I'm A People Person

The best ideas are usually right in front of you, just one insight away from being discovered. The key is being open to listening for them. As the vice president of marketing at Champion Petfoods, and Acana Dog Food, the only dog food specifically for rescue dogs, Jennifer Beechen knows what it takes to build innovative products that make a meaningful difference. She is a shining example of learning through listening and collaboration. She also shares with us a really powerful tool for uncovering your key differentiation in the marketplace - love letters in your business. And, she talks about how getting feedback can also lead to authentic stories that create connections. 

Jennifer’s Everyday Innovator style: Futuristic Collaborative

Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn

Check out Champion Petfoods. 

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

Do you ever feel like you struggle to achieve your goals or get frustrated because you can't seem to stick to a plan? I think today's conversation with Everyday Innovator Sergio Nazzaro is going to shed some light on this. He's a real estate agent in Denver, Colorado who has done a phenomenal job elevating his own life, differentiating himself in a very noisy marketplace, and delivering real value in a commoditized industry. He shares how the moment he got "sick of his own sh**" and stopped negotiating with himself was the moment he changed his life. He shares his insights around who you should be competing with to get better (hint - it's not other people), how you should be in the benchmark, not the comparison game, and his expectations around failure. Also, listen for his views on turning your life circumstances into your greatest superpowers. As a real estate agent, MBA and veteran, Sergio Nazarro shows us how your principles and commitments to yourself are what matter if you want to leap forward. 

Sergio's Everyday Innovator style: Inquisitive Instinctual

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Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

This week's insights are all about obstacles, motivators, frustrations, and your ego. This week I interviewed three very different Everyday Innovators -  Sara Meaney (Inquisitive Risk Taker) with a successful career pushing innovation in traditional industries, Jacob Weinstein (Risk Taker Inquisitive) launching two businesses in healthcare that work to solve massive frustrations, and Jenn DeWall (Instinctual Inquisitive) with a career in leadership training that isn't afraid to have the tough conversations. Each interview is full of great stories and insight. In this Friday wrap-up, I'm going to share the aha moments that spoke to me and how they impacted my work and results. In doing so I hope you find ways to take what you are learning and transfer it into action. On our website, I'll also link back to these interviews so you can access them. 

Podcast webpage with links

Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

Curiosity is the springboard for new ideas and innovation. The ability to seek to understand, ask questions and not assume. And, according to Jenn Dewall, it's the key to strong leadership and teamwork. Jenn has used her straight-talk style and willingness to get vulnerable to propel her success and the success of those she serves. She shares with us how in order to get curious and innovative you have to get rid of the ego and stop personalizing everything. She also shares how she used to get shut down for being so inquisitive but later discovered that her ability to ask challenging questions is actually her superpower. Jenn also shares how calling out elephants in the room leads to deeper conversations and stronger collaborations. 

Jenn's Everyday Innovator style: Inquisitive Instinctual

Connect with Jenn on LinkedIn

Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

It's easy to get complacent, even about the things that frustrate us the most. We simply accept them as part of life. But, as today's guest Everyday Innovator Jacob Weinstein shows us, there's no room for complacency. In fact, the "there's got to be a better way" moments are the foundation for innovation and opportunity. Jacob figured out how to solve some of the biggest frustrations and challenges that face both practitioners and patients in healthcare. In this episode, Jacob shares his journey from frustration to opportunity, how solving problems that we assume can't be solved or simply accept as part of life is the key to success, and how he views innovation as figuring out the bridge between your idea and your client or key-stakeholders needs. As you'll hear, in his eyes there's a powerful bridge between the two that hold the key to moving forward. Jacob also talks a lot about the need for real listening and empathy in daily business. 

Jacob's Everyday Innovator style: Inquisitive Risk Taker

Connect with Jacob on LinkedIn

Check out MedicalEdNow

Check out Mobile Care

Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

Everyday Innovators Digital Magazine

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

Sara has a long career shaking things up. In fact, most of her career has been about driving forward new ideas in industries known for their traditional thinking. Today, Sara shares with us how she gets buy-in for her ideas with "legacy" thinkers, and how understanding the real motivation by those placing and removing obstacles in your path is the key to influence. She also talks about how she realized that her style of innovation and leadership could make others uncomfortable, and how to find the sweet spot of success. Sara's career spans the aviation industry, tourism, non-profit and social media marketing. Hence, her experience and insights span not just years, but also industries. 

Sara's Everyday Innovator style: Inquisitive Risk Taker

Connect with Sara on LinkedIn

Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

Everyday Innovators Digital Magazine

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

Moving into 2022, there's one thing we know for certain - things will remain in flux and uncertain. But, I feel more optimistic about 2022 than ever. I don't think it's because COVID is suddenly going to disappear or that all the issues that have arisen in the past two years will magically disappear. I don't even believe the dust will settle. However, I do believe two things. First I believe that I'm more set up to navigate and harness change and uncertainty than ever before. It took a lot of experimentation and twists and turns, but I'm there. I also believe in the power of all of you - Everyday Innovators out there igniting innovation and inspiring others. With that, we have a big change coming to the podcast in 2022. From here on out we'll be interviewing Everyday Innovators, not experts all week. No blah blah platitudes. Instead, you'll hear real stories of triumph, overcoming challenges, and tackling obstacles by thinking differently and rejecting the status quo. I couldn't be more excited to share these extraordinary people and their real-world stories with you. Listen in to learn more.

Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

Sometimes it’s hard to see the big picture, how the pieces all fit together when you are in the thick of it. I’ve spent time researching, looking at what’s going on around us, and pulling out what I think are the big shifts we are experiencing. I’m sharing them with you because I think understanding the shifts we are experiencing will help set you up for success in 2022 and beyond. You can’t innovate, add value, and get ahead if all you are doing is reacting. In taking a look at what happened, and is happening in 2021, you’ll begin to see how to move forward in 2022. The 6 big Shifts I want to focus on today are: simplicity, defi, virtual world, the great resignation, the big judgment, the squeeze.

Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

Everyday Innovators Digital Toolkit

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect. 

Did you know only 10% of distractions come from your external world? The dings, the pings, the beeps, the pop-up messages...only 10%. As Nir Eyal and I talk about, the real distractions come from what he calls internal triggers, or uncomfortable emotions we are trying to avoid. That's why we are busy, but not productive. It's why we avoid the heavy lifts and focus our efforts on the easy and comfortable tasks. And as Nir explains, time management is actually pain management. We also talk about the real opposite of distraction, which isn't focus, it's traction. This interview with author, researcher, and entrepreneur, Nir Eyal will help you move away from distraction and move towards traction. It will help you stop doing the things that move you away from your goals or who you want to be and towards the things that move you towards your goals and the life you want. 

Nir's Book: Indistractable

Nir Eyal on LinkedIn

Nir's Website, Nir and Far

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Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

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This will really resonate with you if you feel like you are fighting legacy thinkers, bureaucracy, or even leaders unwilling or slow to change. Want to know what it’s like to push the boundaries of an industry? To do what others are afraid to do? And to see the payoff of a willingness to change and innovate? Me too! That’s why I had Brian Benstock of Paragon Honda on the podcast. He’s in the auto sales field, which hasn’t changed in longer than I can remember. But his business has and customers are flocking to him, and competitors are trying to catch up. This is a great lesson in what’s possible, even in legacy industries.   Brian shares how shared control forces change, why constantly asking questions that challenge assumptions are the key to progress, and how frictionless experiences are the key to success. 

Brian's Everyday Innovator Style: Inquisitive Tweaker

Paragon Honda

Brian Benstock on LinkedIn

Discover your Everyday Innovator Style

Everyday Innovators Digital Toolkit

Everyday Innovators Online Facebook Group

Innovation is Everybody’s Business Book

Connect with Tamara on LinkedIn or join the innovator Facebook group to listen in live and have the opportunity to connect.