Rich Sheridan is the CEO and Co-founder of Menlo Innovations. Rich is also the author of Joy Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love. His company was founded in 2001 for the purpose, “To end human suffering in the world as it relates to technology.” Today Rich travels the world speaking about joy, creativity, and human energy in the workplace. In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Rich passionately shares the Menlo way through workshops, tours of his company, speaking, and mentoring entrepreneurs in the community.

Rich has never shied away from challenges or opportunities. His focus is always on technology, teamwork, and organizational design, and always with one goal in mind, the business value of joy. You don’t get to hear that too much in today’s world.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Why Rich Sheridan left a successful career as a software programmer to become an entrepreneur and build his own business
• How Rich uses joy and human energy to create a positive culture and drive productivity
• Why Rich decided to name his book Joy Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love
• despite concerns that people might dismiss a book about love and joy
• Why it’s critical for a company to live its mission and vision to empower its culture
• How introverts in the workplace are often misunderstood and why they can thrive in an open and communicative environment
• Which simple changes Rich recommends to any company who wants to positively change their workplace environment
• Why Rich tries to minimize workplace meetings and discourages his employees from checking emails from home or while on vacation
• The biggest challenges Rich faces in his organization and how he approaches those challenges
• Why continuous learning is a critical component to Rich’s philosophy and success
• How and when Rich’s next book, Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear will be available for preorder

Ways to contact Rich:

• Website: www.menloinnovations.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Twitter: @menloprez
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/menloprez

Robert Glazer is the founder and CEO of global performance marketing agency, Acceleration Partners. Under his leadership, Acceleration Partners has received numerous company culture awards, including #4 on Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards, Ad Age’s Best Place to Work, Entrepreneur’s Top Company Culture, and Inc. Magazine’s Best Place to Work.

Bob is a columnist for both Forbes and Inc. and many other leading publications. He also shares ideas and insights around these topics via Friday Forward, a weekly inspirational newsletter that is followed by over 35,000 leaders worldwide.

He recently authored the international bestselling book, Performance Partnerships and is a sought-after speaker by companies and organizations around the world.

Bob serves on the Board of Directors for BUILD Boston, is a global leader in Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO) and founder of The Fifth Night charitable event.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How the tech industry is leading the way in creating a better culture model
• Robert’s advice for business leaders wanting to modernize their corporate culture
• Why aligning your business culture with your personal values is so crucial at every level of your organization
• How forming a clear and consistent culture will help you attract the right applicants
• Why cultural consistency matters, and how to avoid the pitfalls of inconsistency
• The four key elements for encouraging the capacity for growth in your team’s personal and professional lives
• How Robert’s tool “The Whole Life Dashboard” can help you align your personal and professional values and focus on achieving your goals
• Why our education system needs to adapt to changes in today’s business world
• The kinds of challenges Robert faces in his professional life and how he navigates them
• Robert’s strategies for adapting to change in a complex business environment
• Why culture, consistency. and accountability go hand-in-hand

Ways to contact Robert:

• Website: www.robertglazer.com
• Website: www.fridayfwd.com
• Website: www.accelerationpartners.com
• Twitter: @robert_glazer
• Book: Performance Partnerships

Rob Emrich is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Gimbal Inc., a marketing technology that unites the physical and digital worlds. Gimbal recently acquired Drawbridge Media and counts over 10,000 customers including global giants like Ford, Citibank, Walgreens, and even small neighborhood businesses. This is a company that has received over $90 million in investment fundings from giants like AEG. Additionally, Gimbal was recognized for its remarkable growth as number 66 on the Inc. 500 and number 34 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

Quite impressive yet not surprising is that Rob has a stellar reputation as a man with five other venture startups, all extremely successful, and he has also been featured in the New York Times bestselling books “The Lean Entrepreneur” and “21 Questions for 21 Millionaires.” With all of this critical acclaim, though, what’s very impressive about Rob is the fact that he also actively engages in philanthropic work with a specific interest in pediatric cancer.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• The bleeding-edge marketing technology Gimbal Inc. develops, and how CEO and founder Rob Emrich has helped steer Gimbal’s profound growth
• Balancing consumers’ privacy with the marketing needs of retailers
• The ethical challenges behind the ever-evolving privacy concerns of consumers in today’s always-on world
• Adversities Rob has faced in his career and the lessons he learned from those challenges
• When to push for what you believe in and when to quit, and how to decide which position to take
• Rob’s thoughts on integrating your personal and professional lives to maintain a positive perspective
• How technology can both connect and isolate us from each other, and why taking a step back is important
• Rob’s strategies for stress management and successfully adapting to change
• The transformative moments of Rob’s life and how they altered his outlook
• Rob’s wisdom for managing and successfully mastering the complexity of the business world
• Using today’s emerging technological tools to solve tomorrow’s problems

Ways to contact Rob:

• Website: www.robemrich.com
• Twitter: @robemrich

Dr. Tom Buckley is the founder and CEO of the Buckley Medical Home based in Plantation, Florida. Dr. Buckley has 30 years of experience creating and providing integrated services to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Amongst his many accolades, he has been appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott as the Alzheimer’s Advisory Committee chair. He is also on the International Board of Directors for the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, more commonly known as CARF. CARF is responsible for overseeing healthcare and residential facilities that many of us find ourselves having to access for family members.

Tom interfaces with a variety of complex environments, including politics, healthcare, family systems, and numerous local, state, national, and even international entities, all of which require something different from him as a leader. Tom’s passion for the safety and wellbeing of persons with disabilities is a major driver behind all that he does.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Tom’s work focuses on offering integrated services for those with developmental disabilities, which involves many different aspects of business, including regulation, thought leadership, training, and nonprofit work.
• The heartbreaking stories involved in this type of nonprofit work and why finding business solutions to such problems require personal commitment and strong leadership.
• How serving persons with disabilities is a unique opportunity to satisfy both personal and professional goals.
• The global medical practices and regulations the United States must consider within the medical industry in order to more effective serve persons with intellectual disabilities.
• The dangers of relying on singular “political” solutions to solve our complicated medical healthcare issues.
• The value and importance of leaders understanding the complexity of our healthcare systems and how this level of complexity impacts the bottom-line in their own organizations.
• How leaders can be particularly effective when they gather teams of like-minded people who have the experience to generate new solutions to complex issues.

Ways to contact Tom:

• Email: [email protected]

Don Emery is the President and General Manager of Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge. Don has over 20 years experience in the hospitality industry, including his prior roles as general manager for the renowned Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, and Interlachen Country Club Country Club in Winter Park, Florida. Under his leadership, the latter two clubs were named platinum clubs of America each for the first time in history. Don was also named manager of the year in California by the United States Professional Tennis Association in 2014, and he currently serves on the advisory board of The Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Don’s experience within the golfing industry and how his experience led to his being appointed as General Manager of the Arnold Palmer Bay HIll Club and Lodge.
• How hospitality clubs are a unique piece of the industry since they actually involve many different sectors from retail and dining to sports and lodging.
• How hospitality industries can be particularly demanding due to long weekends and working holidays. Leaders must watch out for ways to help encourage their employees due to the stress of these demands.
• An overview of Arnold Palmer’s life, views, philosophy, and why his legacy is important.
• The importance of change in the hospitality business and how it’s easy to miss opportunity for change if you are afraid of alienating customers.
• Why consistent change is necessary for long-term success
• Why other leaders must learn how to preserve company vision.
• What to do when passion is diminished.
• How insights during these low points can lead to very interesting realizations and career choices.

Ways to contact Don:

• Website: www.bayhill.com
• Phone (Bay Hill Club and Lodge): 407-876-8018
• Phone (Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation): 407-876-8016
• Twitter: @APBayHill
• Instagram: @APBayHillClub
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/APBayHill

Rob Dube is the President of imageOne, a company considered by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Small Giant Companies” in 2017. imageOne is focused on what they refer to as document lifestyle management which ties in with the donothing™ movement which he has started via his book by the same title. Rob has been an avid meditator for over 14 years.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How valuable brief periods of meditation can be during stressful work days, even if you only have a few minutes to calm your thoughts
• How even larger, profit-focused companies can benefit from a culture of care – caring not only about your employees, but about your customers, your community, and the world as a whole
• The power of simple interactions and leadership practices that can emphasize this culture of care and ultimately make a big different (listen for some great examples!)
• Allowing for buffer time each day, especially for busy leaders who are trying to manage complex systems
• How a “mindful minute” at the start of a meeting can actually create shorter, more efficient meetings
• How these practices tie in with the donothing™ movement, which leaders can use to center themselves
• The common sense behind donothing™ practices that can also help improve team strength and build talent in the company when used correctly by leaders
• How, without taking enough time, it’s easy to make decisions out of anxiety or fear, which can often be disastrous for the company
• Useful techniques for those who travel a lot and don’t want to be tired all the time
• Other interesting ways to practice silence throughout the day, which can be very beneficial at work and at home

Ways to contact Rob:

• Website: www.donothingbook.com
• Website: www.imageoneway.com
• Twitter: @robdube
• Instagram: @robddube

Frank Cottle is the CEO of Alliance Virtual Offices and Chairman of the Alliance Business Centers Network. Frank is a recognized expert on flexible working, the virtual office movement, and what is known as third place working. Prior to creating the Alliance brand, Frank successfully operated his own portfolio business centers in multiple locations across North America.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Frank Cottle inadvertently created the remote workspace movement with a property development project in the 1970’s
• The role valuation and agility played in the shift from brick and mortar real estate to the virtual brokering of workspace
• Why being a student of your industry positions you as a leader
• How evolution, not revolution is the process for growth
• How a clear vision and philosophy can guide every decision and solution
• The freedom of private ownership gives you the opportunity to operate the way you want to in response to what your internal customers need
• Why it’s not enough to be a company and why being an industry activist can promote good for everyone
• The distinction between “making money” and “earning money”
• Why the balance of people, place and technology will affect the face of commercial real estate in the next 15 years
• How video game technology will be what brings the 1.6 billion people working remotely worldwide together in a common culture

Ways to contact Frank:

• Website: www.alliancevirtualoffices.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/frankcottle
• Twitter: @frankcottle
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/frank.cottle

Resources:

• Allwork.space
• Allgoodwork.org

Judi Awsumb is the President of Awsumb Enterprises Inc, which was established in 2004 to provide growth strategies to companies experiencing shortfalls in revenue, gross margin, and net profit. Judi worked in corporate America for over 25 years as a high level executive. Her extensive background and track record in leading successful growth and profit goals provided a pathway to becoming an entrepreneur. Judi is all about measurable results. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies like Federal Express and Lockheed Martin, and her more recent clients include companies like Icon, Canon, and Earthlink Technologies.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• The role women entrepreneurs play in the small business marketplace
• Why Exxon’s decision to hire women in the 70’s was such an important step
• How friendly competition in the workplace can drive team success
• Why financial planning for startup businesses is less complicated than women often think
• The number one obstacle for women in business today
• How the first lesson she learned about money shaped her entire career
• Why scalability is more like a puzzle than a straight line
• The role a health crisis played in her passion to help other female entrepreneurs
• How meditation can change the way you listen to your employees and peers
• Why a willingness to learn and change matters more than knowledge and skill

Ways to contact Judi:

• Website: www.awsumbenterprises.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/judiawsumb

Joshua Vickery is a vocalist, teacher, conductor, director, and arts advocate and is the proud Founder and Executive Director of Central Florida Community Arts which he founded in 2010.

The organization consists of about 1100 artists in multiple choirs, an adult and youth symphony orchestra, children/youth arts program, theatre, School of Performing Arts, and arts and wellness initiatives.

In a few short years, Joshua has taken CFCA to new heights. He has been named the Arts Educational Professional of the Year by the Florida Arts Education Alliance, Top 3 Arts Advocates by Orlando Weekly, and he is also been acclaimed as 50 of the Most Powerful People in Orlando and is highly recognized as one of the Top 3 Community Leaders by Orlando Magazine.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How business leaders can remain balanced in their search for success, power, and money
• The importance of leading a life full of meaning and purpose
• The importance of being a part of a community, connecting to others, and building strong relationships
• How to grow from a grassroots initiative to a full-fledged organization
• How to successfully bring people together from multiple disciplines and marginalized populations
• How to create opportunities out of need as the situation calls for it
• The importance of passion and the role it plays in any grassroots initiative
• The importance of having a team that moves in the same direction from the top-down
• The importance of finding things you’re passionate about outside of work and finding time for downtime, friends, and family
• How to focus on the moments that truly fuel you and not get dragged down by the day-to-day operations

Ways to contact Joshua:

• Twitter: @jvickery79
• Website: cfcarts.com/joshua

Austin Lasure is the Founder and CEO of Freedom Cleaning Solutions, a veteran-owned and operated cleaning company in central and northern Florida. Austin has a fascinating background in Special ops with two tours in Iraq and nine in Afghanistan. Eventually, that segwayed into private contracting opportunities overseas where he shifted into executive protection of American visiting dignitaries. This level of private protection also included dignitaries such as former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and Senator John McCain.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How the military taught Austin valuable lessons and helped shape and direct his life both personally and professionally
• How military training has translated to his day-to-day life, especially with regard to communication
• How taking and perfecting everything one step at a time helped Austin grow himself and his family-owned business
• Why true leadership means first understanding that everyone has a place in the system and “deserves to … be honored”
• How thinking like the bad guy or imagining all worse case scenarios helped Austin prepare and equip his family-owned business for the future
• The importance of seeing things through a systemic lens to be able to move beyond the present and look to the future
• Why great leaders realize that all the training and education in the world can’t prepare you for all scenarios once you are the CEO, and why thinking outside the box is key
• The importance of having an organizational process so you can maximize one thing at a time and not jump around
• How to be prepared and present in what you do both personally and professionally, and why that matters
• The strategies Austin incorporates to help him keep the big picture in mind while doing the smaller things one at a time

Ways to contact Austin:

• Website: FreedomCleaningSolutions.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/freedomcleaningsolutionsllc
• Twitter: @FreedmClean