My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle - the podcast for ambitious business owners.

By Bill RingleBusiness Entrepreneurship Management

My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle - the podcast for ambitious business owners. episodes

May 18The Core Skills Needed to Become a Leader Regardless of Your Work Title with Tania Luna
Tania Luna, author of The Leader Lab – Core Skills to Become a Great Manager, Faster
Tania Luna and Bill Ringle discuss insights into becoming a great manager and overcoming the obstacles to implementation for small business leaders.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 400 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top Takeaways
Create a culture of innovation by fostering a safe environment where employees feel comfortable taking risks and learning from failures.
Build trust by encouraging vulnerability and practicing empathy with employees.
Overcome resistance to change by embracing diversity and promoting curiosity in the workplace.
Encourage experimentation and learning by providing resources and opportunities for employees to explore new ideas and approaches.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement by celebrating successes, learning from failures, and adapting to change.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
[2:36] How did you become interested in the topic of surprise and creating a culture of continuous improvement? Tania Luna shares her personal story of growing up in post-Soviet Ukraine and how her experience of constant change and uncertainty sparked her interest in human performance.
[8:30] What are some of the key elements that contribute to building a healthy culture? Psychological safety, trust, and diversity in creating an environment where people feel free to take risks and experiment.
[11:47] How can leaders encourage experimentation and taking risks while still maintaining a sense of control and order in the workplace? Leaders can create clear guidelines and expectations, while also giving employees space to experiment within those boundaries.
[15:32] How can managers balance the need for innovation with the need for stability and consistency in their business? Create pockets of innovation within your organization, while also maintaining certain core values and practices that provide stability and consistency.
[20:20] How can leaders encourage employees to be more curious and open-minded in the workplace? You can model curiosity and vulnerability, and also create opportunities for employees to learn from each other and explore new ideas.
[20:20] How can leaders encourage employees to be more curious and open-minded in the workplace? You can model curiosity and vulnerability, and also create opportunities for employees to learn from each other and explore new ideas.
[25:36] My Quest for the Best Lightning Round begins
[28:00] How can leaders build trust with their employees, particularly in times of change or uncertainty? Everyone can build trust at work by being transparent, communicating clearly, and demonstrating empathy and vulnerability.
[32:55] How can leaders create a culture where failure is seen as a learning opportunity rather than a source of shame or blame? Shift the culture at work by modeling vulnerability and openness, celebrating experimentation and learning, and creating an environment where employees feel safe to take risks.
[36:55] How can leaders foster creativity and innovation in virtual or remote work environments? You can create opportunities for connection and collaboration, encourage experimentation and learning, and use technology to facilitate communication and idea-sharing.
Expert Bio
Tania Luna (Brooklyn, New York) is the co-founder of LifeLabs Learning, author of “The Leader Lab: Core Skills to Become a Great Manager, Faster”, and co-host of the podcast Talk Psych to Me.
She is a researcher, educator, advisor to alt-protein startups, and partner at Columbia University’s eLab — an accelerator for entrepreneurs who increase equity and access in education. Her company, LifeLabs Learning, is a go-to training and employee development company that has helped over 350,000 people at some of the world’s most influential companies (including TED, Yelp, Tinder, Slack, Reddit, jetBlue and 2,000+ others) become more confident, competent, and compassionate leaders. Her podcast blends humor and psychology to help people get better at being people. Her TED Talk about her experience as a Ukrainian immigrant and the power of perspective has over 1.8 million views. Tania lives with rescued pigs, dogs, goats, a cat, and the love of her life.
In everything she does, she strives to bring people instructions for humankind(ness), rooted in research and play. Her work and book have been featured in TIME, Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, CNBC, Bizwomen, NPR, School for Startups syndicated radio show and other media outlets.
Contact Info and Social Media for Tania Luna
Primary website: TaniaLuna.com
Podcast: Talk Psych to Me
Travels from: Allentown, PA
Connect on: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
“Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected” by Tania Luna
Peter Drucker’s book “The Effective Executive” by Peter Drucker
LeeAnn Renninger, co-founder of The Learning Lab
Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning”
The Muppets of Sesame Street
“Expectation is the root of all heartache” quoted and often misattributed to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
The Institute of Applied Positive Research
Tania Luna’s TED talk “How a penny made me feel like a millionaire”
The Gartner Hype Cycle
The book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins
The book “Finite and Infinite Games” by James Carse
Harvard Business Review
The book “Rebel Talent” by Francesca Gino
Stanford d.school’s design thinking process
The book “The Culture Code” by Daniel Coyle
The company Zappos
The book “The Progress Principle” by Teresa Amabile
The book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain
TED Talk by Tania Luna
Published by Tania Luna
38 min
May 04What it really takes to unleash the power of your second in command with guest expert Cameron Herold
Cameron Herold, author of The Second in Command: Unleashing the Power of Your COO
Bill Ringle and Cameron Herold discuss the role of the COO, the importance of matching the stage of the company and the relationship chemistry with the CEO, and when it is time for a COO to move on to another role or company for ambitious small business leaders.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways from this Interview
Your second in command must be the yin to your yang, complementing your skills, interests, and responsibilities.
A talented CMO could work in almost any company and contribute to its success. A talented COO knows that they would need to find the right combination of company stage, industry, business model, and chemistry with the CEO to make significant contributions.
An effective COO is essential to scaling your business. If strategic growth is stuck, check with your COO for their perspective before reviewing the sales performance metrics.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Cameron cites Thomas Edison’s observation that “Vision without execution is hallucination.”
CASE: The story of how Brian Scudamore, founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK hired Cameron as its first COO, employee 14.
What can someone who reports to the CEO, as a COO, say, do to improve their relationship? Think of it like a good marriage.
CASE: What was the story behind the conflict you resolved at 1-800-JUNK between the head of product and head of IT?
How did you grow the COO Alliance during the pandemic lock down?
How do you use the Kolbe assessment to make your COO Alliance members better leaders?
How did you come to broaden your understanding of the many types of roles that COOs can play? Lessons from Clayton Mask, the founder of Infusionsoft and a Harvard Business Review article.
Where did the double-double rule of thumb come from, where the management team that takes you through a revenue doubling twice probably needs to be updated or replaced?
What’s your approach to and experience with using ChatGPT and Open AI in your work?
My Quest for the Best Lightning Round Begins
When do you know it is time to move on as COO? Two parts — one from the COO perspective and one from the CEO perspective.
Expert Bio
Cameron Herold has built a dynamic consultancy and his current clients include a ‘Big 4’ wireless carrier and a monarchy. He earned his reputation as the business growth guru by guiding his clients to double their profit and double their revenue in just three years or less.
Cameron was an entrepreneur from day one. At age 21, he had 14 employees. By 35, he’d help build his first TWO $100 MILLION DOLLAR companies. By the age of 42, Cameron engineered 1-800-GOT-JUNK’s spectacular growth from $2 Million to $106 Million in revenue and 3100 employees – and he did that in just six years. His companies landed over 5,200 media placements in that same six years, including coverage on Oprah.
Not only does Cameron know how to grow businesses, but his delivery from the stage is second to none. Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes magazine, stated: “Cameron Herold is THE BEST SPEAKER I’ve ever heard…he hits grand slams”.
When Cameron steps off the stage, he doesn’t stop teaching. He is the author of the global best-selling business book DOUBLE DOUBLE, which is in its 8th printing and in multiple translations around the world. He’s also the author of the top-selling books MEETINGS SUCK, VIVID VISION, MIRACLE MORNING FOR ENTREPRENEURS, and FREE PR. The Second in Command: Unleash the Power of your COO is his latest book.
Cameron is a top-rated international speaker and has been paid to speak in 26 countries. He is also the top-rated lecturer at EO/MIT’s Entrepreneurial Masters Program and a powerful and effective speaker at Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer leadership events around the world.
Contact Info and Social Media for Cameron Herold
Primary Website
Travels from: Scottsdale, AZ
Connect on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites, and other resources that we discussed so you can explore further.
“Vision without execution is hallucination.” – Thomas Edison
1-800-GOT-JUNK – a Canadian franchised residential and commercial junk removal company operating in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Harley Finklestein, COO, Shopify
The Misunderstood Role of the COO Harvard Business Review
Clayton Mask, founder of Infusionsoft
Zach Morrison, who is the COO of Tenuity
Matt Wool, a founding member of the COO Alliance
ChatGPT and Open AI
The Kolbe Assessment
The Second in Command podcast hosted by Cameron Herold
Invest in Your Leaders course
The COO Alliance – a community for chief operating officers
Books Published by Cameron Herold

Authored by Cameron Herold
43 min
April 24418: Your Online Course Is Failing Before You Hit Record — Here’s Why —
Rebecca Cuevas, author of Course Design Formula: How to Teach Anything to Anyone Online
Rebecca Cuevas and Bill Ringle discuss Course Design Formula: How to Teach Anything to Anyone Online for small business leaders.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
Effective online courses are designed, not recorded. The most common mistake is jumping straight to video without understanding that design — knowing the learner transformation you’re aiming for — must come long before choosing any media.
Stop serving the whole cow. Trying to compress a lifetime of expertise into one course overwhelms learners and buries the transformation. Focus on one specific outcome your learner will achieve.
Launch with a minimum viable learning design: use the Course Design Formula to draft a pilot quickly, then “add people and stir.” Real learner feedback from a live cohort will improve your course faster than any amount of pre-launch polishing.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Rebecca’s two grandfathers — one a cigar-smoking industrialist who turned around failing companies, the other a journalist who founded a television show — and what they shared: the drive to forge their own path and a deep love of thorough preparation. [01:33]
From education coordinator for two Southern California public utilities to online course designer: how 15 years of building in-person programs from scratch set the stage for Rebecca’s pivot to online learning and founding Learn and Get Smarter in 2015. [04:40]
The unlikely breakthrough — designing a Turkish grammar course with zero subject-matter knowledge forced Rebecca to rely entirely on learning design research, and that is when the Course Design Formula was born. [09:00]
Three mistakes people still make with online courses: (1) serving the whole cow — cramming everything they know into one course; (2) no focus on the learner’s transformation; (3) jumping straight to video without a design process. [10:32]
“It doesn’t have to be high production value — it has to be high design value.” Just as you can’t remake Star Wars with a single video camera, you can’t design transformational learning by just hitting record. [12:35]
Client success story: helping “Dora,” a social-sciences innovator, turn a complex personal methodology into a teachable program now recognized as a signature methodology nationwide. [13:38]
Lightning round — teenage anthem: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash (1972); best $100 purchase: Bondi Shams, a solar water filtration device that provides 125 people with clean water for 25 years. [16:00]
The ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) and why the minimum viable learning design approach — build a quick pilot, add real learners, stir, and iterate — gets better results faster than perfecting in isolation. [17:51]
How Rebecca measures true effectiveness: she listens for her students’ students to come back with five-star stories and life-changing letters — the ripple effect that proves the design worked. [19:12]
Expert Bio
Rebecca Cuevas, Founder and CEO of Learn and Get Smarter, Inc., holds a BA with honors from Harvard and has two Masters Degrees in Education. She has over 30 years’ experience working with learners of all ages from toddlers to senior citizens. She has designed, developed, and delivered original learning programs in settings ranging from classrooms to workshops to self-paced online instruction and Masterminds.
In her award-winning book, Course Design Formula: How to Teach Anything to Anyone Online, Rebecca shares her proprietary research-based method of online learning design. She has used the formula to help hundreds of creative experts and entrepreneurs develop anything from a single online course to a whole academy or online learning business.
Her mission is to help outside-the-box thinkers who are the quiet founders of movements fulfil their mission by teaching impactfully, online.
Contact Info and Social Media for Rebecca Cuevas
Primary website
Travels from: Riverside, CA
Connect on: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram @mother_rebecca
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
Learn and Get Smarter — Rebecca’s online learning business and community for course creators who want to teach impactfully online
Robert F. Mager — educational theorist whose research-based principles of instructional design underpin the Course Design Formula; author of landmark works on performance-based learning objectives
ADDIE model — the foundational instructional design framework: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation; the iterative process Rebecca uses with every client
Bondh e Shams — solar water filtration device mentioned in the lightning round; $100 provides 125 people with clean water for 25 years
“I Can See Clearly Now” — 1972 reggae-influenced song by Johnny Nash; Rebecca’s teenage anthem that became an emblem of her adult life
Authored by Rebecca Cuevas
View on Amazon
19 min
April 20Amii Barnard-Bahn on The Promotability Index® — five qualities that drive career advancement
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
Your boss cannot promote you alone — they have to fight for you in rooms you’ll never be in. Make it easier for them by already having relationships with the people they’ll need to convince.
At a certain point, your technical skills are just your ticket to the game — after that, it’s your relationships and who has seen you operate outside your vertical that determines who advances.
Volunteering for a project outside your expertise is one of the highest-leverage career moves available: you gain skills, earn a sponsor outside your direct chain, and become visible to decision-makers who’ve never seen you work.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Amii’s great-grandmother: a Texas schoolteacher who earned her master’s degree at 60, and the model of lifelong learning and grace under pressure she became. [02:00]
How a friend’s offhand invitation to law school changed Amii’s entire career path — and the lesson in staying open to unexpected turns. [04:00]
Three challenges every leader faces today: engagement fatigue on both sides, revenue and go-to-market clarity, and maintaining culture in dispersed or hybrid teams. [05:00]
Why “you’re just not ready yet” does real harm — and how the five Promotability Index qualities give managers and employees a shared, actionable language. [09:00]
Anno’s story: a fully certified audit executive who couldn’t get promoted — because she had built expertise in her vertical but not relationships across the organization. [12:00]
Why volunteering for projects outside your expertise is Amii’s #1 career recommendation: it builds multi-domain visibility and earns sponsors outside your direct chain. [15:00]
Lamar’s story: a two-time top salesman whose “lone wolf” reputation blocked promotion — and how tracking his talk time in meetings changed colleagues’ perception in six to nine months. [17:00]
The indispensability trap: why hoarding job responsibilities feels like job security but signals an inability to lead through others and caps your advancement. [22:00]
Deanne’s story: navigating the “too aggressive” label in Silicon Valley — and how 360 feedback from a junior employee became the turning point. [26:00]
How to seek feedback deliberately in hybrid environments — including the “can I share something with you?” technique that primes people to actually hear what you’re about to say. [28:00]
Expert Bio
Amii Barnard-Bahn (pronounced Aim-ee Bahr-nard Bonn)
A former Fortune Global 50 executive, Amii Barnard-Bahn is a consultant to the C-Suite and leaders at global companies like Bank of the West, Adobe and The Gap. Recognized by Forbes as one of the top coaches for legal and compliance executives, she is a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches. Amii guest lectures at Stanford and UC Berkeley, is a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Compliance Week, and is a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Coaching. She is the creator of The Promotability Index® and author of the companion PI Guidebook.
Amii earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and her BA from Tufts. A lifelong diversity advocate, Amii testified for the successful passage of first laws in the U.S. requiring corporate boards to include women. You can receive her free Promotability Index® self-assessment.
Contact Info and Social Media for Amii Barnard-Bahn
Primary website
Travels from: Sacramento, CA
Connect on: LinkedIn | Twitter/X @amiibb | Instagram @barnardbahn | Facebook | YouTube
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
Marshall Goldsmith — executive coach and leadership author
100 Coaches — Marshall Goldsmith’s global community of top executive coaches
Promotability Index® self-assessment — free career assessment tool by Amii Barnard-Bahn
Laura Gassner Otting — speaker and author
Ruth Bader Ginsburg — U.S. Supreme Court Justice, admired for her long-term change strategy and cross-aisle relationships
Harvard Business Review — publication Amii contributes to
Fast Company — publication Amii contributes to
Harvard Institute of Coaching — fellowship Amii holds
Authored by Amii Barnard-Bahn
View on Amazon
33 min
March 16Fear drives out the best ideas and people
Marcus Warner, author of Rare Leadership in the Workplace
Bill Ringle and Marcus Warner discuss what mature leaders do to endure and thrive when times are difficult for leaders of small and mid-sized businesses.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
Mature leaders can handle their emotions, remain themselves, and still be relational even when they are having a hard time.
Appreciation cannot be followed by a BUT because then it will lose its meaning.
Our brain is fueled by joy and fear. Always return to joy, work your way to feel it, and share this feeling with your team.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Marcus recalls his 5th-grade football choice, who was a veteran of the Korean war, and how he is the embodiment of discipline, determination, and care. [00:55]
Coach Choopy’s example of care helps Marcus deal with difficult conversations. Case in point, Marcus had to make one of his resistant staff understand the importance of making his reports. [02:28]
Marcus elaborates on the importance of returning to joy, how we can feel it, and how we can make others feel it. [06:01]
Tips on how people can feel and share joy with each other in a virtual workplace. [09:53]
Why emotional check-ins are important, when to do them, and how to do them without losing time for business. [11:54]
Marcus on how appreciation done right can transform a workplace. [14:50]
What it means to ‘envelope appreciation.’ Marcus gives a tip on how to properly and effectively appreciate a colleague. [17:35]
The three key things to being a rare leader and what it means to be a cash cow. [19:33]
Marcus encourages us never to dismiss the importance of working on our skills and habits. [22:09]
My Quest for the Best lightning round begins. [28:55]
Expert Bio
Author and president of the non-profit Deeper Walk International, Dr. Marcus Warner has written or co-authored the books Rare Leadership in the Workplace, The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages, and the 4 Habits of Raising Joy-Filled Kids. Dr. Warner’s specialty is combining the latest neuroscience research with practical solutions for improving relationships. Rare Leadership in the Workplace identifies four core characteristics of the mature leaders we love to follow and the habits that create a joy-based workplace environment.
Contact Info and Social Media for Marcus Warner
Primary website
Travels from: Carmel, IN
Connect on: LinkedIn |
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
Korean War
Authored by Marcus Warner
View on Amazon
37 min
March 02You are stuck without being open to workplace experiments with guest expert Gustavo Razzetti
Gustavo Razzetti, author of Remote Not Distant: Design a Company Culture That Will Help You Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace
Bill Ringle and Gustavo Razzetti discuss how leaders and those who say nothing to hurtful behavior are jointly responsible for toxic work cultures and what to do instead to be effective leading from anywhere for small business leaders.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
Productivity theater is when employees are very active, doing ‘busy work,’ like escalating zoom calls or posting questions to show they are making an effort even if they are not working. Managers should focus more on the output or the outcome rather than the effort on hand.
If a culture becomes toxic, there are two parties to blame: The leader who is behaving badly and the subordinates who enables the bad behaviour.
Identify the values that strengthen your tribe and the behaviours that make them weak should be eliminated during the reset process.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
His grandfather from his mother’s side who was a doctor was his inspiration growing up. Through him, Gustavo learned the power of observation. [01:41]
Gustavo discusses the two things that make up a toxic culture: One is the leader, and the other is the people who do nothing. [03:30]
The definition of resetting your business culture and when and why you should do it. [07:07]
Gustavo discusses how what gets attention gets rewarded and the two things that get us rewarded at work. [10:23]
No matter the size of the business, we should come up with a purpose and an answer to who they serve.[13:28]
Gustavo highlights the importance of being a part of a tribe. [17:42]
The Netflix culture memo; how the streaming giant gave their employees the sense of being respected and valued. [19:48]
My Quest for the Best lightning round begins. [25:47]
Subscribe With Your Favorite Podcast App
My Quest for the Best is the podcast where ambitious small business leaders discover strategies and tactics to unlock their growth potential.

Give us a 5-star rating and positive review to make it easier for other small business owners to find and benefit from our work!
Expert Bio
Gustavo Razzetti is the CEO & Founder of Fearless Culture.
Gustavo is passionate about helping teams do the best work of their lives. He is a sought-after speaker, culture consultant, and author of three books.
After 25 years of helping organizations build purpose-driven brands and teams, Gustavo realized that most companies don’t lack ideas, resources, or talent but a conducive culture.
He created Fearless Culture to help organizations become purpose-driven, agile, and innovative. Razzetti is also the creator of the Culture Design Canvas, a culture mapping tool used by consultants, coaches, and organizations worldwide.
Gustavo’s work has been featured in Psychology Today, The New York Times, Forbes, BBC, and many other publications. Throughout his career, he has advised companies in multiple business sectors, including GM, Continental, Coca-Cola, Mars, and Comcast.
He is the author of four books, including the recent Remote, Not Distant – a roadmap to build a strong culture for remote and hybrid teams.
Razzetti has built a career at the intersection of marketing, innovation, and leadership. He participated in the by-invitation-only Change Leadership Program at Stanford University.
An avid road cyclist and cook, Gustavo lives in Chicago with his wife Moira and sons Tristan and Fausto.
Contact Info and Social Media for Gustavo Razzetti
Primary website
Travels from: Highland Park, IL
Connect on: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube |
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
Netflix
Authored by Gustavo Razzetti
View on Amazon
31 min
February 16Include and support women’s voices to improve the world of work
Beate Chelette, author of Happy Woman Happy World
Bill Ringle and Beatte Chelette discuss insider perspectives on how to create a work culture that is genuinely collaborative and inclusive for female and male small business leaders.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
Position yourself to succeed with your peers instead of wanting only you, and you alone, to succeed.
Know your price and the number needs to be the number where you don’t have to work anymore; that way, you’d know when it’s time to sell.
When somebody tries to throw you off your game through their words or actions, you have the option not to let that land.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Beate proudly recalls her father who taught her that every person in the company, from the janitor to the top executives is vital to making a culture work. This is a lesson she carried throughout her life. [01:27]
With $135,000 debt, a teenager she raised alone, and a lawsuit with a former employee, Beate’s resiliency was the fuel that kept her running. [03:32]
How do we know when it’s time to sell? Beate highlights the importance of knowing your price and advises us to make sure it’s a figure enough that we don’t have to work anymore. [05:01]
Knowing her numbers, Beate found a perfect buyer in Bill Gates. [07:16]
A common problem in the US and many parts of the world is the gender pay gap. Beate gives her insights as for why many women are paid less and how they could address this. [10:39]
Mary was a client of Beate’s who, despite being a top 1% in the fabric world, was not taken seriously as a business leader. After working with Beate, Mary became more confident in positioning herself as the leader that she is. [12:24]
Why insecurity is ugly and a cavemen mentality that women need to shed. [16:58]
“You’re too emotional” is only a checkmate move if we allow it. Beate advises women getting these comments to laugh it off and carry on with business as usual. [20:24]
Beate recalls a former colleague and teammate Sandy who despite having a healthy and friendly relationship with her when Beate first joined the company, became embittered and resentful of her promotion. [23:12]
My Quest for the Best lightning round begins. [30:00]
Expert Bio
Beate Chelette is the Growth Architect and Founder of The Women’s Code and provides visionaries and leaders with strategies that grow your authority so they can scale their impact.
A first-generation immigrant who found herself $135,000 in debt as a single parent, Beate bootstrapped her passion for photography into a highly successful global business and eventually sold it to Bill Gates in a multimillion-dollar deal. She is amongst the “Top 100 Global Thought Leaders” by PeopleHum and “One of 50 Must-Follow Women Entrepreneurs” by HuffPost.
Recent clients include Amazon, Reckitt (the maker of Lysol), Chevron, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, the Women’s Legislative Caucus of California, Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Shelter Inc., Mental Health First Aid and thousands of small businesses.
Beate is the author of the #1 International Award-Winning Amazon Bestseller “Happy Woman Happy World – How to Go from Overwhelmed to Awesome”–a book that corporate trainer and best-selling author Brian Tracy calls “a handbook for every woman who wants health, success and a fulfilling career.”
Contact Info and Social Media for Beate Chelette
Primary website
Travels from: Culver City, CA
Connect on: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
Bill Gates
Authored by Beate Chelette
View on Amazon
39 min
February 02Use the power of narrative to take your business to the next level
Gregory Diehl, author of Brand Identity Breakthrough: How to Craft Your Company’s Unique Story to Make Your Products Irresistible
Bill Ringle and Gregory Diehl discuss the importance and use of story narrative to give your business the attention it deserves for small business leaders.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
Invest in your clients as much as you can but do not be afraid to step back if they are unwilling to invest in their self-improvement as well.
Creating your identity is important because customers buy into the story as much as they buy into what we’re selling.
There are three ways to get money. Beg, steal, and earn. But only through earning do we give someone of great value worthy of their money.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Gregory passionately shares how Goerge Lucas and his vision that ultimately changed the film industry greatly inspired him growing up. [01:02]
How Goerge Lucas relates to his book Brand Identity Breakthrough. [04:32]
As teenagers, Gregory and his friends first came to truly appreciate the importance of the story in a brand when they were busking in California. [06:23]
Olivier Wagner is a client of Gregor’s whose job is to help American ex-pats with their taxes whom he helped create his personality brand. [14:34]
How Olivier’s business changed for the best after working with Gregory: He became more active in reaching out to people who are asking questions in platforms like Quora and Facebook. [18:28]
Beg, steal, or earn- Gregory elaborates on the three ways he thinks entrepreneurs earn money. [21:22]
Exploring the concept of Street Cat Marketing. [24:28]
Why emotional bond is a perfect hook for selling. [27:43]
My Quest for the Best Lightning Round begins [29:00]
Expert Bio
Gregory V. Diehl is an educator and personal development mentor whose ideals include self-inquiry, challenge, and analysis. He writes and teaches to assist others in undoing faulty narratives about their identities and how life works so that they may begin to make more meaningful choices and resolve their deepest burdens. Diehl spent many years studying cultures around the world and now lives a quiet life in a rural village in Armenia with his cats, books, and music.
Gregory’s latest business book is Everyone Is an Entrepreneur: Selling Economic Self-Determination in a Post-Soviet World. In it, he examines why entrepreneurship has been so slow to spread in post-Soviet cultures like Armenia, how it hinders individuals’ ability to improve their own lives, and how to fix it.
Contact Info and Social Media for Gregory Diehl
Primary website
Travels from: CARLSBAD, California
Connect on: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites, and other resources we discussed so that you can explore further.
Quora
Facebook
Olivier Wagner – If you are an American living abroad and need help with your taxes, click this link.
Authored by Gregory Diehl
37 min
January 19Solving customer pain makes you relevant immediately with guest expert Howard Tiersky
Howard Tiersky, author of Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance
Howard Tiersky and Bill Ringle discuss ways to understand, communicate, and win business through understanding customer pain points and offering solutions.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 400 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
Technology can make transactions easier for both employees and customers.
To properly implement change, sometimes observation is better than asking.
Identify your customers’ points of pain. Being unable to keep up with addressing those could spell the end of our businesses.
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Hollywood producers and directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg played a large influence of his views because of how they transformed the movie industry. [01:42]
How digital transformation has been shaping the business world since the release of the first iPhone. [04:52]
Howard gives an example of how marketing companies can leverage technology to make everything easier for their clients. [08:20]
Netflix is a great example of a company that digitally transformed the movie industry to make watching movies and series easier, more practical, and most importantly, accessible for their customers. [09:13]
Howard emphasizes why it is very important to identify our customers’ points of pain. [12:29]
Sometimes customers cannot articulate their needs. In response to this, Howard advises us to observe. [15:30]
On further emphasis on the importance of observation, Howard talks about Sally who was so very used to her long, exhausting process of making her reports that if you asked her if there was anything else she needed to make her work better, she just assured Howard that everything is okay. [16:37]
While people like Howard embrace changes, some people may be resistant or even loathe the idea of change even if it makes their life easier.[19:27]
Howard explains why the fear of irrelevancy makes people close-minded to change. [24:31]
Expert Bio
Howard is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance which was recently listed by Forbes as “One of the ten most important business books of 2021.”
Howard was named by IDG as “One of The Top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers to Follow Today,” and by Enterprise Management 360° as “One of the Top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers That Will Change Your World.”
As an entrepreneur, Howard has launched two successful companies that help large brands transform to thrive in the digital age: FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency and Innovation Loft. Among his dozens of Fortune 1000 clients are Verizon, NBC, Universal Studios, JPMC, Morgan Stanley, the NBA, Visa, and digital leaders like Facebook, Spotify, and Amazon.
Prior to founding his own companies, Howard spent 18 years with Ernst & Young Consulting which then became part of Capgemini, one of the world’s leading global consulting firms, where he helped launch their digital practice.
Howard speaks regularly at major industry conferences and is proud to have been on the faculty of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, his alma mater. He is a frequent contributor to CIO Magazine.
Contact Info and Social Media for Howard Tiersky
Primary website
Travels from: Mahwah, New Jersey
Connect on: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
Winning Digital Customers Free Chapter
George Lucas – famed director and creator of Star Wars and owner of Lucasfilms
Steven Spielberg – One of the world’s top film directors and producers
Jack Welsh – former CEO of General Electrics
Authored by Howard Tiersky
View on Amazon
29 min
January 05Hybrid selling demands a different toolkit with guest expert Andy Springer
Andy Springer, author of Virtual Selling: How to Build Relationships, Differentiate, and Win Sales Remotely
Bill Ringle and Andy Springer discuss the research-based skills and routines used by sales top performers for small and mid-sized business leaders.
>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 400 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.
Interview Insights
Top 3 Takeaways
The pandemic caused a major shift in the seller-buyer dynamic. While face-to-face selling has been proven effective, companies should train their people in new ways to engage with their buyers, like when a transaction is done on a Zoom screen where reading body language is harder than it is in-person.
It is time for people to acknowledge the importance of learning virtual skills, as remote transactions are now even more normal than face-to-face meetings.
Both types of selling are “new-normals.” Being an efficient virtual seller is good, and being an efficient face-to-face seller is good, but being a great “hybrid-seller” is far better!
Read the Show Notes from this Episode
Andy talks about Randy Gage, the thought leader who studied prosperity in modern times and how his writing caused the biggest shift in Andy’s life. [01:26]
As the volume of sellers increased, Andy noted how competition made many sellers devalue their offerings, and he encourages listeners always to know the value of what you have to offer. [05:15]
What were the obstacles to adapting during the Pandemic for to salespeople used to meetings in person? How can they get back on track? [08:20]
What is the most helpful mindset, attitude, and approach to how sellers can thrive over this new challenge of selling remotely? [10:36]
CASE: One of the first companies that Andy helped with this new way of selling was a water company. They were well known in their market as one of the best vendors for their product until the pandemic hit, and they had to learn how to sell to their clients without the face-to-face selling. [15:20]
Why do sales teams need different tool kits to respond to drastically different situations? Are there ways to prevent members of your sales team from giving away too much leverage to the buyer? [23:44]
What do most people miss about the importance of the discovery stage in a virtual environment? [27:00]
What are some of the secrets you’ve learned about how sales professionals can use the virtual environment to their advantage? [30:42]
Additional tips for those who want to learn how to be great at virtual selling. [32:04]
Expert Bio
Andy Springer is an expert in sales high performance and co-author of Virtual Selling: How to Build Relationships, Differentiate, and Win Sales Remotely.
As Chief Client Officer of RAIN Group, Andy drives the design and delivery of client results for the firm that’s been named on the Selling Power and Training Industry’s Top 20 Sales Training Companies list for numerous years.
Andy has worked with hundreds of sales teams to drive long-lasting sales improvement for SME, mid-market, enterprise, and government clients.
Leading many of RAIN Group’s highly popular digital seminars on virtual selling topics, Andy is a regular contributor to the firm’s award-winning sales blog. His white papers, 9 Principles of Virtual Learning Success and The Guide to Sales Training Success, have also been downloaded by thousands of sellers and sales leaders around the globe.
In addition, Andy co-founded two successful consultancies and has been a lead advisor to many thriving start-ups in the Australian Business community.
Andy received his B.A. in Business from the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Contact Info and Social Media for Andy Springer
Primary website
Travels from: Boston, MA
Connect on: Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Resources Mentioned During the Interview
Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further.
Randy Gage
Stephen King
Tom Clancy
Authored by Andy Springer
View on Amazon
41 min

About My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle - the podcast for ambitious business owners.

From the publisher's feed

This is the category parent for all MQ4B interview categories. ALL podcast episodes must be in this category.

Share My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle - the podcast for ambitious business owners.

Sign up to save your podcasts

My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle - the podcast for ambitious business owners.

My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle - the podcast for ambitious business owners. episodes

About My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle - the podcast for ambitious business owners.