Leadership Blueprints

In honor of Father’s Day, BJ’s dad, Brian Kraemer Sr, joins us for this episode of Inspiring People and Places to discuss all things life and leadership! 

Mr. Kraemer always knew he wanted to get married, coach, and serve his country. In this conversation, you’ll hear all about his family, his career in the military, and what inspired him to join the Air Force. 

Mr. Kraemer also tells us how sports and teamwork influenced his parenting style. In addition to his Air Force unit, the kinds of missions it did, and his time at Hurricane Huntershow. 

Finally, he shares some books he recommends, the lessons he’s learned from them, and why fatherhood is a man’s most important job. 

Thanks for listening and happy Father’s Day!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   How Mr. Kraemer became interested in the military and eventually, got into the Air Force. 

•   What his first deployment was like and how it affected his family. 

•   An overview of the kinds of missions his Air Force unit did.  

•   Leadership lessons from sports that have served Mr. Kraemer well in life and fatherhood. 

Quotes:

“Service before self!” — Brian Kraemer Sr

“Fatherhood is your main vocation. Once you become a father, that is your number one before work. God, family, country.” — Brian Kraemer Sr

“It’s a privilege to be a father, it’s even more fun to be a grandfather, and I hope I am able to stick around for another 20 years or so to maybe become a great-grandfather someday.” — Brian Kraemer Sr

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Brian Kraemer Sr on LinkedIn

NOAA Hurricane Hunters

The Elements of Style

Make Your Bed

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

In this episode, we welcome back Kyle Majchrowski to the show as we delve into implementing a human-centric approach to workplace environments. 

Kyle is a Senior Project Executive at Banner Health, where he provides support for teams managing new construction projects. He is also a founding member of Ripple Intent, a non-profit organization focused on improving workplace experiences by fostering community, reducing stress, and promoting collaborative and human-centric approaches to project delivery. 

We unpack the power of Ripple Intent’s programs and how they help people feel empowered and be intentional with their actions. We also uncover the types of topics covered at Ripple Intent’s events, how group discussions help clarify workplace nuances, and why self-awareness is vital for team productivity.

Hear about why you need to bring your ‘whole self’ into work, the importance of self-awareness, and the workplace culture pitfalls Ripple Intent solves. 

Explore pragmatic steps to start applying a human-centric approach at your organization and why leaders must form authentic relationships with their employees. 

Join us as we unpack practical tools and strategies to enhance workplace connection, joy, and productivity with Kyle Majchrowski!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Why Kyle founded Ripple Intent and the impact it aims to make.

•   The value of fostering a collaborative and engaging work culture.

•   What got Kyle interested in the human-centric aspect of the workplace.

•   Advice for applying the Ripple Intent approach to your organization.

•   Mental health trends and why loneliness has become a pandemic.

Quotes:

“[Ripple Intent] tries to formulate and facilitate the conversations that we should be having to help us better understand who we are so we can impact how we work with other people.” — Kyle Majchrowski 

“When you start taking self-awareness to the level that [Banner Health] have, we see a lot less busy work [and] see a lot more empowerment.” — Kyle Majchrowski 

“For me [the human-centric concept] became a very complex problem that we needed to do some work in.” — Kyle Majchrowski 

“So much of what we do now is transaction-based.” — Kyle Majchrowski 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kyle Majchrowski on LinkedIn

Ripple Intent

Ripple Intent podcast

Banner Health

Episode 32: Understanding and Refining Your Perspective with Kyle Majchrowski, Founder of Ripple Intent

Together

Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday Reading List

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MCFA

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

Are you looking for a way to foster focus, accountability, and discipline within your team? 

Curious about implementing a process that can ultimately lead to entrepreneurial freedom? 

Then don’t miss out on today’s Inspiring People & Places episode. Joining BJ today is Mark O’Donnell. 

Mark is a Professional EOS® Implementer, coach, facilitator, seasoned business professional, and US Air Force Veteran. He is currently the Visionary and CEO at EOS®, and he’s here today to talk to us about his experience at the company. 

We learn more about the who behind Mark O’Donnell and his career journey. He also sheds light on Gino Wickman’s original vision for EOS®, the journey since its inception, and Gino’s eventual exit. 

To hear the cliff notes version of the EOS® process, his most-rated book recommendations, and more, don’t miss out. 

Thanks for listening!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Gino Wickman’s original vision for EOS®.

•   EOS as being designed around entrepreneurial freedom. 

•   Mark details his experience taking over as Visionary, from a founder so intimately involved with the product.

Quotes:

“EOS® is really a philosophy.” — MarkO_Donnell

“EOS®, from the beginning, has been designed around entrepreneurial freedom. The value being assigned to your individual freedom over the value of a business.” — MarkO_Donnell

“Oftentimes, the best EOS® implementers are tired, burnt-out entrepreneurs.” — MarkO_Donnell

“Train resilience, grit, and perseverance and understand that your habits create your future.” — MarkO_Donnell

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Mark O’Donnell on LinkedIn

Mark O’Donnell on X

People: Dare to Build an Intentional Culture (The EOS Mastery Series)

EOS® World Wide

Vision Traction Organizer®

Gino Wickman

Entrepreneur’s Organization

The Strategic Coach

Dan Sullivan on LinkedIn

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success

The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer

Flow Research Collective

Epictetus Quote

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

Welcome to this Memorial Day tribute episode where we sit down with Marion Zilinski, otherwise known as Mama Z, to discuss what Memorial Day means to people who have lost their loved ones in service. 

Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Marion’s late son, Dennis, why he decided to join West Point, and what 9/11 meant to him. Marion goes on to explain how it felt to find out that Dennis had died on deployment and shares her heartbreaking experience of losing her son. 

She also talks about Run with Dennis, the Dennis Zilinski Memorial Fund, and how to get involved. Mama Z reminds us what Memorial Day is truly about. 

Thank you for listening in!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   What it feels like to find out that a deployed loved one has died. 

•   What inspired the Zilinski family to start Run with Dennis and the Dennis Zilinski Memorial Fund. 

•   What Memorial Day is truly about, and why freedom isn’t free. 

•   The service dog program and how service dogs assist warriors with PTSD. 

Quotes:

“I was so angry [when my son died]. I have never been so angry in my life.” — Marion Zilinski 

“We want people to understand the dedication of our military.” — Marion Zilinski 

“Our freedom is bought and paid for by men and women that pledge to each of [us] their lives. And not all of them will come home. Many will be killed – or – wounded and their lives will be so impacted.”  — Marion Zilinski 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Marion Zilinski on LinkedIn

Run with Dennis

Zilinski Memorial Fund on Facebook

Fisher House Foundation

Brooke Army Medical Center

The Strong Gray Line

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

Are you managing a large team to reach your vision but feel like team members are not aligning correctly with the overall goal? Do you need help getting all team members on the same page?

In this solo episode, BJ unpacks the role of what we at MCFA regard as the meaning of KPI: keeping people interested. It is not your typical MBA academic term but a philosophy to help you be a better business and project leader. 

Discover the role of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at a project and an individual level, how KPIs can help improve performance outcomes, and why a KPI needs to be associated with the bigger picture. 

Explore the fundamentals of a suitable KPI, the value of stacking success toward the bigger goal, examples of typical KPIs used in business, and more!

To uncover how KPIs can be a game-changer in your business and make you a more effective leader, tune in now!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Why KPIs are important for achieving business success.

•   How measuring goals allows for informed decision-making

•   Steps to begin picking the right KPIs for your team.

Quotes:

“Most importantly [KPIs] allows [employees] to leave the day feeling like they won the day, and if they lost the day, how they can recover the next day.” — BJ Kraemer

“I look at KPIs as meeting daily [and] weekly goals that I know if I hit them I am doing my job well.” — BJ Kraemer

“Until you know what you are measuring, it is really hard to manage.” — BJ Kraemer

“You control how to keep people interested, and when you keep people interested and have a scoreboard, everybody knows how to win.” — BJ Kraemer

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

‘KPIs Invite Smart Business Decisions’

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As we continue to edge toward graduation and internship season, we felt there could not be a more fitting guest to join BJ on the podcast than our latest co-op, Isabella Damasceno. 

Isabella is currently a third-year student at Drexel University, pursuing a dual major in marketing and business analytics. 

Join us as we dive into details surrounding Isabella’s co-op program and how the process of matching students with co-op programs works. She shared her thoughts on how her program helped her figure out what she does and doesn’t want in her future career. 

Tune in to hear what students like her are looking for from a professional environment and the differences she noticed in her expectations versus the reality of working. 

Enjoy the episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

•   The recruiting process works to match students with co-ops.

•   How her co-op experiences have helped her figure out what she wants (and doesn't want) to do in her future career. 

•   Expectations versus experience: marketing in the engineering industry at MCFA.

Quotes:

“I think when you are introduced to something that you don’t know anything [about], you can either really hate it and be really intimidated or you can be inspired and motivated.” — Isabella Damasceno 

“I think, a lot of what I learned [in my co-op] was hands-on. And a lot of what I learned was [from] words. From just asking questions and talking to people.” — Isabella Damasceno 

“With every mistake that you make, you [also] learn from it.” — Isabella Damasceno 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Isabella Damasceno on LinkedIn

The Clay Studio

Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) on Spotify

Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life

The Surprising Key to Achieving Happiness and Success in Life and Business With Bill Watkins

Inspiring People & Places Podcast

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As we continue to move closer to graduation and internship season, we delve further into the talent equation. 

Today on the podcast BJ is joined by a repeat guest, Colin Mottola. Colin is one of our Construction Managers and engineers at MCFA. He also happens to be one of our very first interns.

Join the conversation as we explore Colin’s experience, from landing an internship to working on a construction project in an active hospital during a pandemic. He also gets into the various lessons he’s learned and his thoughts on the philosophy of why making mistakes is the best path to your development. 

Be sure to tune in to see how someone can receive the advice they need at the right moment, with the perfect message conveyed by the ideal messenger. Enjoy. 

Key Points From This Episode:

•   A behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work on a construction project, in an active hospital, during a pandemic. 

•   Why making mistakes is the best path to your development.

•   The two components of extreme ownership.

Quotes:

“With every problem, there is a solution.” — Colin Mottola 

“Extreme ownership goes two ways. One is, ‘Yes I can do this and yes I’m going to own it when you volunteer’. — Extreme ownership is also raising your hand when you say, ‘Look I’m ahead of my skis and I need some help.’” — BJ Kraemer 

“The level of how connected this industry is, is crazy, and I’m trying to do that for ourselves with our intern(s).” — Colin Mottola 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Colin Mottola on LinkedIn

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now

Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As graduation and intern season approach, we want to dive into a topic we all have faced—just-in-time talent.  

Join BJ as he discusses the talent equation, including why we should always be recruiting, regardless of whether we are hiring or not.  

BJ addresses the debate between sourcing external talent and developing internal talent, his perspective on on-the-job training, and where the secret sauce of growth lies.  

Don’t miss out; start listening now! 

Key Points From This Episode: 

• Why we should always be recruiting, even if we aren’t hiring at the time. 
• A look at the debate between sourcing external talent and developing internal talent. 
• What you need when you’re developing internal talent. 
• How do you get it to be just-in-time talent? 

Quotes: 

“As I’ve said before, our talent is our brand. Our people are our brand. Our people are the most important asset.” — BJ Kraemer

“The best referrals are the people who are experiencing what is going on at MCFA.” — BJ Kraemer 

“Your best recruiters and your best sellers are your people.” — BJ Kraemer 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: 

Christopher Schaefer on LinkedIn 

DoD to AEC on LinkedIn 

Jesse Gemberling-Johnson on LinkedIn 

Are Veterans A Solution To The Talent War, With Jesse Gemberling-Johnson, MCFA's Director of Talent Recruitment and Development 

Inspiring People & Places Podcast 

MCFA 

MCFA Careers 

BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn 

It’s time to wake up to your life. 

It’s time to count your Mondays. 

Here to tell us more about it is Jodi Wellman. Jodi is a motivational speaker, author, and Founder of Four Thousand Mondays. Her upcoming book called, You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets is a “live like you mean it” book.  

Join the conversation as we dive into Jodi’s story, which includes her time at Penn in the Positive Psychology Program and her thoughts on the infamous bucket list. She also unpacks the concept behind Four Thousand Mondays and delves into living wider and deeper, understanding the “give and take” ebb and flow of life. 

Be sure to tune in to hear more about attacking your Mondays with insightful advice, including practical action steps and much more! 

Key Points From This Episode:

•   .Jodi’s thoughts on the infamous bucket list.

•   The concept behind Four Thousand Mondays.

•   Paradigm shift: death bed regrets as a motivation to do the hard things.

Quotes:

“My mission is for us to wake the F up to life.” — Jodi Wellman 

“Challenge is built into the good life — The good life does not exist, in my mind, without having the problems and foibles that life gives us. It’s the salt that has to be there with the sweet.” — Jodi Wellman 

“The number one [action] step always, always, always is to count your Mondays.” — Jodi Wellman 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jodi Wellman on Instagram

Jodi Wellman on LinkedIn

Jodi Wellman

Monday Morning Calculator

Jodi Wellman TEDx Talk

Jodi Wellman Linktree

Positive Psychology Center

Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness

Christopher Peterson

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets

14,000 Things to Be Happy About

Hunter S. Thompson

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As vital as it is for peace and transformation, the importance of leadership (and leadership itself) is still widely misunderstood. When leaders fail to fulfill their roles (after not understanding what they entail in the first place), it creates a space for trauma to thrive. 

Today we are joined by Larry Yatch, a Navy SEAL-turned-education and business consultant, and who explains what leadership looks like from the perspective of a Navy veteran. 

We learn about Larry’s life before the SEALs, what he did during his Navy career, and why he chose to pivot the way he did after being medically discharged from the Navy. Larry also defines and explains the relationship between leadership, management, and coordinating action, and why many of us do not properly understand either term. 

Key Points From This Episode:

•   Exploring the hypocrisy of “freedom” in entrepreneurship. 

•   Redefining success, and the relationship between accomplishment and fulfillment. 

•   Larry’s definitions of leadership, management, and coordinating action, and how they relate to each other. 

•   A short lesson on trauma.   

Quotes:

“In the effort of fighting for freedom – as you know from being in the military – you’re not free. There’s hardly any freedom at all. That’s really what made me say, ‘Well, maybe it’s my turn to experience some freedom.’ And that’s what led me to entrepreneurship.” — Larry Yatch 

“Anywhere you have leadership, you don’t have bullying. Everywhere you have bullying, you don’t have leadership. Leadership is using your power to help people, bullying is using your power to hurt people.” — Larry Yatch

“Fulfilment can only come from acting towards an internally derived, deeply-held purpose.” — Larry Yatch

“Respect is understanding how something impacts your world and choosing to act in accordance with it.” — Larry Yatch 
 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Larry Yatch on LinkedIn

Larry Yatch on YouTube

Larry Yatch on Facebook

SEAL Team Leaders 

How Leadership (Actually) Works 

Men in Green Faces 

Jimmy Vreeland on LinkedIn 

Getting Things Done 

Iron War

Sealed Mindset 

Final Survival Plan

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BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn