Change Your Mindset

Kristen Rampe,  Founder of Kristen Rampe Consulting, returns to the show to discuss how CPE educators can get the best out of their presenters and subject matter experts and a new training tool for those who want to build confidence when speaking in front of a crowd: PowerPoint Improv!

If you want to get better at speaking, this episode is for you.

Kristen conducted an excellent breakout session during the 2018 CPE Educators Conference, in which a group of us discussed how we can get more engagement from our audiences.

One of the things she talked about was giving the different personas in the room what they need – but what does it really mean to know your audience?

You need an understanding of...

• Who’s in the room
• What their background is
• Why they’re there
• What they want to learn

If you don’t know who they are and what they want, it’s going to be a lot harder to provide value or engage them. Remember: in any speaking engagement, it’s not about you, it’s about the audience.

PowerPoint Improv

Kristen recently discovered this new kind of improv, and I’m fascinated by the concept. It sounds like excellent training for any professional speakers, or just anyone who wants more confidence in front of crowds. Plus, it sounds like fun!

The premise is simple:

1. After some basic improv education and warm ups, participants get on a stage with a slide deck that they’ve never seen before.
2. In proper improv fashion, they get a topic from the audience.
3. The participant gives a presentation on that topic!

Kristen says most people go into this a little bit nervous, naturally, but then they realize just how much they can do, how much they know, and how many stories they can tell.

Check out kristenrampe.com/powerpoint-improv to learn more, and to see a video of PowerPoint Improv in action.

Resources:

• Learn more at kristenrampe.com
• Connect with Kristen: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
• Accounting Dreams and Delusions: Scenes From Professional Paradise, and What Really Happens in the Accounting Industry by Kristen Rampe

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Chris Loehrer is a right-brain person living in left-brain world, meaning he is extremely creative, has a BFA in animation and film, but currently operates in a leadership role within The Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA)… not exactly what you might expect from a creative type.

In this episode, Chris offers a unique perspective on the topic of leadership, and shares the challenges he faces with getting some of his ideas across and accepted in a numbers-driven, linear thinking business environment.

Chris is the Studio Operations Manager at OSBA. He was hired to create innovative products and services for membership across all departments, as well as communication plans that tell the story of membership benefits and the value of membership.

However, the bulk of his work in recent months has been implementing new and innovative delivery methods for getting those products to members. In the process, he works with many different teams.

When working with different teams, Chris takes a “Minnesota nice” approach. He believes that we don’t have to be anything but friendly in our teams; it won’t serve you to act upon knee jerk emotional responses, or for leaders to approach the team with a “this is the way it is” attitude.

A team doesn’t operate effectively, in the long run, that way.

The best teams are full of learners, Chris says, especially creative learners – people who can see beyond an obstacle and find previously unseen avenues for success are critical.

And while lawyers and accountants may not immediately consider themselves creative right now, Chris says, “People don’t consider themselves creative until they are given the opportunity to be creative.”

Like in improv, there are no wrong answers when trying to collaborative solve a problem; bad ideas are just bridges to good ideas. So fostering an environment where new ideas are not only accepted but encouraged creates more opportunities to solve problems.

“I’ve learned through fantastic leaders that active listening and thoughtful acceptance of what you’re hearing from other team members is a big deal, and you don’t have to be the person in the room who has the answer all the time.”

Resources:

• I want to get to know you better! Please click here to fill out a 5-question survey so that I can better tailor the show to meet your needs.
• Connect with Chris on LinkedIn

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Ted Janusz is a speaker and marketing guru, and he’s here to help you get the most out of your online presence. We discuss how you can set your organization apart from the competition, how to get your clients and prospects spending more time on your website, and what you can do to raise your level of authority to be perceived as an expert in your field.

Marketing isn’t the same as it was even just 10 years ago – or, at least, your marketing shouldn’t look the same as it did 10 years ago.

For starters, everyone has to have a website. “It’s like the modern business card.”

However, just having a website isn’t enough. You also need the right website.

• There are two big marketing trends that emerged in 2017: influencer marketing & video.
• 79% of people who come to your website scan it, rather than read it – so you need to prioritize visual information, especially videos. Your site needs to grab someone in just a few seconds. Otherwise, they’ll move on.
• The people visiting your site only care about one thing: What can you do for me, or how are you able to help me? Dan Kennedy says that the #1 marketing mistake that most small businesses make is not using testimonials. So get some testimonials, and cut back on those bios!
• When trying to market yourself through video, consider video testimonials, showing members of your staff as real people, and creating how-to videos. Whatever you do, present it from the client’s perspective – not your own.
• Consider why most firms lose customers: 1% die, 3% move away, 5% switch to another firm based on advice from friends or family, 9% switch to another firm based on advice from a competitor, 14% get angry and leave, and then the vast majority leave because they feel ignored or unappreciated. Pay attention to the customers that you already have, and make them feel valued! Satisfied customers are your most effective, and cheapest, form of marketing.

In Made to Stick, Chip & Dan Heath lay out the six common factors of “sticky” marketing campaigns, or the six principles of S.U.C.C.E.S.

1. Simple
2. Unexpected
3. Concrete
4. Credible
5. Emotional
6. Stories

Something else to consider as you’re planning your marketing over the next few years: Millennials and Gen Z are getting older, and soon they will be the majority of your clients (if they aren’t already). They are at home online, and spend a lot of time online, so that’s where you will need to be if you want to attract a new generation of clients.

Resources:

• I want to get to know you better! Please click here to fill out a 5-question survey so that I can better tailor the show to meet your needs.
• Learn more at januspresentations.com
• Connect with Ted: Facebook | LinkedIn

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Mary Foley energizes female entrepreneurs with the clarity, confidence, and tools to attract, engage, and win more clients. She is an author, energizing keynote speaker, business mentor, host of the P.O.W.E.R. Plug Podcast, and a lover of red capes.

On today’s episode, we discuss her book Bodacious! Woman: Outrageously in Charge of Your Life and Lovin’ It! Her sense of humor and positivity comes through on every page of – as it does every minute of this podcast!

This book isn’t just for women, either. Her stories encapsulate the principles of improvisation and the philosophy of Yes, And (which is especially evident when she shares the story of showing up to work without a pair of pants).

If you look at Mary Foley’s website, you’ll see that being “bodacious” is more than something she uses to brand her content – it’s a personal rallying cry.

“I realize that if I want to create the career I want, let alone the life I want, I need to get more bold and more guts – and that’s why the word ‘Bodacious’ became a personal rallying cry.”

When you read the book, or hear Mary describe her journey towards bodaciousness, you’ll see that she is willing to do something that is very scary for a lot of people: take risks.

And if you are, like many of us, wary of taking a risk because you don’t know what’s going to happen, because you might fail, Mary has two words for you – So what?

If you try and something doesn’t work out, so what? You might be working off of a bad definition for failure, anyway. Mary’s definition of failure is “simply not trying,” and making that internal mindset shift can dramatically change your relationship with risk.

“Your ability to take risks more easily and often, bounce back, and have a ‘Yes, And’ perspective isn’t just a nice thing – it’s more and more a critical strategy for not just surviving, but thriving.”

Resources:

• Learn more at MaryFoley.com
• Read: Bodacious! Woman: Outrageously in Charge of Your Life and Lovin’ It!
• Download Mary’s FREE eBook: “How to Thrive on Change for Your Career…Now More Than Ever!”
• Listen: P.O.W.E.R. Plug Podcast

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Jim Canterucci is a catalyst for growth leadership change. He is the Founder of Transition Management Advisors and Constituent Hub, the author of Personal Brilliance: Mastering the Everyday Habits That Create a Lifetime of Success, and creator of a comprehensive system for for leading change called Change Management Project - The Next Step.

For years, Jim and his team at Transition Management Advisors have been helping their clients develop leadership capabilities to create a championship culture, generate innovation, and successfully lead the resulting changes.

More recently, Jim has focused on automating the process of leading large organizational change. Using Constituent Hub, an enterprise SaaS platform, “organizations can facilitate sound change leadership principles, view and influence change leadership across the enterprise, make evidence-based change decisions, and realize the ROI of change.”

So how does Constituent Hub facilitate organizational change?

Most organizations have change initiatives going on all the time, both big and small, and they’re usually tracking those initiatives through spreadsheets or sharepoint. Constituent Hub pulls all of that information together, in a cohesive way, so that change leaders can focus on getting the job done.

For the first time, Constituent Hub will give leaders the ability to look at all of the ongoing change initiatives and how many changes each individual in the organization is involved with.

Analyzing the users (or constituents), identifying who’s resistant to change, helping them prepare, and measuring whether they’re ready for change are, historically, very difficult to do – to the extent that we’ve actually institutionalized not doing them. By lowering the barrier to entry through automation, implementing change becomes much more viable and strategic.

“You’ve heard the term ‘stakeholder’ for project management? I changed the word to constituent because it implies they actually care about the people, are taking care of them, and own their results!”

In addition to working with clients directly, Jim is a former president of NSA Ohio and an incredible speaker.

Jim even developed The Purpose Formula, which helps speakers develop a Purpose Statement and then get buy-in from their audiences. Jim is generous enough to offer this Purpose Formula handout, which offers an overview of the concept and guides you in creating the right formula for your business.

The formula is simple, but it allows you to position your purpose in such a way that you can create a sustainable business. This involves “unveiling that purpose, explaining that purpose, and then finding the customer’s connection linked to that formula so that it’s there’s too.”

“Everything that we do should be inspirational.”

You should also check out Jim’s script for his presentation, Why? The Purpose Story. In this document, Jim provides a detailed, moment-by-moment breakdown of his speech, including stage directions and energy flow. It offers incredible insight into an effective, purposeful story.

Resources:

• Learn more at JimCanterucci.com
• Connect with Jim on LinkedIn
• Check out ConstituentHub.com
• Personal Brilliance: Mastering the Everyday Habits That Create a Lifetime of Success
• Change Management Project - The Next Step

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Laura Stoll is the Talent Development Consultant at Ernst & Young, and she has a fascinating perspective on how you can develop top talent within your organization that is influenced by her background in improv.

Laura studied at Second City, iO, and ComedySportz Chicago. She even has the distinction of being the only student ever thrown out of previous guest (and current husband) Jay Sukow’s classroom!

At EY, Laura strategizes, designs, and consults on large-scale programs designed to improve the value of the internal talent organization, which includes over 8,000 people. Their big focus right now is on the Career Journey.

In every organization, people tend to resist change, especially the kind of large-scale change that Laura aims to create. So change management becomes critical, and that’s where the fundamentals of improv can really come into play.

Improv isn’t about making things up––it’s about planning like mad, and then being prepared to throw your script away to meet the needs of the person you are talking to or working with. Learning improvisational skills inspires a more adaptable mindset, and you can’t approach change without that.

Possibly the most exciting thing about Laura’s work at EY is that other people see the value of these skills, and the top leaders in the organization are getting excited about improv. There’s simply no way to effectively inspire a change in culture without buy-in from the top, so this is a huge step for a huge organization.

And taking that step isn’t optional any more, for any organization. Global markets and whole industries are shifting rapidly – the organizations and individuals who resist change will be left behind.

“If you’re not actively moving to shift your skill set so that you can be more in the moment, react, and respond – and ultimately be a trusted business advisor – you’re going to be left behind because that’s just the way things are evolving.”

If you want to take your first step today, just practice awareness: When you feel yourself putting up a wall, saying no, or reacting negatively, pause and ask yourself, “How could it work?” It’s basic, but that little tweak will start you on the path to change.

Resources:

• Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
• Read: “Will Health-Care Law Beget Entrepreneurs?”

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Jon Petz is born to be on stage – so much so that he left his highly successful career as a corporate vice president to fulfill his purpose and passion by helping others laugh louder, perform better, and achieve more. We discuss how he evolved from a corporate executive to a business magician to an opening keynoter and MC, and how you can better engage your audience in any situation (plus, we laugh a lot along the way).

As a speaker and MC, Jon engages and energizes his audience using his amazing art of performance, inspiring stories, and the unique “It’s Showtime” performance philosophy to bring home the belief and genuine desire to create greater impact in what we do and with the people we do it for.

According to Jon, it’s at this point we begin to demonstrate and achieve the sense of significance and making a difference.

Jon doesn’t just talk about the importance of significance – he walks the walk. Moved by a moment in his own life, Jon and his wife created the Miracles & Magic Program with one simple goal: to provide children with a life threatening illness and their families a chance to feel “normal” again, experiencing the comedy and wonderment of magic and laughter.

Jon also wrote a book on the subject, Significance… In Simple Moments, the proceeds of which are donated to charities like Miracles & Magic that help children in life-threatening situations.

Resources:

• Learn more at JonPetz.com
• Connect with Jon: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
• Support Miracles & Magic
• Get a ticket to Jon’s upcoming show - Saturday, Feb. 17th, 2018, at The Lincoln Theater in Columbus, OH

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Production & Development for Improv Is No Joke by Podcast Masters

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Jody Padar, AKA The Radical CPA, is a leader driven by a passion to foster real change in the accounting profession. She represent the next generation of accounting professionals, leading the vanguard for both digital CPAs and future-ready firms.

Jody returns to the show to discuss her new book, From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide, which is a practice-proven roadmap to a new business model for CPA firms. If you’re looking to change and you’re not sure how to begin, this lays out the steps of creating change through practical strategies, tools, tips, insights, guest experts, and case studies.

So what does the New Firm look like?

• Technology is part of the core of the firm, and is used to facilitate closer client relationships.
• The business model transforms: instead of doing every kind of work for every kind of customer, they’ve niched down.
• They productize everything offered, so they don’t track or bill by time and, instead, offer everything they do at a fixed or value price.

There’s no question: technology is having a significant impact on CPA firms. So how are our firms going to evolve and transform their business model to react to them, and to innovate with them?

“We can’t change fast enough. We really have to transform our accounting firms so that we can be relevant. Change doesn't work anymore. We really need transformation.”

And this transformation isn’t just at the firm or technology level – it’s a total mindset shift that everyone needs to buy into. Everyone in The New Firm needs to be adaptable, forward-thinking, and more than just an accountant.

The computers are going to do most of the accounting work, so we need to be better consultants and trusted business advisors.

We need to be Radical CPAs.

Resources:

• Get your copy: From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide
• Learn more at NewVisionGroup.com
• Connect with Jody: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
• Sign up for Jody’s newsletter

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Marilyn Sherman is a speaker and author who has spent years motivating and inspiring audiences to get out of their comfort zone and get a front-row seat in life, and this is the perfect time of the year to check in with her because she has tips and techniques anyone can use to stay focused on their goals (and New Year’s resolutions).

It’s the end of January, so some of you may have broken your resolutions already – and that’s okay! Listen to the entire episode, apply Marilyn’s tips, and then you’ll be able to resurrect those resolutions for the remainder of the year.

If you want to do a little extra homework and really blow your goals away, you should check out Marilyn’s new book: Is There a Hole in Your Bucket List? How to Overcome Obstacles That Keep You from Achieving Your Goals. (Plus, if you order it through her website and mention the podcast, you will get a free book on wine from Marilyn’s husband!)

Marilyn wrote this book because even successful people tend to sabotage their own success, in some area of their life. However, we can patch up those holes in our bucket list (or our resolutions) with Marilyn’s tips and techniques.

(Some of) Marilyn’s Tips & Techniques for Achieving Your Goals:

• Marilyn suggests creating a bucket list, if you don’t have one already, because it represents your hope for the future; it’s a glorified list of goals. Then, if there is one recurring thing that you can’t cross off of your list, you have identified a hole to fill.

• Be more vulnerable. When you admit that you are struggling (possibly with shame or fear), you will find that you are not alone. “When you expose light to whatever it is that has been holding you back, that’s taking your power back – and that’s the first step to patching up these holes that are preventing you from success.”

• Everyone needs an “Anger Buddy” and an “Anger Sack.” Everyone has a bad day sometimes, but unfortunately we can end up blowing up or snapping at someone who doesn’t deserve it due to the accumulation of many smaller things over time (which is unproductive). You can avoid this ever happening again if you envision an anger sack that fills up when negative things happen. When you feel that it is full, have a chat with your anger buddy, often a significant other, who you have trained to let you vent; you don’t need to add solutions to an overflowing anger sack.

Resources:

• Learn more at MarilynSherman.com
• Connect with Marilyn: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
• Read: Is There a Hole in Your Bucket List? How to Overcome Obstacles That Keep You from Achieving Your Goals

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Keith Harmeyer is all about ideas! He is an expert in innovative thinking, creative problem solving, and idea generation who spent over two decades coming up with great ideas for some of the world’s best known and most successful companies (such as JPMorgan Chase, Disney, Conde Nast, and McDonald’s).

Now, as a Founding Partner of SmartStorming and co-author of SmartStorming: The Game Changing Process for Generating Bigger, Better Ideas, Keith is providing other organizations with the expertise, structure, skills, and proven idea generation techniques they need to develop their own ground-breaking ideas and innovate.

What exactly is innovation?

Keith defines innovation as “the introduction of something new or different that provides greater value or benefit.” If it’s different just for the sake of being different, that’s novelty.

We tend to think of innovation in big terms, on an organizational level, but it all starts with the individual people within an organization.

When the people within an organization learn how to be more creative in their thinking and more innovative in how they approach their work, then you see innovation surface on an organizational level.

Why do we need to innovate?

We are now under continuous, constant pressure to reinvent ourselves and the value we deliver to our customers, clients, and the organizations we work for – and, once again, it’s not just at the organizational level. Each one of us is under that same pressure.

If you don’t disrupt your industry and your business… well, then somebody else is going to disrupt it for you, and you may not be able to keep up.

Resources:

• Learn more at SmartStorming.com
• Connect with Keith on LinkedIn
• Read: SmartStorming: The Game Changing Process for Generating Bigger, Better Ideas

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