Talking Business Now

AI expert and author Pamela McCorduck joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to offer insights on the evolution of AI and where the technology is headed.

McCorduck has been working in the field of artificial intelligence since 1960—and she knows the founding fathers personally. She's made a name for herself as an astute and authoritative observer of AI's evolution and growth since its earliest days.

Her first book, "Machines Who Think," was the first modern history of artificial intelligence. It contains interviews with the early, pioneering scientists. Though the science around AI has evolved, the interviews are fresh and revealing and continue to stand the test of time.

McCorduck's most recent book is "This Could Be Important: My Life and Times with the Artificial Intelligentsia." It is a memoir of her first encounters with the pioneers in the field, and her subsequent efforts to convince leading public intellectuals that AI could be important. 

Tune in to learn about:

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Your company's brand identity is everything visual that is visual about your brand—and your company name is a major part of that. In fact, 77% of consumers make purchases based on a brand name.

In this episode of Talking Business Now, Ross Kimbarovsky shares tips for choosing a name for your business—whether you're launching a new business or rebranding an existing business:

Kimbarovsky is the co-founder and CEO of crowdSPRING. He spent 13 years as a trial attorney before founding the company in 2007.

Kimbarovsky mentors entrepreneurs through TechStars and Founder Institute, is a member of the Executive Advisory Board for TechWeek, and was honored as one of Techweek100′s top technology leaders and business visionaries. Ross has also founded numerous other startups, including Startup Foundry, Quickly Legal and Respect.

CONNECT WITH ROSS KIMBAROVSKY

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Margaret Reynolds joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss her latest book—Boost Your GrowthDNA: How Strategic Leaders Use Growth Genetics to Drive Sustainable Business Performance.

Reynolds explains how growth-driven can use the Growth DNA framework to accelerate performance in a highly competitive and fast-changing world.

Tune in to find out:

1. Why GrowthDNA is the missing link to more profit, stronger culture and sustainable high performance.

2. How to develop the four strands of GrowthDNA—confidence, clarity, commitment and culture— to fuel sustainable and profitable growth and lead your team to breakthrough results year after year

3. Why growth doesn't occur just by doing the right things but rather by HOW they are being done.

4. How to understand your company's GrowthDNA so you can modify outcomes.

5. The importance of taking the GrowthDNA Scorecard Assessment (at no charge). You can access it at www.dnascorecard.com.

Margaret Reynolds is a thought leader on the topic of corporate growth—how to get more of it and how to accelerate it. She works with C-suite leaders to help them surpass and sustain high performance goals through reimagining what is possible, creating a shared direction and embedding strong, aligned cultures. Reynolds’ runs a management consulting firm called Breakthrough Masters Unlimited. In addition to GrowthDNA, Reynolds is the author of Reignite: How Everyday Companies Spark Next Stage Growth.

Connect with Margaret Reynolds:

■ Twitter: @growthcatalyst

■ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breakthroughmaster

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August Turak, serial entreprener and award-winning author who attributes much of his success to his 20-year stint as a frequent guest of the Trappist monks of Mepkin Abbey, joins host Kelly Scanlon on this episode of Talking Business Now.

In our May 24, 2019 interview with Turak, he talked about the 1996 skydiving accident that triggered the emotional crisis that sent him to the Abbey in search of spiritual solace; his Christmas Eve exchange with a monk named Brother John that led him to write his Templeton prize-winning essay, Brother John: A Monk, a Pilgrim and the Purpose of Life;and his book Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity, in which he describes how to apply the lessons he learned from the monks to achieve business success.

In this episode, Turak returns to Talking Business Now to discuss the life and leadership lessons he learned from his father, which he published as a tribute in Forbes.com—on what would have been his father’s 100th birthday. Among them:

■ Be Your Best

■ Be Bold

■ The Value of Struggle

... and several others.

Turak was a founding employee of MTV and the A&E Network. Later, he founded software companies that eventually sold to BMC Software for $150 million. He currently runs a not-for-profit called the Self-Knowledge Symposium Foundation.

Connect with August Turak:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aturak

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AugustTurak

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/augustturak/

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Small business marketing expert John Jantsch joins host Kelly Scanlon on this episode of Talking Business Now to discuss his recent book "The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur: 366 Daily Meditations to Feed Your Soul and Grow Your Business."

In a departure from his previous five books on marketing, in his latest work, Jantsch taps into the wisdom of 19th-century transcendentalist literature and his own 30-year entrepreneurial journey to create a daily guide entrepreneurs can use to create a deeper relationship with their own entrepreneurial journey.

Listen in to discover:

—Why the message of the transcendentalists resonates with modern-day entrepreneurs

—What it means to be a self-reliant entrepreneur

—The parallels between 19th-century society and today, and their implications for business

—How mindfulness, meditation and solitude can serve entrepreneurs

—How to get back up and start over after you fail

—How to remain true to your entrepreneurial dream

—Lessons from nature for living a joyful life

Jantsch shows how entrepreneurs can learn to trust their ideas and overcome the fear and doubt of everyday challenges.

ABOUT JOHN JANTSCH

Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker, and author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Referral Engine, Duct Tape Selling, The Commitment Engine, and SEO for Growth.

Jantsch is a podcasting pioneer who has been hosting an award-winning weekly podcast since 2005. He's has interviewed thousands of guests and appeared on the other side of the mic, as a guest, hundreds of times.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Website: ducttapemarketing.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ducttapemarketing

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ducttapemarketingvideo

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When Conner Hazelrigg was a college sophomore, her friend returned from a trip to Haiti, amazed that everyone there had cell phones—but no electricity to charge them. Yet many residents of these countries rely on their phones for food, medical needs and digital currency transactions.

A math and physics major, Hazelrigg decided she needed to do something about the situation. And, within a few months, she had created a prototype for the Sunshine Box, a suitcase-sized device that can charge 10 mobile phones at a time, using solar power.

In this episode of Talking Business Now, Hazelrigg talks about how she quickly found herself leading a new company—17° 73° Innovation Co. (the coordinates of Port au Prince in Haiti)—that provides solar power, creates jobs and provides a payment platform for developing countries as well as assistance in disaster areas.

To date, the Sunshine Box has helped to charge tens of thousands of phones in 17 developing nations. The boxes also hosts an IoT payment platform to meet the needs of residents who rely on digital currency. And, in an unanticipated benefit, the Sunshine Box is helping to improve educational access in these countries.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Website: https://www.1773innovationco.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1773innovationco

Twitter: @1773Innovation

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What happens when you combine your talent with your passion?

According to our guest on this episode of Talking Business Now, legendary Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams, you find your “success intersection.” 

When Pat was seven years old, his passion was baseball. By the time he made it to the minor leagues, he realized after just two years that as much as he loved the sport, it wasn't his greatest talent. 

Little did he know that his career in sports was just beginning. He discovered that he had a real talent for leadership and sales. When he combined those talents with his passion for sports, he discovered his success intersection.

In this episode from our 2017 podcast archives, Pat discusses his book, “The Success Intersection: What Happens When Your Talent Meets Your Passion.” 

Listen in and learn how to identify your greatest talent, pursue your greatest passion and multiply your efforts through teamwork. 

Basketball hall-of-famer Pat Williams founded the Orlando Magic and retired as senior vice president in April 2019, after a 56-year career that included more than 30 years with the Magic.

He's also a popular motivational speaker who’s written more than 100 books and makes about 150 guest appearances a year.  Pat was also the general manager of the 1983 world champion Philadelphia 76ers, and he managed the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks. 

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Sales and leadership expert Ron Karr joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to talk with us about a proprietary sales process, called Velocity Mindset, for increasing your company's market share, sales and profits.

Tune in to discover:

■ What today's prospects expect from a salesperson.

■ Simple questions for qualifying a prospect.

■ How to shorten the sales cycle.

■ How to grow sales revenues without discounting.

■ The secret to reducing the number of proposals you send out.

■ Time management tips for salespeople.

Working with Karr, his clients worldwide—including Hertz, UPS and Marriott—have generated three-quarters of a billion dollars in incremental revenues.

Karr is the author of several books, including the best-selling book “Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way.”  He has been published in more than 250 national magazines, interviewed on hundreds of radio stations and appeared on Fox News, the CBS Morning Show, BBC, Bloomberg TV and C-Suite TV.

An international keynote speaker and a former president of the National Speakers Association, Karr has spoken on six continents and in 20 countries. 

Resources and Links

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/ronkarr1

Twitter Link: @ronkarr

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronkarr

How to order Karr's book Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00245A4G4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

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Ray Zinn, co-founder of microchip company Micrel, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss entrepreneurship, startup success, staying true to core values maintaining a disciplined focus and being a "student of life."

A Silicon Valley pioneer, Zinn founded the company in 1978—and he chose to bootstrap it to profitability rather than take venture capital. 

When Microchip acquired the company in 2015, Zinn delivered a total equity value of more than $800 million.

Before attending college, Zinn worked at a janitorial service. After college, he moved to San Francisco and started working in rocket motor manufacturing and then in the semiconductor industry. He and a friend founded Micrel with $300,000, and the company was profitable in its first year. In total, Micrel achieved profitability in 36 of its 37 years. During his 37 years with Micrel, Zinn served as president, CEO and chairman of the board. He's known as the longest-serving CEO of a publicly traded Silicon Valley company. He also holds more than 20 patents for semiconductor design.

Zinn spends his time these days as a speaker, author and leader of a Silicon Valley accelerator called ZinnStarter, which is dedicated to mentoring entrepreneurs to build profitable and sustainable companies. He's also a podcaster and author of Tough Things First and Zen of Zinn, 

Tune in to find out Zinn's: 

■ Rationale for bucking the traditional Silicon Valley mindset of starting with venture—capital and bootstrapping the company instead.

■ Formula for building a profitable, sustainable company. Ray led Micrel through eight downturns in the global chip markets, including the dot-com bust and the Great Recession.

■ Perspective on why so many startups fail—and how to avoid it.

■ Advice on handling mistakes.

■ Decision-making philosophy.

■ Strategy for earning 20 patents for semiconductor design (hint: it requires a team effort).

■ Approach to creating a corporate culture built on dignity of the individual.

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Everyday companies across America hire or promote talented executives who ultimately fail. Perhaps you've been one of those executives yourself.

Why does this happen so often?

My guest on this episode of Talking Business Now, Ron Carucci, has written a book on this very subject. Called "Rising to Power: The Journey of Exceptional Executives,"it’s based on a ground-breaking 10-year study on executive transition that reveals why so many executives fail—and fail so fast. Ron shares with us why that happens and how your organization can avoid those landmines.

Tune in to discover:

■ Why 50% of leaders fail within the first 18 months

■ The 4 characteristics that set successful leaders apart

■ How an organization can prepare a newly appointed executive for their new position

■ Tips for startup founders who have big ideas but who aren't seasoned leaders—how to lead their organization from startup to grown up

Carucci is the co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, where he works with CEOs and executives around the world to address strategy, organization and leadership challenges.  In addition to being a regular contributor to HBR and Forbes, Carucci has been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Inc, Business Week and Smart Business.

Connect with Ron Carucci:

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/navalent/

Twitter: @roncarucci 

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