CXO Conversations

Kyle Schultz served as a CEO that wound down a company after a sale and he discusses aspects of that few may have considered. He also speaks about turning down a promotion, why and the positive impact on his career.

Shannon Carter serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Michael and Shannon discuss the role of Associations, transitioning among Associations industries such as Nursing, Tech and Veterinary. She joins us to discuss becoming a CEO of an Association at age 31, and how she was chosen for her current CSO role and the testament of true CEO leadership in hiring her.

Patricia Elias has a unique title at ServiceSource: Chief Legal and People Officer. She joins the show today to talk about how she came to take on the HR role, the unique event that brought her to ServiceSource, and a key realization about this very moment in her career.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Patricia Elias started as an SVP, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for ServiceSource in 2016. Within two years, she was asked to assume the global HR role and title of Chief Legal and People Officer for a global company of over 3,000 employees.

Her prior roles include serving as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at ViaWest, Senior Corporate Counsel at Flextronics, and Lecturer for the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.

GET IN TOUCH WITH PATRICIA ELIAS ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[2:02] Michael introduces Patricia and asks her to share an interesting fact about herself as well as a little bit on what ServiceSource is, and does — Patricia is an inline skating evangelist!

SHOOTING SPORTING CLAYS [4:49] Patricia talks about what brought her to ServiceSource and it all began with shooting sporting clays!

CORPORATE SECRETARY [6:38] What does a corporate secretary do? Patricia shares what her first few years were like. She shares the story of how she was approached to take on the role of head of HR.

PREPARATION? HARDLY [11:06] Patricia touches on how little preparation she got before taking on the role. It was on-the-job training; she shares the two things that helped her most at the time. Patricia shares why she chose the CPO title instead of CHRO.

WHY LAW? WHY IT? [14:33] Patricia shares how she made her way to law, and eventually Counsel; the choice of working in tech and IT probably reflects her strong interest in science.

HR/LEGAL [16:53] 80% of her time is spent on HR matters, 10% on legal, and the remaining would be a space where she needs to wear both hats. Because of this experience, as well as some personal choices, Patricia will probably never go for a General Counsel role that has no extended responsibilities again.

PIVOT [20:05] Patricia and Michael agree that she is currently in the middle of a pivot! Patricia explains that the breadth of the impact she has on the organization could never be equaled by a legal-only position.

PRIDE AND LEGACY [21:51] Patricia shares how proud she is about having instituted parental leave at ServiceSource as well as the broader diversity impact this measure has had on the business. She shares another pride point.

EXPECTATIONS [24:35] Patricia talks about the things she has found to be interesting discoveries about her new role, but she didn't have expectations, per se. She touches on how to handle working in multiple time zones and shares some personal tips on how to manage a team with empathy while working crazy hours.

HUMANS VS TECHNOLOGY [26:52] The modern technological paradigm has built a world where work hours have grown to the point of encroaching on personal life; Patricia shares her take on how to maintain healthy work habits. She also touches on the effects of COVID-19 on work environments and her predictions for the future of work.

ADVICE [29:32] Patricia offers advice to future CXOs and prepares for C-suite interviews. Know your business, and just don't be a jerk. She also shares her insight for people who hold dual roles as she does — especially when one of those roles involves legal.

BEST WORST JOB PATRICIA EVER HAD [34:14] A temp job answering the constantly ringing corded phone while welcoming and being polite to customers who appeared at the window. It was so stressful it led her to realize she needed a college degree.

FINAL THOUGHTS [36:45] An attitude of gratitude, empathy, and outward mindset are key to success, and happiness.

[37:17] Michael thanks Patricia for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly

Leslie has worked in financial services, engineering, Energy, ski industry, health care, and technology and today she joins the show to talk about starting a new role on the eve of a national lockdown and crisis, how she leverages her experience in different sectors and the impact of authenticity on executive culture.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Leslie McIntosh is the Vice-President Head of Human Resources. Previously she held the role of Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer of BioScrip. She was also Vice President, Human Resources at DigitalGlobe, a business unit of Maxar Technologies. Prior to that, she was HR Director at Vail Resorts and held senior HR roles at MWH (now part of Stantec), Janus Henderson Investors, and American Century Investments, with ten years at public companies.

GET IN TOUCH WITH LESLIE ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:52] Michael introduces Leslie and asks her to share an interesting tidbit about herself as well as what CoreSite is and what they do.

NATIONAL LOCKDOWN [3:52] Leslie talks about getting on a plane to her new job at CoreSite on the eve of the National lockdown at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the experiences she drew from to manage that rocky transition.

CRITICAL MOMENTS [8:00] In her very first professional-level role, Leslie learned important lessons about how to take feedback and how to become more aware of the impact of her action on others. She shares a second pivotal career moment.

CANDIDATE SELECTION [9:27] Passionate, smart, talented, and humble are just some of the key characteristics Leslie looks for in her candidates.

ACROSS SECTORS [10:20] Leslie touches on what the advantages are of having touched and worked in so many different sectors. She also touches on the surprises she had at her different roles.

WHY THE C? [12:53] Leslie shares what personal discoveries she made on her way to figuring out if the C-suite was for her. She also talks about the rewards and challenges of roles at that level as well as some of the overlooked aspects.

PREPARING [16:40] Preparing for a board interview for Leslie is an organized process, she walks us through it and shares her tips for being prepared.

INTERVIEW ADVICE [19:27] Leslie shares her advice for people who may be looking at high-rank interviews in the future.

CULTURE [20:50] Culture is super important; Leslie shares her own experiences with various places she's worked in; she also touches on how she identifies good cultures. She also talks about how to change or manage culture.

MENTORSHIP [24:15] Leslie speaks to her own experiences as a mentor and a mentee.

PASSING YOUR TURN [27:57] Leslie was always very certain that she wanted a company that was the right fit for her and she has passed up opportunities that would have been great for her career, but not such a great fit.

EMERGING LEADER ADVICE [29:00] Why do you want the role, and what important thing do you have to give are two things Leslie advises you should think on. She also expands on servant leadership.

BEST WORST JOB LESLIE EVER HAD [31:08] Working for a family catering company, Leslie shares what she learned from that experience.

[34:44] Michael thanks Leslie for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

CoreSite

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly

Jordan Connely joins the show today as the President of Obsidian HR and CFO of ProService Hawaii (Obsidian's parent company). He and Michael share some interesting practices when it comes to HR as well as Jordans' thoughts on how to improve your career, how to transition from consulting to the C-suite, and the many roles he's held throughout the years.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Jordan Conley is President of Obsidian HR, as well as the current CFO of ProService Hawaii (Obsidian's parent company). He is responsible for the strategy, customer experience, culture, and profitability of the business.

Leveraging over 20 years of experience in the HR outsourcing industry, he brings a unique perspective to the evolving needs and definition of "HR" in the modern workplace.

Prior to being appointed President of Obsidian HR, he was a founding member of ZeroChaos (now Workforce Logiq) and has held senior leadership roles at CoAdvantage (a large national HR outsourcing firm).

As a natural entrepreneur, Jordan is passionate about seeing opportunities where businesses need help and partnering with leaders to protect their operations and make growth a reality. Jordan attended the University of Central Florida and Crummer School of Business at Rollins.

He is married with three sons and currently resides in Denver, CO where he is an active car aficionado, an avid reader, and a connoisseur of Colorado beer.

GET IN TOUCH WITH JORDAN CONLEY ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[2:49] Michael introduces Jordan and asks him to share a little bit about what ProService Hawaii and Obsidian HR do as well as the differences between working in Hawaii and on the mainland.

A LITTLE BIT OUT OF THE BLUE [8:44] What Jordan didn't realize at the time was that in consulting he had been doing a year-long interview for the CTO position!

CXO PATH [10:30] Having dropped out of undergraduate school to launch a startup, Jordan speaks to his non-linear path to the C-suite by way of an MBA. He shares an anecdote about staying in touch with some of his classmates and even having some of them now working out of Hawaii.

SLOW BUT STEADY [15:19] From CTO to COO Jordan talks about the slow transition he made from IT to HR as well as playing both roles for a period of time. Jordan also shares his most rewarding and challenging moments as a COO.

KEEPING TRAINS ON TIME [19:10] Jordan shares his take on the COO role as well as the period of time when the COO was living out of Sweden and traveling to Honolulu regularly, requiring Jordan to fill a lot of roles.

LEGACY AND ADVICE [20:51] Jordan touches on what he hopes are the traits people will remember him by at ProService. He shares one of his proudest moments at ProService, as well as some critical advice for aspiring c-suite.

[24:00] Jordan explains why you need to make sure you're never a bottleneck as well as relentless prioritization.

MANAGEMENT STYLE [26:49] Jordan walks us through the leader-leader style of management and talks about the great advantages and difficulties of Topgrading.

RECRUITING [32:10] Recruiting and hiring is one of the most important aspects of Jordan's job, and he will spend around 40% of his time on it.

DECISIONS [33:22] Jordan shares a decision he made that didn't go as planned.

BEST WORST JOB JORDAN EVER HAD [35:30] Bussing tables at a restaurant!

[39:26] Michael thanks Jordan for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

ProService

Obsidian HR

Topgrading

Books:

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders, by L. David Marquet

The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability, by Craig Hickman, Tom Smith, and Roger Connors

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don't, by Verne Harnish

Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO, by Nathan Bennett

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly

Bennie S. Covington, Chief People Officer for Integrated Financial Settlements, comes on the show to share his story about falling into HR even as he tried to avoid it, what it means to run a successful business, and what you need to cultivate to be a strong leader and aspire to the C-suite, even when you don't!

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Bennie S. Covington has helped small businesses, nonprofits, Fortune 500, and global organizations align their culture to their mission-critical goals to help them to create a blueprint for success in the global market. He leverages best practices in Agile principles, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and adult learning theory to do this effectively.

He has mentored hundreds of leaders and managers globally in the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and Belgium. In 2017, he earned recognition for being in the top 10% of global leadership development programs in the areas of executive coaching, team development, and new leader development from HR.com.

​He currently is the Chief People Officer at Integrated Financial Settlements. As a community leader, he has participated in the Downtown Denver Partnership leadership program, served on the Five Points Business District Welton Street Design Working Group, and the Denver Mayor's Pedestrian Committee.

GET IN TOUCH WITH BENNIE ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:52] Michael introduces Bennie and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself as well as share a little about Integrated Financial Settlements.

LEGACY [9:30] Bennie touches on how his goal at the onset of his current role was to stabilize, partner, and transform HR in the business. He walks us through the key points to keep in mind in order to tackle such an undertaking and what sustainability really means for a business.

DREAMS OF A CXO ROLE? [13:01] Being C-suite, even being in HR, had never been on Bennie's radar; he talks about the very personal way he became interested in HR and how he came to see CXO roles as a way to transform operations.

C-SUITE QUALITIES [18:06] In order to be tapped for a C-suite role, you have to demonstrate some understanding of business. Bennie talks about a few more reasons why he may have been initially tapped for the VP role as well as some questions he was asked.

IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE [21:35] Having some background in the more technical aspects of the job might have been helpful in the beginning, so Bennie suggests that if you do have a strong interest in a field, you should stay up-to-date.

RADIO [26:02] Bennie was aiming for a radio hosting career, he recounts how that began in earnest and how he actually changed paths when the industry began consolidating. He does rely upon some of that experience for public speaking.

LEVEL SETTING [33:12] Bennie shares a tip to make sure people follow you in a conversation.

CHRO to CEO? [33:46] Bennie doesn't know if CHRO moves to CEO but it seems like it might be the time for it.

ADVICE [36:50] Understand the business and the number 1 expense is Bennie's biggest piece of advice for aspiring CXOs. Bennie shares a city design example!

BEST WORST JOB BENNIE EVER HAD [42:00] Call center work… Bennie touches on what he learned working in a field that was not for him.

[46:50] Michael thanks Bennie for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Integrated Financial Settlements

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly

Randal Meske, CRO of ConstructConnect, joins the show today to talk about how he approaches turning around a business, the complex network of qualities that make a good leader, and how to set up your hiring practices so that you know if the fit is right within 90 days.

Today's discussion is fast-paced and filled to the brim with advice and tips on how to cut your sales chops in today's market and bettering your function as a team member; take your pens and pencils out and don't miss out on any of it.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Randal Meske is the CRO at ConstructConnect (a Roper Technologies company) and the Founder and CEO at Evreware, a market intelligence firm.

Prior to Evreware, Randal was the President at Citation Technologies Inc., an environmental compliance solutions company. Before Citation, Randal was the Vice President of Oracle's Global Collaboration Sales Unit. Prior to Oracle, Randal was the Vice President, Technical Publishing Business Development at IHS where he managed their worldwide content supply network. Before IHS, he served as Sr. Director of Business Development at Citrix Systems, Inc. He also had multiple international assignments in Europe and Latin America with Lotus and IBM managing regional P&L, creating go-to-market strategies, and building multiple sales organizations in those geographies.

Randal graduated with honors in 1986 from the University of North Texas earning a B.B.A. with an emphasis on International Business. Prior to University, he studied abroad for one year in Germany. Randal is fluent in German and currently studies Italian. He lives in the Denver area with his wife and 3 daughters.

GET IN TOUCH WITH RANDAL ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:52] Michael introduces Randal and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself — Randal was part of a men's barbershop chorus called the Vocal Majority — and some information on ConstructConnect.

SALES CHOPS [8:05] Randal offers a few possible avenues for newcomers to start gathering some direct sales experience — just make sure it's something you can believe in.

C-SUITE QUALITIES [11:50] The advantages of having had good, and bad, leadership in shaping your path to the C-suite. Randal touches on what qualities factor into reaching the C-suite.

SIZE OR PRIDE [14:37] Randal shares his biggest, and his proudest deals — they are not the same.

JOB REWARDS [18:11] With regards to the rewards of his work, helping people do the best work of their lives is the answer that comes up spontaneously for Randal.

CXO DIFFERENCES [19:00] Randal touches on the differences in titles between CSO and CRO. Sales will limit the person to sales whereas most times CRO will encompass marketing as well.

#1 CHALLENGE [21:05] Though it depends on the business, Randal talks about the pressure of hitting the number and target objectives you've established. He also touches on culture and how important it is to take a business to the next level.

TURNING AROUND A BUSINESS [23:44] Randal talks about his management style as an example of how a turnaround might go — he breaks down the details and reminds people in that position to shut up and listen in the beginning.

MAKING TALENT CHANGES [28:35] Sometimes you walk into a situation where someone is being inappropriate or abusive, in blatant cases, you address them right away, but if your hiring practices are right, you give people 90 days.

LEADERSHIP HIRING [31:19] Randal shares the long version of what he looks for in leadership hires as well as the two most important points: grit and problem resolution.

ADVICE FOR VPs [38:05] Learn, learn, and learn is the basis of Randal's advice, as well as talking to younger people and becoming a better teammate.

BEST ADVICE RANDAL STILL USES [42:02] Executives are busy; when they give you time, you have to respect that — don't take half an hour to make a five-minute point, Randal is a talker, he had to learn this skill.

BEST WORST JOB RANDAL EVER HAD [44:38] Digging ditch for a local gas company at $2.87 an hour — Randal shares an ego check story from that time.

[52:03] Michael thanks Randal for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

ConstuctConnect

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly

Our guest today is Steve T. Joanis, CEO of PlanetIQ. He comes on the show to share his experience having served as a CFO, President, board member, and partner through different investment firms.

Don't miss this episode for some serious tips on how to best appear on VC's radars and stay top of mind for C-suite recruiting as well as what the most successful CXO candidates share in terms of personality traits.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Mr. Joanis has 25-plus years of management consulting, venture capital, and C-Level management experience in venture-backed companies across many industries. He has served on the Boards of Directors for more than 20 companies and has many successful exits to his credit as both a primary investor and as management. His strength in finance and operations has driven his expertise in scaling businesses with a focus on cash flow and value for investors.

Mr. Joanis managed strategy and M&A consulting engagements at LEK consulting, was a primary investor as a Partner at Wolf Ventures and Roser Ventures, was a Founder and Partner of PE firm HardPoint Capital, and had P&L responsibility as a C-level manager at three different startups, going back to 2003. At T3 Media, his most recent success story, Mr. Joanis led the company from pre-revenue through the high-growth phase and exited by selling to two different PE firms in two separate transactions. Mr. Joanis has raised more than $200MM in venture capital or venture-related debt.

Mr. Joanis has a BS from West Point and an MBA from Wharton. He was a decorated military combat aviator prior to his civilian career.

GET IN TOUCH WITH STEVEN ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:52] Michael introduces Steve and asks him to share a little bit about what PlanetIQ does.

BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS [4:02] Steven shares what attracts him to any specific company: market size, protected technology, high-profit margins, and a solid team are all part of his checklist. He talks about what PlanetIQ had to offer to get him on board.

SPEAKING VC [8:30] An overarching theme in Steven's career seems to have been his pull towards high tech. He touches on some reasons that may be as well as how being on the investment side has influenced his style as a CEO.

LOOKING BACK [12:42] Going back to investment? Steven talks about all of the things he loved in the investing world and what being on the entrepreneurial side offers that suits him better.

DECIDING TO BE A CEO [15:39] Steven's military career helped shape his decisional process and probably played a huge role in him aiming for decisional roles and positions that offer responsibilities.

MILITARY INFLUENCE [20:22] Steven touches on how the military influenced his leadership style as well as the success he's garnered. He also speaks to his hiring practices and how the military plays into that aspect as well.

PIVOTING TO THE C-SUITE [28:57] After having moved away from VC, Steven found a comfortable space for himself which put him on the fast track to his first C-suite contract. He also explains how having been on various company boards helped him identify how he could best tackle the C responsibilities.

ADVICE FOR VP'S [32:40] Looking at where CEOs come from when it comes to venture-backed high tech companies, most of them come out of sales or tech. Steven explains how you can use this information to build a strategic path to the C-suite. He also shares a few tips on jumping into a CXO role.

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES [35:47] Steven touches on what VCs look for, in terms of personality, when searching out new candidates. He also shares ideas on getting onto a VC's radar.

TIMELESS ADVICE [38:52] Steven shares some early advice he got which is still relevant today, 20 years later.

BEST WORST JOB STEVEN EVER HAD [44:56] Being a dairy farmer!

[47:27] Michael thanks Steven for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

PlanetIQ

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly

Scott Miller, EVP of Thought Leadership at Franklin Covey and author of the recently released book Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow joins the show to talk about what he learned from being fired, what a thought leader does, what makes great leaders and how to work towards leadership success.

Strap in for a fast-paced, energetic discussion on the ins and outs of leadership.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Scott J. Miller is Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership. Scott has been with the company for 20 years and previously served as Vice President of Business Development and Chief Marketing Officer. His role as EVP caps 12 years on the front line, working with thousands of client facilitators across many markets and countries.

Prior to his appointment, Scott served as the General Manager of the Central Region, based in Chicago. Scott originally joined Covey Leadership Center in 1996 as a Client Partner with the Education Division.

Scott started his professional career with the Disney Development Company, the real estate development division of The Walt Disney Company in 1992. As a research coordinator, he identified trends and industry best practices in community development, education, healthcare, architectural design, and technology. Scott received a B.A. in Organizational Communication from Rollins College in 1996.

GET IN TOUCH WITH SCOTT ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC National Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:15] Michael introduces Scott Miller and welcomes him to the podcast to talk about his experience having nine distinct careers inside the same organization and what initially drew him to Franklin Covey.

GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES [5:30] Scott's father worked for Lockheed Martin for 35 years, and Scott had a plan to make it to CEO by his mid-fifties; he just never expected to walk most of that path with Franklin Covey! He touches on a few reasons why he stayed.

LEGACIES AND MANAGEMENT STYLES [7:54] Lifting people up is the one thing he would love his legacy to be. Scott also touches on how he approaches managing his employees; brutal honesty is a good start for him.

DISNEY DAYS [12:20] Despite having been an amazing learning experience, Disney was the wrong culture for Scott and his bull-in-a-china-shop attitude got him spun out. He shares his most valuable lesson coming out of Disney.

BEING AN IMPACTFUL LEADER [15:36] Regulating your emotions is a C-suite competency, not an option: You have to be able to have high-courage conversations where you're moving outside your comfort zone and do it in a delicate and elegant way. He shares an interaction he had with Laird Hamilton.

THE FRANKLIN PLANNER AND MORE [19:22] Scott talks about all of the services and products Franklin Covey offers as well as some of the history of the company.

EARNING THE C-SUITE [22:17] Scott shares the serendipitous story of how he ended up as Chief Marketing Officer as well as how he got on the radar for the position. Always hit your forecast if not your goal, Scott is proud to have earned his way into the C-suite.

DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS [28:35] If you can't summon the courage to call out people on their blind spots, you don't deserve the leadership role. Scott explains what you can do to improve, and, believe it or not, it starts with practice and separating facts from emotions.

WHAT IS AN EVP OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP [34:00] Does Scott just sit there and pontificate all day? It really is the new public relations. Scott breaks down what his work entails in practice.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE [37:55] Scott shares his own experience with what he calls seasons rather than continuous balance.

PERSONAL BRANDS [40:27] Scott touches on the delicate balance he has to keep in order to grow his own brand while keeping his fiduciary responsibility to grow the Franklin Covey brand as well. Be very thoughtful about how you are curating your brand, and if you're an employee of a company, it needs to be congruent with or separate from it.

BEST WORST JOB SCOTT EVER HAD [47:23] Waiting tables! Scott shares exactly what he learned in terms of both customer service and teamwork.

FINAL THOUGHTS [48:40] Don't confuse being efficient with being effective.

[49:41] Michael thanks Scott for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Book: Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow, by Scott Jeffrey Miller

Podcast: On Leadership with Scott Miller

The 7 Habits of Very Highly Effective People, by Dr. Stephen R. Covey

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC National Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly

Today, Heather Terenzio from Techtonic joins the show. She's a name that comes up a lot with good buzz and we're lucky to have her on to talk about acting on and running with an idea, founding and leading her own company, challenges and successes of selling a unique concept, and what drives her.

Tune in for loads of advice on building and running flexible companies that survive hardship as well as novel ways to build tomorrow's workforce.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Heather Terenzio is the founder and CEO of Techtonic Group. Techtonic Group is a software services company building web-based and mobile products for start-ups and the Fortune 1000. Four years ago, Heather founded Techtonic Academy to train people with diverse backgrounds how to code using a unique, Department of Labor (DOL) approved Apprenticeship program. This highly selective Apprenticeship program recruits people who have the desire, ambition, and skill set to be a great software developer — regardless of their background or academic training. The Techtonic Group Apprenticeship program has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Popular Mechanics. Heather believes that diverse and inclusive talent are the building blocks upon which great companies are built.

GET IN TOUCH WITH HEATHER ON LINKEDIN

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Podfly Productions: Podfly.net

Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org

OC National Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[1:15] Michael introduces Heather and the company she founded and asks her to talk about what Techtonic is, what it does, and how it came about.

LET'S PAY YOU TO LEARN [4:55] Heather touches on how being an apprenticeship company is a really interesting intersection to be in. A whole world of government, grant, and foundation funding becomes available.

AGILE [7:05] Challenges are something that agile helps Techtonics overcome, Heather shares stories of how the company has iterated its processes in order to be better at what they do.

IT'S NOT JUST FOR TRADE JOBS [8:32] Heather touches on some of the reactions she got from developers in the beginning even if humans have been learning by apprenticeship for a long, long time. She also shares some of the apprenticeship criteria and attributes.

BEING BACKGROUND AGNOSTIC [11:42] Taking all of the barriers to entry away was the key to unlocking diversity in a natural way. Techtonics only takes the best of the best and it turns out that this is a very diverse group of people. She shares the first Apple Watch fail as an example of diversity being a necessary element of any successful project.

ONCE THEY'RE IN, THEY'RE HOOKED [15:57] Heather talks about how shifting mindset in potential clients — and their HR departments — takes a while, but once they're in, they're hooked!

UNTAPPED LABOR FORCES [19:24] Training veteran spouses is one of Techtonic's initiatives and Heather touches on how the idea came about as well as who they partnered with to set it up.

IT COMES DOWN TO GUT [22:52] Heather touches on what she looks for in her key hires for the company. She shares some stories of the good and bad fits she's had.

BUILDING THINGS [24:42] This isn't Heather's first company. She talks about her love of building things and what kind of person it takes as well as her experience building her first company.

THERE IS NO ONE HERE I WANT TO BE IN 5 YEARS [27:48] Heather shares her path from engineering to tech. She also talks about how she made her way to the C-suite.

ADVICE [30:54] Heathers shares her advice for people aiming to be CXOs. She also takes time to share the advice her dad gave her.

COVID [33:11] Crisis management is about focusing on what you can control; Heather offers that in her experience leaner companies fare better in crisis.

BEST WORST JOB HEATHER EVER HAD [35:20] Waitressing in high school and college; it's horrible for a clumsy person, but it makes you so much more efficient and great at customer service.

FINAL THOUGHTS AND READING RECOMMENDATIONS [37:22]

[41:14] Michael thanks Heather for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.

We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Techtonic

Book: Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, by Ben Horowitz

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Jalan Crossland for the music

Angela Johnson at OC National Search

Joseph Batty at Podfly

Corey Coates at Podfly