1,000 Stories

When was the last time you were asked for your 10-year plan? Did you have an answer?

If not…that may be a good thing.

Scott Whitlock, CEO of Flexware Innovation, joins Joe and Reid on this week’s episode of 1,000 Stories to share his personal philosophy on accountability partners, the importance of asking questions, finding a job that you’re passionate about, becoming an approachable leader, the Enneagram, and more.

Scott shares his first-hand insight on these topics to help you become a strong leader in the workplace, love your job, and understand your co-workers on a deeper level—all while reminding us that not having your “next step” planned out might actually be the key to your growth.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. In order to find what you love, you need to sit down with different people and ask them questions about what they do. You were given a mouth to speak and ears to listen!
2. It’s better to decline a job offer that you are completely uninterested in than to take it. It’s better to find a position that you love than be in one where you’re miserable.
3. Setting milestones, goals, and guideposts can help you stay accountable.

To claim 10% off of your first month of BetterHelp, use the code 1000STORIES here: https://betterhelp.com/1000stories

Resources:

Follow Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottwhitlock/

Flexware Innovation’s website: https://www.flexwareinnovation.com/

“Sometimes you just have to take the leap and trust that everything is going to be okay.”

Jake Miller had a banner first year as CEO of the Engineered Innovation Group—growing the company, beating revenue goals, and finding a niche that worked for their business. Even with all of this…he still experienced imposter syndrome. Why does this happen to people like Jake, and what can we learn from him?

In this episode, Joe sits down with Jake as he shares his story of realizing that traditional school wasn’t for him at a young age, the steps it took him to be successful, and how learning from your failures will almost always create something even better.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Trusting your intuition—that gut feeling—is likely more accurate than thinking logically. Trust your gut.
• Everybody thinks and learns in their own unique ways. The more and more we put constraints on measuring students' performances, the more it cuts out the fact that everybody thinks differently.
• Get a mentor, be a mentor. Sometimes, all it takes to take the leap is to hear someone say, ‘you can do this'.

To claim 10% off of your first month of BetterHelp, use the code 1000STORIES here: https://betterhelp.com/1000stories

Follow Jake: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakemillerindy/

Check out the EIG website here: https://www.engineeredinnovationgroup.com/

The most powerful thing to know in life is you can only control YOU.

Cornelius George has a passion for impacting lives and making the world a better place than he found it. He is the co-founder and CEO of Chuqlab, a business with the focus of providing technology to those doing great things but have been underserved by the traditional technology start-up ecosystem.

Cornelius George shared his powerful message on 1000 Stories - talking about his journey to finding what he considers to be the secret of life, and the power of philosophy, empathy, and mind. Listen to Cornelius’s wisdom on mindset as a whole.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to understand that you’re the most powerful person in the world and not letting external events impact you.
• How emotional detachment to external outcomes will allow you to see the positives in every outcome.
• Finding your purpose in life through identifying your peace.

To claim 10% off of your first month of BetterHelp, use the code 1000STORIES here: https://betterhelp.com/1000stories

Resources: Follow Cornelius: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corneliusmgeorge/

Learn more about Chuqlab: https://www.chuqlab.com/

“When people feel seen, heard, and valued they want more of that.”

Ali Cudby is the CEO of Alignmint Growth Strategies, a company she founded in 2014 as Your Iconic Brand. Ali also wrote the book on customer experience – literally. That’s because Ali is the author of the bestseller, Keep Your Customers.

From Fortune 500 to pre-revenue start-ups, Ali has spent 20 years refining her craft.  Ali first cut her teeth in the world of customer experience after graduating from Wharton Business School and joining The New York Times Company’s corporate planning group. She also had stints in strategic marketing at the Golf Digest Magazine Group and Animal Planet TV Network before opening her own shop, where she focuses on making a difference for small to mid-sized companies that want the know-how to grow.

These days, Ali teaches Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Purdue University and works with clients worldwide. When she’s not working, you’ll probably find her in the pottery studio or valiantly trying to tire out her two dogs.

In this episode you will learn the following:

1. How improving employee experiences aids in customer retention for the long term.
2. How finding your focus will impact all areas of your business.
3. The importance of consistency when becoming excellent in your industry.

Get a free month of customer retention strategies at CXology.co using the exclusive coupon code STORIES

Resources:

Ali Cudby’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicudby/

Learn more about Alignmint Growth Strategies: https://alignmintforgrowth.com/about/

Learn more about CXology: https://www.cxology.co/pages/about-us

"Pain and frustration lead to great innovation, don’t they?"

Marcus Sheridan is an international keynote speaker and author of the book, "They Ask, You Answer". He is an expert in communication, sales, and marketing, and has used his knowledge to become one of the most trusted voices in his space.

As an author and speaker, Marcus teaches others how to communicate in a way that builds trust and generates transformation: by getting in front of issues before they become a problem. Listen in as he dives deep into what he learned from the recession in ‘08, and how he has continued to grow in self-confidence and reduce his doubt among a few big career shifts.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. The impact of leaning into innovation during a recession

2. How to remove doubt by using the “They Ask, You Answer” framework

3. How vanguard communication can be used to resolve concerns, eliminate doubt, and encourage a positive response

Resources:

https://marcussheridan.com/

Follow Marcus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcussheridan/

They Ask, You Answer: https://marcussheridan.com/they-ask-you-answer/

From college football player to business owner and investor, the dreams and goals of Matt Wren have shifted multiple times. But what’s the through-line?

Matt Wren is the Vice President of Business Development at Moser Consulting and the co-founder of Extract Energy, a CBD energy drink company. The list doesn’t stop there, he’s had his hands in many different businesses, ranging from an IT company to working with a Porsche racer. He has built close relationships with his business partners over the years, some of which have been lifelong friends and others whom he has only recently met. For Matt, the decision-making process boils down to shared vision and opportunity. Listen in to hear why he believes in leading by example and valuing the input of everyone in the room.

Dr. Kevin Berkopes is probably the smartest guy in most rooms. But his philosophy?

"I work from the paradigm that I'm always looking for the next thing to learn."

Dr. Berkopes is a CEO of XR Technologies and former teacher passionate about education equity. His chosen experiences teaching in places like the South Side of Chicago to rural Appalachia have led him to see that everyone is capable of greatness if they have the right circumstances and opportunities. He has seen firsthand how poverty can limit people's ability to succeed and is determined to make a change.

So how did he learn this? And how does that impact his leadership skills and the way he approaches life-long learning? Press play to find out.

Imagine: you’re in your 20’s. Overnight, you become the co-president of a 170-person company, with pretty much zero warning or preparation. What would your first day look like?

For Josh Block, it involved a lot of questions, and zero ego. And that’s the way he’s operated ever since.

Josh is the President of Block Imaging, a second-generation family business providing radiology and imagine equipment based out of Lansing, Michigan.

Josh's perspective on leadership was shaped by his early career working many different jobs with many different types of people. This allowed him to recognize the value and stability that employment brings to not only individuals but their families and ultimately the community as well—a mission he carries the banner for within his organization today.

In this episode, you will learn:

• What it look like to truly leave your ego at the door as a leader—and its lasting effects on company culture
• How Josh and his family use their business to engage in community development
• How Josh has tempered his tendencies to want to rebuild for the sake of rebuilding for the betterment of the company

Throughout her experiences, she’s learned valuable life, business and marketing lessons. Now, Becky Beckman is a Principal and the Director of Marketing at Gibson, where she says her job is to manage all the chaos behind-the-scenes to present a calm, sleek, unique brand to the community.

Listen in as Becky reveals why positivity, family, and balance are key to growing and creating opportunity right where you are.

The next generation of our investigation kicks off, and who better to lead us into the future than a man who is bringing up the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs?

Don Wettrick is a teacher-turned-startup founder with has an intense passion for tapping into young talent and reframing the way we approach education. Don spent well over 20 years in the classroom, flipping traditional education on its head and developing a curriculum for high school students to tap into their entrepreneurial side. From this sprung the founding of his state-backed education startup, STARTedUP.

In this episode, Don shares insights into what his decades-long teaching career taught him about how we can all approach teaching (whether in a classroom or in our own organizations), and what can happen when we dare to not set a ceiling in our own lives.

Learn more about the STARTedUP Foundation