Leadership in Action

By eoleadershipinactionBusiness Entrepreneurship

Leadership in Action episodes

November 08, 2022Fixing Your Finances - Cal Wilder - Leadership in Action- Episode #50
On this episode of Leadership In Action, we talk to a financial mastermind who is an expert at effectively balancing accounting needs, reporting priorities, operational requirements, and budget constraints. Cal Wilder has been an EO Member for 9 years, is the author of the book “The Financial Operating System”, and is the Founder and CEO at SmartBooks. Cal joins Host Mark Stiles to chat about the challenges of entrepreneurship, how to focus on the financial metrics that matter most, and Cal’s tips for Triathalons.

Takeaways:
Bigger isn’t always better. As an entrepreneur, don’t endlessly chase growth despite the costs.
As a business owner, finances can be stressful. The first step in taking control of your finances is to identify why you own and run a business.
When thinking about financial metrics, keep it simple. While it can be tempting to track everything at once, managing a scorecard with 25 different metrics will quickly become overwhelming.
As an entrepreneur, it's natural to want to work on and improve every aspect of your business. Focus on the things that are most important to you, and prioritize your efforts.
Small businesses have the advantage of being able to adapt and change more quickly than larger businesses.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are many frameworks on how to run a business, find one that works for you, and follow it.
Entrepreneurs and business owners tend to have slightly different financial outlooks. Entrepreneurs follow where their progress takes them, business owners have a clearer picture of financial goals.

Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/smartbookscorp
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvinwilder/
Website: https://smartbooks.com/
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Operating-System-Empowering-Business/dp/B086Y4TLGG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+financial+operating+system&qid=1587085586&sr=8-1

Quote of the Show
“We think that to be successful means scaling a business exponentially.” - Cal Wilder
Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/0XmJKpuaIFs
33 min
October 25, 2022The Cost Of Opportunity - Ryan Sullivan - Leadership in Action - Episode #49
This week’s guest is a new member of EO who is passionate about data and using it to help organizations improve their performance. Ryan Sullivan is Principal at Collectiv, and the guest on this week’s episode of Leadership In Action. Ryan joins Mark to discuss the value of data integration, Ryan’s tips for starting a business, and his experiences skydiving.

Takeaways:
As an entrepreneur, you don’t need to have every step of the next 5 years planned out before you get started.
Great is the enemy of good. Don’t let the pursuit of perfection stop you from getting started with solutions that are good.
Automated data reporting is a lower-effort way to use technology that will still result in a significant amount of hours freed up in your schedule.
To be a successful consultant requires more than technical skill alone. Effective communication of the technology to all skill levels goes hand in hand with your ability to implement those skills.
It’s essential to know how to educate people on the systems you implement. If other people can’t take full ownership, you will remain tied to that project.
As an entrepreneur, you need to develop an ear to hear when something is bothering someone, their pain points, or hearing that there is a gap that could be filled.
Many businesses have not yet realized the opportunities that data processing may afford them.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmuldoonsullivan/
Website: https://gocollectiv.com/

Quote of the Show
“What makes an entrepreneur, it's that person who has the courage and the idea to take that first step.” - Ryan Sullivan
Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/BZfjR9ZF4HA
44 min
October 13, 2022Open Doors and Open Communication - Christian Magel - Leadership in Action- Episode #48
Today’s guest is an entrepreneurial change agent who has co-founded and founded several startups resulting in three successful exits. He’s been a member of EO Boston since 2016. Christian Magel is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder Of Venture Lane Studio. Christian and Mark chat about the best way to find your employee’s strengths and weaknesses, how to create a culture of openness, and where to find a good oyster.

Takeaways:
As an entrepreneur, it’s not all about yourself. Showing vulnerability opens many gates to great leadership.
While you may feel like you need to lead, and everything is on your shoulders, teamwork will always create a more successful environment.
Each employee will have different strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes. By promoting open communication, employees can find areas in which they can assist others with their dislikes.
As an entrepreneur, you should be looking to hire people to “put yourself out of work”. Instead of managing 8 different jobs by yourself, find the people who can take those responsibilities from you, thus freeing up your time.
As the leader of an organization, your employees will mimic your behavior. Leading with openness will create a more open and communicative environment.
As a startup, being part of an incubator helps with the early, metric-driven stages of being a startup.
Startups are expected to have issues. It’s not about if it works or not, it’s about how quickly you can come to the realization that it’s not working.

Quote of the Show
“I follow the philosophy I need to fire myself.” - Christian Magel
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/christianmagel?s=20&t=sgO84muW8czDErpmgIDi2g
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-magel/
Website: https://theventurelane.com/

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/SmTGa_XDQLw
47 min
September 27, 2022Starting With People - MB Gustitus - Leadership in Action- Episode #47
Today's guest is a leadership legend. She has three decades of experience in leadership, sales management, coaching, speaking, and training. She led her real estate team to achieve over half a billion dollars in annual sales volume. MaryBeth Gustitus is the founder, president, and CEO of MILE 1 Performance Coaching. MB sits down with host Mark Stiles this week to help entrepreneurs understand how to find their blindspots, and discuss tips to ensure the right fit for employees.

Takeaways:
Many entrepreneurs get caught up in a self-imposed restriction that they are the only ones who can do what they are doing. Thinking this way can prevent you from utilizing outside experience and viewpoints.
The first step in transitioning to a role with more administrative responsibility is to have awareness of your inclination to want to hold on to the work you are doing.
Most entrepreneurs get into their business for freedom, but can quickly find themselves in a situation where they are tied up with responsibility.
While optimism, excitement for change, and creativity are necessary traits of any successful entrepreneur, it is essential to not let those same traits become blind spots.
When building a successful team, start with your strengths and weaknesses. Put yourself in an area you will succeed in, and hire people who will succeed in the areas where you need support.
While behavioral assessments can be a valuable tool, the results need to be validated and explained, and should also be plotted in the larger context of the entire team. A result alone doesn’t determine how good of a fit someone is.
When you are faced with a challenge or limit you have three options, accept the limitations, quit, or rise above and figure out how to excel.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marybeth-gustitus-32484723/
Website: https://www.marybethgustitus.com/
Cell: 603-305-3552
Email: [email protected]

Quote of the Show
“If we don't master the art of lead generation, we don't have any customers.” - MB Gustitus
Book Recommendation:
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni
Cash Flow Quadrant - Robert Kiyosaki

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/FXs-E6UIkZI
50 min
September 14, 2022Engaging With Your Employees - Jeff Plakans - Leadership in Action- Episode # 46
Today’s guest is someone who is going to be an integral part of this podcast. He’s the MarComm Chair for EO Boston. He has deep industry knowledge of all things payroll and is an expert in running very successful service bureaus. Jeff Plakans is the Founder and President of Commonwealth Payroll & HR. Jeff joins host Mark Stiles to discuss some misconceptions about entrepreneurship, why employee retention should be a main focus for businesses, and how the covid pandemic shifted the world of payroll and hr.

Takeaways:
People assume entrepreneurs go into business knowing everything they need to. In reality, many find themselves faced with challenges they have never encountered before.
While many people use the phrase “fake it til you make it”, open communication and honesty are a much better strategy when dealing with new problems.
Many entrepreneurs find direction for their company from the product or service they want to offer. As a business grows, leaders must also focus on the needs and aspirations of their employees
Companies need to put in a strong effort to retain their employees. There are 2 open positions for every unemployed person and the world of hiring is more competitive than before.
Covid caused many employees to reconsider the culture and habits built around work. Many employees have revisited the time they would spend commuting and time away from family.
With remote work becoming more common, tax situations became much more complicated. If you have employees in 10 different states, you have 10 different sets of tax rules you need to follow.
When implementing or upgrading hr systems, it’s essential to consider how your use of technology will be perceived by potential employees

Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/commpayhr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffplakans/
Website: https://www.commpayhr.com/

Quote of the Show
“Culture comes from the employees and what they make of their days in the office, and their relationships, both to the organization and to each other.” - Jeff Plakans
Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/XYuotaBw6Cc
45 min
August 19, 2022Creating Customer Connections - Casey Cheshire - Leadership in Action- Episode #45
Today's guest is a member of EO who has spent time on the board. He's a speaker, a thought leader, a marketeer, and an unbelievable human being. He hosts the “Hard Corps Marketing Show” podcast, and is the now previous host of EO Boston’s podcast “Leadership In Action”. Casey Cheshire, Founder and CEO of Ringmaster Conversational Marketing, joins new host Mark Stiles to hand Mark the torch of Podcast Host. Casey talks with Mark about why talking to your customers is so important, how podcasting can serve as a valuable tool for CEOs to connect with their customers, and how growing companies may end up more isolated from their customers’ needs.

Takeaways:
Leadership Myth: “You don’t need to talk to your customers”. You need to talk to your customers to truly understand their needs and intentions.
As your business scales and you become more insulated from the customer interactions, it becomes harder to hear what your customer is actually saying.
The CEO should always be an advocate for the customer.
Podcasting is a great way to talk to your customer. Having the CEO of a company interview their current and potential customers provides valuable insight into their issues and needs.
The process for booking guests on your show should be genuine and authentic. Avoid automation, pick your key clients, and interact with them as a person.
A private slack channel for your podcast guests is a great way to build community with your ideal clients.
The podcast process should wow your guests and make them feel special. The guest should feel like they have been selected to be a guest on 60 minutes, not on the end of a spam call.

Quote of the Show
“As the leader, when you start finding your own vision getting weaker and weaker, you just don't feel as passionate about it.” - Casey Cheshire
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/caseychesh?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseycheshire/
Website: https://ringmaster.com/
Podcast: https://creatingthegreatestshow.podbean.com/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-show/id1338838763
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Automation-Unleashed-Strategic-Growth/dp/1599327384

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/2RV86jL4ndw
40 min
August 09, 2022Doing The Math On Digital Marketing - David Reske - Leadership in Action- Episode # 44
Today’s guest is an entrepreneur, marketing strategist, author, thought leader, and podcaster. His marketing experience spreads across SEO, PPC, social media, and digital marketing at its core. David Reske is the former President of EO Boston and Founder and President of Nowspeed Marketing. David joins host Casey Cheshire on this week’s episode to teach you how to make sense of the overwhelming amount of information generated from digital marketing.

Takeaways:
Digital marketing is more than just an automated AI-driven process. There is a significant amount of work that you need to be willing to put in to see results.
There is an abundance of data in digital marketing and it can be easy to get overwhelmed if you don’t know what you are doing.
The best way to make sense of all the data is to simplify, connect the dots, and make sure you are focused on the right personas.
While it can be tempting to try a variety of different channels with a variety of products, start simple and focus on refining the process before attempting it on a large scale.
Once you start to see positive results with a proven channel and method, ramp up your budget for marketing and you will see an increase in revenue.
When figuring out your budget for marketing, there is a threshold amount you need to spend before you will see enough interaction and engagement to determine effectiveness.
Different groups of customers use different social media platforms. Identify your target groups, and advertise on the platform they use most frequently.

Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidreske
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidreske/
Website: https://nowspeed.com/
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Marketing-Zone-Ultimate-Success/dp/168350268X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Quote of the Show
“Digital advertising has so many opportunities for learning and improvement, but it does take patience in systematic thinking to really make that happen.” - David Reske
Shout Outs:
Statistical Significance Calculators
Book Recommendation:
Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink, Leif Babin
Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/GCT9_eyXNKU
39 min
August 02, 2022Climbing to the Top - Tony Martignetti - Leadership in Action - Episode #43
When it comes to your life and the direction it takes you, what will you do to have that life of experience you desire? Everyone in life has the opportunity to climb to the top of a business and host of the Virtual Campfire, Tony Martignetti, will talk with host Casey Cheshire just how to achieve the top position. Tony is founder and chief inspiration officer of inspired purpose coaching and author of Climbing the Right Mountain.

Takeaways:
There are no fast passes in the road to creating a business or to doing anything–there must be a willingness to work.
If you’re just checking the boxes of what needs to be done, how do you inspire your employees to do the work?
No deep connection to what you’re doing you might lose your energy to keep going.
When people are feeling lost they need someone who can wake them up for the next part of their journey.
Narrowing your focus on one thing or direction doesn’t mean that you’ve bottled yourself up to just that one thing. Instead you have taken a step in the right direction.
We hold ourselves in place not the world.

Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inspiredcoach/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonymartignett1?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymartignett1/
Website: https://www.inspiredpurposecoach.com/
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Right-Mountain-Navigating-Inspired/dp/B096LS2NBZ

Quote of the Show
“The ability to ask for help is a sign of a great leader.” - Tony Martignetti
Book Recommendation:
The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander and Roseman Stone Zander
Think Again by Adam Grant
Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
46 min
July 05, 2022Interweaving Work & Life - Royi Metser - Leadership in Action - Episode # 042
The long-term success of your business is directly tied to your long-term health and if you aren’t running at 100%, your business won’t be operating at 100%. Royi Metser is the Director of Business Development at Inside Tracker and is extremely passionate about both business and health. This episode covers what goes into not just living additional years, but living higher-quality years.

Takeaways:
For entrepreneurs to build a successful business, their work and life have to be interwoven. Because creating a company is so all-consuming, you can’t have a clear separation between the two parts of your life.
Building a company is a marathon, not a sprint. You need to take care of yourself and give yourself the brakes that you need to recharge. Doing this will help you not only survive but thrive.
Because of the lack of clear boundaries between life and work, you can take advantage of doing things that get you energized, happy, and healthy outside of the traditional schedule so they fit what works best for you.
Choose physical activities that you actually enjoy and can do sustainably for a long period of time. Additionally, to build the habit, do it during the times when you actually can.
Even if you don’t feel like going to the gym, running, etc. just take the first step towards the gym or your running shoes, and eventually, you will end up getting your full exercise in once you actually get started.
In order to improve your health, you need to establish a baseline that you can then use with objective data to measure the impact that the changes that you have implemented have had. You can’t optimize what you don’t measure.
Before you can give your best effort to your business, you need to treat your body like a high-performance machine. This means getting it checked by professionals, fixing things that need to be fixed, and tweaking the ongoing care routines.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/royi-metser-6886a211/
Company website: https://www.insidetracker.com/

Quote of the Show
“Building a business is a lifestyle. It's all-consuming” - Royi Metser
Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/Ug-ONk-XAkc
34 min
June 28, 2022Learning To Trust Your Gut - Seth Earley - Leadership in Action- Episode #41
Today's guest is an entrepreneur, a speaker, a writer, and an influencer. He’s problem solved for companies like IBM, IRS, GE, and 3M. Seth Earley is the CEO of Earley Information Science and the host of the Earley AI podcast. Seth joins Casey to explore how to best give feedback, deal with bad performance, and learn to trust your gut.

Takeaways:
There is a fine line between being outside of your comfort zone and going against your gut instinct.
When bringing in outside help, look for someone who understands the nuances of running a small entrepreneurial company as well as someone with the right expertise and skills.
It is important to be trusting, but not naive. Don’t take unnecessary risks.
When mistakes happen, don't make excuses, take responsibility.
There's no losing, there's winning or learning. But you can only learn if you acknowledge the issue.
When you need to call things out to an employee, do it in a way that is sincere and kind and they will be more receptive.
It is better to take the time to hire the right fit for a position rather than hire someone to fill it.

Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sethearley
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethearley/
Website: http://earley.com
Website: https://www.wordmap.com/
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/AI-Powered-Enterprise-Ontologies-Business-Profitable/dp/1928055508

Quote of the Show
“When you're trying to do something different, you have to be different” - Seth Earley
Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/aZv9tsV8Sxg
51 min

About Leadership in Action

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to Leadership in Action, the podcast where host Mark Stiles engages in candid conversations with the resilient entrepreneurs of EO’s Boston Chapter. If you're an aspiring business leader, an…

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Leadership in Action

Leadership in Action episodes

About Leadership in Action