FIR Podcast Network

#332: Gilmore Crosby and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Engage your people with cultural change and align your workforce and organization development strategies for results on the bottom line. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert, Gilmore Crosby (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilcrosby/), an experienced and effective leadership and organization development professional. He is a change and project management expert with extensive experience in executive coaching and the facilitation of cultural change in addition to being an author and the president of Crosby & Associates.

Gilmore conducts workshops using the T-group method which is a group dynamic process for learning about how people think about the world and how they handle interactions. Some of his books are “Leadership Can Be Learned: Clarity, Connection and Results” (2017) and “Fight, Flight, Freeze: Emotional Intelligence, Behavioral Science, Systems Theory & Leadership” (2006). Both books offer a practical and proven systems approach to leadership and are available online.

If your firm is stuck or not moving in the right direction, and you want to be more effective, consider reaching out to Gilmore Crosby by visiting his website https://www.crosbyod.com/ and going to https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilcrosby/.

Here are a few AHA messages from this episode:

* Business owners and executives who are confused and who are not getting the results they have hoped for, and don’t really know what to do, should reach out to Gilmore Crosby. #OrganizationDevelopment https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilcrosby/

* I can provide you with conversations where you can ask the right questions. In order to solve your problems, I can teach you how to apply Kurt Lewin’s methods in #OrganizationDevelopment. https://www.crosbyod.com/ @CrosbyandAssoc

* Walking on the giant shoulders of my father, Robert Crosby, and Kurt Lewin, and working with large companies from different locations globally, gives me the credibility to help you find solutions to setbacks in #OrganizationDevelopment. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilcrosby/

* I have experience and wisdom that was gained over the years by working with various teams, so, I can coach you with clarity and accountability and guide you in developing strategies for better alignment in your organization. #OrganizationDevelopment https://www.crosbyod.com/ @CrosbyandAssoc

* Planning and implementing change are two different things. When you can apply those to your own life, it’s easier to do the same in your business. #OrganizationDevelopment https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilcrosby/

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, visit https://thoughtleaderlife.com/.

 

#333: Tony Chatman and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Reinvent your personal and professional decision-making process by reducing bias to create a more inclusive workplace. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert, Tony Chatman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-chatman-6064054/), who is a corporate relationships expert, leadership speaker, trainer, reinvention expert and a board member of the Captain Phillips Lane Kirkland Maritime Trust. He worked as a chemical engineer for a Fortune 500 company for a n...

I have a confession to make. I’m unemployable.

It’s true! After running my own company for years, taking the responsibility and the risks and reaping the rewards, I’ll never be a good employee again. I wasn’t a good employee when I was employed so today I’m certain I’d make whomever hired me absolutely miserable.

But that isn’t to say creating an agency has been easy. It’s not.

It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done—and just when you get good at something, the business changes or, you know, something like a global pandemic happens, and you have to learn something new. Or completely change your business model. 

But it also is the best employment for me—and it could be for you, as well.

As we figure out what the next 18-24 months could look like, becoming your own boss might be an option for you.

Is Now the Time to Scale an Agency?

Some of you because you’ve been furloughed or laid off or because the business has scaled down or because the company has completely gone out of business.

Many people start businesses because they are really good at their craft. Often, they have a different way of doing things and they want to be in control of delivering better service, better results, better creative, or something else that’s just better. So they go out on their own—starting by freelancing and selling their services.

But there’s a hard limit to how much you can grow on your own. After all, time cannot be duplicated (trust me, I’ve tried!). At a certain point you need to hire people to help you—either as employees or contractors—and that often means you’re suddenly an agency—or another type of business—that can solve more and bigger problems for more customers. 

That’s a key difference between scaling an organization that can exist and thrive without your direct day-to-day involvement, and a lifestyle business that is a great job you create for yourself and maybe a handful of other people.

Whatever the reason—and whatever kind of agency you want to build—let’s talk about what it takes to be an entrepreneur and scale a business. 

Shownote Links

* 10 Key Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

* Crucial Conversations

* Agency Jumpstart Program

* Spin Sucks Coaching Program

* Spin Sucks Community

#329: David Finkel and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Achieve business growth and get your life back through strong hiring and management structures. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert David Finkel https://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidFinkel/, the founder and CEO of Maui Masterminds.

David has worked with over 100,000 business leaders, helping them grow their companies and get their lives back.

If you’re a business owner who says to yourself, “My business owns me. I don’t own my business,” reach out to David Finkel at https://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidFinkel/. #BusinessGrowth

Here are a few AHA messages from this episode:

* Business owners who say to themselves, “I don’t own my company. My business owns me,” should look at the work being done by David Finkel at https://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidFinkel/. #BusinessGrowth

* An average person who builds a company works 60 to 90 hours a week. They take work home and on vacations. We help them achieve #BusinessGrowth and get their life back. https://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidFinkel/

* How do you build the systems? An internal team that’s cross-trained? An effective management infrastructure? We help business owners #GrowTheirCompany, as opposed to being owned by it. https://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidFinkel/

* An average person cannot make all the necessary hires at once. They can’t create all the systems needed for #BusinessGrowth alone. We come in to help them with hiring and management systems. https://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidFinkel/

* We help small business owners create systems and hire people who will incrementally scale the business into a mid-sized company over time. #BusinessGrowth https://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidFinkel/

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, visit: https://thoughtleaderlife.com/.

 

#330: Mary Lippitt and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Coping with complex situations by using effective and competent decision-making skills. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert, Mary Lippitt (https://www.linkedin.com/in/MaryLippitt), founder and CEO of Enterprise Management, Ltd.  She is also an award-winning author, speaker and consultant.

Mary conducts leadership consulting and training for executives and organizations. She helps her clients improve their organizational effectiveness. She provides them with practical and effective solutions while helping them to improve their decision-making skills and to navigate modern business challenges.

If you’re a director or VP and you’re not sure if you made a good decision, and you need help with #DecisionMaking, you should consider reaching out to Mary Lippitt by visiting her website at https://enterprisemgt.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/MaryLippitt.

Here are a few AHA messages from this episode:

* Vice presidents and directors who are stressed out about the next decision they need to make, and who need help in order to cope with the complexity they’re facing, should look at the work being done by Mary Lippitt. #CriticalThinking #DecisionMaking https://enterprisemgt.com @MaryLippitt

During the time of the pandemic, the importance of the right brand messaging is magnified. It could be great, be a cookiecutter, or it could even be costly.

In this episode of AMP Up Your Digital Marketing, Glenn Gaudet speaks with Douglas Spencer, President of Spencer Brenneman, LLC., a brand strategy consultancy based in Boston. They discuss how brands can go about brand messaging the right way, examples of brands doing a great job of this, some that did not, and keys of brand messaging to abide by. You’ll learn:

* How to be empathetic in your messaging. 

* What being authentic looks like in brand messaging, and what it does not look like.

* The importance of sincerity, and why it’s an absolute must in your brand messaging. 

Douglas is a branding expert who helps organizations, small and large, figure out who they are, refine their focus, and connect with the people most important to their success. He’s offered to help small businesses and nonprofits with their brand messaging free of charge during the time of the pandemic.

Right now, it’s even more important than ever to have the right brand message. The wrong message can be costly, however, having the right brand messaging can build brand affinity and loyalty, leading to people to keep your brand at top of mind when they want your products or services.

So how do you go about brand messaging? And how important is it? Doesn’t your bottom line take priority in these stressful times? The answer is, your brand is always important, especially during this pandemic.

How Important is Your Brand Now?

You may have heard this before, but we are living in unprecedented times. The reason people keep exemplifying this point is that it’s the reason people don’t really know what to do. There is a lot of uncertainty.

How do you plan for the future when you don’t know how long these tough times will last? How do you navigate through this time when you have nothing to look back on for reference? Everyone is using their best judgment for their specific situation. You can learn from others, or you can listen to what other people are saying and doing, but no one has the 100% correct answer.

For brands, you need to think forward, but also think about who you are now. There are organizations that don’t know what to do, and they make moves out of desperation rather than authentically helping. People have a tendency to want to do well but also want to help others out, Douglas said.

“When you think about your brand now, it’s important to take a step back and really put yourself in the shoes of your customer, your employees, and the people that are important to you,” He said. “Think about what their lives are like. How are your interactions with them impacting that?”

How Do You Think About Your Brand in a World That’s Completely Different?

Some people might not think that branding is important during this time. Right now, they want to survive the short-term and get back to business when things return to normal. But that’s not the case.

People who put work into their brand before the pandemic hit are better suited. They have more trust and brand affinity from their customer base than those who put no time into it. So what do you do now? Do you double down on your brand? Do you change it?

“Think about it in terms of empathy, sincerity, and authenticity,” Douglas said. “In terms of empathy, it’s really important for folks to stop and think about where their customers are.

#326: Randy Kirk and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Deal with marketing challenges in your organization. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Randy Kirk (https://www.linkedin.com/in/randywkirk), president of SoCal MasterMinds. He is also a marketing consultant and author.

Randy conducts marketing consulting services for small businesses. He provides them with a full range of tools, strategies, and services to help them deal with the marketing challenges in their organization to increase their sales and profits. Randy is passionate about helping business owners and executives succeed in business.

If you don’t like to even spell the word #Marketing and are looking for somebody who can help you or just do it for you, consider reaching out to Randy Kirk by visiting his website at https://www.socalmasterminds.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/randywkirk.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Companies that have under 10 employees and hate the word #Marketing should look at the work being done by Randy Kirk. https://www.socalmasterminds.com @SoCalMasterMind

* I do one-on-one consulting for companies to help them with every aspect of their #Marketing, from traditional marketing to the new marketing strategies and tools that everybody is using today. https://www.socalmasterminds.com @SoCalMasterMind

* I help companies with every aspect of their #Marketing, including execution, content creation, and the development of the approach and direction that they should take. https://www.socalmasterminds.com @SoCalMasterMind

* We found that in a mastermind setting, people will focus more clearly on the changes that need to be made and make them more readily. #Marketing https://www.socalmasterminds.com @SoCalMasterMind

* Because of #GroupAccountability, usually within 30 days, people make significant changes. #Marketing https://www.socalmasterminds.com @SoCalMasterMind

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, visit: https://thoughtleaderlife.com/.

 

#327: Barry Moltz and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Unlock the long-forgotten potential of your business through successful sales and marketing strategies. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Barry Moltz (https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrymoltz/), author, radio talk show host, and motivational speaker. He primarily helps small business owners get unstuck through his decades of entrepreneurial experience obtained from his own business ventures, including consulting for various other entrepreneurs.

Barry is a member of the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame; has appeared on many TV and radio programs, such as CNBC’s “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” and NPR’s “The Tavis Smiley Show”; and has taught entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He applies simple and strategic steps to facilitate change as a small business expert, passionate about helping business owners grow and be more profitable.

If you’re a small business owner who’s not entirely sure where to go next or what to do, consider reaching out to Barry Moltz by visiting his website, https://barrymoltz.com/, and going to https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrymoltz/.

The ninth weekly Zoom conversation with FIR hosts and listeners covered (among other things) how to make Zoom meetings more engaging.

You cannot discuss internal communications these days without someone asking about the blurring of the line between internal and external. When done well, there has never been a clear boundary between internal and external, since they are designed to achieve common objectives. When strategized to work together, along with all facets of external communication, this is known as “integrated communication,” a system that coordinates and harmonizes messages from various senders and to various audiences. It is composed of rules (including policies, procedures, and formats) and tools (including distribution channels, styles, and timelines).

How to make this work was the subject of an hour-long conversation on May 21, 2020,with four IABC Fellows: Priya Bates, Diane Gayeski, Angela Sinickas, and Stacy Wilson.

About the panel

Priya Bates is a senior communication executive who provides strategic internal communication counsel in order to ensure leaders, managers, and employees understand the strategy, believe in the vision, act in accordance with the values, and contribute to business results. She is president of Inner Strength Communications in Toronto and previously served as senior director of Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies Limited.

Diane Gayeski is recognized as a thought leader in the practice and teaching of business communications.  She is Dean and Professor of Strategic Communications at the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, and provides consulting in communications analysis and strategies through Gayeski Analytics.  Diane was recently inducted as an IABC Fellow; she’s been active in IABC for more than 30 years as a featured speaker and think tank leader at the international conference, the author of 3 editions of the IABC-published book, Managing the Communications Function, and the advisor to Ithaca College’s student chapter.  She’s led more than 300 client engagements for clients including the US Navy, Bank of Montreal, Fiat, Sony, Abbott Diagnostics, and Borg-Warner focusing on assessing and building the capacities and new technologies for workplace communications and learning teams.

Angela Sinickas is the founder of Sinickas Communications, which has worked with companies, organizations, and governments in 32 countries on six continents. Her clients include 25% of the Forbes Top 100 largest global companies. Before starting her own consulting firm, she held positions from editor to vice president in for-profit and government organizations and worked as a senior consultant and practice leader at Hewitt and Mercer. She is the author of a manual, How to Measure Your Communication Programs (now in its third edition), and chapters in several books. Her 150+ articles in professional journals can be found on her website,www.sinicom.com. Her work has been recognized with 21 international-level Gold Quill Awards from IABC, plus her firm was named IABC Boutique Agency of the Year in 2015. She holds a BS degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MS in Leadership from Northeastern University.

 

Stacy L. Wilson, ABC helps clients get more ROI from their technology investment; specifically leveraging technology for collaboration and communication. She focuses on the people and process sides of intranets and digital workplace, including strategy, governance, usability, content, and adoption. She works for global, Fortune 1000 clients, particularly those with a lot of employees who don’t sit in front of computers; for example, industries such as mining, oil & gas, healthcare, utilities, manufacturing, etc. She is an international speaker and enthusiast of bluegrass music, hiking, food, and whiskey.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my friends, ridden my bike with my team, gone to SoulCycle, hugged another human who doesn’t live in my house, or taken a single day off. When the job of first grade teacher was added to my already full docket, I gave up the notion I used to have (back in the olden days) about not working weekends. If anything, weekends have become the only time I can get any uninterrupted and focused work done.

But it also comes with a certain level of exhaustion. As an introvert, I need time to recharge. And, well, let’s just say I have had zero time alone in many months. Which is a gigantic lead up to the fact that we are replaying an episode from early, early last year about building communities. For two reasons: one, because I always write and record the podcast over the weekend and because so many listeners, Spin Sucks readers, community members, and conversations we’ve had in recent weeks are around building community. 

During this crazy time, organizations suddenly need to rely completely on online communities to stay connected to their customers and to the industry. Even if you haven’t yet built a community, it’s not too late. And now is the perfect time to engage people in an online community where they have shared interests, opportunities, challenges, and even dreams.

Listen to today’s Spin Sucks podcast episode to learn how to build an online community, the secret sauce of engagement, and the short- and long-term benefits of having one.

Establishing a strong company culture is important for any organization, but it can be difficult for a remote workforce to do this.

In this episode of AMP Up Your Digital Marketing, Glenn Gaudet speaks with Michelle LeBlanc, a social media and content marketing consultant who works primarily in the transportation and logistics space. They discuss how companies with remote workers uphold company culture and values, what the benefits are, and the role user generated content (UGC) can play for your employees. You’ll learn:

* How an organization with a remote workforce can uphold its company culture and values.

* How UGC helps in a big way.

* The benefits of a strong company culture have on retention and recruiting.

During the coronavirus pandemic, most companies are working 100% remotely even if they’ve never done so before. This presents some new challenges. How do you manage a remote workforce? Do you have the right tools in place for employees to do their jobs from anywhere without losing any productivity? How do you uphold company culture and make your employees feel included rather than disconnected?

Michelle broke down the answers to these questions in her conversation with Glenn. Many of her clients are trucking companies, as she’s an expert in working with remote workforces on marketing strategies and getting employees engaged as part of their company culture.

How to Approach Company Culture With Remote Workers

For trucking companies, company culture has always been important. It’s easy for truck drivers to feel disconnected from others since they don’t see each other often.

But these companies typically pay attention to this and make a concerted effort to keep employees connected and maintain a strong workplace culture.

Drivers may not have a laptop or a workstation you’d typically see at an office, but they do have a tablet, a smartphone, and a dashboard on their devices that keep them digitally connected to their distributed coworkers. Communication through their devices helps them feel more connected to coworkers and not out on an island and alone.

Outside of digital communication, many companies try to make their employees feel valued in other ways, such as including them in content, highlighting content they create, and highlighting achievements.

When any organization, even trucking companies, make a concerted effort to keep employees engaged, it usually ends with positive results. But building a good culture with people who uphold your values starts at square one.

“Hire for culture,” Michelle said. “Look for people who will align with your company values. Companies that are driven by their values will shine at this time.”

Benefits of Upholding Values and Prioritizing Company Culture

When organizations hire with company values in mind, it improves retention. This is a major cost-saving benefit and helps HR not have to recruit new employees, allowing them to spend time in other areas.

“Every time we have to recruit someone new, we don’t have the knowledge of the person anymore, and from a loss of productivity perspective, we lose something like $5,000 every time that happens,” Michelle said. “If we can retain people, that’s a huge value prop. Keep the people you already have.”

To keep retention up, you have to prioritize culture, and make employees feel valued and part of the greater group.

In the May episode of “The Hobson and Holtz Report,” Neville and Shel discussed how a group of online retailers led by Amazon has come together to pressure the U.S. Congress to save the Postal Service through a highly targeted advertising campaign. Other topics include…

* The importance of being true to your brand purpose during the pandemic

* New tools on LinkedIn

* The evolution of brand movies

* How Skype faded while Zoom rose

* A challenge from the United Nations for creative types to create visual pandemic messages

Dan York reports on Facebook’s acquisition of GIPHY and the opportunities for communicators to learn more about live streaming.

We are hosting an FIR Communicators Coffee Break on Zoom each Thursday during the stay-at-home period at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to [email protected]. Spread the word to your communications community.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog.

The next episode of For Immediate Release will be posted on Monday, June 15.

Links from This Week’s Episode

* To All the Purpose-Driven Businesses: We Will Remember You

* How PepsiCo Partnered with Actor John Krasinski to Highlight CSR Efforts

* PepsiCo Foodservice Launches Four New Initiatives To Support Restaurant Industry COVID-19 Relief Efforts

* PepsiCo Finds Empathy Is The New Imperative for Marketers Amid Pandemic Uncertainty

* PepsiCo Helping Restaurant Workers Coping with COVID-19

* PepsiCo Is First Major Consumer Foods Name to Take a Big Dive Into DTC

* Popeyes Is Hiring Musicians to Record its Iconic ‘Love That Chicken’ Jingle

* Top AWS engineer Tim Bray quits $1m-plus job over Amazon firing employees

* Maintaining Healthy Reputations During a Pandemic

* 18 Brands Getting In On Virtual Graduations and Proms (With a Slew of Celebs)

* IKEA designs forts for children in lockdown

* Top 6 Gin Distilleries Making Their Own Hand Sanitiser

* LinkedIn adds polls and live video-based events

* Brand Film ...