Higher Order

We’re ending summer with an American road trip classic, Stuckey’s! CEO, and granddaughter of the founder, Stephanie Stuckey takes us down memory lane and into the future as she brings the Stuckey’s brand back into family hands and into the next generation. Join us as we pump up REM, bust out the pecan log, and share stories old and new to get us revved up for this brand’s reboot.

Key Takeaways:

Every traveler is a friend, both on the road and in business

Leadership can take many forms, but you don’t have to be a jerk to make it work

How to make the road trip cool again – Hint: Social media plays a big role

Bringing the values of yesteryear into the world of today one memory-making journey at a time

Today, we had the honor of speaking with award-winning composer, musician, educator, and entrepreneur, Chris Brubeck. As the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck, Chris has been immersed since childhood in making music and using it to help break down barriers across societies and cultures around the world. Listen in as we learn about his family, their music, and what keeps them grounded in both their artistry and their humanity.

Key Takeaways:

Love is stronger than death, and music might just be the catalyst.

Art can intersect and impact real life in unimaginable and unpredictable ways.

Treasures from the past are making ripples into the future.

Being your own self-editor is important in both your craft and in life.

“Creating art isn’t just a gift. It’s a privilege.” And supporting artists so they can live that privilege is at the heart of Rochester Artist Collaborative. In this episode, we had the privilege of speaking with RAC founder and director Adam Eaton about the organization’s mission, grassroots approach to bolstering art in the community, and its very bright future. Join us as we examine the relationship between artist and audience, redefine public art, and reveal why a healthy community means we all need to be stewards to local artists.

Key takeaways:

The mutually beneficial relationship between audience and art

How RAC’s mission can be a model for communities nationwide

Why the community needs to participate in local art

The new platforms for public art

In this week’s episode, we’re getting disruptive! Through the documentary makeSHIFT and its director, Tim Cawley – filmmaker, advertising veteran, big thinker, and problem solver – we get to go back in time to experience the metamorphosis of advertising in the time of the internet. Of course, it changed the world, but it also completely blew up the playbook for brands and the industry that brings them to the world. Join us as we learn why it’s now morph or die!

Key Takeaways:

Subservient Chicken was only the beginning.

If you’re not thinking about it now, you’re six months behind.

It’s the “new” Wild West and only the people who are comfortable in chaos are going to survive.

It has to be entertainment or they will tune you out.

We’re going from learning about what an entrepreneur is to how to become one! Join us as Ebony Miller-Wesley, director of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, leads us through what it takes to get a business off the ground and, more importantly, to keep it going, especially in Rochester. Oftentimes the backbone of a community, these small businesses are driving the economy and are so important, maybe more now than ever.

Key Takeaways:

This Rochester gem is a model across the country.

Serving the underserved entrepreneur.

Small businesses are at the heart of community and the economy.

Nexus i90 - it’s a game changer!

In this episode we're exploring the inner workings of the spirit of entrepreneurship. What drives someone to pass up the security of a steady paycheck, benefits, and safety that come with a "regular" job? We dig in with author David Sax, whose book The Soul of an Entrepreneur explores how the drive, passion, and consequences of pursuing a goal can be both the source of one's greatest joys and deepest pain.

Key Takeaways:

Not all entrepreneurs are Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.

Values? It’s an entrepreneur thing.

The why is more important than the what.

The time to reclaim the soul of the entrepreneur is now.

We're bottling up some Noble Ambition with Jason Barrett, founder and head distiller at Black Button Distilling. In these unprecedented times, Jason and his team are distilling more than just great spirits for your glass; they're distilling hope for our community. Join us as we learn about how they went from being essential to our taste buds to being essential to our health and well-being - in just a matter of days - and what they need from us to keep it up.

Key Takeaways:

Reinventing the Self Is Good for the Soul...and Business

Staying Agile, Essential, and Successful in the Time of COVID

Diversifying on the Fly Can Lead to a More Durable Brand

Surprising Similarities between Your Favorite Spirits and the Best Hand Sanitizer

In this episode, we're hitting the books with Rishad Tobaccowala, futurist, innovator, and business soul-finder. With more than 40 years of insight, learnings, and musings on the state of business, he has distilled the “must dos” for leadership into actionable lessons for every company in his new book. Creating growth, retaining health, and Restoring the Soul of Business.

Key takeaways:

Change sucks, but irrelevance is worse

The future doesn't come from the heavens; it comes from the slime

The architecture of creative destruction

Restoring the soul of business

Meet Vincent Bragg: Former convict, current revolutionary. In this week's episode of Higher Order, Vincent takes us on his incredible journey to build ConCreates, an innovative and radical creative agency that's flipping what we know about brand strategy on its ear. By tapping into talent from the unlikliest sources - America's incarcerated populations - Vincent is subverting our expectations of the kind of value these creative individuals are capable of contributing. But it hasn't always been smooth sailing, and carrying the colors of his company hasn't always been easy. One thing that has been a constant? His Noble Ambition.

Key takeaways:

Being Bigger Than Your Worst Day

Leading with Your Weakness Is a Sign of Strength

Social Change in Lockstep with Business Success

Second Chances Are Transforming More Than You Think