The Edge

James Mueller, Mayor of the City of South Bend (IN), joins host Tim Leman to give a glimpse into city government and what it takes to manage a diverse group of stakeholders with competing interests. They talk about James' unique path to public service, the importance of communication, rising to meet the needs of your team, and setting an organization on a sustainable path for the future.

Connect with James on LinkedIn.

Key Takeaways:

• James' unique career journey (0:41)
• Lessons learned from Mayor Pete (4:48)
• Managing a large, diverse group of stakeholders (6:34)
• There is much more to South Bend (9:23)
• Unique aspects and challenges of being Mayor (10:55)
• James' edge (15:19)
• Having a great partner at home (20:40)
• Setting up the City for future growth and success (27:00)

Andrea Sloan, President of GroundBreakers, joins host Tim Leman to discuss her passion for creating culture and growth. They explore lessons she learned from her time in the military, the impact EOS has had on her as a leader and on the organization, as well as her fearlessness, which Andrea says is her edge in life.

Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn. Learn more about GroundBreakers.

Key Takeaways:

• Andrea's role - it depends on the day! (2:30)
• Passion for culture and growth (3:35)
• Being a Visionary and the positive impact of EOS (4:28)
• Andrea's leadership journey (7:00)
• Applying lessons from time in Army Reserve to business (8:55)
• Great teams and what makes them special (11:20)
• EOS as a game-changer for her business (13:36)
• Andrea's edge (17:18)
• Staying close as a family (22:40)

Amy Bruske of Kolbe Corp joins host Tim Leman to discuss the unique ways we each take action and how understanding these striving instincts can be impactful in the workplace as well as at home. She shares about her leadership journey, advice for family businesses, and what makes for a strong team. Amy also talks about how she found her edge and how she has harnessed it to achieve success.

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn. Learn more about Kolbe Corp.

Key Takeaways:

• Helping people figure out their unique ways of getting things done (1:06)
• What Amy & Tim's Kolbe scores mean (2:13)
• Applying Kolbe with youth (4:27)
• Amy's leadership journey (9:25)
• Collaborations with Strategic Coach and EOS (12:15)
• Dan Sullivan – Who, Not How (13:54)
• Kathy Kolbe's experience and what lead her to develop the Kolbe assessment (15:24)
• Advice for those involved with family businesses (19:02)
• Best team and what made it special (22:28)
• Staying connected as a family (26:07)
• Amy's edge (28:00)

Julio Martinez joins host Tim Leman to talk about building personal relationships, trust, and teams. As CEO of Mno-Bmadsen, the non-gaming investment of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, Julio shares a unique leadership perspective on how to keep culture at the forefront when bringing together people and companies across an array of industries and expertise.

Connect with Julio on LinkedIn. Learn more about Mno-Bmadsen.

Key Takeaways:

• About Mno-Bmadsen and Julio's role (0:46)
• Keeping tribal symbolism and traditions alive (4:15)
• Branching out into real estate (6:13)
• The importance of tribal culture (8:30)
• Common misconception of tribal businesses (13:00)
• Personal relationships and building trust (14:57)
• The most challenging part of Julio's role (19:30)
• Each team member brings a different perspective (21:22)
• Julio's edge (23:54)

Dr. Christopher Croner is a sales psychologist, assessment developer, and founder of SalesDrive. Dr. Croner and host Tim Leman explore the non-teachable traits of top performing salespeople: the need for achievement, competitiveness, and optimism. They also talk about Dr. Croner's curiosity and what led him to study psychology.

Connect with Dr. Croner on LinkedIn. Learn more about SalesDrive and check out a free trial of the assessment.

Key Takeaways:

• Why he chose to study psychology (0:48)
• Biggest misconceptions regarding people who study human nature (3:13)
• How SalesDrive came to be (4:45)
• 3 non-teachable traits (7:50)
• The formula behind Drive (10:23)
• Why they are non-teachable (11:03)
• Making sure the match is right for the candidate and the company (12:30)
• Assessments to complement SalesDrive (15:00)
• Forced choice questions (16:40)
• Jumping into a sales role himself (17:58)
• The foundation beneath the foundation (19:23)
• Teaming people up (24:09)
• Assessment accuracy (26:50)
• How do assessments account for cultural differences (30:40)
• The future of sales roles (33:19)
• Dr. Croner's edge (36:19)

Rudy Yakym joins host Tim Leman to share about his journey to Congress and the lessons on leadership, culture, and community he has learned along the way. The Congressman talks about navigating competing interests, as well as the role he takes to help his team member achieve their aspirations. Rudy & Tim also discuss intentionality as it related to leadership, who we surround ourselves with, and how we stay connected to family.

Connect with Rudy on LinkedIn and via his website.

Key Takeaways:

• Congress is very different on the inside than what you see on the outside (0:53)
• Rudy's journey (3:49)
• How his business background & nonprofit board experience prepared him for serving on Congress (6:21)
• Navigating competing interests (6:47)
• Board service helping him to better understand and appreciate community issues (7:53)
• Leadership matters (9:18)
• Lessons on leadership, culture, and community from Amish Shah (9:57)
• Creating culture with Congressional team – helping people get to where they're trying to go (12:22)
• Rudy's edge (16:00)
• Staying connected to family (18:40)

Charlie Burnham is a serial entrepreneur and a respected leader in the insurance industry, with a passion for helping others. In this episode of The Edge, he and Tim discuss building high-performing teams as well as the importance of connecting and building relationships. Charlie also shares what he has found to be the key attributes for successful salespeople.

Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn.

Key Takeaways:

• Charlie's leadership journey (0:50)
• Decision to partner with a national agency (5:10)
• Taking on new roles (8:00)
• Staying active (12:35)
• Passionate about seeing those around him grow and succeed (14:08)
• Skills and attributes to look for in salespeople (15:15)
• Building relationships (17:55)
• Best team experience (20:23)
• Being part of team versus collective sports (21:40)
• Healthy competition (23:00)
• Charlie's edge (24:55)

Neil Alldredge, CEO of NAMIC, joins The Edge to talk about servant leadership, clarity of purpose, and embracing a collaborative leadership style. As the leader of a trade association, Neil provides insight on the unique dynamics of working with board chairs and advice for setting clear expectations for successful board relationships. Neil and Tim also discuss the interesting history of insurance companies and the growing focus on diversity in the industry.

Connect with Neil on LinkedIn. Learn more about NAMIC (the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies).

Key Takeaways:

• About NAMIC and Neil's role (0:45)
• The interesting history of insurance companies (3:35)
• Growing diversity in the industry (11:00)
• Neil's leadership journey (16:15)
• Leadership stability and clarity of purpose (19:00)
• Responsibility to the leaders who came before (20:25)
• The value of bringing in a new perspective to an established leadership team (26:13)
• Collaborative leadership style (27:26)
• The unique dynamics of frequently changing board chairs (30:06)
• Advice for board chairs (33:00)
• Neil's edge (34:34)

In this episode of The Edge Podcast, Mark Bundy shares about his early leadership lessons, emphasizing the importance of a strong work ethic, leading by example, and respecting competitors. From his over 20 years of experience as a COO in the insurance industry, Mark offers valuable insights on key characteristics to look for when recruiting sales professionals, connecting and coaching salespeople, and leading with empathy.

Connect with Mark Bundy on LinkedIn.

Key Takeaways:

• Early leadership lessons in motorcycle racing (0:48)
• Respecting & learning from competitors (2:26)
• Mark's leadership journey (3:55)
• Leading within a growing company (7:00)
• Competitive nature (10:25)
• Key characteristics of successful sales professionals (11:33)
• Red flags in recruiting (15:30)
• Coaching salespeople on working better together (16:20)
• Onboarding and mentoring new COOs (18:40)
• What COOs get wrong when it comes to working with salespeople (20:30)
• Rewarding to be involved as an advisor (24:45)
• Mark's edge (26:40)

This very special episode features Ruth Leman, host Tim Leman's mom. Hear Tim and his mom discuss her childhood in Latin America, her passion for teaching, as well as the joys and challenges of raising Tim. Tune in for some fun stories of Tim's early years and characteristics his mom still sees present in his life today.

Key Takeaways:

• The first of the Baby Boomer generation (1:07)
• Growing up in Latin America (2:20)
• 12 schools in 13 years (5:14)
• Unofficial launch of teaching career at age 12 (9:15)
• Her parents as missionaries and leaders (11:45)
• Her journey to becoming a teacher (15:10)
• Coming full circle (21:00)
• When Tim makes up his mind to do something, it is hard to change his mind! (23:45)
• Teaching responsibility with laundry (24:50)
• Stories of young Tim (26:58)
• Friendships and a soft heart (30:06)
• Characteristics that have stuck with Tim for a long time (34:37)
• As a kid, Tim wanted to be President (36:02)
• 55 years of marriage (36:42)
• Ruth's edge – faith, family, and friends (38:43)
• The best part of being a mom & grandma (46:12)
• Turning the tables – a question from mom (47:07)