Ditch Digger CEO with Gary Rabine

Michael Brody-Waite (@mikebrodywaite) joins us to discuss how a life of Rigorous Authenticity can lead to genuine leadership, improved team effectiveness, and higher overall success.  His Mask-Free Program, a system built on three principles inspired by his recovery from drug addiction, lays out a system that anyone can follow for concrete results.

Michael Brody-Waite is an award-winning CEO, tech-startup entrepreneur and recovering drug addict. In 2009, Brody-Waite left a Fortune 50 company to co-found and lead InQuicker, a healthcare SaaS company that allows patients to self-schedule appointments. His leadership grew the organization exponentially and landed InQuicker a spot on the Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies. In 2015, InQuicker was sold to a publicly traded company.

In the time since InQuicker went public, Brody-Waite has made a name for himself as an untraditional leadership coach. He credits his success to the tools he learned in the 12-step program, and now teaches others how to lead his Mask-Free Program. His unique views are captured in his TEDx Talk, “Great Leaders Do What Drug Addicts Do,” which has been viewed more than one million times. Brody-Waite’s first book, Great Leaders Like Drug Addicts, is now available for purchase.

https://michaelbrodywaite.com/

http://greatleadersbook.com/

Instagram: @michaelbrodywaite

Twitter:@mikebrodywaite

Facebook:@michaelbrodywaite

Check out https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/for this week's Top 8 Business Growth strategies and subscribe to our newsletter to download Gary’s 13 Keys to Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Business.

Follow us on Instagram @DitchDiggerCEO (https://www.instagram.com/ditchdiggerceo/) for more helpful business growth tips.

Our goal is to inspire everyone to start their own business and help you grow it to millions or even billions in value so if you feel any benefit from this episode please let us know by leaving an iTunes review, sharing this episode on social media and emailing a link to anyone you think would also find benefit here. Thank you.

1:58 - Leading through rigorous authenticity

11:06 - From kiosk to corporate

17:09 - Authentic leadership means asking for help

22:57 - Seeking authenticity

24:03 - The mask addiction

24:56 - Three principles

30:03 - Looking for the problem

30:48- The job interview question

45:55 - How do you implement change?

57:40 - Partnering with other companies

1:01:41 - When it’s good to have a low authenticity score

1:06:31 - Giving back

1:16:24 - Creating a mask-free world

1:29:10 - Authentic leaders go first

1:30:12 - A valuable teammate calls you out

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO: 

https://www.ditchdiggerceo.com/

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO 

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg

Check out https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/ for this week's TOP 8 Business Growth strategies and subscribe to our newsletter to download Gary’s 13 Keys to Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Business.

Follow us on Instagram @DitchDiggerCEO (https://www.instagram.com/ditchdiggerceo/) for more helpful Business Growth tips.

Our goal is to inspire everyone to start their own business and help you grow it to millions or even billions in value so if you feel any benefit from this episode please let us know by leaving an iTunes review, sharing this episode on social media and emailing a link to anyone you think would also find benefit here. Thank you.

Chris Joyce (@dealrules) is the founder of 24 companies in high tech, consumer goods, health, and manufacturing. His products have been sold in more than 11,000 stores in 23 countries, with users in 148 countries across the globe. His newest venture is Gusher: the simple, quick, and easy way to create and build a startup without the need for investors or capital. Gusher helps Entrepreneurs create and launch startups using time equity. Everything from technology, media, and health to design, finance, and gaming. If you have a great idea and need the expertise of others to help bring it to life, Gusher can help. Go to the Gusher site and get started: www.gusher.co  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dealrules/  

7:30 - Lessons you learn from early entrepreneurial experience

10:00 - How dealing with $#^! makes you stronger 

19:30 - Why building a business from scratch is better training than college 

21:20 - Exposure is everything 

30:00 - Riding the low-carb coaster 

34:10 - Why you should never build on someone else’s trend 

40:30 - VIM for vigor: identifying your Vested Interest Market 

44:00 - Can you really succeed with nothing but a great idea and great people? 

52:10 - What ties together all successful entrepreneurs 

1:01:00 - Confidence and gender inequality  

1:03:30 - Do what you know, and teach your kids that 

1:09:50 - Why you should never kill ideas & never give up 

1:13:20 - The most effective way to increase sales right now 

1:30:50 - Rob’s Takeaways  

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg

Ann Hiatt (@AnnRHiatt) received her initial business training during 15 years as the Executive Business Partner to Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon) and Chief-of-Staff to Eric Schmidt (CEO and Executive Chairman at Google/Alphabet). Ann now consults with executives and companies across the globe to reverse engineer their moonshot goals and get results. Ann is a sought-after international speaker and is on several advisory boards. Ann has recently relocated from Silicon Valley to Europe and brings with her a unique perspective on what it takes to succeed in business today.

In this episode, we talk to Ann about her amazing career with Amazon and Google. She describes her journey from her early years to becoming a name in leadership and management after working with Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt. Now, she manages her own consulting firm and shares to us her learnings and experiences in leadership and striving to be a better CEO.

http://www.annhiatt.co

https://www.instagram.com/annhiatt/

https://twitter.com/AnnRHiatt

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-hiatt/

1:45 Who is Ann Hiatt?

09:06 Ann’s ‘interview’ for Amazon

14:06 Is grit a factor in getting hired?

15:55 How Ann’s father’s military background help shape her

24:36 Working in Amazon

27:12 Ann’s biggest challenge at Amazon

29:55 Women leaders

35:11 Ann’s Book

37:11 What make these great CEOs and Leaders great?

40:41 Being the dumbest person in the room and leadership

46:34 Always being challenged

51:18 What’s Ann Hiatt doing now?

1:01:59 Ann’s experience doing business in Europe

1:05:25 AI needs in companies

1:12:29 Ann’s Moonshot mindset

1:16:28 Smart people with no egos are a recipe to success

1:22:31 Robbie’s take on Ann’s career and journey

1:25:21 Talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not

1:29:20 Diversity in tech

1:32:11 The value in risk-taking

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Like DDCEO on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter:https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg

Brent is the co-founder and CEO of Savant Capital Management, a nationally ranked wealth management firm that manages over 8 billion in assets for 6000 clients and employs over 200 professionals and team members.

Brent earned degrees in finance and economics and an MBA from Northern Illinois University. He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®), and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® (AIFA®).

He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and serves on the boards of the Northern Illinois University Foundation and the Rock Valley College Foundation.

Chicago magazine named Brent as the #1 independent financial advisor in Chicagoland. He represents Savant on the Barron’s Hall of Fame as one of the nation’s top financial advisors for over 10 years.  He was also ranked by Forbes as the #40 top wealth advisor in the nation.

Brent’s passions are being an entrepreneur, drinking wine, and spending time with his family at his lake home in Lake Geneva, WI!

Website: https://www.savantcapital.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/savantweets

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/savant-capital-management/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SavantCapital

05:30- The Brodeski family council

07:50 - How education creates confidence

09:00 - Extroversion can be learned

30:15 - Synergy can be strategized

33:00 - Why you need systems and structures

37:00 - The value of hiring subject matter experts 

46:00 - Growing without the pains

51:00 - Creating a master playbook by combining the best of all involved

53:58 - Core values are non-negotiable

59:15 - How to hire like a boss

1:08:30 - Robbie’s take-aways

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: http://ditchdiggerceo.com/

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg/featured?view_as=subscriber

Check out https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/ for this week's TOP 8 Business Growth strategies and subscribe to our newsletter to download Gary’s 13 Keys to Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Business.

Follow us on Instagram @DitchDiggerCEO (https://www.instagram.com/ditchdiggerceo/) for more helpful Business Growth tips.

Our goal is to inspire everyone to start their own business and help you grow it to millions or even billions in value so if you feel any benefit from this episode please let us know by leaving an iTunes review, sharing this episode on social media and emailing a link to anyone you think would also find benefit here. Thank you.

Anthony G. “Ozzie” Giglio is CEO/Dealer Principal of Windy City Motorcycle Company (WCMC). Ozzie’s experience has run the gamut. He was active duty USN, where he served four tours in the middle east as part of a special ops team focused on counter intel and counter terrorism. He’s now a captain in the Navy Reserve. He holds a JD and is barred in Illinois and Texas. He practiced corporate law, but transitioned to financial services, where he worked on transactions and acquisitions, including real estate. This teed him up for success as the CEO of Windy City Real Estate Group and the eventual acquisition of 10 Harley Davidson dealerships. He founded WC-F with his wife, Jill, in 2000 and they now have 18 locations and employ over 400 people.

https://youtu.be/d1PBIBTZsJ4

https://bizcasthq.com/cxo/ozzie-giglio/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/windy-city-motorcycle-company/

3:35 - Ozzie’s family values: hard work and education

13:30 - The value of maturity and doing things on your own schedule

16:50 - What you learn as an intrepid entrepreneur without a safety net

20:00 - What you learn in the military: leadership, discipline, and the commitment to team

35:30 - Leadership lessons from the military

37:30 - Starting a business after 9/11

49:50 - Developing a network to defeat a network

54:30 - Why growth matters to you, your employees, and your customers

56:40 - How to create a sense of ownership among your employees

1:02:35 - What it’s like to build a family later in life

1:12:10 - How the COVID crisis is driving innovation

1:24:00 - There’s no place like the U.S.A.

1:32:30 - Rob’s takeaways

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: http://ditchdiggerceo.com/

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg/featured?view_as=subscriber

Check out https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/ for this week's TOP 8 Business Growth strategies and subscribe to our newsletter to download Gary’s 13 Keys to Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Business.

Follow us on Instagram @DitchDiggerCEO (https://www.instagram.com/ditchdiggerceo/) for more helpful Business Growth tips.

Our goal is to inspire everyone to start their own business and help you grow it to millions or even billions in value so if you feel any benefit from this episode please let us know by leaving an iTunes review, sharing this episode on social media and emailing a link to anyone you think would also find benefit here. Thank you.

Robert Blackwell, Jr is the founder of Quant16 as well as a successful entrepreneur and former trader. He also founded Killerspin, the world’s leading table tennis engagement brand. The Killerspin experience reaches hundreds of thousands of people annually in over 160 countries around the world. Robert has served on many civic boards over the course of his career, and he currently serves the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Civic Federation of Chicago, Business Leadership Council as well as being on the executive committee to Choose Chicago.  

http://robertblackwelljr.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-blackwell-jr-4218023/  

2:00 - How do people go from poverty to prosperity? 

15:30 - The advantage of growing up without money 

22:15 - Robert’s long-time friendship with former president Barack Obama 

25:30 - Why Robert sold his car to use ride share services exclusively 

26:30 - Robert’s life-changing visit to West Africa 

34:30 - Learnings from the ‘87 market crash 

45:30 - Robert’s formula for decision making 

49:30 - Killerspin’s company values 

52:30 - Investing in ongoing economic opportunities for those with special needs 

54:00 - Lagniappe: a little something extra you weren’t expecting 

56:30 - What’s next for Robert and Killerspin? 

1:02:30 - Why you should have an innovation budget  

1:08:30 - Quantitative analysis vs. quantum computing 

1:18:35 - You can get mentorship by reading, listening, and watching 

1:19:05 - Rob’s takeaways  

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg

Daniel Porcaro has spent the past 33 years growing and developing four companies.  Growing companies is his passion.  Dan grew all the companies mostly through organic growth with very few acquisitions.  He is passionate about long-term revenue and profit growth through the development and execution of a strategic plan and the development of a strong culture.

Currently, Dan is the Managing Partner of Porcaro Stolarek Mete Partners LLC (known as PSM Partners).  Founded in January of 2015, PSM offers IT consulting and talent acquisition services to small and mid-sized firms in the Chicago area.  As of January 2020, PSM employed 73 consultants and 300 clients.  Dan started the firm with his Partners and close friends Mike Mete and Dave Stolarek to grow PSM into the firm it is today.  PSM certainly would not have been nearly as successful without them.

From 1998 through 2012, Dan founded and ran Project Leadership Associates (PLA).  PLA was a business and technology consulting firm headquartered in Chicago.  With five practice areas -network integration, managed services, software development, business intelligence, and business strategy, PLA was unique for its size.  Starting with one employee, Dan grew PLA to 265 people, 50 million in revenue, and 6 offices across the country.  PLA was one of the most profitable, successful firms of its type in the country.  PLA also had a ten-year period where voluntary turnover was less than 2%.  Additionally, Dan is proud to say that PLA never lost money in any month of its existence under his tenure.  Dan sold PLA in 2012 to a private equity firm.

Prior to founding PLA, Dan was a partner in Workgroup Productivity Corporation (WPC).  WPC was a Lotus Notes consulting firm.  Dan was asked to join WPC as an equity partner to grow the firm, nationalize its services, and find a buyer.  He accomplished the growth plan over a 3- year period (growing revenues by 65%) and found a buyer for the firm.  After this transaction, Dan left to start PLA.

Prior to WPC, Dan was an Executive Director and Partner at Lansystems.  Headquartered out of NY, Lansystems was a nationwide network integration firm with an east and west coast presence.  Dan started the central region for Lansystems and quickly grew it from 2 to 60 employees while becoming the most profitable region in the country for the firm.  Lansystems was sold in 1994.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-porcaro-8540391/ 

Website: https://www.myefbc.com/board-staff/dan-porcaro/

4:27 - What’s more important growing up: loving support or a strong entrepreneurial role model?  

4:58 - Leadership: learned or innate?  

11:47 - The importance of being well-rounded as a leader 

17:21 - Learning from others’ mistakes 

36:08 - What makes for a solid business strategy 

45:03 - How to bake sales success into a company’s culture 

49:16 - What really motivates employees (spoiler: it’s not the money) 

1:02:55 The difference between growing a company you plan to sell vs. one you plan to keep 

1:07:53 Can you pandemic-proof a business? 

1:11:44 The positives of partnership 

1:13:44 How culture interacts with earnings growth 1:15:36 Incubating new businesses 

1:21:11 Rob’s take-aways

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:  

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: http://ditchdiggerceo.com/  

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO 

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO  

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO 

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg/featured?view_as=subscriber

Check out https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/ for this week's TOP 8 Business Growth strategies and subscribe to our newsletter to download Gary’s 13 Keys to Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Business.

Follow us on Instagram @DitchDiggerCEO (https://www.instagram.com/ditchdiggerceo/) for more helpful Business Growth tips.

Our goal is to inspire everyone to start their own business and help you grow it to millions or even billions in value so if you feel any benefit from this episode please let us know by leaving an iTunes review, sharing this episode on social media and emailing a link to anyone you think would also find benefit here. Thank you.

Marc Randolph (@thatwillneverwork) is a veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur, advisor, and investor. Marc was co-founder of Netflix, serving as their founding CEO,  the executive producer of their web site, and a member of their board of directors. Although best known for starting Netflix, Marc’s career as an entrepreneur spans more than four decades.  He has founded or co-founded more than half a dozen other successful start-ups, mentored rising entrepreneurs—including the co-founders of Looker Data, which was recently sold to Google for $2.6B—and invested in numerous successful tech ventures. He is a frequent speaker at industry events, works extensively with young entrepreneur programs, sits on the board of the environmental advocacy group 1% for the Planet, and chairs the National Outdoor Leadership School’s Board of Trustees. Website: https://www.marcrandolph.com/ Twitter: @mbrandolph Instagram: @thatwillneverwork Facebook: @marcbrandolph / https://www.facebook.com/marcbrandolph/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcrandolph 2:00 -  How Marc and his family became risk-encouraging—and how this set him up for success 12:30 - Influential entrepreneurs Marc has worked with and how that shaped his experience 22:00 - Netflix now vs. its humble beginnings and the beauty of startups 25:00 - What if Blockbuster had bought Netflix? 26:30 - The role of mentorship 36:45 - Culture and vision 1:00:45 - American exceptionalism and success 

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg

David Hassell (@dhassell)  is a serial entrepreneur, business columnist, and  speaker who believes that when leaders support employees in becoming  their best selves, high engagement and performance and uncommon loyalty  naturally result.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidhassell/

https://www.15five.com/story/

https://medium.com/@dhassell

https://www.instagram.com/dhassell/

3:25 - Entrepreneurship as a form of rebellion

6:15 - The importance of continuity and creating something beyond yourself

7:55 - Life in “beige cubicle land”

10:25 - Why “surfing the net” isn’t really a thing any more

16:04 - Why you need both passion AND profit to thrive

18:25 - How helping others and adding value helps you succeed

23:13 - Why some companies succeed where others fail

25:35 - Why “best-self management” is more effective than performance management

26:25 - The inspiration behind fifteen/five reports: “Sorry, Yvonne [the CEO of Patagonia] is out surfing.”

35:35 - Company relational mastery: what it is and how to achieve it

48:47 - The future of work is collaborative

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg

Check out https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/ for this week's TOP 8 Business Growth strategies and subscribe to our newsletter to download Gary’s 13 Keys to Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Business.

Follow us on Instagram @DitchDiggerCEO (https://www.instagram.com/ditchdiggerceo/) for more helpful Business Growth tips.

Our goal is to inspire everyone to start their own business and help you grow it to millions or even billions in value so if you feel any benefit from this episode please let us know by leaving an iTunes review, sharing this episode on social media and emailing a link to anyone you think would also find benefit here. Thank you.

BONNIE LOW-KRAMEN (@BonnieLowKramen) is an international thought leader, speaker, bestselling author, and the founder and CEO of Ultimate Assistant Training. A celebrity assistant for 25 years to Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Bonnie is an award-winning speaker who empowers staff and executives alike to build ultimate partnerships that are both mutually respectful and profitable. She teaches the BTUA workshop all over the world and in fact, Gary’s EA Debbie Furlano has taken this class. Her work was featured in a Forbes 2019 cover story and her book, Be the Ultimate Assistant, is a must-have resource for every assistant.

Bonnie is passionately committed to ending workplace bullying and closing the wage gap as her way to build confident and courageous women in the world. In 14 countries and 38 states, Bonnie's gift is the ability to guide the humans of our workforce toward meaningful transformations that they feel on a visceral level and coming to solutions together that stand the test of time.

Website: https://www.bonnielowkramen.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bonnie.Low.Kramen

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BonnieLowKramen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonnielowkramen/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiOX60cn5nY&feature=emb_logo

11:15 Childhood impacts your whole career

15:00 The real value of great assistants

18:15 Bonnie’s team and her organization

22:00 Empowering the minority demographic

22:45 Finding and revealing greatness in others

52:45 Establishing/defining core values and respecting employees

1:04:45 Human beings just want autonomy

Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO:

Visit the DDCEO BLOG: http://ditchdiggerceo.com/

Like DDCEO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Follow DDCEO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEO

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh03Px5ez_xe_oE_iJMMNIg/featured?view_as=subscriber