But Who's Counting?

To find success in business, you have to first figure out what your target market wants and respond to it. As society and the technology we depend on changes at breakneck speed, it can be challenging for traditional businesses to keep pace. Breathing new life into a service as timeless and constant as the library takes innovation, grit and the support of the surrounding community to pull off. 

Advancing technology had the potential to make libraries obsolete, but instead brilliant leadership took advantage of new tech to reinvigorate a beloved neighborhood staple. The St. Louis County Library (SLCL) began a revitalization project to strengthen its ties to the community and keep it relevant in their eyes.

Kristen Sorth, director and CEO of SLCL, joined But Who’s Counting? hosts Dave Hartley and Missy Kelley to discuss the innovative approaches SLCL took to keep libraries on the cutting edge rather than a relic from a different time. Kristen, the recipient of the Visionary Award by St. Louis Magazine, explained how the library earned a seat at the community’s table and why she adapted libraries to meet social needs. The discussion also touched on:

• The innovative programs and partnerships that are having an enormous impact on the community
• What role technology has played in revitalizing the library
• The library’s role in advancing digital equity initiatives
• How they “stood standing” during a crisis and what that meant for the public
• A unique role the library hired and the difference it’s made for staff

“Make sure that innovation means something to someone other than you. If you spend all your time innovating something that is going to have zero impact on people, then you have wasted a ton of time and money.” – Kristen Sorth

Resources to Count On

Want more insight into the conversation? Check out these resources:

• Visit the SLCL website
• Find out more about the Tap In Center
• Learn about the Small Business Center located in the Clark Family Branch
• Keep up with all the upcoming events hosted by the library

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To better understand why your business isn’t meeting its full growth potential, you sometimes have to look from the outside in. Getting an outside perspective into your business can give you helpful insights to make decisions that accelerate growth. Venture capital firms often perform deep dives into prospective businesses during due diligence, which helps uncover a company’s strengths and weaknesses. After examining so many businesses, investors understand what separates a successful business from its competitors.

Missy Kelley and Dave Hartley, co-hosts of But Who’s Counting? were joined by Tim Spihlman, Managing Director of Lewis & Clark Ventures and Lewis & Clark Capital to discuss how business leaders can fuel growth and company value and what steps they can take to build a business investors want to partner with. The free-flowing conversation also included actionable tips to improve accountability within your workforce, identifying your biggest barriers to growth and the following:

• Traits the best leaders have in common
• The key tenants of retaining the right employees
• Where Tim sees AI’s biggest impacts on businesses
• Why it’s important to adopt an “innovation mindset”

“You have to be equal parts empathetic, strong emotional IQ, with equal parts accountability. Your employees need to know that what they do matters. They need to know that you value them and you treasure them as humans, but that doesn't mean you get a pass when you don't perform.” - Tim Spihlman

Resources to Count On

Want more insight into the conversation? Check out these additional resources:

• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Lewis & Clark Ventures
• Get to know Lewis & Clark Capital
• Check out ChatLingual, the AI customer service translator 

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How does a 70-year-old PBS station evolve new approaches to public media to remain relevant and impactful even as the media landscape around it changes? Through innovative new approaches and a commitment to its community! Nine PBS is a St. Louis cornerstone with a long history of adapting to fit the changing times, and that constant evolution helped it become the most watched PBS station in the country, as a percentage of households watching. 

But Who's Counting? hosts Dave Hartley and Missy Kelley chatted with Amy Shaw, President and CEO of Nine PBS, about the remarkable journey of public media in St. Louis. Amy shared the origins of Nine PBS, highlighted the pioneering St. Louis Plan and discussed the significance of her journey to becoming the first female President and CEO of the station. The conversation also covered:

• How Nine PBS built a financially-healthy not-for-profit
• Human-centered leadership approaches all businesses can learn from
• Why the station refused to downsize staff during the pandemic
• The history behind how PBS became a powerhouse of community, content and connection
• How Nine PBS found success on social media and the gap they fill

“We are not just doing things that are human and interesting and community-based, we’re also finding ways to make it sustainable at the same time.” – Amy Shaw

Resources to Count on

Check out these additional resources for more insight into the conversation:

• Celebrate Nine PBS’ 70th anniversary
• Sign up for Nine PBS Passport
• Watch the Emmy Award-winning short, Drawn In: Brave Hero, Part 2
• Learn more about Carl the Collector, premiering November 14, 2024
• Discover all the ways to support Nine PBS

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Innovation in the workplace doesn’t happen spontaneously; it needs to be encouraged and cultivated for change to truly take place. Before your company can make transformative use of emerging technologies such as AI, you must carefully examine your organization’s culture and leadership’s reaction to failure to make the jump to the next level not just feasible but inevitable. 

Missy Kelley and Dave Hartley, hosts of But Who’s Counting?, welcomed Stefanie Thelen, Chief Innovation Officer for Object Computing, Inc., to discuss ways businesses can empower inventive new approaches to resolve pain points with real-world use cases of AI and automation. Stefanie urges leadership to “mind the soil” to create a more fruitful environment for workers to take on new initiatives courageously and mindfully. She explains approaching AI by asking “where does it hurt” and thinking big to address it. The conversation also touched on: 

• Where companies should start when implementing AI into business processes 
• How an organization’s reaction to failure directly corresponds to its ability to innovate and how she recovered from a $2 million mistake 
• Acknowledging biases and systems that need to change 
• Putting AI in the hands of people before it’s needed and how to identify those individuals 
• Tangible examples of AI and automation 
• Stefanie’s work with Arch Grants to help build the future economy in St. Louis 
• The impact Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has on innovation and what it means to “innovate from the edges” 

“AI, in some ways, is unlike any other technology evolution or advancement. In a lot of ways, it’s exactly like every other technology evolution or advancement… Continue to ask why and continue to try to pull back and broaden your lens so that you understand that it’s a phenomenal tool, but it’s just another tool.” - Stefanie Thelen

Resources to Count On 
Check out these additional resources for more insight into the conversation:

• Connect with Stefanie on LinkedIn 
• Learn more about Object Computing, Inc. 
• Check out Arch Grants  
• Read the transcript of this episode

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The speed of innovation and technological advances over the past decade has been transformative for all businesses, 100-year-old companies and growing startups alike. Baseball’s storied history in America has played a huge role in its popularity, but like any other business, it’s had to evolve to keep up with technology and customer expectations. 

St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III and the MLB understood that their audience and their expectations were changing, and competition for entertainment was mounting due to smartphones, among other catalysts. This presented a unique challenge and opportunity for the game of baseball to adapt while remaining true to its beloved traditions. 

But Who’s Counting? hosts Dave Hartley and Missy Kelley sat down with Bill to discuss his tenure with the Cardinals and what prompted changes to the game in 2023. They dig into the impact of technology on the game for fans and players, as well as:

• The role of data analytics in driving a better fan experience and operational improvements
• Why it’s important to experiment with big changes before implementing
• Why diversifying, both to cater to different audiences and in revenue streams, ultimately creates more satisfying experiences
• How technology has affected the game and the business
• The link between creativity and innovation

“That’s what baseball’s insight was: how you frame the problem and how you communicate with fans who are so passionate about the game so that they understand that we’re trying to create a better version of the game. It was a goal, a North Star, to find the best version of the game itself, and that appeals pretty much to everybody.”        – Bill DeWitt III

Resources to Count On

Check out these additional resources for more insight into the conversation:

• View the Cardinals’ 2024 schedule
• Connect with the Cardinals community online 

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Fostering a healthy workplace creates an environment where the best, smartest ideas can flourish. What are the signs of a healthy workplace and how can leadership create an atmosphere where constructive debate leads to better results? A healthy organization minimizes the corporate politics that restrict innovation, promoting honest, yet difficult, conversations and debates centered on reaching the best ideas. Creating strategic alignment not only in your leadership teams but throughout your organization is an entry point, but it requires commitment at every level. 

But Who’s Counting? hosts Dave Hartley and Missy Kelley welcomed Liz Hughes, Principal Consultant at The Table Group. Liz coaches executives to align their teams behaviorally and strategically, helping them achieve organizational clarity while building trust and understanding that improves team cohesion. The discussion also touched on strategies to improve meeting efficiency, recognizing obstacles to innovation and the following:

• How to establish vulnerability-based trust to cultivate an environment where your people are comfortable innovating and sharing ideas
• The difference and benefits of tactical vs. strategic meetings
• Key indicators of organizational health
• Why establishing trust is harder for remote teams
• The four disciplines of organizational health

“Something that really can foster innovation is when you have a healthy, ideological culture of debate [and] robust dialogue [where] all ideas can be heard.” – Liz Hughes

Resources to Count On

Check out these additional resources for more insight into the conversation:

• Connect with Liz on LinkedIn
• Purchase The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
• Buy The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, sold here
• Order Patrick Lencioni’s latest book, The Six Types of Working Genius
• Read The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues, sold here
• Check out The Motive: A Leadership Fable, sold here
• Read The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery, sold here
• Buy Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable

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Artificial intelligence is continuing to advance at an exponential pace, mirroring the advent of the internet in some ways. Like the early days of the internet, some businesses are assuming AI is just a fad that’ll fade with time while others are taking full advantage of this emerging technology to reduce costs while improving efficiency. 

Ed Morrissey, Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Integrity Web Consulting, joined co-hosts Dave Hartley and Missy Kelly to talk about the latest advances in generative AI and explain why it’s so critical for businesses to take time to explore and embrace AI applications. The trio also took a detour from AI to discuss how a “holacracy” management framework empowers everyone at Ed’s company into a decision-maker, as well as the following topics:

• The common mistake business leaders make when trying to innovate their workplace
• The importance of being leading edge but not “bleeding-edge”
• Why caution and incremental changes are vital when introducing new technologies How to manage quality control under a holacracy model and why the best workers love the organizational structure
• Resources to use if you’re interested in exploring AI

“The most successful strategies to adopt new or innovative technologies, take AI for example, begin with incremental changes.” – Ed Morrissey 

Resources to Count On

Check out these additional resources for more insight into the conversation:

•  Connect with Ed on LinkedIn
• Follow Ed on Twitter/X
• Learn more about Integrity
• Keep up with Integrity on Facebook[AB1] [BM2] 
• Check out Squad of Bulldogs for AI and Web3 application development
• Explore Scribble AI, the artificial intelligence blog writing assistant
• Discover XDHoldings, an investment and innovation partner for market leaders
• Take a peek inside the Tivoli Offices, home to Integrity

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When a company is thriving, no one wants to think about potential roadblocks or dangers ahead. But when disaster strikes, the right response can be the difference between a business closing its doors or fueling future growth. Whether it’s a new competitor in the market, shifting consumer patterns or even a global pandemic, how can you quickly adapt to the unexpected?

Kicking off the first episode of season three of But Who’s Counting?, longtime host Dave Hartley is joined by his new co-host, Missy Kelley, for a conversation about grit and perseverance with Michael Weiss, owner of Big Shark Bicycle Company in St. Louis, Missouri. 

This episode digs into how Michael took his business from chasing demand to creating it. He explains how his company took proactive steps to embrace the sudden surge in demand during the pandemic while still looking ahead to solve issues before they created roadblocks. The wide-ranging conversation also included:

• Why businesses should examine their relationship with demand: are you driving it or is it driving you?
• Weaknesses of big box retailers and how small retailers can differentiate themselves
• How Big Shark Bicycle Co. was able to take advantage of timing and luck to get ahead of consumer trends
• The importance of understanding your business’s vertical while also being instinctual to recognize opportunities
• The key to connecting community efforts to business goals
• How a passion for expanding outdoor culture turned into working on a festival-length film that celebrates American Criterium Racing

“If you’re just doing things at a zero-revenue model, you’re not valuing yourself, you’re not investing in the future of growing a business or growing the market.” - Michael Weiss

Resources to Count On
Want more insight into the conversation? Check out these resources to learn more:

• Connect with Michael Weiss on LinkedIn
• Check out Big Shark Bicycle Company’s website
• Learn more about We Are Rock n Roll from the official trailer
• View the American Criterium Cup’s 2024 Series Calendar 

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Hospitality is often one of the first industries to feel the sting of global events like the COVID-19 pandemic or, looking further back, the 2008 recession. For a business like a hotel to survive the highs and lows, it must rely on a combination of ingenuity, forward-thinking and just a touch of audacity. 

For the final episode of season 2 of But Who’s Counting?, host Dave Hartley met with Dave Parmley, founder and owner of Chesterfield Hotels, Inc., to discuss the lessons the hotel mogul learned over his long career in hospitality. Parmley details how he deviated from convention to choose his locations, what he’s done to retain talent post-COVID and the guiding philosophy that enables him to remain proactive, even under unexpected and unforeseeable circumstances. The discussion also covered:

• The story behind Parmley’s purchase of the former Campus Inn in Columbia, Missouri 
• Why he made the move from real estate to the hospitality industry
• How the impacts of the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic compare and their differing effects on the industry 
• Why it’s so important for business owners to establish a solid banking relationship

“Try to find a location that has high barriers to entry. It’s probably going to cost you more, it’s going to take you longer, but at least at the end, you’ve got something that somebody else can’t duplicate easily.” – Dave Parmley

This episode marks the end of season 2 of But Who’s Counting? The podcast will return in 2024 for season 3 with more episodes, guests and valuable insights.

Resources to Count On
Want more insight into the conversation? Check out these resources to learn more:

·      Check out The Broadway in downtown Columbia

·      Learn more about Chesterfield Hotels, Inc. and its properties

·      Connect with Chesterfield Hotels, Inc. on Facebook

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Reinvention. It’s what keeps businesses going and allows entrepreneurs to come up with creative solutions to increase profits and abandon strategies that don’t bring value. At the same time, business leaders must realize they can’t reinvent the wheel alone. It takes a team with a strong company culture to continuously find new ways to innovate. 

Host Dave Hartley sits down with Eric Termansen, Founding Partner of Western Retail Advisors, on this episode of But Who’s Counting? to discuss his journey from the corporate world of PetSmart to running his own commercial real estate brokerage. Eric shares inventive ways to shape company culture and encourage employees to take ownership of it. The conversation ranged from Eric’s beginnings at PetSmart to the struggles he endured while starting his own business to his outlook on commercial real estate. Topics discussed also include:  

• Building company culture and making it more than just one big event, but rather dozens of little things leaders can do every day 
• Handling the stress of being an entrepreneur while facing complications in your personal life 
• The impact team sports had on his life and how it prepared him for challenges on and off the field  
• How his involvement in the Vistage executive coaching group helped him evolve as a leader 
• Eric’s retail outlook and insights around grocery stores, quick-service restaurants and online retailers 

“If you ever have an opportunity to own your location, that’s a fantastic way to deploy your capital…owning your own location or locations is always a good strategy for building long term wealth.” – Eric Termansen 

Resources to Count On 

Want more insight into Dave and Jimmy’s conversation? Check out these resources to learn more: 

• Learn more about Western Retail Advisors via their website 
• Read more about how Eric overcame adversity to be selected as one of Globest’s Best Bosses in commercial real estate for 2023 
• Follow Western Retail Advisors on LinkedIn for more insights 

Make sure to never miss an episode by subscribing on Spotify, Pandora or Apple Podcasts and let us know what you think by rating and reviewing. Keep up with more Anders insights by visiting our website and following us on social media:
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