensuring ALL bonuses were invested, not allocated to NEW purchases that could wait or were not necessary. La-Vaughn is humble to say, this early practice has positioned her to leave an inheritance for her children and her children's children. -- If you're looking for a BetterInvesting Chapter near you, check out our community at https://bit.ly/BILocalChapters or visit us at BetterInvesting South Florida Chapter Take the info from the podcast to the next level by becoming a BetterInvesting Member and joining us at our next Educational Event Grab a copy of “The Baby Billionaire's Guide to Investing: Building Wealth at an Early Age” If you have questions about the podcast or any of the programs we discuss here, email us at abetterinvesting@gmail.com Want your child or a youth you know to participate in the Summer Stock Market game? Email your interest at abetterinvesting@gmail.com The hashtag for the podcast is #MyInvestingStory Make sure to follow us on Social Media: Facebook: @BetterInvestingSFL Instagram: @BetterInvestingSFL Linkedin: @BetterInvestingSouthFlorida Twitter: @BI_SEFL

Vernon Knarr, Executive Managing Director, Savills, USA Bio Vernon is a trusted expert in the Washington metropolitan area, especially within the regional sales and development markets. Since joining Savills in 1994, Vernon has excelled in advising clients on a wide range of investment sales, development land sales, joint ventures and ground leases. He has also represented both owners and users of headquarters space throughout the acquisition and disposition processes, leading strategic planning and managing the transaction from marketing through closing. Vernon is highly sought-after for his market insight, financial knowledge and creative approach to deals. Prior to joining Savills, Vernon was the co-owner of his own firm, Vector Realty Group, from 1985 to 1994. As co-owner, Vernon held the highest responsibilities of business development and advisory oversight. Before that, Vernon was with Coldwell Banker for six years. Vernon's client-first mentality, well-honed negotiation skills and extensive experience in the industry have made him the go-to broker for some of the region's most complex transactions. Show Notes 42 years since he began as a Commercial Real Estate Broker (5:40)Land business not what it used to be (5:55)Owner/User market has been his focus, except in COVID issues (6:10)Savills is primarily a tenant representation firm, but Vernon and his team varies from that theme (7:15)Has 37,000 professionals internationallyCurrent listing- Former BET building in NE DC for Viacom (8:05)Freddie Mac buildings (8:30) Origins & Education Grew up in Reading, PA (8:50)Musician since 7 yrs. old (9:15)Letter from US Army- Drafted at 18 yrs. old (1966) (9:40)Upbringing rough with abusive stepfather (9:55)Learned guitar at 7 yrs. old, eventually played in bands and continues to this day (10:20)Enlisted in the US Air Force (11:45)Assigned to Andrews AFB entire serviceTook college courses at Univ. of MD University College while in service (12:15)Finished his degree at University of Maryland (12:45)Commuted there as he was married at the timeAlmost went to work for Sears (13:30) Career Xerox Recruited by Xerox Corporation and was hired in 1972 (13:45)Stayed there 7 yrs. Went to training in Ft. LauderdaleSold copiers (14:30)Friend of James Brown and worked there with him (14:30)Met Hal Boles there who left in 1977 to Coldwell Banker (15:00) Coldwell Banker Hal convinced him to join Coldwell Banker because he showed up in fancy cars and he joined in 1979 (15:50)Reference to Ray Ritchey, Cab Grayson and

Buddy Hobart is the founder and President at Solutions 21; he's an entrepreneur, speaker, and author of  Gen Y Now, Experience Matters, and just launched his latest book, “The Leadership Decade”. You can learn from Buddy: How our biases can prevent great leadership Why our new era of leadership may need new thinking Context and “Why” are a key leadership tool Why business owners need to shift their mindset from expense to investment. Follow us and explore our social media tribe from our Website: https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Find out more about Buddy: Solutions 21 Website Buddy on LinkedIn Book: The Leadership Decade Full Transcript Below   Introduction   Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband or friend. Others might call me boss, coach or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker.   Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as the leadership hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you.   Buddy Hobart is the founder and president of Solutions 21. He's our special guest today. He's a consultant and entrepreneur, author of five books, speaker and radio host. But before we get a chance to meet with Buddy, it's The Leadership Hacker News.   The Leadership Hacker News   Steve Rush: Two fifths of executives are citing that soft skills are going to play a key factor in ongoing post pandemic related uncertainty. In some recent research completed by Robert Half a global recruitment and advisory firm, 29% of employees are redesigning their job roles to manage the impacts of COVID-19. They've also seen a significant shift in senior figures who are looking to fast track digital transformation for the rest of this year. While a third are still reprioritizing their e-commerce strategies. In a statement, Robert Half UK's Managing Director, Matt Western said, “the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many of us do business both now and in the future, remote working has enabled talent pools around the world to open up, which for some companies means that existing employees with key skills can be redeployed in the short term to deliver business critical roles. While for others changing of customer demands means up-skill and a reskill has suddenly appeared particularly for digital transformation and e-commerce”. When we consider the term soft skills in the past, this has been linked to things like communication. In my experience, as a consultant and a leadership development coach, there is no such thing as soft skills, hard skills are the things that required that a very challenging through leading and managing, particularly in disruptive times. And if we consider that in some recent research completed by McKinsey's, they suggest that 14% of jobs over the next five years will have either disappeared or be completely redesigned in order to meet the digital environment that we're likely to be working in for the foreseeable future. So how far forward are you thinking as a leader and how much thought are you giving in the roles that you need not just today, but within the next five years, and will that need a redesign? That's been The Leadership Hacker News. If you have any insights, information you'd like us to share, please get in touch.   Start of Podcast   Steve Rush: Buddy Hobart is our special guest on today's show. He's a founder and president at Solutions 21. He's an entrepreneur, speaker and author of his bestselling book Gen Y Now, and Experience Matters. And his latest book, The Leadership Decade has just made Inc 5000. Buddy it is super to on the show. Buddy Hobart: I'm excited about it. Thanks Steve. Steve Rush: So perhaps for the folks that are listening, who haven't had an opportunity to bump into your work yet, tell us a little bit about the backstory as to how you've arrived at doing what you're doing? Buddy Hobart: Well, we started 26 years ago; my background is in sales, so I started right out of University, was Xerox Corporation and started into sales and became a general manager of a business. And then I began to realize that as much as I enjoyed the sales process, I also enjoyed the organizational development and the people development side of things. So, on my 35th birthday, I quit my job, actually after probably the best year I ever had. I quit my job and started Solutions 21 and 26 years later, we're still standing. Steve Rush: That was quite a stark thing to do. Haven't been successful in the world of sales. What was that kind of defining moment? Buddy Hobart: I just thought that the people development side, when I was the sales leader, I saw all these resources going to the sales department. And then when I became the general manager, now I managed everybody. Sales, service, administrators, anybody, and within all sincerity, probably within a week. I was embarrassed with myself about how I had advocated for all of these resources to always be going to sales when there was a hundred other teammates that weren't getting nearly the same kind of attention, the same kind of resources, the same kind of bonuses. And so, we restructured some things and started to develop the business. And while we did grow sales, we tripled the bottom line by simply having people collaborate and communicate and having a more empowered workforce throughout the whole organization. And I realized I really liked that, that was a passion. Steve Rush: So, you took that passion and created Solutions 21. What is the key focus of the work you do with all clients now? Buddy Hobart: Well, it's evolved over the last 26 years, but really for the most part right now we are doing, we still do a tremendous amount of strategic planning. So, we work with mostly small to medium sized firms. Although we've worked with very large organizations around the world and we do strategic planning, helping them to decide what's the game plan, where's the bus headed? How are we going to get there? And so, we do a lot of strategic planning and then we do a tremendous amount of leadership development, both in the C-Suite in next leaders as well. So, who's that next generation of folks? Who are those succession candidates? Who are those people that are going to keep this thing going? And then also supervisory skills. So, you know, the folks out on the shop floor, the folks making things happen, how are they developing their leadership skill sets? Steve Rush: And I guess that's changed enormously over the last 26 years from where you started out to how things are today, right? Buddy Hobart: Unbelievable, I think that's the focus of this next book is that, you know, the first books we wrote about generational leadership and how it was important for folks of my generation, I don't mean to be ageist at all in these conversations, but I'm a baby boomer. And so, folks from our generation who were the dominant generation for so long, the first books were about us understanding the next generations. But this book really is about 21st century leadership. And why it's critical that we leave 20th century kind of leadership techniques and tactics and ideas behind because frankly we have an entirely new workforce Steve Rush: And that's always going to be evolving too. Isn't it? Buddy Hobart: I think it is. I mean, you know, the first books we wrote, we talked about how it was unprecedented, that there were four generations of breadwinners in the workforce. And if you stop to think about that, in the history of the world, there had never been four generations of breadwinners in the workforce. I mean, it just never happened. And as you and I are talking here today, there are now five generations of breadwinners in the workforce. So, I mean, until this mid-century, we're going to be in this kind of leap to leadership for this new group of followers. Steve Rush: So, what was it that interest you and intrigued you about how different generations behave and how we need to kind of maybe approach them with subtle nuances and different maybe lenses? What were the things that kind of gave you that energy to get into the research and get into the genre? Buddy Hobart: Well, it probably came from a friend of mine, so the first two books I co-authored with a gentleman named Herb Sendek and Herb is a major college basketball coach here in the United States and coach of the year, in the Atlantic Coast Conference, in the PAC-12 in the Mid-American conference, he's really quieted an established coach. And after the season, one year we were just chatting and he asked me, okay, well, you know what I do, you know, I used to play basketball, you know what I do, but I don't really know what you do. So, tell me about the consulting business. So, I told him about what we do and who we do it for. Clients around the world, and we were chatting and he said, well, you know, you really work across all industries and geographies. He said, but is there anything that you're seeing out there that is kind of universal across all businesses?   Now, Steve, remember this is before I did any research or wrote the book or anything. And I said, yeah, I, you know, businesses are having a hard time attracting and retaining young talent. Like they just can't get people to stay. And he said, why do you think that is? And I got up on my baby boomer soap box and I said, all of the prejudice things, all of the myths, I repeated everything. They're disloyal, they're job jumpers. There, you know, they're soft. They don't want to work hard. Like, I was as prejudice to baby boomers I could be. And Steve, he looked at me and he said, well, wait a minute. Like, what ages are we talking about? And again, I hadn't researched anything. And I said, you know, let's call them 25 something. And he said, Buddy I disagree. And I said, how can you disagree? You asked me the question. Like, how can you disagree? He said, Buddy, that's who I've been recruiting my whole career. Steve Rush: Right. Buddy Hobart: And man, it just hit me. And then he looked at me and he said something that I heard years later, actually from a four-star general. And he said, you know, Buddy, by definition leaders have followers. And if you can't adapt your leadership to the followership, you're just not going to be a leader for long. And so, it kind of hit me that I was off and to be completely transparent with you and your listening audience here, that my next thing was okay, open another bottle. And so that the book was born on the second bottle of wine Steve. Steve Rush: And a lot of great writers need that inspiration. And whether it be wine or good conversation, right? Buddy Hobart: The first bottle was a little bit more debate. The second bottle was a little more problem solving. Steve Rush: Unleashing creativity, some would call it even. Buddy Hobart: No doubt. Steve Rush: So, as you were kind of going through that whole exploration, when you were writing Gen Y Now, did you bump into a lot of your own prejudices then also turned into learnings for others? Buddy Hobart: Oh, my Steve. I mean, almost unbelievably so. So, to be again, completely transparent. Herb that evening and through subsequent conversations really did not convert to me. So, as we were writing the book, unbeknownst to him, it was starting to develop into a bit more of a point counterpoint. Where, you know, he would say some positive and strong leadership points and really advocate for these next generations. And then I was taking a bit of a counterpoint approach where I would almost debate him in writing a little bit. And I got the about the fourth or fifth chapter. And anybody that's written knows that once you get that deep into it, you're fairly committed, but I got to the fourth or fifth chapter and had a little bit of a aha moment. I had this kind of road to Damascus conversion as it relates to leadership. And I tore up those first five or six chapters and started all over again. Steve Rush: Yeah, awesome.   Buddy Hobart: What hit me, Steve was one of the biggest things that converted me, where these generations. These newest generations in the workforce, they don't quite look at it the way we did. So, we being a baby boomer, we try to kind of bifurcate our lives. In fact, we created this term. We try to have like a work life and a family life and a social life. And we created this work life balance phrase. And I tease audiences like, how well is that working for you? It just doesn't. We made a term up because we were so out of balance and these newest generations in my research in the first book, it hit me. They don't look at it that way. They don't try to pretend there's two or three of them. They know there's only one of them and time is life. And they don't try to separate that. They realize when they go to work, they're living, when they come home from work, they're living. The boss they choose to work for is a choice that the projects they work on, those are choices. And we baby boomers and then by extension Gen X, we didn't get that. We try to separate that and that's just not true. There is only one of us and when I saw the wisdom in that thinking, I literally tore up six chapters and start it over. Steve Rush: Yeah, it's really interesting, isn't it? And you and I have spoken about this before, because we share this similar passion around how the generations more often have different perspectives on the world, and in essence, many conversations I've had with people that says, aren't you just Pidgeon holing people into brackets and giving them labels? And whilst yes, we're definitely generalizing. There is a fundamental shift in thinking that comes with the experiences, the belief systems and the revelations that each of those different generations have had. Right?   Buddy Hobart: No doubt about it. And you know, there's 78 million baby boomers in America. You can't put 78 million people in a bucket. You know, there are more millennials in China than there is population of the United States. You can't put 350 million Chinese millennials into one bucket, that's not fair. But to your point, there are certain things that define generations. You know, I'm fascinated at the moment. My mother-in-law's is moved in with us and she's 93. So, she's a member of that greatest generation. And she's a product of the great depression in World War II. And to ignore how that affected her as a young teenager, I think would be folly. Now are all traditionalist the same? No, by no means, but are folks who had those same similar life experiences, did they learn similar things? Absolutely. And I think it's ridiculous that I would try to apply my experience to everybody's experience. Steve Rush: Right and I guess, whatever generation you're in, we always have a perception that it's moving faster, quicker than it ever has before. And a perfect example of that is 500, 600 BC Heraclitus famous Greek Philosopher said the only one thing that is constant in life is change. And here we are two and a half thousand years later, and we still have that lens. What do you think causes that Buddy? Buddy Hobert: Well, a number of things. So, in this latest book, I didn't quite finish my thought when I was talking before about what got me interested in this and what really got me interested in this was my own prejudice and realizing the hurdles that I personally had to overcome to understand this. So, the first books were written to help other folks understand who this next generation of the workforce will be. Well, this latest book, The Leadership Decade really is not about millennials or any particular generation because frankly, that ship has sailed, right? I mean the oldest millennial this year is turning 40. So, that ship has sailed. We're not talking about these kids anymore. We're talking about generations and so when I started to write this book, I wanted to answer that exact question you just asked, which is why do we continue to think this way? And so I wrote an entire chapter on kind of the science around this and the biases we bring to it. And the attribution errors that we bring to it. And one of the things in the book I talk about is the fundamental attribution error, which is where we fundamentally attribute to us, to ours, what is good and right? And we fundamentally attribute to the other, since they do it differently than us, we attribute how they do it to be wrong. Where instead of different equals different, we have this mental model of different equals wrong. And so, I think one of the reasons why that quote has been able to survive the way it's been able to survive is that we fight change. We want to attribute the way we do it to being the correct way to do it, versus embracing any amount of difference or change or innovation. Steve Rush: And there's no doubt that we are in an era of incredible change and fast paced challenges that are coming through thick and thin, whatever you are and whatever you do. But what is also sure is what worked in the past from a leadership perspective is not going to be fit for the future. Right? Buddy Hobert: Absolutely and I think that if there is a silver lining to COVID-19 and that certainly remains to be seen, but if there is, I think one of those silver lining, historically is going to be that it forced us into this new Dawn. And you hear a lot of conversation around this inflection point. And even prior to the global pandemic, we had researched the industrial revolutions and came to the conclusion that 2020 was going to be an inflection point and a launch into this next industrial revolution. And if there's a silver lining to COVID-19, and like I said, that remains to be seen. The one silver lining is going to be that it left no doubt that we are in a new century. That 20th century kind of tug of wars on what leadership looked like and what work looks like. Those tug of wars are over, in the 21st century is clearly one. And this inflection point has forced many of us to make very quick, very decisive decisions to be able to change quickly and adapt quickly, versus taking years to figure this out. Steve Rush: Yeah, and for those of us that are in leadership and leadership development and have a responsibility, what an exciting place it is to be, to find new ways of working, to find whatever the new leadership playbook is. Buddy Hobert: There is no doubt. Normally, Steve, when these things happen, they're a little bit more evolutionary, right? Where I kind of visualize this as like a daunting. Where, you know, the sun starts to peak up and gets lighter and lighter and lighter, and it takes some time. So, this was going to happen anyway. The statistics, the numbers don't lie, and so 2021, 2022, 2023, people are going to kind of be able to ease their way into this, where we went from 4.7 million Americans telecommuting in December to 75 million telecommuting in March. Like there was no daunting, this was a spotlight, this was a light switch that was thrown. And it forced us to understand we are in an absolutely new era if that is going to require new leadership skills. Steve Rush: Yeah, so you call this the sweet spot in time, don't you? Buddy Hobert: I do, I think that small to medium sized businesses, as fortune 500, by the way, but small to medium sized businesses can be more like a speedboat. Like they don't need a lot of ocean to turn. They can make quick decisions, they can adapt, they can adjust. And I think there's a sweet spot in time where talent acquisition and make no mistake. The team with the best talent usually wins and small to medium sized business, have an opportunity to attract and retain talent that in decades past was kind of set aside for fortune 500 or fortune 50. And there is this sweet spot in time where the new generation of workers want to attach their career wagon to a strong leadership works. They want to work for people that are strong leaders. And at a midsize firm, you can walk down the hall and bump into the CEO. You're not really bumping into the CEO of a fortune 50, if you're a recent university graduate, you know, working on some of your first assignments. So, there is this wonderful opportunity right now for mid-market firms. Steve Rush: Yeah, I agree. And within the book, The leadership Decade, you've got some great metaphorical stories in there and some lessons that we can pull on, I thought would be just really neat to kick around a few with our listeners. Buddy Hobert: I would love too. Steve Rush: So, in Gen Y now, you called out the platform is burning; and in this book, you call out another chapter, which is the platform is still burning. Tell us a little bit about that? Buddy Hobert: Well, you know, the first books, Steve, I, you know, everything is a bit of a life lesson, right? So, the first book, while maybe it wasn't a mistake, I feel looking back in the rear-view mirror now, the mistake that I made was trying to kind of quote, unquote, sell the audience that this is what was about to happen and share with them some demographic numbers and share with them some, some data and some facts. And I thought facts would win the day and that leaders would understand this need to adapt, and boy was I wrong. It was not a fact-based situation. Once I started to do this brain research, it's emotional based. And so, when I was pointing out, the platform was burning, what I realized, because we wrote this first book in 2008, and I am quite proud of the fact that going back all of those years, we were advocating for these newest generations because nobody was. They were all negative and negative books towards this generation. So, we were kind of pioneers in the advocacy for developing next generation leaders. And that kind of has helped us a bit, is those pioneers. And what I thought was laying out the data and letting folks know, for example, in the United States that, you know, a baby boomer turns 65, every eight and a half seconds, that every day 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65. That this generation who was the largest generation in the history of the world up to that point was slowly marching to retirement. I thought pointing that out was going to be important and that folks would get it, but they really didn't. And the platform was burning because there was this kind of silver tsunami where we as baby boomers were all marching to retirement without having had a plan, a succession plan in place. And so, I was quoting John Kotter and his change management philosophies, where he said, if the platform is burning and you have no choice except to change or die, that you will change. And so, I thought people understanding those demographics certainties would look to change, but they didn't. They just kind of ignored it and believe that this too shall pass. And so, in the first books, I wanted to point that out. And in this book, what disappointed me in my research was that in many, many ways, especially small to medium sized businesses, they didn't get the demographic shift. And so, while they had all of this time to begin preparing strong succession plans and strong next generations of leaders and strong bench strength, they didn't. And so, the platform is still burning, except now it's burned where it's really close to now destroying many once strong, small to medium sized companies. Steve Rush: And there's so much for each of the generations to learn from this kind of philosophy and thinking too, we've now got Gen Z coming into the workforce as they join. They're never going to have the ability to learn from baby boomers and vice versa. If we don't really grab the opportunity now. Buddy Hobert: There is no doubts know, like I said, a bit of a mistake I made in the first book was I really kind of had that as a one-way street. I was really trying to get the more experienced generations in the workforce to understand the newest generations coming in. And it was really a one-way street. And now this next book that I have, The Leadership Decade is really about this. It's a two-way street. I think Steve you've touched on something really critical here is it is equally important for me as a senior leader or a senior manager or baby boomer. It's equally important for me to understand these newest generations of workers and the newest generation of followers as it is for these newest generation of followers to understand me. Steve Rush: Absolutely. Buddy Hobert: In the first books, I didn't get that Steve. I really had it as a one-way street, but there is no doubt that this next decade is all about the organizations who were able to collaborate across generations and understand this is a two-way street and all generations need to be embraced and deployed in the workforce to be productive. Steve Rush: And very soon as well, you know, we're now seeing people live a lot longer, work a lot longer. There's less pressure on retiring at 60 or 65 or even 70 these days. And before you know it, we'll have generation alpha appearing around the corner. Buddy Hobert: No doubt about it. And in fact, I'm going to go out on a limb, Steve and say like Generation Z. We know kind of when it started, but you really don't know the end of a generation until there's a Seminole event to define the next generation. And I believe COVID-19 is going to be that Seminole event. So, I'm going to say that we won't know this for a few years, but demographers are going to come out and say, this latest generation. The newest generation probably is going to be from 20 form the year 2000 to 2016. And the reason why I say 16 is because now, four-year olds are affected by COVID-19. They're affected by the global pandemic. They have to be home-schooled; they're going to remember this in ways that we can't understand at the moment. So, I'm going to say, Gen Z is going to stop at 2016 and this latest generation is going to start. Steve Rush: Interesting.   Buddy Hobert: Think about that. If you're a 50-year-old right now, you will be hiring this sixth generation in 14 years before you retire, you'll be 64. You will be leaving these young folks that are in preschool now. Like it's weird to think that way, but you're going to be hiring kids who were in preschool now who are going to be completely different world views. Steve Rush: Very true, very true. It's that lens that's really important. Isn't it? It's that being thoughtful and aware that creates that future leadership in others? Buddy Hobert: I think so. I think that what Herb said is that a leader's job is to adapt to their followership. And I don't want the listeners here to think at all that, that I think leadership is something that is, I don't know, pliable or malleable, or that there aren't these bedrock principles. There certainly are, you know, honesty, integrity. There are certain bedrock principles, but the way that certain things are communicated and certain things are interpreted change from generation to generation. And one example that we've seen with the current pandemic is working remotely. Is that baby boomers grew up with this concept of being present meant you were a hard worker. So, coming in early, staying late, putting in the time, meant you were a hard worker. Being seen was thought as being productive, and now we have learned that that's not true and frankly never was. And people came to work and they might've stayed 12 hours and didn't do anything, that didn't make them a hard worker. Steve Rush: Very true, really fascinating stuff. In the book Buddy, you talk about the commander's intent. Tell us what that means? Buddy Hobert: Five years ago, I had the almost unbelievable good fortune and was humbled by being invited to this place called the US Army War College, and the US Army War College takes American and global military leaders. And you need to be a Lieutenant, Colonel or above, and they put them in these cohorts and they ended up getting a master's degree in strategic leadership. And the last week of the program, they take civilians and they've plugged them into these cohorts. And we go to class with these military leaders, and I was able to see kind of how the best of the best work really, really hard at continuing their leadership development. And I met several military leaders. I'm happy and proud and humble to say, some of them have chosen to now come work for Solutions 21. And they taught me this concept of commander's intent, where it's way different than what I had heard in the business space, where we talk about vision and mission. And if I understand the vision, you know, we can move forward. Understanding the strategy and all that, all that's true. But this idea of commander's intent is to understand from the top. So, the CEO from the commander, all the way down to the shop floor, all the way down to the new hire. If we understand what the commander's intent, what his intent is for the vision and what his intent is for this mission, then we will be able to make quicker, better, more solid real time decisions. If we just know that person's intent, because it might not look exactly like it was scripted. But if we know what the intent of the action is, we can implement it effectively. And we've been using this concept now in the private sector and it's working almost unbelievably. So, it's been a tremendous benefit, especially when the pandemic hit for our clients, that whose employees now we're scattered to the four winds, working remotely to understand the intent. I think that's a different way of looking at it, than businesses have really done over the last number of decades. Steve Rush: And it creates empathy for their leaders too. If people understand and have context as to why leaders are behaving in the way that they are, what their intentions and ambitions are, then people might not necessarily like the outcomes, but they will have much more respect and therefore likely to take more action. Buddy Hobert: I think you say something there that's really critical. And that's the word context previous kind of 20th century thought processes and leadership processes really kind of announced decisions without providing context. And the word you just used, I think is critical for us to get is that in the 21st century, we need to also provide that context. And once people understand the context, they can make better quicker and frankly, more productive and profitable decisions. Steve Rush: Yeah, absolutely, hundred percent agree with that. The final thing I wanted to kick around with the Leadership Decade is something in the book that you call the linchpin model of change. And it's based around the kind of whole Gordian Knot story. Tell us a little bit about how that came about? Buddy Hobert: I had a lot of information in the last books about change management, and we started talking about this philosophy in the linchpin model, because what we had seen along the way was people hesitating to adapt their thought process to this next generation. We saw this hesitancy of developing next generation leaders and training them and investing in them. We saw it because they were trying to invent the perfect answer. And they were thinking through the whole concept of, okay, should we do it remotely? Is this online? Like they were trying to create the best answer. And then things got watered down, and we came to this conclusion that this linchpin model of change is really the idea that needs to half of which is to do something. Get it started, you create a point where then you can make adjustments, instead of trying to allowing what's the saying, you know, allowing perfect to be the enemy of good, let's get something started and then begin to make adjustments; and as you saw in the book, I use this concept of safety. We do a lot of work in the manufacturing and construction industries. And I realized that safety is now in the DNA of every single firm that those people work in dangerous environments who are in construction, it's now in their DNA. But if you go back maybe only 20 years ago or so, safety was really a strong suggestion, but they've made it a part of their DNA. They took this linchpin approach where they said, and focused and repeated and repeated and repeated this importance and they changed the culture of their organization. And so, we think that developing your next generation of leaders needs to take kind of that almost overly simplistic view is just get started, almost a quote, Nike, Jus do it. Steve Rush: Yeah, I love it. I love it. So, this is the chance of the show where I get to hack into your great leadership mind. So, I'd love to find out your top three leadership hacks, Buddy, what would they be? Buddy Hobert: Okay, you touched on one that I want to pick up on when you use the word context. So, if I were to give three of the biggest leadership hacks, what leaders now need to get is we need to get this concept of explaining the why. We, you know, I've had rooms of 1200 folks or I'm keynoting or something. And I say, Hey, look, everybody answered this, and it has been global. So, answer this in your native language. But if you give somebody an assignment and they ask you why what's your response? And in like 14 different languages, I'll here because I said so. And so, we never grew up in an environment where we explained the why of an assessment. We told people what to do, and maybe even we gave suggestions on how to do it, but we never told them why it was important. And that why is what you brought up earlier, it provides context. And so, when leaders hear someone asked the question why, they hear disrespect and they hear questioning of authority. When in fact they ought to be flattered by that because the person asking is looking for your knowledge and looking for your context. So, the first leadership hack would be to accept when someone asks you, why. They're looking for context and then really take it to the next level and proactively explain the reason for the assignment, explain the why. It provides context, it allows for the commander's intent and you will get a much better end product. The next thing I might tell leaders as a hack, which is way different than what's happened in the past. Is that leaders today need to develop career coaching skills, not just mentoring skills and helping people, quote and quote, climb a ladder because that's what most folks entered the work world into this corporate ladder. Where now the newest generations of workers are looking at a chess board. They are looking at being able to move horizontally, take one step back, one step up, stay still for a while. And it's way different than a ladder mentality. And while it's true, the newest generations will have more jobs in a lifetime Steve, they don't have to have more companies. Steve Rush: Right. Buddy Hobart: If you provide them with opportunity within your firm. And you look at their career development like a chess board, and you look at them as being the queen on the chess board, if anybody there knows how to play chess, if you know the queen can move any way she wants, she's the most powerful piece on the board and in their career. They can move up, down, over one, sideways, horizontal. So, career coaching is going to be a critical leadership component moving forward. And then I would say my third hack would be, I firmly believe that words matter. And that we have to understand what we mean when we say things and how we feel with words. In the past, we looked at the leadership development as an expense. We looked at, if we had a good bottom line, maybe this year we'll do some training, we'll do a couple of events. We'll use this expense dollar. So, when times got tough, we cut that expense. Well expenses, what's it means, it's an expenditure, but the term investment is different. Are we investing in our future leaders? Because the word invest means to expect a return. And so, if we are investing, it's not dollar spent, it's an investment for a future return. And I think businesses, business owners need to shift their mindset from expense to investment. And then I think business leaders need to shift their mindset from spending time with my folks versus investing time with my folks. Those mean two completely different things. Spending kind is almost a burden where investing time has an expected return. Steve Rush: There great hacks and great advice Buddy, thank you for sharing. The next part of the show. We want to explore; we call Hack to Attack. So, this would be where something hasn't worked out as well in your career or your life. But as a result, we've taken that as a lesson and it now serves us well as a positive. What would be your Hack to Attack? Buddy Hobart: Probably I would hate to admit my naivety, but at times I have been naive in that. I believed a lot of what folks were saying and presenting to be more facts. And I would say that if I had one hack to attack, it would be to understand that there are many, many, many sides to a story and make sure you have all of the information before you make a decision. I would hate to admit that I have been naive along the way. And I have learned this idea that my folks here are probably getting tired of hearing from me, which is control your outcomes. I mean, those elements that you can control, you better control. Otherwise someone will control them for you. Steve Rush: And I think we can all put ourselves in that space Buddy, that we've had the same kind of level of, I'm not sure if naivety is the right word. It could be maybe trust or overthrust or lack of ambition to control the outcome the way that we want to, maybe. Buddy Hobart: Yeah, I know that I have been guilty of that and they threw several curve balls at me before I started the Solutions 21, until I began to realize that, well, I appreciate you saying that it's not naive, but in looking back, I think I was overly trusting. Let's say that. Steve Rush: Cool, the last thing we want to do is give you an opportunity to shift back through the generations and you get to give yourself some advice at 21, Buddy, what's it going to be?   Buddy Hobart: Ah, okay. I can look at my 21-year-old self. I would probably challenge myself to begin working on wisdom sooner, where you would be able to combine the strength and the invincibility of youth with wisdom, you know, instead of waiting for things to come to me, I would have studied a little bit more about making stronger leadership decisions and think through things like developing my emotional intelligence way younger, way younger than I realized I needed to do it as I got older. So that would probably be it. I pray for wisdom every day still. And going back to being that age, I wish I had known then from a wisdom standpoint, what I know now. Steve Rush: I love that. It's great. Wouldn't it have been neat to have been born with a wise developed brain and then, you know, maybe get more playful as we get older. Buddy Hobart: Wouldn't that be? I mean, you would combine all that strength, all the invincibility, all of those elements of your youth with just being able to make wiser and better decisions. Steve Rush: I've always enjoyed talking with you. I loved reading your books, but I want to make sure that our listeners get the same opportunity. So how can they find out a little bit more about you, Solutions 21? And certainly, The Leadership Decade. Buddy Hobart: I appreciate that. So, solutions21.com would be our website. So, s-o-l-u-t-i-o-n-s the numbers 21, 21.com, as well as theleadershipdecade.com. You can go to either one of those sites and find more about the book, find more about Solutions 21, find more about what we do and how we help organizations develop their next generations of talent and next generations of leaders. Steve Rush: That's great, and we'll also put those links in our show notes, Buddy. So, our folk can also head over to there and access them straight away. Buddy Hobart: Thank you. I appreciate that. Steve Rush: So, there's no question Buddy, the work you've done continue to do is definitely going to help shape the next generation of leaders and on behalf of our listeners and on behalf of Leadership Hacker Podcast. Thanks for being on the show. Buddy Hobart: I really, really appreciate it. It's been a pleasure all along.   Closing   Steve Rush: I genuinely want to say heartfelt thanks for taking time out of your day to listen in too. We do this in the service of helping others, and spreading the word of leadership. Without you listening in, there would be no show. So please subscribe now if you have not done so already. Share this podcast with your communities, network, and help us develop a community and a tribe of leadership hackers. Finally, if you would like me to work with your senior team, your leadership community, keynote an event, or you would like to sponsor an episode. Please connect with us, by our social media. And you can do that by following and liking our pages on Twitter and Facebook our handler their @leadershiphacker. Instagram you can find us there @the_leadership_hacker and at YouTube, we are just Leadership Hacker, so that is me signing off. I am Steve Rush and I have been the leadership hacker    

The Propcast Episode 9   Title: Global Data with Robert Courteau Summary: In this episode we talk to Robert Courteau from Altus Group about Global Data   The Propcast is by Louisa Dickins, Co-Founder of LMRE the leading Global PropTech recruiter brought to you in partnership with UK PropTech Association, The UK PropTech Association is a membership organisation to drive the digital transformation of the property industry. This show will focus on connecting the Proptechs, real estate funds and VC's globally…and get everyone talking about innovation of the built environment.   About Our Host Louisa Dickins https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisa-dickins-ab065392/?originalSubdomain=uk Louisa started her career in property working at a well-known estate agency in London. Realising her people skills, she moved over to Lloyd May to pursue a career in recruitment. She now is a Director at LMRE, who are a specialist recruitment firm driven by PropTech and recruitment professionals, and Louisa oversees their 5 core areas. Louisa co-founded LMRE and provides a constructive recruitment platform to the new disruptors in real estate. Louisa is also on the board of Directors at UK PropTech Association (UKPA). About LMRE LMRE believe there is a better way to recruit. LMRE focus on a more comprehensive, client led focus delivering exceptional talent to the right place at the right time. They are passionate about the industry and passionate about people's careers. LMRE spend time with each client to become and an extension of the business, and their transparency and core values help them grow with the sector. LMRE simplify recruitment and innovate with our clients and evolve the people driven, PropTech community.   About Our Guest Robert Courteau https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobcourteau/?originalSubdomain=ca Robert Courteau is an accomplished senior executive with extensive experience in leading new business initiatives and achieving growth objectives with some of the world's foremost companies. Most recently, he was President of SAP North America, a $6 billion global market leader in enterprise application software, with other previous roles including COO of its Global Customer Operations. Prior to joining SAP, Mr. Courteau served as an Executive Vice President for EDS Corporation. He has held a number of senior management roles at Xerox Corporation, where he served as a North American Divisional Vice President and General Manager. Robert has been an active board member of numerous North American not-for-profit organizations and has served on the boards of several publicly traded organisations. Robert joined Altus Group as CEO in 2012, and has repositioned the company for growth by capitalizing on a global market opportunity for software and data solutions into the commercial real estate sector.   Resources LMRE website www.lmre.co.uk  UKPA www.ukpa.com Altus Group www.altusgroup.com Argus Enterprise https://www.altusgroup.com/argus/products/argus-enterprise/ OnSiteIQ www.onsiteiq.io   Insights from this Episode Really getting control of how you look at your business is fundamental to good governance, insight and decision making – Robert Courteau   We are trying to attract CTOs from all sorts of other industries, whether it's finance or other technology sectors, and they're now seeing the huge opportunity they have to really change the real estate world – Robert Courteau   Cloud based technology opens up the opportunity to really innovate on how you operate your business on a global basis – Robert Courteau   At the end of the day, you have to have people that are like minded about making the customer the priority as you move forward – Robert Courteau   The automation of your workflows, the improvement in the way you manage your businesses is fundamental. If you have things like straight through processing of data and information, you're going to be at a competitive advantage – Robert Courteau   The whole world is going to be driven by AI machine learning, the ability to collect data at scale and to put that data into information – Robert Courteau   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Sponsors You're listening to a podcast produced by A PODCAST COMPANY. This show was made by Podcast Syndicator where we help you go from start to grow to make money with your podcast. Let us help you share your message and your voice with the world. Reach out now. Jason@apodcastcompany.com to find out more. Thank you for listening and do come back to hear more shows like this.   1) Hey, don't miss out on a free webinar! Learn about how to launch a profitable podcast in just 60 days! http://www.apodcastcompany.com/sales-page1586718105525 2) Take your podcast from idea to execution in just 6 weeks! https://www.apodcastmasterclass.com/podcast-launchpad 3) Join our Exclusive Facebook group to Make Money Podcasting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PodcastPeople/  

Colin is the Senior Director, Enablement for North American Sales and Leadership Development at the world's leading Customer Relationship Management Company, Salesforce.com. He is a proven sales leader with over 20 years of sales experience including time at Salesforce and Xerox Corporation. Colin completed his business degree in Canada at the University of Alberta. In his spare time, he competes in multi-day, self-sustained, adventure races in the world's most treacherous terrains, including the Sahara Desert, Gobi Desert, Iceland, Grand Canyon, Atacama Desert and, most recently, in Antarctica. He has a passion for writing, collaborating, learning and empowering his community to go further.

Trading Block: What is happening right now? Earnings! Before the bell today: Xerox Corporation. Wall Streets next test: Profits, data, and the Fed. The S&P 500 rallied 2.1% last week - its fourth consecutive week of gains. Once again, Apple is expected to fuel earnings. Gold rally brings out options bulls. Odd Block: Calls and puts trade in Diageo PLC (DEO), calls trade in the Coca-Cola Co. (KO), and calls trade in Mens Wearhouse Inc. (MW). Strategy Block: St. Charles awakens, andTosaw discusses his latest trading strategies. Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from Veg - I do not know much about options - apologize for my noobness. In August, during the mini crash, were traders selling premium in the equity options? If so, how does that work? Is the spread wide? Around the Block: What are we watching? Earnings! This week will be one of the busiest of the third-quarter earnings reporting season. Tuesday - Alibaba (before bell), Apple (after bell), Gilead Sciences (after bell), Jet Blue (before bell).

Robert Kiyosaki is the acclaimed author of Rich Dad Poor Dad. The Rich Dad Company has made Rich Dad Scams: 8 Financial Scams Disguised as Wisdom available for free eBook download, so Kiyosaki talks in detail about scams everyone needs to understand.   Kiyosaki discusses the fundamental challenges with the traditional school system and how corporate America kills the entrepreneurial genius of many bright workers.   Kiyosaki then answers how much money one should save in his or her bank account.    Robert Kiyosaki is a fourth-generation Japanese-American who grew up in Hawaii. He joined the Marine Corps after graduating from college in New York, and went to Vietnam as an officer and helicopter gunship pilot. After the war, Robert went to work for the Xerox Corporation and in 1977 started a company that brought the first nylon Velcro surfer wallets to market. Feeling that he had something important to teach, Robert founded a new company in 1985 to teach business and investing to tens of thousands of students throughout the world.     At the age of 47 Robert retired from his business to devote time to writing, and in 1997 published the #1 New York Times best seller, Rich Dad Poor Dad. Soon afterward he wrote Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant, Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, and Rich Kid Smart Kid.     All the books have been on the best-seller lists of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, New York Times, E-Trade.com, and other distinguished lists. Robert also created educational board games to teach individuals the same financial strategies his rich dad spent years teaching him… strategies that helped him retire at the age of 47.     Robert Kiyosaki's goal is to give people information that will help them make their money work hard for them, rather than simply working hard for money.   Find out more about The Rich Dad Company at www.richdadcoaching.com and www.richdad.com.