Big Deal Energy

“You have all these different ways of communicating, and basically it’s understanding the context of the individual and why they have that context. I tell you, I think the best de-escalator of all situations is having non-judgmental curiosity.” - Robin Dreeke 

You may remember a very popular past guest of Brave By Design, Robin Dreeke, who was here earlier this year to discuss how to trust people and build healthy relationships. I’m happy to have him back today to dive even deeper into this topic, which I think is particularly important during this current US election cycle. Robin has spent a lot of time talking with people who don’t agree with each other, and in the process he has learned to work with them, which is why I think I think he’s the ideal person to be giving his thoughts to us. 

Robin Dreeke is a best-selling author, professional speaker, trainer, facilitator, and retired FBI Special Agent and Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. Robin has taken his life's work of recruiting spies and broken down the art of leadership, communication, and relationship building into Five Steps to TRUST and Six Signs of who you can TRUST.

I love following Robin’s content on social media, and we especially need his level-headed, reasonable and insightful commentary now more than ever. 

Connect with Robin: https://www.peopleformula.com/

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• When he feels things shifted in the world, and the impact that a 24-hour news cycle has had on us as a society [3:41]
  
  
• Robin’s background in working with people, and some of the big lessons he has taken from his experiences [6:36]
  
  
• What he feels is the best way to de-escalate any situation, plus the dangerous impact of negative emotions on healthy relationships [9:29]
  
  
• The 4 things to say and do to shift every conversation you have from focusing on you, to focusing on the other person [13:00]
  
  
• Why Robin believes that self-awareness is the true key to success in life [21:16]
  
  
• How to talk to someone who shuts down around the issues that exist with race, and to encourage them to keep having the conversation [28:14]
  
  
• The ways that understanding each other’s definitions and language can help us adapt in these challenging and fast-changing times [37:10]
   

Additional Links & Resources:

Robin’s LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube

His Videos & Podcasts 

All of Robin’s Books 

His Previous Appearance on Brave By Design

“If you are assertive, you are basically owning your self-worth and allowing yourself to live your full self and your full life. That’s really what it is, and it’s going to help you make decisions because you won’t be too afraid to make decisions that actually support you and support your life. It’s going to help you to be able to actually build what you most want, whether it’s in your business or your personal life.” - Deb Zahn

Although often misunderstood, assertiveness is something that can help you daily in your professional, and personal life. However, being assertive is not the same as being aggressive, and today’s Brave By Design guest explains the key differences and what we need to know in order to be assertive, but in the right way. 

​Deb Zahn is the founder of Craft of Consulting, a one-stop resource to learn the ins and outs of becoming a widely successful, in-demand consultant while living the life you want. Craft of Consulting is for consultants by consultants, and Deb shares her decade-worth of knowledge about how to excel as a consultant in addition to an abundance of insider access to consultants who have cracked the code to business success and life balance. ​

As you’ll hear in this episode, assertiveness can change your life and business and the way you feel about yourself and others, and Deb gained key insights from learning self-defense which shifted her perspective completely - and can do the same for you.

Connect with Deb: https://www.craftofconsulting.com/

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• What benefits to your self-worth will come from gaining more assertiveness [1:30]
  
  
• How to face fear and plan for that feel of retreat that will come [2:21]
  
  
• Steps to plan for a situation that requires assertiveness [11:55]
  
  
• How Deb manages her assertiveness craft, and is constantly evolving it in the process [14:35]
  
  
• The way that self-defense transitioned and helped her with her own assertiveness [19:33]
   

Additional Links & Resources: 

Craft of Consulting on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram

Deb’s Resources 

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

“Every city with at least 100,000 people is capable of building a healthy and vibrant startup community. I’ve evolved that belief to make the assertion that every city with at least 100,000 people needs a healthy startup community as part of the infrastructure of the city. It’s not the only thing that keeps a city healthy, but it’s an important part of the continual renewal, growth, development and evolution of the city.” - Brad Feld 

Regardless of where you live in the world, having a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in your city is crucial, in so many ways. Today’s Brave By Design expert guest is an entrepreneur, investor and author who focuses on building strong and healthy entrepreneurial ecosystems in your city, and he has so many great insights about this subject to share in this episode. 

Brad Feld has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars.

Brad is a writer and speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship. He’s written a number of books as part of the Startup Revolution series and writes the blog Feld Thoughts.

Brad holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brad is also an art collector and long-distance runner. He has completed 25 marathons as part of his mission to finish a marathon in each of the 50 states.

Connect with Brad: https://feld.com/

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• The way that Brad got his start on the journey in entrepreneurship and investing  [4:50]
   
• What a healthy startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem will look like [9:37]
  
  
•  The role that the city itself must play in order to foster a working ecosystem [13:44]
  
  
• How we can create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment when trying to build a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem [21:28]
  
  
• The steps that Brad himself has taken to inform himself, and take action on gender equity [24:42]
  
  
• Why cities, and individuals, need to be looking forward decades when planning for a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem [31:24]

Additional Links & Resources:

All of Brad’s Books  

National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)

United Way’s 21-Day Equity Challenge 

Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Steve Blank

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Support the show (https://www.paypal.me/bravebydesign)

“You know it when you feel it. You know it when you hit upon it. You know it when your boundary has been crossed. You feel it, and your body tells you. When you dig into what that is about and why your body is being activated, and then you figure out how to articulate it, actually articulating your boundary can become a bridge to connection.” - Lisa Dempsey

Boundary setting is a topic that is often misunderstood, and even feared. Today’s Brave By Design guest reveals how a lack of boundaries will affect your professional life, and the reasons why boundaries always need to be kept top of mind in your personal and professional life. Done the right way, boundaries don’t need to be feared, but rather can serve as an effective tool for connecting with others.

For the best part of two decades, Lisa Dempsey worked as a Human Resources Executive with a variety of International Board and C-Suite leaders, helping them develop their global teams and deliver strategic change and transformation through the power of people.

Today, she is a courageous and compassionate leader who loves empowering people to discover their own strengths and awaken their own inner leader in order to live, love and lead out loud. Her passion is to amplify the strengths of others so they can consistently come from a place of greatness and live, love and lead out loud with purpose and courageous authenticity.

It wasn’t always this way for Lisa, as she’s hit a few bumps in the road along her journey. She can directly attribute a huge part of overcoming them to setting and maintaining clear and strong boundaries, which you’ll learn more about in this episode.

Connect with Lisa: https://www.leadershiplabs.eu/ 

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• How Lisa embarked on her own boundary setting journey after experiencing burnout in her own life [1:57]
  
  
• What is behind the fear of setting boundaries as a woman in the workplace, and the way that this fear can be overcome [5:52]
  
  
• Why setting boundaries doesn’t have to be a harsh NO, and how it’s really about understanding and connection [8:42]
  
  
• What the modern day “disease of busy” looks like [13:42]
  
  
• Lisa’s tips for living a more balanced life - physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally [17:53]
  
  
• How to find acceptance and self-worth from within, and the impact this will have on all facets of your life [23:02]

Additional Links & Resources:

Leadership Labs Website, Facebook & LinkedIn  

Lisa’s LinkedIn

HR Matters Podcast

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

“This is not exclusive to women. This is everybody. We have come to view failure as something bad, and that is probably because somewhere along the way you had an experience where you failed and misery ensued.” - Laura Honeycutt 

You may have heard that we all have infinite power (and we do!), but how can each one of us draw it out of ourselves in order to use this power in all aspects of our lives? I’m so excited to be bringing you today’s Brave By Design guest, because she has made it her life’s work to answer this critical question.

Laura Honeycutt had a successful 25-year career in advertising, but she always struggled with the need for constant validation by others. When she didn't get it, she would make up incredible stories that threatened her self- confidence and forced her to change jobs before she was "found out" to be the fraud she thought she was. Laura also made too many personal sacrifices in the name of her career, and often felt bitter about it. This wasn't how she wanted to live. In her desperate search for a solution, she explored executive coaching. And that's when she discovered the transformative effect coaching can have on not only a person's career, but also their life.

Laura took a trust fall with the Universe. She left my lucrative career and became a certified coach. She started her own practice. Now, it's her turn to share the gifts of transformation with other women. To help you see what's in your way (spoiler alert: it's you!). To help you clear it away and manifest your vision. Life is really too precious and short to waste it mired in self doubt, inertia or fear.

As you’ll hear, this episode with Laura is all about turning your perception of yourself around, and ultimately, taking back your power.

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• What it is really like to work in a high-pressure corporate setting in advertising, and some key lessons Laura learned from this experience [2:18]
  
  
• How interactions with bullies in the workplace affects your inner thoughts and feeds the imposter syndrome [8:20]
  
  
• Her tips for dealing with your negative self-talk and some ways to process these feelings in order to move on and enrich your authentic self [12:53]
  
  
• What you can do to start building your self-validation muscle muscle now - because you may not get it from anyone else [18:00]
  
  
• Things leaders can do, and avoid, in order to truly empower the team that works with them [24:53]

Additional Links & Resources:

Get Laura’s 7-Step Guide to Helping You Crush the Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome! & Watch For Her New Unleash Your Inner Badass 3-Day Bootcamp

Schedule a Badass Breakthrough Session with Laura 

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

“I’m a firm believer in what you put out comes back to you tenfold. So you need to lead with that integrity. I think another misconception about sales is that it’s a pitch and not a conversation, and a lot of people are still doing that, right?” - Allison Davis

If you’re in a business, the ability to sell your product and services is absolutely essential. Why is it then that selling to others can seem to be so hard to do? Today’s Brave By Design guest believes that the old way of doing sales is just that, old, and that’s it time for a brand new approach.

With 15 years in the fast-evolving publishing industry, Allison Davis has vast experience in digital marketing, strategic partnerships and event sponsorship across a wide variety of business verticals. Her contributions have elevated the revenue of companies like National Geographic, Time Out North America and Gabrielle Bernstein, Inc. Allison has worked with leading brands like Google, Pepperidge Farm, American Express and Goldman Sachs. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from St. Michael’s College and a certificate in Organizational and Executive Coaching from New York University. Allison loves learning, travel, plus-size fashion and public speaking — and she penned an advice column for more than seven years in Seven Days Newspaper, one of the nation’s leading alternative newsweeklies.

If you are a passionate entrepreneur and mission-driven business owner looking to make sales conversations more natural, easier and 100% you, then you’ll want to hear what Allison has to share about the selling process in this episode.

Connect with Allison: https://allison-davis.com/

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• How Allison stepped into her career at a young age, and fell in love with sales in the process [1:32]
  
  
• The way to combat the common thoughts about not having the "sales" personality [8:03]
   
• What you need to know about pricing strategy [12:14]
  
  
• How to approach the sales conversation using the “A.L.I.G.N” method, and the incredible benefits you could see by doing this  [18:42]
  
  
• A mindset set that will help you significantly improve your results with outstanding proposals - today! [21:55]

Additional Links & Resources:

Grab Alison’s A.L.I.G.N. guide for FREE — a 5-step approach to closing more sales with ease and confidence at https://allison-davis.com/

CliftonStrengths

Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success: Connect with Customers and Get Results by Colleen Stanley