Strategic Momentum

In business today, being data-driven can be a major factor in whether you and the company you work for succeed or fail.

The wealth of information that’s now available is helping us make decisions big and small, strategic and tactical... but we didn’t have all of this data in the past and people were still making good decisions every day.

Without a world full of data, people were just relying more on their gut, their instincts.

Given this shift towards data and analytics in decision making, I wanted to understand – is one style of decision making now more effective than the other?

To help me answer this question, I talked to a number of experts across different fields to get their take:

• Dr. Mary Lamia, a psychologist who has spent her career studying and encouraging emotional awareness. Dr. Lamia has joined us twice on the show before, back in episodes 9 and 12, to discuss emotions and motivational styles.
• Jen McDonald, the Executive Director of Client Engagement at global marketing agency VMLY&R. As a 20 year marketing veteran, she’s worked across a variety of industries and has been at the forefront of the digital and data revolution. 
• Kyle Loudermilk, the President and CEO of GSE Systems, which provides professional and technical engineering, staffing services, and simulation software to clients in the power and process industries.
• Steve Brown, a Director at Salesforce that’s inspiring growth of Salesforce Einstein by leading a team of talented Specialists committed to driving customer success.
• And Dana Cavalea, our guest in episode 24 and the former Director of Strength and Conditioning and Performance Enhancement with the New York Yankees Organization. Dana helped pioneer data-driven performance optimization in baseball, and now, Dana brings those same performance optimization techniques to business leaders, entrepreneurs, and pro athletes around the world.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Connect with Dana Cavalea: DanaCavalea.com | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
• Connect with Steve Brown on LinkedIn
• Connect with Kyle Loudermilk on LinkedIn
• Connect with Jen McDonald: Twitter | LinkedIn
• Connect with Dr. Lamia at MaryLamia.com

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

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Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

Tom Schuh, founder of Optimum Effect Group, spent over a decade in the military before landing a job in sales with American Express. Despite lacking a college degree or any sales training, he worked his way up the corporate ladder before transitioning into being an entrepreneur.

Tom’s journey in the military mirrored his career arc in the corporate world and then into entrepreneurship. And that experience he gained early on in the battlefield certainly provide guidance and focus throughout his corporate and entrepreneurial journey.

In this episode, he shares his perspective on the challenges that he commonly sees in the sales profession and what it takes to build that strategic momentum.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Connect with Tom on LinkedIn

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On iTunes
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

Traditionally, we view career growth in a linear progression; but for the Millennial generation, professional journeys are more commonly taking a non-linear or “meandering” path.

For Deepak Shukla, founder and CEO of the SEO agency Pearl Lemon, the meandering path was not just a byproduct of his curiosity, but an incubator for personal and professional growth. From art school to tax consulting to running a recording studio to a tutoring company and now to an SEO agency, Deepak’s habit of experimentation accelerated his skills development and helped him find his value and passion for marketing.

In this episode, Deepak shares how to overcome the fear of the course, act on your impulses, create accountability, and test and learn your way to career success.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Learn more at deepakshukla.com
• Connect with Deepak: LinkedIn | Twitter
• Listen to Deepak’s podcast: Life, Love and Entrepreneurship

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On Apple Podcasts
• On the Google Podcasts
• On Spotify
• On Stitcher Radio

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

Building a marketing and communications agency, much less any business from the ground up, isn’t easy. Finding new business, hiring and retaining great talent, and consistently delivering quality work can be an ongoing struggle. And that can be particularly challenging when you are servicing the government and non-profit sector, given their budget limitations.

But Joseph Ney, Creative Director and Partner at Reingold, has done just that. Along with his partners, they have built Reingold into a leading firm that has achieved incredible growth over the past few years. But it took continuous experimentation and evolution to get to where they are today, and they are still tweaking.

And that path, of course, wasn’t linear – but they were always mission-focused.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Learn more at reingold.com
• Connect with Joseph on LinkedIn
• Follow Reginold: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On iTunes
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

In business, we often get so focused on our own needs that we forget or possibly don’t care to learn about another person or businesses and their potentials needs.

Even when you go to a networking or marketing event, you’re still focusing mostly on you and your business – and so is everyone else. The end result is a bunch of conversations that aren’t very productive and, frankly, aren’t very interesting.

But today’s guest, John Newtson, has co-created a B2B business development ecosystem that takes a fundamentally different approach to event marketing. His conference, the Financial Marketing Summit, helps shake people out of their me-centered mindset and break through the business inertia by doing more together.

By encouraging everyone to take responsibility for each other’s ambitions and successes, he’s been able to deliver unique value to every person attending – and these attendees, ultimately, are able to bring more value back to their organizations and that bottom line.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Learn more at financialmarketingsummit.com
• Connect with John on LinkedIn

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On iTunes
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

In today’s multi-channel, 24/7 news cycle, it can be difficult to get your company story to stand out much less even get it shared by media outlets.

Chris and Keith Blackman are brothers who, combined, have a lifetime of media experience. They both have extensive backgrounds in network television, although they had different career journeys before segueing into media relations and PR roles – “what my friends at NBC call the dark side,” Keith says.

Now, as Principals of Blackman Media Consulting, they are much sought after for their strategic media training and storytelling skills.

And in today’s episode, they share their perspective on what it really takes for any company to build that buzz and foster ongoing momentum.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Connect with Chris: LinkedIn | [email protected]
• Connect with Keith: LinkedIn | [email protected]

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On Apple Podcasts
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

Over the past decade, there's been a trend towards, or even movement of, mission-driven companies and organizations. Brands are focusing on being a force for good – and many of these organizations are also succeeding in business.

And there’s science to support the idea that being altruistic, being mission and purpose-driven, is a potent recipe for both personal fulfillment and business success.

To learn more about the science of altruism and why purpose is more than just trendy, I talked with Dr. Richard Shuster, a former IT executive turned licensed clinical psychologist and the host of the popular, internationally downloaded podcast, The Daily Helping.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Learn more at thedailyhelping.com
• Listen to The Daily Helping
• Support EveryKidRocks.org
• Get your Personal Helping

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On iTunes
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

What does it take to develop a sound business strategy? Kevin Garton, Chief Operating Officer of Context Capital Partners walks us through what it takes and just as important, the misconceptions many people have around what a strategy actually is.

The idea of creating a strategy may sound simple, even obvious, but as you’ll learn in this episode, the choices you have to make almost never are.

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Connect with Kevin: LinkedIn | Twitter

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On iTunes
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

We are witnessing an evolution in the composition of the workforce: the continual growth and increased impact of the independent worker, otherwise known as freelancers, contractors, or independent consultants. 

And with the gig economy, as many like to call it, the profile of these independents have also been shifting – they reflect people across a variety of knowledge-intensive industries like management consulting as well as those from creative occupations. The commonality, though, is that many have chosen to pursue an independent path.

And companies increasingly want and need these workers in order to adapt to the ever-changing business environment!

To learn more about the trends in the independent workforce and the impact that independent workers are having on businesses, we’re talking to Steve King, Partner at Emergent Research. His research and consulting company studies the future of work, particularly the trends of this independent workforce.

Learn more and find the complete show notes at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Learn more at smallbizlabs.com
• Connect with Steve at emergentresearch.com

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On iTunes
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters

In business development, it’s all about the “value exchange” because the best learning comes from reciprocal relationships. So to help break through the inertia that may exist in organizations, you have to understand that BD involves so much more than this perception of sales to help drive a business forward.

John Keeling, SVP of Business Development at The Motley Fool, joins us for this episode. John has had a unique career journey – he’s been an academic, started a web development company, held product management leadership roles, and all before being a business development executive.

His diverse experiences have inherently fostered an interdisciplinary mindset – one that enables him to understand the value in cross-pollinating perspectives across cross-functional teams, which in turn leads to improved efforts on all sides. And what he’s learned most in his career is that “sometimes it takes an interdisciplinary approach to drive innovation.”

Learn more, and find the complete show notes, at flywheelassociates.com/podcast.

Resources:

• Learn more about The Motley Fool at fool.com
• Connect with John on LinkedIn

Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:

• On iTunes
• On the Google Play Store
• On Stitcher Radio
• On Spotify

Strategic Momentum is produced by Podcast Masters