Pull the Chute - Grow your People, Grow your Company Podcast

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Most successful companies in history had a visionary and an integrator. The visionary provides the endless supply of ideas and goals, while the integrator turns those goals into a series of tangible measurable steps. Think of Disney, Walt was the visionary and his brother Roy was the integrator, Microsoft had Bill Gates and Paul Allan. Apple had Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the list goes on. The key to success is to make sure that the visionary and the integrator understand each other. It’s like having a translator. 

Our guest today is Jen Eckhardt, she is the founder of Savvy Assist. Jen has spent most of her career as a fractional COO for more than 100 companies where she has cultivated an innate ability to translate for both visionaries and integrators so that they value each other and collaborate successfully. But it doesn’t stop there, Jen understands that you need to put systems and processes in place, but if you don’t have a bright, empowered and decisive team that you can count on, all the systems and processes in the world won’t get you out of the weeds of your business and in operational zen.

Jen has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and worked on her Masters in Education at Texas State University. 

[email protected]

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When it comes to operations in your business, efficiency is one of the keys to success. Here at Pull the Chute, we focus on 5 areas to help you grow your business, Marketing, Systems, Sales, Finance and People. Systems and operations are a big part of your success. Putting the right systems in place can help you streamline your operations and save you money. 

Today's guest is Blake Farrell, Blake is a Supply Chain expert. He consults, coaches, and works in operations. He finds the problem that needs to be solved AND solves it. He’s worked with multiple 8 and 9 figure sellers and saved them 7 figures. He works directly with owners, managers, and employees to get into the nitty gritty and find those opportunities for savings and efficiency that increase the company’s bottom line or frees up hours for owners and executives to focus on the bigger picture. I am excited to talk with Blake today to learn ways you can streamline your operations that will directly affect your bottom line.

Contact Blake:
Email - [email protected]
LI - https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-farrell/

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One of my biggest frustrations is when companies promote someone into a leadership role, and don’t give them proper training on how to be a leader. When you don’t know how to be a leader, how can you lead effectively?   Our guest today is Meredith Graham. She is on a mission to obliterate mediocre training and boring classes from the world. To enable her mission, Meredith became a franchise of Crestcom International that operates in over 60 foreign countries and 50+ U.S. markets. Meredith trains junior, mid-level and senior managers of leading organizations on subjects such as Workforce Relations, Attitude, Goal Setting, Self-Esteem, Customer Service, Time Management, Team Building, Employee Development, Organization, Motivation, Emotional Intelligence, Multi-Generational Leadership and Communication Effectiveness. Meredith has over 19 years of progressive leadership development and training experience. Previously, Meredith was the Head of Talent Management at Brookdale, Solution Executive with HealthStream and Manager over Training and Development at Tractor Supply Company. She currently serves on the Board of the American Change Management Practitioners for Middle Tennessee (ACMP).

On a more personal note, Meredith is married and is a mother of a rambunctious little girl. She holds a B.S in Psychology from Vanderbilt University and a M.Ed. in Leadership Performance from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Human Development.

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At Pull the Chute we focus on 5 areas to help you grow your company. Marketing, Systems, Sales, Finance and People. Today I’d like to focus on the people. Finding the right person to properly support you when you grow is key. Putting ads on job boards can create dozens of responses, but now you have to go through each and every one of the applicants trying to find the right person with the right attitude and the right skills. The task can be daunting, having a recruiting partner can save you time and money in the long run. My guest today is Kelly Horton, she is the founder of CGRecruiting. Kelly is an innovative business partner adept at full-life-cycle recruiting.  With over 20 years in the Human Resources/Staffing field, her experience includes recruiting everything from Executive positions to laborers in hard-to-fill locations both in the public and private sector.  Her goal is to connect each client with the best talent based upon both their professional skills and cultural fits. 

Prior to CG, Kelly worked as a Managing Partner at Rocket Recruiting Solutions and as a Talent Partner at Waste Management assisting with all levels of recruiting for 7 states.  This included strategy development and implementation as well as training for all levels of employees.  With each client, Kelly seeks to fully understand their needs as well as to identify any potential barriers to success.  This includes utilizing targeted behavioral based interviewing techniques.

While recruiting is her passion, Kelly also spent 8 years in the legal field as well as attending law school for 2 years.  Her legal jobs included working in civil law offices, criminal defense, as well as the State Attorney General.

Kelly possesses a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership, Human Relations and Research, a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Anthropology as well an Associate’s Degree in Law.  Additionally, Kelly is AIRs and DDI Certified.  She currently lives in the Nashville Area with her husband and 2 young children.  When not at work, she enjoys art, traveling, and hiking.

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A supportive, appreciative and  business culture will drive your business to great heights, while a toxic, unsupportive culture can cause your business to be stagnant or even fail. The great resignation isn’t about money. Only 12% of people leave their jobs for more money. 79% of people leave their job because they feel unappreciated. The top-down leadership mentality or Founder syndrome has to change. It’s the reason I started Pull the Chute with the belief that if you grow your people, you will grow  your company. Help your people be the best they can be and your business will grow and be the best it can be.  Todays guest is Coty Escue. Coty is a Culture Expert, he architects company cultures to create a positive, inviting and supportive work environment where people thrive. He works with companies to create a culturally specific frameworks then supports management to implement them to build a healthy business. He refers to this as Change Management through Culture.

This topic is very near and dear to my heart so I am especially excited for todays discussion. Coty and I met through a mutual friend and hit it off immediately. It didn't take long for me to realize that others needed to hear Coty's message, so I immediately invited him to be on the show. 

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You started your own business and over the last couple of years you’ve not only been able to survive a pandemic you were able to grow the business. You’re enjoying what you’ve built, but have you thought about your exit strategy? Exit Strategy, why do I need an exit strategy you might be asking. When I’m done working I’ll just sell the business right? Maybe you will or maybe you won’t be able to and will it be worth what you want for it. Exit Planning allows a Business Owner to fulfill their biggest goals and dreams, and enables them to stay in control of the most important aspects of their lives: their business, their legacy, their families, and their future. A strong Exit Plan enables the Business Owner to achieve their desired objectives — rather than falling short due to decisions based on assumptions.

Our guest today is Lorne Greenfield. He is the CEO of Capital Concepts a company designed to help small to medium size companies, implement procedure to improve cash flow profitability and efficiency while reducing operating and administrative costs. 

Lorne is a versatile, analytical and results-oriented CEO with 30+ years of experience in corporate direction and management, he conceives the vision and strategy for companies in a variety of financial-service niche verticals. His passion is serving small to midsize businesses as an advocate. For the past 20 years, Lorne focused on ensuring companies experience the growth they desire. He has assisted businesses of all sizes from Mom & Pop retailers to public companies to secure the right types of funds to grow their businesses, at the best rates and terms. By getting back to basic analytics, Lorne knows companies can reconstruct and strengthen their balance sheets through simple adjustments.

A native of Montreal, Lorne holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree from Stanford University. A professed “rabid” hockey fan, he applies to business the leadership skills he developed as a player for three decades and a lifetime student of the game.

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It doesn’t matter what your industry is or what business you are in, support is key. Support from like-minded people can help you to find success.  There are many resources that we all tap into, like online groups or social media, but a largely untapped resource is on the community level. The Chamber of Commerce in your local community can be a huge untapped resource.

Every community has a Chamber of Commerce, or at least they should. The goal of any Chamber is to help to further the interests of small businesses in a local area. The activities can range from hosting events, to lobbying local representatives to charitable works for the betterment of the community. I have invited Kim Baker, the CEO of our local Chamber here in Gallatin, TN to help us understand What does the Chamber of Commerce do, Exactly? 

Kim is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University where she received a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Communication as well as University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, where she obtained her Tennessee Certified Economic Developer  designation. Additionally, Kim completed the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives Institute as well as four years of U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute, obtaining the designation “IOM”. In 2020, Kim was selected to be a member of the 4th cohort of the US Chamber Foundation’s Business Leads Fellowship Program with other local and state chambers to address pressing education and workforce challenges, nationwide,  and in 2022 she was named a fellow with the US Chamber. Kim began her work with the Chamber in November of 2013 and was named CEO in February of 2015.

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The pandemic has created a whole new set of issues for small to medium size businesses. The biggest one I hear from my listeners is ``How do you manage remote people?” What are the rules from an HR Standpoint? You’re not big enough to hire someone to manage all your HR needs, but you need support, advice and a plan. So what do you do? 

Outsourcing your HR needs could be the answer. I thought it would be helpful and educational to learn more about these services. My guest today is Norma Shirk, she is the president of Corporate Compliance Risk Advisors here in Nashville. CCRA provides SMB’s with the help they need to create their human resources (HR) functions and HR department including creating/revising HR policies and procedures; investigating employee dishonesty claims; implementing internal controls to reduce business losses; creating disaster recovery and business continuity plans; and assessing corporate risks that can be mitigated by insurance coverage. Norma obtained her BA from Middle Tennessee State University and received her Law Degree from University of Tennessee.

She also received the Distinguished Service award for service as Chair of the Corporate Counsel Section, Tennessee Bar Association.

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Time, Sometimes we feel as if there is never enough. Occasionally, we just let it go to waste. There are moments we wish we could get it back.Time is the one thing that each and every one of us has the exact same amount of, every single day. So why do some people seem to get more done with their time than others? Most people believe that time management is the key and it’s a skill that many us wish they were better at. But is it really about time management or is it just about time or stated differently is it about us in time. Today’s guest is Brian Gustas, Brian has the reputation for getting a lot done in a short amount of time. Brian has spent his career working and understanding us in time. Back in September of 2020, during the throwels of the pandemic, Brian wrote an amazing blog about time. Since this is something we all struggle with I wanted to bring Brian onto the show to talk to us about his understanding of time. Not about time management techniques, but techniques to manage ourselves in the present. Brian is the CEO of the Business Development Group, a position he has held for the last 23 years. BDG focuses on helping companies in the Telecom industry. Brian's goal is to  help others reach their goals by finding and employing creative solutions to challenges and producing positive outcomes from opportunities. To accomplish this, he leverages his over 30 years of telecommunications related executive management, operational, and sales leadership as well as nearly two decades of mergers and acquisitions experience. 

To learn more read Brian's Blog post 
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-time-brian-gustas/

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How do you know when it’s time to sell your business? And when it’s time, how do you go about selling your business? I recently interviewed Karen Kyman, the President and former owner of Precision Communications. During that interview we focused on Precisions Core Values, at the end of that interview, I mentioned that Karen had recently sold Precision. I had a few listeners that wanted to know more about what that process was like. How she found a buyer and what the transition was like. Did the company lose any employees, how long has Karen stayed on for and what has that been like. So I thought it would be fun and educational to bring Karen back along with the new CEO of Precision Communications Sean Wenger to talk to us about their journey.  Don't miss this amazing journey