Shareable.fm Radio

On today’s episode, we are joined by the amazing Melissa Agnes.

Melissa has revolutionized exactly HOW a business can truly expect the unexpected, and even more than that, be extremely prepared for it.

Melissa has worked in countless industries- NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, governmental agencies, global non-profits and many more. A leading voice in the risk management industry, she has hosted a Tedx talk and appeared in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, VIBE Magazine, and USA Today. Her book Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World highlights “The Crisis Ready Model,” a step by step implementation to create the strong foundation your business needs for ultimate brand protection. In today’s episode, we discuss the 5 steps of the model to ensure your business is prepared, no matter how extreme the circumstances.

So go ahead and listen to all the knowledge Melissa has to offer!

SHOW NOTES:

What should businesses know about “The Crisis Ready Model?” (4:40)

Understand that mindset is EVERYTHING. It is not something you can create and put on a shelf for emergency use. Your crisis ready plan needs to permeate throughout your entire business, day in and day out.

So, what are the steps to actually create this framework? (5:33) 

There are five steps to the model:

1. (6:37) Designing an audit. Understanding the culture of your organization is everything. This means thinking about WHO your brand is, its place in the world, and what it stands for. In this case, an audit is a simple conversation- a way to get to know your organization’s mindset. Ask yourself the questions: How does your brand view and handle current negative events? How does your brand view itself?

2. (10:52) Understanding variables and impacts. This step is all about education. It requires developing alignment between every individual in your business in understanding the fast paced world that we find ourselves, in which a crisis can develop in seconds. It also involves creating a streamlined plan, getting everyone on board with their role in your business and the accountability required for what will be delivered.

3. (11:58) Identifying high-risk crisis scenarios and stakeholders. This is when the data collection starts happening. It requires you to think deeply about your business and its relation to risk management: What are the high risk scenarios your business is most vulnerable to? Who matters most to your business? Collect the information to tackle the next step based on your answers to these questions.

How do you start collecting data? (14:34) Collecting data means starting to understand any possible impacts you can possibly foresee for your business based on any scenario you can think of. Questions to consider: What is a crisis vs. an issue for your organization? Which are most likely to affect your brand? What is a worst case scenario for your business? What are the current strengths and weaknesses within your business currently?

What is the difference between an issue and a crisis? (16:34) A crisis is a situation that stops business as usual because it requires full attention in order to combat. It threatens a long-term material impact on one or all of the following:

-People -Environment -Business operations -The organization’s reputation -The organization’s bottom line

4. (24:04) Develop strategy and create a program. Use your now recorded knowledge of your business to create two things: a crisis ready playbook with specific action plans and resources and crisis communication handbooks, which have scenario-specific strategies ready to go. In order to create these, ask yourself these questions: -What will my employees expect from a crisis situation? -What can I anticipate from my business immediately after a crisis? -What will stakeholders demand from us in this sort of situation? -How can my team be in a place to accurately and emotionally anticipate crises in real time, while matching the expectations of the stakeholders?

Keep these items on hand at all times so that your business can use them in times of crisis for immediate relief.

5. (29:16) Implementation. All the planning is done…but what is planning without experience? Of course, a fairly accurate thing to say would be that crisis management is like insurance. You know you need it, but you hope you never have to use it. But in this case, being prepared for the absolute worst allows you to handle the smaller bumps in the road like a pro. Crisis management is not a plan that only comes out in times of emergency; it’s a daily culture that your business chooses to undertake, day in and day out. It’s all about being prepared, because in today’s ever-changing world, anything can happen.

How do you begin to implement your plan? (30:00) Every year or so, simulate each possible crisis to test your business’s response to them. In a controlled environment, bring in tools to make it feel as real as possible for your business team. Using your plan of action from Step 4, use role-players and tools to simulate social media to see how your business holds up against even the most threatening risk.

CONNECT WITH MELISSA

Melissa’s Website

CRISIS READY: BUILDING AN INVINCIBLE BRAND IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD

Melissa on Twitter

Melissa on Facebook

Melissa on Linkedin

Melissa on Instagram

CONNECT WITH JEFF

Email Jeff

 @JGibbard on Twitter

Jeff on Facebook

Jeff on Linkedin (make sure to introduce yourself)

Jeff on Instagram

Jeff on Snapchat

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE

Email Caroline

Caroline on Twitter

Caroline on Instagram

 Caroline on LinkedIn

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Hello Shareable listeners, this week on the show, we have special guest Andy Dane Carter!

We’re following our new and final format, where guests come prepared to share recommendations for any pieces of media that they think you should be reading, listening to, or watching.

In this episode, we discuss how Andy built his real estate empire on his cell phone. Growing up in a single parent household, Andy knows the value of the knowledge he’s gained and now, he’s on a mission to share those secrets with you.

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SHOW NOTES

Mentioned in this episode:

CONNECT WITH ANDY

CONNECT WITH JEFF

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Ray, our Audio Engineer.

Thanks for cleaning up our voices and adding all that sexy production value.

Kurtis, our intern.

Thanks for all creating the show notes for this episode!

Elephants.

Thanks for being so dang smart and majestic.

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Densie Lee Yohn, Season 1 favorite and our resident brand and culture expert, came back to tell us about her new book.

In this episode, we discuss the link between brand and culture, what to do with a bad apple, and how you can practice leadership and fusion at any size and in any role at your business.

SHOW NOTES

Mentioned in this episode:

CONNECT WITH DENISE

CONNECT WITH JEFF

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Ray, our Audio Engineer.

Thanks for cleaning up our voices and adding all that sexy production value.

Kurtis, our intern.

Thanks for all creating the show notes for this episode!

My Dad.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. Your love, compassion, and willingness to admit fault and learn from it have forever shaped how I walk through this world. Thank you.

Hello Shareable listeners! This is our last bonus episode of Season 2! For this episode, we are joined by Christina Harbridge. Christina is the founder and CEO of Allegory Inc., a behavioral change company. In her life, she has founded a debt collection agency, built a successful finance industry company, participated as a NASA test subject, and created large-scale metal sculptures. In this episode, Christina shares some of her tactics for creating positive relationships through authentic conversations. With Christina’s help, Shareable will be giving away three signed copies of Swayed to our listeners. Just call our number, 551-257-4273, and leave a voicemail with your best story. We will announce three winners online and create an episode in season 3 of Shareable with your story (assuming you give us permission). Download this Episode

SHOW NOTES (18:09) – Have you ever met someone you can’t help? It depends, some people just tend to struggle more than others. For example, introverts may find that starting conversations is exhausting. However, Christina always recommends using a rational strategy for influence. She will help clients understand how her methods will ultimately help them succeed in comparison to their current methods. This logical rational usually resonates with her clients. (21:55) – What is semantic linguistics? It is a way of conversing with people in an authentic, non transaction way. When she started her collection business, Christina found that many of the contemporary tactics used by collection agencies seem manipulative. She wanted to redesign the business by having her employees uphold positive attitudes. Through her research, she found that people often let their body drive the conversation, rather than their intellect. The most impactful communication of influence is performed when both parties feel comfortable. Christina stated that one needs to listen before convincing. (28:40) – Why don’t we always behave in a non transactional way? We were raised to cast aside many of our strong emotions. Sadness and anger were often portrayed as bad emotions, but these emotions are essential. Our emotions shouldn’t be numbed. For example, good meetings should be somewhat uncomfortable. All participants shouldn’t always agree or else nothing will be improved. (33:45) – As an introvert, how do you find the energy to address these conversations and emotions? One of Christina’s strategies is to get the other person talking more. In her collection business, she found that trying to calm someone down on the phone when they are extremely upset never works. Rather, you need to match or exceed their concern for the problem. This will cause the other person to talk more and in a less intense manner. (39: 23) – What is a good way of getting your clients to tell a story? Christina recommends to have the clients write down experiences or stories that you love everyday. Don’t try to pick the perfect story for what you are trying to sell. Pick the stories that convey the right emotions. The key to great storytelling is helping people find themselves in your story with random details. Our goal is to relive the story, not talk about it. There should always be a twist or some type of surprise that the audience couldn’t predict. ADDITIONAL NOTES Take advantage of our giveaway and earn yourself a signed copy of Christina’s book, Swayed! The book is also available for purchase on Amazon and can be found here. Christina is currently working on an online course to discuss the positive power of persuasion. Stay tuned! CONNECT WITH CHRISTINA

CONNECT WITH JEFF

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW

SPECIAL THANKS TO Ray, our Audio Engineer. Thanks for cleaning up our voices and adding all that sexy production value. Kurtis, our intern. Thanks for all creating the show notes for this episode! Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle Board Game. Thanks for nothing…except fun!

Hey Shareable listeners, here is another bonus episode! We were lucky enough to have Adam Pierno join us! Adam Pierno has built strategies for clients for over 20 years. He began working in the advertising industry in the creative department. After acting as a creative director for Verizon, he started to focus on strategy. He is currently the Chief Strategy Officer for Santy. He is also an author, speaker, editor, and podcast host. He has worked with many prestigious brands, such as Delta Air Lines, Dunkin’ Donuts, Mercedes-Benz, and more. He hosts a podcast called “The Strategy Inside Everything Podcast,” where he analyzes strategies behind events in pop-culture, business, sports, and politics. He wrote a book called “Under Think It,” which acts as a guide book for creating strategies with real-world examples and compelling insights. Strategy isn’t only for marketers, any professional can benefit from learning how to build a simple strategy and communicate it effectively. Download this Episode

SHOW NOTES (4:31) – What is strategy? And why are people so bad at it?

Many marketers tend to use elegant words and cram way too much content into the first 20 slides of a slideshow. Yet they still get confused when their clients don’t like their creative work. Adam said, “Strategy is just about taking information and making a plan.” Complex words just confuse the client and does help not encourage trust.

(6:39) – How do you deal with the complexity of marketing?

The marketing business is always going to be complex. But this is why it is even more imperative to create simple strategies. It is unavoidable that the process will get extremely complicated, so don’t start with confusing language. Be clear and concise, it will alleviate some of the future complexity.

(15:28) – Does the additional measurement of digital create more opportunities or more problems with communicating with clients?

It depends. Some of the recent digital techniques are so new that they don’t offer any measurement. This can clients to feel doubtful. Even though the advertisements don’t have any key performance indicators (KPIs), they may still have a lot of value. Technology is changing and we no longer live in a time where you can advertise on Seinfeld and hit 95% of your target audience. Every client reacts differently so ultimately it is your job as a marketer to effectively communicate your plan.

(19:00) – How do you convey the complex aspects of marketing?

Adam tends to create flows which show the path he is trying to create. However, he would never directly show the whole flow to the client in a slide deck because they would never be able to comprehend it.

Rather, he hosts sessions to educate the client on certain aspects of advertising campaigns so it will be easier to present related concepts in the future. Even if the client doesn’t completely understand the concepts, it doesn’t really matter. They will still understand its complexity and respect your expertise.

(24:38) – Do you worry about making the strategy too simple?

It is all about how you present the information. Adam has a great strategy on how to communicate information to clients. He keeps the main slideshow barebones and does not exceed 20 slides in length. He uses these slides to explain the logic of the plan. He will then keep around 100 slides in the appendix so that if the client wants to know the specifics about research or analytics he can explain further.

It is all about the making the best use of time. Editing presentations is a skill that many marketers need to work on.

(27:13) – How do you walk a client through strategies?

Every client is different. Adam wants his strategy presentations to act as a conversation. He wants clients to ask questions and give opinions so they can build a strong foundation. This foundation will make the rest of the process much easier and efficient. Adam also recommends making the information relatable and understandable for the client. One technique he uses is to create mock target audience with backgrounds so the client can personify its target.

(34:35) – Why should people care about your book and strategy?

There are no textbooks available that can teach strategy. Adam asked many of his associates whom are in the strategy department on how to teach strategy but nobody could give an answer. He wrote ‘Under Think It’ to act as a guidebook to give steps on how to develop a strategy.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Adam’s book that is referenced throughout this episode is called ‘Under Think It’. The book acts as a guide book for creating strategies with real-world examples and compelling insights. It is available through amazon here.

You can view the Maker’s Mark ad here

You can view the UNTUCKit ad here

CONNECT WITH ADAM

CONNECT WITH JEFF

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW

SPECIAL THANKS TO Ray, our Audio Engineer. Thanks for cleaning up our voices and adding all that sexy production value. Kurtis, our intern. Thanks for all creating the show notes for this episode! Fiction. Because sometimes, make-believe can reveal the truth we’ve been struggling to pin down.

Welcome to the second bonus episode of Season 2! Dr. Richard Shuster joined us to make this special episode. Richard is the host of The Daily Helping Podcast, a podcast dedicated to helping people become the best version of themselves. He is a clinical psychologist with a specialization in forensics and neuropsychology. Also, he is starting a non-profit charity to help children reach their potential by providing speech, physical, and occupational therapy. Before finding his calling, Richard worked in technology for many years. But his life was changed forever when he survived a horrific car accident. He suffered extensive injuries including a broken back. During his recovery, Richard felt unfulfilled by his life’s accomplishments and wanted to do more, so he resigned from his executive position to seek more meaningful work. In this podcast, Richard shares with us his definition of “purpose-driven” and how following that mentality has helped him find fulfillment at work and everywhere else. For anyone who’s stuck or struggling to find 1.) what your passions are and 2.) how to turn those passions into meaningful work then this episode will help get the wheels turning. Richard is a delight and we know you’re going to enjoy this episode! Download this Episode SHOW DETAILS

SHOW NOTES (10:45) – How did your near death experience give you a sense of drive, passion, and purpose? Richard spent a lot of time reflecting on his life after the accident. He came to the conclusion that everything we do should be purpose-driven and we should focus on altruism. They key is to find something that you are passionate about that you can making a living off of, but also makes the world a better place. The opportunities are not as rare as many think. (12:40) – Is their a process to become purpose-driven? For Richard, the process unfolded organically. He went from working 80 hours a week to 0 hours a week; so he had plenty of time to reflect. He recommends journaling, reading, and meditation. If you’re unsure what your passions are, Richard recommends writing often and look for patterns that may indicate interest in certainty ideas, activities, etc. (15:47) – How will you measure the success of your endeavors? The Daily Helping’s mission is intentionally aspirational; it won’t have a definitive end. However, the movement is quantifiable. Richard’s goal is to inspire a million people to post an act of kindness on a daily basis. ADDITIONAL NOTES Go and do something nice for someone you don’t know. Surprise yourself by surprising someone else! CONNECT WITH JEFF

CONNECT WITH JEFF

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW

SPECIAL THANKS TO Ray, our Audio Engineer. Thanks for cleaning up our voices and adding all that sexy production value. Kurtis, our intern. Thanks for all creating the show notes for this episode! Mochi. It might be the perfect vessel for ice cream.

Hey Shareable listeners! We’re back with brand new episodes! For our first bonus episode, we have special guest, Phil M Jones. Phil Jones entered the business world at the age of 14 by hiring his friends to wash cars. Since then he has owned several businesses ranging in services from landscaping to printing. In 2008, he decided it was time to dedicate his future to helping others to succeed. Through his experience in sales, he found that it’s often misunderstood as creating unjustified hype; he aims to demystify this process in his book and workshops. In this episode, Phil shares some of his knowledge about how to improve your sales techniques. One key takeaway is that in order to make a sale a salesperson must first convince themselves that they can deliver on their promises. He also mentions several ways of connecting emotional attachment to the decision making process. Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but every sales begins by asking the right questions. Go ahead take a listen! We’ve kept you waiting long enough! Download this Episode

SHOW DETAILS

SHOW NOTES

(5:18) – Why does everyone look for the silver bullet for overwhelming success, when they just need to be 5% or 10% better? This push for giant metrics of improvement creates an unnecessary anxiety that limits success. Instead, people need to look for areas of continuous improvement. Look at what you are doing and see where you can add elements of success. The difference between people who are doing fine and those who are very successful are those marginal differences of reflection and review. (11:21) – Do you think it is possible to get anybody to fall in love with sales? Yes – but on one condition. The first sale that needs to happen must be on yourself. You must convince yourself that you can convince. You must have an internal belief that you can deliver on your promises. As sales people, we are looking to assist the decision making process. In order to help, we need to believe in what we are fighting for. (20:59) – How do you find the right words that sell? Look at conversation patterns to find where conversations were being controlled in the right way. You need to set yourself up by prefacing the sale with the right questions. After asking questions with ubiquitous subjectivity. Phil always use the magic words, “I bet your a bit like me.” By asking the right questions in a logical order, you can guide the consumer through the decision making process step-by-step. Phil says he could never recommend anything to anybody unless he could say these words “because of the fact that you said…” This is the final step from transitioning the consumer from the subjective questions to the realization of the need. (33:05) – How do you decide which questions to ask in different scenarios? It’s all about having the right tools to use at the right time. Phil has one basic framework that he has found works very well. It’s a three step process.

(45:14) – Do you think that any business can benefit from a positioning document? It is not about having the document or not. The question should be more concerned with do you receive leads from that method that allows you to have a conversation. First find the right questions and then find the right tools that help facilitate conversations. ADDITIONAL NOTES The book that Jeff and Phil refer to in this podcast is “Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact.” It will teach you the tactics of persuasive language to help you make the sale or successfully navigate any conversation. You can buy this on Amazon. Phil has an upcoming book called “Exactly How to Sell: The Sales Guide for Non-Sales Professionals” that will be released early next year. It is a distillation of the sales process for those of you looking for how you can apply this logic to any conversation. You can pre-order this book on Amazon.

CONNECT WITH JEFF

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE

CONNECT WITH THE SHOW

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Ray, our Audio Engineer. Thanks for cleaning up our voices and adding all that sexy production value. Kurtis, our intern. Thanks for all creating the show notes for this episode! Your host Jeff Gibbard. He made sure this episode made it through production even though we’ve been super busy. Thank you

Hey everyone, we’ve been gone a little while. Probably too long. We’ve had a lot of things going on and booking guests and publishing episodes have fallen behind. Part of the reason is that we lost our studio when we moved in the new office after our company was acquired. So, our studio is a tiny room with one microphone right now. The other reason is that after the merger, both Caroline and I got very busy moving into our new roles. Don’t Worry We’re still committed to this show, we’ve just fallen behind. We have 4 episodes in the queue that just need some light edits, and a post with show notes for each. We also have 3 new episodes for our upcoming season. We’ve changed the format into, what we think will be, our final form. We’ll be back soon. My hope is to get our episodes out starting next week, and then get on a consistent publishing schedule following that. Thanks for the support. We appreciate you. -Jeff and Caroline

Shareable listeners! We’ve reached the end of Season 2! Already!

We hope you’ve enjoyed all of the deep dives we brought your way on topics like sales, public speaking, leadership, management, and much more.

We felt it like it was only fitting to end the season with one of our favorite guests and our first guest, yes that’s right, it’s DOUG MOTHER F*CKING SANDLER!

Ya’ll know Doug, but a lots been happening for him since we last spoke. His podcast, Nice Guys on Business, has reached over 1 million downloads! 1 MILLION. That’s nuts. We’re so proud! Him and Strickland have been crushing it.

And they’ve started a new venture called Turnkey podcasting, where they tailor make podcasts that showcase your expertise in your field.

Today’s episode is more of a free-flowing discussion between Doug, Jeff, and Caroline, but we’ll talk about building an audience, podcast production, and anything else that comes up along the way! We hope you enjoy because we sure did.

Hey there, Shareable listeners!

We hope you enjoyed public speaking week and all of the wisdom that our guests brought to your ears!

This week, we’re bringing another boss-ass lady your way! It’s Jennifer Iannolo, pronounced (Ya-know-low)!

As a featured speaker for the U.S. State Department, Jennifer travels the world igniting women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship through talks and workshops, where she encourages young women to examine “How to Have It All.”

In 2015, she launched The Concordia Project to start a global conversation of inclusive empowerment, as well as programs to guide young women through their key decision-making moments in life. And she recently shared those insights at UN Headquarters during the 61st Commission on the Status of Women.

AND on top of all that. She’s the co-creator of Culinary Media Network® — the world’s first all-food podcast channel. She’s been featured on tv, in Bloomberg Businessweek, the New York Times bestseller list, and the documentary Eat. Cook. Love.

In this episode, she teaches us how to ignite empowerment in our employees. We get in to the differences between how men and women approach this topic and where those differences come from in the first place. This conversation is for everyone, offering a fuller picture of what motivates us in the workplace and how we can empower each other to get shit done.