Becoming a Better Leader Interviews

Hey, Mark here with a quick update about this evergreen interview series and my other podcast, The Podcast Accelerator (https://www.markasquith.com/listen).

In this episode I discuss why I'm putting Excellence Expected on a hiatus.

For more information, read "Why I Stopped Podcasting & 5 Lessons I Learned Along The Way".

Don't forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you WILL excel!

Small business owners know the importance of communication. We’re never out of reach for our clients and we’re answering calls, e-mails and social media messages almost 24/7. But when it comes to speaking to our staff, colleagues and clients in a formal setting, how many of us are projecting the right image of leadership?

Public speaking is one of those things that can have the same effects on the most successful CEOs as it does on school children. People can be intelligent, experienced and knowledgeable about their work, but put them in front of a large audience and nerves can still get the better of them. As common as this problem is, it’s one of the most difficult to overcome. How can we go about improving our communications skills and, as a result, project a stronger, more confident style of leadership?

On this episode of the number one small business podcast, we’re joined by Robin Kermode who has not only had successful career as a stage and screen actor, but he’s also built an excellent reputation as one of the leading communication coaches in the world. Robin’s going to be discussing the reasons why public speaking can be difficult, what we can do to conquer this tricky problem and the benefits to our businesses that effective communication can bring.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:

How can I develop communication skills needed to fulfil my leadership potential?

About Robin:

Robin Kermode is an actor, author, speaker and communication coach. Through his company, Zone 2, Robin has helped some of the world’s leading CEOs and senior professionals to improve their communication skills. Robin draws on his experiences as an actor to help leaders connect emotionally with their audience.

Robin’s here on this episode of Excellence Expected to share some of his wisdom when it comes to public speaking. His tips will help you develop a better speaking style that will improve your leadership abilities.

Actionable Tips:

* Get your voice in the right place. We need to speak from our emotional centre as opposed to our throats. Try this exercise. Stick your tongue out and say the whole of ‘Humpty Dumpty’ or count from one to ten. Try your best to articulate the words. After you stop, your voice will have changed and become more emotionally connected.

* If you’re feeling nervous and you start shaking when speaking in public, clench your buttocks or thigh muscles. This will stop you shaking and help you focus.

* Start well. We need to put our key message first. Cut to the chase and open with why the audience are there and why they should listen to you.

Top Quotes:

* “We’ve got about one sentence with which to grab an audience. Within that sentence, the audience will have decided whether they like you or not, whether they trust you or not and you’ll hopefully have articulated why you are there and what’s in it for them.”

* “You have to be present and in the moment.”

* “I like people to speak with energy, clarity and humanity. We need probably about 10% more energy than normal but not so much that we become like a gameshow host. We need clarity in the structure of the message and the clarity of delivery. Most important is humanity. We need a human connection with an audience.”

* “Good leaders don’t make it about themselves, they make it about the audience.”

* “Just knowing how to sound natural will pay dividends. If you don’t, you’re just not going to connect to the younger generation.”

* “It doesn’t take as much time as you think. If you have four or five hours, this will pay dividends on everything that you do. Every phone conversation that you have, every meeting and even how you shake someone’s hands. We can learn it all.”

* “If you go through life making other people...

We’ve all seen advertising campaigns from banks and telecommunications companies that advertise a whole range of benefits for new customers. Wow, it sounds like a fantastic way to bring in new customers, right? If you are already a customer, how does that make you feel? You’ve been loyally giving them your business for several years but you can’t have access to these ‘new customer’ perks.

Large companies can afford to do this due to their size, but, as small business owners, we don’t have the luxury of an endless, nationwide list of potential customers. It’s so important for those of us with small businesses to maintain a loyal customer base, but, in order to grow, we also need to concentrate our time and energy on finding new customers. In terms of who to give your attention to, it can be a delicate balancing act. We don’t want to spend too much time looking for new clients as this could alienate our existing customers and they could take their business elsewhere. At the same time, if we are too focused on a core group of existing customers, our growth could stagnate.

How can we get the maximum value out of our existing customers and still find new ones to add to their ranks? How can we stop wasting, or even destroying, the existing relationships that we have with our customers? In this episode of the number one small business advice podcast, we’re speaking to marketing strategist and the author of Evergreen: Cultivate the Enduring Customer Loyalty That Keeps Your Business Thriving, Noah Fleming.

Noah knows just what’s required to build loyalty with your customers and he will sharing his expertise and experience with us in this episode.

Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast

How can small business owners maximize the value of their existing customers while also finding new ones?

About Noah

Noah Fleming is a strategic marketing expert and independent consultant who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs improve their skills when it comes to retaining loyal customers. He is considered a thought leader in his field and is the author of the bestselling Evergreen: Cultivate the Enduring Customer Loyalty That Keeps Your Business Thriving.

Noah’s extensive experience and innovative thinking has seen his clients increase their profits, customer value and competitive advantage while at the same time reducing their customer acquisition costs.

Noah’s also a renowned public speaker who has delivered keynotes and workshops for high profile clients around the world. He has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Globe and Mail. He’s here with us for this episode to share his insights into how we, as small business owners, can create a foundation of loyal customers that will help our small businesses grow.

Actionable Tips

* You should understand your character and create marketing that speaks from that character. Create a story that's interesting to your customers. Who are you and what do you want to be known for?

* Start to think about your community and what you can do to bring people together. There are so many different ways you can do this. Just let your customers engage with you and each other.

* Maximise the value of every customer. Reach out to customers that you haven't had contact with for a while. Ask customers for testimonials. Set yourself three tasks every day related to this and soon you will be reaping the rewards.

Top Quotes

* "The best companies and organizations that really maximize customer value and build that evergreen sense of customer loyalty are those focused on building a sense of community."

* "This is the bread and butter for small businesses. This is where the money is made."

* "We spend all this time creating a marketing...

Company culture has changed a lot. Employees are no longer motivated by money or titles. Now, employees want to feel a sense of contribution and growth. They want to feel good about their jobs and proud of their work and contributions. They don’t want to just shut up and do their job.

This new cultural shift focuses on accountability, responsibility, and leadership. Here are some key points about building a company culture:

* Create the next generation of leaders – create a culture of leadership!

* Collaboration is greater than the sum of our parts. Do not be compartmentalised.

Ask employees: What is your vision for your life? Not just in their job or career. Create a job and environment that serves their life vision. Approach them as friends and help get them to where they want to be. It is now a two-way street between managers and employees. How can they help each other?

Make each employee as great as they can be. If they leave, that is ok. Build leaders, period. Work culture impacts retention. No matter how great of a culture you create, people will leave. But, they will most likely come back because of the culture you created.

Building a company culture benefits your company in the long run. Focus on what is going good and how you are looking at things. Ask yourself, what’s great about it?

Get people excited about your company’s vision and what your company is doing. By creating a positive work culture, people will want to work at your company!

About Brett:

Brett's journey has been as adventurous as the show he hosts. He has launched two multi-million dollar businesses, studied with some of the worlds leading self development teachers, visited 40 countries, released an album, starred in a stage musical, got married, escaped from Alcatraz, became a father, and he currently trains and coaches professionals at Fortune 1000 companies globally.

With Where Theres Smoke, Brett feels like he might finally be living up to the honor bestowed on him by his high school graduating class  "Most likely to replace Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show" accolade. Brett is originally from Toronto, Canada, and currently lives in San Francisco.

Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of creating employees who perform as leaders. Give employees responsibility so they will want to come to work and they will want to deliver.

Brett’s Actionable Tips:

* Appreciation is much more powerful than money or title. People want to feel appreciated for what they do. Listen to Where There’s Smoke podcast episode, People Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel (Appreciation).

* Empathy: It’s not about here I am, it’s about there you are. It is more important to be interested than interesting. Understand others better. Listen to Where There’s Smoke podcast episode, There You Are (Empathy).

* Listen more than you speak. It is one thing to hear people, but another thing to really listen to them. Listen to Where There’s Smoke podcast episode, The Like Button IS The Dislike Button (Listening).

Top Quotes:

* “I really love working with people…how to build themselves and how to build companies.”

* “It’s so much more about intrinsic motivation.”

* “We do things now because they matter to us, because they are interesting to us, because we feel like we are making a difference.”

* “Companies have to be willing to give every employee…some sort of sense of accountability, responsibility, and leadership.”

* “They actually want to do a better job. They want to be proud of what they are doing.”

* “Things have changed in our world as far as how people approach careers and how people approach work with companies.”

* “You build these brands…that every (employee) wants to...

Too many people in business look at potential employees’ skills rather than the person or the passion that person has for the business.

Instead of playing it safe and hiring someone based on if they can do this, went to this school, achieved this GPA… you need to hire people with passion to believe in your business!

They need to be excited about your company’s mission and vision. They may not have the necessary skills, but they can learn them. Passion drives the ability to learn!

Don’t assume everyone who applies for your company has a passion for your products. Develop an all-star DNA profile to find the right people. The profile may include: Love our mission; tireless promoter; passionate, determined and humble; and perpetually curious.

Also, make sure to create a culture that matches your company. You don’t want to hire someone who does not know what to expect. Many companies are now focused on a culture that encourages fun and no longer the stuffy environment of clocking in and sitting at a desk from 9-to-5.

You want employees who are passionate – they love their job, the products they sell, and the company they work for. Who wouldn’t want to go to a fun place to work?!

About Alan:

Alan followed his passion and succeeded. He is the founder of Ultimate Hoops, which believes all basketball players should be treated liked professionals!

Ultimate Hoops is the largest national basketball recreation league in the nation that connects teams and players in 25 U.S. markets.

Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of focusing on passion rather than skills when hiring employees.

Alan’s Actionable Tips:

* Establish the type of culture you want to have and be specific about the attributes you are looking for to drive your business. Make a list of values that you want in employees.

* Make your company culture completely 100 percent transparent. Then applicants can understand the type of company they are joining.

* Continue to check in on your culture. Take care of it – it is a living, breathing thing! Reinforce and reinvent the culture as needed.

Top Quotes:

* “I realized I wanted to make a change in my life…I decided to really sink the ship somewhat of what I was doing and go after what I was passionate about.”

* “…have the right people in your company and get people who are really passionate for your product and your organization.”

* “You can have the greatest product in the world…but if you don’t have the people behind it who actually believe in it and can sell it and engage in the product…you gotta have that, it’s a must-have. Otherwise, it’s not going to connect with the consumer.”

* “Now we never hire people on skill, it’s always on passion.”

* “If you have passion, you can learn anything.”

* “Social advocacy is so important these days.”

* “Treat everyone as you expect to be treated and let their own passions flow.”

* “It is just fun to work with people who are highly passionate and want to disrupt the marketplace.”

* “The vetting process is critically important.”

* “People turn up to work to be valued.”

* “What’s great for culture today, will not be the same two or three years from now.”

Guest Links:

* Ultimate Hoops (http://www.uhlife.com/)

* Twitter (https://twitter.com/AlanArlt)

* Alan Arlt (http://www.alanarlt.com/)

* Instagram (https://instagram.com/alanarlt/)

Resources:

* Turner Broadcasting System (http://www.turner.

Being a small business owner with a staff can be challenging. The most challenging aspect is finding and retaining the right staff members by motivating them!

Staff motivation at every level is changing. People want some control with their lives and choose when they work and how they work. They want to have a little bit of freedom.

Therefore, it is important to let employees find their passion and happiness. Rune Sovndahl’s company, Fantastic Services, uses the 360 Degree Happiness Principle for both staff members and customers. The principle is to treat everyone as partners.

Whether someone is a cleaner, vice president or customer, treat everyone as a professional and keep them happy. It is no longer a hierarchical platform. Instead, everyone works together to build partnerships.

Fantastic Services brings together service providers with customers. As a result, this helps the service providers build their businesses and grow their markets while adding value to the customers, too.

To keep Fantastic Services staff members motivated, training programs, core values, and an educational system are in place. Make sure you build a fantastic internal academy for your company.

And celebrate successes and wins – no matter how small! 

About Rune:

Rune has a wealth of entrepreneurial experience. Currently, he is the co-founder and CEO of Fantastic Services, which provides a range of services such as cleaners, gardeners, handymen, pet care, rubbish removal, and pest control.

Fantastic Services is an introductory agent that handles the training, booking, and management of services for those who do the jobs. Fantastic Services is not only for the clients, but for those who provide the services as well.

Challenged Issue: 

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of - as a business owner - how to motivate your staff.

Rune’s Actionable Tips:

* Build a top-quality training program and visualize its path.

* Promote excellent service through core values. Define the service and user experience.

* Hire people with passion. What are they passionate about and what do they want to change? 

Top Quotes:

* “Motivation is…whether you are a cleaner or whether you are a professional at the height of your game, what do you want out of your employer or the people you work with? You want a partnership, and you want to grow it.”

* “You start to see people that treat everyone as partners. The idea that it is not a master/servant relationship, it’s not an employee/employer relationship - it’s this entire collaborative partnership.”

* “You are not going to do a good service, if you are not happy with what you do.”

* “You have to be of service to your employees.”

* “Hire people who are passionate.” 

Guest Links:

* Fantastic Services (https://www.fantasticservices.com/)

* Twitter (www.twitter.com/runelondon)

Resources:

* AJ Forsythe (https://www.excellence-expected.com/episode43/)

* Booking.com (http://www.booking.com/)

* Marco Pierre White (http://marcopierrewhite.org/)

* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.excellence-expected.com/cwh/)

Key Timestamps:

* 00:50 Challenged issue

* 00:55 Introduction of guest

* 02:30 Fantastic Services

* 06:00 Happiness principle

Putting your head down and working hard is just a fairytale. You have to tell people what you need, and you need people to help you make it to the next level.

You need a strong network of critical resources to reach personal and professional goals and build a business.

Your Network=Your Net Worth

Most networking events are a waste of time. If the events do not have the right people or resources, you’re in the wrong room!

You need to develop relationships and strategies. Where should you go to “network”? Volunteer or join groups and organizations. Also, you have to create value immediately with people – introduce yourself, share a report, etc.

After sharing your story with someone, ask these two questions: What other ideas do you have for me? Who else do you know that I should talk to?

As an entrepreneur, gain wisdom through mistakes, step out of your comfort zone, listen to your intuition, deal with fear, and follow your gut! Also, have necessary pieces in place - funding, advisory board, and so on. Learn to be strategic.

Don’t go around in circles. Get on with your dream and vision!

About Judy:

Judy is a business thought leader. She is the author of How to Be a Power Connector – The 5+50+100 Rule, which offers strategies for meeting the people you need to know and building relationships with them.

Challenged Issue:

In this podcast, we challenge the issue of determining what is the value of your network!

Judy’s Actionable Tips:

* Remember the two golden questions: What other ideas do you have for me? Who else do you know that I should talk to?

* Rethink assumptions and beliefs around networking.

* Write the key people you have now. Are those the people you need to reach your goals?

Top Quotes:

* “All of the resources they need are out there – in particularly for entrepreneurs.”

* “They’re looking for money in all the wrong places.”

* “Failure really isn’t an option.”

* “Nothing is really as bad as it seems is it in business.”

* “If we wanted safety, we wouldn’t be doing this anyway.”

* “This is how I have billionaires in my Rolodex.”

* “Nothing happens without people.”

* “You never ask investors for money, you always ask for advice.”

* “You feel like you are in a group of piranha.”

* “All of us have problems…and we all have solutions.”

* “There is money everywhere. It’s getting in the right room.”

Guest Links:

* Judy Robinett (http://www.judyrobinett.com)

* How to Be a Power Connector – The 5+50+100 Rule (http://www.judyrobinett.com/book/)

* LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/judyrobinett)

* Twitter (https://twitter.com/judyrobinett)

Resources:

* How to Win Friends & Influence People (http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034)

* MIT (http://web.mit.edu/)

* The Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/)

* Skullcandy (http://www.skullcandy.com/)

* Springboard Enterprises (https://springboard.totemapp.com/company)

* Oprah Winfrey (http://www.oprah.com)

* LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

* Twitter (twitter.com)

Are you fired up to go to work? Do you feel like you play an active role? Or do you feel like you just go to work, do your job, and get paid? Are you engaged as an employee? If your answer is “No,” you are not alone.

What helps to create an effective company is employee engagement. Engagement for an employer is having more connection with employees than just what it says on their job descriptions. Relationships between employers and employees matter.

Employees need to feel plugged in and more involved. Give them space to breathe and express their passion. Employers should create a positive culture that encourages engagement. Don’t stifle your employees. They should be excited about what they are doing. They want to be a part of something.

A business owner or entrepreneur starts out as the hero for starting something. They attract people who want to follow them. Not only do they do what they are told, but they come up with new ideas.

Then the entrepreneur/business owner is able to move from being the hero to being the host. Rather than them leading every step of the way, they let their employees take on some of that direction.

Then, other people are “pushing the ball.” That can be scary, but also a relief!

About Mark:

Mark is an author, consultant, speaker, and founder of Host Leadership. For the past 25 years, he has brought new ideas to the world of management.

Host Leadership focuses on the leader as the host to produce an effective mindset for engagement, performance, and results.

Challenged Issue:

Only 13 percent of employees worldwide are engaged. How can you, as a business owner or entrepreneur, engage your employees? That is vital to the success of your business!

Mark’s Actionable Tips:

* Think of yourself as a host, not a hero. You will entertain and receive guests (employees). You create a space for them to breathe, have freedom, and enjoy themselves.

* Balance stepping forward and stepping back. Don’t always be the one to do something. Let others step forward and do the work. This lets other people become engaged.

* Invite and influence rather than direct people. Describe what is happening, why the employee you invited should be there, and a choice to the employee whether they attend.

Top Quotes:

* “You wonder how the world manages to keep going. But it does.”

* “Engagement is such a crucial thing.”

* “What are we all trying to do here?”

* “Engagement is...what’s this relationship…that helps us connect…that helps us make the most of what everyone is bringing?”

* “Employee engagement is the secret sauce that makes everything else work.”

* “If you want people just to be sheep and do what you tell them to do, well fine. But I think that’s not going to be building your business.”

* “There are other ways that ideas and input can come into my business. And it can be through these people I am getting to know and trust.”

Guest Links:

* Host Leadership (hostleadership.com)

* Host Six New Roles of Engagement (http://hostleadership.com/book/)

Resources:

* University of Bath (http://www.bath.ac.uk/)

* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.excellence-expected.com/cwh/) 

Key Timestamps:

* 00:50 Challenged issue

* 01:08 Introduction of guest

* 02:00 Getting results and engagement

* 02:54 Guest’s background and Host Leadership

* 05:27 Engagement

In business, you can’t do everything yourself. That’s where partners and collaborators come into play. You need people that you can trust and rely on.

Also, you need to understand what and who you truly need. Your ingrained preferences and beliefs may not be the best way to base decisions. You may be very different from those you work with, but that’s ok!

Determine what’s important to you. Find people who share similar values. Building a relationship based on values, rather than skills and competencies, will help it succeed and last.

Identify what characteristics and qualities you need in your ideal employee, collaborator and/or partner. Characteristics may include requiring excellence, ownership, and responsibility for their work.

Take action to find the people you need. Go to networking events and participate in social media outlets. Put your need out there and be clear about what and who you are looking for. Then the right people will apply.

About Bettina:

Bettina helps people understand themselves and helps them to break through any debilitating habits they may have to achieve the success they want. Habits include having your own ideas about how things should run, what works and what doesn’t, what you think of yourself, and what you think of others.

She is the founder and director of Aronagh, and co-founder of Evolve Beyond Redundancy.

Challenged Issue: 

This week’s challenge is to find business partners and collaborators who you can trust and rely on.

Bettina’s Actionable Tips:

* Know your values. What’s truly important to you? How do you know when you got it?

* Be clear about your expectations. Are your expectations unsaid? Are you getting what you expected? What do you need? What are the boundaries?

* Form an agreement/contract with the other party. Write down your actual words about what you need and expect.

Top Quotes:

* “We tend to always go for the same people when we look for suppliers, when we look for business partners…”

* “This person’s now contacted me, why don’t I give this a go?”

* “We grew stronger, as a team.”

* “At times, we all want people just like ourselves, which is very often…the entirely wrong way to look at things.”

* “The key thing was excellence. They absolutely required excellence.”

* “It saves time, cost, energy.”

* “This is the place. I’m fitting in. I can succeed. I can make this work.”

* “Confidence comes through competence.”

* “Most people are absolutely happy to provide you with a referral.”

Guest Links:

* Aronagh (aronagh.com)

* Evolve Beyond Redundancy (http://www.evolvebeyondredundancy.com/)

* LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/bettinapickering)

* Facebook (facebook.com/bettina.pickering)

* Google + (https://plus.google.com/+BettinaPickering/posts)

Resources:

* Facebook (facebook.com)

* Google + (http://plus.google.com)

* Google (google.com)

* Twitter (twitter.com)

* Bizcrowd (https://bizcrowd.com/)

* The Essential 14–Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact (https://www.excellence-expected.com/cwh/)

Key Timestamps: