How That Happened

Michael Blundetto has been a competitor in the United States Dragon Boat Team since 2001 and, since 2018, has served as a coach. He has been involved in dragon boat racing since its entrance into the North American sporting world in the early 1980s.

In this episode, Michael talks all about the 2000-year-old Chinese heritage sport of dragon boat racing. He shares how he found himself at the forefront of a movement to take the sport out of obscurity and onto the world stage, earning him the moniker "Coach Mike" by his fellow dragon boat athletes around the world. He also talks about the impact the sport had on his family and the legacy he wants to leave, as well as the parallels between sport and business.

For bonus content and additional show notes, visit https://hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-ep-44/.

Copyright 2021 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

Randy Hopper is the CEO of Vexus Boats, which manufactures premium fiberglass and aluminum bass boats in Flippin, Arkansas. Vexus opened the doors to its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in August 2017. Less than a year later, they were already shipping aluminum boats to a newly-created network of Vexus bass boat dealers.

Prior to his current role with Vexus, Randy served a number of leadership positions at Ranger Boats. He joined the company during its startup days in 1968 and went on to serve as plant manager, VP Manufacturing, VP Engineering, and, finally, CEO.

In this episode, Randy explains the innovations that Vexus has brought to the bass boat industry, how the company entered the space as a startup with a 50-year history, and potential disruptions to the industry in the near future.

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For bonus content and additional show notes, visit https://hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-43/.

Copyright 2021 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

Gordon Deal is a radio personality who hosts the nationally syndicated radio program This Morning, America's First News, previously called The Wall Street Journal This Morning. He has also worked as a writer and reporter at both WINS and WCBS in New York City.

Gordon is a public service announcer for the New York Giants, and has been a voiceover artist since 1999. His clients for voice work have included AT&T, Stamps.com, Harry's, Go To Meeting, and The Great Courses.

In this episode, Gordon shares his storied experience in "the business of selling air" and how he, as a host, contributes to This Morning's revenue growth. He then goes through a day in his life—starting at 2:30 A.M.—and how he writes content for the program. He also explains how Compass Media was able to acquire the program following its shutdown by Wall Street Journal. Finally, Gordon reflects on the opportunity to work with the New York Giants.

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For bonus content and additional show notes, visit https://hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-42/.

Copyright 2021 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

Toby Rowland is a two-time, Emmy-winning sportscaster, the author of a best-selling children's book Unhitch the Wagon, and currently the Sooners' voice. In addition, Toby hosts a morning sports talk show in Oklahoma City and coaching shows.

Rowland started out as an accounting major in college before he realized it was not what he wanted to do long-term. Toby met with his college, where they put together a sports broadcasting degree. He later had an internship at Channel 9, and he started calling games his senior year at the university. He stayed on as Sports Director, calling sports games for his alma mater for the next five years.

In 2009, he received the opportunity to join the radio crew at OU as a sideline reporter, and when Bob announced his retirement, the president of the team decided that Toby would fill his shoes.

In this episode, Toby talks about the influence of mentors on his career, turning points in his career, and how Toby handles the negative press.

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For bonus content and additional show notes, visit https://hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-41/.

Copyright 2021 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

Brendan Quirk is the CEO of Allied Cycle Works in Bentonville, Arkansas. Allied's stated mission is "to make the best bicycles and components in the world, right here in America." Brendan is also the Cycling Program Director for Runway Group, a Bentonville-based investment firm whose focus is the "cultivation of entrepreneurship and other business activity specific to the cycling industry." Most recently, Brendan has served as the Non-Executive Director for North America for London's Brompton Bicycle.

In 1999, Brendan co-founded Competitive Cyclist, a retail bike shop, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He recounts the much smaller, pre-Armstrong market at the time, and how he drove his business forward using the limited capabilities of the early Internet.

The timing could not have been better. As Lance Armstrong rose to fame and eCommerce began to take off in the 2000s, Competitive Cyclist closed its brick-and-mortar office and did business exclusively online. The two-man operation never looked back, and in 2011, Competitive Cyclist was sold to Backcountry.com, propelling Brendan's career in the cycling industry.

In this episode, Brendan shares his experience serving in varied leadership positions throughout his career in the industry, how he came to decide on Allied's lofty mission, what makes a bike "world-class", and the ongoing evolution of cycling culture.

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For bonus content and additional show notes, visit http://www.hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-40.

Copyright 2021 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

David Griffin is the President of Griffin Communications, a broad media company with assets in TV, radio, internet, and outdoor advertising. Griffin Communications is a family business that has been in existence since 1953.

In this episode, David discusses the company's history and how it has evolved to be among the leading media companies in Oklahoma, gives us an understanding of how the media world works, and explains how his family overcame tough measures to build a community-driven local business.

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For bonus content and additional show notes, visit http://www.hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-39.

Copyright 2020 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

Jeff Williams is the CEO of America's Car-Mart, a publicly-held company based in Bentonville, Arkansas. Car-Mart is focused exclusively on the integrated auto-sales and finance segment of the used car market. He started his career in the accounting field with initial stints at Arthur Andersen in Tulsa and Coopers & Lybrand in Dallas.

Previous to joining America's Car-Mart, Jeff was the CFO at WinCo, LLC, a distributor of animal health products. Jeff joined Car-Mart in 2005 as their CFO. He became President in 2016 and has been CEO since January of 2018.

In this episode, Jeff shares how America's Car-Mart caters to the credit-challenged customer, why employees with working experience in a traditional dealership tend to struggle when working at Car-Mart, how certain trends and disruptions over the years have affected Car-Mart's "small-town" approach to business, and his experience as CEO thus far.

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For bonus content and additional show notes, visit http://www.hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-38.

Copyright 2020 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

David Woods is the CEO of Magellan Executive Partners, a management consulting firm based in Edmond, Oklahoma. Previously, David served as CEO of Ditch Witch, Founder and CEO of EXIM Group, and Co-Founder and Partner at Cortado Ventures. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management at Oklahoma State University.

In this episode, David reflects on how his entrepreneurial spirit led him to found his own company, why you should look at expanding your network as farming as opposed to hunting, and why, if all else fails, you can always count on being your authentic self.

Be sure to subscribe to "How That Happened" to receive our latest episodes, learn more about our guests, and collect resources on how to better manage your business.

For bonus content and additional show notes, visit http://www.hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-37.

Copyright 2020 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

Tom Gordon is the founder and CEO of Slim Chickens, a fast-casual chicken restaurant chain based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The chain has over 100 locations in 19 states, plus restaurants in Kuwait and the U.K. Slim Chickens was founded in 2003 and began franchising 10 years later in 2013.

Tom and his co-founder Greg Smart have the ambitious goal of having 600 locations and annual revenues of over $1 billion in the next ten years.

In this episode, Tom reflects on the decisions he made alongside co-founder Greg that led to the success of Slim Chicken. He shares the process of bootstrapping a restaurant business and eventually franchising it, and discusses important components of the business from supply chain to real estate to technology.

Be sure to subscribe to "How That Happened" to receive our latest episodes, learn more about our guests, and collect resources on how to better manage your business.

For bonus content and additional show notes, visit http://www.hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-36.

Copyright 2020 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com

Lee Cockerell is the former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World® Resort. Over the span of ten years, Lee and a team of over 40,000 cast members were responsible for the operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping & entertainment village and the ESPN sports and recreation complex in addition to the ancillary operations tied to Walt Disney World® Resort. Lee also opened Disneyland Paris. Prior to Disney, Lee held leadership positions at Hilton and Marriott, as well as served in the U.S. Army.

Since retiring, Lee has been busy helping organizations and individuals all over the world become better leaders. In addition to his full schedule of speaking and consulting, Lee has also authored three bestselling books and hosts a highly-rated leadership podcast and blog. Recently, Lee launched Cockrell Academy, an online platform that provides training on leadership, customer service, and time management.

In this episode, Lee shares best practices in using customer feedback to improve your business, how to always be steps ahead of your competition, and keys to leading amid crises.

Be sure to subscribe to "How That Happened" to receive our latest episodes, learn more about our guests, and collect resources on how to better manage your business.

For bonus content and additional show notes, visit http://www.hogantaylor.com/how-that-happened-episode-35.

Copyright 2020 HoganTaylor LLP. All Rights Reserved. To view the HoganTaylor general terms & conditions, visit www.hogantaylor.com